It's all about peer pressure.

Ok, so I get the hint. I'm getting the pressure about not updating again, and it's not even from someone with a yarn addiction! Ms. TMK herself has applied the thumbscrews with full backing from the Blog Mistress. Then last night I am innocently watching TV because I need a small break from GW and my hubby walks up and pokes me in the shoulder. Twice. Then proceeds to tell me that it's from my GW/knitting/blogging buddy, Christine,(Update #2: It's Christina you twit. ChristinA. If my head weren't attached....) because I need to update. Has she updated recently? No, I don't think so. Granted, her last post was 2 days after my last post so she now has 2 days to update before the poking begins in earnest. Ya hear that? There. Will. Be. Poking! (Update: Christina has felt the force and has narrowly escaped the Poking Finger of Doom by updating as I was writing. I'll get you, my pretty. And your little half nekkid Ranger, too!)

I do have a good reason for ignoring the blog, and no, it's not the game. Ok, it's not only the game. The game is just my way of escaping and hiding from the men in my life. It's been an absolute shit storm of stress at Chez Stalker here lately. My dear darling hubby, love of my life, has Multiple Sclerosis. Now he was diagnosed a few years back so don't go thinking this is a recent development. It's still stressful. And his medication causes mood swings. Not fun, I tell ya. Imagine, if you will, a menopausal woman who has simultaneously quit smoking, quit drinking and has decided that her crack addiction has to go at the same time. Multiply that by about 20. That's what I live with. His doctor has given him 6 weeks off from work to deal with some stress issues to keep from having a relapse because my hubby's new supervisor is a dick. I would be nicer about it, but I don't like the man. He gives me the creepies.

Now, while I am happy that T is being taken care of, I still have to deal with angry hubby, people at work asking me all sorts of questions (we work at the same business), sad hubby, dirty house, green-eyed monster cuz I have to go to work and hubby gets to stay home, blah blah blah. I need a break. Enter weekend at the parents house. I am a Daddy's Girl through and through. I once broke my brother's nose because he said something ugly about my dad. I didn't mean to break it. I did mean to punch him though. So off I go to be a princess and not have to deal with anything. When I get there, Mom is still at work so I get a few hours with Dad. Cool!

Me: Hi Daddy! How ya been?
Dad: Oh feeling better now.
Me: Better?
Dad: Well yeah, I just got out of the hospital. They think I may have had a heart attack. They said they may do that balloon thingy in my arteries or something. That or open heart surgery. Have you had dinner yet?
Me: Guh.....

Now folks, I should be used to this. I'm the youngest of 3 and the only girl. My family keeps everything from me because I just don't need to worry myself over it. Grrrrr. So I pumped my dad for information once we got inside and found out he had an appointment for Monday morning and made him promise to call me and give an update. He's fine by the way. The doctor found very little blockage and gave him some meds. Extra white hairs anyone? Then as Daddy and I are talking, I realize it's too quiet in the house. My parents have a bird and a big, fluffy Husky dog. They have had these 2 since I was in high school.

Me: Daddy, where's Snowball (the dog)?
Dad: Oh he died, honey.
Me: What happened???
Dad: Oh the vet says he had a stroke and he was bad off so we had to put him to sleep so he wouldn't suffer.
Me: When did this all happen?
Dad: Must have been 2 weeks ago now. It was about a week after Elliot (the bird) died.
Me: Do you people know how to use a freakin' phone??

Thankfully (or so I thought) Mom got home soon after so I could pump her for information on my dad's health.

Me: So when exactly did Daddy go into the hospital.
Mom: Well, I guess it was Thursday, cuz it was the day after your Grandpa went into the hospital and he went in Wednesday.
Me: Guh.......

I gave up. Luckily on the way out of my house on Saturday I checked the mail and one of my packages was this:

I hid in my parent's guest room on Sunday and read the entire thing. It was almost like getting to be an angsty teen again.

On The Yarn Front:

Not much. Nothing really. I have a shawl started but I'm just not feeling it. I also have a tank for my mother-in-law started but I'm confused by the graph. Just the first line. It's the Soleil tank from Knitty. That first line is just knit. Here's my question. On the first round, does my cast on count as the first line of the graph and I skip that first knit round?? Or do I cast on and knit a row per the graph? Help! I'm gonna go crochet an ugly doily or something. Guh....