I want to knit while it’s still cool enough outside. Alas and alack I can’t knit because of the dratted tennis elbow that’s taken root in my left elbow. Can you believe it? The worst of it is that I think that knitting not only aggravates it, I think it actually caused it! What a revolting development that is!
Why is this a problem?
Well, first off it hurts. What I can do is severely restricted by the discomfort and general weakness of the tendons created by the inflammation. That’s bad enough. It also makes doing dishes a more disliked activity that it was before (but don’t worry Ann, the dishes are still being done – it’s a record for me in the 20+ years that Bran and I have been married). I also can’t bead.
I’ve also been reading more blogs. These blogs are written by talented people (Geek Grl, The Grumpy Farmer and Grumpy Farmer’s knitting blog Must Knit Faster, Bala Wala Shi – a PhD candidate, Thursday Night Smackdown a cooking blog (language advisory but the recipes look like they’re totally awesome!), Mary’s View from the Farmhouse Window Too, Homesteading Housewife and A Novel Woman (who I’ve been reading for about a week but haven’t mentioned yet. Some of them are talented crafters. They are knitters and quilters/tailors (sewers doesn’t look right and I don’t want to distress anyone. , planters and growers, all are really good writers and story tellers. The pain in my arm makes me all the more frustrated because they set such good examples of crafting that I want to follow suit. The spirit is willing but the elbow is a pain.
Anyway, I’ve added the people to my blog roll (role?) so if you miss this page, you can click on my buttons (heh…to the right! to the right!)(weird, I never figured that would be a phrase uttered by this pinko commie socialist type).
I made shake and bake chicken, whipped potatoes and steamed frozen broccoli for supper. It was yummy. Though, I’m still not done the dishes. So, despite being well fed (it was a good meal), I’m still unhappy that I can’t do anything crafty and fun.
Well, I’m off to do the last of the dishes (yeah, I know, I’m always off, but I’m also going to do dishes).
I know that most people who read my blog are avid readers of books. So I figured that I’d turn you on to a new Canadian novelist who will simply blow your socks off with her talent. Her name is Pam Bustin and she’s a personal friend of mine (which I say before she becomes a New York Times best seller list famous person so I can say, “I knew her when…”).
On the MyTube link she gives information about her book Mostly Happy as well as a small excerpt for your teasing pleasure. When we’re able to afford the book I’ll get you the ISDN so that you can order it at your local bookstore. It’s published by Thistledown Press, which is a small Canadian company, so it’s unlikely that book stores in the USA will have it in stock, but they can order it.
Go see the video and meet Pam. She’s probably the most coolest person I know or will ever know. When you consider the coolness of the other people I know then you get an idea of how uber-cool she really is.
Did you know that most Canadians don’t say “aboot” when they are saying “about”? It’s true. I think the only Canadians who might say “aboot” when they mean “about” are people from Newfoundland.
Anyway, that’s what I was doing this evening. Believe it or not I went out and was social. Ok, I wasn’t so much social as sitting with my back to the wall, drinking cola (I don’t know if it was Pepsi or Coke or some other cola type drink) and listening to various grad students and professors play music. Yes, I was out, in a bar, in the evening, with hordes of other people around. Of course, Bran was with me to make the entire thing possible.
The first person to play was Rodolfo, a professor from (I think) Bolivia. He played some really finger tangling songs from South America. His fingers are seriously fast. Then there were various and sundry grad students playing guitar and piano. Then an undergrad played some country. First a Johnny Cash song, then one that he’d written himself about coyotes. It was hilarious. All about how they’re just plain folk but if they were human they’d be in jail. I loved it! The last was a professor from China who played a traditional Chinese instrument with two strings. It sounds a lot like a violin, but somewhat more nasally. Anyway, he made those two strings sing.
Bran and I walked both to and from the event. It was pleasant both ways. I think, though, that the walk home was more pleasant because the venue we were in had absolutely no ventilation and it was quite crowded. In order to hear the musicians well enough, the doors had to be closed. Needless to say I was greatly relieved to get outside to the fresh air. Of course, we had to run the gauntlet of smokers who were outside “taking the air”. After that it was clear sailing.
The guys who put in our windows still haven’t replaced the window they broke. It looks ugly and we have to be extra careful coming in and leaving the house to make sure that our backpacks don’t push through the window.
I was up early today, but oh, how I did NOT want to get up. I wanted desperately to sleep more. Alas and alack, I had to get up and do my volunteer shifts. Sucks to be me. Bran made us both a couple of egg salad bunwiches after I’d gotten the coffee poured. I’m rather proud of myself. Last night I set the clock on the coffee machine, set the timer, and got the coffee ready to go off automatically. We got up to a freshly brewed pot of coffee. Anyway, I was late for my shift, but at least I got there. I tidied up a little bit, wrote up a new stats sheet, recorded stats and did crosswords. It was all very exciting.
I caught the 12:35 bus and came home and then discovered a new game called Cradle of Rome It’s the new crack for me. It plays like Bejeweled, but is slightly different. You match up a minimum of 3 tiles and try to get the blue tiles. When the blue tiles are gone for that level you move to the next and do the same. I know that doesn’t make much sense, but if you’re playing it you’d know what I mean. The blue is the background of the tile. The tiles start out as bugs, leaves, flowers and such, then you get to buy a house. The next two levels have to be played and won to buy a mill and so on. I’ve managed to get to the top level that you can play on the site. In order to play all the levels you have to buy it. So, yeah, it’s next on my “Games I Must Buy to Feed My Addiction” list.
That’s about it. The next few days are going to be interesting. We don’t get any money until Tuesday and it’s the very last student loan installment. After that there’s no more money coming in. Bran and I desperately need to get jobs.
I got up at about 11:30 or so. Boy was already up and had made arrangements to go to a friend’s house.
I did one of the readings for today’s class and then wrote up a discussion paper. I ignored the larger reading because it was, well, larger. Then I printed it up and got something to eat and then packed up and left for school. Boy came along with me and transferred buses at the university. I went off to the Pride Centre and then went off to class.
I was supposed to pick up tickets to Friday night’s sociology acoustic night. There are going to be several entertainers there including at least two professors. Bran will be coming along so I’ll be getting two tickets.
My elbow hurts. More specifically, my left elbow hurts a lot. I can’t use it in certain positions at all so I had to bet Boy to help me with supper. Not that I needed help cooking, but opening the rice bin, getting the salad bowl down and the like were things I needed him for.
Only one more Wednesday seminar class, two more research classes and three more theory classes. Then it’ll be time to study for finals and then I’ll be done. I have to get a job. Ugh!
That’s about it for today. Nothing epic or especially notable though there were some excellent and entertaining discussions in class, I doubt that any of it would be interesting or amusing to anyone out of the class.
I decided to sign onto Twitter so that I can make clever sound bites.
If you want to follow me (I’ve never had followers before, does this mean that I can form a cult now?) I’m “dykewife”. Funny that the nym hasn’t already been taken. It’s hard to believe that I’m the only non-pornographic Dykewife in the world.
The paper for my theory class is done and handed in. It’s crap, but it’s done. I went to class and instead of a lecture, the prof played a lecture of the former president of the American Sociological Association. It was somewhat amusing, however, it didn’t want to play all the way through. A great deal of time was spent trying to get it to work properly, however all the efforts were for naught. We’ll be watching another video next class.
I headed home right after class. Boy was waiting for me. I gave him $5 and told him to go to Giant Tiger to get a bottle of dish detergent. Then I went to bed to catch up on the sleep that I’d deprived myself of last night. Before Bran went off to get groceries and visit the vampires (he needs to get some blood tests done), I asked him to get some Caesar salad fixings and possibly garlic bread. He’ll also be getting other things.
Last night my brother (the recently naughty one) phoned, but I was napping. Had Bran recognized his voice he would’ve gotten me up for the call, but he didn’t and my brother told him not to wake me. I was asleep hard. There is at least one phone in our bedroom and I didn’t hear it at all. Anyway, I’m expecting my brother to telephone me this evening. It’s going to be an interesting conversation that’s certain.
Today, while I was sitting waiting for the bus I noticed another signal that spring is on its way. While the temperatures hovered around freezing and the wind made the humidity in the air sharper than it would have been, I noticed the warmth of the sun soaking through the sleeve of my jacket. It’s not something that I’ve felt since last fall.
Now I’m awaiting Bran’s return home to see what we will be having for supper and whether or not anything purchased can be eaten as “insta-food” because I’m hungry.
Today involved exhausting sleep, being tired all afternoon, laying down for a nap and reading blogs. Now I’m typing this and will shortly delving into my research to get the term paper done that’s due in 13 hours.
