Big Dance Tomorrow!

We are all on pins and needles waiting for the NCAA tournament to start (well, it's actually started, but play-in games don't count IMO)

Our Zags are set to play Thursday at 1 pm-ish.  Katie has taken two days off so that we can cheer for our team and watch our brackets slowly go to hell together.

We're sick of all the "Zags are over-rated" blarghety blargh.  They've been to the tournament 15 years IN A ROW, they're for real this year folks. (From my lips to God's ear)  Of course, we're doing our darndest to do NOTHING that will jinx them.

Off to prepare the shrine and find all the lucky clothing, troll dolls, etc.  I had planned to have my Zags hat knitted up for tournament watching, but the kit seems to have disappeared.  Rats.

God Let This Be Real

Me and Bill Walton...

We're gearing up for March Madness by watching LOTS of college basketball games.  Which means listening to the "unique" rants of Mr. Bill Walton (someone called him "Sasquatch Shakespeare", which is dead on)

So the other night, BWalt was going off about how the Stanford team should be drawing inspiration from "the greatest road win of all time -- Van Cliburn"

Of course, I was the only person in the room who had any idea what Walton was talking about.  I drew from my vast well of trivia and explained that Van Cliburn won the 1958 Tchaikovsky Piano Competition in Russia (our arch nemesis at the time) against all odds -- a Texan winning this competition in the heartland of the Commies.

Van was given a ticker tape parade in NYC upon his return to the States and was a superstar in America as well as in Russia.  

Only Bill Walton would make this connection.  Which is why you have to love the guy.

No Pix But Reporting Anyway

Of course I failed to take any pictures while I was in Seattle last week.  It's what I (don't) do.

But I had a great time helping The B during her 2nd week of convalescence after knee surgery.  This gal is a nurse's dream.  She actually has upper body AND core strength so she can get around on crutches, she likes to cook and doesn't mind hopping from fridge to counter, and about all she asks is the occasional fetching of a glass of water, a pill or her Kindle.  Once she masters hopping in and out of the shower by herself, she's totally independent.

Meg and the babies came over twice, once to deliver dinner and a second time for a lovely birthday lunch (Megan's)  Of course, being the mean child that she is, she told her mother that she DID NOT want anything 'handmade by you'.  LOL, never change Meggie :-)  And being the nice mom that she is, B-Z obliged with gifts from Lululemon and Anthropologie.  Susan and I threw in tchochkes from Target.  Bam, birthday done.

Hadley and Carson are delightful, as always.  And special bonus, we headed down to Kip's to do a little babysitting of Maddie and Allie.  Such cuties, and Al showed me her favorite horse White Star at the Safeway.  Way better than the terrifying clown at our grocery store.

I went to "knitting night" at 2 different locations with the knitting queen (aka Susna).  The lady meets with a knitting group about 12x a week, I think.  Lots of fun, and I scored a free Dutch Oven from her friend Karen.  Just have to lug the 30 lb. pot home and camping can commence.

I got a pair of socks and hat finished while in Seattle, so wasn't completely idle.  It was such fun to get to spend time with my sis, I loved it.  And we visited Mom at her assisted living home.  It's nice to have her close to the old homestead, even though she no longer remembers where she is (or us, to be honest. But that's okay, she seems to know that we are people she likes)  We also tackled the overgrown rhodie at Dad's grave and hacked it into submission.  I got a lot of grief about my pruning technique, but hey I got the job done.

Next time I come over, I fully expect B to be back in the gym daily, back to work (where they SAY they can manage without her but we all know better), and with that ACL fully recovered!

Put Down That Fork

I'm a fast eater. A very fast eater. This may be a result of growing up in a family of nine kids. Slowpokes got no seconds.

My challenge this week is to put my fork down after every bite. This is incredibly difficult. But I made it through day one. And wasn't the first person done at dinner. Amazing.

Checking In

I made it to Seattle (just a tad bumpy flying over the Cascades) and am rested and ready for my week of nursing duty with my poor crippled sis. She has a big knee brace and lots of pain meds, plus doc's orders to stay put for at least a couple of weeks after her ACL surgery. Not an easy task for our Busy B.

Mostly I think i will be carrying plates and cups and fetching stuff. Which is probably all I'm capable of nursing-wise. Plus driving her on outings, as her right knee is the injured one, so no driving.

I'm glad I was available to help out, sisters need to stick together. Miss my little gang at home though!

It Doesn't Take Much to Make Me Happy

Which is why I was giddy with joy when Pooh brought home a new HP printer/scanner.  I've been fighting with my old printer for weeks.  It got some paper or gunk stuck in the rollers and it's been nothing but print fail after print fail.

And we actually got the wireless thing working so we can sit upstairs and print stuff off of our iPads, iPhones, etc.  Ain't technology grand?