I know, I know. It's been ages. I have been either flat out busy or flat out asleep. Nothing got done either last Saturday or on Weds, which is a usual day off for me but was ANZAC Day holiday for everybody else. Sunday we went on an extended trip to the mall and both of us were flagging by the end. There have been days when my legs hurt so much I was wondering if I could walk down to my car, even tho it was in the handicapped spot next to the staff entrance. I have been much interested in the story line we are seeing currently here in "House" (which is one of my favourite shows). This line revolves around a cop who was given the usual House treatment of sarcasm and contempt and has decided to get him by removing House's pain meds. House is deemed a "drug addict" and not capable of practising medicine while taking narcotic pain killers. This is a scenario I live in fear of, especially when we go to the States for a visit. I take controlled release morphine and strictly controlled sleeping pills. I would not be able to function without them. US customs says you may not bring in drugs that are not allowed in the US. I haven't specifically investigated my meds because I didn't want to raise any red flags, but I am always nervous that some hardline customs official might decide to search my luggage and find said meds and despite the doctor's letter I always carry when I go overseas, might decide I was a druggie and confiscate them. The cusoms web site says you should go to an American doctor to get the prohibited drugs. Am I suposed to waltz into a doctor who knows nothing about me and ask for morphine and sleeping pills? I actual had to do this on one trip when I forgot (stress of overseas trip --> cognitive impairment & short term memory loss) my sleeping pills and had to get Saint J to FedEx them to me. Meanwhile I had a week of no sleep, until I convinced my sister I really really needed them and went to a local (NY) GP who looked at my letter and said "Good grief, what's the matter with you that you are taking all this?" Fortunately he believed me and wrote me the prescription (which required govt approval just as it does here) and I finally got some sleep. People with chronic pain take pain medication not because it gives them a "high" or any euphoria, other than that which happens when the pain is significantly reduced, since I am never pain free. The US I know has real sensitivity on opiates, and I had a GP who didn't even like using codeine for migraines. Here it's available over the counter and while I do have to do a lot of paperwork for my morphine, I also have a rheumatologist who is pragmatic about pain and managing it.

Good news at last! We now have the piece of paper that says Box 6A is ours, even if they misspelled my (maiden) name wrong on the title certificate. When we go to the wool show in July we'll need to get a lock for the gate and do some enquiring about what we can do without a building permit. There was even a whopping 4mm of rain last Sunday.

Round 4: We lost to Adelaide, in Adelaide, which is always a hard ask. Their kicking accuracy was atrocious. I have to admit I only watched the last quarter, since the Bear and I were watching a DVD together (Friday and Saturday nights are our movie nights). The Swannies were only down by 14 points when I turned it on, but it only got worse from there.

I have been knitting furiously on the Opal socks after I spun the last of the first pound of BFL I have. I wound off another hank of plied BFL which is a bit finer and more consistent than the last. I also wound off a skein of the filthy fleece. I would have posted a photo but I decided after its usual dip after winding off that there was too much lanolin still lingering so I gave it a hot wash with dishwash liquid. This is partly because I want to overdye it and no lanolin makes dyeing easier. I may be gifted with a substantial amount of alpaca so I've been taking a dive into the stash to find my raw alpaca to see how hard it is to wash. I know there is no lanolin issue, but that alpacas like to roll in dirt. I finally found a podcast I like and that is Fibercast, partly because Nancy sticks to her topic, provides helpful stuff like what it's like to raise alpacas (The Bear loves alpacas and like to go and hum with them at sheep shows), an interview with Earth Hues Dyes about natural dyeing etc. No fluff, Just The Facts. Of course I am consumed with envy at all the announcements of upcoming fiber festivals in the US. We'll have one wool day in May at the Old Bus Depot Sunday Markets and then the nationals in July.

The Aussie dollar is high at the moment so I am buying stuff I have been holding off on like some knitting books (trying for used when possible) and some fiber but not much. I tried the Heal my Hands stuff (what do you call it? a cake, a container full?) and since it has lanolin in it it is extremely long lasting and makes the palms of my hands really soft and supple. But I have really bad cuticles and dry finger ends (another FMS thing) and it's hard to get this semi solid cake of lanolin, beeswax, etc. to penetrate there. I like the Body Shop's Mango Body Butter for my nail areas. I slather that on before I go to sleep at night. The Imp has taken to sleeping with me but usually starts jumping up and down on me around 5AM, when she is escorted to the door. Then she goes and licks the Bear's toes.

Still enduring the saga of the inability to get the proper permits out of the USDA for my fleeces to be sent to me. According to the mill and a Shetland breeder, their USDA people don't know anything about such certificate but Quarantine here assures me that they do it all the time. I am left in limbo with 2 fleeces ready to be shipped to me if we can just organize the frelling certificate. There will be at least 2 more Shetlands and 2 of the crossbreeds I think I already mentioned.