More Than a Little Grumpy

1. So last Friday my cold was at the annoying stage. By Saturday morning, it hit the miserable stage and I spent most of the weekend in bed. Ugh. I am up and functional at present, with the aid of cold medicine. But I am not recovering quickly. I have a doctor's appointment for Monday morning anyway (a "well" visit - Ha!) so if it isn't better by then, I can get some professional help. Sharing person that I am, I gave it to everyone else in the house, but most of them have mostly recovered, especially Alex and his steel-like immune system.

2. In spite of dire warnings, there were no school cancellations this week due to bad weather. The ice storm that was supposed to hit our region Tuesday-Wednesday moved north and all we got was rain. Of course, it's turned all of the snow in the yard into ice so it's not much fun to play in, but we feel blessed that God spared us from the worst of the storm.

3. In other, minor news (NOT!), my father had a successful knee replacement surgery on Monday. My mother stayed with him in the hospital and they returned home on Wednesday. So far, he is healing really well and physical therapy is going swimmingly. The Lord is gracious indeed.

4. On Wednesday, Marshall took the day off of work to escort our children to the dentist. Alex's appointment was at 10 am and Miranda went at 2 pm, scheduled to give Marshall a break in between and interrupt the school day as little as possible. We have a great dentist and work with a wonderful hygienist, but I have dental phobias left over from my orthodonture years and I was too scared to go with them. Marshall was a pillar of calm and both children were extremely well-behaved, which also resulted in good reports for everyone. Except that Alex finally has a loose tooth. At least it gave me an excuse to order the new Shaun the Sheep DVD: Spring Shena-a-anigans. It should be here in a few days. :)

5. Miranda is off of school of school today for a District Inservice but I talked my sister-in-law into leaving my niece, Lilly, here this morning to help keep my daughter entertained. They are having a good time together. I am so grateful for the extra company and it gives Leah a break as well. Win-win.

6. Since modern American television has been boring me lately (except for Human Target, Lie to Me and Detroit 1-8-7, which are all in danger of cancellation, which just goes to show that I continue to fall for the shows that are never popular enough to last very long which makes me wonder, again, what is wrong with me!), I've been watching a bunch of other things:

• Right before The Green Hornet movie opened (which Marshall and I still want to go see), the ScyFy channel ran the entire 1960's TV series. We've been watching a few episodes a night and enjoying it as the perfect light, entertaining affair. No angst, no drama, no worries, and lots of pretty people. 
• I finally finished Series 7 of New Tricks. Somehow, I missed the last two episodes until now.
• I found this new show called Strike Back that was amazingly entertaining and ended on a cliff-hanger! There is a new, 10-episode series scheduled for next year that I am really looking forward to.
• I watched Series 2 of Whitechapel that was, like the first series, not terribly interesting in terms of plot but the characters created by Rupert Penry-Jones and Philip Davis are fascinating enough to warrant a viewing. I guess I'm trying to get my nerve up to start Spooks, which is supposed to be one of the best creations of British television in recent years but I haven't wanted to get involved in it as of yet. Like other UK shows, it has no compunction about registering a large body count and kills off major characters regularly. 

Of course, none of the British shows listed above can be watched legally in the US. Sorry about that.

7. I finally hit my stride again with my cross stitch and made great progress this week (even though I had to do a bunch of frogging), which might account for all of the TV show watching. It does pass the time. Here's your progress pic:

Definitely past the halfway point. Woohoo!

Bonus: 8. My mother's book, Bathsheba's Lament, continues to earn praises and recognition from among a growing number of readers. There is a great review of it on the International Christian Fiction Writers' blog that you must read! There is another awesome review of Bathsheba's Lament on LeAnne Hardy's blog. Read it here. Remember, if you haven't already ordered a copy, you will find it available here, or, if you are a local fan, inform me that you are claiming one of my few remaining copies.

And here's Jen.