The Neon Nurse's Charting

Baked. And not in the fun way, either.

This afternoon Caro and I attended my third and her fourth auction in a 10 day period. Yep, when an addict falls off the wagon, they fall hard.

But today's was the RE-2 school district's auction, and you just CAN'T skip a train wreck like that. The last time I went to one, I bought 52 tons of sandstone blocks, and ALMOST won a human skull, so you can see the appeal.

If you had been wanting classroom size blackboards or any one of several hundred desks (in a dozen styles) or old outmoded tech gear, you would have been totally set here. I didn't get everything I wanted (there was an alphabet carpet I swear was in Mike's first grade classroom!), in many cases because I did not want to haul it home. But we got a cute little oak card catalog, a small filing cabinet to replace one of mine that is falling apart, a book cart, a VERY neat Eames era mid-century modern chair which I will take a picture of to show you tomorrow, a few other little odds and ends and nearly Dreamcloud's full hatch capacity of BOOKS. Three-fourths of which will end up donated to the Friends of the Library sale, but the remainder are good candidates for resale. Which is the name of the game, in the end. The thrill of evading heat stroke yet again is just a bonus.

How is it that my clone is a genius and yet I am sadly not?

I have been complaining all week about my vision suddenly deteriorating like crazycakes after my eye exam last week. Not only did everything look out of synch when I walked up and down steps, I suddenly could not see close up hardly at ALL. I was using a magnifying glass for almost everything.

So today Caro finally said, "Are you sure they put your lenses back right when they took your glasses apart?"

And I said, "Well, sure, how could they not--?" Stopped to think. Went to check.

Sure enough, the lenses were in upside down. Now I can say with some authority that bifocals do not work as well with the bi part on the top....

I had to bounce briskly out of bed much earlier than normal today because I had an eye exam. Haven't had one in about 5-6 years, so it was time. The cataracts are, sadly, still there, but since my prescription isn't to be changed much, they are growing very SLOWLY, giving me plenty of time to either win the lotto to pay for the surgery, OR for this country to get some reasonable health care system arranged so people can AFFORD to pay for an operation or two.

Yes, I AM still breathing in and out as I wait.

I am keeping my frames, since they are unique and I like them, so the tech took my glasses apart to trace the size of the lenses. She then put my glasses back together RIGHT, and I have been having that fuzzy vision and sense of curbs being the wrong height all the rest of the day. I think it's wearing off at last.

Mike got a dental exam and sealant put on some molars that have finally grown all the way in. Souvy got his booster shots. Dreamcloud got a tank of gas. Caro (and all of us, but mainly Caro) got a new cordless phone to replace the old crappy one that was nearly impossible to hold a conversation on. So all in all, a very productive day!

Tomorrow is another auction. With a little luck, I will finish getting the rest of the stuff we bought at the LAST auction out of the car before we go. I AM a little tired of being nudged in the arm all the time as I drive, by the feet of the old sewing mannequin....

I survived the past four days, despite losing internet service for almost a WHOLE DAY and also going to an auction LIKE AN IRIOT when it was 105 degrees out! And stuff like that.

Tomorrow we have assorted appointments, but I hope to get several posts posted and emails e'd.

In the meantime, here is a link to the FUNNIEST THING I HAVE SEEN IN MONTHS.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1NhSQARojp0&search=emperor%20march

I can't even see YouTube from my messed up Firefox--I always have to switch over to Internet Explorer and cut and paste links. But this one is TOTALLY worth it. Even if you have a slow, slow server it is worth it!

In fact, I might go watch it again before I go to bed....

(That subject line is actually the title of a pretty good song by Alan Jackson.}

It's a little after 1 am, and temps OUTSIDE have dropped to a refreshing 80 degrees. The frog on the wall says it is still 88 in my computer corner....

I haven't been posting too much because I finally decided to bite the bullet and do an inventory of all my books that are for sale online. It's only been, like, a year and a half since I did it last....

Yeah, I know, it sounds easy. Print off a report from the database software and start checking the shelves....

There are things in the database not on the shelves. There are things on the shelves not in the database. There are things that I not only do not know WHERE they are, I have no idea WHAT they are!

And just to gig it up to a more challenging degree of difficulty, I decided to shift a whole bunch of books to a NEW set of shelves, plus also pull and donate many books which no longer sell for a reasonable sum at Amazon.com.

See, Amazon's used seller system works like this. I have a book and I look it up. Jolly, the going rate is $7.77. I price mine at $7.76. Someone comes along the next day and sets their price for a comparable quality (maybe!) at $7.75. So when I go through and check current prices, I lower mine to $7.74. And we all keep playing this game until OUR copy sells....

My personal low ball amount on Amazon, after which it no longer makes sense to offer a book or video or whatever, is $2, and I really probably ought to raise that to $3. But for now, once something is below $2, I take it out of stock and give it to our Friends of the Library bi-annual book sale.

So. I have been busy staring at my computer screen going blind, carrying stacks of heavy books here and there, sitting in front of shelves checking off titles and generally going mad, mad, mad.

And now that I am finally getting towards the end of this task--eBay has decided to have a Special Price Listing Day--THAT LASTS TWO DAYS!

Like I always say, if you DON'T have the Meanest Boss In the World, you shouldn't be self-employed!

My dear son Sterling, who turned 31 recently, sent me this link with a request to pass it on. I am finally getting around to doing so. :/

The Red Tail project is not about hawks, as I first supposed, but an effort to restore vintage WWII planes for educational sorties. And not just any old planes!

(A few quotes from the website)

The Tuskegee Airmen were the first African Americans to be trained as WWII Military pilots in the U.S. Army Air Corps. This was a time when being black was more of a crime then being the enemy. Never in our nations' history has the idea of enemy lines been so blurred or has patriotism been so clearly defined. The Tuskegee Airmen challenged America's racist attitudes with the willingness to give their lives to a country not willing to serve them.
(...)
Initially shunned, due to their color, the Red Tails superior performance rapidly became legendary and they soon became the requested white bomber pilots fighter escorts. Flying over 15,000 sorties in 1500 plus missions they compiled an outstanding combat record. As bomber escorts, the Tuskegee Airmen never lost a bomber to enemy fighters; a record no other fighter group achieved. Sixty six gave their lives in combat and 32 were captured as prisoners of war.

http://www.redtail.org/airmen.html

For $10, you can buy a rivet, which comes with a personalized certificate. A good gift for those hard-to-buy for types!

Feel free to pass this along!

I got the piece of wood yesterday, and it miraculously fit into place functionally and pretty much as I envisioned. However, to keep me humbly aware of my real place in the scheme of things, it turns out I had everything needed to install the door handle BUT a 9/16ths drill bit. The sad thing is, I KNOW I have one. Around here. Somewhere.

But OH WELLL, after tomorrow's run to town I will have two, one of which is handily in hand.

I am probably also going to fill my prescription for Keflex. I wasn't going to, because I don't like to take antibiotics unless I HAVE to, on the theory that too much over time is worse than not enough, antibiotic-resistant pathogen-wise. But Caro had a check-up today and HER doc, a wise old guy whose been around the block more times than Marcus Welby, said he thought her bumps (which resemble mine in everything but multiplicity) were staph-related. So, yeah, okay, pills all 'round.

I ran across this photo in Dashing's LJ blog, and was struck by the expression on the frog's face. "Why," he seems to be thinking, "do these things always happen to ME?!"

I know just how he feels.

More or less, looks like.

We now have two almost fully functional storm doors, front and back, as well as new verification of the fact that the man who built our house was, shall we say, not as dedicated to perfection of detail work as he could have possibly been. I mean, why are NEITHER of the doors QUITE a standard size? Is that normal for door construction and I'm just ignorant of professional door manufacture details?

Whatever. The back door now only needs a little extra molding added to the sill, some caulking near the top, a dab of paint to the frame and the little closer thingie added, and it will be perfect. The front door needs a piece of wood so that there isn't a half-inch gap between the door edge and the frame. Once I put that in, I can put in the side metal frame piece and the handle and stuff, and THAT one will be perfect as well!

I feel pretty good about getting it done, except for being sort of tired. And my knees are a little unhappy about all the ladder climbing. BUT I think this will help quite a lot with the unauthorized fly access, and also with keeping out icy cold winds in the winter. So my knees can just get over themselves!

In other news of minor annoyances, Mike's ringworm is almost cleared up, but Climber has it now. So off to the vet again tomorrow for more goo.

I continue to feel almost but not quite good, dealing with this low level, slow to clear up Thing that was going around and decided to stop here. The out of sync feeling is a problem because when I have some energy, my brain is going "Wuh?" and when I give up and go lay down, THEN I can't sleep.

Anyway, we haven't done much of major interest around here, and if we had, I didn't have the brain cells to rub together to post about it.

We are seeing some headway against the ants, throwing up barricades and also using the ant gel suggested, which I FINALLY found a local source for. The new players in the Drive Us All Madder Than Ever contest, though, are the flies. They have gotten off to a slow start this year, but their numbers are growing, thanks in part to defective doors, front and back, that we have finally made up our minds to do something about.

I had actually STARTED to try to do something about it way back in June, by looking at storm doors at the local hardware store we usually deal with. The door I thought would be best for us was, of course, out of stock, but they said they would see about getting one and let me know.

So yesterday, having become tired of waiting, I went to the OTHER store we don't patronize as much to see what THEY had. Which turned out to be CHEAPER doors, IN stock. I made some notes, planning to go back if the ones Caro mentioned seeing at the flea market would not do.

Of course, this being Lamar, minute vibrations in the aether told the BMS man we had been thinking of cheating on him with Guihen's. Because as soon as I got home, they called to say that the door I had been asking about way back when was ready for me to come pick up.

Probably this means that for the next week, at minimum, I will be fighting the never-ending battle for truth, justice, and having a house that is NOT falling down around our ears. Quite.

When I'm not out of sync. So maybe I should make that two weeks. Or three.

# posted by Susan : 4:31 PM

Here is your very floral Fourth of July card from me!

Go here:

http://www.jacquielawson.com/pickup.asp

and enter this code: BJ45722127

For those not celebrating this particular holiday, how about a link to Evgeni Plushenko, the Russian figure skater, doing a salute to Tom Jones and I guess also the Chippendale boys....

http://www.mojoflix.com/Video/Evgeni-Plushenko-Sex-Bomb.html

(sent to me by my dear son Sterling. He always knows what I will like!)

Not really as cool as it sounds.

Over the course of the past weekend we discovered we were sinking into this state. It sounds great as a philosophical ideal, but in reality...not so much.

Little teeny tiny ants began invading our kitchen in ever-increasing hordes. I don't have anything against ants per se, but as we often say, there's no room in this house for another 40,000 pets.

I put out some bait traps I found in the storage room. The ants ignored them. We decided maybe those baits weren't fresh enough for our discerning ant horde, so we bought some more and spread them out like 52 Card Pick-up.

The ants found this slightly annoying, in that they had to detour their busy ant superhighway around the bait stations they had absolutely no interest in, but otherwise it had no effect on them.

Then Mike started popping out ringworm spots, which made us grown-ups start to feel suspicious about every little itchy twinge WE felt. And with me and my spots, that was a great deal of suspicion to produce on short notice.

Caro had already been sick all week from some bug going around, which had jump-started her dormant colitis. Then *I* got the same bug, and even Mike, who practically NEVER gets sick, complained of a stomach ache for a couple days.

AND I found a tick on one of the dogs.

So yesterday was Mad Monday from Hell. I took Souvenir in to the vet as the likely purveyor of the ringworm fungus. Felt somewhat vindicated when both vets said that going by how he looked, they wouldn't have thought he was likely to spread ringworm either.

Called Mike's doc, who recommended Lamisil. Got an appointment for ME, since I had some sort of suspicious weal on my EYELID. On the plus side, the doc told me she didn't see any signs of the ringworm glomming onto my numerous scratched up itchy sores, and she also said she didn't think those were shingles. Not clustered enough, itchy but not painful. She didn't know what they WERE...but she suggested my original self-diagnosis of some sort of contact dermatitis, so I felt vindicated again.

In between all this, and making a THIRD trip to town to mail books (I can't remember when I last drove to town three times in a day!), I completely cleared the kitchen counter--well, okay, half of it--so I could clean it, pour orange oil down behind it, and seal it off. {Which means this morning the bedraggled remnANTS were over on the OTHER side of the counter, complaining bitterly about the lack of toaster crumbs and other good eats that used to be so easy to find.)

Then I went to bed, before midnight, and slept for 12 hours.

Today is BOUND to be better, even if the 4th of July fireworks show gets rained out.

Thursday evening Mike and I went to go see Cars. Apparently I am part of the target audience for this movie, because it made me cry.

Yes, really.

Shuddup.

It wasn't the main storyline that affected me. That's there as a framework, and to give the kiddies a nice little life lesson. This one being that unless you care about others and they care about you, it doesn't do you any good to get rich and famous. Which is a good point that bears repeating.

Where they snagged me and reeled me in was the part where they show how the little town of Radiator Springs started to decline when Interstate 40 was put in and cut off Route 66. The Mother Road. America's Main Street. So this movie is based on several thousand true stories.

As you may recall, Mike and I have a dream to someday take a few months and drive old Route 66, as much as is left, from Chicago to LA. I've watched our videos* about it dozens of times. Mike, dozens of dozens. Pretty much from the start I was noticing little visual jokes, redraws of historic things and places. I thought they were just doing a bang-up job of recreating the 30s to 60s vintage architecture...until the credits rolled and they listed all the real places they had drawn to make the movie town. So it's like they condensed old Route 66 into one fictional place. Its story is the story of the whole sad lost era of roadtrip wonders.

That's why when that scene came on, set to a song called "Our Town", I had time to think, "Hey, that's James Taylor!" before I started getting teary and sniffly. Then later they had a scene where they turned on all their old neon signs, and lit up the town like it had been in its heyday. Yeah, go figure, me getting emotional about neon....

The B story follows the theme as well, the one with the car voiced by Paul Newman. It makes you wonder why we do it. Why do we abandon the things that made us happy, just to exchange them for something faster and shinier, because it's new?

There are a multitude of little background in-jokes in this, so I expect we will be getting the DVD when it comes out. We already ordered the CD, as there are a couple of songs I must have. If you haven't gone, go, and don't forget to stay through to the end of the credits, fer th' love of Chrysler! :)

*Michael Wallis has written several books and made videos about old Route 66, and has had a major part in pushing for restoration of it. He was the voice for the Sheriff car in the movie!