Thursday, July 19, 2007

Unanswered questions

Brownie spends much of her day sitting on our front wall. Some people have marble lions, some stone gargoyles, we have a small, fuzzy brown cat. who, as you see below, gets tired very quickly.


Not much quilty to write about today. Yesterday I had some MS problems with my leg which left me gimping and grouchy...not a pretty sight! Today I am doing better so am on my way to the library to help with the summer reading program for the 8-12 year old group (what did I get myself into!)

There have been some question from my past posts that I couldn't answer by email so here goes...

First, the red in the lavender fields are poppies. They look wonderful against the purple. There are whole fields of poppies around here and they are breathtaking. Unfortunately I usually see the field while driving on an impossibly narrow road with a high performance German made car tagging my rear bumper. Tough to get a photo that way....

Second, yes I did get fired for too many chips in the chocolate chip cookies. It was one of those jobs you take for the summer while at university. It was a small "shop/stand" in a touristy area of Boston. (I don't know if it is still there or not.) Anyway, the owner/manager was there all the time. The mixer would dump a huge lump of dough in front of the us and we would put the dough onto the pans as fast as possible. Each time you finished a pan you put it on the shelf over you and moved a bead on the stick. When the lump of dough on the table was finished the owner would check to see who finished the most pans and who did the least by counting the beads(about 5 girls were working on the pans.) Needless to say - I was never the fasted. Then she would randomly take a pand and check the size of the cookies and count the chips (no more than 4 were the rule.) I routinely flunked that as well. Did I hate the job...you cannot imagine how much I hated it! The same day the owner gave me the "do you really want this job" speech I got a call about a summer job at the Department of Education. I think it worked out best for all of us! (except the poor customer who paid big money for little cookies with hardly any chips in them!)

Third, I was diagnosed with MS about 3 years ago though I had syptoms on and off for 4 years prior to that. I decided early on to be open about the conditin/disease for a couple of reasons: with the unsteady gait and occasional slurring of words folks could easily think I have drinking problem (with all the meds I take at most I can have a glass of wine/beer/cider with food,) it is easier to explain the condition when you feel OK rather then waiting until you feel pathetic (in my last job the office was on the third floor with no elevators! They moved me to the first floor and a week later I had an episode...if I hadn't moved I would have taken half a day to get to my office!), and finally, it makes my DH feel more comfortable knowing there is a support network in case he has to travel or work odd hours. I think trying to keep it a secret or avoiding the discussion would only add more stress to an already stressful situation.

7 comments:

Sweet P said...

Your cat looks very comfortable sleeping on the wall. Only 4 chips in a cookie? Not my idea of a cookie. I'm glad you found a better job. I don't know what to say about the MS. But it's good to have a support system around you.

Darcie said...

Oh...Brownie is MUCH cuter than any gargoyle that I've ever seen!

Sorry the MS is acting up again. Do you notice that it fires up with any sort of weather changes?

I loved that the Tour de France began in England. I was thinking of you! ;-)

Hang in there, Sio!

Unknown said...

My two girls thought the tired photo of Brownie was superb - be careful they might just come on up to Cheltenham and catnap him :o)

Tonya Ricucci said...

Oh what gorgeous pics of sweet Brownie. Sorry you're ailing - don't worry summer will be over soon enough and maybe that will help some.
There was a guy on a sidewalk bundling dried lavender and selling it along with I don't know what - yup, definitely the smell of it that drives me around the bend.
take care of yourself. relax and reread some Harry Potters.

atet said...

Your kitty looks like he/she is kitty heaven! To be that sure of your own life.

As for the job -- remind me to tell you about detasseling corn one day. I didn't get fired, but I did get heat exhaustion and wish I had quit! Department of Education sounds MUCH better.

Thanks for sharing your life -- not many people could or would be that brave.

Judy said...

That is the best cat face I've ever seen! Made me laugh out loud for several minutes!

Diane said...

Thanks for visiting my blog. I haven't been brave enough to write much about my MS. Your comment about appearing drunk to other people made me laugh. I've had similar experiences!