It's been awhile. I've been thinking about "the blog" on and off for some time, but surmised that no one reads it anyway, so why do it? Why bother? I logged on and started to read back through all the posts....The first thing I thought was, wow! things have changed so much. But more importantly, I realized that I had written about a lot of things that I didn't remember in such detail.

Blogs have become so popular and commonplace in our technologically savvy lives, that I no longer think you are special or "high tech" if you maintain one. I subscribe to a couple of them, which I read daily, and honestly, they bring much entertainment and enrichment to my life. Funny thing is, I don't know the folks that write them, but it feels like I do. They share just enough of their lives to make me feel like I'm sitting in their living room drinking tea, but not enough information to make me feel like I've overstayed my welcome. I find that refreshing. I think the reason I started my blog was the same as it is now that I am updating. To leave a written account of my life footsteps so that I may remember, and so that those who are interested can follow along.

2010 came and went in a hurry. Lots happened. In a nutshell..... My oldest daughter got engaged (technically late 2009) to whom she considers the "love of her life". My Molly graduated from High School. We had a big party to celebrate this fact. Chris finished residency and became a partner in a successful ER group in Alpena, MI. We transitioned to a new house and back to "Lake Living". Heather & Molly both started College. Piper started at a new school. There were sudden and tragic deaths in my circle that brought me to my knees. There was also a miracle baby that makes me so happy to think of her, I can hardly stand it. Her name is Alice. My sister and her husband parted ways, and I am so worried for their family. I am still in remission. For that, I am most grateful.

We brought in the new year mostly together. Heather & her love were together in Oxford, as they both had job obligations and couldn't travel North. Chris, Piper and I shared the Alpena house with My sister and her younglings. As a special surprise, Molly and her beau showed up late New Years Eve and shared champagne, lobster and steak dinner with all of us to bring the new year in properly. Chris provided an abbreviated firework display at midnight thanks to the very heavy fog. It was still amazing and I think we are off to a good start. I'm optimistic!

Love Ya Sis!!!

Catching up again, Part 1

Ok, so I realize that I haven't been here for a while, but with good reason! There has been a lot going on, and I honestly have started to update twice, but both posts fell victim to the draft file, soon to be deleted I think.

First with the unpleasant, and then on to some more positive, hopefully comical blogging!

Back in October, I got some bad news on my health. I was diagnosed with Stage IV Non Hodgkin's Lymphoma (Cancer of the lymph nodes, and in my case, bone marrow) In my opinion, I think everyone has their own health issues - serious or not - and for the most part, they should be just that. Their own. I initially chose not to discuss this with anyone except IMMEDIATE family for many reasons which don't really matter now, because here I am telling you. It became clear after I started my treatment, that I wasn't going to be able to keep what I was going through to myself. For one thing, I've lost my hair despite being told that wouldn't happen with this type of treatment. Since my name is not Brittney, I figured that would warrant some explanation.... Also, I would never have guessed the amount of time spent on consults, tests, surgeries, recovering, more tests, and then the awful waiting for all the results.... repeat. The good thing, though, about spilling the beans is all the support I've received. Cards, and emails, hugs, good wishes, and even food from family, friends, and folks that I haven't talked to in years. To anyone who is reading, if you're one of those people who have reached out to me, Thank you so much. It has helped immensely to get through some of the "not so good" days!

Now, on to brighter and better things!

In early November, I think, we made the decision that we could all benefit from a vacation over the holidays. So, no matter what it took, we (Chris, mostly) decided to make that happen. One of the challenges we faced was - as usual - Raul, our dog. I seriously love him, he is my buddy, and a very very good dog for the most part. With that being said, I've got to bring some of his more negative attributes to your attention for you to fully understand what we were up against. He turns into a drooling, glassy-eyed, lip quivering, humping, idiot when around ANY other animals. He is also nearly uncontainable while in this state; monkey barking, scratching, and generally just intolerable. you can imagine what a 9 day stint in a kennel is like for him, and the staff.... We've tried everything to make him stop, but this has just gotten progressively worse over the years. So during the pre-vacation trip to the vet, Chris & Dr. Joe decided that maybe neutering an 11 year old dog with a history of self mutilation under stress was a good solution. I, in a weak moment, agreed. Those of you who know that Raul once chewed off his own tail in a fit of itchy frustration and stress can probably guess how this turned out....Dudes, it was not pretty. Here's the proof:


















Poor Rowie :( The good news is, he did finally heal (took about a month or so) and now he is a fat, lazy dog who is marginally better in the drippy, drooly, humpy department. The full effects of robbing his, well, manliness have not properly been tested, though.

In keeping with the Florida vacation schedule, we had an early Christmas here at home with Santa making his appearance on the 20th. Schlepping presents to Florida in luggage ( at $15 dollars per check on bag ) just didn't seem like a good idea. It was a nice day, and lended proof to my theory that any day is special if you make it so. It didn't need to be Dec 25 for us to celebrate our meaning of Christmas. Here are a few more pics ...












































December 21 was Yule, or the Winter Solstice. Chris and I try to do something special on this day every year, as it marks the coming of longer days and shorter nights. Spring is on it's way, and in Michigan, this is definitely cause for celebration! This year our festivities were a bit abbreviated, though, as neither one of us had packed yet, and there was much running around to do. We did conquer and divide. I did the running and packing, and he took down ALL the Christmas decorations. I don't think I ever properly thanked him, but I think that was one of the best Christmas treats I got! Not having to come home to so much to clean up and put away"Christmas" after a vacation was so nice....

Next up, DISNEY WORLD!

Stay tuned..............

Jonatha Brooke

Many Thanks to my wonderful husband for taking me to see Jonatha Brook in concert at The Ark in Ann Arbor as an early birthday present. This video is not the performance we saw, but we did see her singing alone without a band and she was remarkable! Even better than in this one.

GREAT BIG SEA!

This is Great Big Sea at the Michigan Theater - Sept 10, 2008





And this:

I know....I know....

Ok, I've gotten a couple of requests for a blog update. I'm a little behind on the blog front, but here it is in a nutshell.

Heather graduated! We are very grateful, oh, and proud too! Here she is getting ready























And by the time I realized I didn't have a single picture of her alone in her cap and gown, she was doing this....

















Here's the graduate on the way back from the podium.

















The Happy Family.....









Molly was missing, because she was part of the band that suffered through endless repetitions of Pomp and Circumstance. Heather actually played too, but was able to sit with the rest of the graduating class for the ceremony. Now the band is down one Tuba player.....








Next, we had a PARTY....Woo Hoo.... To celebrate said great accomplishment (and our gratefulness - is that a word?)

























More happy family....




















Fun was had by all - I hope - and Heather made off with a tidy sum with which to start her journey into adulthood. We'll leave the amount undisclosed, and the journey too. I'll let her tell you about that.


July was mostly uneventful. Piper and I did lot's of beach combing, and frog hunting. Molly looked for and found a job and Heather was busy starting aforementioned journey. Chris spent month in the PICU with work weeks pushing 90 hours. We didn't see much of him, and he didn't see much of his eyelids. Poor guy.

August marked the beginning of marching band season. Those of you who have read this blog know that this also our chance to get to know the ER staff really well. Just to throw us off, this year Molly started out with the injuries early. While taking a lunch break at Coldstone Creamery, she somehow managed to close the index finger of her right (trumpet) hand in the HINGE SIDE of an industrial type steel door.

Yes, the door closed and LATCHED shut with her finger stuck in the hinge side. Picture the following... latch and handle on right side of door - right hand stuck in left (hinge side) of door. What would you do?

Hint....her escape involved using her foot. In the words of my favorite band, Great Big Sea, I'll spare you all the gruesome details, and just relate the end:

This is about 4 weeks after the "accident"
















Hard to see in the photo, but there is no more nail there. (That turned out to be the least of the problems) But the good doctor says it should be looking pretty in about 6 months.

Stay tuned for our next episode of "ER"!


Piper turned 8!














Still having a hard time with that one....

There's lots more. We discovered Tawas this summer and saw some really great live music. Chris grew monster hops and brewed some REALLY good beer. (It's gone already) I'll try to post some pics next time -

All Grown Up.....

Today is the day you've been waiting for.....

Happy Birthday Heather!

LYM

Marital Congress?

77 As a 1930s wife, I am Very Superior Take the test!

Took the test from Beth's Blog.

I do know what marital congress is, by the way.....

The Bees Knees

The Bees Knees.....

They have arrived! After a very wacky winter, and the demise of 8 out of 10 of Chris' hives, the Apiary is off to a fresh start! On Monday morning, we headed out to Lima, OH (Lima as in the bean, not Peru) to fetch 5 packages of honey bees who were hungrily waiting for us after their cross-country journey from California. Stupidly, I took the camera with us, but took no pictures of any part of this phase of our adventure....

Anyway, here is Piper painting the outside of the screened box with sugar water. You could actually see the bees "tongues" on the side drinking it up. They were really hungry!
















Here is Chris on his way out to set the bees up in their new 'digs'. He has somehow managed to convince me to get close enough to actually take some pictures....



















As you can see, though, I'm not that close. (Had a bad bee experience once) Piper, is also sitting next to me at this point. These bees, New World Carniolians, we've been told are quite nice and so the hiving process, should be free of stinging accidents.

Ok, here we go! The metal can is full of sugar water, which Chris told me was just about empty. Now the box is open and the bees are free. Why do they stay, you ask? The Queen is still in the box. She is kept separate from the rest of the bees in a cage which is plugged with a bit of sugar candy.
















Here she is....



















Her majesty is inside the screen box which you can just barely see in the picture. The candy is nearly gone, but Chris will make sure to break the rest out so that the Queen can come out and get busy.






















Sometime soon, she will go on her one and only flight - the mating flight. Where she will 'get what she needs' to settle in and make lots of ba-bees! You see all those bees on Chris' hand? He was totally laughing because the bees were licking the honey off of him. Me? I'd be freaking out! In fact, at this point, Piper was no longer sitting next to me, she was on top of me and pretty much begging to go back to the house. So, not wanting to temp fate (I'm just not a bee person) That is what we did. It was cool though for a while.

Chris? He was out there all day....Just look at how happy he is!



















Anyone need any honey?

Story time!

Piper has given the words 'captive audience' a new meaning!
I was lucky enough to catch her and fluffball enjoying the "Legend of the Sleeping Bear Dunes" with my camera.

Happy Birthday Molly!

Sweet 16 !

I know how much you love to have your picture taken.....






















Come on.....just one little smile? You know you want to....




















I think Nanna would still hold you if she could! (What, is that a smile?)
























You've been waiting a long time for a red car, haven't you?






























Happy Birthday Doodle, I love ya!

A New Year

I make resolutions. I think it's a good thing. A starting place, or inspiration for personal growth and change. Sometimes, I make a goal, and stick to it - sometimes, I don't. I try not to stress out about that, and look at it as "well at least I tried". This year, I made resolutions, revised them, and then abandoned them altogether. I am not proud of this, but the entire process was not without some educational value. And I have these thoughts, which in the process of creating resolutions, were pondered at the turn of the new year:

Learned (or reinforced) in 2007:
Don't take your health for granted - you never know when your number might be called
Don't take other folks' health for granted, you never know when their number might be called
Choose your battles - and stick to the ones that will make the most difference.
The most modern technology is not always good.
Doing what is best is not always easiest.
A teenager with a car ,while terrifying, is convenient.
Having no money is hard, having a little money is hard too. (alot? can't wait to tell you)
The older I get, the faster my children grow.
Knitting makes my life easier. Spinning does too.
Audiobooks - Where have you been my whole life?
My husband loves me, even when I'm at my worst.
My kids love me, even when they tell me I'm the worst.
My niece and nephew love me because I always have mints in my purse ( I suspect they would forgive me if I faltered, though)
I still miss my dad.
Hamsters spend all their time plotting an escape.
Marching band is not safe. (don't ask)

This year is bound to be one full of changes. Heather and Molly both reach milestone birthdays - 16 & 18. Molly will be getting a drivers license and Heather, graduating this June. I am hoping that college is on the horizon as well, for her. It seems almost unbelievable that we are at this point in life..... I think I'm in denial. I did order the grad. announcements,cap and gown,etc. - just haven't started planning the party yet. I'm sure I'll get there. At the moment, graduation vs. driving cause equal amounts of heart palpitations - but these are my challenges for 2008. As well as many more, I suspect. It's all good. (or at least, character building). Here's to the New Year!

Houston, we have a problem!

This is the problem:


























I've some UFO's to confess. I know I've been bad - I've started project after project without a second thought. I've abandoned my socks, neglected the Samus, and even dumped intended Christmas scarves into the "catch-all" yarn basket. Here's the breakdown:

Partial "twilled rib" sock (forgotten after Socktoberfest)
One and 1/8 of "waving lace" socks (abandoned sometime in July I think)
One and 3/4 plain sock ( This one has been in the car)
One different plain sock ( I think I lost the rest of this yarn)
2 (yes 2) Stripey scarves (once I figured out Continental knitting I was done)
1 Samus Sleeve partially done (already frogged twice) *sob*
The very beginning of one mitten (I really like these)

I know you must be thinking I am a knitting failure. I mean, someone who can't even finish a silly pair of socks can hardly call herself a Knitter. (take note of the capital K) And TWO unfinished scarves? Scarves are beginners fodder - yet mine sit there looking more like elongated wash cloths. It's not all bad though. I have isolated the cause of this knitting disturbance and come to the conclusion that I might not really be a Knitter......


























I am a Spinner!!!!!!!!!! (note the Capital S)


This is my Kromski Minstrel. Many, many thanks to my husband for getting me such a beautiful birthday gift. I absolutely love it and have been spinning some really nice white merino. I bought myself a belated birthday gift of a few ounces of gray baby alpaca roving, and I can not wait to spin it!




















So what do you think? Any knitting in my future? Mmm, not for a while!

State Finals

Congratulations to the Grand Blanc High School Marching Band!

They traveled to Ford Field in Detroit on Saturday to compete in the 2007 MCBA State Championship and placed sixth with a score of 81.1!!!

Updates...

One week down with no ER visits! Woohoo! (I hope that being grateful is not tempting the fates, believe me, I'm not being smug or taking anything for granted!)


Molly's knee is better. It was not as bad as we expected, but it is still an impressive injury. The Ortho Doc labeled it a "second degree tear of the MCL" with some effusion (fluid build-up) and a possible tear of the meniscus, which is kind of like the padding under your knee cap. We had the MRI Friday to determine the exact status, but haven't heard any results thus far. I am thinking that no news is good news. (Again, no fate tempting here....) Suprisingly, he really didn't give her any restrictions other than not to push it and to know that if she's not careful, she could do further damage. Duh...
With that lack of restriction, and a really good brace, Molly was determined to be on the field marching last night and nothing we could say or do was going to stop her. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you look at it) the last roadblock she had to overcome was Hutch, and he wasn't so easy to convince. Despite her best attempts, Molly watched the performance with the Pit Crew from the sidelines, even more determined to get back out there for next week's competition. I think she'll do it. It's kind of unnerving that the band director has final say at our house these days....



(Shout out to Theresa Kelly for the photo)










Socktoberfest at the Rainforest was great. There were lots of people, food, dessert, and best of all, yarn. Everyone got a goody bag full of knitterly delight and several hours to sit and enjoy it.
































Even The Flint Journal was there to document the event. You can read the article here at M-Live. Thank you Phyll, and everyone else for all your hard work! It was a lot of fun.

Spinning class at Heritage Spinning and Weaving last weekend was Awesome! This first class was primarily focused on learning about different kinds of fiber and how they are prepared for spinning. We all received a hand made drop spindle and plenty of wool to practice with.















It was great fun and I am totally addicted! I bought more fiber on the way out to practice with and I am happy to say it is all spun and plied. I couldn't resist the calling of the wheel. It didn't take long after getting the hang of the drop spindle to figure out that the wheel works exactly the same way except you don't have to stop every few seconds to spin and wind.























Next class we spend spinning on the different kind of wheels that the shop sells. I know what will be on my Christmas list this year!

What a week....

The folks in the ER at POH Clarkston have grown to love us (or maybe not). We've spent a lot of time there the last few days.

Let me start by saying Grand Blanc Marching Band is standing #1 in the state. (Well maybe not right this second, I haven't checked the scores from today) But if not #1, definitely in the top 3. Those of you who know what goes into a successful marching band know how much time and dedication the kids put in. It's impressive. We started out with band camp in August and have done or thought of little else since then. (I say we, but I really mean Molly). The band is awesome! A few days ago, Molly was running on the field and was cut off by another student. In an effort to "save the trumpet,' which was in her right hand when she started to fall to the ground, she swiveled around to break her fall and landed hard on her left hand. That was a bad thing. Wet grass = bad fall = bad hand.
Off to the ER we went.
The good news was, it was not broken. The bad news was, it really hurt anyway - for days and days. Did I mention to you the story of the missing keys on the morning I was trying to get to the ER? No? I'll save that for some day when I can't think of anything to write about....

Ok, so days go by and things are improving. No one is sick or injured. I get to knit/ listen to my current audio book. Life is good. Just when I'm thinking how great I am for getting so much done, Saturday morning, Heather comes downstairs and informs me that she can't see. What do you mean, you can't see? I say.
I don't know, everything in my peripheral vision is smeary and I have this really bad headache that is getting worse and worse. This is where having a husband that is a physician is a mixed blessing. We all know what these symptoms COULD mean( but probably don't) and you have to ignore that 'probably don't' part and go with the COULD.
Off to the ER we went.
The nurses and everyone are now looking at us with a spark of recognition in their eyes. A shot, an IV, a prescription, a diagnosis of 'migrane', and a couple hours later, we are on our way only a little worse for the wear.

This is the time I start to think, ok, that's it. We've had our dose of ER for the rest of the year. I can relax now and not worry about anything else happening. Life is good. That was really stupid.

Yesterday, I get a frantic call from one of the marching band directors that Molly has 'hurt her knee' and I need to come and get her. Hurt her knee? Can she walk? What happened? Never mind, I'll be right there. Luckily, Chris was home and was able to go with me. We arrived to find Molly not only hurt, but in absolute agony and unable to move any part of her leg.

Off to the ER we went.

The staff greeted us with recognition.
The good news is, we got in and out in a hurry. Everyone knew who we were.
The bad news is Molly's knee is really bad I think. We won't know for sure until the swelling goes down and and Ortho Doc can see her. But it's not looking good. Grand Blanc Marching Bobcats are going to carry on without her, and Molly is very, very sad.

I've learned.

Be prepared. Don't tempt the fates. Be nice to the ER staff.

Keep your fingers crossed for Molly.

And the winner is....

For the last three weeks, during the Back to Basics class, the UPS guy has shown up with boxes of (what I assume was) yarn. Carrie would then take these boxes to the back room, out of our line of vision, and loudly proclaim how soft and lovely were the contents of said boxes. Mind you, they didn't put any of this yarny goodness out for us to see, or experience for ourselves. (Well, I did get a little peek at the sock yarn - but just a little one). It was all for the Grand Opening. And, by the way, if you spend enough money, we'll enter your name into the grand prize drawing! How is that for a little temptation?

Earlier in the week I had made arrangements with my sister to ditch the kids (all of them) and head up to the store together. She couldn't make it until late in the evening, so I went in the morning without her. There was no way after all that waiting I was going to settle for 'what was left' of the new sock yarn. I picked this:










Lorna's Laces - Shepherd Sock Seaside & Sassy Stripes


And this:





Zitron - Trekking XXL











I would have chosen more, but I actually had a rational moment when I realized that we still need to eat and buy gas for the rest of the month. Will put it away for me so that my Sister wouldn't know I cheated and came early without her. Unbelievably, when I went back with her later that evening, I didn't buy more. I just paid for my yarn (and because I spent enough, I got my name in the drawing) and left. But not without having a really weird conversation with Will about sex education and kids....but that's another story.

Friday afternoon, after spending all morning painting marching band props (also another story) I got the best call. I was the winner for the Grand Prize! Woo Hoo! This is what I won:

Very cute knitting bag
enough yarn to make a purse & Pattern
Needles for pattern (Addi circs and bamboo straights)
Stitch Markers (2 kinds)
needle holders (2 kinds)
tapestry needles & case
Pattern and yarn for decorative felted pumpkin
Pattern and yarn for Halloween sock (teeny)
project bag
2 gift cards for 4 sessions of round table knitting at the store
knitting Christmas ornament

A fabulous end to a VERY LONG week! Now, if I just had time to knit.....The only thing I've done in a week has been homework for BTB class.

As a side note: Grand Blanc Marching Band kicked ass at Trenton on Saturday . They took first place, all three caption awards and are currently standing 2nd place in the state. On to Linden next weekend!



(This was practice Friday afternoon)

Knitters Anonymous

I am not sure how this happened. It started with two stitches ( I would do purls, but preferred knits). Pretty soon, two were just not enough and before I knew it I was doing YO's, K2 tog's, and SSK's. I even started knitting in public! From there I progressed to cables and then lace charts. I suspected I might have a problem so I took a class, but that only led to more and more knitting. (Not to mention, hanging out with other people who knit too...) I started to realize that there were dishes in the sink, laundry piled up and general disorder in the house on a regular basis. When I couldn't stand to look at the mess any more, I went to the yarn store. All tasks I performed for family members were preceded with "ok, just a second", "just let me finish this round/part" or "can you wait? I'm counting." The last straw was last weekend. RAVELRY. I have fallen, and I can't get up.

Reveling in Ravelry

It came on Friday - my invitation to Ravelry, that is. Since I've already cashed in my invite, I can't hang out with the impatient Alpaca. Last time I checked though, there were about 12,000 people in line behind me. That makes me one of the elite...

Now since it was the weekend I haven't had a lot of time to check out the wonder that is Ravelry. From what I did get a chance to see, I think it is quite clever, and I can't wait to see more. Just from the blogs of the Keyboard Biologist and Yarn-A-Go-Go (I picked two randomly) I think I should be prepared to be completely and totally hooked.

Lots to do today - must finish my homework for class tomorrow!

Back to Basics

I started another class Tuesday. It's the Ewe to You version of the 'Knitting Boot Camp' aptly named Back to Basics. It was lots of fun and very informative. Quite often, I don't learn anything at the classes I take. I have now attributed this to the 'cleaning your house for the housekeeper' syndrome (my mom used to do this - clean, that is, before the person she paid to do just that showed up). My problem with knitting classes is that I do a bunch of research on techniques, or the actual pattern that we will be working on and figure it all out ahead of time. This isn't necessarily all bad, as I have lots of time for chit-chat after the initial explanation is over. It's not all about the thing that you're making anyway - the company of others who share at least one thing in common with you and a couple of hours to knit without interruption is half the fun. I think this class is what I've been looking for, though, in the challenge department. We've got books and homework and such. Not to mention, Kathy said the magic words. "What do you want to learn?"

I'm making a list!

A Note on Pomatomus

I like a challenge, but these socks are kicking my arse. I have started them three times now. Tried new yarn, different needles, and lastly a different size needles due to yarn overs that were the size of my head. I think maybe three's a charm, because after two days of knitting, I've actually made it to row 15. Whoo hoo...... I have read nothing but rave reviews (and cute stories) about this pattern from those with the worst 'second sock syndrome' who claim the second in the pair just flew off their needles and those who have knitted 3 or 4 pair and can't wait to make more. I must be doing something wrong, because after 6 rows or so, my hands are cramped and forearms sore from wrestling with this thing. Me thinks I'm a stone's throw from defeat.....We'll see.

Carrying on, for now, with some sturdy hand painted yarn (not trekking XXL 100- too crazy) metal needles (not bamboo), and size #1's (not#2's).