Margo's Blog

Sometimes I wonder how intelligent adult women can resort to middle school behavior without warrant. I wish I could truly say how I feel towards it, but then I’d be acting as they are and I won’t stoop to that low. Just keep some personal opinions about certain things to yourself and all will be good. Just because people are friends, it doesn’t mean that verbal vomit comes as part of that relationship. Leave the crap out of it and get on with the niceties.

Amazing how my last post was at the beginning of 2011 and this, my next post, is at the end of the year bringing us to another blog-less year. I won’t promise to do better in 2012 because who knows what the year will bring, I just hope it’s better than this one was. As I probably wrote at least once before…. I hate writing about sick, being depressed, and having bad times.

The Worst of 2011: Being sick, ending chemo and radiation and being sick because of it, getting pneumonia in December and still having it.
The Best of 2011: Visiting family in Hungary.

Resolutions? none! I don’t make any. It doesn’t make sense to me to only promise to make a change once a year. If you want to change your life in any form, it should be done at any time. Not when a glittery balls drops.

Plans? none! I’ve done all the traveling I need to do already this month and I just want to be at home and veg…. you know, be still like a vegetable. I like my home, I like being at home, it has everything I want and need and I’m content being here. There will be scrapbooking and knitting weekends and retreats to attend, but right now in this frame of mind I’m thinking to fore go them all, but ask me again as we closer to those dates.

I will tell you about my trip. Bob and I took a Danube River cruise in December. It’s a cruise we’ve talked about going on, but this one happened to be a knitting cruise, so it was the right one. We flew into Munich on Dec. 2, stayed a couple of days there in order to meet other yarnies and to go on yarn crawls. It was a good 2 days, then we boarded the boat in Passau, had another good 2 days and from that point on it was downhill all the way. I got sick and remained in the cabin in bed for the next 5 days while Bob did all the sightseeing in Vienna, Salzburg, Bratislava and other cities along the Danube and I missed out on all the knitting and yarn crawls. The cruise ended in Budapest where Alex joined us and we stayed an additional week to visit family. That was the best part, visiting cousins, even though I wasn’t the best guest, not feeling well and not being in the best mood because of it. A couple days after we got home on the 19th, I went to the doctors and found out I had pneumonia. Yeah great. I should have just stayed in bed, but no…. packed up again and drove to Chicago for Christmas weekend with my sister and her family. I was so not in the mood, didn’t even want to go, but was basically forced in to being there. I just wanted to be left alone, but got coerced into making myself more miserable so that everyone else could feel good about themselves that they didn’t allow me to be alone. Make sense?

So we’re home, no place else to go and I’m still sick. I just want to hibernate until Spring.

It seems such a long time that this blog got started and sadly it’s been almost a year that I’ve actually written it. Alex will be happy that I’m finally getting back into using the Christmas gift he gave me way back when. I had to go back and read the last few posts to know where I left off to know where to pick up…. so let’s go. The home renovations got completed. The master bath is lovely with pictures to come, so soon as I take them. I know it’s been a year, but life kind of gets in the way. Life, like the kind that involves hospitals and doctors.

It all started back in May when I had this terrible pain in the back of my head. After emergency room visits in two hospitals in one night, and then followed by a CT scan, it showed it was nothing serious, just an inflammation of a nerve. But by being in these hospital ERs, I picked up a bacterial pneumonia that kept me indoors most of the summer. Then things became worse….. After another ER run on Labor Day where another CT scan was done thinking I had kidney stones… wound up being Bladder Cancer. Yup, cancer is back. So now after months of chemo and radiation, and crappy side effects of both, I’m looking at major surgery in a few weeks. The date hasn’t been determined yet, but will be soon. So now you can see why writing in this blog wasn’t the most important thing on my mind. The cancer and the treatments made us cancel a cruise we had booked for the end of the year, but it couldn’t keep us away from enjoying some family time in Florida during Christmas week.

My sister and her family came down from Wisconsin, Alex and his girlfriend from DC and us from Michigan, all descended on a condo in Orlando for what we thought would be some warm sunshine. What we got was cold temps but, to me all that mattered was that we were together. The side effects of my treatments were so bad that I took myself off them the week and a half before we left otherwise there was no way I could have gotten on a plane. As it was, I basically stayed in the condo all week, going out for an occasional dinner. It was still better to see palm trees outside the balcony than snow drifts.

And speaking of snow, 2011 has brought us nothing but snow. Lake effect stuff, the stuff that falls for days and days. White fluffy stuff that looks so pretty to look at from the warmth of being inside, but a bear to drive in or shovel and I’m glad that I haven’t done either.

So this is the start of the blog of 2011. Even though I don’t have much to write about, I will keep it up somehow.

We are starting Week #5 of the bathroom remodeling process. It should have only been a 2 week project, but things aren’t always what they seem. Coordinating efforts between the trades was a nightmare, even though it was all planned out and timelined. It should have worked out… in a perfect world. The painter was sick and that held up the electrician and plumber for a week, and he’s still not done yet. The master bath is still missing the toilet, sink and shower hardware and doors. The lighting is not installed, but should be tomorrow (hopefully), so the room is still not usable and to be honest, I’m rather pissed. That proverbial last straw happened last week when we discovered that the water main to the house was cracked and water was leaking.. fortunately it wasn’t leaking IN the house, but outside at the sidewalk. In any case, the front yard needed to be dug up and trees, bushes and plants removed so they could replace the pipes. In addition to a huge plumbing bill, now we’re looking at a major landscaping bill come spring. I’m depressed over the chaos that reigns in this house. I just want everything back in working order. I just want to be able to wake at a normal hour to wait for tradesmen to come in…. and for them to actually show up. I want my bathroom back. This certainly makes me think long and hard about renovating the kitchen. However the thought of eating out every day is enticing.

We’re into Day 4 of the bathroom remodeling and I’ve had to move out of my bath in search of one that has all necessary pieces functioning. Yesterday the shower/tub was taken out with a Saws-all and lots of sweat, leaving a big hole. More work to be done on that today… taking out the rest of the insulation, building the framework for the shower, and possibly putting up the cement board. The guest bath is all tiled and grouted, and electrical boxes have been moved, next is the rebuilding of the vanity. Just need to survive through the pounding and the mess….. did I mention the layer of dust that lies on everything in my bedroom? It’s going to need thorough cleaning in the end.

The workmen including tile guys, electrician and plumber all descended on the house this morning to begin the two week long process of the renovation of 3 of our 4 bathrooms. Good thing we have that 4th bathroom that won’t get touched so we have a workable toilet and shower during the process. We spent the afternoon yesterday emptying cabinets and closets and boxing up all the contents while keeping aside the essentials we will need day to day.

This is what will get done:
Master bath: new granite counter, new vessel sink, heated ceramic tile floor, new tiled shower, all fixtures and lighting.
Guest bath: granite counters, heated tile floors, new sinks, fixtures and lighting.
Basement bath: new granite counter and tiled floor.

and now a couple of “before” pictures of the master bath….

I’m just hoping that the drywall dust and the tile dust doesn’t mess with my sinuses, otherwise, I’ll be checking into the nearby Holiday Inn with my knitting basket and laptop. Will report back with updates.

My new wheels. Starting off the New Year riding in style. The week before Christmas we went up to Grand Rapids to look at cars. This was to be my Christmas present, however since I was getting one this spring, I don’t really count it as a Christmas gift.. anyway, we checked out the new Jags, but I wasn’t really impressed and on we moved to Cadillac where we went to look at the CTS. While it was a comfy fit, it was smaller than I had hoped and I do like lots of room around me. The DTS was in the showroom and I fell in automotive love. The first color we chose, Bob’s choice, Tuscan Bronze, had a greenish tint to it. They found one sitting in West Virginia, but the dealer there wouldn’t play nice, a second one was located in Boston, but because of the bad snowy weather that hit the east coast, that transport company said they wouldn’t drive in it. It was all a good thing, because we went back to the dealer and I decided that the first color wasn’t what I wanted….. what I wanted was the Grey Flannel… a very dark grey with a hint of blue in the right light… and a black interior. So nice. It arrived yesterday morning from Missouri and today we went and signed the paperwork, handed over a check with way too many numbers on it and drove it home. Parked on my side of the garage is my 2010 Cadillac DTS.

Christmas always used to be so special for me, having the whole family together and just enjoying each others company. In years past, with everyone spread across the country, it wasn’t so easy to be together so those times when we did gather were even more important. This year my sister and her family came here and of course Alex was home too. Although our time together was only a day and a half, we made use of every minute together. I loved it.
Next year we’re planning something special, someplace warm, someplace without snow, someplace all 7 of us will be in the same place for more than a day and a half.

Are you ready? I’m not. Not yet anyway. I could use another month to get prepared, to make cards, to decorate, to shop, to bake, to do all the things necessary. I haven’t even started to shop because I’m basically clueless as to what to get my family. I was hoping that our shopping trip in Chicago over Thanksgiving would give me some clues to what they’re liking these days, but the trip never happened. My nieces are selective and label conscious and other than gift cards I don’t think they’d really like anything else… not very exciting I know, but I’m stuck. My sister and brother-in-law never seem to appreciate anything we get them, so there again, I’m stuck. The shopping part of my brain just hasn’t kicked into high gear yet. I keep waiting…. until then I’m knitting a few things. The Christmas cards which should be on their way to the post office are still in various stages of completion. I need to get them done pronto!

The only Christmas thing that has happened is Bob singing in the Holiday Pops Concerts with the Grand Rapids Symphony. It was five performances over a 4 day span. I attended on the opening night concert and it was quite a push into getting into the spirit of the season. Oh yes, the lights are up on the porches… we string them on evergreen branches and drape them on the front porches and tie up with red bows… it does look pretty. The tree will go up next week sometime, usually taking one day for the two of us to get up and another 3 or 4 days to put on the decorations.

Eventually Christmas will get here.

Two weekends ago Bob and I took off for Chicago and for a taping of the NPR radio show, “Wait, Wait Don’t Tell Me”. We listen to it every Saturday and play along with the news quizzes and I was excited to be able to get tickets. Since we were half way to Milwaukee, my sister said to come up for the rest of the weekend and spend some time with them.

The show was taped on Thursday night so we got in early, had a nice leisurely late lunch and then got in line for the show. It takes an hour and a half to make a one hour show.. the other half hour gets cut in the editing. It was way cool. Pictured here is the host of the show, Peter Sagal doing his thing.

On Friday night in Milwaukee, we went to a really trendy steak restaurant called, ‘Carnivore’, and had oh so yummy Kobe steak… so tender, it didn’t need a knife. Our art entertainment for the evening was with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra as they performed Bartok’s ‘Bluebeard’s Castle’ which was more of an opera for two. It was sung in Hungarian and the set design were glass sculptures by Dale Chihuly. Imagine. This photograph is from the local Milwaukee newspaper.

Sunday we went to the Art Museum to an exhibit of Andy Warhol… his later work, and I was surprised at some of his pieces. He was quite religious toward the end of his life incorporating his beliefs into his work. I couldn’t photograph any of the pieces in this exhibit, but there are permanent works in the museum that I was able to capture. We strolled through other exhibits as well including native daughter Georgia O’Keefe. So between the radio show, the symphony and the art museum, it really was an artful weekend.

Last weekend was devoted to knitting and new knitting friends as I attended a locally sponsored Fiber Retreat here in Holland. Four days of knitting, talking, shopping, and spinning. It was great and I can’t wait to go to another. This pic shows just some of the women who were knitting, purling and frogging.