Hey There, Hi There

Yes, it's me again, in less than a month. I go, girl.

So, I'm in the midst of a scan at the hospital, except I'm home now, having been shot with nuclear dye, and I get to go back in a few hours for the scan, and again tomorrow for a repeat of the scan. Somehow, a lot of red tape got mixed up in this, and I'm pissed off today, which I haven't been for a long, long time. I also can't eat all day until the scan is over. I'm not happy. I am hungry.

The Empress did a book meme yesterday that I'm going to do some of here. First question:

Hardcover or paperback, and why?

Well, well, well. I have no preference, generally, between hc and p. I do have a preference for e. Yes, I've enjoyed the ebooks since they were first available, but now, I'm going to say it's my preference. Here's why. I like that they provide their own light source (the iphone and ipad do), which means I can read in the dark, which I love to do. I like that the font size can be changed to suit the reader. And lately, I've become more aware that really, e is the ecologically sound way to go. The only drawback to the e is that you have to buy them, you can't borrow them easily, so ts expensive. I try to find cheap books, or use discount and such.

The author, alive or dead, that I would love to have lunch with, and why?

First, Shakespeare. I've got a lot of questions for Shakespeare. Next, probably John Steinbeck or Ernest Hemingway, likewise, questions. For a nice, pleasant, funny lunch, however, I'd have to go with Fannie Flagg.

The smell of an old book reminds me of ...

My library, of course. And the bookshelf in the spare bedroom at my Aunt Rose's house when I was a kid.

If I could be the lead character in a book, I would be ...

Jo March, of course, from Little Men. She's the teacher and nurturer I always wanted to be, even, when I first read the book, consciously.

No answer to the favorite quotation question; there are too many to list.

Excuse me, I have to go hydrate now for the scan later. I have to be well-hydrated and empty (it's a stomach scan); they told me to take a laxative the night before, but hey. I have Crohn's Disease, laxatives are my mortal enemy. I'm a walking laxative. (TMI?) I'm not liking these hospital people so much at the moment.

Happy Thanksgiving, Y'all

Dear god, nearly a month since I last wrote here! Bad, bad girl. Well, everything's done in the kitchen for now, until the turkey comes out, I've showered and dressed, and it's time I tried to catch you guys up a little, assuming anyone is still reading. I still read what you post and I follow on FaceBook, although I rarely write there. For today, I've got some stuff that I don't want to put on FaceBook because I don't want feedback from everyone I ever knew, but I'll get to that.

First, the newlyweds. They're back from two weeks in Hawaii, back at work, settling in, all is well with them. I just love my boy, E. He is as good as gold, as sweet as pie.

My K is happily teaching along, burdened with work and planning and papers to grade, as most teachers are, but especially as all first-year teachers are. Her little baby cat, Otto, is the cutest cat ever, and still very kittenish, running around like a mad man.

My in-laws did indeed sell their house and they moved up closer to us last week. They're about 20 minutes away, so, YAY, no more holidays spent on the Garden State Parkway. Moving was quite a traumatic experience for everyone involved, which I may get back to another time, but they're in, they still have boxes to unpack and always will. The downside of having them close is that apparently they think they can call on their children -- the Hubs' sister is 20 minutes away in the other direction -- for ridiculous little things, like to come over and look through all the boxes for something stupid, like a particular screwdriver that no one needs now, the FIL just wants to know where it is. *sigh*

Next Thanksgiving, we will have a little one at the table -- AT LAST! -- as my Good Guy nephew and his lovely wife are expecting in the spring. Baby Jacob is to be named after my father, who preferred to go by Jack, but Jacob was his actual given name. First baby in the family on both sides, so this little guy probably won't touch ground until he's three. Want to bet his first word is going to be "Down!"?

As for me, in the neverending saga of new doctors to see and rare conditions to have, I have a tumor in my stomach that is "carcinoid" which possibly means "cancer-like" but isn't cancer. (Not too clear on that part.) It's a particular type of cancer tumor that occurs in the stomach but doesn't behave like cancer: it doesn't spread and it doesn't grow. (Although I suppose it grew somehow to what it is now.) The doctors, and there are three in on this case, are adamant this is NOT stomach cancer, although it is a cancer (-like) tumor in my stomach. ? Anyway, I have no symptoms of anything, I feel fine, and I'll be having it removed on January 3, when my surgeon comes back after teaching his technique around the world. I'm having robotic surgery -- another time for more on that -- and a partial gastrectomy, which means they don't so much remove the tumor as they remove the part of the stomach that has the tumor on it. I've been assured that if I don't live to a ripe old age, this won't be the cause; they're getting it out and I'll be fine. So that's that.

However, on Monday, the day before my wonderful Dr. Resnick, clarified all of this, I figured I'd be having traditional surgery (lousy, long recuperation) and it would probably turn out to be cancer, so I got myself a present -- as I do for big life challenges -- and now I'll be fine and all, but I'm keeping the iPad.

Excuse me a moment -- first basting of the turkey.

I've been oddly laid-back about Thanksgiving this year, although I did finally get a farm-raised fresh turkey, as the kids have been asking me to do for years and years. Usually, I have everything we need laid out on the table so it's right at hand, but this year I've been going down to the basement for pots and serving pieces as we need them. This is always a day of continuous dish washing and drying for us, so I just worked that in. (And the drainboard is clear now, as it should be.) We're off to Wonderful Niece's later on, all of us meeting there, since she has the biggest dining room. (She also has doggies for me to play with, although her cats stay in hiding the whole time.)

I still don't have much better wedding pictures, but any that I have are at FaceBook, so if you know me there, you can take a look.

I'll keep in touch.