Ok, here are the pics from my Colorado trip:
They are all from the car, as we didn’t have much time for sightseeing. But you can see how the mountains ring the area. I’ll only link directly to two:
Thanks for all the well wishes, everyone.
StG–I meant to post about you yesterday–this fever has boiled my brain. I hope you do well. You do have a word board or at least a pen and paper, no? Post here! We’ll talk to ya!
Nava, I don’t understand some mothers(people) sometimes. Mine didn’t do the whole “give me grandchildren” thing. My MIL told me flat out, she was too young to become a grandmother. Then made my kids call her “grandmother” (but her daughter’s kids can call her Gram–whatever).
MBG, that is awful. Such a waste, and such a terrible way to die. I don’t get it, though-the husband is being “talked to”? They don’t think he has anything to do with this? I can’t help but think that if a stranger were to come along and wanted to take out a whole family, the stranger would “neutralize” the adult male first. I’m sorry, but I have to suspect the dad.
Off to call doc’s office now that they’re open.
I haven’t been able to keep up here this week, but I think of you all often. LiLi – re: the maternity clothes thread of a week or so ago: I just read an offshoot of Ann Taylor called AnnTaylorLoft has cute stuff. It looks absolutely adorable.
Hi to everyone else!
Mornin’ all! TGIF!!! My company is closing at 1:00 today because we are having the grand-announcement-of-it’s-new-name celebration here this afternoon. It’s a mandatory attendance thing and I know there’s going to be champagne and a chocolate fountain 
but I can’t figure out what they are going to do for over three hours. Oh, well.
stg, a colleague’s wife lost her voice after thyroid removal which was not good since she is a journalist by trade. She also had swallowing difficulties. You?
rigs, hope you get to the bottom of the fever.
rosie, just what exactly is “I’m not touching you?”
li-li, awwwwwww, what a cute little peanut! 
meeks, that link was hilarious!
Off to make more chimp calls. 
Tupug
MBG - That’s just horrible. Things like that affect the whole community.
Swampy - Good luck with the job search.
Nava - What is it with mothers and grandchildren? One of my parents’ friends’ child had a baby out of wedlock and she started hinting she wouldn’t mind if that happened to me. What happened to the woman who wouldn’t let us call boys on the phone when we were kids???
Puggy - That’s exactly what I have going on. The hope is the nerve issue isn’t permanent damage.
StG
I’m glad everyone liked the link.
As to kids, that is one of the few things my family is not pushing me on. Go figure. I’m glad, as I have no desire to become a mom, but I think his mom still has some idea there’ll be grandkids from this pairing. Um, you have another son, and his wife has already produced one and is anxious to produce another. Go mother them!
It was a struggle for her, especially liquids. I do know from my father’s illness, there are thickening agents you can add to liquids (even water), to make them easier to swallow if that is a problem for you. They can be found in most pharmacies. She DID recover so hang in there. 
Can you believe? I fell asleep before I could get properly drunk? Just as well I think.
rigs I think a lot pf people here are with you - but no one seems to know the whole story yet. That family lives right over in the next subdivision from me, there’s some SERIOUSLY large homes there. My cop sources tell me that dad’s story is that mom shot at him first, he ran, and when he heard more shots and came back, he found everyone like that.
Still - you RUN from a woman holding a gun and leave your kids behind? I think no one’ll know what happened there for a while.
I’m off today. Had the car examined by the car people, fluids exchanged where appropriate, etc. I think I’m going to hop on the bike for a long, sweaty ride before it gets horribly hot, then later off to see the Crazy-In-the-Head Doc.
After that (sheesh), a wake with the Kid. A girl I used to coach on soccer, the 15 year old daughter of friends of ours, died of Cystic Fibrosis on Monday. The Kid has to work tomorrow for the funeral and the Wife won’t be home in time tonight for the wake, so I get to do both.
I declare the rest of summer to be NO Kids Dying or Even Getting Very Sick Time.
Hee! ACBG is channelin’ Mr. Rebo! Supper tonight is steaks, sallit and baked non-fried N.O.T. wedges. I was gonna do baked N.O.T. but the wedges were specifically requested instead.
Speakin’ of ol’ y’all know who, I’m headin’ out now to meet him for Chinese buffet. He called and said he’d buy me lunch. Who am I to deny him that pleasure?
Now that I’ve had it, I don’t quite understand the cult-like fascination some people have towards that Mexican Coke that’s made with sugar instead of high-fructose corn syrup.
I will at least alert a friend who’s allergic to HFCS to grab some while it lasts.
All of the quoting and name-changes up there have me puzzled over who’s got what sort of nerve damage. Just want to say that it sucks, especially when it’s permanent.
Nine years ago, I took a tumble down a flight of stairs, and bashed up some cervical vertebrae. Nothing actually broke, but everything from C3 to T2 got bent farther than recommended by the manufacturer. I still get pain and motor difficulties. Bleah…
Aargh! I was typing the last sentence of a long post, and I clicked the wrong thing and closed my entire browser! Grr! So I shall try to repeat.
I’m just sitting here knitting again this morning; and that’s all I plan to do the whole day, given the choice. Yay for quiet Fridays!
That’s really sad, MBG. I can see why people are eying that man with suspicion; it certainly does sound suspicious, at least circumstantially.
Yay for resurrected iPods, Meeks! And nice photos.
I second the vote for thickened liquids, StG – when my dad’s Parkinson’s affected his swallowing, thick liquids were much easier for him to manage. Plus it avoided the chance of accidentally aspirating stuff into his lungs. I hope you recover fully and quickly, however!
That flooding sounds nasty, BooFae. Stay safe!
I can’t tell, Swampy – do you want the job or not? Or are you at the point Drae is, where at least temporarily any job is better than no job?
And speaking of Drae, any luck on the job front? I’m thinking about you; unemployment totally sucks.
It’s amazing how moms can drive us crazy, isn’t it, Nava? Just remember, the reason our moms can punch our hot buttons so effectively is because they installed them. It’s taken years of effort to learn to not react to my mom’s efforts to make me crazy, and I usually succeed, but every once in a while she just sends me spinning out of control. And it’s even more crazy-making because she’s usually so proud of doing it!
Back to my knitting. I’m working on a really pretty lace pattern, using a fingering-weight yarn instead of lace weight to make sure I can actually handle it, and I appear to finally be getting the hang of lace. The biggest problem I’ve had is that I’m left-handed, so I have to switch everything – so I find that following knitting charts is much easier than text patterns since I have to reverse the actual stitches used to create the various effects. And I’ve also started actually re-creating the charts backwards so I can follow them without having to reverse everything in my mind. And it’s finally working! Yay! By the time I do an MMP, I should have enough done on this shawl to show you what I’m actually doing. I’m very proud of myself!
The iPod is Rosie. My iPod is still only about 6 months old.
See, that’s why I’m just sitting here knitting today. I’m still totally brain-dead. I knew it was Rosie’s iPod and your pretty mountains. My brain has just gone on strike today. :smack:
Jesus, MBG–I second that motion and declare it inviolable.
RE the throat surgery. StG, I’m assuming you have been or will be seen by a speech pathologist. If not, ask for one, pronto. They can evaluate your swallow and get you what you need. My MIL had to taught how to swallow all over again (it’s not something we think about, but swallowing is actually very complex).
No word from the doc. When I call now, it goes straight to voice mail.
Ok, Nava–your mother is irritating in one way. Mine, in another. I just got off the phone with her–she wants to know AGAIN why her “only granddaughter” isn’t going to Harvard. Jesus, woman–because the girl WANTS to go to BU. She has good enough scores and grades to make Harvard a possibility, but she doesn’t want to go there.
My mother’s reply? “Well, if she wants to be in Boston, she should go to the best school in Boston.”
I think my fever just went waaaaay up. Argh.
The girls from work and I just got back from this faaaa-bu-luss sushi place. $20 bucks for lunch, with no adult beverages. But it is so yum! I had champagne rolls and california rolls. Champagne rolls are “krab” and other stuff wrapped in something and tempura-fried, topped with a cream sauce, guacamole, a blob of hot sauce and parmesan cheese! They are beautiful, and so good.
Now I just want a nap…
**Rigs **-- tell her Harvard isn’t in Boston…
(Well, it isn’t. Last I heard at least)
MBG – Yeesh! I third your motion and declare it voted in. Horrible stuff 
Count me in as a fourth. Sad that we should even have to say it.
I fifth MBG’s declaration.
I’ve lunched. I also went to WallyWorld where I encountered the usual assortment of Walmartians :eek: WallyWorld had a sale on Tropicana[sup]TM[/sup] juices and TP, so I had to go stock up. Plus I needed nanners and niller wafers cause Ima make a nanner puddin’ for Sunday. See, since ACBG and I don’t have fathers anymore we haven’t been goin’ to families for Father’s Day stuff. For you non-Amurrkins Sunday is another one of our infamous made up “holidays”, namely Father’s Day. Well, we got invited to come join JoeDawg’s daddy’s family (we’re all good friends) for Father’s Day. I said I’d be glad to bring a nanner puddin’, which I happen to know is one of JoeDawg’s daddy’s daddy’s fav-o-rite things. The response I got back on that was, and I quote, “YAY!” 
I consider that a compliment.
It is hawt outside today! I was considerin’ hangin’ at the pool for a while but it’s so comfy inside I think I’ll just stay inside til it’s time to grill steaks.
eleanorigby - No to the speech pathologist. For the moment I’m on complete voice rest (aside from dealing with insurance companies, I guess) for three weeks and then we’ll see where we are. It’s surprisingly hard not to talk to my pets. Swallowing was very hard the first day. Either my throat is improving or I’m getting the hang of positioning my head right and taking small sips.
Tupug and Mama Tiger - Liquids are the hardest. I may try the thickening stuff. Do you know what it’s called?
StG
I left work early. I had to make a bank deposit because I forgot to give the check to *FCD ** this morning - he passes the only local branch of this particular bank on his way to work. Anyway, money deposited and groceries bought, including ice cream - it was BOGO - I *HAD * to get it!!
When I took the doggies out to pee and poo, I noticed a particularly lush crop of poison ivy in the side yard. There’s also a big patch out front. Out in the shed, I have this stuff that you mix up and spray on the leaves and it kills 'em. Methinks I’m gonna do that this weekend. Poison ivy does not like me.
Interesting stuff a’brewin’ at work. I know they’ve been having budget issues - so much so that I think they’re hoping a few more people quit. But apparently they decided to be more aggressive in dealing with it. It sounds like a bunch of contractors are going to be cut loose. I just hope it’s not the computer contractors - those guys are always busy. If they’re gone, we’re gonna be hurting!
I found it interesting that it hasn’t occurred to them to suspend the Rec committee for a while. Those people spend a LOT of time planning burger sales and the picnic and other non-bottom-line crap instead of doing real work. Morale is important, but when people are worried about losing their jobs, whether or not the command has a picnic isn’t even on the radar.
954 days… 954 days… 954 days…
I picked up some ribs - I’m thinking they’re gonna get drowned in BBQ sauce and popped into a low oven. In fact, I think I’ll do that right now. Yum.
*Buy One Get One