Life, the Universe, and Spokane

I wonder if posting through Dreamwidth using Chrome works any better than LJ? I'll give it a shot.

So, I put my pretty little herbs in my gorgeous raised bed on Sunday and ended the day feeling like a real person for a change. You know, the kind who can move and do things spontaneously without feeling like they are coming apart at the seams. And that feeling continued through Monday. By the end of today, the feeling has started wearing off, but I can't complain too loudly, now can I? I had a great 48 hours.

And so far, my new herbs and tomato plants seem to be doing well. It's fortunate that we got rain yesterday and today but unfortunate that the temperature dropped into the 50s - as a high temp. Grrr.

As far as work goes, things are going well, I think. I'm figuring out how to tackle some issues that will allow me to manage on-line manual content rather effectively - but only time and experience will tell if I'm being overly optimistic. However, I think that I'm going to be very glad that I started as a programmer in high school first then trained as a writer - which means I have the fundamentals and theory down and will pick up the language (javascript) pretty quickly.

S

It's been a while since I last posted - things have been crazy and that's not gonna change for a month or so, both at home and at work.

I'm still working on two of the three manuals for machines built and installed over the summer. If we stop fiddling around with them, I might get the manuals done! Then I have another manual still to do (mostly cribbed from an existing one - it's just a bigger, faster version) and a "rewrite" of the one we finished just before Pennsic -- new installation with somewhat different requirements. Plus updating 15 or so decal placement documents, working with marketing on two new branding decals (they draw, I size and spec), and who knows what else is lurking in the wings. I'm being brought into some projects earlier as they want my input on procedures and HMI stuff. And we're reviewing/redesigning some of our controls logic archictecture - which I'm also involved in, again to help provide a procedures point of view (you want to assign two functions to one button???!!!!).

Julia's term is humming along with very few hiccups at the moment. She's doing one out of town thing later this month which complicates plans for Kingdom Heraldic, but it should be manageable. However, out of five weekends this month, four are devoted to SCA activities!

I want off the merry-go-round now!

S

As many of you have read, Juliana is safely in Costa Rica and has begun working on the project she went down to do. She's doing some historic research on basic grains. She's also going to set up what she can for her sabbatical.

I'm doing fine on my own. After the hustle and bustle of Pennsic, it's nice being home by myself right now. I'm enjoying having the house to myself and doing what I feel like when I feel like it. I'm getting some research done on my projects. I need to set up the sewing area this coming weekend so I can make progress on that as well.

The kitties miss Juliana and are trying to get me to double-duty. But, Sable doesn't really want to share, so that makes things interesting from time to time.

Julia's mother is not doing well right now. She had a kidney transplant in June and, unfortunately, seems to be suffering from one of the more serious side effects of the immunosuppressants. So the doctors are trying to treat it without increasing the potential for rejecting the kidney. So send good energy her way please.

S

This weekend has been incredibly productive. Juliana's first Pelican meeting was Saturday and went very well. A 10:00 to 6:30 meeting (with 45 min) for lunch is not bad for a first meeting when she's working the kinks out. Creating a dedicated *single (or so)* bookcase for the heraldry reference books -- and being vigilant about reshelving - will help a lot. Currently, there are some heraldry books in the study, some in the library, and some upstairs. I spent way too much time looking for books that she was asking for.

During the meeting, I got nearly all of the laundry washed and dried -- now we need to get it folded.

Yesterday I finished the initial sewing and fitting of my new cotehardie undergown pattern. I need to make the upper body a little smaller (for compression/support) and make sure I use the right sleeve pattern. I inadvertently used my underarm seam when I wanted the backarm seam -- and sewed it like I used the right pattern.

Today we cleaned and rearranged upstairs. I had hoped we'd succeed in getting everything done, but I pooped out too soon. We are 85% of the way to what we wanted.

S

It's nearly bedtime, but I wanted to get on and update quickly. Things are going well here, if a bit crazy. Juliana only has to teach two weekends this summer session, but it's 20 hours a weekend (4 hours, 8 hours, 8 hours) so it's pretty draining. My work has been crazed as well (40 hours solid every week -- not much downtime). We're both looking forward the extended weekend at home!

I'm working on a new cotehardie pattern and finally figured out why I've been able to wriggle into my old ones without needing buttons or lacing -- the gores go up too far and add about 2 inches to the waist! So on my new pattern I will be making the gores somewhat shorter. I should get it finished this weekend.

S

Crown Tourney was this weekend. The weather wasn't too bad - except for the wind. When the sun was out, I was almost too warm; when the sun went behind a cloud and the wind began, I was chilly. And wouldn't you know that we would leave my cloak behind (miscommunication: Julia thought I packed it and I thought it was in the car).

We also had some minor car trouble - nothing that couldn't be fixed by adding some coolant. We need to get the Element into the shop to check for any radiator or hose leaks to explain why we were losing coolant and seeing a little steam under the hood periodically. We made it home just fine.

So I've been recovering for the last two days. Julia's been crazy-busy with work stuff and so have I.

S

We have achieved a backyard!! We no longer live next to a jungle!!!

I should have taken a before photo, but because I didn't, there won't be an after photo.

S

Things have quieted down a little on the life front. My mom is doing reasonably well after the surgery; she's on blood thinners due to her history. She's also using a walker instead of crutches because it's easier on her hands. I'll find out more this weekend -- if there were anything wrong, she would have called by now.

The lawn guys start next week so we're happy about that. Work's been going well though I swear someone is thinking of trying to drive me crazy. He's too late; I'm already there!!!!

Juliana is getting over her cold but the cough lingers and lingers and lingers. I think I had a bit of it earlier this week and am still trying to find energy.

S

My mom is out of the hospital a day early! That's great news. She still dozy and may be for a few days -- pain meds, you know. She's sore, but so far staying quiet and still.

Julia's teaching this weekend, so I'm planning for a relatively quiet weekend. I need it.

S

My mother had the CAT scan of her ankle today. The news was much, much worse than expected. The back of one bone is basically shattered and there are fractures extending into the ankle bone. They also saw free-floating bone fragments. They decided to do the surgery tomorrow instead of waiting.

It also looks like she may be spending more time in a cast than first expected, but after six weeks, they are hoping to do a walking cast. At least this time, they are planning to manage pain and side effects more effectively. She'll have a nerve block in her knee for 24 hours to manage pain and they are going to be more proactive with anti-emetics (Mom doesn't do well with anesthesia).

I'm glad they moved the surgery up; I wasn't happy with her being home with an unstable fracture, even if it was casted (only up to the knee??)

On the home front news, things have been chaotic here. Most of you know why, if not, e-mail me and I'll let you know. We're both drained. That combined with bad nights for the last three have left me a wreck.

Richenda