Celebrate Potholders, Celebrate Life

Not much new on the bypass front, other than they're still working, which is a good thing! There was some talk about sending dad home this weekend, but they may be rethinking that. They're doing their best to drive him out with hideous food and poor television reception. The therapist has him walking around a little, but he's still pretty tethered with various tubes and what not. Hopefully we can celebrate his homecoming soon.

Speaking of celebrating...
Look what you can procure! Treat yourself or someone else to a perky tribute to homemade potholders. It doesn't get much better than this. You'll also find a couple of other funny Ts that I designed with plagarized/heard of sayings for your wearing/gifting pleasure. I make a buck or two off of each sale. So far I've raked in $1.42. Sweet!

In Other News...

It's been very coooold. However Lenore and I decided to wrap ourselves in multiple layers and brave the elements over the weekend. We went for a walk around town and down the river walk. The river is totally frozen at the moment and very high. This is worrisome from a flooding perspective, especially as they continue to open the locks up north to lower levels in the Chain-O-Lakes. People who live along the Fox are already having to stack sandbags.






We've both been working the bread machines overtime, and I made two batches of crockpot soup over the weekend in celebration of the season: Chicken with homemade noodles and steak soup, which turned out fabulous if I do say so myself. Which I will, especially since I was making it up as I went along.

Lenore got caught up on her reading during all this flurry in the kitchen. She was getting a little peckish and had a digestive biscuit...or at least most of one. Hoops indicated with her usual subtlety that she wanted a bite too.



Lastly, here's a picture from our visit with Hedy (modeling new potholders) a couple weeks ago. We were at the Thai restaurant in Elgin, which has the BEST Tom Kha Gai soup in the WORLD. I think that's the name of it -- it's the one with coconut milk, lemongrass, ginger... very delish.

Another Dad Update

Dad's off the ventilator now, but still in ICU. The doctors all say he's doing great, but he has to stay in ICU due to ongoing fluid in the lungs and the particular drugs he's getting to control heart rate, blood sugar, etc. Just as well, it's actually a lot nicer and quieter. I don't know if it's a good sign that he's complaining more about the food and the tubes and all the poking and prodding. He's figured out a way to make his alarm go off when he doesn't feel like reaching for the call button. Whatever works I guess!

Getting His Money's Worth

Surgery is done! They did 5 (!!) bypasses, so as my mom said, "I guess he needed it." I think he just wanted to get the most bang for his buck. It is but one of the many hurdles to clear, but a pretty big one. As of this morning, he was still on the ventilator and sedated. Sounds like he was a bit agitated last night and had communicated that he felt he wasn't getting enough air. What a horrible feeling, especially considering the ordeal he went through to get there.

According to nurse Leon (who my dad referred to as "the kid," as in "the kid gave me some Tylenol"), the plan is to take the balloon pump out of his heart this morning, and then six hours after that try to get him off the ventilator. Then they start you on jumping jacks I think. Heart rate and blood pressure are still a little high, but they don't seem too concerned about it. The surgeon said my dad's heart appeared to be beating stronger after the bypass compared to before, but we'll know more in a few weeks. That's all for now -- take care of your ticker, people! If not for you, then for your family. Just to give you an idea how much of a toll this has taken, Odie has actually lost his appetite. This is some serious stress!

The night before his surgery dad seemed a little perkier, and Nurse Robert (who is awesome, they all have been great) even had him out of bed and sitting in a chair. However, dad was not allowed to stand or move around since he was tethered to the wall with all his IVs and monitors. So we were just sitting around visiting, and Robert came in to ask if dad would like to get back in bed soon. Dad was like, "Yeah, OK," and sort of shifted like he was going to get up, and Robert said, "No, no, not yet, I'll help you, don't do it by yourself. I'm going to leave and I'll be right back and then we'll go to bed, I'll do it with you." And my dad says, "But I don't even know you!" I don't think Robert heard him -- probably just as well!

Impatiently Waiting...

Thanks VERY much for all the encouraging notes and well wishes. I've been passing them on!

At the moment, we're still waiting on surgery. They called at 6 a.m. Tuesday morning to say it was postponed because he’s still got too much fluid in his lungs. They're pumping him with diuretics, but slowly, because the old kidneys are not what they used to be. Last night, just to keep things interesting, the balloon catheter they had put in during the angiogram dislodged. Apparently that livened up the ICU; my dad said alarms went off and they had to get the thing out and make sure he wasn't bleeding internally. It was supposed to be helping his heart ‘til the surgery, so now I guess they'll just manage things with drugs. It’s just one thing after another! At least in ICU he’s got his own room and more attention. (Which of course he hates!) I think they're still hoping to be able to do the bypass surgery tomorrow (Thursday).

More Deep Breaths...

Triple to quadruple bypass surgery first thing in the morning. Yikes. They're keeping him in ICU because they're concerned about his kidney function, or lack therein. Crap.

Taking Deep Breaths...

I got another abrupt reminder r.e. the mortality of my parents this past weekend and have decided the whole “circle of life” system is just plain flawed. The greatest feature of our humanity is supposed to be the capacity to love, yet this also opens us up to the greatest amount of pain. Who the hell designed that little dynamic?!

Anyway, my spry, still-working and some say ornery dad's in the hospital with suspected congestive heart failure...well, I think they know he has that, but then they're also going to do some more tests today to see if there are any blockages. My mom called an ambulance early last Thurs. morning because he was having shortness of breath and pain when inhaling. This is not the first “I just called an ambulance for your dad” phone call I’ve gotten, but it never fails to send me into cardiac arrest myself.

The doctor thought maybe it was a blood clot in his lung, but then ruled that out and sent him home on Saturday. Then Saturday evening he started feeling worse again and by the time the ambulance got there, he was doubled over and could barely breath.

He said later that he thought he was going to die on the way, he was fighting for every breath. I guess his body couldn't handle all the excess fluids they pumped into him to protect his kidneys from the dye they had to use for the tests. So basically, he almost drowned. He has occasional heart beat irregularity, which I forgot the name of -- afib or defib or something, and he flipped into that, probably on Saturday, which normally isn't too big a deal, but it made it harder for his body to pump out the fluids. So they pumped him up with diuretics and gave him breathing treatments, which helped. He was in the ER 'til about midnight, then they finally got him a room.

We stayed 'til he was settled, and by then he was feeling much better. Yesterday he was better still, and today they're doing an echocardiogram and probably an angiogram. Hopefully he won't have to have bypass surgery. Lenore and I hung out w/him all afternoon yesterday, and while I appreciate the quality time, I would definitely prefer a better situation!

Speaking of hospitals, it amazes me how utterly retarded and inefficient the medical system is when it comes to caring for sick people.

Emphasis on Great

My co worker, Jesse, rents a room from a local dog behaviorist during the week to avoid the long daily commute. Living with a dog behaviorist wasn't planned, it just worked out that way. The benefits include a five minute commute vs. 1.5 hours, and Jesse gets to keep Bugatti, his cutey pie and Perky Potholder-award-winning pug with him. Boo has picked up a few tricks, gets the run of the place, and has lots of new friends to play with while Jesse is at work. And we enjoy hearing the stories about new dogs that show up for play dates and training. Michelle is also a Great Dane rescuer and has her own Great Dane (Gus), who Jesse says is very huge and lovable. But not as huge as Bob. Check out this big boy (and the look on Boo's face). The second picture is Gus with Bob and Boo, who firmly believes that size is not an issue and does not understand what all the hoopla is about with these other dogs, even if they could accidentally sit on him and not realize it (though I guess it's Boo who's sitting on Bob in this case).

I Hope She Remembers Us Little People

Pat and Brynn got a potholder and a dysfunctional doily for sending me the snowman picture of John. Here's Pat in her new high falutin' digs up in the president's office. Just goes to show ya, even the upper crust needs potholders.

Remember When We Had Snow?

Darn global warming...yesterday we had 60 degree temps, thunderstorms and two tornadoes, and it's only January. I'm still not done posting my snowstorm pictures, dammit!



The past few years, we've been getting a lot of seagulls around, and they don't seem to fly south for the winter. I think they mistake all the parking lots by the mall for bodies of water. Anyway, I thought the juxtaposition of seagulls and snow was kind of quirky. Only, it turns out you can't really see seagulls in the snow, cuz they're white! Go figure. I had to feed these ones some colored bird seed so they'd show up.

What follows are some other shots taken while walking around town looking at lights and what not.

This is the Fox River below the C'Ville dam. It was taken early a.m., and it was so cold the river was steaming. Those little lumps along the shore are dozing ducks.


Here's Odie and dad behind Otto Engineering, one of dad's favorite fishing spots (tho he wasn't fishing this day!).


And here are a couple of xmas light displays that I liked.



This one just makes me laugh. He's trying so hard not to tip over! Click on the image to see the "look" on his face.

Speaking of Pie...

OK, maybe we weren't, but there's always the potential in my book. Especially with the prospect of a new PIE SHOP (!!) opening up in town. We were first introduced to Arlene's to-die-for pies at the summer Farmer's Market. Don't let her teeny stature fool you, this woman knows her way around a pie crust! I had suggested she name her shop Sweeney Todd's, but she opted for a more kitchen-themed moniker. Understandable I suppose. As an added bonus, the other tenant in the building is a gun shop, so it's really one-stop shopping if you're in full PMS mode. So anyway, I'm psyched, though a little worried about what this could do to the size of my butt. As it is, with the new IL smoking ban in effect, Lenore and I can now enjoy fare from Diamond Jim's (an E. Dundee bar with *really* good burgers) year 'round instead of just in the summer, when the beer garden is open. It's right across the street from the pie shop. I think I'm gonna need bigger pants.

Snowman Sharing

How cute is this snowman, pictured here with wee John, who was visiting from Texas (John, not the snowman). Thanks to Pat/Brynn for sending! Your perky potholders are in production!

Here are a few I made over the break -- all but one ended up in xmas stockings, lucky stockings! I sort of stumbled upon this pattern within a pattern in the ones on the right, and I think I like it.


These are the "vintage" wooden frames I got on ebay. Eventually I will get around to hanging them. If I were really energetic, I would change the potholders on the looms by season. But I'm not. These were the vinagy-est loops I had as far as color and material.



In other news, my new wicked cool PowerShot A720 camera has been making an odd humming noise. Thankfully, Amazon has extended their 30-day return/exchange period for the holidays, so they are allegedly shipping me a new one. I'm not sure if this is normal (the humming), and I can't find anything on the Canon web site to say that it is, so I don't want to risk keeping it if it is indeed a defect. I think I can hold on to the humming one 'til I get the new one (cuz it still takes photos), if indeed the new one gets shipped today. This transaction has the potential to be very positive if it all goes off without a hitch, because they are even paying my return shipping -- all based on my claim that the camera is defective. Plus I was able to talk to a real person who was very helpful...or at least played the part well. Film at 11.*

*Do they still show film? "Digital footage at 11" just doesn't have the same ring to it.

It's going to be almost 60 degrees today! Stay tuned for a small montage of snowy photos shot around town (now that the snow is all gone, it will be nice to relive it, don't you think?)

Gingerbread Scandal

So I think I mentioned that Lenore and I walked up to Starbucks just about every day over xmas break. It's a decent walk -- across town to the footbridge, over the river, up two big hills and down the street. It helps us justify the luxury. And I was using gift cards... 'til they ran out. Then I paid cash, with dripping nose and shaking hands. No, I'm not proud to admit that I became completely addicted to a daily tall decaf soy latte with one squirt of sugarfree gingerbread syrup. It's almost as fun to order as it is to drink. So imagine my dismay when I discovered the SCAM Starbucks was running with these so-called "seasonal" beverages! It's not enough that they can get saps like me to pay over $3 for a stupid cup of coffee (albeit creamy, sweet, frothy and oh so good..). No, come to find out they actually charge MORE for a gingerbread latte (by name) than they do a regular latte of any other flavor! WTF?! I found this out because I usually order like this:

"A tall decaf soy latte, and just one squirt of sugar free gingerbread."

Since the perky barista people tend to punch in the orders as you go, they just entered the latte with the extras (soy and syrup). HowEVER, yesterday I noticed all the festive red holiday cups and menu boards were gone, so I asked if they still had gingerbread lattes and the guy said no, but they did still have some sugar free syrup left, and I was all, "SWEET! That's what I want anyway!" So he punched in "gingerbread latte," added the soy, yadda yadda, and it came up $4.21. $4.21!!! For a SMALL drink?! I was like, "WHAT?" Well, actually, I paid him, then it registered, so then the deconstruction of my order had to begin, with manager involvement, voiding of the input, refunding of my sweaty bills, and all they could come up with was, "Huh. Well, it must cost more because it's a seasonal drink." OH. OK then. That makes perfect sense...if you're a MORON! Is it not enough that they charge, as I think I mentioned, saps like me over $3.00 for a small coffee beverage? They have to charge even more for...what? A holiday named beverage?

The guy was actually very nice and offered to ring it up the "non special" way, but by then I was too miffed and in the throes of withdrawal. So I got a simple tall decaf soy latte with a side of several deep breaths.

And this scene from Shrek 2, which makes me laugh. I wonder if the giant gingerbread man likes gingerbread lattees...or is that a form of cannibalism.

With A Corncob Pipe...

The resemblance is striking, don't you think?



Odie, Lenore and I built some snow people and an alien baby after one of the Xmas-break snowfalls.



The perfect packing consistency of the snow caused snowfolk to pop up all over town. Ours was the only one with a corncob pipe, however. Here are just a few...

This one is across the street from the Starbucks in W. Dundee that Lenore and I walked to just about every day.


OK, these three above aren't in Dundee, they're in Palatine, at the Jacobsens!



I like the no-nonsense arms on this one.









By nightfall, however, many were listing.




Here's ours the next day after fortification.

That little blob in the middle was at one time a snow dog, but one of us accidentally stepped on it. Oops.

Got any snowpeople in your neighborhood? Send me a picture. There might be a perky potholder or a dysfunctional doiley in it for you. You just never know!