Things I Learned Today

Things I learned today on a seven hour car trip:

1. There are beavers in KS. Well, there was a beaver. It's now dead. On the side of the road. I assume it died of dehydration.

2. Kenny Rogers voice will make Cortland quit crying. And the song Elvira will get him going again.

3. The lines in Lucille by Kenny Rogers are not (words I always thought are in italics);

"You picked a fine time to leave me, Lucille,

With four hungry children and a Daf and a Dil.

I've had some bad times, lived through some sad times,

But this time you hurt me for real.

You picked a fine time to leave me, Lucille."

4. I won't call 911 when I see a couple push a light blue hatchback off into a ravine on the side of the highway. (I was surprised by that. Who knew? I always thought of myself as a concerned citizen.)

5. A Chicken McNugget can maim when it hits the back of your head from 3 1/2 feet.

6. And finally, kids are now smoking Salvia to get high. And there's a bunch of people who want to outlaw growing it. Strange. My mother will be a wanted fugitive.

Carroll Update

Lots of people have been asking about a Carroll update.

She found out Friday that the tumor came back sometime in the last 2 months. She's starting IV chemo and Avastin. We are hopeful that this treatment will shrink the tumor and that the treatment won't suck in the suckiest suckness of suck. Ever hear someone say that the treatment is worse than the actual illness? Yeah, that's not the case here. I think she would stick hot pokers under her eyelids if it would cure her cancer. Hell, I would do it right along with her if it would mean that this fucking tumor would disappear.

Other than that, Carroll's doing great. She started back to work the beginning of January and didn't have any trouble picking up where she left off last July. We celebrated her daughters 1st birthday at the end of December, which was such a treat. Lily is so sweet and girly. Her birthday is actually the beginning of Jan, but Carroll wanted to make sure Ciara's husband could be there. Ever thoughtful, our Kiwi.

All in all she's hanging in there. Of course this news was a blow and not what she/we wanted to hear. But as Kiwi would say, "It is what it is." Seriously, she has the best attitude.

Pictures

Cortland got into the Aquaphor lotion.

What? Why are you staring at me?

AHHH! Fix it!

Meh. Guess it's not so bad...

Cortland liked the snow when it was less fluffy, less thick, just less. Regardless, it was like pulling teeth to get him back inside.

Cortland playing on the bed.

Smock Coat by Debby Bliss I knitted for Lily.

Cortland and his best friend Lucas. Lucas is 2 months younger than C.

Drafty Windows

Our home is now hermetically sealed. With plastic. Now don't go thinking we've gone all white trash. Tanya showed me the error of my thinking years ago when she showed me her electric bill compared to ours all because she put plastic on her windows in the winter.

Tanya taught me that it's not my fault that old windows get drafty and to not be too proud to do something about an issue that is making money fly, figuratively, out the window. Drafty windows happens to everyone, just like what all women feel (bubbles) when they go potty. It happens to everyone but nobody talks about it.

I really have no idea why I feel the way I do/did with putting plastic over the windows. I guess it's from seeing other peoples houses from the outside with shiny tin foil covering their windows. (And really, what does tin foil do??? If it's just to block light, then black-out curtains can be purchases at Wal-Mart for less than 16 boxes of tin foil. Weirdos.)

So mostly what I'm trying to say is if it's drafty, feel free to fix it. It's nothing to be embarrassed about. You can't even see that the windows are covered. And it's so nice to sit and not feel a cold breeze on your neck while knitting.

Some things I would like to point out:

1. Don't wait until it's 19˚ (again) before putting up the plastic. The hot air from the hair dryer has to work so much harder to shrink wrap the plastic. It takes f.o.r.e.v.e.r.

2. It's super fun to chase out the wrinkles with the dryer.

3. Sweep the floor before unwrapping the plastic or you'll end up with furries on the inside of the windows. Ewww, gross.

4. Something else, but I can't remember.

5. Buy the size for sliding/patio doors and cut to size. It's cheaper that way.

6. Start sticking at the top, do the sides and then the bottom. Trim after you shrink wrap. Thanks Tanya for that little tip. So much easier than the way I would have done it.

7. Try to make the plastic as neat as possible, but not tight, just wrinkle-ish free-ish. The hair dryer will tighten everything up.