Been handling lots and lots of paperwork this week and wednesday was full of it and back to back to back meetings. I got out of the last meeting so I could work on paperwork but sheesh. After lunch I was very, very tired and kinda spacey. The feeling continued until later in the evening (after sugar consumption) but I didn't nap or get lazy when I got home. I got things picked up somewhat in the living room, research stacked in neat piles on the card table, piles and piles of paperwork put away/thrown out, got all of the thank yous mailed out and also got elisha's prezzie mailed out too. Mingo and I got the kitchen set and then I finally felt okay enough to start working on tambour.

I used the new embroidery hoop that ari lent me and it made the fabric taunt as is required and I figured out I need to be tambouring towards me and then the loops don't tangle. I got all the way around the sun I'm working on and then around a few rays before I called it a night but it looks pretty good. Still slower than I can chain stitch with a needle but I'll see how fast I can get by the end of the sampler. I also need to see if I can line things up as tight as I do normally with chain stitch by hand. We shall see.

I had to keep moving the knee....its tight but not hurty tight by the end of the day if that makes sense. I think I will bike today but it will probably be short and not with the crewe. I also want to see if I can get a re-fit today on the bike, need to call the shop and see if I can do that after work. I will probably not suit completely up for VH. Probably do slow work and pell work.

Seriously could have slept for much much longer this AM but work calls. Sighs. It was the perfect temperature, there was snuggly punkins and snuggly posadnik_ivan. Sighs. I could have slept for quite a while that way. But here we are...

The leg was very, very tired and sore when I got home from running to target and scribble. Scribble was a good time filled with slow eating icecream, precious sibling mishaps, Steel Magnolias references, cries of "LIME!" and many one liners I can't remember now. Laughter was abundant and that was good for all of us. The base painting on the county is going smoothly and the cyphers have been started. Next week is gold leafing seminar, so dqbunny if you have monday night free, come on down and learn to gold leaf and then take stuff with you. Got home a bit later than I intended but I was a bit wired. Embroidered just a bit more on the bridal gift and I'm almost done. I'll post pictures soon when its done. I hope to finish it today...should have stayed up to do it last night since I was wired and I read for quite a while to get the brain to shut off.

Next on the docket of projects is to finish my tambour sampler and then start in on the embroidery for fieryredhead's coat. I hope I can get the sampler done by the weekend and then start full force on the embroidery...it will be a good project for the demo I think. I'm looking forward to that and might actually wear my 14th century...we shall see.

I made sure to massage the knee during the drive to work. I have quite a few stop lights and very long stretches where I'm not shifting all of the time and that seemed to help. Much better than yesterday. I think its healing, just need to keep steady.

( To do This week )

Well, work was a lot of work. A lot of brain drain and then I got home and worked on research until it was time to go to VH. I had a hard time getting things ready for the hall...couldn't find this, forgot where I put that but we made it on time and then I kept putting things on in the wrong order the normal bubbling me.

Drills were good and it emphaises to me that I need to get a new sword...I need to recut my handles...the current stick isn't great...I'm gripping too hard which causes things to be too tight in areas they shouldn't etc. So, gotta go through the rattan stash and make a new stick. The drills were good as well, I'm starting to get the muscle memory and getting to know when I'm doing things wrong and I know how to fix them.

The next set of drills was fun (well, it started out that way). It starts with a set 3 shot combo and progresses through the line to 4, 5 and then 6. I made it to 5. I had finally started to relax, was breathing good, trying to be fluid and I got to the 5th shot which was an off body. Alessandro and I had been working on my angles to throw that shot for the first time in slow work so I thought I knew what to do. And I did, with my body and my arms but I didn't set my feet correctly and when I went to throw the off body I felt my knee pop...well, actually I thought justin had hit me in the knee and I forgot to put my knees on and then I was on the ground not in a happy place. Got me settled off the sidelines after a bit and justin figuring out that things had just popped due to the angle and I was okay but I'd be sore. I'm thinking I was very tight in the legs from kung fu and then I had relaxed and just did something wrong and the body wasn't happy about that.

This has blown many of my plans for the weekend out...I was gonna ride the next 3 days and see a movie but I'm gonna do research and sleep I think. I'm able to walk but slowly and I can't put too much weight on it but I think that will get better as long I keep stretching it out today. I'm gonna call glenn and see what he says too so all should be good.

Well, I think a nap is in order. Very tired.

What sucked though is that things were clicking into place finally and then I go and hurt myself. Oh, well, I won't forget how to make it better.

So, to start off with, since I'm can't fight right now...here is my in my spiffy new armor...

The back (I'm in the dark grey coat on the left)

The front (again on the left)

Looks very nice...and I'm glad I appear in a few photos...thanks to Graine for taking some.

The arm is odd...it was uber swelled and painful during the am but by the later afternoon I think the combo of ibuprofen and pushing water got it down so I could get more movement. I started stretching it out and its feeling better but I was pooped when I got home. I let it rest and I took a nap. Mel was again the awesome husband and got dinner going (last of the southern war chili). Had dinner and then I figured out my evening. The arm was moving but it was very sore but at least my hand had decreased in swelling so I could move it. So, I turned on NCIS and scanned more books into my libarything. It was a two part motive on that...see one of my goals is to get the library scanned and the other is to work on my class handout which is going nicely thanks to everyone's help.

I scanned books until 10pm...actually just a little past since I didn't realize what time it was. I got into bed and put a heat wrap on my elbow and was reading when mel came home. He was surprised I was up but it was good to get goodnight kisses and see his bumps and bruises before I fell asleep.

I had wacky bo-bo dreams that I will attribute to the 1/2 leftover brownie from rock bottom. I dreamed that I was part of an army that was being besieged in a castle...it was weird and the one guy I liked ended up dying and I woke of crying..except it was weird...we were elves or something. yup, wacky bo-bo. Plus when I got up this AM my tummy has been odd...not sure what is up but I'm sure it will right itself eventually..probably a combination of drugs and spicy food. We shall see. Damn its still cold in my cube. I'm putting my coat back on...brrrr...

Well, the drive home was painful but mel drove well and we got home and I got into a shower very quickly. My arm was throbbing so I got to take more drugs and I watched and episode of Superman that I hadn't seen all of and then I curled up in bed. I snuggled up on my left side (opposite of normal) and then I was okay. Got up this am and things were better than I expected...though we had to jump the truck cause it was dead. Got to work and the arm was unhappy...I had to take my rings off cause my hand has now swollen way too much..I almost didn't get them off. Gonna take some drugs and not try to stress it out too much. I can't right very well but typing seems okay.

We shall see how I do.

Well, work was again work. By the time I got home I was very tired. I took a nap and felt better. Mel had made a huge pot of dinner and I was grateful. Then I trundled along and got the old viola out and started practicing the piece for coronation. Its about an octave too high for my range. Called stephen and found out I'd missed a notation for octave down. Oops...well, that does make it better. Got dressed for practice and we were some of the first ones there which was weird. Dunno what was up with that. Had a good time fighting and then we had melees...and I realized without a doubt that I really, really need to repad my helm. Sighs. Just one more thing to do this week. Sighs.

So, I was out about 30mins earlier than I wanted. But the time flew by and I got a few other things accomplished. Which was a good thing in the long run. Got home about 1045pm and had cocoa to warm up. Showered, applied tiger balm, forgot to take and pain meds and then fell asleep after a few pages of the new book. Still very interesting, not sure where its going but the setup so far seems to be good.

I awoke this morning aching and my head is not happy. I got up and did the morning routine and mel was nice enough to have coffee on. I got drugs into my system and I'm almost feeling human now after a cup of coffee and some happy white pills. I'll be calling glenn when I get back from my 8am. I've got a 715 this morning that is gonna not make me happy. They (upper management) has decided to change the structure of the teams and combine for my team 3 people into one person...and that one person I've never met. I was just getting used to the old VSM and finally working on his level and I really liked the supervisors...so this will be a big change and its gonna suck. More and more reasons for me to be finding a new program. Grumptastic.

The work day was a hassle but I managed to get most of everything done that I needed minus the task I have left for Science Experiment Boi (SEB). Course Phil and I had many good discussions about our frustrations with SEB and that made me feel loads better especially after I had to lay down the law of what was happening with his precious design. I need a girly cobra t-shirt to wear cause the Baroness is coming out to play. Anyhoo...left a bit after 4pm and got home and chatted with the hubby for a while. Ate the free salad I got from work (jason's deli chx caesar) and then I fell into sleep with the couch and the cats. I'm not sure how long I slept but mel woke me up about 620 when The Basketman called to chat about my custom order. Its being mailed out today and he was uber happy with the design changes I made and if it holds up etc he'll actually be putting it in his inventory as a normal basket. Squee! I should have it for A&S. Then I had to make the decision to puss out of kung fu for the night or go. I pussed out. I was tired, my leg was achey and I really needed some me time. Seriously. Recentering is a good thing.

So, I sat watching tv and weaving until mel came home about 9pm. I did manage to catch the first episode of Knight Rider and even though its uber cheezy it might have potential as long as they don't reuse a lot of the CGI footage of KITT transforming back and forth. Yes, he can be the normal mustang cobra (yes, not a TransAM), A beefy sleek mustang and a ford truck. Oh, and just forget the science part of your brain and enjoy the camp.

I went to bed but a bug bite made me itchy and I didn't sleep very well. I probably should have taken a benedryl but eh, I can cope. Today we take the kitties to the vet. Which is always entertaining. Course if mel isn't home in time to help me get the girls in their crates it will be interesting. After that I need to run a few errands and then mel and I are going out to dinner.

EDIT - scribe_ari for the WIN...it even has baroness on the sleeve!!!

EDIT #2 - Glenn is out of town and my foot and leg hurt...and are spasming...sighs.

Well, we have a very good day on progress of stuff yesterday..and know I'm paying for it. The many hours of bead making, jewelery making and calligraphy along with hitting a huge rock on my bike while riding has made my arms uber tired and very sore. I feel like I did weight lifting versus crafts. Eh. I'll cope. Need to get myself back into form with all of this since Miss Cecelia is princess..lots more calligraphy in my future. I also realized that calligraphy doesn't take that long...its the lining out of the text. Seriously..that takes forever...course I need to remember to write down what my spacing is for each nib size cause that would help me out a bit I think.

So, work today should be good. Got many small things to take care of and get organized. When I get home I'm gonna head over to Ed and Candaces's to drop off food and then get back to work on documentation for A&S and maybe getting going some more on my last project. We shall see. Then it will be to kung fu and then to ari's (late) for scribble.

Congratulations to atensibilla and sirtighearnain on their nuptials and to George Takei and his beau on theirs. It was a weekend for weddings.

Oh, almost forgot...got the Crown Picts Up.

I was able to keep the most of the pain at bay but it was tiring. I got home and snuggled up on the couch watching Buffy and chatting with the hubby. I forgot how much season 3 made me weepy. We really need to pick up the rest of the series. I relaxed all evening and pulled out some books and read research for a while. I got good progress on my last 2 A&S entries. I should have good rough drafts on them today if all goes well. I decided that I really like being snuggled up on the couch and stayed home. Mel was okay with that. I think he's hit the very concerned stage of things since I got kinda clingy yesterday. I just want some comfort cause I don't feel good...sorry to worry you dear. I finished things up with research about 8pm and got some photos downloaded. I can't do anymore until I clean off my HD. scribe_ari can you bring your laptop so I can burn cd's of my photos and get the HD cleaned off when you come over tomorrow? I had CDs. I had gotten about 2GB transferred to the excalibur drive but I won't delete them from the hard drive until I get the CD's done. I'll work on transferring the next 2GB too. We so need new computers.

I read more in Nightwatch and mel sent me to bed when I got home. I guess I didn't look too good. I took a shower and made it through part one of the book and fell into a deep slumber. I think I still had all of the lights on and mel kissed me on top of the head when I stirred when he came to bed. I awoke this morning...very awake, I think. I'm functioning on pretty high level right now even without too much coffee. My mind is more ordered again. I'm gonna give glenn a call when his office opens and get an appointment this afternoon. I'm also gonna get refills on meds and on my biotin since I've been out of that too. I'm not sure on biking tonight...but I'm gonna do an easy ride tomorrow to break myself back in. I've just been so weary.

Well, the headache of doom(tm) hit me yesterday. It was not pleasant. I wonder how I managed to get myself home cause, yeah, I probably shouldn't have been driving. I almost fell asleep at kolb and valencia since I had to wait for the light. I got home and snuggled up on the couch and obsidian was all about that. Mel was weaving and watching Buffy. I fell into a dead sleep. I awoke sometime much later and mel was asking me if I wanted dinner. I wasn't sure about that proposition but started to get up. I moved my neck to pop it and it did a big "k-chunk" as it reset about all of my vertabrae in my neck. Hmmm...maybe that had something to do with the headache? It got better but I made sure not to move my head around too much. Mel left for practice after I had had some dinner. I then drove the truck to safeway to pick up a few things like fruit and yogurt. They had chx breast on sale and I will be grilling some of that up thursday I think. Carrots were a must since I was making my famous ginger, crockpot carrots for a pot luck today. I did pick up icecream since we were almost out and they had ben and gerry's Willie Nelson's Peach Cobbler. It sounded heavenly and when I got home I ate a bunch of it and felt even better. I snuggled up on the couch watching Dog, the Bounty Hunter, I have no idea why I like that show but I do. I continued to read more of Nightwatch and I'm a little thrown by the time style...but I'm coping. It tried to suck me in to read more but I had taken more drugs and some benedryl so I was out. I awoke briefly to tell mel about the icecream and that his b-day prezzie was on the bathroom counter. If you go to scribe_ari's user pics you'll see a carved bone laurel medallion..well that's it. My bro-in-law argent_lupin is finishing the viking woven chain for it so he should be all spiffed out by A&S. He was very surprised since I had already gotten him stuff (bike helmet, shoes and pedals) but I knew he wanted one and wouldn't get the time to work on one. I then fell back asleep.

I awoke this morning to mel kissing me awake which was weird. I think he thought I was more awake but all I had done was roll over. I got things going for the potluck dish and was out the door on time. I took a bunch of stuff this morning to head off a recursive headache. Its still kinda there and I'm not looking forward to that again. If it gets bad I will go home. Not sure what we are doing for mel's b-day tonight before the officer's meeting but I'm sure it will involve beer and food. Who knows. I just need to survive today.

( Ginger Carrots )