Morty-

Could he possibly be more relaxed?

Boxed Max

Max loves boxes...Even if he doesn't fit.

We Will Overcome

These words are the chorus of the song, "We Will Overcome," by Jaci Valasquez.

We will overcome
Heartache and sorrow
We will overcome
All the pain in this world
We will rise above
The cares of tomorrow
We will overcome

The complete lyrics can be found here.

Hummer Photos

We've had more hummingbirds this year than ever. They didn't find us until later in the year, but when they did, they came in droves. We've seen as many as five out there hovering over the feeder. Being the greedy little birds they are, they're always facing off and chasing eachother. Very entertaining.

Dave Does It, Too..

Remember, when I wrote about rescuing a free Route 44 ticket from the trash? Well, Dave did the same thing today. He saw a ticket in the trash basket at work, and retrieved it for me. He's such a sweetie. When a man raids the trash can for you, you know he really loves you. lol

What A Bargain!

Saturday, the 14th, we went to Plano for our montly Costco visit. Since we were in the area, and since I had some Birthday money left over, Dave took me by the Woolie Ewe. While there I found the best bargain. The kind of bargain that can't be passed up.
In the back of the store, where they display all the on-sale yarn, I found some Yuzen, a beautifully soft blend of wool, silk, and kid mohair from Noro. This yarn normally sells for $10 per hank. It seems Noro is discontinuing this particular yarn, and Woolie Ewe had it marked half price for quick sale. I was in the process of picking 5 same colored hanks, when I was told by an employee that this yarn was on sale for even less! It was actually $2.50 per hank. Wow! Ten dollar yarn selling for two-fifty? I managed to find 15 hanks in the same color, and bought them all.
Now, as completely amazing as all this is, would you believe I have even better news? At the check out, I found out I had enough points to earn a $25 voucher. Yes, folks, I ended up taking home $150 worth of yarn for a little over thirteen dollars. Now, that is what's called a very happy birthday.

Dumpster Diving For Soda?

I don't know if this is corperation wide, or just something our local Sonic Drive-in has been doing, but be sure and look at your receipt. Some of them have a voucher for a free Route 44 drink at your next visit. You just call the number, answer a few simple questions about the Sonic location you visited, and they give you a code number. Copy this number on your receipt, and take it with you to get your free drink. Now these aren't on every receipt, but Dave and I have gotten quite a few of them. I guess that's what happens when you visit every day to get your happy hour Diet Coke fix (yes, I'm talking about me).
Last week, as we were leaving the drive-thru, Dave glanced over to see a perfectly good free Rt 44 reciept, lying on top of the trash in the trash can. Now, I'm sure you know where this story is going. yes, I got out and retrieved the ticket...but it was lying on top. Regardless of what I titled my post, I wouldn't have gone digging through the trash, but I couldn't resist a perfectly clean ticket, lying on top. Still, part of me couldn't help but remember the episode of Seinfeld, where George at the eclair that was lying on top of the trash can. I guess I have "crossed the line between man and bum." That's ok. Any embarrasment was gone the minute I got my free Route 44 Diet Coke.

Bright Red Mitts

Can you believe it? I've actually finished something! I knitted these mittens from a pattern called Kilronan Mittens. It was designed by Kate Gagnon Osborn, and can be found in the 2011 issue of Interweave Knits Weekend. I would rate the difficulty level at medium, only because of the cables. If you're familiar with how to do cables, you'll find the pattern easy. The yarn I used is Wool-ease, an acrylic/wool blend, put out by Lion Brand. It only takes one skein! What a great way to use one of those lonely, leftover skiens, lying in my stash.

Rainbow Denise Needles

I just had to show off my new set of needles, Dave bought me for my birthday. You can read about Denise interchangeable needles here. The Rainbow Denise sets, which are only sold by Knittinghelp.com, are just like the original set, only each set of tips is dyed in a variety of bright colors. How fun! I can hardly wait to cast something on.

Google Imposed Fear

We took Max to see the vet today. The skin on his ears is crusty, and he's been scratching it a lot. I noticed it about two weeks ago, but only the tips of his ears were effected. Because of our budget, we decided to just watch it, and see if it would go away on its own. It didn't. By today, he had it around the perimeter of his ears, and several sores on his head from scratching. Today's skin scrape revealed sarcoptes mites, a skin parisite, commonly known as scabes. Dr. House says it's very easy to treat, and Max will be just fine.

Now here's where the title of my post comes in. The two weeks we spent monitering Max's ears, were two weeks of intense fear for me. All because of a google search of skin conditions in cats. I had myself convinced he had skin cancer, and I was going to lose him again. This isn't the first time I've done this to myself. Google is a vast sourse of information, but it has caused more fear and uncertaintly in me than you could possibly imagine. Dave has even threatened to take away my internet. I guess you could say we both have a love/hate relationship with Google.

I'm happy to report that we've made it home, and Max is doing fine. He seems to have forgiven us for inflicting the Doctor visit on him, and is grooming himself to a glossy, fluffy sheen.

Unending Love, Amazing Grace

I've heard this Chris Tomlin song so many times, but this verse has never stood out to me the way it did last time I heard the song.

The Earth shall soon dissolve like snow
The sun forbear to shine
But God, who called me hear below
Will be forever mine
Will be forever mine
You are forever mine

If you'd like to read the entire song, the lyrics can be found here.

Nervous Habits

First of all, I'm happy to report that our singing at Spring Lake Baptist Church went well. Normally they do, but even when they don't people tend to be forgiving. Why, then, do I make myself a nervous wreck during the time leading up to these singing events? Even the monthly Saturday Singings at my own church, make me cringe.
Yesturday, after our morning service, a nervous habit of mine was brought to my attention, by my wonderful husband. Our church had used that Sunday morning to run though some of the songs we had planned for later that evening. I don't have much confidence in my ability to sing anymore. Last year, during the winter months, I had lost my voice during a bout of flu. Fortunately, my voice has returned, but unfortunately, my ability to control it has diminished. When a note gets away from me, I have a tendancy to make a face. This isn't a big deal at our church, because I can hide behind the mic, but the sound system is completely different at Spring Lake. Instead of indivisual mics, they have a single mic attached to the rostrum. This mic is designed to pick up the sound from all around.
During the drive home from our morning service, I told Dave that I need to really watch myself that night. Since I don't have my own mic to hide behind, I'll have to really pay attention, and not make a face when I hit a bad note. Dave answered me with, "...or wring your hands."
Apparantly, I get so nervous when I sing that I wring my hands. Thanks Hun, for pointing that out...