Finished Afghan and Big Weekend

Last Friday night DH & I attended his "graduation" from cardiac rehab.  It was so encouraging to see all the healthy faces in the room - all who had undergone some kind of cardiac problem last year, gone through cardiac rehab and now were thriving and celebrating.  We had a great dinner and visited with the wonderful cardiac rehab nurses and doctors.

Late that evening Jon, Janet and the granddaughters drove in.  I had worked hard all week trying to finish B's afghan, but ended up weaving in the ends Saturday morning.  I had planned to then wash it and steam the ends if necessary, but she didn't want me to do anything, she wanted it right then.   She slept with it that night, so I guess it was a success.

 

 

Saturday night we had an early birthday party for B.  She will be 13 on the 22^nd but this was the weekend they could come in so we celebrated a little early. All of our family plus daughter-in-law's family came for pizza and cake.

My friend Linda made this beautiful cake – you can tell we are cat people!

N got birthday presents too – her birthday was Dec. 22^nd and we had a family dinner that night, but the extended family celebrated this weekend.  She didn’t care – she just loved opening presents!

B and her new Aeropostle hoodie.

N modeling her new dress.

And her pretty hair!

 

  

B examining the afghan!

Sisters being silly!

Sunday afternoon they left to go home and a couple of hours later we got a call that their van broke down out in the middle of nowhere!  DH was happily watching the Daytona race and I was just resting my eyes on the sofa. Heh 

We jumped up and headed out to get them home.  By the time we got to them they had been sitting in the van for 2 hours so you can imagine that the 3 year old had just about had enough of the car.  We had another 2 hours to their house, and by the time we got there she was more than ready – and so were we!    They had just had a lot of work done on their van this past week so were hoping the dealership where the work was done would be responsible.  We heard from them Monday morning and they are going to split the cost of the tow truck and then will see what the problem is.  At least they are getting it home.

DH and I had another 4 hour drive back home after we dropped them off so on the way home I made a decision that I would be no good at work today and called in and left voice mail messages that I would take a vacation day.  That way I didn’t have to get up early to call in and I definitely didn’t.  I slept till 10:30!

We had a fun birthday party, a good visit, and even a little chocolate was eaten for Valentine's Day, and everyone got home safe, but car trouble is not fun!

Happy Valentine's Day

I just noticed that I haven't posted in almost 2 weeks. Since that time I think we have had two more snows, along with rain, and terrible wind on Tuesday and Wednesday of this week.  We had a little shopping to do on Wednesday night and it was miserable!  Everyone here is so tired of bad weather - but I'm not sure it is over - more snow is predicted for the next few days, but hopefuly it will be light.

Tonight we have a dinner at the hospital for husband's "graduation" from cardiac rehab.  After his heart surgery he went to rehab for about 9 weeks.  He just loved the nurses in rehab and look forward to seeing them again tonight. 

By the time we get home our son, daughter-in-law and granddaughters will be at our house.  Tomorrow we are having a birthday party for N's 13th birthday.  Can't believe it has been 13 years - seems like yesterday.  I'll be so glad to see all of them.  After a few weeks my heart starts to hurt!  I know that sounds silly, but grandma's (and granddaddy's) will understand! 

I have been knitting my fingers off trying to finish N's afghan so I can give it to her while she is here.  I've let everything else go hoping to finish it and just have a few rows left, but weaving in the ends.  Wish me luck.

I will try to get pictures this weekend of the afghan and my girls!

Catch Up Day

Very random post - just catching up. The last few weeks have been busy and somehow (can't be age!) I don't recover as quickly. I refuse to give in to it though - age isn't going to get me!

Is this not a pretty sight? Our own homegrown tomatoes and they are sooo good. We don't have a lot yet so we treat them like gold!


4th of July weekend we stopped by an old cemetery that dates back to before the Civil War. There are several of these graves - mauseleum type crypts above the ground similar to those in lowland areas. One of them is the burial place of a young girl who attended a girl's school here. It is reported that she died of fright after another student played a trick on her!

Granddaughters exploring. Of course the most interesting thing to them was a dog lying on the rock fence at the back of the property!

I had never seen anything like this before. These are on the graves of twin baby girls of a prominent old family. So interesting, but so very sad.

Many of the family plots were surrounded by these pretty iron fences.

N napped through our late lunch, so she got to eat and watch TV alone (not really alone, she brought her stuffed dog and cat with her).

Today I cleaned, shopped, cooked and now am generally pooped! Think I am going to knit and watch a movie! Have a good weekend!

Judge Not

Tonight after knitting group and picking up B at VBS I caught the last half hour of the much talked about J*on & Kate Plus 8. Unless you have been living under a rock, you know that this family of 10 has been the focus of all the tabloids and gossips for the last couple of months. Their marriage has seemed to be in trouble and today it was announced they were separating. They talked about it on tonight's episode.

I have read so many judgmental statements about this couple such as, they brought this on themselves, they deserved this for bringing the media into their homes, they only wanted fame and fortune and didn't care about their kids, etc. It has amazed me how personally everyone took this and seemed almost gleeful that they were in trouble and their marriage was failing.

As I watched those beautiful children tonight and saw how the parents seemed to be struggling with this decision I was so saddened. I don't want to see any family broken up, but people, it happens. It happens to good Christian people who aren't on TV or have 8 kids. It happens to people we all know who started out with the best of intentions to have a strong marriage and then can't seem to make it work. It is so easy to attach blame - she was bossy and domineering, he ran around, she ran around, etc., but in the end none of us know what happened, and none of us should judge. It is just very sad.

Wild Cherry Red

My 16-year old washer and dryer were on their last legs. The washer took two tries to spin out the water, the dryer squeaked and half-dried everything, so we've been looking for new ones. We checked Consumer R*ports, user reviews, asked everyone we knew, shopped at every appliance store in town and online and a week ago we saw this pair on sale. I wasn't going to pay the extra money for the color - but don't you like it? I wasn't going to get steam, even though it sounded great, again - the money. But, this was a great sale and we got the upgrades for the same price as the others, so wa la.......beautiful new washer & dryer. I haven't figured out all the bells and whistles yet, but I think it might cook dinner!

Our own Idol

I work in the administrative offices of a nursing home. I know - some of you just cringed. I used to feel that way. I answered a blind ad 15 years ago or I wouldn't have this job now. I never thought I would or could work in a long-term nursing facility. I've learned a lot over the years though - there are a lot worse places and this can be a fun place.

We have a great activities department and this week was "American I*dol" week. Monday thru Thursday the residents on each unit competed and today was the grand finale. The residents, families and staff really got into the decorating, costumes, performances and had a great time.

I wish I could show pictures or videos of the residents doing their thing. We had an 88 year old lady dressed as Willie Nelson, with a guitar made from a toilet seat and toilet paper and she was wonderful. She told jokes and lip synced with the best of them. We had a cowgirl with the complete outfit, lots of singers, doing the twist from wheelchairs, and a heartfelt "Amazing Grace".

We were not without celebrities - Paula, Simon, and Randy joined us as judges.

Here's Paula - just before the performance (Jill - Director of Social Services). Jill is a natural actress and she had Paula down to a T. She squealed, danced, cried, and gave dramatic feedback to each contestant.




Here are Randy, Paula and Simon between performances. Notice they even had Cokes.
They each had obviously been good students of AI - they had the mannerisms and sayings down pat. Randy & Simon in their day jobs work in physical/occupational therapy.

Nursing homes get a bad rap - maybe some is deserved, but we keep our people busy. I've seen lots of people be admitted from their homes in such sad condition and they just come alive when they have good food, lots of company, many musical programs, bingo, parties, movie night, and something to look forward to again.

The Bachelor

I don't always watch this show, don't approve of this show, don't like the way it is done, but - I got sucked in! I watched part of last season's when Jason got his heart broken by Deanna. I liked him, felt sorry for him, and fell for all the hype of this season's show. I didn't watch every episode, but enough to keep up with what was going on. I don't like Jason anymore!

If you don't watch, he supposedly fell in love with two girls, told them both he loved them, led them both to think they had a future, then chose Melissa over Molly, breaking Molly's heart. Most of that is normal for the program.

Then, however, after six weeks he changed his mind, humiliated Melissa on national TV by telling her there was now no chemistry, and then told Molly he had made a mistake and wanted her back. I was so hoping Molly would tell him to go jump in a lake! She didn't - idiot! She told him she had never stopped having feelings for him and gave him another chance. Watch out Molly, he doesn't have a good track record of knowing what he wants.

I heard the producers engineered this ending to improve their ratings. If so, shame on them. Shame on them for making love and marriage such a farce. Shame on me for watching!

March

seems to be coming in like a lion. We are now having rain/sleet and it is supposed to turn to snow later tonight.




I always doubt their snow predictions, because we just don't have snow anymore in this area. It is predicted, then it fizzles out. All winter we have not had more than an inch and then it was gone in the blink of an eye. If we do get snow on top of this ice though it will be a tough Monday morning for everyone trying to get to work. Why couldn't it have happened Saturday night/Sunday morning? Kids are probably happier this way though.

It has been a cold, wet weekend already. I took advantage and stayed in yesterday and tried to get some housekeeping chores done that have been neglected.

Knitting.....well, I tried but should have left it alone. I have made mistake after mistake on a simple scarf and have tinked more than knit. I'm going to try again this afternoon, but may have to go back and work on a sock until this mistake-mojo leaves.

Facebook....I joined a few months ago, searched for fomer high school classmates, didn't find any and forgot about it. A couple of weeks ago I was contacted by one classmate and it has really grown since then. So fun connecting with everyone again.

Knitting, blogs, Ravelry, now Facebook - no wonder I have no time for housework!

Just a Little Late

We had a little party at Monday night knitting for Michelle, who has taken a great job in Austin, Texas and is leaving us. She is excited about this new adventure, but we are so sad to see her go. Her mom, Mary Jane, will really miss her. We may all have to make a group trip to Texas!

Robin got online and found a neat yarn shop in Austin and we surprised her with a gift certificate. We thought that would give her a good excuse to go in, meet people, maybe join a group or take a class.

Timmie wove her a shawl.......

I made brownies, Kelly brought her yellow tulips and Laura let her choose some of her yarn. We had a good group and a great time.

I meant to post this earlier in the week, but work has been VERY stressful this week. On top of that, DH's workplace is going through a major upheaval with a big layoff and buy-out in the near future, so we have had lots to discuss/worry/vent/go crazy about this week and I didn't ever seem to get to blogging.

On a brighter note - like my new purse? V*ra Bradley is very popular here, but one night on "What Not To Wear", they tore someone apart for using a VB purse (they didn't say brand name, but I recognized pattern), so I realize not everyone likes them. This is a new style, Lisa B, which I love. It is the perfect size, perfect strap length for me and has ONE strap. Two straps bug me to death. One is constantly falling off my shoulder! This pattern is Yellow Bird. I like all the new patterns, but decided on this one.

Below is a close up of the change purse, which is a perfect size for my camera. Elizabeth from work uses her change purse for her camera and passed that little tidbit on to me. I'm so happy she did as it is perfect. It is quilted which offers a cushion to protect my view screen, but doesn't take up nearly as much room in the purse as a regular camera case, so it works great.

And finally, this is the cowl that was drying when last seen. It turned out so soft and drapey. Very simple and plain-looking, but when on it squishes up nicely.

Have a great week!

Thankful for Healthy Children

This weekend my grandchildren visited and we had an early birthday for the 11 (almost 12) year old. She is getting so grown up! No toys this birthday. She really didn't ask for anything this year so I had to do a little guessing. We went with clothes, cds, movies, and jewelry. She loved everything.

The 2 year old is such a little stinker! So full of life and fun and so busy! She has scoliosis and it has gotten worse in the past few months so she has been measured for a brace. It is going to be so hard (on her and her mom & dad). Two is such a hard age for something like this. A year ago she would have just accepted it, and a year from now she might understand it more, but a two year old is just getting a little independence and wanting to have a little control. N is very into "mine" and "no" and we need everyone's prayers that this brace will not be too uncomfortable and she will adapt easily and most of all that it will help to straighten that sweet little back.

As bad as this is to our family, in the scheme of things we know we are lucky that it is not life threatening and that we have 2 healthy grandchildren. Lately, I have run across 3 different family blogs that are so heart-wrenching. Harper is a beautiful baby girl born just a few weeks ago with lots of problems, but she is now doing great and able to leave the hospital and be at home with her family. They are very blessed. A few weeks ago I posted about Abby, a sweet little 4 year old going through a terrible ordeal. She is back in the hospital and in a great deal of pain, so keep her and her family in your prayers. Tonight I read about this family and the unbelievable heartbreak they are suffering right now. Pray for them also. Little children shouldn't have to suffer. Hug your children or grandchildren and be thankful.

Random Sunday Night Thoughts

I'm watching the Super Bowl - kind of. I look up now and then and try to catch all of the commercials so I will know what everyone is talking about tomorrow. As you can see I'm not a big football fan, but I try.

An update on my Kentucky family. I've talked to one aunt, one cousin, and got an email from another and they are all okay. They have really been through an ordeal though and it isn't over yet. A few people have power, but not all. Phone service is beginning to come back on in some areas. If I understood my cousin correctly, not one person in the whole county had power in the beginning. He said they had two different storms come through, and his front yard had 6-8 inches of sleet, snow and ice. It did all three at various times. Now they start the clean-up. I'm just glad everyone is safe.

Amy & I went to see Slumdog Millionaire this afternoon. I had never heard of it till the award ceremonies, but it was nominated for so many awards I was curious, and Amy had read really good reviews. It is so different than most movies - not predictable at all, hard to watch in places, but not at all boring. The boys and young men who play the main parts are excellent. Very good movie.

After the movie we stopped at Tuesday Morning and I found this yarn - Merino Wool and Cashmere for $2.99 a skein! It looks orange in the picture, but is actually rust. I've started a cowl.

Because Amy lived with us for awhile after she sold her house, and because her adoption paperwork had to be renewed during that time, DH & I had to get or fingerprints taken for a background check. I had gone with her to the Charlotte immigration office where she got her first biometrics (that's their word for them), so I knew the drill. They had a terrible time getting good prints from her and she sweated it for awhile, but they were accepted. This summer when we started, we first had to go to the local police station where they still do the old fashioned ink blotter prints. DH's were fine, but mine were returned and I had to have them repeated. Last week we had our appointment at the regional immigration office (a new office in Durham, NC). These are taken on a computer and the technicians had trouble getting good prints from either Amy or me. They tried over and over and even had the supervisor come and take new ones. Yesterday, I got a letter that mine were not readable! Amy's made it through apparently. I now have another appointment in about 3 weeks. I'm now using Corn Husker's lotion constantly, which is supposed to plump up the prints. If fingerprint recognition becomes common, I will be up a creek - however I guess a life of crime might be possible!

Idiots at W*lm*rt

Somehow I have escaped going to W*lm*rt for about a month - I haven't kept a journal or anthing, but I don't think I've been since at least a couple of weeks before Christmas. It is not my favorite place in the world to shop. Not because I don't like the store, but the other shoppers drive me crazy. They stop in the aisles with their shopping carts at right angles, talking about who has died, divorced, sleeping around, etc. totally blocking my path. I am not a leisurely shopper at WM, I am on a mission, so people blocking my path do not make me happy.

However, there are times you just have to bite the bullet and go because as much as I prefer T*rget, they don't have all the things I sometimes need. I was out of many necessities, so I braved it after work tonight. It was surprisingly not bad. No blocking of the aisles, no parking carts on one side of the much too narrow food aisles and then standing on the other side, and there was actually more than one check-out lane open.

However, the idiots were still there - it was too much to ask that I totally escape them. In the magazine aisle I encountered a father and daughter (I think - I hope she wasn't his girlfriend!) Keep in mind the temperature was in the 30's. She had on boots - short coat, scarf, and hot pants (or whatever they are now called). Shorts up to her butt cheeks, even shorter than you see in the summer. What father would take his daughter shopping with those on?

Then, over in the food aisles an athletic man whirls his cart around the corner almost colliding with me and he also has on running shorts! I respect his right to be fit and exercise however he sees fit, but don't you think you would keep a pair of jogging pants in your car to put on after running and before shopping in frigid weather?

Not a Good Sign

Last night was the coldest night here in 4 years. I'm not sure how low the temperatures dropped, but it was 3 deg. when we got up this morning. Last night was also the only night in....well, ever, that our garage door was left up! Wouldn't you just know! We always keep our garage door closed, we try to be very careful about it, and last night DH and I both thought we remembered it closing, but apparently we were wrong.

This morning first thing, I stripped our bed to wash the sheets, pulled the knob on the washer and nothing, nada, no water. Water was frozen. We then tried the kitchen sink, which had cold water, but no hot water. All other water sources were okay. We have lived here 15 years and never had water pipes to freeze before, so DH went down into the basement to check and that's when he found the garage door up. It scares me to even think what else could have happened, since that leaves our house totally open. It also explained why the pipes were frozen since the garage is in the basement just below the laundry room. Since these pipes are up in a finished ceiling, we decided to just wait and hope that after the sun came out and it warmed up, with the door closed they would eventually thaw and we would have water.

Dh had to go into work at 1 pm. About 3 pm I turned on water in a bathroom, which had previously had water ,and now there was no water there. That was odd, since it had gotten warmer during the day. I went to check, opened the basement door and saw a lake! Apparently, the pipe might have thawed a little, then the pressure of the ice and water burst the pipe. Water was pouring through the garage ceiling and coming through the door into the unfinished side of our basement. It was probably at least an inch deep and rising. Thankfully, I knew where the water turnoff valve was and turned it off, then spent the next 2 1/2 hours sweeping and vacuuming water out of the basement and garage. Dh helped me finish when he got home. He made some calls, but nobody has been able to come yet, so we are without water.

After getting the water under control, (we still have lots to dry out, but no standing water), I decided to run to the grocery store to get some bottled water. I had pulled the van out of the garage while sweeping the water out, so I went be-bopping out to the van and my legs flew out from under me. I landed on my bottom and my right elbow and it hurt like the devil! I have a skinned elbow, but the worst part is my upper right arm and shoulder. I guess I jarred it or something. I'm sure I'll be sore tomorrow. I was so mad at myself for not thinking that the wet-looking driveway had turned to solid ice!

I made it to the grocery, got water (they were almost out - said they had lots of customers with frozen pipes) and some ice-melt for the driveway.

I am so thankful that we have heat and electricity, but it it so hard without water - I have turned on the faucet several times tonight without thinking. I've already filled the dishwasher and am going to have to heat water for dishes. If no water tomorrow we will go to Amy's for showers, but DH is very worried about the bathroom! LOL We do have a little creek on our property down the hill through the woods, and I've told him we may have to carry buckets of water so we can flush! He didn't like my suggestion. We are very spoiled!

Thankful Thursday

Most of us have a lot to be thankful for everyday. Like most everyone else, I usually don't stop often enough to take stock of all my blessings and be thankful enough.

October is breast cancer month. It reminds me to be thankful for my health, thankful that I had wonderful doctors and nurses and was able to receive the best treatments to help me live a long, long time. I'm thankful for my local friends Bonnie & Evelyn who went through the same junk as I did - losing our hair, laughing at crooked wigs, getting through crappy chemo and radiation. I'm thankful for my online friends who also went through all of these crappy things but came out healthy too. They all helped me get through it.

We lost two of our online friends along the way, Karen & Frances, who both died much too soon. I'm so thankful I was able to know them.

30-something years ago today I gave birth! Moms never forget that day. I'm thankful for a wonderful daughter and so glad she now lives near us and not 600 miles away as she did for 10 years. I've quit holding a grudge for going 2 weeks past my due date and the 30 hours of labor!

Tonight we had a great birthday dinner at a Japanese restaurant and met a couple here from Illinois to work at the VIR racetrack this weekend. We found out the husband had once lived about 45 miles from our hometown in Kentucky and we all agreed the Moonlite BBQ restaurant in Owensboro has the best BBQ we've ever eaten! I'm thankful for "small world connections" no matter where you are.

It's been very sad this week at the nursing facility where I work. A wonderful nurse died suddenly leaving us all in shock. It seems impossible that she was working last week and this week is gone. Life is precious and you never know what tomorrow will bring, so be thankful!

Autumn Potpourri

Pyracantha is taking over the side of my house, but I love these berries! Another beautiful sign of fall.
















I love the Sedum too. Not quite as flashy, but beautiful in its own way.

















Yesterday we went to the annual Autumn Potpourri, held by our county Historical Society. They have restored the old courthouse and clerk's office, which used to be located here out in the country. Years ago they moved the courthouse to the town of Chatham, but we are lucky that this area was saved. It's a beautiful place and this is a well-attended annual event. Members of the historical society are dressed in period costumes and love to tell the history of these old buildings. There are crafts, (I saw some knitting) cider making, blacksmiths, musket shooting, apple butter making, molasses, home made brooms, and of course lots of food.



This is the old Clerk's office - tiny inside, but served the purpose in its time.



















Bands were playing.....







Crafts were plentiful..........
















Muskets were demonstrated........















And food was very popular as you can see........

Can you see the mountains in the background of this picture? (Click on pictures to see better)Some years it is cold and rainy, but yesterday was a blue-sky day.

Where has summer gone?

Even though I don't have any little ones at home anymore, it's hard not to realize that school is starting. School supplies rule in the stores and advertisements, all my coworkers with kids are in the midst of all the preparations, and my granddaughter is anxiously awaiting the start of middle school. She still has a couple of weeks before she starts, but lots of kids start back this week.

It seems like summer just started. We took a short vacation in May and the weather was great, and there weren't lots of crowds, but since wee've worked all summer it seems to have just disappeared. I actually missed the heat and crowds of Disneyworld or the beach - and especially taking our granddaughter with us. Next year she has already put in a request to go on a vacation with us - and she wants to go to Chicago to the American Girl store. We'll see.

I wish I had taken my camera tonight to our knitting group. Lots of gorgeous projects! I'm going to put it in my purse for next time. We had a big group tonight too.

Nurse Gloria

Can you tell these flowers have grown in the last month or so? I love wave petunias except for all the deadheadding! These are in full sun almost all day on my back deck so they drink lots of water too.

We have a new volunteer at the nursing facility where I work and she rescues greyhounds. This is Nurse Gloria our new pet therapy dog. She is adorable! A sweet, calm dog! Her owner dressed her up today and the residents loved her!

I am still knitting on my sweater. As you can see below the back is finished and the front about half-way. I'm using Cascade Pima Tencel and it is great to work with - very soft.

These are my first pair of socks using the Magic Loop method and so far I love it! It goes quickly, eliminates keeping up with the 4 double pointed needles, and helps eliminate ladders. I had a little trouble getting started, but it didn't take long to get my rhythm. I also love this yarn, Jojoland Melody. I don't know if you can tell, but the color goes from purple to green. The pattern is Lacy Mock Cable Socks.

I always forget to take my camera to Ktog on Monday nights, but Robin is our official photographer. Check out our great group here.

Farmer's Market

Saturday morning I headed out early to the Community Market, hoping for tomatoes most of all, but also any fresh vegetqables. Although this was my first trip this year, I've gone lots of times before and never saw a crowd to match the one Saturday. It was crazy! It was almost impossible to get to a booth and one booth had a line just to get up close. I did manage to get tomatoes, squash, cucumbers, and best of all fresh corn - is there anything better? That night we had turkey breast and all these veggies, plus wheat rolls and it was sooo good!

Next year I'm going to have a garden, even if it is just a small one. When we lived in Kentucky we had a small garden and it was great. When we moved to Virginia and bought this house we tried tomatoes several times, but never had much luck. There is very little topsoil here and mostly clay soil. The flower beds which we've amended do pretty well, but it takes lots of additives! Next year I'm determined we are going to try again.

I forgot my camera Saturday morning and took pictures with my camera phone, but don't have any idea how to get them off! Going to look for help.

Happy Canada Day, etc., etc.

I was reading Yarn Harlot today and realized this is Canada Day, similar to our July 4th. Through the power of the internet I feel I've met many people from Canada and come to know a little about their beautiful country and find myself wanting to know and see more. Such nice people, such beautiful scenery, such a varied country. I want to go! Happy Birthday Canada.

My daughter Amy has a beautiful new blog design. Check it out.

While my granddaughter is visiting, Amy let her borrow her back-up laptop so that she can play her games, access Webkinz, and Be-Bratz, and all her websites. Last night we were both on our laptops and watching a Disney movie at the same time. I noticed B was very intent on something. In a little while she had a presentation for me and she had created a power point presentation! It was wonderful. I had no idea she knew how to do it. It was all about pets, and she had a screen about cute pets, then ugly pets, then cats, then dogs. It had a title page and an ending page and even applause and moving fonts. I was so impressed. We sure didn't learn that in 5th grade! A few nights ago we had watched a program on the Animal Channel about ugly pets and there were some that even a mother would have a hard time loving. B found similar pictures for her presentation.

What a beautiful day today. July 1 and in the 70's! We will take this and enjoy it while we can. It will probably be 100 in a few more days.

Do you hide your underwear?

Today was the dreaded, yearly gyn checkup. Why do we hate it so much? Why wouldn't we? Oh, the indignities!

The hated scale! The main reason I dread this visit all year, and I'm convinced the single factor that keeps most women from seeing their doctor. If doctors could skip the scale and just take our word for what we weigh, many women would see their doctors, avoid serious illness, and many lives could be saved!

The rest of the preliminaries don't bother me much - I can pee in a cup okay, I don't mind having my finger pricked, and now that my blood pressure is under control I actually enjoy having my blood pressure taken. I can be proud of something!

Next - the dreaded exam room. Undress, fold your clothes, put on paper gown and try to not rip it yet, hop up on the table and psych yourself up for the next step. Don't get me wrong, I have a wonderful, smart, kind doctor who I really like, and he is as gentle as possible, but the exam itself is just the most awkward, weird thing a women must endure. I won't go into gory details, but you know the routine.

While I was getting dressed, I noticed that I had carefully folded my bra and panties and tucked them under my clothes. Heaven forbid that a doctor and nurse who had just seen my boobs and bottom should see my underwear!