Yesterday, Tall Pines, our Spinning and Weaving guild held Roc day. Per Wikipedia, "Roc Day, is 7 January, the day after the feast of the Epiphany. It is also known as Saint Distaff's Day, since it was not really a holiday at all. In many European cultural traditions, women resumed their household work after the twelve days of Christmas. The distaff, or rock, used in spinning was the medieval symbol of women's work."
We use it as an excuse to gather together, spin some yarn and talk. Everyone gets to see everyone else's work in progress and a general good time is had by all.
Last year I started some weaving at Roc day. Sad to say, that weaving is still on the loom since it really didn't inspire me and it really doesn't look all that good. I really should remove it and start something else.
This year I dug into our bottomless stash of fiber and found four batts of Shetland lamb's wool that I carded up 5 years ago and earmarked for a shawl project. Yesterday I spun up 1 1/2 spindles of the wool in 15 tpi thickness and just about finished the first batt. Looks like there will be plenty for that shawl if I can just remember what pattern I was going to use. I fully intend to at least get this batch fully spun up before I put away the wheel.
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
On the mend but brittle
I'm back home from the hospital after 8 days. I'm on the mend but still sore inside. I still feel weak and more than a bit disconnected from reality. I am also walking on tiptoes for fear that I'll do again whatever unknown thing it was that triggered this in the first place. The thought of going through this again scares me to tears!
The doctor tells me that my pancreas is about the size of a football and will slowly shrink back to the normal size of a large human hand. I have a shelf full of pills and a head full of fuzz but should be able to get back to work next week. I need to do something because I could drive myself crazy sitting here for too much longer.
Between the hurricane, the clean up, the hospital and the fact that my Dad put himself in the hospital by letting his blood sugar get away from him ( my Bro in California had to call a 911 on him in Florida) and its easy to see that this has not been a great September. I'm hoping that October will be much much better.
The doctor tells me that my pancreas is about the size of a football and will slowly shrink back to the normal size of a large human hand. I have a shelf full of pills and a head full of fuzz but should be able to get back to work next week. I need to do something because I could drive myself crazy sitting here for too much longer.
Between the hurricane, the clean up, the hospital and the fact that my Dad put himself in the hospital by letting his blood sugar get away from him ( my Bro in California had to call a 911 on him in Florida) and its easy to see that this has not been a great September. I'm hoping that October will be much much better.
Thursday, September 25, 2008
DON'T GET THIS DISEASE!!!!!
I am flat on my back in Memorial Herman Hospital. Been here for 7 days and there's no telling how many more I'll be here. I am living from hour to hour on pain medication, the strongest they can give me without having the little green men come out of the woodwork ( which has happened several times already). In between doses, I am literally moaning in pain. They ask on a scale of one to ten with ten being the worst you ever had, what does it feel like today. It's usually around a 7 but that's only because I established ever increasing levels of ten on my first day. They confirmed that this pain is similar in level to the peaks of childbirth, but those last minutes. These have gone on continuously for a week.
My stomach is so bloated that the shorts that I wore to the hospital which fit just fine, now won't go around me by almost a foot. I look pregnant. Because of the pain, the pressure and other things, I have not eaten or drank anything significant that they didn't make me take in for the full week. I have been on a saline drip the whole time so both my arms look like over used pin cushions. That drip and the fact that I don't pee has added 35 pounds to my weight in the last 7 days. I look like the Michelin man. Face, hands feet, everywhere. There is no comfortable position. Even with broken ribs I could find a contorted position where nothing actively hurt. With this, there is no such position.
I have pancreatitis.
My stomach is so bloated that the shorts that I wore to the hospital which fit just fine, now won't go around me by almost a foot. I look pregnant. Because of the pain, the pressure and other things, I have not eaten or drank anything significant that they didn't make me take in for the full week. I have been on a saline drip the whole time so both my arms look like over used pin cushions. That drip and the fact that I don't pee has added 35 pounds to my weight in the last 7 days. I look like the Michelin man. Face, hands feet, everywhere. There is no comfortable position. Even with broken ribs I could find a contorted position where nothing actively hurt. With this, there is no such position.
I have pancreatitis.
Saturday, July 5, 2008
What a difference the sun makes
I rode 35 mile last Thursday. I rode a little more than 34 miles today. Same flat Texas roads, same temperature, a bit more humidity today but all in all, about duplicate rides except for one thing. Thursday the sun was out full bore. Today was completely overcast, with no shadows at all. The difference in the ride statistics is incredible.
Today I rode 3 mph faster, spent 1/3 of the time resting on the side of the road, drank about half the water and felt 3 times a good at the end of the ride. Unlike John Denver, sunshine on my shoulder doesn't always make me happy.
Hope you had a safe, restful and enjoyable 4th of July.
Today I rode 3 mph faster, spent 1/3 of the time resting on the side of the road, drank about half the water and felt 3 times a good at the end of the ride. Unlike John Denver, sunshine on my shoulder doesn't always make me happy.
Hope you had a safe, restful and enjoyable 4th of July.
Friday, July 4, 2008
Heat, Idiots and Nice People
Yesterday I took a comp day off. My dear boss had set me up last Friday to do a presentation for potential clients coupled with a site visit on Saturday. The net result was that I worked 14 hour days for a week to get the presentation together, gave up my off Friday for the presentation and lost Saturday to a bus ride with a bunch of Malays and Singaporeans. I still get paid for just 40 hours. So I took one comp day off. I love my job.
I went out for a long solo ride yesterday morning. Marni had a training session at the gym and with the heat as it was, I didn't want to wait until she came back at 11AM to take off. I decided to bike through George Bush / Terry Hershey Park since its a place with bike and pedestrian only trails and it being a working day, I didn't want to fight the traffic any more than I had to. There are posted signs that say that when bikes overtake or pass pedestrians they should slow to no more than 10 mph. With the number of idiots out there using the park, I obey that law for my safety if not theirs.
I didn't beat the heat. Its a 10 mile ride up there and it was already 90 plus by the time I got into the park. At least there was no wind and there are a fair amount of trees that shade the path. The park was full of cops in all their guises. I have no idea why. I saw three on foot patrol, two on motorcycles, one in a park golf cart and even two mounted on horses. I wish I had the nerve to photograph the two on the horses because they were bigger around than the horses they were riding. Those horses looked like they were sagging in the middle and there was no chance of breaking into a trot let alone a gallop. I swear that one of the horses rolled its eyes at me and sighed as I rode by.
Anyway I was coming off a bridge over a creek that had an immediate 90 degree right turn after it. The view right was blocked by bushes. There was a runner coming toward me who had just reached the apex of the turn. I slowed to the required 10 mph. At that instant a biker came out from behind the blocking bushes going at least 20 mph, headed right at me to pass the runner. I shouted "Look out Dammit" at him because he was looking at the runner instead of where he was going which was straight at me. I started bailing out to the right.
He jerked around to look at me and started bailing to his left which kept him coming straight at me. I bailed farther right headed for the bushes and he kept bailing left into my path. At this point I screamed "Oh SHIT" (I'm not great a dialog in emergency situations) and turned sharp left just behind the runner to end up in the grass. He ended up in the bushes. The runner kept going, never looked back, and disappeared over the bridge.
I was out of my cleats at that point and dragging my toes for stability on the rough grass. I caught a toe and now have a big pedal sized bruise and 4 long gouges on the back of my left calf. The other guy was wearing twigs and leaves for decoration. He came screaming out of the bushes and berated me for having screamed at him. I was in no condition and had no desire for confrontation so I spent about 5 minutes calming him, convincing him that I did not blame him for the accident and finally agreeing with him that it was all the runner's fault. He finally took off down the trail after the runner to give him a piece of his very small mind. I hope that he caught up with him at a point in the trail that had some of the cops around.
All of that sort of put me off the ride so I cut it shorter that I had planned and tooled on home. My short cut took me through an area I haven't ridden before. Houston has a large Asian population and they have congregated in a sort of "China town" on the West side. This is not to say that they are all Chinese. There are Vietnamese, Koreans, Cambodians, and many other nationalities. At least half the business signs are multi lingual (English and XXX) and some are entirely in foreign script. Even the street signs are multi lingual. See below. I wish I knew what language that is and what the non-English really says. Bellaire into Japanese or Chinese can't be a direct translation, can it?
I did have two consolations to make up for the idiot. First, I got a picture of a new wild flower for my collection. See below. It was growing in a lawn area in the park which had been recently mowed, right out in full sunlight. It is about the size of and looks like a crocus but this is the wrong season for crocus, they don't bloom in South Texas and its far too hot and dry for them to grow. Its not in any of my wild flower books. Anyone who can identify it will receive my enduring gratitude.
Second, I met a very nice person almost at the end of my ride. I had taken what I thought was a short cut and had gotten lost in the maze of one of Houston's ubiquitous housing developments. I stopped an ATT repairman and asked if he knew the way to an intersection that I knew was close but had no idea how to get to. He stopped, pulled out a GPS mapping device and proceeded to give me detailed directions on how to get there and from there the rest of the way home. He opened up the back of his truck and gave me a bottle of ice cold water from a cooler and chatted while I drank, then wished me well as I rode off. That quite took away the bad taste from the idiot in the park and put a nice feel to the end of the ride. I ended up with about 36 miles, having gone through 5 large bottles of water drunk and one poured over my head. All in all, not the worst of ways to spend a comp day.
I went out for a long solo ride yesterday morning. Marni had a training session at the gym and with the heat as it was, I didn't want to wait until she came back at 11AM to take off. I decided to bike through George Bush / Terry Hershey Park since its a place with bike and pedestrian only trails and it being a working day, I didn't want to fight the traffic any more than I had to. There are posted signs that say that when bikes overtake or pass pedestrians they should slow to no more than 10 mph. With the number of idiots out there using the park, I obey that law for my safety if not theirs.
I didn't beat the heat. Its a 10 mile ride up there and it was already 90 plus by the time I got into the park. At least there was no wind and there are a fair amount of trees that shade the path. The park was full of cops in all their guises. I have no idea why. I saw three on foot patrol, two on motorcycles, one in a park golf cart and even two mounted on horses. I wish I had the nerve to photograph the two on the horses because they were bigger around than the horses they were riding. Those horses looked like they were sagging in the middle and there was no chance of breaking into a trot let alone a gallop. I swear that one of the horses rolled its eyes at me and sighed as I rode by.
Anyway I was coming off a bridge over a creek that had an immediate 90 degree right turn after it. The view right was blocked by bushes. There was a runner coming toward me who had just reached the apex of the turn. I slowed to the required 10 mph. At that instant a biker came out from behind the blocking bushes going at least 20 mph, headed right at me to pass the runner. I shouted "Look out Dammit" at him because he was looking at the runner instead of where he was going which was straight at me. I started bailing out to the right.
He jerked around to look at me and started bailing to his left which kept him coming straight at me. I bailed farther right headed for the bushes and he kept bailing left into my path. At this point I screamed "Oh SHIT" (I'm not great a dialog in emergency situations) and turned sharp left just behind the runner to end up in the grass. He ended up in the bushes. The runner kept going, never looked back, and disappeared over the bridge.
I was out of my cleats at that point and dragging my toes for stability on the rough grass. I caught a toe and now have a big pedal sized bruise and 4 long gouges on the back of my left calf. The other guy was wearing twigs and leaves for decoration. He came screaming out of the bushes and berated me for having screamed at him. I was in no condition and had no desire for confrontation so I spent about 5 minutes calming him, convincing him that I did not blame him for the accident and finally agreeing with him that it was all the runner's fault. He finally took off down the trail after the runner to give him a piece of his very small mind. I hope that he caught up with him at a point in the trail that had some of the cops around.
All of that sort of put me off the ride so I cut it shorter that I had planned and tooled on home. My short cut took me through an area I haven't ridden before. Houston has a large Asian population and they have congregated in a sort of "China town" on the West side. This is not to say that they are all Chinese. There are Vietnamese, Koreans, Cambodians, and many other nationalities. At least half the business signs are multi lingual (English and XXX) and some are entirely in foreign script. Even the street signs are multi lingual. See below. I wish I knew what language that is and what the non-English really says. Bellaire into Japanese or Chinese can't be a direct translation, can it?
I did have two consolations to make up for the idiot. First, I got a picture of a new wild flower for my collection. See below. It was growing in a lawn area in the park which had been recently mowed, right out in full sunlight. It is about the size of and looks like a crocus but this is the wrong season for crocus, they don't bloom in South Texas and its far too hot and dry for them to grow. Its not in any of my wild flower books. Anyone who can identify it will receive my enduring gratitude.
Second, I met a very nice person almost at the end of my ride. I had taken what I thought was a short cut and had gotten lost in the maze of one of Houston's ubiquitous housing developments. I stopped an ATT repairman and asked if he knew the way to an intersection that I knew was close but had no idea how to get to. He stopped, pulled out a GPS mapping device and proceeded to give me detailed directions on how to get there and from there the rest of the way home. He opened up the back of his truck and gave me a bottle of ice cold water from a cooler and chatted while I drank, then wished me well as I rode off. That quite took away the bad taste from the idiot in the park and put a nice feel to the end of the ride. I ended up with about 36 miles, having gone through 5 large bottles of water drunk and one poured over my head. All in all, not the worst of ways to spend a comp day.
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Hot as an Iron and no shade
I got a new saddle for my bike this week. I've been having butt pain problems at about 40 miles no matter what I do and about decided that I needed to try a new seat to see if it would cure the problem. As I told the clerk at the bike shop, I've got 70 mile legs attached to a 40 mile butt. Of course the only way to test that this is the cure is to ride more than 40 miles with the new saddle.
Today was the first free day that I had to ride. It is also the 19th straight day in Houston with no rain, 90 degree plus temperatures and 80% humidity. On top of that, we had a 20 mph wind blowing out of the southeast. Not the best of days for a long ride.
But a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do so I decided to get out early to beat the heat. Ha! I sweat through my jersey just pumping up my tires. I picked a route that had me going into the wind on the way out and with the wind on the way home. Of course, that usually fails because the wind changes just about the time you turn around, but the theory is good anyway.
Straight out flags mean 20 mph wind. Bed sheet tight flags = 35 mph wind. These aren't there.....yet.
I set out with my 24 and 35 ounce water bottles both full and enough cash to refill them at convenience stores with bottled water several times over the course of the ride. I needed all of that and more. I arrived home empty after filling both bottles twice. I was sweating it out faster than I could pour it in.
At about the turnaround point I was attacked by 4 dogs coming out of a fenced yard with the gate left open. There were two pit bulls, a black lab mix and a terrier something or other that looked like a fright wig on legs. The two pit bulls got on either side of my bike and lunged at my legs. I screamed at them, flailed at them and ultimately kicked one in the head rather hard. It didn't even slow him down. I finally had to out run them, getting away with nothing more than a good scare and a set of very tired legs. Forgive me if I don't have pictures of the event but I was a bit busy at the time.
There were some new wild flowers to take pictures of. These black eyed Susans are about the size of a dime. They were growing in perfusion along the ditch lines at the side of the road. All of the other wild flowers have browned out due to the prolonged heat, the ditch mowing that is still going on and the fact that we haven't had a decent rain in about a month.
Black Eyed Susans in the ditch. Note the dry cracking of the dirt behind them. Its dry and hot!
As I turned toward home, the wind died down somewhat but at least remained behind me. However the heat and the sweat were taking their toll and by the 30 mile mark I was starting to bonk. This is when your body says, "You ain't gonna do this to me no more!" I ended up doing the last 12 miles in 4 mile increments with a stop at the side of the road in the shade between spurts of effort.
At one of them, near an old Texas war of independence cemetery, I ended up sitting in a huge bunch of dragonflies. I wonder what you call them? A flight? A flair? I sort of like a dart of dragonflies myself because it is evocative of what they are doing. Anyway, these were all the same size, about 1 3/4" long, in different colors of blue, grey and green. They were very aggressive and territorial so I never got a chance to get a photo of more that one at a time. They even landed on my legs. I wonder if they liked the salt?
I finished up the ride really short of energy and with that "golden halo" effect around everything I looked at. I did 45 miles at 14 mph. Gave the bike a perfunctory check, wash down and lube and came in and took a nap. Now I need to get more fluids and some salt into me to stop my legs from cramping. And to top it off, all the stopping and starting didn't really give the new saddle a decent test so I'll have to do it again next weekend.
But a man's gotta do..............................
Today was the first free day that I had to ride. It is also the 19th straight day in Houston with no rain, 90 degree plus temperatures and 80% humidity. On top of that, we had a 20 mph wind blowing out of the southeast. Not the best of days for a long ride.
But a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do so I decided to get out early to beat the heat. Ha! I sweat through my jersey just pumping up my tires. I picked a route that had me going into the wind on the way out and with the wind on the way home. Of course, that usually fails because the wind changes just about the time you turn around, but the theory is good anyway.
Straight out flags mean 20 mph wind. Bed sheet tight flags = 35 mph wind. These aren't there.....yet.
I set out with my 24 and 35 ounce water bottles both full and enough cash to refill them at convenience stores with bottled water several times over the course of the ride. I needed all of that and more. I arrived home empty after filling both bottles twice. I was sweating it out faster than I could pour it in.
At about the turnaround point I was attacked by 4 dogs coming out of a fenced yard with the gate left open. There were two pit bulls, a black lab mix and a terrier something or other that looked like a fright wig on legs. The two pit bulls got on either side of my bike and lunged at my legs. I screamed at them, flailed at them and ultimately kicked one in the head rather hard. It didn't even slow him down. I finally had to out run them, getting away with nothing more than a good scare and a set of very tired legs. Forgive me if I don't have pictures of the event but I was a bit busy at the time.
There were some new wild flowers to take pictures of. These black eyed Susans are about the size of a dime. They were growing in perfusion along the ditch lines at the side of the road. All of the other wild flowers have browned out due to the prolonged heat, the ditch mowing that is still going on and the fact that we haven't had a decent rain in about a month.
Black Eyed Susans in the ditch. Note the dry cracking of the dirt behind them. Its dry and hot!
As I turned toward home, the wind died down somewhat but at least remained behind me. However the heat and the sweat were taking their toll and by the 30 mile mark I was starting to bonk. This is when your body says, "You ain't gonna do this to me no more!" I ended up doing the last 12 miles in 4 mile increments with a stop at the side of the road in the shade between spurts of effort.
At one of them, near an old Texas war of independence cemetery, I ended up sitting in a huge bunch of dragonflies. I wonder what you call them? A flight? A flair? I sort of like a dart of dragonflies myself because it is evocative of what they are doing. Anyway, these were all the same size, about 1 3/4" long, in different colors of blue, grey and green. They were very aggressive and territorial so I never got a chance to get a photo of more that one at a time. They even landed on my legs. I wonder if they liked the salt?
I finished up the ride really short of energy and with that "golden halo" effect around everything I looked at. I did 45 miles at 14 mph. Gave the bike a perfunctory check, wash down and lube and came in and took a nap. Now I need to get more fluids and some salt into me to stop my legs from cramping. And to top it off, all the stopping and starting didn't really give the new saddle a decent test so I'll have to do it again next weekend.
But a man's gotta do..............................
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Cell Phone Woes
My Nokia Verizon cell phone bit the dust yesterday. I used it on Monday, pugged it in to charge Monday night and when I took it off the charger on Tuesday morning it was hotter than a pistol and would not turn on. I called the number from another phone an it kicked immediately into voice mail.
This afternoon I took it into the Verizon shop and got about what I expected. NOTHING! The "serviceman" looked it over, said that indeed it was dead and that it was also outside of warranty. Suprise. I could buy a replacement for it (cheapest was $215), I could get a replacement by extending my contract with Verizon for 2 years for only (ONLY) $114 pus tax, or I could do without. Mind you I would still have to keep paying the $79 monthly charge without any phone service at all. Final option, I could cancel my service entirely but the cancellation charge was $175.
In other words, they sold a cheap phone that will not last and no matter what, I have to pay a substantial sum for nothing that they shouldn't already have given me.
Recommendation, stay away from Verizon.
This afternoon I took it into the Verizon shop and got about what I expected. NOTHING! The "serviceman" looked it over, said that indeed it was dead and that it was also outside of warranty. Suprise. I could buy a replacement for it (cheapest was $215), I could get a replacement by extending my contract with Verizon for 2 years for only (ONLY) $114 pus tax, or I could do without. Mind you I would still have to keep paying the $79 monthly charge without any phone service at all. Final option, I could cancel my service entirely but the cancellation charge was $175.
In other words, they sold a cheap phone that will not last and no matter what, I have to pay a substantial sum for nothing that they shouldn't already have given me.
Recommendation, stay away from Verizon.
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