Confessions of an Internet Junkie

I'm not even going to pretend to segue smoothly from one subject to the next, so let's bring out those numbers.

1. We had our first open house for the consortium last weekend. That would be the Abstract Alpaca Consortium, btw. I think there are nine alpaca breeders/farms who are members (I can't remember exactly); we pool our sheared fleece and share the costs for processing (at Deb's mill), production of end products, and marketing, and we split the profits according to a formula that hurts my brain to think about. We do a number of shows around the year where we can sell said products. The group decided to try selling at an open house at the mill: Tour the mill and meet the alpacas! I wasn't that optimistic about it, but we had a great Saturday. Lots of tours, lots of sales. I was happy to be proven wrong. Sunday was much slower, mostly due to bad weather, but still worth the time and effort. Cold as Antarctica, though, let me tell you. The alpacas were adorable and kindly did not spit at or kick the occasional stupid person.

2. I haven't seen my rheumatologist in well over a year. When I got my health card renewed last June, I was finally able to make an appointment - for today, December 8. Yesterday I got a call from the hospital canceling my appointment, because the mayor was shutting down the city of London, ON today due to the unholy amount of snow they'd received in the past few days. And on into today. Over 100 cm/40 in. so far. Actually, I had called the office earlier in the day yesterday to cancel my appointment anyway, because the driving conditions were supposed to be hellish today. It's a two-hour trip each way on a good day; my appointment was at 8:30AM which means - with the weather - I would have had to leave at the latest 6AM this morning in the snow and the dark. Uh . . . no. So now I wait for them to reschedule everyone who had appointments today and hope that the next time it will be a snow-free drive.

3. I broke my left foot, probably several weeks ago. It had been swollen and hurting me to walk on it for a while, but my left side is all screwed up anyway, so I thought it was arthritis or lupus or something. I finally had Dar look at it, and she determined that it was most probably a broken and chipped metatarsal and the chip has moved to the base of my foot which is why both my toe and the bottom of my foot hurt so much when I walk. I tried staying off it as much as possible for a few days, and that helped. But today and the next few days will bring much walking, so that's how that goes.

4. In hand with #1, we also have an alpaca collective. Did I ever explain all of this to you? I don't think so. It's the Alpaca Breeders Collective of Ontario, and we're a non-profit group who have come together to share expertise, make communal, cost-effective purchases, and spread knowledge about alpacas and alpaca husbandry. (Go ahead, make the jokes.) Everyone in the consortium is part of the collective, but the reverse in not true. This is why during shearing season (late May to late June), we're usually off every weekend at a member farm of the collective helping with the shearing. It's worked out well.

5. All of my favorite TV shows have either been canceled (Caprica! Terriers!) or have ended/are ending for the season. Boardwalk Empire. The Walking Dead. Dexter. America's Next Top Model. (Hush up.) Whatever shall I do? I've just caught the Criminal Minds bug, so I'm catching that on reruns, although there have been a few that I've had to turn off because, really . . . There can be some sick stuff on that show. As to new shows, I'm already signed on to pre-hate Camelot. "A retelling of the famous story," my ass. They're going to destroy it! Merlin was hard enough to take, but this is going to be - Ninjas of the Round Table or some shite like that. Now with extra gore! I plan to be miserable about it for simply ages and ages. Hey, everyone needs a hobby.

6. It's been snowing every day for a week now. Not a big amount at any one time, but it's built up. And the temperatures are way below normal for this time of year, even in Canada. This does not bode well for the coming winter, methinks. On the upside, the $5 winter coat I bought at a consignment store is really nice and warm. I bought it in autumn, and I wasn't sure how it would be during cold weather, but I'm happy to say that it's a keeper.

7. I'm glad that some of the Dems are joining the progressives and finally bringing out the pitchforks and torches and going after Obama for his constant caving in to the Republicans. And that's all I can say without having my blood pressure hit the stratosphere.