sharing the stumbles

This was captioned as "urban nature". I'm thinking that it was an art piece on display. While not being something that I'd want to have in my home, I think that it does capture and display the idea in an interesting manner.

sharing the stumbles

I came across this earlier, with the caption:

I got a tattoo of myself, only thinner.

It cracked me up. Hopefully, you'll get a snicker too.

funny as hell

Thing is, we have several issues of Bathroom Readers, all of which are {of course} located in the bathrooms. Earlier this evening, I read a funny lil blurb on page 43 of this one here. It tickled my brain, so I thought I'd share it!

Heaven is hotter than hell.

The internetZ has multiple sites dedicated to this factoid. In fact, there are even entire schools of thought devoted to the debate of this amusing argument. Which is, in itself, funnier than hell.

The basic premises is that Isiah 30:26 discloses that in heaven "the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold as the light of seven days"; which means that we're talking about 977 degrees fahrenheit. While Revelations 21:8 describes hell as a "lake which burneth with fire and brimstone". This means that such a molten lake would be just about 833 degrees fahrenheit. Which means that heaven would indeed be hotter than hell.

All that aside, I am much relieved that the heat has finely broken, at least somewhat. Our temperatures seem much more seasonal! I think we've had at least seven weeks of heat indexes over a hundred on a daily basis this summer. So now, it's a mere ninety degrees. Why, that's downright balmy!

Earlier today, I was zipping around town in my lil dewdrop and I actually had to turn the A/C down from fullblast! I KNOW! It has done wonders for my spirits to be able to draw a breath without feeling my lungs scorch and without the sharp singe of tiny cilia. Ahhhhhhhmm; yes!

hear what i say,

...listen to what i mean
{dammit}
~~sigh~~




I went back to Jackson for my own follow~up with an ortho~dudette regarding my left foot. Last year, my GP and I determined that I most likely had some plantar fasciitis going on and so I did lots of stretching and ice and all that. It seemed to actually get worse so after six months, my GP sent me to a local ortho~dude and he sent me down to Jackson. She also said that it was plantar fasciitis and sent me over to PT for a night~boot for sleeping and some inserts for my shoes.



That was six weeks ago. So today, when I went down, I told her that I had two things I wanted to talk with her about. One, I cannot wear the boot for longer than 45 min to an hour before the strap across the top of my foot begins to cut off my circulation and the nerves along there tingle something fierce. If I loosen the strap enough for it not to do that, then my foot doesn't stay in position and there is no purpose to even wearing the boot at all. So would she allow me to try the sock? The main reason I had not taken the sock last time was cuz my ankle pops out, but! since I sleep on my side, my ankle will be supported and I think I will probably be able to use the soft sock to good effect. She agreed and authorized the sock. Yea! for me!!




The other thing was that my left heel feels like it's being driven thru the floor cuz I put all my weight on it regularly. When I attempt to shift my weight to my right leg, my right hip {lower right side of my back} screams immediately and I catch my breath and shift my weight back to my left. The reason for the pain in my right hip, I am fairly certain, is because my right leg is a tad longer than my left. And the reason for that is because I have scoliosis, which off~sets my hips, which meant that my legs grew to different lengths to compensate for that.

So ortho~dudette says that she wants to measure my legs. This means that she asks me to lay back on the table, and she evens my heels up. She tells me that they are the same. Really? I ask. How can you tell what's going on as far as up in the hip, where the leg ends on the other end if you don't actually measure from hip bone to ankle? Then I turn and hike my shirt up, and show her that my hips are indeed offset, and she says that I probably have scoliosis. Uhm, yeah, k. So I ask her as I'm putting my left shoe on, that even tho I know that the leg, hips, and back are not her specialty areas {she focuses on foot/ankle}, could she tell me what I might want to do. She scoffs, "well, no, I can't. You'd need to be assessed." So I ask if she can give me a referral for that specialist. And she gets kinda confused.

"Well what is it that you want?" she asks. I hop up, with my left shoe on but not on my right, and say, "what I want is not to have to decide if I want my left foot to hurt, or my right hip to." and then I continued, "see? I feel more comfortable standing here with my left shoe on, without one on my right." Pointing first at my feet, and then spinning around and hiking my shirt up to show her my lower back and hips. She runs her thumbs down my spine and says, "see that's straight!" The triumph in her voice was amazing, til she realized that she just proved my point.

"Oh. You're wearing one shoe." She sighs, rather long suffering, and indicates the table again. And this time she says, "uhm, yes, one is longer, which do you think?" I very clearly say, "my right leg is longer than my left." And she says, rather deplorably, "yes, yes, you're right {sigh}." And muttering, she leaves the room to return with a heel~lift for my left shoe.

Now, was that so hard?

I didn't say that, I just thought it.



So now, I have lateral wedges {to correct my walking on the inside of my feet}, three~quarter length inserts {to add a little since my feet have lost some padding for shock~absorbtion}, scaphoid pad inserts {for arch~support and that helps ease some of the strain on my plantar fasci ~~ the tendon that runs along the bottom of the foot} ~~~~these are in both shoes~~ and the lift in the heel of my left shoe, along with a velcro~strapped Mueller arch support that fits over my socked left foot.

My leather Georgia Boots are getting kinda snug! I ought to get longer laces so that I have enough to actually tie my boot~tongue into place, centered over the top of my foot. And enough to tie a pretty bow on top!

progress

My Jerry has been rapidly improving, so much so that most folks who see him now don't even realize that a scant two months ago, he'd been badly injured. Just last week, the ortho~dude said that he could begin to put weight on his leg. Currently, he is using a stability~cane when in public or at work, as folks may jostle him or in case he loses his balance. While here at home, he is able to move unassisted, as there are usually few folks around~~and those of us who are here, know to be cautious around him.

He's started to take on more of the responsibilities and tasks that he usually did in the past. For some time now, he's resumed the financial end of things, writing checks for bills and posting them. He's begun to cook quite often {the pizza from scratch tonight was divine!} and mentioned that tomorrow, he plans to wash some clothes.

Today, when we left WalMart, he drove home. It's the first time he has driven since the accident ten weeks ago. He did just fine. Tomorrow, he will probably try driving the lil GMC pickemup truck we have. It handles some different from the lil Yaris. It has its own quirks, like a steering wheel that sorta floats {instead of locking into place} and the pedals handle some heavier {no feather~light touch there}. But I think within the week, he'll be driving himself to and from work and physical therapy. I'm sure he is eager to resume the rest of his routine to normal too!

Jerry is way ahead of the healing curve and has progressed quite nicely, to say the least. We've removed the hospital bed, restoring the living space. He no longer needs a chair in the shower, nor one outside in order to assist with the toweling off and grooming details.

Pretty much every thing is up to par. I am so very proud of him. He is an amazing man, and I am so glad that he is in my life.

Love you, my sweetieheart.

Abecedarian

Wow, this is a great name for a bookstore! ABeCeD~arian is a person who is learning the ABC's. At the moment, I am considered an abecedarian, as I am taking a Spanish for Adults course and while there are lots of similarities in the alphabet, there are some differences between English and Spanish's systems. Then too there're huge differences in the pronunciation of some things, while still remaining the same in other regards.

What's very interesting is that there are many educational organizations with this in their title. They are aimed primarily at improving literacy among children, with some focused on literacy in general. Abecedarian is fun to say, as well as to write. It tickles my brain.

abderian

given to incessant, idiotic, or excessive laughter

I stumbled on a page of unusual words and have been having fun with them. Some are extremely fun to say, and are exactly what you might think they mean. Like "witzelsucht" from the *last entry.

Saving...

Others are so obscure that I think, "wow, there had to have been a rash of behavior to call for its very own term." Like in the case of "abacinate", which means "to blind someone by placing a red~hot metal~plate near their eyes". Wiki even has an entry on this form of torture. Traditionally, the red~hot metal~plate was actually a heated copper basin. Not exactly the sort of thing I like to dwell on, and I have a feeling that the term is not used as much as the actual definition is.

{*witzelsucht=feeble attempt at humor}

Witzelsucht

Need I say more?

Didn't think so.

they're playing our song

I admit, some times, I feel like the older dude. I was just thinking back to when I was a child, my folks had a bright orange VW Bug and dad also had a pickemup truck...with an 8-Track player. Until I was a teen, my folks played their vinyls on a portable stereo in the living room. It wasn't til I was in my early twenties that I knew someone with a CD player, and I thought he was rich!

The other day, I mentioned to someone that I had no idea how the whole MP3 player, iPod, or whatnot worked. I think iTunes are played on iPod, and it's all done electronically and does not involve actual physical inserts anywhere along the line, unless you use your credit/debit card...but even then, you input the numbers rather than slide the plastic thru any device.

So here's the thing, I do listen to audio~books, generally on CD, from the library, while crafting and cleaning. That's about as hi~tech as my audio experiences go. One time, I did check an MP3 disc from the library, cuz my car has mp3 capability~~which I didn't realize at the time, til I went to use the MP3 disc on a plain ol' player in the house. It didn't work and I thought I damaged the disc.

{sigh}

whippersnapper hi~tech getting all jiggee wit it.

Toon~dude inspired

For Russ, who lives with a Flubber, whose recent flubs include:

You don't have to have fun to do drugs.

Some not~fun places to wait {which is a not~fun activity} while taking drugs.

I apologize for the lack of clarity here. I just whipped it up, scanned it, posted it, and then realized how fuzzy it is.

Spoonerism

My Jerry, an avid, life~long Dallas Cowboy hater, is watching the game between them and the Cincinnati Bengals tonight when he had a slight switch~up in speech {Spoonerism} and called them the "Callous Dowboys".

My brain flipped into creative mode and I pictured this young geeky stock~broker in a suit with shoulder~pads and a helmet pictured in the lil box while the newscaster says, "in other news today, the Callous Dowboys are up by twenty~five points in the ongoing game between the Bears and Bulls. Who will will dominate the financial market this week?"

Hummus!

One of My Jerry's and my favorite places to eat last year had been Sheherazad's, a local small cozy place in the Cotton District of Starkville. We'd always start our meal with the hummus platter, ringed with various veggies and pita pieces. The veggies may include tomato wedges, black olives, slivers of green bell pepper, pepperoncini, red onion, etc. Shererazad's has since changed ownership and become Desert Rose, serving similar dishes. We don't frequent them quite as much, as their hours are not entirely convenient with our schedules.

However, I'd been wanting some hummus without wanting to pay the ridiculous prices the grocery stores charge for a very small tub. So I was pretty excited when I saw some sun~dried tomato~hummus last week at the Starkville Community Market. It's good, but a bit more thick and not really the right consistency for dipping veggies and bread.

So I jumped online and found some good recipes for hummus, including a more traditional one with tahini, as well as a variation without tahini, and even one with peanut~butter for the kids that might be a bit pickier {I think I might even like that one too}. At about the same time, a friend was talking about how much she preferred spinach hummus, which I'd never tried but thought sounded good too.

I gave it a shot tonight, using my blender instead of a food~processor. I chopped some fresh spinach, added some garlic, some salt, some cumin, some olive oil, lemon/lime juice, and of course, the essential chickpeas. Then I pureed it and for a first attempt, it's tasty. I think after it has a chance to set, the tastes and textures will be even better tomorrow.

We have some excellent breads, rye and pumpernickel, and some awesomely huge ripe tomatoes, along with some cucumber and other veggies. What with My Jerry decided to make us some cinnamon rolls in the morning, our Sunday is shaping up to be lovely. Hope you are enjoying your weekend too!

King of the Hill

Alright, ya might have noticed my use of Stephen King's quote in the left side~bar, and altho I am a "constant reader", I've also been enjoying Joe Hill's stuff lately. Now, Joe Hill is King's son, and he used the pen~name, so that he wouldn't be riding on his dad's coat~tales, as it were. But anyone whose seen a picture of the two at about the same age, there is no doubt Hill's King's son. Since King has been publishing for a long time, his photo on his early and mid~career books is everywhere, it seems.

But I digress...Joe Hill's Heart~Shaped Box blew me away. It was a bit gritty and that's what made it real and relevant. So then when Horns came out, I got that. I really liked the premise, and I think that there were some really good scenes, but overall, I wasn't quite as gripped as I was with the former.

Then I read first Locke & Key graphic novel. I am not a huge fan of graphic novels in general, mostly cuz I think I probably miss the entire impact the author and artist intends. At least, I usually feel like that's the case. So when I started to take a gander at Hill's, I was very pleased that I think I got at least 90% of what they meant for us to get. And that meant that I really enjoyed it, I got a glimpse of what so many folks do with ease.

So when the second came in, I dove right in. And I'm beginning to feel that connect, that aha, that this is it! And I'm pissed now that the third book is gonna take some time to become available.

fruits of summer

*please pardon the amateur photo~attempts*

luscious fruits

plums, nectarines, and ruby~red grapefruit









fresh strawberries, cherries, and blueberries







homemade wines

my mother's {kiwi~strawberry}

{B}ill {a}nd {D}eanna {BAD} bottled some merlot and german white zinfandel

Good things are going on, down in Mississippi

bababah bababah bababaBAH

This past semester, one of the vet students that My Jerry has helped muchly over her years at MSU presented him with a custom~made CD of blues, rock, and other cool songs that focus on Mississippi, Oktibbeha {county}, and Starkville. There are a few of Memphis thrown in there too. The vet~student also made on that featured more country than rock, and gave that to Jerry's boss.

One of the songs is by JJ Grey and MoFro. It's called "Mississippi". And it makes me glad that I live here.

Off the album "Country Ghetto":

Mississippi

Well I dearly love my home but
She never looked so good to me
Blue skies and dragonflies
Muddy creek
Lord set me free
Good things are going on
there in Mississippi
She made me feel good
there in Mississippi
Folks smiling and saying hey
In my car as I'm passing by
And I can smell those barbeque grills
firing on the fourth of July
Good things are going on
there in Mississippi
She made me feel good
there in Mississippi
Good things are going on
there in Mississippi
She made me feel good
there in Mississippi
Everybody moving
everybody grooving
everybody letting it all get loose
there in Mississippi

calling it a night

Earlier I called my mother and talked with her for a bit. It's hot. Yes, indeed. Right now, it's about 9pm and the heat index here is 105. Where she is, the temperature is 105. I cannot adequately translate that into heat index...

Whilst on the phone with her, My Jerry was reading for a few minutes. Then he turned off his light, put down his book, rolled over and tucked his pillow under his knee, and in a matter of minutes was out like the proverbial light.

I am about ready to call it a night myself. I think I'll read for a few minutes before I too drop off to sleep. It's been a full day.

g'n'nite

{this was not drawn by me}

Jawing around

This morning, I completed the process and finally got my permanent cap on my #7. This is the tooth directly to the right of the front tooth. It's called the lateral incisor, I think....oh wait, google and wiki say that it's the {ahem} "the right permanent maxillary lateral incisor is known as "7"". That's dental~speak for "very noticeable when you smile/talk/or open your mouth" tooth.

I am very glad the process is finished. It looks good. My dental~folks are the best. I really like them and they have made this entire procedure easier to deal with. While I wouldn't say the process is pleasant, it was as painless as possible.

Right now tho, I feel like someone was wrenching around on my jaw. Well, actually, the lil tool they use to remove part of the implanted post's abutment and to affix the permanent abutment and cap is really a very tiny wrench. So literally, someone was wrenching around on my jaw.

Except, I don't have the two black~eyes that usually go along with that kind of jaw soreness.

exhausted

Sometime this winter, when I am literally freezing my ass off, I am going to look back and on this particular entry with fondness. Let me tell the me of then, this is not funny either! It's not comfortable. And if you haven't lost some of the fat, do so, right NOW!

Right now, at 6pm, it is 102 degrees, with a heat index of 112. I've had a headache all day. Jerry's eldest daughter sent over some muchly appreciated watermelon {ah, sooOOOooo good}. And Jerry's eldest grandchild cleaned out and refilled a huge water tub for one of our outdoor doggies. I don't know how any of them stand being outside, the dogs or the kids! Yesterday, I refilled the tub we have out there for the other outdoor dog. I'd bring them in, but neither of them fare well indoors. So we did the next best thing, lots of fresh water.

I stepped outside earlier today, and my head immediately exploded. We've been napping and resting all day, cuz really, what else would be a better activity than rest? These are the temps we have forecasted for the next several days. Enjoy it, Winter Debra.