A New Skill

And now....remembering that she does have a blog...we bring you Merry Karma!!!

She will attempt to wow you with her new skill:




Can you see this poor little zinnia plant? Can you tell that it has no leaves? Sorry for the crappy picture. I took it with my cellphone. There is a digital camera in the house, but I don't know how to get the pictures from it to my computer yet. This blogging thing is a one-step-at-a-time venture for me. I tend to learn technological things on a "need to know" basis.

Try this one:




See the pink plant in the front? It looks a little rough.

Here's another:



So, my next entry likely will include knitting content. I've been doing a little of that lately. Work was quite busy this past week, but the weekend has been very laid back. I mostly worked on the edging of an afghan for a wedding gift. I also am figuring out how to knit two socks at one time on the Magic Loop. (Hi Amy! I think I figured it out.)

Gotta go to bed now. This technology stuff wears out a body!

Mercury Rising

…And I don’t mean the astrological kind. Not that I am opposed to topics astrological. I read my “horror”scope daily, just to see what kind of day I should be having.

I don’t mean the outside temperature kind either. Although, it has been quite a bit warmer since Wednesday. (We've had more sunshine and less rain.)

No, I am referring to the millimeters of mercury found within a sphygmomanometer, otherwise known as a blood pressure cuff. Since January 2006, I have not been exercising regularly. The treadmill went on the blink back then, and the exercise room morphed into the junk room; so, my fitness efforts were seriously thwarted. My exercising had to be worked around the weather, since my weather-proof options were no longer available. Coupled with the irregular exercising was the stress eating (for various reasons). Long story short, two months ago, I noticed that I had gained a few pounds and that my blood pressure reading had moved away from the 120/70 range. It hasn’t reached a critical point yet, by any means, but being a health care provider, I am not happy with this state of affairs. Hypertension runs in my family; so, I have to be extra careful. I started with cutting down on added salt. A month ago, I finally found a good fitness routine that is painless and easy to fit into my schedule without worrying about the weather.

Things were going merrily along, I thought, until a week ago, when I stepped on the scales for the first time in several weeks. I hadn’t lost a.n.y weight. In fact, I had gained a pound. And my blood pressure wasn't too pretty either.

I'm not through sulking.

Birthday Fairy Gone Bad

When I was a bachelorette, I prided myself in the fact that I would remember the birthdays of all the important people in my life.

If you are a friend of mine, are reading this post and are thinking, “Hmm…Haven’t gotten a card from Merry Karma in…years…” don’t despair. You are not the only one. I even started rubber stamping just so I would have plenty of cute, little cards around to send out to my friends and family for birthdays and other occasions of note. The supplies are stored neatly in a closet upstairs.

I am sorry to say that all my good habits have fallen by the wayside. I am trying to do better, but as they say, “Rome wasn’t built in a day.”

All this to send a birthday shout out to my OB/Gyn. She knows who she is. Happy Birthday to you, Dr. W. Hope you had a good one!

Merry Karma's Garden

I didn't write anything yesterday because I was out enjoying the sunshine and running all the errands I haven't done in the last week because of the rain. It is sunny again today (Yay!) and I thought I would do a little weeding.

For the record, I am *not* a gardener. I kept two African violets healthy for a couple of years while I was in college, but that is my only claim to any semblance of gardening ability. I don't play in the dirt, I don't know nuthin' about what flowers to plant where. Heck, there are many flowers I see out in the world, and I don't know what they are called. I just call the landscaper, have him come over, I point to the places I want flowers, tell him colors I like and then ...poof!...I have a garden. It's like magic.

So, given all this info, you may be asking yourself, "Wha?!? Did she say 'weeding'?" Why, yes I did. The mood strikes every now and then. I really like pulling out nut grass. I don't really know why, and don't want to think about what that might say about me, but I do like pulling out the nut grass.

This morning, I noticed that there is a patch of groundcover in the front where a healthy crop of nut grass was looking rather hardy. So, I went out there and starting pulling it out. It was quite satisfying, really. As I was walking back up the driveway, I noticed that my zinnias were looking pretty as ever....except for their leaves. Some of the leaves had a few holes in them, some had lots of holes...but some of the zinnias had no leaves left.

Merry Karma is not feeling too merry about that.

And being that I am not a gardener, I don't know what to do about it.

When I learn how to post pictures, I will show you the evidence.

Rain, Rain Go Away

I've lost count of how many days in a row we have had rain. We've exceeded our yearly average, but there is more rain in the five-day forecast. I suppose it's better than the 60 days of 100+ degree weather we had last summer, but it's beginning to wear on me. I would like to wash my car soon, if that's not asking too much. I am not a fan of the running errands in the rain. Getting in and out of the car without getting wet is rather tricky.

And let's not think about the havoc the humidity plays on ma her. (That's Texan for "my hair.") I always wished for curly hair when I was a youngun. I would get perms in my late teens/early adulthood - and they were truly a site to behold. Thankfully, I do not have pictoral documentation to share with you.

In a cruel twist of fate (Karma is a bitter pill to swallow, afterall) I have my curly hair now. Yep, now that my hormones have whacked out and I am on that slippery slope headed towards mature woman. I have c.u.r.l.y hair. Especially now...when I would like to have really straight hair. I do own a flat iron, and in the winter, I do straighten my hair. In the summer, however, with the humidity - not worth it. So, I just wash, scrunch and let it go. When it is especially humid, as it has been these several weeks, it gets really fuzzy on top of the curly.

Now, that's a look.

The one good thing about this weather is that, instead of not getting things done around the house because it is too pretty to stay inside, I have gotten farther along in my mission to decrapify my home. Yippee! Of course, those who know me also know that it is my neverending battle...but that's a post for another day.

Another good thing about this weather is that I can stay inside and knit. There's nothing like settling down, all warm and cozy with some yummy yarn.

And on that note...I think I'll go knit, since this rain is not.going.away.