Project biggest baddest baby blanket is almost complete! I finished the knitting part of it last week, and yesterday I pinned and stitched the knitted part to the fabric backing.  It about made me cry with frustration - the knitted front part is stretchy and the fabric  back part isn't, so trying to pin them together without stretching the front out of shape and creating puckers in the back was a bit of a headache.  But, I did it.  I also got three of the four sides s...

I don't usually post email forwards, but this one was interesting to me so I've decided to share it.  I haven't gone and fact-checked yet, so all you history buffs should cut me a little slack, ok?     Abraham Lincoln was elected to Congress in 1846. John F. Kennedy was elected to Congress in 1946.     Abraham Lincoln was elected President in 1860. John F. Kennedy was elected President in 1960.     Both...

One of the guys in Dave's unit died this week. He was riding his motorcycle without a helmet. He pulled a wheelie at an intersection and ran into some kid who was crossing the street.  The kid was treated and released from the hospital later than evening.  Our guy was pronounced brain-dead shortly thereafter. I dealt with his death the way I deal with most deaths - I went and thought about it for a while.  I thought about it for a long while, actually.  I didn't com...

I'm giving in. I'm asking for help.  I don't usually ask for help with many things, I'm pretty independent and like to do things on my own....but this Excel homework is driving my insane. I need some help with the formulas and functions that Excel uses. I have a graded project that I have to turn in, and despite having read the textbook cover to cover I can't find the formulas that I need to complete the project.  Can anyone help me?  If you think that you can, could yo...

I'm taking a medical trascription class online.  When I get done I'll be certified through the Medical Transcriptionist's of America organization, and I'll also have some more college credits to my name. The first few lessons were easy, with multiple choice answers on the exams.  I scored high on them; the lowest I ever got was 88%. The next lessons were harder, requiring written answers in the form of essays.  I figured that if I scored higher than an 85%, I'd be happy. ...

Yes, this is going to be a very boring blog about domesticity and appliances.  If you don't like this sort of thing, feck off now.   Last Friday I put a load of clothes into the washer, set the cycles, and walked away.  an hour later I went back, expecting to find my laundered clothes spun and ready to be dried.  Not so.  The tub was full of water and it wouldn't drain. I knew what had happened because it had happened before.  There are gears and cogs u...

I've never liked Air Force pilots much. I've always thought that they were a bunch of egotistical bastards who were too full of themselves for my liking, and are/were incredibly clique-y. I still think they're egotistical, but I understand the clique-y-ness now.  My husband and family have gorwn tired of my trying to explain to them the feeling of incredible lightness that occurs as you pull back on the controls and are airborne.  We were driving around the pe...

Karma tagged me, so now it's my turn to write 5 embarrasing things about my childhood.  Hmm....let me see. 1) I used to sing in the church choir, and we wore traditional robes, ruffled collars and hats.  I was short back then - heck, I'm still short now - so the robes were a wee but too long for me.  Mum tried to hem them up, but because they were so old she was scared that she'd damage the fabric, so she tacked them a little and told me I'd have to make do and be careful. ...

My birthday is the friday after next, and Dave's been asking me what I want.  I haven't been able to come up with anything; my desires have decreased as I get older and I haven't been able to come up with anything that I REALLY want. Until today. We live on an Air Force base that has a private Aero Club for people who have little Cessnas and prop jobs to tool around in.  The Aero Club has just started offering a one hour inital training flight for $60, where you get to sit in the...

I am human.  I have human emotions, feelings...I am not controlled by them, but nonethless my words and actions are affected by them. I am not immune to hostility and anger.  When you cut me, I bleed - and today, your words and your actions cut me.  I'm not going to overexaggerate and say that you cut me to the bone, but you cut me you did, and I bled and shed tears.  I don't need many people very often; I've become adept at managing on my own...but toda...

I'm on the other side of the hospice equation now.  I'm a family member. My dad's dying.  He's been dying for years, but in the past few months I've seen a more rapid deterioration.  He's not eating well.  He's sleeping more than he used to.  He's confused and disoriented.  He's had another small stroke. I don't know how much time he has left.  I don't know if I'm going to be able to go home when it happens....I don't even know if he'd want me to come hom...

This morning I went to the funeral of the patient I sat vigilance for 3 days with last week.  She had a beautiful casket and beautiful flowers and was wearing a beautiful outfit in her favorite color, but..... ...she smelled.  As I stood by the casket I could smell the distinctive chemical smell of formaldehyde.  I touched her cold, hard, waxy hand and was instantly aware of how different it felt, how it was un-natural and cold compared to the warm, living hand I held last week...

My daughter has just gone through her closets and sorted out clothing that's either too small for her or that she simply doesn't wear.  There are jeans, pants, t-shirts, long sleeve t-shirts, sweaters and even a couple of tank tops with name brands like Lucky and Ltd Too. Can any JU-ers use them?  The pants are sizes 1, 2, and a very small 4 (they translate to a girl's 14 or 16), and all the shirts are either a sz medium or small.  I'd be more than happy to box them up and ship...