ET phone home

What have I been up to?? Oh Boy...well where do I start. Hmmm I guess with work, work and more work. My department hosts an annual Polar Plunge for Special Olympics.  March 1, it was a balmy 29 degrees...yes, that's right, I said 29 degrees! The water temperature was posted at 34 degrees, I seriously think that was completely false! I was not one of the 219 insane peoplethat plunged into the icy waters of Lake Michigan but I did get wet and it did not feel like 34 it felt more like minus 34!!   

The park district had to bring in a back hoe to clear a path for the plungers. The beach was so covered in snow and ice that you could not see any sand at all and it was exhausting to walk through.

 Usually myself and my fire department cohort sit on the rocks to take pictures of the event but there was so much snow and ice covering it that we could not climb the rocks, we could not tell where there was a solid place to stand. Not only that but the Chief strictly forbade us to even try (WTF)! I suppose it did not help my cause that I fell right in front of him.  You can see in the picture below how much snow and ice was on my usual perch. 

My poor son-in-law was coerced into plunging, actually I believe my exact words were " if you're going to marry my daughter you have to do the Polar Plunge" Good hearted boy that he is, he braved the elements and plunged.  (That is him with his arms in the air.) And, bless his heart, he plans on doing it again next year! I don't know how he did it! I personally did not think I was ever going to thaw out. In fact this was the coldest I have ever been!!

Note the shelf of ice where the photographer with the tri-pod is standing. I am not sure if he realized there was nothing but water beneath him. 

For anyone who is interested, our Plunge raised $110,000 this year for the Special Olympics!! The best one we have had in 9 years! More plunge pictures here!

Still in charity mode, Lynda from California sent me two dozen hats and two dozen scarves to donate to our local homeless shelter. Lynda is amazing!! This is the second installment of hand knitted and crocheted hats that she has sent to me, the scarves are made from fleece about half of them were made and the other half purchased. I've been feeling pretty lax, because with everything that has been going on the last month or so, I haven't been able to make anymore myself. Lynda sure puts me to shame when it comes to this endeavor. I will have to kick it into gear and get that sewing machine out and make those fleece hats I planned on making a couple of months ago. 

Here is what is happening on the home front. A big fat nothing! I am so disgusted with Hobby Lobby! Probably my own damn fault for buying the beads there in the first place, but at the rate they replenish, I will not get this scarf finished until next year. I have learned my lesson, I will buy beads online from someone that counts them!

My pretty beaded alpaca scarf has been living unhappily in this basket in the meantime. I had to ask for the beads to be ordered today since the last three times I have been to the store the hook as been empty.  And go figure, the damn things were 50% off today. 

My toe up socks have been placed on the back burner as well because I was being too retarded with them and have had to rip back several times. I guess I am not in the right mind set for them right now. 

Yesterday my sock swap package came. Sarah and I opened it together and what fun, she kept pulling stuff out of the little read bag, 3 balls of Peruvian alpaca, a ton of adorable stitch markers, a little bag to keep them in, beautiful hand painted sock yarn and the best....a pound of Brazilian coffee...absolutely divine!!

The one thing that I have been able to work on is my alien scarf. It is slow going because it is my first real experience in chart reading and I don't want to screw it up. I am so enjoying the process of this scarf. I keep stopping to stare at it as those little green faces start to pop out at me. I am in love with illusion knitting!! It is so magical and I am still in love with it. Of course my daughter wants one too now. And freak that I am, I have been showing everyone at work pictures of it like it is a new baby or something. 

Of course, I am pretty darn sure I don't have enough yarn to finish... yet again, poor planning. I would have sworn I checked the yardage when I ordered, but clearly I do not have enough yarn. How aggravating!

Here is ET

Now you see them...

Now you don't!

It has been a sad day on Sesame Street today. I had to go back to the bone doctor about my elbow. Apparently when he said "don't lean on it" he really meant DON'T LEAN ON IT!

Ok, so maybe I leaned on it, a little bit. I couldn't help it, I don't do broken or sicky very well. The damn thing started filling up with fluid and, instead of getting better, the pain was making me nauseous.

  He had to aspirate it today. In layman's terms that means take a big freakin needle, jab it into the most painful part of your elbow without warning your first or numbing it. Then draw out this disgusting liquid, and show it to you. Then give you a shot of cortisone in the same freakinplace, which burns like a MFr! Lie and say it will feel better soon. Well apparently his definition of soon and mine are two different things! 

Ok - to be honest, it is starting to feel a little bit better, but I still feel nauseous from the pain and had to take some Vicodine to take the edge off. I've been feeling pretty muzzy today and just wanted to whine about it. I know, got any cheese to go with that? I am going to try really hard to take better care of it. 

I need to find myself something mindless to work on, since there isn't much mind to work with today.