Have a restful and relaxing weekend everyone!

Although I like knitting scarves I don't think I will be knitting any of these scarves anytime soon, thanks for the suggestion though Mike !
However, for the special men in my life I am taking orders for a knitted one of these! ; )

Felinius drenchius

Since I got the news about baby project 2003 I have had many up and down moments during the day. I think I am still in a period of shock while at the same time trying to accept it and move on to the next step. Within the next week or so we will be seeing another specialist, one who specializes in in vitro. He is supposed to have an excellent reputation so hopefully he will be nice. I did some research into what is next for us (we both want to know going in) and it seems like our next step will be
to try to get accepted into an in vitro program. There are several tests that need to be done before we are considered/accepted and it kind of feels like I am applying for University all over again when I look at the list of things to do. Many of the tests are minor blood tests and some I have had already like the hysterosalpingogram, there is only one test that kind of gives me the willies. Due to the nature of my problem we are classified in the "direct to in vitro" group instead of being put on hold until other options are exhausted. People are classified depending on the problem and what has been tried. I suppose in a wierd way it is good that we don't have to risk a bunch of failures trying other things, but for a lot of people those other methods work and they never have to resort to in vitro. I don't know I am still trying to sort it all out in my head.
I wish I had something happy and cheerful to blog at you about, but the last couple of days have been a little rough trying to deal with all of this. I didn't plant my veggies like I had hoped to yet, but tomorrow is another day! I have actually enjoyed being able to go to school and get lost in the science of Physics for a while. Today I got to map electric field lines in the lab which was pretty neat and in the evening played a little Everquest (pretty rare for me these days). I am also working on a new little project with my knitting that I will post pictures of soon. It is fun to see my knitting skills increase. Now that I have knit and purl down I have been experimenting with learning the various combinations in some of my projects.

Procyon lotor
"Rocco"

I miss this cross-eyed little guy! He used to visit our yard looking for food and eventually I trained him to eat out of my hand. He played a big part in my decision to get a dog. He would let me lay next to him in the yard while he cleaned himself and would look over at me in a way that you just can't get from cats. It was love at first sight. Unfortunately, Maddie would not allow such a love affair to continue now; he is very good at his yard patrol duties!

Canis familiaris

"and now a public service announcement..."


What is an appendix? The dictionary definition is "a supplementary or accessory part of a bodily organ or structure". In the Biology realm it is referred to as a vestigial structure: a rudimentary structure that has occurred or persists. This structure has, during the course of evolution, become essentially no longer useful (I will not going into the hows and whys here as this isn't an evolution lecture). We all start out with one of these precious little organs that even though it serves no real purpose has become one part of what makes up us. I loved my little vestigial buddy, until one fateful day in high school... doubled over in pain from my lower right abdomen and feeling just a wee bit nauseous I was rushed to the hospital. After several tests it was determined that I had appendicitis. So into surgery I went to have the offending organ removed.

Now it has been many, many years since the surgery (to protect the innocent I will not divulge just how many years) and now my husband and I are trying to conceive. *takes a deep breath here* The test I had recently to see if my tubes are in working condition showed that, in fact, I am completely blocked on both sides. Today, this was confirmed by my own doctor as well. Our only option now to have a family will be by trying to get pregnant through in-vitro fertilization (talk about taking all the fun out of it). Over the weekend I, of course, did a lot of thinking about the entire situation and also wondered how my tubes had become so severely damaged. The doctor told me today that although we can't know for sure what caused the blockages having appendicitis and surgery previously may have been to blame. So, why am I writing this in such a public forum? Because I was never told that I was at risk for infertility while I was treated for my appendix. After the surgery no one came to my room and informed me of the possible effects and at the time, of course, I never thought to ask. There was no turning back I had to have my appendix out because it was making me very sick, but I would have liked a heads up so to speak of potential problems in my future. Is it the cause? Who knows, but hopefully this will help to remind all of us to keep asking our doctors questions and pushing for information. In many cases they are just too busy and the burden of responsiblity lies on our own shoulders to become informed. Ok, enough said! *steps off her little podium* Thank you for reading!



On a much lighter, as in daylight, note: here is a picture of all that hard work D and I did in the dark last night:
veggie walkway

Tomorrow let the vegetable planting commence! Hurrah!

Strelitzia reginae
I came across this Bird of Paradise while walking Madigan and of course just had to snap a picture to share.

I have a new title: I am the crazy bulb lady. I will soon be doing a lot of planting of little tubers and corms. I hope in a month or two I will have some beautiful flower pictures to show for all the hard work.

D and I toiled away in the garden again until the darkness of nightfall. We put in the walkway for the vegetable plot, which was no simple task especially in the dark. I feel like I should be throwing pots from all the clay in the soil. I suppose it could be worse, it could be full of rocks or frozen solid (like in some part of the country). Check out Jodi's blog to see just how cold it is in New York right now! So, although I can complain a little (this is my blog after all) I do realize that I really am lucky in most respects with the climate in my zone (USDA 9 in case there is something wrong with you and you were wondering).
Check out some of our progress tonight in the crappy pictures below:
(I will post a better one taken in the light of day tomorrow)

Vegetable walkway 1

Vegetable walkway 2

The third and final walkway picture. You can't make me show you anymore, I will not do it!


Now it is time for me to rest with my warm cup of Chai tea and the bestseller Physics (get the 5th edition, it's riveting)!

Until tomorrow my virtual readers.
Have a great week!