Sneak peek

little books
Originally uploaded by average lavender

Vance Elementary is on Sulpher Springs, which is off of Haywood - super easy to find .

I've been spending all of my free time working on things for this Craft Explosion and I feel pretty good about them. There are little ones, big ones, medium ones, hopefully there will be ones with pockets, there are elastic closures, and there'll be a tiny box set or two.

It's exciting and gratifying to work on these books, it's something I love doing just as much as I love baking. That should have been my first clue - like baking this booking is wrecking my hands and shoulders. Over the course of a day I go from being motivated and thrilled to being mournful and self-pitying. Luckily all the books are blank and don't expound on it.

Woe is us...

George is headed north, last I knew he was somewhere in Virginia. He's hoping to stop and get a little sleep somewhere along the way and then hit up some dude in New Jersey for some veggie oil before 10am. Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Girl is a little clingy, a little unsure of how she feels about George being gone, he is her favorite. Boy is pacing and yeowing. I have been watching "Murder, She Wrote" and eating dinner - refried pasta with garlic. None of us know what we're going to do without George for two whole weeks.

Enough about dinner, let's talk about breakfast. This morning we went to the Sunny Point for breakfast, we even walked there! While George had eggs over easy with sausage and cheddar grits, I had an orange cornmeal hot cake with blackberry butter (okay, it was Earth Balance) and a side of mapley, peppery bacon. All the food was, naturally, incredible. There was, however, one thing that I did not love about my meal, and it wasn't the service, it wasn't the noise, it wasn't some screaming child, it was that our table. While wonderfully outside, it was one of those tables in "the path." You know what I mean, it's near the server station so someone is constantly whisking by you with busy energy. I'm a fairly picky person, but I'm not going to go through the trouble of having a fit and asking to be moved because that's just out of line and ridiculous. I will however have a grumpy moment while I fidget around trying to find the spot that makes all the bustle less annoying. Also, 90% of the time stuff like this doesn't actually bother me at all, it's just that we've been seated in "the path" three times since we've been here - which mystifies me because we've only been out to eat like four times!

I think maybe I'm more sensitive (i.e. crazy) because I work in a food environment, so the last thing I want to be around when I'm not working is other people working like I work. Sitting next to the bus tub and water pitcher make me feel as though I should bus my table the table of the people next to me in addition to filling my own water glass. Going out to eat is a gluttonous treat, it's exciting and special, I look forward to it.

For fall/winter I hope to perfect the art of cheesey grits.

Diagnosis: CTS or An Account of the Week

A session of dishwashing at home last Monday left me with a funky thumb problem - I couldn't put any pressure on it without awful shooting pains, no jar opening, no mug lifting, no supporting myself as I climbed down from the loft.

Then on Tuesday I was getting weird feelings in the back of my hand - not pain, but I could just feel everything.

Wednesday morning started with a bang in the first ten minutes: getting out of bed...feeling nauseous, ears ringing, vision darkening, chills, clammy, freaking out...to being completely normal. This has, in fact, happened to me twice already in my life: eight years ago and four or five months ago. Fearing brain problems, I made an appointment at the community clinic.

I learned that the weird freaking out is almost fainting, pre-vasovagal syncope. A nerve in the body sends out a signal that slows the heart rate, thereby draining the blood from the head and down you go! (Maybe.) Apparently it can be triggered by..oh..anything and the only danger to a person is if they actually pass out and hurt themselves in the fall. I also learned that I'm not anemic and I'm not diabetic. As for all my wrist/thumb issues, it's straight-up, good old y2k fashioned carpal tunnel syndrome. The doc seemed fairly nonchalant about this, granted it's not really a serious, life-threatening, exotic injury and it's mostly inconvenient, but so far it's seriously putting cramp in everything. I've been working with a brace, which is bulky, awkward, and extremely frustrating, icing it every night, wearing the brace to sleep, I stopped knitting my sweater, I can't do the dishes, open containers, use a can opener, teeth brushing has good and bad moments, as does getting dressed. Before this my days were spent working, then coming home to knit or maybe ride my bike, and now it's mostly searching the internet and checking my email left handed.

We made it to the farmers market yesterday and came home with artichokes, broccoli, cider (wicked pricey but delicious cider), yogurt, a kiwi, and bought some roasted chestnuts but they didn't make it home. We always bring the camera so we can show you how big this market is (HUGE) but when we get overwhelmed by the number of pushy people and children we're trying not to trip over and forget.

Pictures of things soon!

california's toll

since moving here i've spent more time trying to recuperate from various things than i remember having done in the past ... i don't know... DECADE. ringworm. psoriasis. internal infections. cuts. bruises. scrapes. it's out of control and has been just about non-stop since we got here. i drink water all the time, i do my best to get full nights of sleep, i'm cautious when using sharp knives and when riding my bike in traffic, but none of it seems to matter i still feel like crap and cut myself and am tense, grumpy, and unhappy about it.

as an aside regarding food: despite being in the magical land of california it's becoming increasingly difficult to eat really well and consistently. we have yet to find the farmer's market (but have really promising leads) and really fresh vegetables seem virtually impossible to get. there are something like four or five grocery stores within a fifteen minute drive for us and they either have yucky produce at an affordable price or good produce at a ridiculous price. rar! we've been eating out more and more which is exciting because there's an endless number of restaurants to choose from but it's also more expensive, there's less control over what we're eating, and we run into problems like the one we have tonight: no produce in the house! so we get to go on the hunt.

i guess i'm just frustrated because i'm lazy. but the getting sick and having ridiculous accidents is just absurd at this point: california is not earning any points from me.