I'm feeling better - of course I slept most of yesterday, whether due to illness or the medicine I don't know.

sight of the day: a very bad accident involving 2 cars & a transit bus. At least one car's airbag deployed & in the second car I saw a passenger supporting the driver's neck. I sincerely pray that it's only a precaution that she is not that badly hurt. My prayers to them and all those involved.

I sort of read yesterday, they were re-reads that didn't take much attention. I did not try to tat, I didn't trust my concentration. Cold medicine makes me so foggy. I watched tv when I wasn't napping.

Gaming: Chris's game was last night. We finally rescued the dwarf commander, getting through one more fight while exiting the city. In the first fight, in the tunnels, the trolls transformed back to duergar when they died. This time, the trolls remained trolls but the dead duergar transformed to dark elves. We grabbed their corpses and ran. Maybe we'll get some information; if not at least we'll get loot.

Tat Days extra: I took the extra Workbaskets from Leigh, and gave them away at Tat Days. We ended up putting them out on Saturday & everyone loved them. The Palmetto Tatting Guild filled some blank spaces in their library & a woman who had lost the issue with the Barbie wedding gown to flood damage replaced it.

tatting: I worked on Jane's fantasy flower this morning on the way into work; it's from one of the classes this weekend. But I screwed up a ring again. I'll have to take it out & try again.

clothes: yesterday I wore sleepshirt & robe most of the day. Then I pulled on a t-shirt & leggings for the game. Today it's black jeans (despite the 97F heat), thin cotton blouse (texture check), Celtic knot ring, triskele earrings, knot pendant, ~rope band, braid, hematite band & black ~slippers.

I got the books that I won in the drawing from participating in the author chat about a month ago. Whoot!

When he got home, Chris convinced me to take a nap. That really helped. I was soooooooooo(repeat for a couple paragraphs)oo tired last night. I couldn't even manage to start my packing until after the nap (& a bath). I felt a little guilty about the bath, drought & all, but it was really medicinal. I feel better this morning, although hungry again. My nose & eyes just started itching at about 8:30 am.

I went to bed a little later, due to the nap but I woke up at 5:40 or so this morning. I finished packing my clothes this morning. Now I just need to load my shuttles & that sort of thing. I'm getting a ride to David's game from Diana tonight. From there, I'll go to Anitra's to spend the night. We leave at 7 am tomorrow.

My good, reversible, belt broke yesterday. Apparently the strain of containing my stomach was too much for it. Do you know how hard it is to find a brown/black reversible belt with a silvertone buckle?

books: I finished the Bastion Club book yesterday at lunch. I read Housewife for Rent & Husband for Hire by Michele Bardsley last night (reversible 2 in 1 book). I'm reading the other book that I got; Daddy in Training & Bride in Training.

clothes: navy loafers, khakis, white polo (UNC), brown belt, flower fairy pendant, silver ring (silver twisted 'cord' over silver band), flower band, hematite ring & hair up in a ponytail/bun affixed with a brown wood 3-prong hairstick. I forgot the earrings, though.

A Tuesday that feels like a Monday. That's the problem with a holiday; right?

I definitely have a cold. I woke up about half-a-dozen times before my alarm clock went off this morning. I went to bed about 9:30 & the first time I woke up was around 11 pm or so. My sinuses are draining, which makes my throat hurt. This is probably the same cold that Chris had last week.

I need to pack for this weekend, after doing laundry. Chris almost finished fixing the downstairs toilet last night. He needs a second pair of hands for the last bit. I need to refresh myself about which classes I'm taking & what I need before class (shuttles pre-loaded etc). We'll be leaving about 7 am, so I'll be staying at Anitra's overnight. Since Thursday is the Mutants & Masterminds game, I was going to get a ride from Diana. If I do that, I need a way home on Sunday.

books: That other one that I read this weekend was Wintersmith. Yesterday I re-read Eater of Souls. Today, I pulled out the anthology Hero, Come Back to re-read.

I tried to write some last night. Trying to create a run (using Shadowrun 4.0 & The GM emulator) but my brain feels like it's wrapped in cotton batting.

tatting: I finished the 30" of edging & then we realized, after I'd ended it, that it's not enough. I finally found the formula to figure out the circumference of an oval & we (I) need another 3-5". I may fake it by doing a bow or something of the like.

clothes: black slippers, slacks, belt & polo; 2001 Renaissance Festival one, purple & frost bead bracelet, ~rope band, flower band, hematite band, flower fairy pendant & butterfly earrings. The earrings & bracelet are the ones mom gave me when I went to see her.

I seem to have a cold. My throat hurts (up to my nose), my head hurts, the usual. I've taken something for it; maybe I'll be able to make it to Mya's party. I'm still waiting to see if the cold medicine works. If not, Chris will have to deliver the presents.

books: I reread The Secret Diaries of Miss Miranda Cheever and ...something else. I just can't remember what. Head hurts.

tatting: I'm doing an edging for a cross stitch project that Kathy is doing for Mya's room. I got 11+ inches done on Saturday but only another 8" yesterday. I need 30" total. It's a simple 3ds 3 p separated by 3 ds, ds rings with 3ds p 3 ds chain edging from Rebecca Jones's book. It's a very simple, traditional one in soft pink DMC perle 8.

Gaming: Saturday we played the final session of Red Hand of Doom. However, with the new end of LG rules, it cost no TUs. So I can continue to play my Bright Lands barbarian this year after all. Mike drove down Saturday morning to play it with us. With his arcane caster, it went a lot better than the last 3 parts. We still needed at least one delay death & only a well-timed Bears Endurance made my barbarian's rage last long enough to get through the fight.

clothes: In honor of the Red Hand session, I wore my new dragon t-shirt plus my dragon jewelry (earrings, necklace & 3 rings) plus black jeans. Yesterday I wore blue jeans, a Geoff t-shirt (the one with the major NPCs of the past 5 years) and navy loafers, plus clear rainbow bead posts, pewter star/moon pendant on burgundy satin cord & ~rope band. Today it's blue jeans, navy loafters, purple fairy t-shirt (I bought at Trinic*con) paui shell pendant & earrings, flower band ring, silver ~filigree earrings, blue silicon child health bracelet. I've kept my hair braided the past 3 days.

cold: Thanks to the fact that I'm sick again, I've had to cancel my platelet donation on Friday. That really bums me out. Yesterday I started coughing, too, a wet, hacking one.

dream: One of the things I dreamed about, I was in bed but I could see a road. The road was very wet, with standing water. I saw two police cars headed towards me & a small car away from me. For some reason, the departing car, with 3 young men in it, was going over the line, in a zig-zag. I remember thinking that they must be doing it to avoid the standing water, and just as they passed the 1st police car they hydroplaned right into the 2nd police car, almost a 't'. It went out of control and hit the 1st one, pretty much destroying it. The small car came to a stop on the side of the road, maybe after rolling. The policemen were not happy with the three young men. I came forward, a little reluctantly I admit, and told them what I saw.

One of the other dreams, involved Rosemary explaining to David R about a recent Living Greyhawk game that we'd played. It was part of a larger storyline and the recent adventure involved saving the lives of the leaders of X (I don't remember what). We didn't like the leader but we did like his 2nd in command (& successor). Unfortunately, we couldn't save one without the other. Chris was adding that there was a whole...mythology (he meant backstory) to it. Rosemary was trying to explain without going into so many details that it would bore David. She ended by saying the game was so exciting & tense that she was wound up like Mike (M, in MD).

books: I've tried reading Bridge to Yesterday before. Yesterday I finished it. I don't remember why I stopped reading it the last time. It's a pretty good book. Then I bought & read The Trouble with Witches. It's the 3rd Abby & Ophelia mystery. I'm continuing to read Shelters of Stone but for the commute (& lunch) read I brought Paid Companion to re-read.

clothes: Green/black Harrington steading polo, black slacks, black belt (with silver buckle, I'm finally small enough to wear it again), black knee-highs, black sequin/bead flats, malachite & silver bracelet & ring (which is a little large on me now), black stone ring, quartz point 'feather' pendant on long silver chain, & feather & quartz chip earrings. Hair's in a ponytail for lack of anything better.

Cold: my cold is moving faster this time. I started coughing yesterday. Ah, the joys of mucus. Blech.

I used the facial scrub that I bought a week ago. My skin feels really soft this morning. I'll use it a couple more times before I make a final judgment on it, but so far, so good.

books: Kind of reading Shelters of Stone. It's hardback, so I'm reading it before going to sleep, that sort of thing. Used my frequent customer card to buy a couple books yesterday, Charmed to Death & Lover Revealed. I really like the characters in Charmed to Death. Abby is a sweetheart. JR did a good job in Lover Revealed. She developed plots that she hinted at, or alluded to, in past books of the Black Dagger Brotherhood series. Yep, I read them both yesterday. I only stopped to eat supper.

clothes: yesterday it was a black polo, with Carolina Renaissance Festival embroidered in purple, black slacks, same black belt, black socks & loafers, with the paui shell pendant on a long chain, paui shell ring & ~rope band. Most of the time I left my hair in a ponytail.

Today it's dark green Geoff polo, black slacks, same black belt, black knee-highs, black sequined & beaded flats, emerald pendant & earrings, black stone ring & a ponytail.

MOVIE: Went to see Ghostrider last night. It will never qualify as one of the greatest movies of all time but it was entertaining & did have some good moments; both humor & action.

Afterwards, we went to eat at Bonefish Grill. It was a little more expensive than I was expecting but the food is very good. I had the tilapia with the pan Asian sauce, garlic mashed potatoes and the seasonal vegetable: spaghetti squash. I don't care for spaghetti squash but they seasoned it well & I ate a couple of bites anyway. Besides, even if you're not certain that you'll like the food, you should try a couple bites to find out. Unless you're allergic of course.

Saw part of Thunderbirds on tv, the live action movie. I think I'll look for it to watch it from the beginning some time.

sick: My cold from January is back. Saturday I woke up with that stupid sore throat. So I've been sucking on zinc lozenges, taking some echinacea & taking cold & sinus medicine. Oh. Whee.

books: Re-read all three books of the Tamuli by Eddings. I read Domes of Fire & The Shining Ones Saturday & Sunday & finished Hidden City while I had insomnia this morning. This morning I started re-reading A Loving Scoundrel.

I listened to a few more of Autumn Breeze's podcasts; she really is a good storyteller.

clothes: Saturday it was another Miami Parks & Rec pool staff t- with blue jeans. I never really went anywhere so it didn't matter. Yesterday it was black loafers, socks, jean & "I survived the Big Bad Wolf (Busch Gardens)" t-. I forgot to put on jewelry, completely.

Today it's black sequined & beaded flats (I'm sick of my 'now too large loafers'), 'sand' knee-highs, black slacks, black belt, lilac Carolina Ren Festival polo, Celtic knot earrings, ring & pendant (same as last time), fem-power ring & magnet bracelet. My hair is pulled up into a ponytail with a lilac elastic.

cold I'm still suffering but I've not needed to take any meds since Wednesday (yay Alavert). I'm just tired and my ears hurt from the pressure (& not popping).

Neat website: It's a click to donate site called Poverty Fighters. It provides funds for microloans, mostly in 3rd world countries, but not entirely. By helping people help themselves, it provides long term poverty relief. They also have a bunch of the success stories. Most of the organizations have a 99% loan repayment rate. Isn't that spiff. Starting Monday, if you read this & decide to visit, click on the UNC-CH button. It's part of a contest between colleges; winner gets a speaker or a benefit concert.

books: read Lynsay Sands latest, Bite Me If You Can & Tongue in Chic by Christina Dodd. Now I'm reading further in The Pillow Book by Sei Shonagon.

almost a nightmare: I had one dream that started to go nightmarish, luckily I woke myself up before that happened. The other dream I mostly remember. It was very horror-movie-esque. As some very posh or elite school, the science teacher said that sharks won't eat rubber tires, or maybe the tires kill the sharks; either way he assigned his students to find out why or to find a solution. One of his prize students somehow developed a shark that could 'swim' through land (it was very ghostly). It detected weight & was smart enough to tell when you got up on something (it got heavier). It could also smell blood that dropped on the ground. What really attracted it was love (hey, it's a dream). The girl who developed it was the first known victim (there may have been another, earlier victim), so no one knew how to stop it. The rest of the dream was one of her classmates trying to stop it, without anyone else dying. Unfortunately, there was an explosion on the school lab which destroyed more information (& killed 2 more classmates). In the end, the shark was stopped when he ate another classmate, who had a bag full of jewels on her.

clothes: black slacks, black suede shoes, black turtleneck, dark teal ~silky blouse, paui shell pendant on long silver rope chain, black stone ring, silver dome ring, 3-layer texture metal & elephant earrings (keep trying to lose the right one), & loose hair (for the first time in weeks).

Sick! That stupid cold. I couldn't take it anymore. I'm staying home today. I'm wrapped up. I have drinks next to me (I'll brew some tea later). I'm mildly hungry but no food interests me. Yep. I'm sick. Looks like I'm canceling my trip to Mom's. I may even end up canceling my Sunday plans (helping Steve). We'll see how a day of rest helps.

books: Finished Bewitched. Re-read most of Dark Desire. I have no idea what next.

clothes: sloppin' around the house 'I'm sick & don' wanna bother' clothes. So it's slippers, sweatpants, & shirt (& shawl & blanket).

update: weather turned to rain. Even with sudafed 24 hour my sinus are stuffed & draining. I drank lots & lots of hot tea.

I made some snowflakes online. It's addicting & helps others at the same time (Salvation Army). Wheee.

Updates: I have the blogs that I wrote over the weekend, I just need to upload them. The connection over the weekend was...odd.

Books: Read Viva Las Bad Boys yesterday & a couple ebooks that I bought Tuesday. They were 'quickies', less than 200 pages. I also finished a mystery, called Body Movers. The reviewer didn't particularly care for it, but I liked it. It's the sequel, sort of, to Party Crashers.

Clothes: Since the weather's turned cold, I've had to abandon the polo shirts. Tuesday it was a blue chambray shirt embroidered with Christmas themes across the chest & trimmed with black velveteen, paired with black slacks & sequined flats.

Yesterday it was pale blue chambray shirt, pale khakis (fixed over Thanksgiving), tan & blue brocade vest with my new dark brown loafers and white textured trouser socks. Blue & metal earrings, red stone ring & unseen (collar) dragon necklace.

Today it's black slacks (another pair fixed over Thanksgiving), burgundy blouse under matching crocheted burgundy sweater (open rosettes), and the charcoal grey boots that I have not been able to wear until now. I can't wear socks, just knee-hi's but my feet fit! Jewelry is black onyx & silver (shockeroo, huh?).

My cold proceeds. Today, I have a stopped up nose to go with the sore throat. I'm continuing with the zinc lozenges, plus echinacea & yesterday I had a Jamba Juice Coldbuster smoothie. Why am I not better yet?

I never remembered the 3rd thing to buy. Oh well. I did get the zinc lozenges & some sympathy cards (might need another one suddenly). But I've lost Aunt Martha's address; I left a message for Mom to call me back with it.

I'm tired and I want to take a nap. Bleah.

Winter Weather Advisory - URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR DURHAM COUNTY VALID FROM FRI JAN 09 2004 08:35 AM EST UNTIL FRI JAN 09 2004 04:00 PM EST.
831 AM EST FRI JAN 9 2004 ...A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 4 PM... A MOIST FLOW OF AIR RIDING UP AND OVER COLD AIR AT THE SURFACE... WILL CONTINUE TO PRODUCE STEADY LIGHT TO MODERATE SNOWFALL THROUGH MID AFTERNOON. THE SNOW MAY MIX WITH OR CHANGE TO LIGHT RAIN SOUTH OF HIGHWAY 64. A TOTAL ACCUMULATION OF TWO TO THREE INCHES OF SNOW IS EXPECTED... WITH THE MOST ACCUMULATION ON GRASSY SURFACES AND VEHICLES. MOTORISTS SHOULD USE EXTRA CAUTION... KEEPING A SAFE DISTANCE AWAY FROM OTHER VEHICLES... AND ALLOWING EXTRA TIME TO REACH YOUR DESTINATION.

Wheee. The TTA bus arrived to Campus a full 15 minutes later than usual. That made me just on time for work. I did a couple interesting pictures as I waited for the bus of the snow as it fell. By the time the bus picked me up, quite a bit of snow had accumulated. It's very picturesque & more than a trifle dangerous.

I'm almost over the cold that knocked me flat Monday through Wednesday. I came to work yesterday but I was so not at my best. I took a short nap at lunch. Steve, the heating/air guy, noticed today that I looked much better. Since I'm wearing a purple turtleneck again I know that my improved looks are not due to the influence of the colors that I'm wearing.

Last night, I watched Stargate:SG1 on SciFi channel. I'm catching up on the ones from 2nd season, I think. There was nothing that enthused me at 7pm so I watched 100 through 81 of VH1's 100 Hottest Hotties. After that I turned to broadcast tv for Tru Calling & CSI. At 10 it was back to cable as I watched Diagnosis Murder while I tried to finish The Countess by Catherine Coulter. I taped CSI for Chris & I called my mom. I reached her machine, not her. Her friend Dr. Ron Joyner died recently. They worked together at Wesley Long Memorial Hospital Emergency Room. He was a great guy & a gifted doctor. He was so sick recently, that frankly, his death is a relief. He was always so active and to be an invalid like that, trapped in his own body was a living death. He always told the most horrid puns & jokes. Any time my mom started with "Dr. Joyner told me this joke" I braced myself. A couple times I managed to tell my mom a few jokes that she shared with Dr. Joyner.

I'm almost dry. At least, I'm down to damp. The dampness has penetrated my socks though & my feet feel soooo cold. I drank the last of the Bohea that I have here at work. I'll take my little container home & put more loose tea in it.

Despite all that I do, that cold/whatever is still lingering. Getting nigh onto soaked today & then sitting around in damp clothes probably did not help. C'est la vie. Nothing I could do about it. I spent my money on books last night & do not have more to go buy clothes at the student store.

I bought Hawkins Confessions of a Scoundrel (which turns out to be the latest about the St. John brothers instead of the one previous to An Affair to Remember), Feehan's Dark Melody & one about the next Drake sister by her, plus one book present. Shhh, it's a secret.

I'm heading home now. To maybe take a hot bath or shower & definitely to change into my nice toasty warm slipper-sockes.