Farting Poodles & Other Things

Yep, farting poodles. It's actually a cover for an air freshener can. Kitchy project, but fun. I've named him Piedmont le Pew. For those that can't stand it and must have a farting poodle of their very own, you can find the pattern here at Tacky Living. It's reminiscent of those poodle liquor bottle covers that graced most homes in the 60s. Admit it. Your house had one. I remember that my mom made poodle liquor bottle covers for virtually everyone she knew and they displayed them proudly as the children shrunk in mortification! Now that us childrens have grown up, the farting poodle brings back fond memories, doesn't it? :D

On the hubby front, we have two appointments today. One with a neurologist and the other with the chemotherapist. Today is the day we hold our breath as we get the results from all of the tests and the game plan for his treatment. Fingers crossed everyone! And thanks to those that have sent me their best wishes and to just let me know they're thinking of us.

It's Not Fair

It's not fair. This is a saying that I've never had much use for. To me, it smacks of nothing more than a victim statement that is usually delivered in a whiny tone to set the hairs on the back of your neck straight up. It's typically used in minor circumstances far too often to have any real meaning. Children use it when they don't get a cookie. Teenagers use it when they can't go off and do something all of their friends are doing. Adults use it when their being childish and selfish.

But I'm using it today. It's not fair.

My husband has been diagnosed with stage 2C Melanoma. This means the cancer is running amok through his body. It came to light when one of his moles got real dark and started to grow bigger. After my nagging him for a month, he finally made an appointment with the doctor. He now has a giant hole in his back where the mole used to be. During his follow-up exam, they found a lump under his arm and at his groin. More biopsies were done and we're waiting on those results. In addition, he has had some blurriness in his right eye that they believe is related. In the meantime, we have to schedule an appointment for a PET and CAT scan so they can confirm their diagnosis. Then the chemotherapy will begin. They claim at this stage that they can kill the cancer, but it is very likely it will be back within 5 years.

It's not fair. And I'm being real whiny, childish and selfish about it. We've had our ups and downs as a couple - like any couple has - but we are supposed to grow old and crabby together. At the very least retire together. The prospect of that happening now seems quite grim. For now anyway.

And that's the latest news from the Thornton household. Until this new adventure gets completely underway, it's life as normal with the exception of tip-toeing around the subject with each other. We're both very private people by nature and tend to keep things to ourselves, so this will be a real test for both of us. I actually thought long and hard about blogging about this, but I've got friends who read to check on things that way, so here it is.

Now as out of sorts as this may sound, I've gotta run and pick up dog bones before Paco and Mo kill me with their big sad eyes. I don't know what they put in those Nutri-Bones, but they're both quite addicted to them. And since they're both little beams of light within this big dark cloud, I best git to gittin'. More later.

Peter Jackson on The Hobbit Movie Progress

The Hobbit (2011) at IGN.com

Wood Floor Warning

Do not walk on a wood floor with wet feet. This should have been a warning label on the product when we bought it. For stupid people like me.

So there I was this morning, enjoying my shower and wishing I could stay in there for at least another 10 minutes. Alas, I am a wage slave. So I begrudgingly turn off the water and open the shower door. Dang. I meant to grab a towel before I got in. Such as it is when you have my brain and have not fed it the proper levels of caffeine. No worries, I keep a few in the cabinet under the sink. Dang. Empty. Sigh. Guess I have to walk out to the hallway and get one from the linen closet.

I walk gingerly on the bath rugs to absorb some of the water that is dripping from my body. Then I step into the bedroom. No throw rugs in my path. I make it about 5 steps and...

WHAMMO!

Down like a ton of bricks. And because my entire body is wet, there is a fun 'slip and slide' effect. As I lay on the floor on my back half in the bedroom and half in the hallway - nekkid and stunned - as it happened in a twinkling of an eye, I stare up at the ceiling and squeak out an 'ow'. My husband is still asleep in bed, but Paco and Mo are awake. They start jumping around on the bed and finally the half-deaf husband wakes up. I'm still muttering 'ow' and he says 'what's that noise?' I say, 'down here'. 'What are you doing down there?' 'Oh, I don't know. I thought I'd inspect the ceiling to see if it was time to repaint. Get me a flippin' towel and don't step in the puddle all around me!!' After at least one more sarcastic response to 'what are you doing down there?', the latent gentleman in him finally comes out and he helps me up.

To put you at ease, I am perfectly fine except for a new bruise on my knee that somehow got in the way of the decline. I'm actually grateful that I was wet all over as it seemed to have made the trip down a lot less harmful due to the ability to fall and slide at the same time. Kinda like sliding into 3rd base upside down and backwards. I'm also grateful that I missed landing in the curio cabinet. Otherwise, Legolas would have finally shot that arrow he's been holding his aim steady on for the past 4 years. Either that or I could have been skewered by the Mumak below him. (Not to mention the glass I would have gone through in order to be shot or skewered.)

Needless to say, after that adventure, work was a piece of cake! And how was your Tuesday?

Wish Lists

Amazon has a good thing going with the Wish List thing. You find something and store it there for later. You half-heartedly think maybe you'll buy it later. Months and months go by and still, nah - not today.

And then... you wake up in the middle of the night and can't go back to sleep. There's nothing but infomercials on and you turn them off because they are starting to sound pretty good and maybe you just can't imagine life without that male enhancement product or maybe I CAN get rich in real estate. So you turn to the computer. It's safe. It's yours. You don't have to go anywhere you don't want to go. But after checking out all your fave sites and you're still wide awake, then what?

All that's left are shopping sites. And now everything on that Wish List you must have now!

Here are some purchases from a week ago when this [surprise!] very thing happened to me. And you know what? I scored! The fugly quotient in the books is quite low! Just about all of the patterns in all 3 books are things I'd want to make - how rare is that?!

Lots of cool projects in this book. Sweaters, scarves, hats, purses and lots of felted items.

Ever wonder how to wear sweaters and boleros that are not styled with the traditional button/loop closure? Well, you can make a button frog using 2 shank buttons, some elastic thread and seed beads. Just make a loop with the thread and string the seed beads onto the thread, with a button on either side. Tie off, hide the ends and voila! A button frog closure :) This is just a little side tip that is included in the Everyday Crochet book.

Who can have too many motif books? I'm quite certain that the answer is no one. At least no one that crochets anyway. There's lots of neat motifs with interesting stitch patterns, a lot of which that are textured - and I love texture!

On the disappointing side, I purchased this book from Overstock.com a couple of weeks ago.

Except for the pattern on the cover, this one is a HUGE disappointment. There's maybe only one other pattern that I might consider making. Oh well, that's the down side of buying books online. Unless they offer a 'browse' feature, you don't know what's inside. So on a positive note, 3 out of 4 ain't bad!

Now, to con the hubby into building a new book case for the craft room...