Better

I feel much better today, actually did a couple chores on the new chore list. I make a chore list each week and chip away at the little things to be done. There's always art of some kind on the list.

I restarted my Tamoxifen. I'd forgotten how interesting hot flashes could be.

No change

Still bleh and sniffly and sickish.

The swollen vein in my palm (from Tuesday) has gone down and doesn't hurt half as bad. Scared me a lot though. I couldn't use my hand at all without it stabbing and pulsing and throbbing. Aging sucks.

Getting the dishes run through the dishwasher was a major chore. I'd started the kitchen floor, but when Desi came over, she had to finish up for me. I had to wait until Larry was home to move everything back in place. And my floor still looks funky to me. It needs a hands and knees scrub. Riiiight.

Went to base yesterday, eye appointments, new glasses, commissary, gas at the minimart. The glasses take about aweek, but they're tons cheaper than Lenscrafters. I have new single vision s for far seeing, and a second pair for reading. My sunglasses can wait for next month or so.

What?

I'm congested and running a fever. I'd thought I was coming down with a cold last week, but it never materialized. I was so sure it was so sure it was a sodium benzoate reaction. I even looked up all the foods in which benzoates occur naturally. I got very depressed about that. So when I felt cruddy this morning, I thought maybe I'd scarfed down too much apple cake (apples, pumpkin and spices are sources). But no, I still feel awful and now I feel like I have a fever.

I give up.

Again? and Random Piccies

Halloween was fun; Desi and I sat out on the porch while she carved a pumpkin. Trent came over with Jack, the chubbiest cutie-pie baby ever. Jack's eight months old, he was wearing a size 12~18 month devil costume with little black wings. Did I mention he's a big baby? So cute! The guys got home about the time it began to rain. We hauled in the Halloween decor, threw on costumes and headed for RHPS downtown Ogden at the Peery Egyptian.

I couldn't find my Criminologist tie, so I dressed up as Hunter S. Thompson. Made sense to me. Larry wore his black kilt and tails, Desi was wearing my Stewie jammie pants and We Do the Weird Stuff tee, Genius had on my Star Trek uniform shirt. It worked. He and I did most of the callbacks! Larry and I did the timewarp on stage pre-show. At one point, someone behind me yelled, "Shut up!" I turned around and informed them that this was frickin' Rocky Horror, what did they mean, shut up? All part and parcel of the experience, folks!

The days have gone rapidly from mild and cool to cold and rainy. The maple has dropped a ton of golden leaes in the back yard and is stilll wearing plenty of green. Larry raked in the rain today, but he didn't seem to mind. Actually, he used the snow shovel!

Last night he brought in wood, one piece had shelf fungus on it. Fungus, mold, mildew, they're worse triggers than smoke for me. I had one of the nastiest asthma attacks I've had since Japan. That time Larry called an ambulance. This time I almost asked him to take me to the ER, my breath meter was in the red zone. I mean, the thing said I was barely breathing! The rescue inhaler took care of it. Tonight was cold, so Larry lit a fire while we watched Stardust (great movie, btw). I was fine until he put in the pine bark. Now I feel tight-chested and it hurts. Scary, but I have the inhaler. He's gone off to Genius' party to say hi. I am going to have some nice hot tea and albuterol.

I screwed up my Tamoxifen. I thought I'd renewed the prescription, but I had only not thrown out the old bottle. I hopped online to refill it; I get three months at a time from Express. But no! Oh no! The script had expired just two weeks ago. So I am stuck without the estrogen suppresor for a few days until I can call the oncologist. I'll be fine I am sure, but in the meantime, I'm having random hot flashes. Bastard!

We took the family silver to my brother today. We're talking sterling, not silverplated crap. He'd just had his 25th anniversary, and they do have holiday and family dinners more often than I do, so I was alright giving the set to him and the SIL. I priced Gorham online, wow. That's a chunk of change. I also gave him an early Christmas gift, a Hallmark Star Trek communicator ornament that lights up and has sound. Captain Kirk and the crew talking, you can get it to mimic a conversation. Hilarious!

Pics: apple-pumpkin cake (there was maple drizzle later), whole wheat egg bread, haunted dollhouse, how much Halloween crap can I own? Fat Harry. The Buckys ... note the new baby. Yet another truly terrible self-portrait: Me, Doing the Weird Stuff.

Monday ... oh. Wait a minute.

Tuesday isn't it? Larry's dispatcher told him there was nothing going, so he made an appointment at the Ogden Clinic to take care of his dripping, rotten sinuses. Two types of antibiotics. Then we swung by the Ice Sheet to vote. I'd lost my Utah handbook, so had to read up on the amendments quickly. Mostly yes and one most assuredly NO. I'm glad we went, now I don't have to hustle a ride on the 4th, and Larry won't miss out. This is do time people!

Pondering, pondering. Dr. Horrible is seeping into my life. Hmmm.

A fellow twitterer is following me on twitter, an applicant for the Evil League of Evil, Fury of Solace. Nice name and he can sing. So, am I evil enough? Hmmm. Maggiemayday is an alias from the George "Don't get mad get even" Hayduke days. Crappy writing or not, I am on paper as a freelance payback artiste. Mayday, not as in the lovely first of May, but of Mayday! Mayday! You are going down in flames! So that's kinda evil. Not rule the world evil, just personal vendetta evil.

And then there's "Anti M". That sounds nice and evil, but it is a burner playa name, and some people actually use without irony as my given name in RL. How can it be an evil alias then? Nope. Anti M is the kindly yet snarky Matron of The Home for Wayward Art. I do encourage throwing Really Bad Art to the flames, but I try to find Lost and Found and generally trashy art new homes. That's not very evil at all. And I am Auntie M to my nieces and nephews. However, I do like the concept of Evil Art influencing unsuspecting victims. "Just hang that nice picture of the hypno poppies in your foyer, dear."

There's Death's Shadow, where death goes I am at his heels, an assassin. But that's evil for a paycheck, not evil for evil's sake. Skilled ot not, that's almost Henchmen's Union territory. And the alter ego of an alter ego, so that's too far removed, and cheesy to boot.

Am I badass enough for the H.U.? Hmm, nope, neither badass nor subserviant enough. I have done the sidekick thing when I was younger, being the quieter of the Yanqi Kids duo. I always was the Mastermind of that little crowd; I would come up with hilarious acts of teenage terror and my friends would carry them through, led by my best buddy Doobie. Seems like I always was somewhere else when things fell down and they got their tails in a sling. So that was evil in a modest way. Mastermind is good. I can direct henchmen.

Is there then a middle management position for evil? A sort of den mother/housekeeper of evil? The Evil Clearinghouse, the evil think tank matron, the evil braniac homemaker? I envision a large clattering ring of keys on my waist, with which I can kill with a single "clank"! And a plate of tempting cyanide cookies and arsenic warm milk. Auntie Evil. Death in a charming roly-poly grandmotherly package. "Eat your veggies, dear, or you'll never rule the world."

Evil Mrs. Santa, who boffs the elves and makes venison jerky in the off season. Killer toys, hmmm? I have the outfit for that!

DeCompression 08

Marvelous party! The venue was great, the Jellyfish warehouse. There was a good entrance way for ticket sales; a large area for dancing and the bar, an upstairs balcony for art and relaxation, plus a fenced and gated outdoor area with a fire pit and sofas and the portos. Very nice! The decor was fabulous, the set-up crew did an amazing job. And the band ROCKED. I've completely forgotten their name, but will look it up.

I went as a MOOP Princess. MOOP, as we know, is matter out of place, i.e. trash. I wore a hoop skirt embellished with trash bag ruffles, baby wipe fluerrettes, shredded wings with a mardi gras bead/plastic cup cascade. Dead glowsticks and zip-ties embellished the bodice, dead ciggie butts sparkled on the tiara, and the earrings were made of condoms. My picture was taked a lot, I hope someone gets a better one than what was one my camera. The skirt slipped right before my picture was taken with my camera. the first row of ruffles is supposed to be up against the bottom of the bodice. Ah well, wardrobe malfunction of the un-sexy kind. arry wore a silky monk's robe I made for him.

I danced, had some mai-tais, chatted a lot. So many beautiful people. I was sad we had to leave early. Larry is working today.

We took the Buckys, of course, and a new installation called Bodies of Light. That's the Victoria's Secret clear manneqin torsos on VS panty tables painted black. The torsos are filled with LED lights, some strands, some color-phasing snowflakes. We knew it would look good, but once it was set up, it looked amazing. I couldn't get a decent picture of it, but I do want it to be displayed sometime again. As usual, I didn't get enough pictures. I never do. I wish I'd gotten a decent shot of Dean's wood sculptures, he is very talented. Hot Jesus was supposed to go in the raffle, but I was leery because there were a number of non-burners and I wanted the Very Special piece to go to burners who would love him. So I withdrew him from the raffle and sent him to a new home. I painted a Vortex Poppy, I very much liked it. I can hardly wait to see who got the painting. I hope they like it!

Sigh, Time to unpack the trailer.

Farewell, Yakkums

My hamster Yakkums died yesterday, or perhaps late Monday. I didn't see him all day Tuesday, but he's nocturnal so I wasn't worried. When I went to check on him before bed, I thought it was odd he hadn't taken the pistachios Larry had put in the cage on Monday afternoon. Yak loves them, and stashes food immediately. He wasn't in tower saucer, so I reached in his bed nest in the bottom of the cage. He was all curled up, like he was sleeping, so cute, but stiff and cold. Wah! And his fur was all soft, it really did look like he was sleeping. Larry won't be home for a few days, so I had to put Yak in a box in the freezer. He'll be buried out back, near Keeper. Wah! I know, just a little hamster, they don't live long, but it still made me cry. He was two years old or so.