A few odds and ends...

I realized today that it has been awhile since I last posted a "real" entry versus a quick paragraph. What can I say? I've been busy!

In late January my sister plotted to journey to Iowa as a surprise for the family. Our plotting went off successfully and I took a half day off to run some errands and pick her up from the airport before tackling a long drive to my parents house. It was comical. My mother had said that she was going to bed early so I had my sister call the house about 15 minutes prior to our planned arrival -- just to make sure Mom would be awake. We pulled into the drive and I sat there for a minute revving the engine, waiting for a face to appear in the window. Nothing doing. We get out of my truck and my sister slams the door shut. Suddenly we saw Dad's face peering out the window and the outside light came on. My mother apparently asked who was there and he replied, "It's the girls!" Mom thought he was pulling her leg but he wasn't. We hauled in my sister's luggage and it was time for SURPRISE! :) My mother wondered why no one had called her that week but I knew that if I did and she asked what I was doing on my afternoon off, I would be a loss how to answer other than to vaguely refer to "errands". You can almost hear Bill Cosby saying, "I don't know!" in a completely innocent tone. The same was true of my sister and my brother's girlfriend. We were all trying to keep the secret and in order to have the least opportunities for slipping up, we simply kept to ourselves. LOL

During my sister's visit we also had an opportunity for a family dinner including my grandparents, whom it's always great to see. Unfortunately my brother was looking feverish from a virus he was fighting and which his girlfriend was starting to get so they didn't stay long. I couldn't stay too long either as I had to finish laundry for the next day's work. A few days later I got an email from my mother -- the virus that was plaguing my brother and his girlfriend had expanded to include my sister and father with the result of subsequent bedrest for several days. Mom and I thought we had been lucky to come out unscathed but we spoke too soon. Mom became sick after a week and is still fighting it and I've been fighting a virus for the past week. Fortunately I've got a very mild case but I suspect I may have one of my first adult ear infections. *sigh* We'll see. I'm definitely tired of seeing my physician but I can traipse back down there again if needed.

I finally finished the last werewolf book by Alice Borchardt. I can definitely say that her first book was the best and, other than the historical interest of taking place in the era of Caesar and the Roman Empire - give or take several hundred years, I'm afraid the last two were a waste of time. I was extremely disappointed at the way sudden way she did the ending. She definitely left it open for another book but I probably won't read it should that be the case.

I've read a few other books since then, most notably Carved in Bone by Jefferson Bass. This is the first fiction story from two collaborative authors (an actual writer and Dr. William Bass who founded The Body Farm at the University of Tennessee) with another soon to be released. I am hooked. In college I took a Human Osteology course and absolutely loved it. If I'd had my head on straight I would have switched my emphasis to forensic science but I think I was partially brain dead in college so it never came to mind. Ironically, at the same time, my mother told me about a new television series called Bones that is about forensic science in determining cause of death and assisting in the capture of criminals. I instantly was hooked by that one too. If you can handle gory and like the science of forensics, check out the show and/or book.

On to other topics: I've decided that I must have received a gift subscription to the magazine Lucky because I suddenly started receiving it. Personally, the only interesting things I've seen so far are the new perfume scents. The fashion portrayed is extremely ugly and I have to wonder if the future of fashion will be shopping in Laverne and Shirley's closets!! Ick!

Had a big event at work last week. I'm so glad it's over but at least this year went off almost without a hitch. I was thinking to myself on Thursday that everything had gone very smoothly for a change...when the snafu hit. One of the key people involved in it did not have it on his calendar and his secretary claims that she was never informed (I have evidence contradicting that but I wasn't going to argue about it). Fortunately he was able to move a meeting and attend part of the event, with his assistant filling in for the last half. Needless to say I'm sending the information on the next event to his secretary as soon as I have a date identified. Oy vey. I can't spend too much time worrying about it since I have another big event for work next week. Fortunately it's not as stressful!

Archaeology news: British archaeologists have discovered the remains of a village near Stonehenge as well as a "road" of sorts that leads from the village to the stone circle via a long route along the river, which they believe represents the journey to death. Apparently the village remains indicate a structure architecturally mimicing the stone circle and which they believe represents "life" while Stonehenge was used for rituals and funerals. The way it was first portrayed made it sound almost as if they had JUST discovered it but in reality it's a project that has been ongoing for several years.

Primatology update: Did you know chimpanzees indicate to their fellow groomer where they have itch? I had to laugh at the memories of family members saying "yeah, scratch right there...lower...to the right..right there." Maybe we're not so far apart after all! (compliments of the August 2006 National Geographic).

Did anyone else find the statement by environmental scientists disturbing regarding gag orders by the Bush administration to keep silent on damaging environmental reports? I was very concerned and still am to be honest. I have to read more on it but might as well mention it.

Cross stitch update: I already goofed on my large cross stitch project. At first glance one would think each of the "sections" were a uniform size of 60x75 blocks. Unfortunately I realized only as I was starting the second section that the correct size is 59x75 blocks. I ended up adding an extra row. I considered how to fix it for several long minutes but finally decided to leave the extra row and just add another extra row at the end to make it even. Hee hee!

Hmmm...just a few odds and ends for y'all...