Many people marvel at skills that I have accumulated – sewing, cooking, knitting, crocheting, embroidery, needle felting, bead weaving. It makes me laugh. You want to know my big secret? I read the fucking directions. Yup.  That’s it. That’s what the real name for “Home Economics” should be – “Read the Fucking Directions”. Just about…

Kaiser (yes, this is about Kaiser again) wants you to make an appointment for lab services. It’s good to want things. However, since Kaiser’s lab appointments are usually booked solid a week (or more) in advance; unless you are in absolutely no hurry, you have to going as a walk-in. And because Kaiser is huge…

If you are going to do theater – or any kind of singing – invest in a good (and big) thermos.  You’re going to need it. Key to vocal health is hydration and keeping the muscles warm and wet.  Some people have special recipes for their “throat juice”. I don’t go in for the exotic…

I can be very easy-going.  No, really.  Ask my husband. On the other hand I can be a total blazing bitch and stickler for rules. No, really.  Ask my husband. This is what happened during my recent surgery.  I was provided with the rules.  I followed the rules.  Kaiser did not follow the rules and…

Here’s the thing.  When a fat person has a boo-boo part, it is hard to keep the pain at bay. This is because when you are fat all over, and you move – everything moves. It’s like tossing a stone into a pond – the movement “ripples” out to the parts you had no intention…

Does anyone else remember all the homes that used to sell bunches of gladiolas this time of year?  They all had signs out front and a bucket with bunches of gladiolas. Maybe people were more trustworthy then? Or maybe it was because you bought glads for your mom and what kind of scungy-mungy gave their…

So.  Dealing with Kaiser is such an adventure.  Sorry this is so long, but I just want to get it all out in one blast. I already blogged about the whole ignoring my requests that they make sure I am not scheduled for the Surgery Center if they still have their BMI restrictions in place.…

Tomorrow is my lumpectomy for breast cancer. Here I sit, freshly scrubbed and shampooed, wrapped in a towel. Waiting. I have to wait an hour and then wipe down with antiseptic body wipes. I am supposed to use 1 wipe for each of the designated areas of my body. There are four designated areas to…

I find the fat paintings of Geeske Hartine to be charming and lovely and full of whimsy.  They are the kinds of paintings that I want to just sit and ponder for a while.  Part of my pondering is wondering what the artist was thinking or wanted to convey; and part is just absorbing the…

My Senior year in high school was the only year that I was able to take any elective courses (other than band, which I was in all four years).  At the end of my Junior year, I had taken all the courses necessary to allow me to graduate, but John Glenn High School wouldn’t let…