because you asked: in stitches

(this post written last Monday)

I got stitches today.  WHAT?!   It doesn't seem real yet.  Stitches seem like something monumental or that you plan for (even though I know they're not).  Here's what happened... 

Alright, that pizza dough will be ready to bake right after piano lessons.  Nice!  I'm excited for that.  Ok, it's 3:25.  They'll be here really soon!  I should move these stacks of tile so they have a way to get into the piano room.  Oh, these are a little heavier than I thought.  Woah, especially that pile.  I'll just put it down so I can take them a couple at a -- "OUCH!"  [Looks down]  Oh my gosh, my hand is *covered* in blood.  I'm going to get it all over the carpet!  [jolt]  Hellooo.  It's not on the carpet yet!  Just use your other hand to hold it and go wash it off.  [So I did.]  [Wash hand in sink.  Take hand out of water.  It immediately is covered in blood again.  The doorbell rings.]  What should I hold this with?  I don't want to ruin the - oh well, it's just a towel.  "Oh, hi!  How am I?  Actually, I just cut myself really bad.  Can I have a minute?"  I tried to get a bandaid and Piano Lesson helped me put it on.  Four seconds later... "Maybe you should just keep using the towel because you're already dripping through the bandaid."  "Oh, sorry...  Oh my gosh, I hope I didn't drip on her!  Do you mind if we don't do piano today?  I don't think I could concentrate."  I then went into shock, suddenly feeling freezing cold, covered in sweat, and holding back vomit.

She left and I called Joel.  "Do you need me to come home?"  "I don't know. but I can't make dinner tonight."

Kids: "Have they come yet?  Can we have our popcorn?"  Me: "I will come downstairs and watch the movie with you, but please don't talk to or play with me."  

Then I called Dad, holding back tears because I was starting to visualize how bad it was, and asked what to do.  "How long has it been bleeding?"  "What time is it?"  "Quarter til the hour."  "Ok, then 15 minutes."  "You should call Joel and have him come home and take you to the doctor."  My dad is amazing, by the way, and always makes me feel better in these kinds of situations.  He is so calm and knows everything.

"Joel?  I called my dad and he says you need to come home."  And Joel immediately left work.

I sat by the Lovesac putting pressure on my finger, clenching my teeth and occasionally moaning when the pain got awful.  Accidentally raised my voice once at Child A when I'd found a comfy position resting on the Lovesac and he decided to use that moment to jump on it.

Joel got home.  We went in the bathroom to check and see if it was still bleeding.  It was.  35 minutes.  We called a friend, who rushed over and ran in.  I am so thankful for her.  We left and were checked in at the Instacare by someone much more concerned with the person on the telephone, and proceeded to wait in the waiting room.  65 minutes.  Teeth were clenching so hard.  Joel was trying his best to distract me with conversation.  "I'm sorry, I'm trying - I'm just not a conversationalist."  We were called back!  His name was Dr. Totem-bootie.  (That's just how it sounded, I'm sure.:)  Blood pressure and weight taken.  My BP is really good! especially considering the circumstances.  The nurse took off the towel - "Oh yeah, this needs stitches."  Great.  She washed it and numbed me up.  The numbing shots stunk!  Because of the location of the cut, the needle kind of had to be parallel to my finger.  If you've never had a shot like that in your finger, pray you never do.  Especially not a million so the numbing medicine is everywhere.  On the plus side, man! that stuff works!  It is amazing that a doctor can sew you up without you feeling a thing.  "All done! Look!"  Why in the world did you tell me to look at THAT when you knew I was consciously not watching you work?  That is DISGUSTING.  So I looked away.

Tetanus shot = easiest thing ever.  (and not just comparatively speaking)  She washed my finger again, bandaged me up huge with a lot of absorber pads because I was bleeding again, and we were done!  Not quite painless, but it sure was quick and relatively easy. 

Awards go to Joel, Friend, and my dad, for making the night infinitely better than it could've been.  Also, to Panda Express for our dinner, and the kids, for being really good while it mattered.  Other thankfuls: 1) My finger is not missing.  2) It was me and not the kids.  

Now, when to bake the pizza dough that's been rising for hours....

___________________________________________

“I’ll distract them all,” Luna said.  “Use your cloak.”

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

I must be in California.

("West Coast Friendship," by Owl City)

We went to California!  It was my first time ever being there and was so fun!  We went with some friends who had a conference going on and were only there for a couple days, but Joel and I both loved it and want to go back sometime.  

The first day there was a hiccup with the rental car, so we hung out around the hotel.  Going for walks, swimming in the hotel, taking naps, eating microwave burritos, finding out my Smiths card worked in California... it was awesome. :)

Day 2 featured Olvera Street, the California Science Center, and deeeelicious tacos with jamaica (horchata for Joel).

And the star of Day 3 was the beach!  We only got to be there for a couple hours, but we loved it.  I did some research as to which beach in the Los Angeles area would be clean and not too busy, and Seal Beach was everything people online promised.  California beaches are also different from the ones I'm used to, so that was interesting.  I'd never seen a lifeguard hut on a beach before. :)

See you later, LA!  We'd like to come back and visit again sometime. :)

___________________________________________

"I'm nearly done, I'm just waiting for the rest of your underpants to come out of the wash, Ron -"

Ron's splutter was interrupted by the opening of a door on the first-floor landing.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

a baby! (piano, NOT human)

This is the story of a killer deal.

Once upon a time, there was a girl named Alison who was desperate for a piano that worked.  One day she asked her husband, Joel, just how financially irresponsible they would be if they bought one.  He replied, "Why don't we check the classifieds?"  Alison was a little disappointed, wondering if they could find something good, but she agreed.  

That night, Joel opened the classifieds and started showing her pictures of pianos for sale and Alison quickly realized his suggestion had been a good one.  Initially, they were interested in an ornate upright for two reasons: 1) They're beautiful!, and 2) The only place a baby grand would fit was in Alison's sewing room, which she wasn't sure she wanted to give up.  Joel even asked her, "If we found a baby grand for a good price, would you give up your sewing room?" and she replied adamantly in the negative.  

After a few minutes, they began finding baby grand pianos for stellar deals and Alison changed her mind.  "Okay, I guess I would give up my room if we found one we really liked."  Then, lo and behold!, they found the best deal ever!  A baby grand piano for $650!  It was close to midnight and they decided to contact the owners about the piano.  Because it was close to midnight, though, Alison decided to text them.  She figured, if they answered, they answered, but if they didn't, at least she didn't wake them up.  Well, they did answer!  The "they" was a "she," and she already had someone coming to look at the piano the next day, but she offered to call if the deal didn't go through.  Joel and Alison were crazy with nerves!  

The next day, Sunday, the lady called Alison and - guess what!! - the other people didn't want the piano!!!  (Well, they did, but the wife didn't think her husband would want to mess with moving it.  What?  Why did they even bother going to look at it?  What did she think was going to happen?  Odd.) Alison and Joel quickly set up an appointment for the next day - they didn't want to go make a deal on the Sabbath - and danced around the living room.  A couple hours later, though, Alison started to feel nervous.  "What if she gives it away?  What if she finds someone who's willing to go look today and sells it?"  So she texted the lady again.  

"This is Alison... We're so excited about the piano! and nervous that someone could call tonight, see it before we do, and snag it! :) Are we first in line? Could it stay that way until we've seen it?"

Thankfully, she agreed to hold it for them.

Then Monday came....

and it was love at first sight.

Of course, Joel and Alison tested the piano to make sure it sounded good and played well.  But it passed all their tests!  They excitedly told the seller they wanted to buy it, and she also was excited.  She then told them that she'd had another woman call the day before and try to make her sell it, even offering to pay more than Joel and Alison, but she kindly kept her word and put that lady on a waiting list.  Thank goodness!  

On the way home from testing the piano, Joel and Alison could hardly keep from singing.  They only stopped long enough to call a piano mover and set up a date for a few days later...

piano room = emptied

sewing room = moved

THEY'RE HERE!

It's from 1925 and has never been refinished. (The bench is not the original.) 

Ain't she a beaut?! 

Getting tuned for the first time in 10 years. I didn't know you could take pianos apart like that!

After purchasing, moving, tuning, and repairing the piano, it cost about $1200.  Not too shabby for a baby grand.

P.S. Thank you, Joel! 

___________________________________________

"...[B]e grateful.  When it's raining pudding, hold up your bowl." - Sandra Dallas, Prayers for Sale

birds update...

Well, our birds went crazy.

As soon as the babies' eyes opened, the parents went CRAZY and started dive-bombing us every time we were in the yard.  Not only us, either - they attacked other birds, neighborhood kids, my visiting teachers...  And once the babies started flying but before they moved out, they joined the attack team.  For those of you who remember, there were five of them... which makes an attack team of seven crazy birds.

They were adorable at first, but we've decided not to let them back again.  We're taking back the house.

Here are some actual pictures of Joel taking back the house...

Excellent craftsmen, those birds are.

The insides of both nests

Strawberry Days

There exists in a nearby city a fun little festival called Strawberry Days.

(Yes, this sign says "Straberry Days" instead of "Strawberry Days,"

but I didn't create it, and it was the best I could find.

You're just going to have to deal with it.)

I've heard that, every year, they give out free strawberries and cream,

but this year I learned that the cream is magical. 

Naturally, we decided to check it out.

On a pleasantly cool Tuesday evening, 

J, M, and I headed out to get some free strawberries and magic cream!

and also enjoy the free concert in the park.

The event started at 7:30, and we arrived around 8:00.

The band performing the free concert in the park was none other than The Beach Boys!

Just kidding.

They were probably about the same age, though,

only this group was performing other artists' music.

They were decent, but not worth the trip.  

No, we had come for the strawberries and cream.

Let's be honest - I was pretty much there for the cream.

There were approximately 1,000,000 people there, 

and as we followed the crowds to the strawberries and cream line,

we passed many people enjoying their magic dessert.

Then we got in line.

Only it turned out not to be the line for free strawberries and cream.

Unfortunately, it was the line for watching the crew clean off the tables,

for sadly,

all the strawberries and magic were gone.

After half an hour.

Wouldn't you think that a city that apparently produces enough strawberries to host a festival named after them would have enough that they'd last half an hour? Perhaps 45 minutes?

Alas. 

So we chose to skip out on the free concert and head over for some ice cream,

since it's probably close to magic cream.

J and I recently discovered a Maggie Moo's by our house

(and I loooooove Maggie Moo's, partly for nostalgic reasons and partly because it's delicious),

and that's where we went to satisfy our craving for magic.

When we arrived, we saw this taped to the door:

Was everything conspiring to keep us from achieving magical status?!

It was really quite disappointing.

I love Maggie Moo's.  Aside from the fact that I wanted ice cream, I was also really sad that this business I'd been so excited to see wasn't actually there.

We ended up settling on Coldstone, where I discovered Oatmeal Cookie Batter ice cream.

Although it was no magic cream,

it was still pretty good.

And it was a fun night spent adventuring with my husband and brother.

We'll probably try again next year. :)