In Virginia

Made it to Hampton, Virginia. Dead beat and plum tuckered out, as Husband would say. It's nearly 10 p.m. East Coast time..but wait, that's only 8 p.m. my time! Why am I so pooped?

I'll tell you why...it has a lot to do with not sleeping much. And when I do, it's not quality sleep. Bad nightmares, weird reruns of inconsequential things...and if they're not strange enough, I just make up stuff to worry about.

Weird.

Dad is hanging in there. He's back home, and his hospital bed has been set up in the living room, where he can watch tv if he likes (thankfully, we got them cable for Christmas), or meet with visitors. He's had a lot of them in the past day. They only stay a few minutes. (Also thankfully)

The hospice nurse told Mom to tell me that she didn't think Dad would make it until Monday night. One factor, nurse said, was that Dad's knees were cold, and his legs above and below were hot -- a sign that his body was starting to break down. (I'm not commenting on this...I have no idea...it's what the nurse said.)

However, he went and sat at the table for supper tonight, and also spent some time sitting in his chair. He seems more coherent, though he does sleep a lot. (I can't talk to him on the phone again -- not a good sign.)

So instead of taking the train Sunday, I'll fly back either late Saturday night or really early on Sunday.

God willing, it will work.

Dad Update

I know some of you blog friends have been following the health of my dad, suffering from bone cancer:

He's back in the hospital for a few days, to get re-hydrated. Radiation's stopped. (The doctor said it's helped control the pain, and that's all they planned for. I don't understand this, since Dad is still saying he's hurting.) Dad is too weak, though, for more right now. And there is no sign he'll get stronger.

Sometimes he's lucid, sometimes he's not. It comes and goes.

But Dad gets to be home soon-- where he wanted to be in the first place. Doctor told my mom 2-4 weeks. My brother thinks 2 weeks. I just want to be there. Have got to do the Mancuso conference first, which will take all next week.

Hang in there, Pa. I'm coming as soon as I can.

David Brick, Happy Birthday!

Husband, my best friend and treasured companion, has his birthday today! I'd like to get something splashy for him, like an ATV or a trip to Panama; he's a wonderful guy, and deserves it. But I will continue to be a responsible adult, and behave...

So I cooked him an omelet and steak for breakfast, and it's supper with friends tomorrow night.

Lunch at Red Robin with the girlies, a Sachertorte birthday cake and a few (sigh) modest presents... and my love and affection to him forever.

Happy Birthday, my darling.

Tale of A Rose

Did you hear about the man who woke up from a coma...just as they were getting ready to turn off the machines?
http://news.aol.com/health/article/man-in-coma-has-miracle-recovery/349065

This actually happened to a cousin, as well. Kayleen had been in a horrific traffic accident, and the doctors said she was brain dead. But she wasn't! It took time, but eventually she came out of the coma...and recovered.

* * * * * *
Working on the California Gold book today -- and researching a special flower. When pioneers moved west, they often took along cuttings of a tough-as-nails yellow rose they called "Harison's." According to Deborah Bedford, author of A Rose By the Door:

George Harison, an attorney and amateur rose-grower, discovered the species in the 1830s growing in his backyard. The roses were fragrant and hardy... Harison gave a slip to Thomas Hogg, a local nurseryman, who assigned it its first and perhaps most accurate name, given how far it would soon range: “Hogg’s Yellow American Rose.” A second nurseryman, William Prince, better equipped to propagate and distribute it, renamed it ‘Harison’s Yellow.’ In an 1846 rose catalog, Prince wrote that his rose was brilliant and beautiful. He also wrote that “a hot sun makes its blooms expand and lose much of their beauty.”

The rose cuttings were kept moist stuck into a potato, or wrapped in damp rags. So many were planted that some historians say the path of homesteaders can literally be traced by the Harison's Yellow rosebushes still thriving by house and cabin foundations.

I've wanted a Harison's for literally decades, but couldn't find one anywhere...until High Country Roses in Utah hove into view:

http://highcountryroses.com/Qstore/Qstore.cgi?CMD=011&PROD=1079916052&PNAME=Harison%27s+Yellow

http://www.highcountryroses.com

It is really (I mean really) dry here; in fact, our area, in spite of being at 6,250 ft, is categorized as "High Desert." Very little grows easily, except for columbine, day lilies, iris and -- ironically -- dandelions. But the Harison's is known for triumphing in such conditions. I ordered it, as well as a mystery pink rose that thrived in the neglected Fairmount Cemetary in Denver. (The second oldest in Denver...)

It's nice to think of roses when you're staring out the window at a tan, windswept landscape. There will be more about the Harison's in the book, too -- including a rose-themed pattern. I just have to remind myself to use only one 'r!'

Tired

Hanging on...but barely.

A batch of appraisals and reports need to be finished and mailed in before I leave next Tuesday for the Mid-Atlantic show. One quilt needs a few more hours of repairs, then binding. The new book (on California gold, gold, silver, copper, mining, etc.) is begging for time spent on it. And I must finish a few sample tops to take with...and ship a few packages...plus send out invitations to a bridal shower in Michigan for our new niece, to be held while I'm there in early March...

And Husband's birthday is Friday, which means celebratory meals, a birthday cake, presents, etc.. Go figure. (Actually, he's been very understanding about this part -- which makes me all the more determined to do up something nice for him.)

Then there are the everyday things, like a sinkful of dishes, three wet shirts (that need ironing), an ice-clogged freezer and the round of meals/cleaning/errands that make up life.

Can't I run away to Panama? (Husband says he'll join me.)

Finally I realized I am obsessing about some of the silliest of the items -- like whether people who go to the bridal shower will be able to see Niece's favorite colors. (I'll scan the paint chips sent, and e-mail anyone who's interested. Problem solved.) Or whether I can get the bathroom scrubbed by tomorrow. Or whether one of the dogs (who are both old, and have been having health problems) will die before I get back home.

Or -- and this is probably what's really bothering me -- whether my dad can make it a few more weeks, until I'll be there to see him. The doctors discovered a new line of tumors down Dad's spine, and he just had the fourth treatment of what is definitely a stronger, more agressive radiation than any before. To top it off, he also got the flu...which means achiness, fever, chills, weakness, vomiting, and -- if he's lucky -- sleep.

Dad has eleven more treatments to endure. He is definitely getting weaker. I must do this upcoming gig. I must also give this uncertainty to God -- there is nothing I can do about it.

* * * * * *
George Washington is crossing the Delaware...in a new frame!

http://www.comcast.net/articles/news-entertainment/20090216/Washington.Crosses.Delaware/

But, as the Met museum spokesman quipped, "George Washington crossed the Delaware, but we can't get him off the second floor of the Metropolitan." The canvas is room-sized, and rolling it -- the way it first got into the museum a century ago -- would cause too much damage. So the frame will come to HIM.

And The Simple Dollar has a long, thoughtful look at his approach to finances lately, including his primary goal in life. (Hint: it's NOT about money.)
http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2009/02/16/whats-first-whats-next/

And I'm off to seal some envelopes for a wedding shower, then memorize the folds on my pillow. After all, it's midnight.... g'night.

Global Warming...Or Cooling?

I'm confused.

This article argues that global warming is worse than ever. And accelerating at a rate far worse than scientists predicted. The blame is whumped squarely on the shoulders of nations like India and China, and their nasty coal-powered factories. (Whew, we 'enlightened' countries can straighten up and draw a big sigh of relief. We're off the hook.)

Here it is:
http://www.comcast.net/articles/news-general/20090214/NEWS-US-CLIMATE/


On the other hand, this appeared elsewhere on the Internet:

The data are just in from the National Climatic Data Center and they show that for the year 2008, the average temperature across the United States (lower 48 States) was 1.34ºF lower than last year.

Worldwide we set cooling records in 2007 as seen below. Is this all a part of man made global warming???

To top that off our January in 09 set all kinds of cold records throughout the country and world.

We have had the greatest drop in temperature ever recorded for one year, verified by all four of the world's most respected sources between 2007 and 2008..
UK’s Hadley Climate Research Unit Temperature anomaly (HadCRUT) Dr. Phil Jones
The NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies(GISS) Dr. James Hansen
University of Alabama, Huntsville (UAH) Dr. John Christy
Remote Sensing Systems of Santa Rosa, CA (RSS)
Source:Global ∆T °C
HadCRUT - 0.595
GISS - 0.750
UAH - 0.588
RSS - 0.629
Average: - 0.6405°CThe data are just in from the National Climatic Data Center and they show that for the year 2008, the average temperature across the United States (lower 48 States) was 1.34ºF lower than last year.

Worldwide we set cooling records in 2007 as seen below. Is this all a part of man made global warming???

To top that off our January in 09 set all kinds of cold records throughout the country and world.

We have had the greatest drop in temperature ever recorded for one year, verified by all four of the world's most respected sources between 2007 and 2008..
UK’s Hadley Climate Research Unit Temperature anomaly (HadCRUT) Dr. Phil Jones
The NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies(GISS) Dr. James Hansen
University of Alabama, Huntsville (UAH) Dr. John Christy
Remote Sensing Systems of Santa Rosa, CA (RSS)
Source:Global ∆T °C
HadCRUT - 0.595
GISS - 0.750
UAH - 0.588
RSS - 0.629
Average: - 0.6405°C

So...Colder. Hotter. Colder. Hotter. Which is it?

* * * * * * * *
It's definitely chillier around here, even though the sun is shining. But we need the moisture -- bad. A houseful of company was fun this afternoon, but so was the long, luxurious nap both Husband and I needed -- big-time. Tomorrow is a vacation day for him; that means sleeping in and pancakes for breakfast. Too bad quilt writers/teachers don't get the day off, too!

Are They REALLY Adults?

Sigh...this is how I feel about the girlies:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_dkyByzD-Y

State Farm's got it right...

They say they're 22 and 20 years old, respectively...I'm not so sure.