Saturday, October 31, 2009

In the Midst...

...and the mist! 

The rain stopped for about 3 hours--and has started drizzling slightly again.  Not enough to deter many ToTs and not yet enough to put out the candles or the tiki torches, thank goodness.

Had to scrap so many plans--the corn stalks died and the X fell for the last time.  I propped it back up, but ditched the corn stalks on it.  One of the teens just asked me where was "the PVC guy", because I finally just dismantled him.  He kept falling apart in the mud, because his supports gave out, and wouldn't hold up wet clothing.

I've had them from about 18 months old (you know who's eating their candy!) to teens in hockey masks and skeleton masks.  And as long as they make an effort, I don't care how old they are.  I've even offered a couple of them grocery sacks to take around, because all they had were their pockets!

The best part of the evening so far?  A little guy about 3 years old in prisoner stripes came early.  His mom prompted him "Now, say Trick or Treat!" 

Instead he looked up at me and said "I wike your house." 


Worth every anxious, frustrated moment of the season!


Not What I'd Planned

Yesterday was spent putting the last layer of papier mache on the hands.  Yes, I was cutting it close. I also picked up 6 more pumpkins and last-minute supplies to finish the outside, and stopped by Wally World to get a new DVD and some munchies.

 I just barely got home before the rain and my guests arrived--two gals from work who came over for a short movie night.  They are not into horror movies and Halloween madness, but we sat around and watched the old black-and-white version of "Night of the Living Dead" and ridiculed the blond bimbo and the police chief with the ammo belt slung over his shoulder.  It's a little hard to be frightened by that movie anymore.



We also watched "Trick 'r Treat"--just released this month.  It was never at the theaters; it was supposed to come out in 2007, but was released to DVD instead. I liked it myself, and even though there were some dark moments, we didn't really find it scary. 



Maybe the levity of poking fun at the first movie was still hovering around, or maybe it was because we were all together. Whatever. It was still a good movie, with some really interesting twists.  I'd definitely recommend it.



It's still raining.  15 hours and counting.  I haven't weather-proofed the tombstones or the hands yet, haven't stuffed and dressed the farmer/hatchet man, haven't carved the first jack-o-lantern, and now I'm wondering if it will be worth the effort. I'm thinking the kids will all go to the malls or to indoor carnivals and festivals rather than traipse around in the dark, wet night.  

See the PVC dude back there?  Hatchet man?  He might just be a ghost instead, with sheets thrown over him at the last minute. 

The birdbath was supposed to hold a bunch of old sticks and leaves and 3 foam skulls.  IF I get the jack-o-lanterns carved, one may go there instead.  Somehow, skulls floating in a birdbath just aren't scary.


Sigh.  I may get to watch a LOT of scary movies tonight.



Thursday, October 29, 2009

A Celebration of Sorts

J-Man and I never got to celebrate our anniversary the end of September.  I worked that weekend, and the next one was when he was so weak, just before the hospital admission, and well, you know the rest of that story.

So today we went to The State Theater of North Carolina--the Flat Rock Playhouse--and saw The  Woman in Black.

They did an AWESOME job!  It was a 2-man play within a play, and the two actors played every part.  There was absolutely no doubt as to when they switched characters, and even roles, as the younger man portrayed the older man in his youth.  Sounds confusing, I know, but it was so well acted, we had no trouble following along. 

The story is based on a novel by Susan Hill, and was adapted to the stage by Stephen Mallatratt.   The Fortune Theatre in London where The Woman in Black has been running since 1989 is reported to be haunted by a ghost - a woman in black - who began appearing shortly after a break-in at the Covent Garden theatre. She was witnessed being in the wings by all actors mid-performance, watching in silence.  Isn't that creepy? It's especially creepy if you know the story--but don't google it--that will ruin the storyline for you. Just mark it down as one to see if you ever get the chance.

J-Man mentioned wanting a season ticket to the Flat Rock Playhouse for next year, which I think I might just get him for Christmas. Then, we read in the program that the theater is having a raffle for two free passes for life--at $2.00 a chance.--so we bought 10 chances.  The drawing is Dec. 21, so keep your fingers crossed for us.  What a Christmas present that would be!

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Sneak Peak

The yard is nowhere NEAR done, but I set up some of the lighting today and then tromped around in the wet grass tonight tweaking it somewhat.  The tiki torches aren't lit yet, there are no jack-o-lanterns, and I may be rearranging even more, but here are a few quick looks:

The little patch with the daylilies and birdbath. There will probably be a pumpkin in the birdbath, but to the left of the picture, can you see the PVC person frame?  I don't know for sure what he'll be, but he's wearing my old black athletic shoes.


From across the street


Sewing room window.


 
Kitchen Window.  I'm going to take the foam and plastic jack-o-lanterns out of this window and set them up on the back steps by Fri. They really aren't spooky enough for the front yard, but for now they fill the space in the window.  I plan to put the cat-eyes up here, because the kitchen lights are on a lot, and it will just look better to have the eyes in the window that night. 
Remember the eyes?


 It's getting late and there's lots of non-Spook stuff that must be done tomorrow.

Somebody, please clone me!


Quilting to be continued....

I mentioned to a friend that I might as well just tear the October page off the sewing room calendar, because nothing ever gets done quiltwise til after Halloween is over.  The Howliday just consumes all my time and energy until about the end of the first week of November, after all the spooky stuff is put away for another year.

But I did want to join Finn's New Year's Eve UFO challenge, and to do that I must list what I hope to finish by then.  Since one of the items I was going to list is on the home stretch, here is a brief quilty break!

1. Swap block table runner--binding
2. Swap block table topper--sandwich, quilt, and bind
3. Baby quilt for co-worker's daughter--quilt and bind
4. DD's flannel quilt repair
5. DD's string quilt--border, sandwich, quilt and bind
6. DH's chessboard--quilt and bind

Okay, we now return to my usual October chaos, complicated by recent rains:


toppled cornstalk "X"




Tuesday, October 27, 2009

The Countdown is Scaring Me!

I am off work from now until Tuesday night, the 3rd.  It may seem like a long time, but in this week, besides all the Halloween preparations, is squeezed in a 3-hr mandatory inservice, a lab draw at the hospital, new tires for the car, an oil change and fuse replacement for the truck, a grooming session for Tandi, and attendance at "The Woman in Black" at the local Playhouse. They tried to work in another MD appointment on Fri. but it didn't work out, thank goodness. 

Oh, and the lab draw on Friday?  Someone misread or misreported the results.  The Vitamin K was the absolute wrong thing to give J-Man, as his level of the blood thinner was sub-therapeutic--too low. And he's gotten the vitamin K all weekend.

When I got to work last night, I pulled his results up on the computer and found the error.  I placed a call to his doc, who was very upset, and we restarted J-Man back on the injectable blood thinner.  You know, the $90 a pop kind, that we were fortunate enough to be given. Thankfully, we had some left, and someone covered my patients for me at work so I could drive home and give him a dose and rush right back to work.  More labs were drawn this morning, and so far, everything is A-OK.  We just have to start all over with the Coumadin again.

Tomorrow it's due to rain.  Hard.  All day and all night.  Did I need any more interruptions in my Halloween preps??? Maybe it'll be drier by Wed. afternoon and I can put more out and get the lighting arranged.  Sorry there are no pictures yet.  I worked out there for a while, but my neighbors kept coming by to comment on the goings on and ask about J-Man.  One of them remarked that I don't seem to have as much out this year as usual.

Wonder why that is?

Friday, October 23, 2009

What a Ride!

Today was our follow-up visit to our primary care MD. (Okay, really it was J-Man's appointment but as we are attached at the hip these days, I felt it was our appointment.) The hospital had not sent a copy of the biopsy to our doctor as promised, so his staff got on the phone and hustled up the report. ( Just subtracted 3 points from the rival hospital's grade.)  And the result?  We still don't know what caused the liver failure. The reading was a bunch of gobbledy-gook--even our MD was scratching his head over the report--but it seems to be ruling out cancer and any auto-immune diseases.  The pathologist's comment suggests either a drug reaction or some sort of blockage outside the liver, which was already ruled out with CT scans and MRI. He also said cirrhosis can't be ruled out--but cirrhosis is a very generic condition with multiple causes--all of which we have already eliminated, with the exception of "drugs, toxins and infections."

So really, we don't know much more than we did before.  We don't know what caused his liver to shut down, and we don't know if it will happen again, but he seems to be getting better: the itching has stopped and he's lost about 25 lbs of fluid, both of which would indicate his liver is beginning to function again.

One side complication: J-Man was started on a normal dose of oral blood thinner for the clots in his leg, in preparation for getting him off the injectable blood thinner.  They did a quick test in the doctor's office to check his level, then came back and re-did the test--and it was so high it wouldn't register.  We were sent over to the hospital to have the test done a third time, and it read critically high.  All blood thinners have been stopped for now and the physician's office and I had to call around to find a pharmacy that carries an injectable Vitamin K so I could give him that dose ASAP and make him clot again. Things just can't be simple, can they?

Monday we'll rerun the tests and try to get him back on track. Tomorrow at work I will go into the computer and look up his other labs. I suspect they will prove his liver function is improving.

Many thanks to all of you who have had us in your thoughts and prayers these last two weeks. It is awesome to think that people we have never laid eyes on and may never meet in this life, have cared that much.

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Over and Done

We are back home now and just resting. J did well, and the biopsy didn't take long.  He said he can still feel the sensation of the sheath, and where the biopsy was done. The radiologist said some folks never feel the biopsy and some do--and J-Man did.  He said it felt like a punch to the gut, and he's a little bit sore because they got several tissue samples. 

I told him I'm sure his heart, vena cava and liver are screaming "What the h___ was that???" as the sheath went where none have gone before.  But so far so good, and he's decided to stretch out and watch his news shows awhile.  He had his cheeseburger, but isn't as hungry as he thought he'd be. 

I personally think the sofa is calling my name.  

"Cominnggg...."

Blow by blow

J-Man is in the procedure room now.  They are expecting anywhere from 30 min to 1.5 hours for the procedure, depending on how smoothly everything goes.  Recovery should be 1-3 hours, also depending.

Based on the registration information, the insurance company is playing nice right now and not blocking this.  Good thing, J says, as he hasn't eaten since supper last night, and they don't want to mess with a hungry man.

He has made me promise to take him to Great American Hot Dog afterwards for a cheeseburger.  Heck, I might even get him two.

More later.

Monday, October 19, 2009

Indoor decor

I posted some of my inside decorations on my other blog, if you need a Halloween fix. 

The outside is still looking bare, but once we get past this week and all its appointments and work schedule, I'm hoping to catch the outside up to speed. Many projects will be left undone, but there's always next year!

Sunday, October 18, 2009

Two Adults and a Dog

Well, DD left this morning and is home now, tossing limp vegetables out, mollifying the cats, and getting ready for work tomorrow.  She has been a gem, cooking for her dad, reading to him, and giving him his meds when I had to work and sleep.  We probably won't see her again until around Thanksgiving, or maybe Christmas.  She has suggested we think about moving closer to her, so she would be able to help more.  The thought surprised me, as I sometimes regress to her teens and early twenties, when she was so anxious to get out on her own, away from home and parental units. But she is an adult and I believe this summer, with first her own health issues and now her dad's, has changed all our perspectives.

J-Man's cousin Bill came up yesterday and left this morning.  He thought he'd be able to get a room here in town, if he stayed overnight, and I laughed when he suggested it. It's leaf-peeper season and rooms are hard to come by, especially on the weekend.  No matter.  We tossed the extra pillows off the sofa and threw on some queen-sized sheets and blankets, and he declared it more comfortable than his own couch, where he slept after coming down with some respiratory illness a couple of weeks ago. It's a long drive from his home to ours, about 5 1/2 hours, but it did hubby a world of good to have a member of his family around who wasn't pushing pills or needles or watching what he ate--and wasn't female!  We did a lot of laughing and the guys did a lot of reminiscing and we introduced Bill to the movie Sneakers

The house feels very empty with half its population gone. Tandi has had a great time playing with DD's dog, but she has spent the rest of the day snoozing on the back of the sofa, exhausted from the week, and happy to be back in her safe little routine with her human family all together again.

It all feels rather surreal right now; we're in our own home with usual bedtimes, thermostat control, and refrigerator access again, but things are not quite the same.  There's a stack of pharmacy receipts and paperwork on the dining room table, new medication times to learn, and these on the bathroom counter, waiting for an empty jug in which to be discarded:

That represents over $800.00 worth of medication injected into hubby's abdominal wall. Doesn't look like that much, does it? Tonight was his last injection until after the liver biopsy Tues. afternoon.

Tomorrow the carpet cleaner comes, followed by some salesman who will pitch a clean air system recitation that I will only halfway hear, in order to help a friend get a carpet shampooer. I wish I'd said no. There are MD appointments to be made, meals to be cooked, laundry to do, floors to be mopped and recorded programs to be watched, but really, we wait. And after Tuesday we wait again.  And through it all, we try not to speculate or worry.

Saturday, October 17, 2009

This week has been beyond description.  There have been blessings and meltdowns, negatives and positives. We have a wonderful physician, who, along with his PA, Julie, has put heart and soul into caring for us. He has spent hours researching possible diagnoses, consulting with the other docs, finding out what meds J can take, coordinating  tests and explaining everything to J-Man, who has a bit of a swiss cheese memory.  

J-Man came home as scheduled on Wed. Before we left, as we were about to get him dressed, the manager of the unit we were on, a couple of other nurses, and the director of nurses came to the room. My heart dropped.  I just knew I was going to be disciplined for going into the computer and looking up J's chart.  Never mind that he'd given me permission right in front of one of the docs--I am still an employee of the hospital.
Instead, they presented me with the October Excellence in Nursing Award for the dolls I have been doing for our little demented ladies and the Tangles I bought for the confused, fidgety men.  (Thanks for the link and idea, Annie! And Mighty Mom!) I was doing fine until that moment, when it was if someone pulled her finger from the dike, and the tears flowed. My emotions have been all over the place since then. Part of the award, besides the pin for my name badge, is a $300.00 gift certificate for either Lowe's, Home Depot, Wal-Mart, or one of three area malls. As I have been talking with Handyman Matters about installing a grab bar by the toilet in the bathroom, that money should come in handy!

There was a flurry of last-minute activity getting arrangements made, but we made it home by 1pm. He has been mostly stationed in the recliner or the bed since then, with his daughter standing watch while I work and sleep. DD has been wonderful, cooking, washing dishes, running errands. I don't know what we would have done without her, as I needed to get back to work and earn a paycheck. We bought a baby monitor, so she is able to hear if he gets up in the night or should call out for her. Unfortunately, his propensity to wake up several times in the night and turn on Fox News or talk radio until he falls asleep again is making her nuts. I am off tonight, so she can get a full night's sleep.

The liver biopsy was rescheduled for Tues. at 12:30 our time. I am a bit frustrated at the delay, as this means it will be probably next Thurs. or Fri. before we get the results, and we have been on pins and needles waiting for an answer to this puzzle. DD is leaving Sun to go back to Virginia and work, so it will be just the two of us again. Folks at work have been absolutely wonderful, and I was able to get off work Tues. night so I can keep an eye on him post-procedure.

Sun. we will go over to our hospital to have more labwork drawn. I asked that our hospital provide me with copies of his labwork, radiology reports, history and physical and consultation reports so I will have them when we head over to the other hospital. I want no delays due to lost paperwork! I'm also anxious to see if there has been any changes in his liver or kidney function, but don't know if I'll see these new labs beforehand.

The delay caused some glitches with J-Man's medication, too. We have a lousy insurance plan, and I have been over to Human Resources to discuss the problems we've had. The insurance company wants to contest his last two days in the hospital, but once he was sent home, they stopped covering one of his hospital medications. It's a blood thinner that can only be given by injection--and it's $90.00 a pop, twice a day. As he's going to need to be on it longer now that the biopsy has been delayed, we were looking at over $2000.00 for that medication alone. I was going to pull it out of savings, as there is no way he can do without it, but the folks in case management, and the unit manager who nominated me for the award, Kim, got busy and found a donor for the medication.  It was one of the anesthesiologists whose husband recently died.  Another flow of tears. This wouldn't have been possible if I'd taken another job as I was thinking. (Oh, I forgot to tell you--our manager was fired!  Rumor has it she was diverting narcotics, but I don't know that for sure.  Doesn't matter--she's gone, and the whole place is relieved.  Some folks are even coming back to work here.)
J-Man is in good spirits, though suffering from a bit of cabin fever. I've been driving his SUV, as the lights on my truck fade in and out on me, so besides being held hostage a patient at the hospital this week he was also stuck  here the last couple of days. We have probably missed the peak color at the higher elevations along the Blue Ridge Parkway, but we might just go for a drive after the labwork on Sunday and gawk at the leaves just like tourists.

We've decided to cancel the Halloween party for this year.  I just lost the past two weeks what with working and J's inability to care for himself and then the hospitalization, and there just isn't enough time to send out invitations, decide on a menu, shop and prepare the food, as well as finish the props, clean the house, and carve jack-o-lanterns.  Heck, I haven't even bought the candy yet. Four of us who work together on nights are all off that night, so maybe we'll just watch scary movies and eat popcorn.

Tomorrow his cousin is driving up from Birmingham to see him.  He thinks he'll be able to get a room if he needs to, because it's a long drive, but not this time of the year! So I need to buy groceries, help J with his shower, and do a bit of cleaning in the morning.  And I am chomping at the bit to create something--Halloween props or a table runner or more trivets--something! There are going to be cobwebs in my sewing room, and I didn't put them there.

Thanks again for all the emails and comments.  Please know that I still have them in my inbox and read and reread them when I'm feeling a little down, though I may not get to answer each one.  Right now there are over 160 posts from you folks waiting for me to read, and it'll be the middle of January before I'm through, at this rate. 

Good night for now!

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Thanks to all of you for the prayers and good wishes, and kind emails.  I've been in a modified survival mode, but I read them all and will get around to answering you all --some day!

J-Man's kidneys are fully functioning again, and the diuretic is beginning to pull more fluid off of him--well, his extremities anyway. He has developed a urinary tract infection, though, and is on antibiotics for that. He is still on the blood thinner injections and will come home on those. Eventually, he'll be placed on Coumadin, which is given by mouth. His platelet count, though still well below low normal, is increasing, and that's a good thing.

His liver continues to be our main concern. He has become a little jaundiced, and has a lot of abdominal fluid on board. The lab results are still worse than when we came in, though they were a slight bit better today--the first time in a week. They have ruled out hepatitis A, B, and C, and some genetic disorders. Still being considered are some sort of congestion due to the right side of his heart, (which looks okay on the echocardiogram); an autoimmune disease; a toxin or medication reaction of some sort; a "sarcoid" liver, in which granulomas can form when the immune system goes into active mode and cause an organ to malfunction.  With the jaundice comes itching, so he spent a rather miserable night last night.  Today they started him on a medication that is helping a lot, and he asked for it again at bedtime so he can sleep better tonight.

So the next step is a liver biopsy. Because of the danger of bleeding, the specalist has chosen not to go through the skin, but rather through the jugular vein in the neck, down through the superior vena cava and a right turn at the liver. This way, if he has increased bleeding, he's bleeding into his own circulatory system. It's a procedure done in radiology, but it cannot be done at my little hospital, because, although some of our radiologists can perform it, we do not have the necessary equipment here. Instead it must be done at a nearby competitor which, though in a different hospital system, uses the same radiology group.


Don't ask me to explain the whys and wherefores of medical politics, but our hospital cannot just send him over to another hospital for treatment. He must be discharged from my hospital first. Our primary care physician's office is working on scheduling the biopsy, and the tentative plan is for Friday, but this isn't set in stone. I personally was hoping for Fri., as I have to work Wed. night and Thurs. night, and I don't know how long the procedure will take, nor when it can be scheduled. Barring any further complications, devils or the deep blue sea, he will be home tomorrow, and we will have more info then.

For now, he is happy to be coming home. DD has stayed with us, thanks to her understanding boss and co-workers, and has been such a help. I was able to leave him to come home and sleep last night, and that has made a world of difference. Apparently, according to sources who shall remain nameless, I was getting "a little cranky." Hmmph.

Please keep us in your thoughts over the next week.  He's not out of the woods yet, but it is good to finally have a plan.

Monday, October 12, 2009

The Waiting Game

I was supposed to work this weekend, but census was low, and I was able to just take call from J-Man's room.  My scrubs are hanging in the closet just in case, but I haven't been needed so far. It'll make for a slim paycheck, but hey, it's only money, right?

We are waiting for the boatload of test results to come back.  Every day, they draw more blood from his poor little veins to check his clotting time, his kidney panel and others, but the list of exotic tests remains unreported. Fri. afternoon, his heart rate soared into the 120s and his blood pressure began climbing, a result of abrupt but necessary withdrawal from his beta blockers when he was admitted. Our doc cautiously restarted a mild beta blocker and so far, his HR and BP are in the perfect range. In addition, his kidney labs have improved significantly, better than expected, so he has been started on a mild diuretic again.  Today I could identify his knuckles again.  He still has a lot of generalized swelling, but it's good to know his kidneys are tolerating this med.

I wish we could say the same for J-Man's liver. He is beginning to look a little yellow, as the liver test results get worse. The liver filters out ammonia from the blood, and when it begins to accumulate, a person gets more lethargic and confused.  Today his speech had been more slurred and his sentences somewhat disjointed, and it's a combination of sleep deprivation and an elevated ammonia level. We haven't had much sleep the last few nights--only 2-4 hours each night--and he is accustomed to 9-10 hours nightly.  But they can't give him a sleeping pill  because of his liver.

He's on a blood thinner for the clots in his leg, and they are having to keep a close watch on the labwork, because his platelet count is low, which means he already will bleed freely.  He has so many bruises from needle sticks, it looks as if he's been in a free-for-all. At some point they will have to stop the blood thinner for a day so he can undergo a liver biopsy without fear of bleeding out, but that isn't even on the schedule yet.  His CT scan on Saturday didn't shed much light, so he will undergo another one today.

We're hoping to get some kind of results today--something that can point us in the right direction. He's tired of being in the hospital, tired of being tired, but he is such a good sport.  DD has been wonderful, spelling me in the afternoons so I can go home to my C-PAP and get some sleep, and she brought her little dog, so Tandi hasn't been so lonely.  She was planning to go home today, but may stay a few more days, as she brought her laptop and can work remotely. Tomorrow, J-Man and I were supposed to meet up in Gatlinburg with my nursing school roommate whom I've not seen in 20 years.  We were excited to get to  spend the day together, but life has intervened once again.

And so we wait.  Thankfully, J-Man is sleeping tonight, rousing briefly when they come to take his blood pressure, and even able to return to sleep after laborious trips from the bed to the bathroom.  I don't know if it's just exhaustion, or the effects of the blood ammonia level that are allowing him to sleep, but at this point, I'll just be happy for him. 

As for me, well, when I can't get back to sleep, I have all your blogs to read and projects to drool over and sweet emails to answer.  If I don't leave a comment, please forgive me. I am making it by, but sometimes it's a few days later. Meanwhile, go hang a bat or a skeleton for me, okay?

Friday, October 09, 2009

Checking in

Hi, all,
Thanks for the good wishes and prayers.  Just a brief note to fill you in.  J-Man  is in acute renal failure and liver failure and they aren't sure why.  Some of the tests aren't showing anything definitive, and others can't be done because of wonky lab work.  In addition, they found multiple blood clots in his affected leg (the paralyzed side). 

It's all very complex and everyone is scratching his or her head about what to do.  At this point, not knowing the cause, all they can do is treat the symptoms, but he remains puffed up like a blowfish. If you took a pin to his feet and legs, he'd spurt fluid everywhere.  Hmmm, maybe I should suggest that....

But J-Man, being who he is, is in good spirits and usually has the staff chuckling before they leave the room.  He and I are light and dark that way. As he puts it, he feels fine, but everyone tells him he's sick! I am glad he's not uncomfortable.

In addition, he's in my hospital, with some of my friends taking care of him--and me, too, bless their hearts.  Since I work nights, there are many of the day therapists, staff, and various and sundry services I have never met or have only talked with over the phone. They don't know me, or that I'm a nurse, yet they treat him with compassion and patience and sincere good will. It makes me feel much more comfortable when I need to leave him, which isn't often.

DD is coming in tonight, so we are grateful for the long weekend, and her understanding co-workers. Her dad adores her, and I think she will feel better being able to see him for herself. My neighbor has allowed me to put Tandi in her fenced-in back yard so that Tandi doesn't have to spend hours and hours in her crate, and that has been wonderful.

We feel really blessed with family, friends, neighbors, and a wonderful staff of folks at the hospital, from the volunteers to housekeeping to ancillary services and the medical/nursing personnel. Though we have been on the other side of the chart more than once,  each time I swap places I take away a new perspective on my own job.

Saturday at the movies is cancelled for this week.  If we ever get to just watch the television in his room, I nod off anyway, and my brain is mush.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Wednesday, October 07, 2009

Hiatus

Gotta take a quick break from blogging--had to put J-Man in the hospital and will be staying there, with limited internet access. We just might have to skip the movie trivia bit this weekend--then again, I might see a couple I haven't seen before while in his room!

Back soon!

Tuesday, October 06, 2009

Movie Trivia Answer 10/03

This week's question was:
In the 1992 movie, Sneakers, the team members all make requests before handing over the decryption chip.  List 3 of the requests and who made them.

Cathi,  of Shakerwood Primitives was able to nail this one:

Piece of Cake......One of my all-time favorite movies


1. Peace on Earth, Good Will towards men.......Whistler


2. A Winebago with burgandy interior and a waterbed......Mother


3. "My name cleared".....Martin Bishop

There were 6 possible answers.  The other 3--well, I won't spoil the ending for those of you who haven't seen it yet.  It's a fun movie, lots of recognizable names, and fast-paced.  I don't think you'll be bored.

Thanks to all who played!  New question on Saturday!

Monday, October 05, 2009

Movie Trivia Hint

Come on, now, don't tell me NO one out there has seen this movie.  Robert Redford and Sydney Poitier?  River Phoenix? Ben Kingsley?


A pre-mainstream computer hacker movie, this one is a little complex, but full of witty dialogue and very likeable characters.

You still have 24 hours to see it!


Saturday, October 03, 2009

Saturday at the Movies 10/03



In the 1992 movie, Sneakers, the team members all make requests before handing over the decryption chip. 

List 3 of the requests and who made them.


Answers on Tuesday!

New Blog

For those of you who realllly like the darker side of Halloween, I have a new blog.  There may be some similarities in the posts, but my other blog has links to dedicated Halloween fanatics and I feel a little freer in expressing myself without offending any of you who aren't as fascinated with the Howliday as I am.

Here is the link. You're all welcome to visit!

If this interests you, here is Countdown to Halloween, a list of Halloween bloggers who will try to post every day this month.  They aren't all scary posts, but all are Halloween-related. Enjoy!