I've been fighting the flu all week, and I'd have stayed home a couple of days except that I've had important stuff to do at work.

It's friday, it's beautiful, and I've had it. I'm going home. Look for more this evening, after a long nyquil-induced nap.

Don't forget that Rocket Jones is hosting the symphony next week, so keep the submissions coming. Scroll down for details, I mentioned it somewhere. Blah.

(heh heh, I said "submission")

Posted by: Ted at 11:49 AM | category: Family matters
No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 81 words, total size 1 kb.

We got home last night after 1am, thanks to a 7 hour stretch at the ER. Everyone's home, everyone's fine. Everyone's still asleep, except for yours truly, who has to hit the pharmacy when it opens in about 45 minutes.

It's going to be a long zombie-like day. Maybe I can get a nap this afternoon.

Beal. It's what's for dinner.

Update: I've slept for a few hours, and Mookie and I are still going to a rocket launch tomorrow. Thanks for all the kind words and well-wishes.

Short version: Wife Liz has had a headache on the left side of her head since Saturday last, and it got bad enough yesterday to see the doctor (she doesn't suffer from migraines). Doc found a suspicious mass at the back of Liz's head and sent her to the ER for a CT scan.

Wait. Wait. Wait. See doctor, get CT scan. Wait. Liz has sinus infection on left side (all 4 - my dear overachiever), and the mass is a bundle of muscle that's spasming from the ensuing headache pain. IV with painkillers, then with antibiotic, and handful of prescription slips to take home. And that's the key, she got to go home. Most of the time a trip to the ER for her means automatic admission.

She's doing ok, not great, but ok. The doctor said it'll be a few days before she starts to feel better. With the Fibromyalgia that Liz has, the pain is not an uncommon thing, just the cause is different this time. I've said it before, if it's bad enough that she's complaining about pain, I know it's bad enough that I'd be on my knees begging to die.

Once again, thanks my friends, for your good thoughts and prayers.

Posted by: Ted at 08:15 AM | category: Family matters
Comments (9) | Add Comment
Post contains 300 words, total size 2 kb.

1 What the everlovin' H*LL happened?! And who do I pray for?!

Rest up, 'yall--and hang in there!

--TwoDragons

Posted by: Denita TwoDragons at March 19, 2004 09:43 AM (aRpMC)

2 Nice to hear that everyone's fine but...

Mmm. Nice bit of roast beal. Beal and onions...

Posted by: Pixy Misa at March 19, 2004 10:23 AM (+S1Ft)

3 Hey, the Caps game wasn't *that* bad

I'm glad all is well. Having recently spent massive time in the emergency room myself, I know how scary and frustrating that can be.

Posted by: Victor at March 19, 2004 10:51 AM (L3qPK)

4 From my emergency room experiences it would be 6 hour 45 minutes of waiting and 15 minutes of medical attention.

I'm glad to hear that all is well. Hope you get that nap.

Posted by: Stephen Macklin at March 19, 2004 02:35 PM (CSxVi)

5 What?!?! I want a full account! Hang in there, my friend!

Posted by: Dawn at March 19, 2004 04:10 PM (L6pam)

6 Yes, as an officially sanctioned busybody, I need details!

Seriously, do get well soon, or be well, or be more well. And if they gave you pain pills, be very well indeed.

Posted by: Scott at March 19, 2004 04:49 PM (zL4bg)

7 I hope she gets better soon! Sinus infections are the pits.

Posted by: Tink at March 19, 2004 08:28 PM (l4WXq)

8 Oh bless her heart, I didn't know she had fibromyalgia...I'll definitely keep her in my prayers, both for her current headache nastiness AND her continued strength in dealing with her muscle pains.

In a sense, I'm a kindred spirit with you, Ted. Only it's my mother, and she has malignant brain tumors. It's amazing, the amount of pain she shrugs off. She walks around everyday, going on with her life, with a continual migraine headache that would leave most people insensate and unable to function.

I could only hope to have a tenth of the strength that good women like my mother and your wife have.

--TwoDragons

Posted by: Denita TwoDragons at March 20, 2004 10:21 AM (Q+yXx)

9 I hope your wife is feeling better these days.

Posted by: Cindy at March 24, 2004 08:28 AM (BAGuk)

Hide Comments | Add Comment

Our dog Sam has always been a grunter rather than a barker. But as he gets older, his voice is getting deeper, to the point that now he sounds like Karl, played by Billy Bob Thorton in Slingblade.

"I'd like me some of those french fried potatoes. Mm-Hmmm."

Posted by: Ted at 05:10 AM | category: Family matters
No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 54 words, total size 1 kb.

Not for me (though I certainly need one), but for the dogs. A few times during the warm months, Liz and one of the daughters gets down on the floor and shaves Sam and Trix. It's a two-person job, and I only get involved towards the end when the dog has had enough and starts to really squirm.

The dogs do appreciate the results, but at best only tolerate the process. If Liz didn't do it, I'd probably just schlep them down to PetSmart or something and pay to have someone else deal with it. Liz soothes and talks and plays quiet music while she does it, whereas I'm the "Sit. Stay." kinda barber. She's also a lot more particular about results. To me, short is good enough, I'm not gonna worry about making a dog beautiful.

Sam is first today, and Trix (the younger) is clinging to my side, fretting and having mini-nervous breakdowns every time Sam whines or yelps. If I sit down, Trix the empath wants up in my lap and snuggles in, worried to death.

Liz just hollered down the stairs that we now have three dogs, the pile of hair removed from Sam being large enough to have it's own name. The birds are gonna love it when we put the fur out for nest building.

To compensate for not helping with haircut day, I take care of the crappy little chores that nobody gets around to around the house. This morning I've cleaned the aquarium, dealt with the houseplants and overwintered outside plants in the basement and might run to the grocery store later.

Liz calls it "guilt putzing".

Posted by: Ted at 11:05 AM | category: Family matters
No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 279 words, total size 2 kb.

Mookie posted her report on Arsenic.

I chose Arsenic because it seemed to me to be the most sinister, and fun, of all 115 elements.

*sigh*

Posted by: Ted at 08:24 AM | category: Family matters
Comments (5) | Add Comment
Post contains 44 words, total size 1 kb.

Every time I visit the Smithsonian Museums, I am awed at the national treasures available for all to see.

These are rightly described as treasures, and they aren't hidden behind massive vault doors. It's emphasized often in each museum that the contents belong to the entire American people. You get the sense that you're not being allowed to see the items so much as that the caretakers are making sure that everyone gets the best view possible.

To say I don't like the city of Washington DC is an understatement. I believe that if they were to give Uncle Sam an enema, the nozzle would be inserted in DC. But I also think that everyone should spend a couple of weeks visiting Washington, because there is just so much history to see. I hate DC, but I also sincerely recommend it as a vacation destination for all.

We started our trip by driving to the nearest Metro station and parking there. The DC Metro system is excellent, it's much easier than trying to find a parking spot in DC, plus the metro fare is less than parking in the city. Plus, the metro took us to within a block of the National Museum of American History, our choice for the day.

We had a 5 minute wait to get in, standing in line as everyone went through security checks. When it was my turn, I handed over my car keys and pocket watch, walked through the metal detector, and buzzed it. Stepping back through, I realized that I was still holding my umbrella. I handed it to the guard and set off the detector again. Hmmmm... doing a quick pat of my pockets, I realized that I was carrying (as always) my Swiss Army knife. Wondering what kind of reaction I'd get, I pulled it out and put it on the table, then walked through the detector again. No problem this time, and the guard handed me my things without a second glance at the knife.

So let's get to the treasures, eh? We started on the third floor and worked our way down. First up were the music exhibits, including two really nice features on Ella Fitzgerald and Duke Ellington.

A display case full of Star Trek stuff caught my eye, and when I wandered over to look I saw the really cool stuff. There were three more displays in a nook: one had the original ruby slippers from Wizard of Oz, another had one of Dizzy Gillespie's trumpets. The third case held (get this), Muhammed Ali's boxing gloves, Sonja Heine's ice skates, a baseball autographed by Babe Ruth, a Michael Jordan Bulls jersey, a sweater from the 1980 Miracle on Ice US Olympic hockey team, and tennis racquets from Arthur Ashe and Chris Evert.

I'm going to quickly mention a few other nifty items, and then get to the real 'wow' stuff. There was a very impressive exhibit about the First Ladies. Money, clocks, transportation (many restored vehicles, I'd love to see what's stored in their warehouses). Archie Bunker's chair. The key to the padlock of rod 21, which is the one removed to start the chain reaction on the worlds first nuclear pile.

It takes more than "stuff" to make a museum come to life, and the Smithsonians are world-class. They use innovative displays and lots of hands-on, you don't just look at the exhibits. They use sound and touch as well, and it's consistantly impressive.

Ok, the 'wow' things:

The top hat worn by Abraham Lincoln on the night he was assasinated.

Everyone has seen that picture of the workers unfurling the American flag from the roof of the Pentagon when they began making repairs. That flag is now hanging in the second floor rotunda, and you don't appreciate just how huge it really is until you stand in front of it and look up and up and up.

The space suit worn by Alan Shepard on board Freedom 7, making him the first American to go into space.

The Star Spangled Banner. Not the song, but the original flag that flew over Fort McHenry that inspired our National Anthem. It's being restored, and just the glass walled room showing the restoration equipment is pretty amazing. Without a doubt, this was the highlight for me.

We just skimmed the museum today. Realistically, there is just so much to see and absorb that each building of the Smithsonian is a two-day visit. You really should make the trek at least once, you won't regret it.

Posted by: Ted at 09:38 PM | category: Family matters
Comments (3) | Add Comment
Post contains 762 words, total size 5 kb.

Wife is working today and our oldest daughter heads back to college in thawed Michigan tomorrow, so the girls and I decided to head into DC this rainy Saturday and visit the Smithsonians. I wanted to see something artsy, Mookie preferred something sciencey, and Robyn wasn't around to throw in her two cents so that's just too darn bad for her, eh? We compromised on the National Museum of American History.

I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm kinda sick of the Air & Space Museum and Natural History Museum. All out-of-town guests want to go see these two, and I was right across the street from Air & Space when I was working at the Department of Education. So I'm very familiar with it. Too familiar. On the other hand, it's been awhile since I've been to the American History building, so I'm looking forward to it.

Posted by: Ted at 08:44 AM | category: Family matters
No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 151 words, total size 1 kb.