The Wild Wild West

Back from the West, where Dad is not doing so well but "not dead yet" in the most Monty Pythonic sense of the word. Not that we were tossing him onto the wheelbarrow or anything like that, far from it actually. Every morning I got up and did a little happy dance because he made it through another night. Woot! Props for Dad!

They remodelled the kitchen and main floor, took out the carpets and put down laminate and porcelain tile. Painted. Had that all finished at Christmas so that when everyone showed up they were all surprised. The really massive fumehood over the stove is also an excellent feature if you're an invalid and you can wheel your walker up to the stove, have a seat on the walker, get your coffee, turn on the hood and have your smoke. You don't even have to go outside any more...not that you could anyway, because you don't really have the strength to get the walker over the door frame. That is what a kitchen reno is for, you see: to facilitate your bad habits right up until the very end. All the disapproving looks in the world aren't going to prevent you from fulfilling your vices, and by the way would you like a scotch and soda with that?

We did laugh a lot, because if you don't laugh you'll just break down, and there was none of that. One or two quick tears but really, there's no point in being maudlin and that didn't happen. What? Cold-hearted? not at all. Just realistic. Besides, crying about what is going to happen is ridiculous; better to live for the few moments we have than to mourn the future.

Okay, that doesn't hold for environmental causes and it doesn't mean one should run out and make many stupid decisions, but that when someone is dying just take one moment at a time and enjoy them.

To distract myself, I started knitting the second sock from the pair that I started three years ago. I got one sock made but couldn't face starting another thing that was exactly the same as the first, but now I'm sort of over that and I feel that knitting socks could suddenly be very very productive. The current pair is being made from some really old Regia sock yarn (maybe 10 years old? probably more) and it's sort of an ugly green camo colour and since these are my first socks and a toe-up pattern, they aren't beautiful but they do fit me and the one that I have finished is really amazingly comfortable. Ugly though. "Knit on, through all tragedy..." or somesuch, from Elizabeth Zimmerman.

Woke up at 03h30 this morning when the Big One stomped in an proclaimed that she couldn't sleep. Got her back into her room, handed her a couple of books and recommended that she stay put until 06h00 or so. Unfortunately my brain did not take the same advice so I gave up at 04h15 and I'm still here parked at Laptop. Sent some important emails and now I'm getting hungry, and since it's after 05h00 Hub should be getting up soon to gaze out the window or at least consider shovelling the snow and ice that's outside .... but personally I'd recommend that he go back to bed because the snow isn't going anywhere and I suspect neither are we today. Snow day. Sock day. Snowshoe day.