Pre-Easter Basketcases (The Case of the Missing Tulips)

The kids came to visit (along with our friends Chip and Cathy, who sadly were not photo-documented) and we had a pre-Easter romp. We took the scenic - Ferry to Whitby -Deception Pass route to the Skagit Tulip Festival, which was surprisingly bereft of tulips. Homemade ice cream eased our pain. Back at home, we Kool-Aid dyed and felted my pre-knit Easter baskets, then finished them off with a little needlefelting. Maddie's is a refreshing minty color, judiciously adorned with hearts and stars. Gillie's only half-felted, thanks to Daddy taking a bath and hogging all the hot water, so she wound up with a lovely spring green purse. It has subtle stripes, due to mixing 2 yarns, and she designed the "bunny sniffing flower" motif - so at last we did end up with some tulip-y joy. Additional purple and pink knit rabbits were hopping around, but they evaded the photographer. Toss in a game of Life (Spongebob Edition, naturally!) and you've got a great weekend!
For those of you asked: The girls are straight from their morning showers, thus the wet hair.

Miss Walkies, a Lurking CoonCow, and Peachy Sweetness

Debbie is our fantastic friend from Phoenix. Fig waited so long for some prey to wander by that he fell asleep. Skwatch (aka Peach) showers the people he loves with love. Blackberry kindly shares her blanket with pretty much everyone.

Simply a great pic!

Click to enlarge. :)

Wallace & Wendolene expecting!

We've been parking them next to each other in the garage, and completely forgot to spay/neuter. They've been taking some lessons from Blackberry and now Wendolene is preggers! Feathers McGraw is a possible name, depending on the gender. Gestation and delivery will take a while but here's the initial ultrasound:

Weird science: Surgeon wasps and zombie roaches

http://www.boingboing.net/2006/02/03/wasp_performs_roachb.html

Garnets and Godiva!

The bun in this photo isn't a friend of mine, I just love the dino-rabbit romance.

Happy Love Day to everyone! My amazing sweetie (who's doing VERY well, thanks) surprised me with some garnet jewelry and a small box of heaven. He also got me highlighters and folders for my schoolwork. *laugh* His prezzies are a dot monster (like a sock monkey only way better) and a Scottish military hat badge from 1900. Sushi tonight!

Good news: My thesis was accepted - As soon as the paperwork goes through I'll officially be a "Master."
Bad news: The things-breaking-trend wasn't quite over. Matt's trusty old Mac finally went belly-up. Ai yai yai.
More good news: Blackberry seems to be over the worst of her digestive issues. We are easing her back into fresh greens now. No more huge black blobby poops. The upside to all the handling (forced medication) is that she's discovered the benefits of physical contact. She now sits next to us on the couch and demands petting all day long. She's nearly a snugglebun. :)

Wallace & Wendolene: Washed & Waxed

Running errands in a London Taxi really puts a smile on our faces, and driving convoy with another Taxi turns an awful lot of heads! After getting them both all glossy and happy, we did glamour shots under the old wooden train bridge. Aren't they lovely?

Family, Friends, & Food

One great thing about Matt being on medical leave is that we get to spend more time with the people we love. We had Dim Sum with Holly, Amanda, Chris, and Rachel (then all packed into the back of the cab!), and then the girls came to visit. Maddie and Gillie are more amazing every day. We had an awesome time and can't wait for the next visit.

Teeny amazing critters - TARDIGRADES!

How did I not hear about these little guys before?

"Water Bears" belong to a lesser known phylum of invertebrate animals, the Tardigrada. They are similar to arthropods, which include crustaceans and insects.

Tardigrades are supertiny critters, typically 0.3 to 0.5 mm (For you non-scientists, a millimeter is about the thickness of a dime). They need water, but if the environment is too dry they just go into hibernation…. For up to TEN YEARS! They can also survive staggering amounts of radiation (5700 grays, while five grays would be fatal to a human). Oh, and they can survive being heated for a few minutes to 151 °C or being chilled for days at -272.8 °C (almost absolute zero). How sweet is that?

They have 4 pairs of legs with claws and five body-segments. They move like little bears, with a slow lumbering gait. The first link below has a short video. Tardigrades are found all over the world, including salt and freshwater environments, in humid rain forests and dry deserts, in low canyons and high altitude mountain-tops. Tardigrades are aquatic organisms and need to be in water to eat, breath, reproduce, and move. They are commonly found in the interstitial (water between leaves) environment of moss and lichen. Some tardigrades are carnivores, others are herbivores or omnivores. They feed on each other, as well as mites, aphids, nematodes, and other microscopic organisms. These microscopic creatures play an important role in the cycling of nutrients. And they’re really really cute.

More reading:

http://www.tardigrades.com/
http://www.iwu.edu/~tardisdp/tardigrade_facts.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tardigrade

Want to help pay my tuition while wearing coolness? http://www.cafepress.com/tardigrades

YEAH!!!!

Great news: Matt went to see his cardiologist today and his ejection fraction has returned to normal. "One for the record books," the doc said. We had not expected it to be so good for weeks, perhaps months.

He still has a few months of recovery - he still has chest pain with exertion and gets tired very easily - but this means his long-term prognosis is excellent. Barring a relapse, the illness will have no impact on his longevity. That means I get to keep him for the next 80 years or so, just as I planned all along. *BIG GRIN*

Many heartfelt thanks to everyone who contributed their prayers, distance healing, and movies to keep him on the couch! We are thrilled and grateful to have such a terrific community of friends and family.

Oh - and the rabbit? Blackberry is on antibiotics for the bad bugs, and probiotics for the good ones. Hopefully the bunny butt biohazard will clear up rapidly as well. :)

Things that have broken in the past few weeks:

All three cars: Wallace (various electrical problems) and the Jetta (melted fuseboard & dead battery) required professional assistance. Matt fixed Wendolene's electrical spazz early last week. Do you see a trend here?

Computer power cord. NOT the bunny's fault, for once!

Matt's iPod: Disc crashed and burned. Total scrap.

Matt's heart, for Bob's sake. It'll be months until he's right.

Peachey's blindness is becoming more apparent. We had though it was just one eye, but his laser-dot chasing behavior makes it clear that he's missing a chunk in the other side's visual field, too. He's a perfectly happy housecat, though, so it's not a big deal.

The bunny's butt. Trust me, you don't want the details.

*sigh*

It's still a great life... but I hope that's it for now. I really don't want any more disasters. Thank you to everyone for your copious support!

Update!

Matt is doing so well - his enzymes and troponin are finally dropping - they are releasing him today! The ID doc and cardiologist were very pleased and surprised to let him go so early. I am ever so grateful... WOW - that call for healing Qi really worked! Keep it up - we still have a few months of recovery ahead.

Matt's got myocarditis. No funny headline here.

Matt has contracted viral myocarditis, probably from a patient. That means a virus has infected his heart. He will be in the hospital for a few days at least, then he will have at least 90 days off work to recover. We won't know for a long while if there is any permanent damage, but the odds are very good. He's young, healthy, fit, a non-smoker, non-drug user, non-drinker, and he's got ridiculously resiliant genes. The only scary signs so far are that his ejection fraction is only 45% and his troponin levels keep rising. He's getting the very best medical care (I am SO GRATEFUL we live here and not in some tiny 3rd world country - I could have lost him!!). All we can do is wait and see. Your prayers / magic / healing Qi are all appreciated. Please check back for updates.

I really really really love this man.

Fig needed some Stuff to call his own.

Complete with jingle bell and stuffed with a plastic bag to make an intriging crunchy sound!

Wallace & Wendolene & Christmas Stockings

Matt loved my Wendolene so much that we had to accelerate our plans to acquire our second London Taxi - Wallace. He is definitely a masculine version of my cab, from 1967. He has a new, powerful Chevy V6 and lots of chrome. There are lots of other differences - some small, some large - and they have completely different personalities and drive feel. Better photos will be coming, when Matt is off work during daylight hours!

In other news, Blackberry has started using the cat tower. Fig is growing out his mane, tail, and bloomers. I made my first sock, then followed it with five others to decorate the Christmas tree. There's one for each resident here. I matched the yarn, size, and shape to each. Matt's is handspun gray wool. Mine is rainbow. Blackberry's is black angora rabbit. Thoth's (hard to see in the pic) is glossy black wool with an enlarged belly. Fig's has mohair to represent his fluffiness. Skwatch's (the PP is for Peachy Pie, his most-oft-used nickname) is small and slim, and I made a mini Thing 2 to represent his favorite toy, lost in the Dreaded Flea Cleansing of late 2004.

Pics of ME!

Matt and I actually went OUT last night! He stayed awake for most of it, too. I snapped these before we headed out the door, since it's pretty rare for me to get gussied up these days.

Oh, and I've decided to make the most of the little free time I have, and try to build a life. I've got a small bunch of queer girls coming over for Lost on Wednesdays, and may attempt to start a weekend knitting group here. The lesbian knitters here meet on Tuesdays, which I can never make. I figure two hours on a Sunday can help me psychologically bootstrap for the rest of the week.

As for my 24 credit academic load, I decided it was too much and I should split my courses over the next two years. Then I realized it wasn't the science that was giving me fits (I LOVE the science!), it was the stress of maintaining my straight A average (those "team" exercises are a killer when your classmates are happy with a C). I solved the problem by deciding to audit three of 4 classes. I'll still do all the work, and yes, I'll still pay tuition, but I won't risk getting a B. I'll still learn and prep for the MCAT, but reduce my stress. So - I'm back into it for another 24 in Winter quarter. Yay!

"We have done the impossible, and that makes us mighty!"

More pics of the Winter Wonderland

The drive up, Matt ventures into Richard Scarry's world, and the view from our room. I love living here. The Northwest is heaven itself. :)

Driving in a winter wonderland

Matt's hospital whisked all the residents off to a lodge in Snoqualmie Pass. It was a weekend off we both desperately needed. The cab did beautifully in the slush and snow. As one of the British residents remarked, "You can drive those over a glacier!" They have quite a reputation in the UK, but I shan't be putting Wendolene up against a Hummer anytime soon. Oh... and a few gratuitous kitten shots.

Knitty's photo contest

Well, I didn't win. *pout* Here's a link to the finished calender: http://www.cafepress.com/knitty.34759783

You can click on "View calender pages" and see the pictures they chose. I love September! I personally think mine rocked and one shoulda snagged the cover, but hey, that's just humble little me. We were each allowed three entries, which had to highlight a piece knitted from the Knitty site. Here are the ones I submitted back in August. I had a hard time choosing between the 6 or so amazing shots of Leo & Kate (fellow acupuncturists). Aren't they gorgeous?

Oh - and for those of you with sharp eyes - yes, that's my handspun yarn in the basket. The blue is corn silk and really glows!

Pole dancing and pole cats

Stripey cat top level conference, and Matt and the girls practicing their Batman scaling technique.

Homespun family

I did get a few emails from people wanting to see my handspun yarn, so here it is: Please click on the pics for a MUCH better view. The green is a triple ply merino. I have three skeins of that, and I'm inordinately proud of it. The rainbow is a color mix (varied wools) plyed with a soft synthetic glittery black (purchased). It'll make a perfect fancy evening shawl. The white is silk, single ply. The varied browns are all exotic fibers from a "taste test" class. It includes everything from vicuna and cashmere to raccoon (!). Super soft! I was experimenting with a longer twist on that one so the 2 ply looks almost like a single. The 2 ply grey is natural mystery wool I picked up at a yarn swap - I've got six of those. The red / blue 2 ply is another merino mix - 6 skeins of that. And the little ball is silk, not nearly as muddy as in the pic. It has a lovely sheen and the colors are like watermelon tourmaline. Alas, only a smidgen of that one. Any suggestions for projects are welcome!

The girls, Gillian and Maddie, had a great time at Gasworks park on their visit. They were here the same time my parents were, and we all piled into the cab. We also went to the Science Museum at Seattle Center, where I took the fall Needle shot.

Retro-Post: Fig & Graduation

These pics predate the taxi's arrival, thus the title. I graduated from OCOM on Sept 2 with a Master's in Oriental Medicine and Acupuncture. Trafiglio Q. Havalina joined our family in the last few days of August. He's a Maine Coon baby and we expect him to grow to an impressive size. And since nobody gets away with just one name, he's also Fig, Spazzboy, and Talky the CoonCalf. He thoroughly trounces the other boys in their cattle battles, but when the bunny gets into it - WOW! She charges him, rams him, leaps at him with a flying sidekick like Bruce Lee! He's convinced she's utterly terrifying, and runs for it. Then they all collapse in a big friendly pile.

I know I promised pics of my homespun skeins, but I'm busy.... and I suspect it's more of a priority for me than my faithful readers. Raise a hue and cry if I'm mistaken, and I'll adjust accordingly.