Ralph was (finally) able to get his chest tube in yesterday. The original plan was for him to have it done early in the morning, and he got it in arond 2:00. That made him a bit cranky, to say the least. His surgery is schedule for 10:15 today so we'll see

Since Ralph's having surgery on Halloween, it stepped up my time table a bit for getting things ready at work for Halloween.  My department is dressing up and decorating with the theme of "Diva Construction" (appropriate since we are living in a construction zone at work!!).  I won't be dressing up, since I'll be at the hospital, but I will be going by for photos!!!  I still have to go pull out construction prop stuff from the shop and garage to take in today - it was on my list to do, but....didn't happen last night!  (I messed with my boss yesterday - a newly married gentleman - when I made the statement that since Ralph was either sick or in the hospital, he wouldn't notice that I painted all his tools pink.  The look on his face - sacrilege!!!!)  I did get a batch of sugar cookies baked last night for Alli's class today, and I finished crocheting the last cup cover (I ran out of yarn with half of one to go!) and put the buttons and faces on them, and then put them together with the treat bags for work.  I think they turned out cute!!!

Ralph is checking in at the hospital today around 8:30.  There, they will put a drain in his lung, and he will stay there overnight.  He went in yesterday for his pre-op appointment, and everything was messed up, as usual.  They didn't have him scheduled for the drain at all, but wanted to do a CAT scan instead.  Not what he was looking for.  Right now, his surgery is scheduled for 10:30 Thursday morning, and is scheduled to last at least 2 hours.  I know how things can change at a hospital, so....we shall see!  I'm taking a couple of crochet projects along, as well as a book, and the trusty Kindle!

Ralph is scheduled for surgery on Thursday!  The good news - it looks like they will do a procedure, and it should 'fix' his lung.  Most likely, they will be able to remove the fluid and make a couple of small incisions to scope out his lung, and put in a "slurry" of talc powder that will adhere the lining together, and adhere the lung to his ribs, so it doesn't collapse again.  It is possible that his lung has formed a membrane where the fluid has been building, in which case......they will have to do a larger incision and remove the membrane before they can glue his lung together (the membrane wouldn't let the lung expand fully - so it would have to go!)  He goes in today for pre-op, and then they want him there early Wednesday morning to put in a drain for the fluid.  He will stay overnight, and has the surgery on Thursday.  It's gong to be a long day on Wednesday - just hanging around, being a drip!  I need to load up the Kindle with some books for him - that might help pass the time.

Ralph (finally) met again with the lung specialist on Tuesday.  His appointment had been pushed back two weeks from the original date, so it's been 6 weeks since the last appointment and 6 weeks since they last drained the fluid from his lungs.  The fluid had built back up again (Poor guy can hardly breath!) in the mean time, so....now he is scheduled to meet with a Thoracic Surgeon, Dr. Brusett, on Monday.   The lung specialist, Dr. Singh, wants laparoscopic exploratory surgery done to see if they can find out the problem.  I thought Dr Singh was also supposed to be scheduling another drainage of Ralph's lung, but we haven't heard from the hospital on that yet, so maybe not??  (Maybe Dr. Brusett didn't want that done yet??  Who knows!)  Maybe we'll know more on Monday, but....I figure not.  We probably will meet on Monday, and then they will schedule surgery (hopefully that same week) and then we will wait a few days, and then....an answer???

Alex sent me a text last night, saying he would be home late-ish.  Since it was already after 6:00, I thought "cool - he won't be in for dinner, so I can just do leftovers", since I had a hair appointment after work, and hadn't even made it home yet myself.  Alex came in after 9:00 last night, and said something along the lines of "Know why we were out so late?"  Of course, I had no idea, and he said "We were getting tattoos!"  Me: "Who is 'we', and what did you get?"  Alex:  "Want to see?"  He walked over and pulled up his shirt and said ............ "Nothing!"

He had gone in with his friends Jeff and Sean for Jeff to get a tattoo.He said it turned out better than he thought it would, and he had thought it would be good - the artist had really done a good job.  He thinks he may want to get one, but first he would have to decide on something he would want for the rest of his life - nothing "lame".  All I asked is that he think about it for a while - I didn't want an impulsive "Tinkerbell" tattoo or something.   He promised that if he did, it would be a 'good one'.  Sigh.

Instructions for Black Cat bookmarks

Black Cat Bookmark

Abbreviations:

Sl St: Slip stitch

Sc: Single crochet

Hdc: Half double crochet

Dc: Double crochet

Tc: Treble crochet

Head:

Row 1:  Start with a Magic Circle, 6 sc in circle, join (6 sc)  (Go here for instructions to do the Magic Circle)

Row 2:  2 hdc in each sc, join (12 hdc)

Row 3: 2 hdc in each hdc, join (24 hdc)

Body:

Row 1: Ch 2, hdc in next 2 hdc, turn (2 hdc) (Right side)

Row 2: Ch 2, 2 hdc in each hdc, turn (4 hdc)

Row 3: Ch 2, 2 hdc in next hdc, 1 hdc in next 2 hdc, 2 hdc in next hdc, turn (6 hdc)

Row 4: ch 2, 2 hdc in next 2 hdc, 1 hdc in next 2 hdc, 2 hdc in next 2 hdc, turn (10 hdc)

Row 5: ch 2, 2 hdc in next hdc, 1 hdc in next 9 hdc, turn (11 hdc)

Row 6: ch 2, hdc in next 10 hdc, 2 hdc in next hdc, turn (12 hdc)

Row 7: ch 2, 2 hdc in next hdc, 1 hdc in next 11 hdc, turn (13 hdc)

Row 8: ch 2, hdc in next 12 hdc, 2 hdc in next hdc, turn (14 hdc)

Row 9: ch 2, hdc in each hdc across, turn (14 hdc)

Row 10: ch 1, skip first hdc, hdc in next 12 hdc, sl st in last hdc, turn. (12 hdc)

Ch 1, sc around the cat, stopping at the ears, feet and tail area.

For the tail:

Ch 21, hdc in 2^nd st from hook, dc in the remaining chains, join to body with sl st. Continue sc around the body.

For the ears:

Ch 3, tc in same stitch as last sc, tc in next sc, ch 3, sc in same st as last tc.

For the feet:

Ch 2, 3 dc cluster in next st, ch 2, sl st in next st, ch 2, 3dc cluster in next st, ch 2, sc in next st.

I usually crochet about 75 chains for the 'tail' of the bookmark and add a tassel to it.

A couple of finished projects!!!  This project was an experiment.  I crocheted a scarf, using a simple V-stitch with a nice soft yarn.  Then, I got some of the ruffle yarn - with just a touch of sparkle in it, and attached it to the scarf with a slip stitch.  My first try, I used a single crochet, and ended up about 4 inches short on yarn, so I ripped it out and started over.  I like the ruffles better with the slip stitch too - it was very ruffly with the other stitch.

I also found a book on e-bay for Mom of crocheted Christmas Ball covers.  I tried one of them out.....I think I am going to try it in smaller thread - this is done in size 10, and it looks bulky to me.  (Especially compared to Mom's that are done in size 30!)  I can't even get smaller thread in the stores here - Mom needed more 30, and I had to order it for her.  I guess I need to order some for me now!

This is a cowl made with a very soft, bulky yarn.  It worked up very quickly, and the pattern has a nice texture to it to make it interesting.  The color changes are very nice this way too.  Hmmmmm....I think I know what Christmas presents may be this year!!

The pillows on my couch were old and yucky...but I never remembered to pick up new ones.  When I was with Mom, we walked through that area of Wal-Mart (I hardly ever get to that area of the store) and saw a nice, large pillow that just might work.  I picked one up, and the colors worked just great, so I picked up another one this weekend.  My hope was that Alli would use them, since she usually naps on the couch and the arm of the couch is so high, she makes me uncomfortable to watch her sleep with a big crook in her neck (and she put the old pillows over her head, not under them - silly girl!)  I came in yesterday, and I think they are a hit.

Then, I went in the computer room where I had tossed the old pillows, and this is what I found.....

The last of the pictures from the coast (I promise!)  We went out to Gasquet and drove around.  I was able to get a photo of the trees reflected in the Smith River!!  (I was so excited - I didn't plan it, it was just a good spot to stop and take a picture!)

We stopped and walked for a while in the redwood grove close to the highway too.  We stayed on the road (easier footing for Alli) and drove back  1/4 mile from the road - minimal vehicle traffic and almost no one else there.  We did find a couple of young ladies that had evidently camped out there overnight.  They were cleaning up their campsite, and their 6 month old puppy was dragging his leash around.  He was sniffing around, and then saw us........oh happy days!   Company!!!!  He was probably a lab cross I think they said lab/husky cross), so won't be grown up for a couple of years, and he was just so excited and wanted to play!!  He was running all around us and jumping up on us, and grabbing Alli's jacket sleeve (it was hanging down).  Of course, he also didn't want to listen to his owners either.  We managed to get him to calm down enough to get close to us, and then grabbed his leash for them.  

After the walk, we went to the beach!  We spent a couple of hours walking on the beach - Mom was collecting shells, but didn't find many, and we were there close to low tide.  We were hoping to find small sand dollars again.  One year we found tons of them on the beach.  This year, Mom found a couple of partial sand dollar shells, and one tiny whole one.  When she went to pick the tiny shell up though, it just crumbled....evidently it had been crushed by something, but we didn't see any prints in the sand around it.  Bummer!  Still, Alli had a good time.  I didn't let her get in the water as much as she wanted to - just playing in the waves as they went out.  She loves to play in the waves - I just wasn't up to getting her out (and while it was warm for Crescent City, but....it was still too cold to play in the water!!)

Note - this should have been posted 10/4 - somehow I forgot to finish it!!


I just spent a surprisingly fun evening stuffing bags for Think Pink.  In a couple of weeks, they will give away 60,000 bags with breast cancer awareness items in them - including a pink carnation and a 2014 calendar.  I helped fill some of those tonight.  I didn't keep track of how many, but a rough guess for my 'team' (an ever changing number of people working at the table) I would say 400 bags.  I only knew one other person there - or at least that's all I thought I knew, so it was fun talking with different people.  Turns out there was a former co-worker there (currently working for another bank) and a friend of the family from Ralph's side, who works at North Valley Bank.  It must have been bank night.  There was someone from US Bank at my table, as well as a lady that had retired from B of A.  It was a fun 2 hours - they ran out of some of the items, so I was done at 7:30, and was home in time to put Alli to bed (twice - she went once at 8:10, and was up again at 8:45.  Hopefully she's down for the night now.)

Even after all these years of visiting Crescent City (and Mom living there) we went to a new place this last trip.  We were driving out to the trees, and I was driving along the coast as much as I could (I love the coast!) through town, and had the option of going out to Point St. George's, so....we took it.  I've heard about the lighthouse, but it is miles off shore, so I didn't know what to expect.  What I found was beautiful!  

The view from the parking lot was enchanting - a peak at the ocean between rolling hills, and a ship!  (It was perfectly centered when I saw it - but the time I got the camera out, etc. it is a bit off center).

There is a (relatively) nice, smooth path between the hills - and Alli was ready to go.  She took off ahead of us, and kept checking back to make sure we were following.  The view:

We stayed up above the beach - it was still close to high tide, and there is a nice band of rocks to walk over to get to the beach - not something I wanted to try with Alli at the time.

I had to put in this series of photos - I wanted to get a 'posed' shot of Mom and Alli.  This is how well it didn't work.  Think it is a bit obvious that Mom is trying to hold Alli still??

We spent some time watching the birds in the waves as well.  There's a little black bird in the center-right of the photo.

And some shots of Alli having fun.  She was having so much fun messing with me!  She was spinning and walking in circles the whole time.  Since we were actually on a small bluff with a nice drop to the beach below us, she made me just a bit nervous, and she could tell.

The weekend trip to Crescent City was beautiful and fun.  The weather was some of the best I've seen there - temps were in the low 60's, minimal wind and lots of sunshine.  The beauty started on the drive - the trees are turning colors in the canyon.  These were taken at the rest stop by the Highway 3 connection.

We stayed at the Quality Inn in Crescent City - which is right by the marina.  I usually try to walk over there and take a look at the boats, but....there weren't that many this year.  They are repairing the marina that was destroyed in the tsunami, so most of the slips are under repair.

But Alli enjoyed the walk after the confines of the car.

Some California Poppies were blooming there too.

Some empty crab pots stacked by the side.

We stopped in the Arcata area for lunch on the way over, and then Mom and I snacked on crackers and cheese on the way over, so we decided to skip dinner - just have some more snacks.  Alli wasn't quite as impressed with that dinner decision, so she got McDonald's - twice in one day!  Talk about a happy camper!

The next morning, we had breakfast at the hotel, and since we were having plumbing problems in the room, we took out a little after 9:00 so they could clean the room and fix the toilet.  We went to one of my favorite over-looks - close to the Gastineau's house, and an area that we always played when we visited when I was a kid.  Looking to the south, you can see the lighthouse.  Looking to the north, you can see Goat Island.  There is a road down to the rocks from there, and we spent a lot of hours looking at sea urchins and hermit crabs when I was little.  High tide was at 8:50 that morning, so we didn't try to go down on rocks - too much water.  

So much for the best laid plans.  Mom, Alli, and I went to Crescent City for the weekend, and I figured I'd relax and update the blog a bit while we were gone.  Didn't happen, as you can tell.  Instead, Alli used my laptop the entire time we were in the hotel room, watching her Pokemon movies.  No time for me to type on it.  I was so tired at night, I was ready to go to bed when she did (she stayed up later than normal the first night - probably just the novelty of the hotel room) so I didn't blog at night while she was sleeping either.  Oh well - I can catch up now.  I still have a couple of days off.  I go back to work on Friday.

Sunday morning before we left, I got up to an unusual sight:

"Someone" knocked the top of the blinds off above the couch.  It only broke one plant stem off, thank goodness.  I was already planning on ordering new blinds, but....I wasn't quite ready yet!  I had to be careful taking the pictures - with the sun shining through, you could see how dirty the window is!

I made another pumpkin hat for a co-worker, and I got pictures of both babies in them - lucky me!  This is Elora:

And this is Charlie:

Aren't they adorable (the babies - though the hats are cute - it the babies that are the cutest!!!)