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“Why don't Republicans use bookmarks? It's easier to bend over the page”

“It's a good thing I had a bag of marijuana instead of a bag of spinach. I'd be dead by now.” ~ Willie Nelson, on being busted for pot.

FOUR JOBS I HAVE HAD
*cashier at Long John Silver's (where I gained twenty pounds in two months)
*traveling maid
*quick-change dresser (in the theatre, ripping clothes off actors and shoving actors into clothes)
*costume technician for NBC's I'll Fly Away (circa 1991 and 1992. I made, altered and repaired costumes clothing for the actors. I saw several of them in their underwear.)

So. I am back from the vacation. Actually we got back Saturday evening. So much for our plans to go and do and go and do some more. Sweetie and I are under the delusion that 1) we are twenty years younger and 2) I like change. Ha!

We headed west along Interstate 64 and stopped briefly in New Harmony, Indiana. Listen, if you get the chance, go here. I want to go back when it isn't cold and windy.

From there, we paid a toll to cross the Wabash River on a rickety, built in 1939 bridge that took us to Illinois. We started drifting northwards through some not very interesting land. Southern Illinois didn't look prosperous or at all familiar. Spent the night in the Mercedes at a camping spot while the cold front came through. We nearly froze.

Stopped in Normal the next day, which was a pretty neat town, and found a superb thrift store. Which was needed since I hadn't brought along any warm clothes and that darn cold front was settling in.

North, north we went. Near Rockford, the landscape changed from no shit flat to gently rolling hills. Actually, the no shit flat was interesting in that one could see for miles in all directions! There was lots of weather to see.

We made it to Madison, Wisconsin by Thursday. I want to go back there to live!

to be continued.....

MEDZ, MERCEDES AND MURGATROYD

I am mostly recovered from the shellfish allergy episode, which took a lot out of me. The steroid treatment is nasty and does a number on one's system. Sorry not to have written, but Sweetie has been off from work and I can't think or write with him floating around.

He is, in fact, on vacation.

And we are leaving today on a road trip and I can't wait to load up the car, grab the bunny and go. No destination in mind, just a desire to put many miles between us and here for a week. Everyone seems to be aware of and complaining about the "crap in the air" - pollen and soybean harvest dust among other small things. I am tired of my respiratory distress and want relief.

I don't have the means to blog from the road, so go read other stuff and come back next week. Crazy Aunt Purl makes it look easy, all that wordsmithing, but let me tell you, it's hard.

WHAT I LEARNED YESTERDAY

I learned that I have become, apparently, allergic to shellfish.

And I learned it the hard way.

Didn't have to go to the emergency room, but I did go to the doctor yesterday morning since the neck swelling and tightness, and the shortness of pants, I mean, breath hadn't gone away overnight. Thank goodness I took those two Benydryl that night! I received three shots in the gluteus area from the nurse and I'm doing the prednizone routine and I have my own epipen now in case of anaphylaxis.

I'm doing much better now. The worst part of this is that I am being forced to rest and take it easy for the next few days. Damn!

Here's the current knitting. The doily shawl. It measures about 45 inches and I want it to be at least 60".

And here are the latest Murgatroyd shots. I love him so much! Even though he pees and poops on the couch. And he loves Fuzzarelly, who got a clip the other day. Bless his heart, he has no front claws and it's mighty hard to hang on.

Visited the St. Vincent de Paul thrift store today, the one on Eastern Blvd. in Clarksville. New t shirts, fifty cents. One reads "Stewart/Colbert in '08." Excellent! And the Hospice thrift store had a Spongepants Squarebob plush toy with BUNNY EARS. It joins the chick with bunny ears and the troll doll in the bunny costume with - yes, bunny ears. I need to put some bunny ears on the hula girl and the sheep.

And, thank you Precious Wen!

FLASHBULB MOMENT

Virtue is its own punishment.
  - Aneurin Bevan

It is impossible to enjoy idling thoroughly unless one has plenty of work to do.
  - Jerome K. Jerome

Blue Acorn says "I looked at my calendar and decided that it is physically impossible for me to get everything done that I need to in the next 3 months. Oh well."

If you don't find it in the index, look very carefully through the entire catalogue.
- Unknown

I have always been an introvert, but I just realized that I have never been introspective. THERE'S A DIFFERENCE. Never have journaled. Never had psychotherapy. I throw away letters and cards. Brooding about the past but never dealing with it.

So. It may come as no surprise to some, but I just realized that I have been depressed from about the age of 14. I practiced self-mutilation at fifteen - cigarette burns on my flesh. I ran away from home at 17. My mother killed herself two weeks later. I self medicated. (Heh-heh. It was the seventies after all. Back when one could find hashish and opium and mescaline and acid.) I got sick and dropped out of high school. Swell!! Let us move 700 miles away to live with an almost stranger in a very big city.

Oh yeah. I adjusted very well. Hot dog on a stick, what a mess I was.

DOES THIS MAKE ME LOOK TOO GAY?

SECRETLY PLEASED

Oh my goodness. Some people actually read this! I got a comment from Molly, and I went to her blog, DrivebyKnitting. Very nicely done and there is a link to my blog.!! Lot's of photos, so for the dial-up crowd, go make a nice cuppa tea because she has a photo of baby Murgatroyd from the Hoosier Hills festival.

Lose a dog, get a cat. It was only a matter of time before another animal wandered into the household. This one, a girl I think, literally followed me and Buster home yesterday. She's thin, hungry and sweet natured, and in quarantine. Painterly markings of black and white and longish hair on body and tail. Age unknown; not a baby or adult. I'm sure there will be pictures at some point.