monkeymom's Diaryland Diary
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The things you see when you don't have your gun
2 January, 2002
Hi Boo �
Well I drove all the way to O�Hare airport myself today! Woo woo! Yes, I am big and brave. Of course, I had Ruthann with me to tell me how to get there, and she drove on the way back, but I am such a big brave dog.
I suggested that Scott ride the bus from Rockford to the airport, but he acted like I didn�t love him anymore, so we drove him. Kim had to be at the church to set up for the YW/YM activity tonight, so we left at 9:45, put gas in the car, dropped her off at the church and picked up Ruthann from her house. It was a little after 10 when we left town and a little after 2 when we got back, so we did very well � just a little more than 4 hours to go to O�Hare and back.
Ruthann just came down here to my office and brought a copy of the new knitting magazine I�ve been looking for! I�ve been thumbing through it for a few minutes and I found a nice v-neck vest pattern in a basket weave kind of stitch, so I called David�s mother (you know how much she loves me) and asked her to measure him. She called me back with his measurements, so I will go out to get some Woolease to make the vest with. All the patterns in the magazine are written for Lion Brand yarns, so they are easy to find. I�ll have to find a plain dark color to make the vest in, since you know missionaries need to look like the Amish.
I�m so excited about how beautiful Scott�s cable sweater looks and it fits well, too! I took a couple of pictures of him and Kim yesterday, and I just need to shoot up the rest of the roll and then I�ll send you a picture.
Here�s what I�m working on now �
1. Nagano sweater � need some longer size 3 needles for it, it�s crammed onto the needle and it�s hard to move around.
2. Gjende sweater � that�s the simpler Dale sweater that�s burgundy on the bottom and black on top. Ripped out two inches yesterday AGAIN, and changed needle size. It�s looking better now.
3. Dark olive green Norwegian sweater, about two thirds done. I�m up to the patterned yoke, so I can�t carry it around with me to work on. I have an enlarged copy of the chart, so it will be easy to get it finished. It�s coming out very big as I made it in the XL size.
4. Pine Woolease socks that I started for Ben Black, but I don�t care about him so I never finished them. Last night Scott came upstairs with two pairs of my handknitted socks and said he didn�t have any at school, so he took those and I thought it was so sweet that I got out the Pine socks to finish for him!
5. Ragg Woolease socks � another sock that I started and didn�t finish, I don�t know why. I have the yarn to finish them, and then I�ll send those to Scott too.
So that�s my list of WIPs. Let me know when you need more sock yarn and/or patterns. What have you been working on?
I got an email from my mother on Sunday, saying that Aunt Marilyn was trying to figure out where Grandma can stay this summer. Mom told her that Diana and I could each do a couple of weeks, bless her heart, and that she could take Gma at her place for a month. She said that Aunt Lynn is talking about putting Gma in a rest home, and Grandma is upset about that!
So I forwarded that note to Diana, and then we got on the phone and complained to each other about the shameful way Grandma is treated by her children, and then Diana sighed and said she would call her mother. I offered to say a prayer, and she said that would be good, so Kim and Scott and Dad and I all knelt down in the living room � this was about 4:30 on New Year�s Eve � and we had a prayer. Diana called me later and said that her father said that they are planning to have Grandma stay with them this summer, and that Aunt Lynn is talking about Assisted Living, which is more like an apartment than a rest home, for when Aunt Lynn�s health is too bad for her to take care of Grandma anymore. (Okay, hello?? Who takes care of who?)
Diana sounded calmer and relieved about the whole thing, and we both felt better about it. The next day I got an email from Uncle Joe to say pretty much the same thing, and he also remarked that Marilyn just likes to stir things up, haha!
So I called my mother last night and explained that everything was settled for the coming summer, and she said it was all Marilyn, trying to figure out what to do because Grandma was worrying, and apparently Marilyn can�t just pick up a phone and call anyone to ask what the plan is. Well, actually, Marilyn does rub everyone the wrong way, so maybe it was better that she didn�t call.
Then I asked my mom what is wrong with Roger, because Diana said that Grandma and Marilyn are acting like he�s all but dead. Mom said that he does have heart trouble, but he takes medication for it, and that Marilyn is always talking about what they are going to do, �If you�re still around,� so she obviously thinks he is going to pop off at any time.
Then Mom said that Marilyn took Roger to an Iridologist, who is some kind of alternative medicine practitioner ( I refuse to say doctor, and by the way, it was Marilyn�s idea for Mom and Grandma to go to the Kinesiologist, otherwise known as the Witch Doctor that they go to in Ann Arbor). Anyway, an Iridologist looks at your Irises in your eyes and tells you what�s wrong with you, and that quack told Roger that he has throat cancer. I said, so has he seen a doctor about it? And my own mother acted like a doctor wouldn�t be able to tell them anything, and I said a doctor could take some cells from his throat and look at them to see if they�re cancerous (the amateurs in the medical professions call that a biopsy), and Mom said well, she thinks he doesn�t want to have to go through the treatment for it. I said, �I see, so he�s just going around convinced that he has throat cancer based on what the Iridologist thinks from looking in his eyes? Maybe he should just call Miss Cleo, I�m sure he would get a diagnosis that�s just as accurate!� Then she said something else, but she was laughing and I said I couldn�t discuss lunacy with her anymore; that I was going to call Grandma and let her know she has a place to stay in the summer. What a bunch of loons.
Grandpa called this morning just as we were getting ready to leave- he said that he took the laptop to Best Buy and they say it will be a month before we get it back, the bastards. They say it�s the video card and something about replacing the motherboard. Can you believe that? So Scott won�t have his computer for another few weeks � he�s only been able to use it for about 2 months since he got it.
Well boo, I have to go now to do some knitting and read magazines. I love this job.
Love you �
Mumsy
P.S. Oh my goodness, you will never guess who just showed up at the door to the I.S. department! Gabe! He was wearing a sweatshirt with a hood, sweatpants, and a baseball cap! Oh the things you see when you don�t have your gun. He is living with his mom and calling Baxter �Dad� now. He says he is sworn in and will be going to basic training in Georgia on Jan. 22, and he seemed pleased about the prospect of being within driving distance of Florida (home of bugs, old people, and homosexuals).
He was here about 30 minutes, and he talked about his family, and asked about you, and told me about a girl he is sort of dating that he used to know in school. I told him you are fine and I promised to write to him if he sends me his address. I thought he�d never leave.
11:01 a.m. - 2002-01-03
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