Monday, August 16
What Are The Best Horror Movies By State?
I'm amazed and thrilled to see my old blog is still here after all these years! I'm really glad about that!
As a Stephen King fan, I like horror movies that are well done. I've often wondered which horror films are most popular not only in my state (NJ) but in those I used to live in (NY, MD). Well, here is a site that tells you exactly that information!
Popular Horror Movies By State
Now I'm off to explore the other states as well. My curiosity is peaked!
Thursday, June 28
Summer Reading
I've been away from blogging for a long time (long story) and now that I'm back, I'm almost overwhelmed with all the changes! I don't take to change too well so this is going to take some time getting used to!
The cats haven't been up to much, just sleeping, and I've been doing a lot of reading. Right now I've just begun Gai-Jin by James Clavell and it is one big book!
First, one of my favorite memes: Booking Through Thursday:
Who taught you to read?
I can't remember a time when I didn't love books! The answer to the question is: my father. He was Deaf and had gone to the state school for the Deaf during the 1930s-40s. Education for the Deaf has always been rather delayed and I think my dad read at no more than a third grade level. I remember sitting on his lap while he read Dr. Seuss and other stories to me. He would point at each word as he read. I quickly figured out that the word he was pointing to was the one he was reading out loud. I went back later and looked at the stories, picking out words I remembered. It wasn't long before I was able to piece together entire sentences. By the time I started kindergarten, I was a fluent reader!
I finished three books recently. The first was Last Night in Twisted River by John Irving. His writing is circular to me in that something happens to a character and it might seem like just an anecdote but the incident is always revisited somehow years later. Don't take anything for granted in any of Irving's books! The early part of the story focuses on a logging camp, the cook and his 12 year old son, Daniel. I really enjoyed this part of the book. You could tell Irving did his research and knew about logging camps. Anyway, there was a tragic accident which forced Daniel and his father to flee and start life over in another place to avoid a cop who is pursuing them. Irving's got an offbeat sense of humor and many times I found myself laughing in the midst of what was or could be a sad event. I liked the book a lot.
I turned to two books I'd gotten at a library sale. The first was Hotel by Arthur Hailey. I've read others of his books before and enjoyed them. I enjoyed this one too, about the inner workings and people of a hotel in New Orleans called the St. Gregory. The story's a little dated, though, because one of the big conflicts was that the St. Gregory was not integrated. It brought memories of the civil rights movement to me. A better book about civil rights, though, would be To Kill A Mockingbird.
The second book, Charleston by John Jakes, was totally disappointing. The book tells the story of the fictional Bell family from 1779 to 1865. It's divided into three sections, focusing on the family members. I thought the characters seemed flat and sometimes unbelievable. Ken Follett and Edward Rutherford are a lot better when it comes to plots of revenge and animosity between characters. Ho-hum.
I think I'm going to like Gai-Jin although at the moment I'm a bit confused with the Japanese characters. Still, I thoroughly enjoyed Clavell's other books so I'm hoping I won't be disappointed!
The cats haven't been up to much, just sleeping, and I've been doing a lot of reading. Right now I've just begun Gai-Jin by James Clavell and it is one big book!
First, one of my favorite memes: Booking Through Thursday:
Who taught you to read?
I can't remember a time when I didn't love books! The answer to the question is: my father. He was Deaf and had gone to the state school for the Deaf during the 1930s-40s. Education for the Deaf has always been rather delayed and I think my dad read at no more than a third grade level. I remember sitting on his lap while he read Dr. Seuss and other stories to me. He would point at each word as he read. I quickly figured out that the word he was pointing to was the one he was reading out loud. I went back later and looked at the stories, picking out words I remembered. It wasn't long before I was able to piece together entire sentences. By the time I started kindergarten, I was a fluent reader!
I finished three books recently. The first was Last Night in Twisted River by John Irving. His writing is circular to me in that something happens to a character and it might seem like just an anecdote but the incident is always revisited somehow years later. Don't take anything for granted in any of Irving's books! The early part of the story focuses on a logging camp, the cook and his 12 year old son, Daniel. I really enjoyed this part of the book. You could tell Irving did his research and knew about logging camps. Anyway, there was a tragic accident which forced Daniel and his father to flee and start life over in another place to avoid a cop who is pursuing them. Irving's got an offbeat sense of humor and many times I found myself laughing in the midst of what was or could be a sad event. I liked the book a lot.
I turned to two books I'd gotten at a library sale. The first was Hotel by Arthur Hailey. I've read others of his books before and enjoyed them. I enjoyed this one too, about the inner workings and people of a hotel in New Orleans called the St. Gregory. The story's a little dated, though, because one of the big conflicts was that the St. Gregory was not integrated. It brought memories of the civil rights movement to me. A better book about civil rights, though, would be To Kill A Mockingbird.
The second book, Charleston by John Jakes, was totally disappointing. The book tells the story of the fictional Bell family from 1779 to 1865. It's divided into three sections, focusing on the family members. I thought the characters seemed flat and sometimes unbelievable. Ken Follett and Edward Rutherford are a lot better when it comes to plots of revenge and animosity between characters. Ho-hum.
I think I'm going to like Gai-Jin although at the moment I'm a bit confused with the Japanese characters. Still, I thoroughly enjoyed Clavell's other books so I'm hoping I won't be disappointed!
Friday, April 27
One of the dumbest books I've ever read
I think this is actually the dumbest book I've ever read but that might be just because I just threw it down in disgust. I'd gotten almost to the very end of the book when I did that. I don't like to give up on a book unless it's just awful. About a third of the way through the book I'd resigned myself to a dumb thriller story and was going to power through it as best as I can. It just got so thoroughly stupid I couldn't do it.
Oh. The name of the book is The Sign and it was written by Raymond Khoury. I looked it up on Amazon to see what other readers thought of it and it seems like the reviewers thought it was a good book. Well, we all have different tastes and mine definitely is not for this genre.
I picked the book up at a library sale. When I read the back cover I didn't recognize it as a thriller. I believed it was a mystery and I was interested in finding out what this supernatural "sign" was all about.
The story opens with the apparent death of a young man who was working on some type of project. I got my first clue that this might be a ridiculous book when I read that a military type just started shooting down members of the project for no rational reason.
Two years later, a blazing sphere appears above the Antarctic. What is it? It doesn't seem to be manmade, a projected hologram or anything like that. It appears just as a glacier has begun majorly melting. Not long after, it also appears over the Arctic by another melting glacier. Is this a sign, a warning about global warming? I was intrigued enough with this mystery to keep reading.
There's a big cast of characters and I found it annoying trying to remember who was who.
The main character is Matt, older brother of the scientist in that first scene. Matt is trying to find out what happened to his brother. Someone who knew the brother contacts Matt and tries to pass him a message...but then a squad of goons show up to kidnap them both. Now, if Matt had been ex-military or a cop or something like that, I would have believed how easily he fought off his characters. He then goes on a wild adventure, seemingly an expert at handling cars, guns, and all kinds of jams. Please.
Still, I stuck it out until almost the end when a reporter figures out what's really going on and who is involved. Of course, she's the next one that is grabbed by the goon squad and has to be rescued. That just asked me to suspend too much belief. No way would I believe that goon squads would run around kidnapping or killing prominent figures.
I know I'm supposed to suspend belief in reality on these types of books and just accept regular people will be put in these situations and somehow know what to do to get themselves out of it. I know there's no character development and it's all melodrama. I just don't care for it. I'm sorry I read as far as I did.
Wednesday, April 18
Books I've Read
Recently, I finished reading two books. The first was Shannon by Frank Delaney and I enjoyed that one a lot. I'm not sure whether the book takes its name from the river in Ireland or from the name of the main character, Father Robert Shannon. Father Shannon is of Irish descendant, an American hero who served in France during World War I. He returned to the United States with a case of shell shock, now called PTSD.
He'd made almost a full recovery when he came upon a secret within his church and involving the archbishop. That secret caused such a trauma that he relapsed, becoming a bare shell of a man. It's also caused him to question his faith. Father Anthony Sevovicz begins to work closely with Robert, hoping to bring him back to recovery. The archbishop proposes a trip to Ireland for Shannon, allowing him to trace his roots. But what is the real motive for the trip? Is it so Robert can heal or is it to keep him quiet about the secret?
One thing that fascinated me was that Delaney also explored the PTSD caused by parental abuse. There is a character called Vincent Patrick Ryan that suffered horrible abuse as a child. He finds himself unable to form attachments and is surrounded by cruelty and violence.
As Robert travels up the Shannon River in search of relatives, he meets many different people, kind, interesting people. He begins to heal again slowly.
I'll stop there so I don't give away too much. I just want to say that the book is very well written. Some of the passages are beautiful, like the country of Ireland, and some are very suspenseful!
I also read The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins to see what all the fuss was about over the movie and the character Katniss Everdeen. I'm probably one of the few people who read it that didn't like it much. The story is set in the future, in the ruins of the United States. Now it's called Panem and is made up of twelve districts.
Apparently there was a rebellion against the central government, located in The Capitol (somewhere near the Rockies I think). The rebellion was put down and as punishment each of the districts have to send a boy and a girl between the ages of 12 and 18 to The Hunger Games every year. It's a televised event at which the participants are supposed to hunt and kill each other until there's one person left standing.
It could've been a great story in my opinion. The main reason I didn't like it, though, was that it was very superficial. I never felt connected to Katniss, the heroine. She just seemed like a cardboard character to me. The events that happened were predictable, which was disappointing. I would have liked a big surprise or a twist. It was all just too melodramatic for my taste. I don't plan to read the other two books in the series. Oh well.
He'd made almost a full recovery when he came upon a secret within his church and involving the archbishop. That secret caused such a trauma that he relapsed, becoming a bare shell of a man. It's also caused him to question his faith. Father Anthony Sevovicz begins to work closely with Robert, hoping to bring him back to recovery. The archbishop proposes a trip to Ireland for Shannon, allowing him to trace his roots. But what is the real motive for the trip? Is it so Robert can heal or is it to keep him quiet about the secret?
One thing that fascinated me was that Delaney also explored the PTSD caused by parental abuse. There is a character called Vincent Patrick Ryan that suffered horrible abuse as a child. He finds himself unable to form attachments and is surrounded by cruelty and violence.
As Robert travels up the Shannon River in search of relatives, he meets many different people, kind, interesting people. He begins to heal again slowly.
I'll stop there so I don't give away too much. I just want to say that the book is very well written. Some of the passages are beautiful, like the country of Ireland, and some are very suspenseful!
I also read The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins to see what all the fuss was about over the movie and the character Katniss Everdeen. I'm probably one of the few people who read it that didn't like it much. The story is set in the future, in the ruins of the United States. Now it's called Panem and is made up of twelve districts.
Apparently there was a rebellion against the central government, located in The Capitol (somewhere near the Rockies I think). The rebellion was put down and as punishment each of the districts have to send a boy and a girl between the ages of 12 and 18 to The Hunger Games every year. It's a televised event at which the participants are supposed to hunt and kill each other until there's one person left standing.
It could've been a great story in my opinion. The main reason I didn't like it, though, was that it was very superficial. I never felt connected to Katniss, the heroine. She just seemed like a cardboard character to me. The events that happened were predictable, which was disappointing. I would have liked a big surprise or a twist. It was all just too melodramatic for my taste. I don't plan to read the other two books in the series. Oh well.
Tuesday, April 10
Cats on Tuesday: Kosmo's Back Rub
CATS ON TUESDAY is a group of cat lovers who share pictures and/or stories about their cats once a week, hosted by Gattina.
What, Mommy Bean? You want a back rub too? I should start charging for my services!
Want more cat blogging?
Be sure to check out Gattina's blog and Blogging Cat Noos for all the latest!
Tuesday, March 27
Cats on Tuesday: Taking Care of Daddy Bean
CATS ON TUESDAY is a group of cat lovers who share pictures and/or stories about their cats once a week, hosted by Gattina.
Cubby sez, Recently we haf been very worried bout Daddy Bean. Him got an owee in hims toe and it spreaded to his foot and ankle. So him hadda take a lotta medicine!
Munchkin sez, a couple times Mommy Bean hadda take him to the mergency room! And he almost hadda stayed inna hospittle, oh noes!
Daddy Bean is gettin better very slowly but it's happenin! I fink he'll be just fine!
Want more cat blogging?
Be sure to check out Gattina's blog and Blogging Cat Noos for all the latest!
TB update: We went to an appointment with the podiatrist last Thursday and the main concern is that TB's toe is still very swollen. The doctor debrided the toe and discovered that the infection is still trying to drain. She wants him to continue the oral antibiotics and he's probably going to need another MRI of his toe, foot and ankle to see what's going on. Sigh.
Monday, March 26
Burn Down The Ground by Kambri Crews
As a Coda (children of deaf adults) I identified with and thoroughly enjoyed this book. I found out about it from a group I belong to on Facebook, Coda. I wouldn't have found out about the book otherwise because I didn't see it marketed anywhere.
I was hooked from the beginning when Crews recounted a trip she, her parents and brother took to attend a bowling tournament. How that brought back memories! My parents were very active on bowling leagues and every year, we attended the Deaf tournaments.
Kambri Crews' parents were proud and tried to provide a stable home for the family but it didn't work. The family lived from paycheck to paycheck. They'd fall behind and would face eviction. They'd have to move. For years, the lived in what seemed the backwoods of Texas. At one time, they even had to live in a tin shed!
Kambri's father had trouble holding down a job. I'm not sure it had as much to do with his deafness as it did his drinking. He was a paranoid, angry man but she didn't see that until years later. To her, her father was a hero.
Kambri shared some of what it was like to be part of two cultures, Deaf and hearing. There are also issues with having Deaf parents--interpreting, for one. Luckily, she didn't have to interpret often for her parents because her mother could hear a little and could interpret herself.
Another issue is that the parents seemed pretty neglectful. They let Kambri and her brother pretty much run wild. At one point, Kambri's brother became violent and terrorized and bullied her. When she tried to get help from her parents, they just seemed to shrug it off and attribute it to sibling rivalry. Years later, Kambri learned the reason for her brother's violence--something she'd been shielded from for years.
Kambri's family fell apart. The parents divorced. The brother became involved in drugs and eventually went to rehab. Although Kambri became a successful business woman, she went through a period of time when she drank, used drugs, and became promiscuous.
In a burst of violence, Kambri's father nearly killed his girlfriend and was sent to prison. That's about the time Kambri was learning all these other secrets about her father that explained why her brother had become such a bully. She had to reconcile these new facts about her dad with the image of the man she'd so admired.
It was a very honest memoir with moments of humor to soften some of the difficult parts. I definitely recommend it! Reading it, I felt inspired to write my own. Maybe I will.
I was hooked from the beginning when Crews recounted a trip she, her parents and brother took to attend a bowling tournament. How that brought back memories! My parents were very active on bowling leagues and every year, we attended the Deaf tournaments.
Kambri Crews' parents were proud and tried to provide a stable home for the family but it didn't work. The family lived from paycheck to paycheck. They'd fall behind and would face eviction. They'd have to move. For years, the lived in what seemed the backwoods of Texas. At one time, they even had to live in a tin shed!
Kambri's father had trouble holding down a job. I'm not sure it had as much to do with his deafness as it did his drinking. He was a paranoid, angry man but she didn't see that until years later. To her, her father was a hero.
Kambri shared some of what it was like to be part of two cultures, Deaf and hearing. There are also issues with having Deaf parents--interpreting, for one. Luckily, she didn't have to interpret often for her parents because her mother could hear a little and could interpret herself.
Another issue is that the parents seemed pretty neglectful. They let Kambri and her brother pretty much run wild. At one point, Kambri's brother became violent and terrorized and bullied her. When she tried to get help from her parents, they just seemed to shrug it off and attribute it to sibling rivalry. Years later, Kambri learned the reason for her brother's violence--something she'd been shielded from for years.
Kambri's family fell apart. The parents divorced. The brother became involved in drugs and eventually went to rehab. Although Kambri became a successful business woman, she went through a period of time when she drank, used drugs, and became promiscuous.
In a burst of violence, Kambri's father nearly killed his girlfriend and was sent to prison. That's about the time Kambri was learning all these other secrets about her father that explained why her brother had become such a bully. She had to reconcile these new facts about her dad with the image of the man she'd so admired.
It was a very honest memoir with moments of humor to soften some of the difficult parts. I definitely recommend it! Reading it, I felt inspired to write my own. Maybe I will.
Wednesday, March 21
Dark Shadows 2012 Trailer and Time and Again by Jack Finney
Dark Shadows started as a gothic horror soap opera in 1966. It began delving into the supernatural with the introduction of reluctant vampire Barnabas Collins. I discovered the series when Barnabas was terrorizing Maggie Evans, trying to turn her into his lost love. It gave me nightmares and my mother said no more Dark Shadows.
I couldn't stay away from it though and began to watch it again when my mother wasn't in the room. This was easy because she was Deaf and couldn't hear that I'd changed the channel. The storyline at the time was a Frankenstein one--Barnabas had been "cured" of vampirism. I was totally hooked and watched the series to the end, running home from school to make sure I didn't miss any of it.
There can never be another series like it. The actors who played the characters can never be replaced. Dark Shadows fandom lives on, even though the show went off in 1971. Every year there is a Fest, bringing together fans and actors/actresses. It's a lot of fun. I've been to three.
This year, there's a new movie called Dark Shadows starring Johnny Depp as Barnabas and directed by Tim Burton. I've seen other films by Burton and figured this movie would be offbeat and kooky. That doesn't bother me because, like I said, you can't remake the original. I'm looking forward to the movie because I like Johnny Depp and think he'll make a good Barnabas.
The trailer was released last week and it seems to have divided the fans in half--those that liked it and those that hated it. Everyone's entitled to their own opinion but I've been surprised at how hostile things became sometimes. Oh well. The debate has nothing to do with how I feel anyway and May (when the movie is released) is just a few weeks away.
Time and Again by Jack Finney is a book I always meant to read from high school on. I saw it at a library book sale and decided that now was the time I'd finally read it. It's a science fiction story about time travel and I enjoy that kind of thing.
I had really mixed feelings about the book though. Simon Morley is an illustrator in NY who meets up with a mysterious man that wants to involve him in some secret project he gives little details about. I wondered what made the guy pick Si Morley first of all and, second of all, why Morley was so willing to go with the man based on such little information. Morley meets a bunch of people in a warehouse who, once again, provide little information and convince him to join the project. Huh? Maybe 2012 me would be too suspicious to fall for that, where 1970 me might have gone along with it.
Eventually, though, it turns out that the government is working on a great experiment in time travel. They say they want to just go back and observe but I wondered to myself, why? I also wondered how this time travel was supposed to be accomplished. There were no machines or anything to go back. It turns out this was to be done mentally, although all time is a river and the past is right alongside us in the present. Okay.
After a whole lot of practice, Si takes an experimental trip back to New York, 1882. Then he goes back again to watch a specific event. Then he's sent back again, to gather more information for the researchers. Later, we find out what the researchers true motive is for all this research and it's disturbing.
Looking back, I think it was good to have an air of mystery. It was like watching an episode of Lost--as one question was answered, another rose in my mind. I also enjoyed the inclusion of photographs and drawings from the times. Some of the descriptions were very interesting.
On the downside, there was a lot of description and detail given to buildings, streets, and trees. I found it all tedious after awhile and so I'd skip those parts. Another thing I didn't like was the inconsistency of the time travel. Si had to practice and train to do it, yet some other people were able to do it without any training at all. It also wasn't really clear to me whether their minds were travelling and their bodies remained stationery or did they really disappear back into time?
I couldn't stay away from it though and began to watch it again when my mother wasn't in the room. This was easy because she was Deaf and couldn't hear that I'd changed the channel. The storyline at the time was a Frankenstein one--Barnabas had been "cured" of vampirism. I was totally hooked and watched the series to the end, running home from school to make sure I didn't miss any of it.
There can never be another series like it. The actors who played the characters can never be replaced. Dark Shadows fandom lives on, even though the show went off in 1971. Every year there is a Fest, bringing together fans and actors/actresses. It's a lot of fun. I've been to three.
This year, there's a new movie called Dark Shadows starring Johnny Depp as Barnabas and directed by Tim Burton. I've seen other films by Burton and figured this movie would be offbeat and kooky. That doesn't bother me because, like I said, you can't remake the original. I'm looking forward to the movie because I like Johnny Depp and think he'll make a good Barnabas.
The trailer was released last week and it seems to have divided the fans in half--those that liked it and those that hated it. Everyone's entitled to their own opinion but I've been surprised at how hostile things became sometimes. Oh well. The debate has nothing to do with how I feel anyway and May (when the movie is released) is just a few weeks away.
Time and Again by Jack Finney is a book I always meant to read from high school on. I saw it at a library book sale and decided that now was the time I'd finally read it. It's a science fiction story about time travel and I enjoy that kind of thing.
I had really mixed feelings about the book though. Simon Morley is an illustrator in NY who meets up with a mysterious man that wants to involve him in some secret project he gives little details about. I wondered what made the guy pick Si Morley first of all and, second of all, why Morley was so willing to go with the man based on such little information. Morley meets a bunch of people in a warehouse who, once again, provide little information and convince him to join the project. Huh? Maybe 2012 me would be too suspicious to fall for that, where 1970 me might have gone along with it.
Eventually, though, it turns out that the government is working on a great experiment in time travel. They say they want to just go back and observe but I wondered to myself, why? I also wondered how this time travel was supposed to be accomplished. There were no machines or anything to go back. It turns out this was to be done mentally, although all time is a river and the past is right alongside us in the present. Okay.
After a whole lot of practice, Si takes an experimental trip back to New York, 1882. Then he goes back again to watch a specific event. Then he's sent back again, to gather more information for the researchers. Later, we find out what the researchers true motive is for all this research and it's disturbing.
Looking back, I think it was good to have an air of mystery. It was like watching an episode of Lost--as one question was answered, another rose in my mind. I also enjoyed the inclusion of photographs and drawings from the times. Some of the descriptions were very interesting.
On the downside, there was a lot of description and detail given to buildings, streets, and trees. I found it all tedious after awhile and so I'd skip those parts. Another thing I didn't like was the inconsistency of the time travel. Si had to practice and train to do it, yet some other people were able to do it without any training at all. It also wasn't really clear to me whether their minds were travelling and their bodies remained stationery or did they really disappear back into time?
Tuesday, March 20
Cats on Tuesday: Family Bed
CATS ON TUESDAY is a group of cat lovers who share pictures and/or stories about their cats once a week, hosted by Gattina.
Sometimes TB and I take a nap in the afternoon. We're usually joined by five of the six cats.
What? Don't see all six? If you check out my side of the bed, you'll see a lump under the covers between Indigo and Mouse.
Indigo sez, I never woulda got on the bed if I knowed Munchkin was under there!
Want more cat blogging?
Be sure to check out Gattina's blog and Blogging Cat Noos for all the latest!
TB update: The infection in his foot cleared up enough so that he could be released from IV antibiotics. He has to take augmentin orally for a couple of weeks and then go back to the doctor. His toe has much better color but is still very swollen!
Tuesday, March 13
Cats on Tuesday: A Rare Sight
CATS ON TUESDAY is a group of cat lovers who share pictures and/or stories about their cats once a week, hosted by Gattina.
Want more cat blogging?
Be sure to check out Gattina's blog and Blogging Cat Noos for all the latest!
Will be back to follow other cat bloggers when we get back from TB's IV antibiotics appointment!
Monday, March 12
Man Cat Monday and an update
It's been really hectic here for a month now. Heidi's car wasn't repaired yet (we're hoping it will be done on Tuesday) and so I was getting her to and from the bus stop. That wasn't such a big deal but then came the ordeal with TB's toe. It became infected and didn't get well.
We're not sure exactly how it became infected. About six weeks ago, he was clipping his nails and that one bled, either because he cut too close or because of the infection. At any rate, we made an appointment for him to see the podiatrist. It gave me the heebie jeebies to look at it and I was sure it was infected. It was all swollen and discolored. The doctor told TB to soak his toe and to apply an antibiotic ointment. He was already on an oral antibiotic for a cat bite that became infected. See? It's never dull around here!
So things seemed okay for the next week. TB finished up the antibiotic from the cat bite and a few days later, he began to have pain radiating up his ankle. I looked at his leg and felt scared. The tip of his toe was black and it was very swollen. His foot was also swollen and red. There was a red line running up past his ankle toward his knee. His leg was hot to the touch. There was also a bit of a smell and that really scared me. I was scared he might have gangrene in his toe so off we went to the ER.
I was sure he was going to be admitted but he wasn't. The doctor ran blood tests and cultures and they gave TB a dose of antibiotics by IV. The doctor prescribed more augmentin and said TB should see the podiatrist or primary again in a few days. The podiatrist has some weird hours so we went to TB's primary care physician. There hadn't been a dramatic improvement in the toe so that doctor decided to add a prescription of cipro. We were to come back in 4 days to re-evaluate.
There was slight improvement when we went back but not enough to make the doctor satisfied so he sent TB for an MRI of his foot and ankle and also for bloodwork. When the MRI results came back the following day, all the doctors began calling but were in conflict with each other. The podiatrist thought TB should go to the ER again. The primary felt we should try another week of oral antibiotics but that going to the ER would not be "unreasonable". The primary thought it was possible TB would end up losing his toe. An orthopedic doctor was called in to consult and he agreed with the podiatrist.
Off we went to the ER again. This time the experience was awful. For whatever reason, the ER was crowded and the hospital was filled to capacity. While they tried to decide what to do with TB, the doctors warned him if he was admitted he'd spend the night on a stretcher in the ER. There was no way we wanted that!
After reviewing more blood work and cultures taken at this second ER, the doctors decided to give TB 3 doses of IV antibiotics and then have him report to a clinic almost 25 miles away every day for more IV antibiotics.
In the middle of all this, my niece was getting married in Baltimore. Originally I'd let her know that the whole family was coming. Now it was 2 days before the wedding and two of us would have to bail. Bill said he would drive TB for his antibiotics on Saturday and Sunday. Because of their rules, the clinic was really strict about what time TB could come so it wasn't like we could all go to MD after the Saturday dose and come back later Sunday for that dose.
So the girls and I went to MD and had a lovely time. It was a wonderful break from all the stress, getting to see my family. I'd forgotten my camera in NJ but got a disposable camera. I'm glad I did. I took pictures that are being developed now and will share them when I get them back.
All the extra driving has been causing a hardship because of the rising cost of gas. On top of all this, some of our prescriptions have become more expensive. They've jumped from $8 to $40 and all we get is some BS story from the insurance company. They claim the generic drug companies are playing games with supply and demand and causing steep price increases in some of the medications. It seems to be all the extended release meds. I had to change one of my prescriptions; TB has appealed on two of his.
TB is getting today's dose of IV antibiotics now. The doctor will see him again Wednesday to decide the next step. TB is actually on week 2. At the end of the first week, I saw a major improvement. His toe is no longer black at the tip and looks healthier. The doctor, though, wasn't impressed. She's concerned because the toe is still swollen and wants TB to see a podiatrist. Apparently podiatrists are also surgeons. Maybe this doctor that just saw TB thinks he might have to lose his toe too.
I pray that he doesn't but only time will tell.
Friday, March 9
The Princes of Ireland by Edward Rutherfurd
I have an update on all our adventures over the last week or so that I'll get to later.
My grandparents came to the U.S. from County Sligo and so I'm a little familiar with the culture and stories of Ireland and was totally looking forward to reading this book. I already enjoyed Sarum and London by Rutherford and expected another fine book. Alas. It might be a fine book for some but it just wasn't for me.
The back of the book said Rutherford would explore "tribal culture of pagan Ireland" but there was just a little bit of that. The very short introduction mentioned the Tuatha de Danaan and Fir Bolg, supposedly the original inhabitants sent underground in a kind of exile by man. I would have loved a whole chapter about them, even if they are considered fairy folk.
The first big section of the book did have pagan culture and Druids...but they were alongside Christians. In other words, I thought the book started later in history than it might have. I had to go online and make sure that Princes was the first in the Dublin series. I enjoyed that first section.
The second had a romance that reminded me too much of recent books I'd read by Ken Follett. It wasn't exactly the same but basically you had a couple that seemed like they were meant to be ... but they were kept apart first and foremost by his ambivalence about marriage. Then throughout their lives he thinks of her often but now he's a priest and she's married and their unavailable to each other and blah blah blah. Enough already.
As Dublin becomes a city in its own right, I felt there was a little too much focus on the English Irish and not enough on the natives. It was irritating to read about how the Irish were dispossessed of their properties and fortunes so that English nobles could be rewarded. That's the history of it but instead of following all these English families I would have preferred to have some focus on the dispossessed families.
There's a lot of history and factual information I enjoyed learning. This volume ends with the Reformation period. The next book is called The Rebels of Ireland. I'm going to request it from the library and am giving this one to my daughter to read.
My grandparents came to the U.S. from County Sligo and so I'm a little familiar with the culture and stories of Ireland and was totally looking forward to reading this book. I already enjoyed Sarum and London by Rutherford and expected another fine book. Alas. It might be a fine book for some but it just wasn't for me.
The back of the book said Rutherford would explore "tribal culture of pagan Ireland" but there was just a little bit of that. The very short introduction mentioned the Tuatha de Danaan and Fir Bolg, supposedly the original inhabitants sent underground in a kind of exile by man. I would have loved a whole chapter about them, even if they are considered fairy folk.
The first big section of the book did have pagan culture and Druids...but they were alongside Christians. In other words, I thought the book started later in history than it might have. I had to go online and make sure that Princes was the first in the Dublin series. I enjoyed that first section.
The second had a romance that reminded me too much of recent books I'd read by Ken Follett. It wasn't exactly the same but basically you had a couple that seemed like they were meant to be ... but they were kept apart first and foremost by his ambivalence about marriage. Then throughout their lives he thinks of her often but now he's a priest and she's married and their unavailable to each other and blah blah blah. Enough already.
As Dublin becomes a city in its own right, I felt there was a little too much focus on the English Irish and not enough on the natives. It was irritating to read about how the Irish were dispossessed of their properties and fortunes so that English nobles could be rewarded. That's the history of it but instead of following all these English families I would have preferred to have some focus on the dispossessed families.
There's a lot of history and factual information I enjoyed learning. This volume ends with the Reformation period. The next book is called The Rebels of Ireland. I'm going to request it from the library and am giving this one to my daughter to read.
Wednesday, February 22
Tuesday, February 21
Cats on Tuesday: Cubby & Kosmo Snuggle
CATS ON TUESDAY is a group of cat lovers who share pictures and/or stories about their cats once a week, hosted by Gattina.
One day last week, TB called to me to come and look in his office--and bring my camera. I'm glad I did. I posted one of the pictures yesterday for Man Cat Monday but they're all so cute I decided to post the rest.
Cubby was so close to our Sox, who died of cancer some years ago. I'm so happy to see him bonding so well with Kosmo now.
Cubby sez, let's help each other groom ourselves. I'll get your hard to reach places and you get mine!
Want more cat blogging?
Be sure to check out Gattina's blog and Blogging Cat Noos for all the latest!
Monday, February 20
Wednesday, February 15
Anywhere but here and The Hour I First Believed by Wally Lamb
Over the lovely Valentine's Day dinner Kristin prepared for us, we had a conversation about how expensive fish has become. Kristin told us the least expensive fish sold at the store where she works is something called swai. I'd never heard of it and asked what it was. She answered it was a sort of Southeast Asian catfish. "What about Louisiana catfish? Or other American catfish?" I asked.
Kristin answered hardly anything comes from the United States anymore--except for lump crabcakes, which are from Maryland. Crabs are from Canada. Shrimp and other fishes are from Asia and Southeast Asia. Even crawfish (which I associate with Louisiana) are from Spain at her store.
I recollected lately about buying leg of lamb and tenderloin beef roast on sale. They were from Australia.
So what is going on? Where do the American fishermen and farmers sell their products? Overseas?
Even our produce is from everywhere else. Fruits and vegetables come from South America.
Maybe it's a seasonal thing? It just seems wrong that we don't have more American products available in the meat, seafood, and produce sections of grocery stores. I asked Kristin if people complain about it and she said yes--they worry about the quality of the water and what might go into it. TB said he'd worry about the same thing.
I finally finished reading The Hour I First Believed by Wally Lamb. I started out loving it but by the end of the book, I was freely skipping sections and grimly plowing ahead to the end. It's a shame because the book had a good premise.
Caelum and Maureen Quirk are a teacher and school nurse respectively. They move from Connecticut to Colorado to try and save a damaged marriage. They both get jobs at Columbine High School. Yes. That Columbine. On that fateful April day in 1999, Maureen is hiding from the gunmen in the library while Caelum is back in Connecticut for the funeral of his aunt.
The first half of the book centers on Maureen's struggles to cope with the after effects of Columbine. Caelum, not the most sensitive soul in the world, struggles to deal with Maureen's manifestation of PTSD. They decide it would be better to leave Colorado, leave the memories behind (hopefully) and go home to Caelum's family farm.
Tragedy follows.
In more way than one--I think the book was a victim of the move too. I thought the story was going to be about Maureen's struggle and recovery from PTSD and that Caelum would grow as part of the experience into a loving, supportive husband. Well, that didn't happen.
The focus went off Maureen and onto Caelum and his dysfunctional family. It should have been its own story, like a sequel or something. Part of the problem I had with this is that I didn't like Caelum. I found him to be angry, cold and withdrawn. He was mean to people he had no business being mean to. I couldn't get away from Caelum. He was the narrator. I was willing to put up with him when the focus was on Maureen. In the second half of the book though ...
What made it worse for me was all the paperwork from and about Caelum's family. I was bored to death reading some of the letters and diary entries so I ended up skipping great chunks of it. I didn't feel I lost anything by it because Caelum usually summed it up one way or another anyway.
I really liked Wally Lamb's other books so this was a big disappointment!
And in the what else is new? department, I totally forgot about Cats on Tuesday and Kosmo has been letting me know about it since!
I had to take Kristin to the doctor for an infected gland. She's being treated with an antibiotic now that will hopefully take care of it. If not, we have to see a specialist. :P
And today I needed a shot in my left hip. I thought I was having a return of SI joint dysfunction but the doctor said it was actually bursitis. Better that, I think, than the other. The last time I had it was in 2009 and I was incapacitated a month! Anyway, the doctor gave me a shot and said I should start feeling some relieve tomorrow. I hope so!
Kristin answered hardly anything comes from the United States anymore--except for lump crabcakes, which are from Maryland. Crabs are from Canada. Shrimp and other fishes are from Asia and Southeast Asia. Even crawfish (which I associate with Louisiana) are from Spain at her store.
I recollected lately about buying leg of lamb and tenderloin beef roast on sale. They were from Australia.
So what is going on? Where do the American fishermen and farmers sell their products? Overseas?
Even our produce is from everywhere else. Fruits and vegetables come from South America.
Maybe it's a seasonal thing? It just seems wrong that we don't have more American products available in the meat, seafood, and produce sections of grocery stores. I asked Kristin if people complain about it and she said yes--they worry about the quality of the water and what might go into it. TB said he'd worry about the same thing.
I finally finished reading The Hour I First Believed by Wally Lamb. I started out loving it but by the end of the book, I was freely skipping sections and grimly plowing ahead to the end. It's a shame because the book had a good premise.
Caelum and Maureen Quirk are a teacher and school nurse respectively. They move from Connecticut to Colorado to try and save a damaged marriage. They both get jobs at Columbine High School. Yes. That Columbine. On that fateful April day in 1999, Maureen is hiding from the gunmen in the library while Caelum is back in Connecticut for the funeral of his aunt.
The first half of the book centers on Maureen's struggles to cope with the after effects of Columbine. Caelum, not the most sensitive soul in the world, struggles to deal with Maureen's manifestation of PTSD. They decide it would be better to leave Colorado, leave the memories behind (hopefully) and go home to Caelum's family farm.
Tragedy follows.
In more way than one--I think the book was a victim of the move too. I thought the story was going to be about Maureen's struggle and recovery from PTSD and that Caelum would grow as part of the experience into a loving, supportive husband. Well, that didn't happen.
The focus went off Maureen and onto Caelum and his dysfunctional family. It should have been its own story, like a sequel or something. Part of the problem I had with this is that I didn't like Caelum. I found him to be angry, cold and withdrawn. He was mean to people he had no business being mean to. I couldn't get away from Caelum. He was the narrator. I was willing to put up with him when the focus was on Maureen. In the second half of the book though ...
What made it worse for me was all the paperwork from and about Caelum's family. I was bored to death reading some of the letters and diary entries so I ended up skipping great chunks of it. I didn't feel I lost anything by it because Caelum usually summed it up one way or another anyway.
I really liked Wally Lamb's other books so this was a big disappointment!
And in the what else is new? department, I totally forgot about Cats on Tuesday and Kosmo has been letting me know about it since!
I had to take Kristin to the doctor for an infected gland. She's being treated with an antibiotic now that will hopefully take care of it. If not, we have to see a specialist. :P
And today I needed a shot in my left hip. I thought I was having a return of SI joint dysfunction but the doctor said it was actually bursitis. Better that, I think, than the other. The last time I had it was in 2009 and I was incapacitated a month! Anyway, the doctor gave me a shot and said I should start feeling some relieve tomorrow. I hope so!
Monday, February 13
Man Cat Monday: Kosmo and his pet, TB
When I first came upon Kosmo and TB watching TV, both of Kosmo's paws were extended down. He looked so adorably cute! Of course, as I was snapping the picture, he brought one paw up. Oh well.
Kosmo sez, Uh-uh, Mommy Bean's got dat flashy ting again. Hey, it's not Toosday! Daddy Bean's lap is comfy but it's time to gedouda here! I fink more of my pikturs will be here tomorrow for Cats on Tuesday!
Sunday, February 12
Supermarkets and workman's compensation
Is it just supermarkets or are there other companies that make you go to their doctors when you get injured? I've been injured on the job before (in the 1980s) and I got to go to my own doctors and emergency room--places convenient to me. I didn't work for a supermarket though. Now both of my daughters have been injured on the job in two different supermarkets. They were both told they had to go to specific places to be treated and that if they didn't, they'd have to pay the bill.
What?
Is that because of some special deal worked out between the supermarket and the medical facility? I think so...and how do I know my daughters would get the appropriate care? The facility would tend to favor the employer, no?
What happened this most recent time was this: Heidi was preparing some food and cut her pinkie badly. People felt she needed to go to the required facility in Cherry Hill, a good 20 minutes away at least. The thing is, no one especially wanted to take her (except for one person) and she had no way of getting herself there. She shouldn't have driven herself in any case anyway because of shock. So Heidi would have had to wait 45 minutes for me to come out there and then drive her to this place. The bleeding stopped so Heidi decided the hell with it, she'd just come home on the bus.
When I picked her up, she told me what happened and asked if I would help her wash the wound and re-bandage it. We stopped at the store and picked up gauze and tape. When we got home, Heidi took off the dressing and the bleeding started again. There was a lot of it and when TB got a look, he said she'd need stitches. So our choice was ... drive to this place in Cherry Hill, an hour away, or go to the ER five minutes away. Duh. No brainer.
It took six stitches to close that cut, including one in the nail. The ER doc gave Heidi a note so she could be out of work two days. Yesterday we went to the store where Heidi works so she and the manager could fill out an accident report. It should have been done the night before but for some reason the manager just told her to come back. That pissed me off.
Now she has to go to this place to have her finger looked at ... after she works her shift. And she has to go back to have the stitches removed. Meanwhile, our doctor is a lot closer. Who cares how much it inconveniences us and how much gas it costs us?
Maybe I'm crazy but it seems to me that if the employee has to provide his or her own transportation after an injury, then that employee shouldn't be forced to go somewhere miles away. And when an employee is injured, transportation to and from a facility should be provided. And the manager should be required to sit down and fill out an accident report then and there, not tell the employee "come back tomorrow".
I am spectacularly unimpressed with the way supermarkets exploit their employees!
What?
Is that because of some special deal worked out between the supermarket and the medical facility? I think so...and how do I know my daughters would get the appropriate care? The facility would tend to favor the employer, no?
What happened this most recent time was this: Heidi was preparing some food and cut her pinkie badly. People felt she needed to go to the required facility in Cherry Hill, a good 20 minutes away at least. The thing is, no one especially wanted to take her (except for one person) and she had no way of getting herself there. She shouldn't have driven herself in any case anyway because of shock. So Heidi would have had to wait 45 minutes for me to come out there and then drive her to this place. The bleeding stopped so Heidi decided the hell with it, she'd just come home on the bus.
When I picked her up, she told me what happened and asked if I would help her wash the wound and re-bandage it. We stopped at the store and picked up gauze and tape. When we got home, Heidi took off the dressing and the bleeding started again. There was a lot of it and when TB got a look, he said she'd need stitches. So our choice was ... drive to this place in Cherry Hill, an hour away, or go to the ER five minutes away. Duh. No brainer.
It took six stitches to close that cut, including one in the nail. The ER doc gave Heidi a note so she could be out of work two days. Yesterday we went to the store where Heidi works so she and the manager could fill out an accident report. It should have been done the night before but for some reason the manager just told her to come back. That pissed me off.
Now she has to go to this place to have her finger looked at ... after she works her shift. And she has to go back to have the stitches removed. Meanwhile, our doctor is a lot closer. Who cares how much it inconveniences us and how much gas it costs us?
Maybe I'm crazy but it seems to me that if the employee has to provide his or her own transportation after an injury, then that employee shouldn't be forced to go somewhere miles away. And when an employee is injured, transportation to and from a facility should be provided. And the manager should be required to sit down and fill out an accident report then and there, not tell the employee "come back tomorrow".
I am spectacularly unimpressed with the way supermarkets exploit their employees!
Tuesday, February 7
Cats on Tuesday: Portrait of Cubby
CATS ON TUESDAY is a group of cat lovers who share pictures and/or stories about their cats once a week, hosted by Gattina.
Yesterday I wrote that I usually take tons of pictures before I find one that is near perfect. One day, Cubby was posing so handsomely but whenever I tried to take a picture, he moved! The picture I posted yesterday was one of a series that I took trying to get that "just right" pose.
Nope, not yet.
It looks pretty good but let's try one more.
I'll hold perfectly still cuz I'm kinda tired of the flashy ting already!
Want more cat blogging?
Be sure to check out Gattina's blog and Blogging Cat Noos for all the latest!
Monday, February 6
Man Cat Monday and Celebrating T's Birthday
You know how hard it can be to get the purrrfect picture of our feline friends? So often I catch members of the gang in really cute poses and try to snap a picture in time ... but miss by just a fraction of a few seconds! For all the pictures I've posted, I've taken about ten times as many! Here's one recent "just missed" picture:
I did get a really cute picture of Cubby which I'm sharing on a Tuesday's "Cats on Tuesday". I'm not sure just when. Every once in a while I have a couple of choices of pictures and this is one of those rare times!
So we saw T on Saturday and had a belated birthday celebration for him. He's 8 years old and I am amazed at how fast the years have gone. I remember going to the hospital and holding him and falling in love with him when he was just a few hours old. What a long strange trip it's been in terms of his mom and everything else. It's a very long story.
Anyway, when T came over he asked to go for a walk in the park first before having a cupcake and his present. TB and I marvel at how well T knows how all the roads run. He knows the route numbers for everything we drove on (and I don't know them all. I'd be terrible at giving directions because there are some where I don't know the route number or the name either) and where they go to. It's like he's got a GPS in his head.
When we go to the park, T likes to pick up a map. He doesn't need it but he enjoys making a show of opening it up from time to time as we walk along to make sure we're going the right way. I think it would be fun to go to a different park and get their map and let T figure it all out for us. I know he gets a big kick out of that. Even though we're familiar with the trails now, we always have T become "the leader" and he gets a big kick out of that too!
When we got back, TB and T mixed red and blue paint together to form purple. T's favorite colors are red and purple. He'd painted his toolbox red and wanted to paint his name purple. While the paint was drying, we had our little birthday celebration.
T looked really pleased when we sang "Happy Birthday" to him. I'd gotten some mini cupcakes because they'd be easier to handle and maybe a healthier choice for T. He's gotten to be a pretty big boy and we're worried about that. He's a very picky eater and only seems to be interested in junky food. There's a whole lot less cake in a mini cupcake.
We wanted to have another birthday gift in addition to the toolbox and Kristin had suggested Hungry Hungry Hippos. I remember how much my kids loved the game when they were younger and I could see it making a big hit with Tomas...and it did! We played so many rounds of Hungry Hungry Hippos I lost count.
The paint was dry on T's name so he and TB glued the wooden pieces to either side of the toolbox. We left it to dry and next weekend, Tomas will be able to bring it home.
Grandchildren are such a joy. TB and I have a tendency to run out of steam in the afternoons and conk out early at night. When Tomas is over, though, we can find the energy to keep up with him because it's so much fun. I'm looking forward to next Saturday!
I did get a really cute picture of Cubby which I'm sharing on a Tuesday's "Cats on Tuesday". I'm not sure just when. Every once in a while I have a couple of choices of pictures and this is one of those rare times!
So we saw T on Saturday and had a belated birthday celebration for him. He's 8 years old and I am amazed at how fast the years have gone. I remember going to the hospital and holding him and falling in love with him when he was just a few hours old. What a long strange trip it's been in terms of his mom and everything else. It's a very long story.
Anyway, when T came over he asked to go for a walk in the park first before having a cupcake and his present. TB and I marvel at how well T knows how all the roads run. He knows the route numbers for everything we drove on (and I don't know them all. I'd be terrible at giving directions because there are some where I don't know the route number or the name either) and where they go to. It's like he's got a GPS in his head.
When we go to the park, T likes to pick up a map. He doesn't need it but he enjoys making a show of opening it up from time to time as we walk along to make sure we're going the right way. I think it would be fun to go to a different park and get their map and let T figure it all out for us. I know he gets a big kick out of that. Even though we're familiar with the trails now, we always have T become "the leader" and he gets a big kick out of that too!
When we got back, TB and T mixed red and blue paint together to form purple. T's favorite colors are red and purple. He'd painted his toolbox red and wanted to paint his name purple. While the paint was drying, we had our little birthday celebration.
T looked really pleased when we sang "Happy Birthday" to him. I'd gotten some mini cupcakes because they'd be easier to handle and maybe a healthier choice for T. He's gotten to be a pretty big boy and we're worried about that. He's a very picky eater and only seems to be interested in junky food. There's a whole lot less cake in a mini cupcake.
We wanted to have another birthday gift in addition to the toolbox and Kristin had suggested Hungry Hungry Hippos. I remember how much my kids loved the game when they were younger and I could see it making a big hit with Tomas...and it did! We played so many rounds of Hungry Hungry Hippos I lost count.
The paint was dry on T's name so he and TB glued the wooden pieces to either side of the toolbox. We left it to dry and next weekend, Tomas will be able to bring it home.
Grandchildren are such a joy. TB and I have a tendency to run out of steam in the afternoons and conk out early at night. When Tomas is over, though, we can find the energy to keep up with him because it's so much fun. I'm looking forward to next Saturday!
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