Liz's Birthday dinner

Last week's adventure had been planned for a long time.My Mom-in-Law celebrated her birthay earlier this month, but the first day we could get away was the 25th. So Friday, we drove to Lansing and met for lunch at a lovely restaurant. Its the best Ethopian food I've ever eaten! (I've tried about 4 Ethiopian restaurants all told.) If you are in the Lansing, Michgan area, I highly recommend checking it out!
ALTU'S RESTAURANT

Liz was lovely as always. Her partner Fred couldn't be there, but it was great to see Lynn and Brian again. Brian has enough songs 'in the can' for I think he said three albums. I look forward to his new releases. I just can't be sad when I listen to him playing, especially with his 'Eefin' added.
(for an explanation of 'Eefin' look HERE )
(You can listen to Brian and Lynn's wonderful music HERE)

Liz is someone I greatly admire. She has been through a lot in her life but never fails to keep a sunny outlook. She stays active and interested in many things, and even though she has retired, she continues to share her love of reading with elementary school kids every year as a volunteer. She is a remedial reading instructor. Who knows how many hundreds of people out there owe thier success in part to her teaching? You can learn more at her website HERE

My gift to her was a loooong stole made of silk, alpaca and mohair. I hope she can use it in Florida's warmer weather. I got a little carried away with the cast on. It measures somewhere between eight and ten feet long! I had enough yarn left to make a small gift for Lynn, too. I took a picture of Lynn, but my timing was off and she didn't have her beautiful smile so I'm using a pic from the Heftone's In The Garden CD release party of Lynn and Liz dancing. The image of Brian is one of my favorites. Its form the cover of his "Heftone Banjo Orchestra" cd. If you click on it to enlarge, you will see all the images are of Brian :-}

Oscar's surprise for his Mom was to show up with his beard trimmed and a brand new haircut, in his new business suit. Doesn't he look absolutely GORGEOUS? I am one lucky woman!

Gratitudes and Celebrations

Taking a break from the weekend Ebay slog. Next weekend is Labor day, which means three weekend auction days rather than two, and more people home, especially with gas prices so high. Thus more bids. It behooves me to put as many auctions up as possible for a holiday weekend.

But back to the title of the post:

A while back I watched an interview with Carlos Santana, and something he said resonated with me. Not an exact quote, but the gist of it was the secret of happiness was gratitude.

Oscar and I have been stressed lately. On top of the ongoing health crapola, he has been working major overtime and applying and interviewing for different positions within the company, arranging to pay off old debts, and trying like crazy to improve our home.
During a conversation we discovered that both of us miss the spiritual activites we were involved in a few years ago. Our lives felt out of kilter in part because everything we were putting efforts toward are physical and monetary issues. Although everything else going on, combined with Oscar's work schedule makes participating in group activites almost impossible, we wanted to try and add something spiritual back into our daily routine to help balance our lives.

I suggested that every night before we fall asleep, we try to each think of something that we did to celebrate, and something to be grateful for. We don't acheive it every night, but most nights we do, and I think its helping. The only criteria for the item of celebration is that it helped us make our lives better. Sometimes the item is large, like Oscar doing great at an interview, sometimes small, like me coming in from the garden before overdoing things.

Its helping to put the day into perspective, and keeps us from worrying ourselves with the minutia before we fall asleep.

Reasons for celebration!

*After a few more weeks, I'll be going on the maintenance dose of my allergy shots. Yay!!!!!

*getting portable hand controls for the van is less than $400! Within my reach from ebay sales! Yay!!!!! Permanent controls are around $700, and I will need those eventually. This will free me up to go to the pool whenever I can fit it in without the up to 2 hours spent waiting (combined waiting at either end) as well as to attend things like adult literacy volunteer classes.

* I have managed to lose a few more pounds!

*My mammogram came back with no abnormalities!

*I have the best husband in the world.

Soul searching

I felt relief when SSD refused me. Then after talking to my dad, I reconsidered talking to a lawyer and challenging the decision. I woke up this morning in a cold sweat thinking about it. I talked it through with Oscar. I wanted to be certain of my own mind, as well as of how he felt about it. The thought of re-applying makes me feel afraid; afraid of losing independence, of losing the headway I've made against the agoraphobia. The thought of not applying is also scary, but motivates me to get even more serious about writing and earning money using my mind. I don't WANT a handout. I want to make my own way. Even if I GOT SSD the thought of being accountable to the government for every penny, or risk losing a steady income by making too much on my own makes me feel sick-afraid. The thought of tyring my hand at earning money doing what I can, through writing books, and patterns, and articles makes me feel excited-afraid. Reapplying for SSD feels like giving up on myself. I've done enough sitting and waiting in the past three years. Enough. Time to see what more I can do.

Odd series of events

Something interesting in the cosmos perhaps?
Oscar worked beaucoup overtime, resulting in a monster paycheck a few weeks ago, we used it for paying off some bill stuff.
Then he got not one, buttTwo different interviews for two jobs.
Then I got a notice that I owe $13,000 in school loans. (I thought they were taken care of.. whoops) then the next day, the mail comes and we get an unexpected rebate from sears ($23) and an unexpected tax return from 2003 for $566.. So yesterday we bought some computer gear we'd been wanting (an external hard drive, wireless mouse for my lap top, stuff like that) Today, we found out that Oscar worked such monster overtime that he had a huge check this time too, and we got notification that my ssd has been denied.
I'm ok with that, really. Last week I decided I needed to leave it up to the Universe, and whichever decision came about, I had to trust would be the best. The main effect is that we won't have that windfall for seed money for a new home. But on the up side I am free and clear to become rich and famous without the gov't taking away any ssd ;-}
We had already committed to paying off our debts one at a time, and building up savings, we are even more committed to that now.
I will still do ebay, and if that's not really enough to live on, it definately helps out the household funds, and is great for adding to savings.

Everything will be ok, and I have a huge relief that I know the outcome.

I am also happy that I started getting out of the house a few weeks ago, because that trend is in existence. Getting denied might have made me a bit more depressed and caused me to pull further back into my hole if it had happened before I started traveling again.

Accessibility and Yarn Shops

I've been using the wheelchair for most of my journeys now for about a year, I think, yet I still have the occasional wake up call.
I've been in the Ann Arbor knitting shop "Knit Around" a few times before, but not in the wheelchair, although it seemed spacious enough. Today in the wheelchair it was akin to crossing the Pyrenees with the elephants. Bags were hung at just the wrong heights to allow me to access the aisles. The space between the ends of the aisles and the wall displays was insufficient for maneuvering, there were baskets and display units set in any space that MIGHT have been large enough to wheel down, and although my husband was asked if he needed help, none of the three people working there offered assistance to me, even when I was stuck fast and had to move their purses to fight my way free. As I told them when I left I will never shop there again. It was a wasted trip. Too bad for them. I was planning to drop around $100 there today. I should have gone to Flying Sheep (also in Ann Arbor) They have kind of close quarters, but none of the foolish hanging of displays where it narrows access. The wheelchair ramp is at the furthest end of the sidewalk from Flying Sheep's doors, but once inside the store, you can get around pretty well.
The best yarn shop for accessibility I've been in to date is Ewe-Nique Yarns, in Brighton Michigan. It was a dream! Turns out one of the owners has a sister who is on wheels. Makes a huge difference to the owner's mindset.
I guess the Knit Around experience shouldn't be a surprise. With a few notable exceptions on the part of individual business owners, Ann Arbor is one of the least accessible cities out there, despite their loudly trumpeted 'social consciousness'. I haven't been able to shop or dine in downtown Ann Arbor since getting the wheelchair. They have NO handicapped parking on the street, its all in the structures or the lots which are pretty far removed from most of the businesses. Many of the shops and restaurants have bumps and steps in the doorways, and few provide spacious aisles or paths between tables.
Anyway, It was a frustrating visit, but I'm home now, and I just might call the ADA taxi and give Flying Sheep a visit.

Venison Chili Recipe

1 1/2 cups diced onion (I use the pre-chopped frozen kind)
2 lbs of ground venison (or 2 lbs of any combination of venison and
any other meat)
1 Tblsp ground chipotle pepper (this is for the freezer, where heat
intensifies. If you like it hotter and will be eating it fresh, double
this amount)
2 - 15 oz cans organic beans ( I used 1 can red, 1 can mixed chili
beans) If you are from Texas, just leave out the beans, eh?
2 - 28 oz cans of Dei Fratelli chopped tomatoes (seasoned is good
too).

I normally would add some cumin to chili, but I think the earthiness
of the venison is enough, and the cumin seems to fight with that.

Cook until it reaches the consistency you like best. Oscar likes his
very thick, almost thick enough to rollerskate on.
Just before serving/putting in freezer containers, salt to taste and
add a squeeze or two of lime juice, and a shot of tequila. You can use
whisky instead, if its Scottish Chili.

Makes enough to fill my dutch oven.

Hurray!!!!! I DID IT!!!

I overcame my fears, and waited patiently for the ADA Taxi, and swam!! I swam for 40 minutes in constant motion, and totalled 12 laps :-}
I was anxiety ridden yesterday. I think my seclusion has caused a very mild case of agoraphobia... very different from the days when I was on stage and involved in several groups, so that I was hardly every home at night. Still, I feel wonderful that I got out of the house under my own power, even if the ride was very late . I still had plenty of time to swim. I also checked out the 'strength' room, and found at least 5 machines I can use! Next week I'll start there, and then move on to swimming.
Unfortunately, the rec center will be closed from Aug. 21 through September 4th , but after that I'll go twice a week. I feel energized, and a little tired, but in a good way. It feels great to move!
And in the mean time, I can use the ADA service to go anywhere I want to! Watch Out Yarn Shops! Beware all you museums and libraries!!!!
Now to sew a tote bag I can hang in front of me, to carry all my loot!

Diving In

Tomorrow its all set. The ADA bus will pick me up at 10 a.m. to take me to the community wheelchair access swimming pool! Weightlessnes, here I come!

Heat

Ok, today is supposed to be the hottest day this year in our area, with a heat index in the teens. So. I am blessed with an old air conditioner that keeps one room (the bedroom) tolerable, and the rest of the house is basically loaded with fans. Not bad at all, much better than some have it.
Instead of bitching and moaning, I have found some benefit to this heat stuff.
First, its an EXCELLENT tool for body cleansing. I'm going to be pushing fluids, and drinking tea made from detoxifying herbs.
Second, it will make yarn dying a breeze! All I need do is slap some color on those puppies, and put them into dark plastic bags in the sun. Instant dye setting with that added bit of serendipitydoodah that makes it fun. I LOVE not knowing what the result will be.

I have 5 skeins of laceweight yarn that I want to dye in blues/greens, and plenty of vinegar.

Its no joke, though. I feel for anyone with asthma or no air conditioning, or both.
Wishing everyone out there health, and access to coolth.