I was wandering around the shoe department in the BX on Saturday, forcing my husband to look at cute shoes, when we heard this woman yelling at her kid 2 aisles over.  As we rounded the corner, we saw the kid in question - a little boy, maybe two or three, and we saw why she was yelling at him. He was giving her the finger.  Quite proficiently, too, wiggling his middle finger around as he flipped his mother the bird. It's my experience that little kids aren't the most ...

Publisher Penguin is celebrating it's 60th anniversary by compiling a list of what it considers to be 'must read' books: THE BEST CRAZIES One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest Ken Kesey The Diary of a Madman Nikolai Gogol Wide Sargasso Sea Jean Rhys Crime and Punishment Fyodor Dostoyevsky Notes From Underground Fyodor Dostoyevsky THE BEST SEX Story of the Eye Georges Bataille A Spy in the House of Love Anaïs Nin Lady Chatterley...

Project big bad baby blanket has been completed and is currently in my new washer being gently rocked back and forth on a delicate cycle.  Unless the washer eats it or something catastrophic happens, it will be getting mailed out tomorrow. It's been in my hands a long time, has this blanket.  It's been a lot of places with me....to St Louis on the Metro, to my doctor's office, to the pool and the park and in the truck.  It's got too many stitches in it for me to count, but I'm ...

I took Shea to the doctor yesterday because I thought she had strep throat. She does. But according to the doctor who just called with the results of her blood tests, she also has mononucleosis. I'd already disinfected the house with Lysol after her rapid strep test came back positive.  Now, however...she's not allowed to engage in any kind of contact sports or roughhouse with her brothers for 8 weeks.  Mono causes the spleen to become temporarily enlarged and therefore easier...

The article about my dad and his death can be found here: Link In case the link doesn't work, I've copied the article: Death of Dick Peverill A FORMER stonemason and well-known Bicester character has died, aged 78. Douglas Peverill, of Duxford Close, was known to Bicester Advertiser readers for his regular letters. Across the years Mr Peverill, known as Dick, fought for action on many different local issues including Bicester's community hospital, pedestrian crossings, alleyways a...

My dad was a bit of an activist in my hometown.  He was well known to the local newspaper and radio station, writing letters and calling in whenever he saw what he considered to be injustice or a waste of taxpayers money and resources.  Even being critically ill didn't slow him down; he caused quite a stir once by threatening to hold a 'sit-in' at the John Radcliffe hospital until he got the quadruple bypass heart surgery he needed (he was in the hospital waiting for the surgery and it...

I've been reading about how Lindsey Lohan got a nastygram from the makers of her latest film, telling her that unless she quits partying and shows up for work like she's supposed to, they'll take actions to make her pay for all the additional production costs they're incurring because she's too 'sick' (read: hungover) to work.  As far as I know, US law requires a person to be 21 years of age to consume and/or purchase alcoholic beverages.  The last time I checked, Miss Lohan wasn't ...

Yet another installment in the saga of our laundry equipment. Our washer broke back at the end of June.  We decided that rather than go buy a brand new one, we'd wait and buy a reconditioned one to make do with for the time being.  We thought we were getting a good deal; $150 got us a large Hotpoint top loader and removal of our old washer. 4 days after we got it, it devolped a leak.  We called the place we bought it from, and they tried for 3 days to get someone out to look...

My dad's been gone a week today. A lot's happened.... I feel much different this week than I did last week.  Sunday, Monday and Tuesday last week are somewhat of a blur still.  All I can remember doing is crying, sometimes uncontrollably.  I would go and sit on the floor by the side of my bed and just sob until I didn't have any tears left.  At first, I was crying selfish tears - selfish because I wanted him back.  I just wanted my dad, I wanted him to not be...

Me: I'd like to put up a border in here.  That'd look nice... Dave: I'd like a million dollars Davey:  I'd like the dog to get potty trained and not pee on the floor so's I wouldn't have to clean it up.  I'm just spitballin' here, but i think.... Me: you're what? Davey: Spitballin'. Dave: what's spitballin?  Davey: you know, where you sit around and come up with ideas... Dave: you mean 'brainstorming'.... Me: Hehehehe...I HAVE to blog that.... &nbs...

I've spent a while crying this morning and wishing that I could talk to my dad just one last time.  I don't know exactly what I'd say to him, but I do know that I'd tell him I love him. I have a request for all of you who read this and have dads: call him, and tell him that you love him.  Appreciate the time that you have with him; appreciate being able to hear his voice.  Tell him about my request if you like, and if you don't like I don't mind.  Just talking to him is en...

*i managed to find the strength to do it, Miah, but thanks for offering anyway* My dad passed away at 0230 GMT this morning.  He had had another heart attack on Thursday and had to be admitted.  He went into cardiac arrest Saturday morning and had to be revived, but had another arrest shortly after 1 am and desipte the best efforts of the physicians, he died. My mother was there with him and she said that he looked very peaceful.  My brother was in New York so was tasked to ...

When one of my patients passes away, I make a point of reading their obituary in the paper.  I don't exactly know why I do it, but if I were pressed for an explanation of it, I guess I'd say that it gives me a sense of closure.  Because I was ill last week I didn't get to see the obit of the patient I sat with Friday before last.  However, I was able to find it online this morning. His family thanked me.  ME.  For the 'loving kindness' I showed their relative. T...

Yesterday I went to the dentist to get a broken tooth yanked out and a my new partial fitted. As usual, the extraction didn't got exactly as planned.  First, what was left of the tooth broke off, so the dentist had to cut my gum to get at the root.  Even then the little bugger didn't want to come out so he had to break out the drill and remove the bone that was holding the root in.....and it STILL wouldn't come out, so he had to use an instrument called an 'elevator' and try to leve...