Spinnin Skinny

Yes, I am still alive

2009-02-21T11:45:00.000-08:00

You all may have heart attacks when you you realize that I am alive and posting again.
The quads are growing and doing fine. Tyler and Avery seem to be taking turns with hospital stays. Cystic fibrosis is not nice to babies.

I have been very apathetic in the last year. Just had a bad year I guess. I am better now and will try to keep this blog running.

Love to all,
Me.

really skinny

2007-11-02T09:36:00.000-07:00

I had a great time at SAFF. At least the time i had there. Due to unfortunate circumstances, Paul and I had to leave the same day we got there, so I was only there a few hours. But I got to see Sandy, Caroline, Lynne and Maryanne. I missed Blaine and I regret that. It was so nice to visit if only a short time. I brought home some nice fiber and a book on natural dying.
But the big news is that I am doing some spinning for the art director at school. The first ounce I spun, I got 183 yards. I was impressed with my bad self. The second ounce I spun 198 yards! I can't believe I am really spinnin skinny. Wonder if I can spin fat again?

Off to SAFF

2007-10-25T18:36:00.000-07:00

I will be getting up at 4:30 tomorrow morning. Those of you that know me, know I would rather shoot myself in the foot as to get up before 8. It will be worth it because I am goinjg to SAFF for my third year. I will be meeting a lot of my fiber friends there and cannot wait to see them again. I will post again when I get home. Later, Pam

Introducing.............

2007-10-03T19:25:00.000-07:00

Yee Haa!!!! I am going to have another grandchild. And she is a girl!! We all really wanted another little girl and her name is Avery Caroline. Another bit of good news is that there are no white spots on her intestines. So maybe she will not have CF. Tyler is trying very hard to crawl. Babiers are so adorable and funny when they are trying to learn new stuff,. I guess that means they are adorable and funny all of their lives.

And Tyler Too

2007-09-16T18:00:00.000-07:00

I went to see the Grandquads yesterday. Clay, Carey, and Tyler were there too. It's been three months since I have seen Tyler and there are some changes already. He is starting to look like Carey's Dad, Richard. He is a little chunk of lead. I think Carey said he weighs 19 pounds now. He is on the brink of crawling if he could just get that other knee under him. He is a sweet happy baby with a delightful little chuckle. I have new pictures of him so maybe I can post one that ISN'T the same one I have already posted twice in a row. HMMM......maybe I just really like that picture?

JonZReaTom are doing some changing as well. Zachary is a past master at signing the word "more". He certainly isn't going to miss any meals. He also has this matter-of-fact expression he uses as he strings together multitudes of sounds. He seems to say, "of course you know exactly what I am saying." Thomas is starting to walk pretty well. But he trips and falls too. Jim said he stood up in the little wagon they have and tipped it over. Of course he fell out and the wagon handle hit him right between the eyes. The next day he did a nose-duve into a coffee cup and put his teeth through his lip. It happens, of course, but I actually think it is harder on Jim than Thomas. OK, OK, I wanted to cry when I heard it. Raising babies sure is hard on the adults. Reagan has a meltingly beautiful smile. She walks better than the boys and has a wonderful disposition. She is very serene for a baby. Jonathan is almost too pretty to be a boy. He is a laid back little dude and seems happy even if he isn't interacting with the others, I watched Reagan and Zachary wrestle with each other, rolling over and over each other and laughing like crazy. When they get along, they get along well. And sometimes they don't................ Normal kids just like any others.

I had to close out the post and start all over because I put some pictures in that weren't good. So now I have redone the whole thing and AGAIN I have put the same picture in twice. I guess I had just better get over it. I am done and am going to publish.

Dentist cont.

2007-09-06T18:06:00.000-07:00

It's finally over (mostly). After three hours of having someone elses fingers in my mouth, I now have my temporary bridge. Not bad looking, but it was not pleasant. I did really well until the last when Dr. Hasnani extracted the tooth that had been under my old bridge. I swear the roots of that tooth were behind my nose! There wasn't really any pain, I guess the thought and the feeling were enough to make me sick. I sure was glad when that part was over!
Looking at my latest postings, I noticed that I have used the same picture of Tyler twice. I do have others. Speaking of pictures, when I was in Knoxville, Ali gave me about a hundred pics on a disc. They are beautiful pics, The pics in my last post were some of them. Anyway, the gals at Wally World almost didn't let me have the pics because they were so professional looking. A few of them were indeed taken by a professional, but were given to Jim and Ali to use and print. They weren't copyrighted. The joke is, some of the others that are just as good were taken by Michelle, Ali's good friend. What a compliment to her! She is very good at anything she does. Ok, my pain pill is kicking my butt, so I will post again later.

How fast they grow!

2007-09-01T13:30:00.000-07:00

I went to see Jim and Ali and the Grandquads yesterday. I need to go at least once a week to keep up with the changes! They are now 14 months old. They don't eat baby food any more, they are all off the bottle (I was surprised by that-Jim and Clay hung on to their bottles for dear life, especially Clay), they are all walking. Thomas prefers to crawl still, but he can take a few steps on his own. They are learning to sign and are beginning to talk. Reagan has a cute little growlly sound she makes. They are just the best thing that ever happened to me. All five (soon to be six) grandchildren. I just wish I could visit Tyler more. I miss him so much. It is just too far a drive for me and I don't really trust my car. And since I have to have teeth, I can't get a new car just yet.

In case y'all didn't notice, Ali showed me how to put links on my sidebar. I have, alas, lost my avatar and since I don't know how to export it it may be some time before she is back. I have such fun with her that I am going to try very hard to get her back. If any of you are interested in internet paper dolls, I will put the links up for you. I know how to do it now!

Dentists

2007-08-30T18:31:00.000-07:00

I went to the dentist today for the first time in I won't say how many years. I am paying for my procrastination this time. Through the nose. I have known for some time that I have issues with my teeth and bridge. Pammy's bridge is falling down. As my front teeth slowly slid down, in went all kinds of stuff that brush,floss, or water pic wouldn't touch. So I have some roots up there somewhere causing infection, but the tooth has long since decayed away. I couldn't just have my teeth cleaned, oh no, they had to be debrided. Hurts. Next I have to have my roots scaled. Sounds like fun? But first I have to have my bridge removed, the roots found and pulled out and a newer, bigger bridge put in. Next, my wisdom teeth are impacted (of course) and since they are causing yet another site of really bad infection, out they have to come. Oral surgery. Are we having fun yet?
When the dentist walked in I just fell in love. The cutest little feller I ever did see. Looks kinda like Ravi Kapoor of Crossing Jordan fame. But I don't care how cute he is, he charges too much for the bridge work and cleaning and extraction, it is just a meager 5,120.00. Oh, the good news: My insurance will pay a whopping 1000.00. How very generous. And that does NOT include the surgery. I may have to start panhandling. Giggle.
Oh well, on to something fun. The quads are starting to talk. They can say mama and dada, and have added sliggle sliggle and similar words. Jonathan actually said diaper last week. I am going to see them tomorrow. I need some joy in my life after Dr. Hasnani.
Taking a page out of Allison's book, if you happen to read my blog, pleas leave a comment saying hi and how you found this blog. I would reallly appreciate it. I could even be tempted to post more often.
Until next time.

2007-07-29T17:28:00.000-07:00

Mother, my sister Kathy, and myself went to Knoxville yesterday to see Jim and Allison and the Quads. Reagan is walking now, and to my delight, we got to see Zachary take three steps in a row for the first time. I am going to be in the middle of canning tomatoes today, so I need to get off the computer and get over the stove.

2007-07-23T09:43:00.000-07:00

My summer hiatus is almost at an end. I have been canning veggies and roasting chilis so we can have yummies this winter. I can always rest when I go back to work. haha
My GrandQuads are thriving and gorgeous. Reagan is walking now. Jim says she gets to tickled at herself that she windmills her arms and knocks herself down. I haven't been to see them this summer except for the birthday. I am going to go this weekend if all goes well.
More grandmother news. Clay and Carey are expecting again in February. I don't know if it was planned or oops but it will be welcomed and loved. Hope it's a girl. Reagan needs another girl cousin.

One Year oldhttp://harrisquads.blogspot.com

2007-06-30T11:26:00.000-07:00

My Grandquads are now a year old. Jim and Ali gave them a huge party and almost all of the family was there. They are so adorable and happy. they almost never cry. If you want to see how it went, harrisquads.blogspot.com is where all the action is. Clay's wife, Carey, has given me my grandmother nic name. She calls me Grammy Pammy. I said the babies would shorten that to "GranPa". A gender change, huh? As long as they call me, they can call me anything. Tyler was at the party too. He even let Clay and Carey come. He is growing so fast and is so adorable.

On a personal topic, I have been spinning and knitting. I have almost finished my dye exchange project. It grew up to be a hexagonal wall hanging or a small throw. I have done some dying as well, and will start spinning soon. Gotta finish the socks first.

A Year Old

2007-06-15T09:06:00.000-07:00

My son Jim has reminded me that I have not posted since March. Ooops. I procrastinate really well don't I?
Tomorrow I am off to Knoxville for the quads 1st birthday. It doesn't seem like a year in some ways, in other ways it almost seems longer. I don't have any recent pictures of Jon ZReaTom (Jim and Allison' word for all four at once). To see them click on the link or go to harrisquads.blogspot.com. It is well worth it. Allison writes a truly interesting blog. Is there anything she CAN'T do? I have yet to see it.
Clay, Carey, and Tyler will also be there. I will be covered up in grandchildren. I can't wait. I will have pictures next time, which won't be long, promise.
Next time.

Tyler

2007-03-21T10:05:00.000-07:00

Since I am on spring break I have time to spin (a lot) dye, relax and just indulge in whatever I am into at the moment.

I indulged myself with a trip to Evansville to see Clay, Carey, and my newest grandson, Tyler. He is precious, adorable, beautiful, alert, and an all around great baby. Of course most of you know that he also has CF. So far everyone is coping really well. Tyler has to have enzymes before every meal so his body can access the nutrients in his food. His skin tastes salty because his body has no pathways into the cells for sodium. This was a symptom of CF that I didn't know anything about. Other than that and a need to burp him often, he is great. Well, he is great anyway. And adorable. He is just beautiful. Clay and Carey are good parents and take excellent care of their wonderful baby.

Here it is O mentor of in your face colors

2007-02-24T20:44:00.000-08:00

HI everyone,

I am trying to post pics on the new version of this blog. Mostly because Sandy wants to see how I am doing. Not a bad thing. This is Blue Jean Baby. Lynne dyed it and I am thrilled to have ended up with it.

Hope I haven't messed up!

2007-02-12T18:29:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone,
I just changed to the New Blogger and I hope it is for the best. I also hope everyone can still get here. I finally got my new pc. It is a Gateway with Microsoft Vista. It is fast, pretty and has loads of storage. It also has a CD/DVD burner and ports for my memory sticks. Now I just need a really good printer.
I will close for now, as I want to see how the new blogger thing works.

Spinnin Skinny

2007-01-27T20:23:00.000-08:00

Hi all. I didn't wait a whole month this time. I don't know if I can even post this as I haven't changed to Google. I am so computer illiterate that I am afraid to make any changes. I know. I am so sad. But the good news is that I am going to get a brand new compputer that has never belonged to anyone else so watch out computer world!
I have even better news. My beautiful little Tyler was born by c-section on Jan. 4. He weighed 4.5 pounds. He did test positive for cystic fibrosis but so far has had no problems. He weighs over 5 pounds now and holds his head up already. He didn't have to stay in NICU very long before he was good to go home. Clay and Carey are doing well but are a little sleep-deprived. (Ya think?) The quads are strokin' !!!! They are just normal little babies and Allison is the best mother I have ever seen. She goes through her days serenely taking care of JonZReaTom (their name for all 4 at once) like she was born to do it. She reads them a story in the afternoon, puts them to bed, and they go to sleep!!!!! Jim was NEVER that easy, but they deserve to have good babies since they have so many.
We have new people at work now. Jenny (my boss) hired an executive chef to be a salad maker. Sound like she has no sense? You would be right. He is an Israeli, and has an ego bigger than any cliche" chef you have ever heard about. He has got to go! If he wasn't such an ass I could like him. I admire his knowledge of food but I can't stand his temperament. Anyway, the work place is all topsy turvy these days. I asked the school nurse if she had any narcotic meds I could have. She told me to go home and drink a Budweiser. She is such a hoot.
If any of you are interested, JonZReaTom have a blog. The name is www.harrisquads.blogspot.com. Allison is sure to post more often than I do. She is so organized! Well I have done my duty to my blog and grands so I am going to go to bed now. Later.

2006-12-31T20:44:00.000-08:00

Well here I sit, in Knoxville, on New Years Eve. It isn't midnight yet, but it doesn't matter. I am not celebrating. Jim and Allison ate something that REALLY made them sick. So sick that they called in the Cavalry (that would be me) because they were not able to leave the bathroom long enough to take care of the Quads. So. Here I sit with everyone else in the house asleep and I can't even turn on the TV because I am not going to risk waking anyone. Bummer. But I am enjoying the babies. Reagan has two teeth and is sitting up on her own. For hours yet! They are all incredibly big and have individual personalities peeking out here and there. I love it when they turn their heads to watch me and laugh when I look back. I have been off for two weeks and have been with them three times. It's a record for me. The Wed. after Christmas Jim and Ali brought them to our house. The first long trip away from home. It was splendid to have them there and they were very good for being away from home. I know Allison gets stir-crazy and would do anything to get out more. Jim gets to leave the house to go to work so it doesn't bother him as much. She went 41 days without even going to get the mail!
It's officially New Year now. I guess I will go to bed.

2006-11-30T19:39:00.000-08:00

I sometimes feel llike a failure as a blogger. Life gets in my way and I forget all about the keyboard. Or I'm just too lazy, or nothings happening on this end or fill in the blanks and use an excuse that sounds plausible. Thanksgiving was low-key at our house this year. Jim and Allison stayed at home. Who wouldn't with the quads? Mother and I went to Knoxville a week before and stayed all day. The quads are 5 months old now and starting to teethe. I just cannot describe the joy I feel when I am with them, think about them, or talk about them. They could easily become my whole life. Maybe it's a blessing I am 2 and a half hours away from them. Clay and Carey were also there. Carey is rounding out nicely in her pregnancy. Little Tyler Jacob is growing well and doing fine as far as we know. He is still a prime candidate for Cystic Fibrosis but that doesn't alter in any way my longing to hold him in my arms. A woman my sister knows has three CF children. One of her sons when he was young called ut 65 roses. I love that.

For Angi about Horton

2006-09-25T19:49:00.000-07:00

Angi wants to know why I named my spinning wheel Horton. She promised to tell if I did. She asked a long time ago and I am just now getting around to it.
I attended Shakerag in Sewannee TN and learned to spin. Kinda. I just HAD to have a wheel and my wonderful Pauly bought me one. I ordered it ( a Lendrum DT) with all the bells and whistles from a store somewhere out of state. It was supposed to be here in three days. It wasn't. I waited and waited and called UPS and the store and they each blamed the other. Naturally. Finally my wheel arrived. Horror!!! I didn't know one single thing about a spinning wheel, I trusted my expert friends to turn me on to the right wheel for me. They did good. I digress, as usual. With trembling fingers and shaking hands I gingerely put my wheel together. In the privacy of my living room I treddled and treddled getting the feel of things. A good friend (Blaine) told me to do that and it was good advice. But there was a clicking noise. Not good. I didn't know where it was coming from so I called Lynne and arranged to meet her with my wheel. She agreeed that the noise wasn't good. so she just got on the phone and called Gorden Lendrum (and impressed the hell out of me) and he said " they let the elephant sit on it." He told her the adjustment to make and sure enough the noise stopped. (it has come and gone again since then). Letting the elephant sit on it made me think of Dr. Suess and Horton. You know, the elephant that sat on the egg for a year or more? Horton heard a Who too, but that is another story. I HAD to name my wheel Horton after that and I don't even like the name. It fits nevertheless. So now you know the rest of the story and Angi, you have to tell me yours now.

I'm still here

2006-09-12T18:13:00.000-07:00

Just because I don't post often doesn't mean that I don't care. I am usually too tired to care if I post or not. Then I feel guilty so here I am. Went to visit the babies last weekend. They are all doing fine and Thomas is adorable. I had never held him before. They are all growing so fast and changing daily. I don't have any recent pics on the computer, but I'll try to get some soon.
I am back to my day to day boring stuff. I go to work, come home, spin or knit if I am not too tired, go to bed and do it all again tomorrow. I am, however, going to SAFF again this year. I would love to see some of my Twisted Friends there. Still working on SHAWL. I have started thinking of it as an entity destined to show me that I do NOT KNOW HOW TO KNIT! I am going to start a pair of socks out of sheer self preservation. And Horton (my wheel) is feeling pretty lonely so I am going to spin some right now.

Major pet peeve

2006-09-04T18:38:00.000-07:00

As most of you know already, I downloaded an AOL thingie. they said (aol) that it was a security issue and that they would not be honoring the old one anymore. so ok, I did the dirty deed and lo and behold my computer is now a total stranger! Is anyone surprised? Much to my chagrin, I was. My address book is still somewhere out there in cyber-space. I still have all of my addresses on paper, but I cannot access them on my pc. They are still ON my pc, I just can't get to them. I have even been to the places that warn," if you open these files your computer will grow teeth, bite off your nose, and refuse to talk to you." Well it's not talking anyway so what? I am not computer-literate enough to fix this so I am going to have to bite the bullet and get live technical support. Oh my God, it is the dreaded telephone again!! I just want to dye, spin, knit, and talk to my wonderful fiber family. I have NOT been that bad a person even tho I still smoke. NOt much now and when Allison gets her eyesight back, the cigarettes go. I promised myself that and God was my witness. Not even I will mess with a promise before the Almighty. I digress. I don't know if my major pet peeve is that my pc won't do what I want it to , or that I am so ignorant that I can't MAKE it do my bidding. I am all GRRRRR!!!! and stress and venting like a pre-erupting vocano. That pyroclastic stuff don't have nuthin on me!!!! Uh, can y'all tell that I am not meek and mild about this? I am in the process of getting a new computer and not one thing on it will belong to anyone but me. (My computer was a gift from my son, and was someones elses before.) Now if I screw up I will KNOW it's me. OK, enough venting for now. Back to y'all later.

2006-08-24T17:17:00.000-07:00

I took a day off today and I am resting. Got a Johnny Depp movie that I hadn't seen. The Libertine. Ole Johnny is great as usual but this period movie is distressing. Based on real history of King Charles and the Earl of Rochester. the Earl (Johnny) was a debaucher of the finest kind and eventually died of syphillis. The make-up job that Johnny wore at the end was awsome in its gruesomeness. Is that a real word? Or did I just screw up the spelling again? I am so tired I don't even care. Anyway the movie was interesting and the history was mostly real. I have two more days off and I am not moving unless I have to. Later....

Whew!!!

2006-08-20T18:08:00.000-07:00

At long last beginning weekend at school is finished. There are so many activities crammed into every day that it's hard to keep up. F'rinstance, we had two cookouts at the same time in two different places. My feet hurt. Imagine fixing a picnic for 100 people. And don't you dare forget even a fork or napkin. Yeah, I'm tired tonight and I will finally get a day off on Friday. Are we having fun yet?

On the bright side, it finally rained a little and cooled things off and that was nice. Too bad it stopped before the cookouts. (giggle)

I notice my avatar didn't change this time. It's supposed to have a pet pig in it. Maybe it will now, we'll see.

Finally getting around to it.

2006-08-17T18:47:00.000-07:00

It's easy to keep up a blog when all you do is sit on your donkey all day. Not so easy when you have too many things on your plate.

Thomas is home and the Quad Squad is complete. God Bless them. I am back at work and feeding all the people that eat like pigs even when it is 90 plus outside. Notice the avatar pet.

I got some really interesting tomatoes from one of our maintainence men today. They are pear-shaped and black at the top. They are supposed to look like that! They taste good but the color is a little off-putting. We are roasting and freezing green chili from our garden. I grew up in Belen, New Mexico and my family just cannot survive without that luscious green good stuff. Or at least we don't think we can, so we go to the trouble of making sure we have it around at all times. I am famous in the fam for making the best salsa to cross a set of teeth. Probably undeserved, but I take praise wherever I can get it.

I have been so busy with the Quad Squad this summer that I haven't been knitting or spinning. Needless to say I am Jonesing badly. I will spin when things settle down at work and I can get some time off. Actually, I have been TRYING to knit a shawl. I have been in the frog pond so long I am getting wrinkly fingers. Lace is so TOTALLY unforgiving. It isn't that hard to knit and yos are easy for me, but counting must be a foreign thing for me. I will finish this blasted shawl even if I have to put my wheel in storage. I am getting really mad now and that makes me a very determined gal.

I am posting a pic of the babiers and then I am doing meds and bed. See y'all later.

Babies on the quilt are from left to right, Jonathan, Zachary, Reagan, and Thomas. In the other pic, from top left Jonathan, Thomas, Zachary, and Reagan.

2006-08-09T06:37:00.000-07:00

I tried t post this yesterday. I don't know what is wrong with this site or my pc. Thomas is back in the hospital. His oxygen saturation was very low at his check-up, and they took him to emergency in an ambulance. They don't know why he isn't breathing right but they are doing their best to find out. I am losing my mind. There are already so many people helping Jim out that I can't even go up to Knoxville now. I am going on Friday, tho. I will post when I can.