Snow Watch.... 2009 Edition

Hey Y'all,

Sorry to take a "mini" vacation from the blog, but this week has literally been HELL. I am so sorry. There is just no other way for me to say it!

It all started on Monday with Mr. Zorro. Zorro is getting older and he has these episodes where he goes blind. Normally they last about 20 minutes and once you give him some protein, he seems to get better and his sight comes back.

Well Monday, we woke up and Zorro had a spell. A BAD ONE. It was so bad, that some how he found his way out of the doggie door while I was in the shower and couldn't get back in. He was banging his head against the house when I found him. So you know me, I can go from calm to hysterical in 1.1 seconds.

In my school district we have an online website where we have to go to find subs. Since it was already 7 o'clock and it was a MONDAY I knew that I would have to go in to school, pray that I could find a sub and take a 1/2 personal day. Luckily the stars were aligned and I found a sub AND I got a vet appointment.

I love my vet, but he is very doom and gloom. One look at Zorro's blood work and they were ready for me to schedule the "special" appointment. I left in tears and hysterical. Zorro's kidney's, pancreas and liver are all shutting down. We have put him on a special diet and are rearranging some of his meds. I am very broken hearted. I don't want Zorro to suffer in anyway, but I am not ready to accept that his time with me is very limited. So, everyday we have left is a gift.

So, yup, it's pretty much been a yucky week.

In much lighter news... if you have been keeping up with the weather you have probably heard rumblings about some kind of winter storm here in the south. They say that points west of Myrtle Beach might get up to 10 inches of snow. They also say that the beach may see some flurries, but nothing like what my friends up in Cola town may see. So we are on Snow Watch 2009. We shall see. I will say, that when it snows at the beach in March.... IT REALLY SNOWS!!

Anyway, I am so glad that tomorrow is March. I am ready to say goodbye to this month. Tomorrow marks 7 years since I have had Zorro. Wow, I can't believe that it has been that long... time has flown by!

:) JKP

Now This is A Stimulus Package That I Can Get Behind....

Hey Y'all!

I have some news! Y'all all know about my professed love for Chick Fil A. It is a love that runs long and deep through my heart. I love everything about Chick Fil A.... and I must, must, must always keep a gallon of their sweet tea in my fridge at all times.

Well, the folks at Chick Fil A know that times are tough for a lot of folks. In fact, I myself have cut out my sweet tea's before and after school. I have even cut out my favorite Southwest Chargrilled salad. Because, well, it is just not great economical sense to eat at Chick Fil A as much as I was. Chick Fil A to the rescue! Last night I went through the drive through at the Chick Fil A near my house. They informed me that NEXT WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 25th is a special day. Visit any Chick Fil A and buy whatever you want. Save your receipt. THEN IN MARCH... bring your receipt with you when you visit the same Chick Fil A. You get your FOOD FOR FREE ALL MONTH LONG! The only catch is, you have to have your receipt from Feb. 25th and you have to go to the SAME Chick Fil A. Oh My Heavens to Betsy! You better believe that I am going to hit all of the Chick Fil A's around me for breakfast and dinner and a gallon of sweet tea. Your local Chick Fil A should have fliers they are handing out. They are not advertising this.

This is a stimulus package I can get behind. Totally.

Eat more chicken!!!

:) JKP

Today's Blog Post is Brought to You by Zorro (With an Appearance by Zoe Bowie)

Hey Y'all,

Zorro has a little something to say.....

I think he is saying "Feed me now. I am King. You must obey me!" Or something like that!

:) JKP

You Dropped a Bone on Me, Baby.. You Dropped a Bone on Me...

Hey Y'all,

Last night as I sat knitting on my sofa, a STRANGE occurance happened. Zorro jumped off of the sofa, grabbed his bone and jumped right back on the sofa. He then proceeded to drop said bone on top of Zoe's head. Here's the action shot....

Zoe looked at me like, "What the hell is he DOING?" I have no idea. I think it is his way of flirting. Who knows. I guess he just felt in the mood to share. I really wonder what goes on in that little head of his!

Also, check out my sock progress.. I am to the heel! Tomorrow night I find out how to finish the heel and how to turn it.

Alrighty, I am off to dinner with Mrs. Kerri and Mr. Frankums.. aka the CUTEST baby in the world!

:) JKP

Sock It To 'Em!

Hey Y'all,

The irony is not lost on me, that this is sometimes supposed to be a knitting blog. I mean IT IS CALLED "Just Julia Knits!" Hee... well, I have been knitting, just not taking pictures.

As most of y'all know, I have jumped into the foray of sock knitting. I was very nervous about this, because, well... it seemed HARD. And, the older I get, the less I like learning new things that strain my brain. Enter February.. and the month where I have to stay VERY, VERY busy. So I thought I would take a class and see how hard it would be to knit socks. Ladies and gentlemen.. I present you with my sock progress...

Yes, I think that I most definitely LOVE the sock knitting. I am knitting the socks using two circular needles and NOT the double pointed needles of death. Good thing, because I would poke my eye out using FIVE different needles to knit 1 sock. Here's another shot....(please excuse my crusty leg.. it is WINTER!)

I am finishing knitting to the heel today. This Tuesday during sock class I will learn how to knit and turn the heel. Thank goodness You Tube has knitting videos, so when I get into a pickle, I do have a visual aide! I went and visited one of my favorite knitting stores in Pawley's Island yesterday, Island Knits, and purchased another skein of sock yarn. This is Happy Feet by Plymouth Yarn in color 21. I can't wait to knit these up! You can guess what everyone in my family is getting for Christmas this year!






On a much lighter note, Zorro says "Save me before she knits socks for my paws!"

I am off to knit... there is a Godfather marathon on today!!!

:) JKP

This Makes My Heart Happy

Hey Y'all!


I am sure that y'all have seen this photo by now.....

It touches my heart so much! There is nothing in this world that bothers me more than children or animals in pain. When I saw this on CNN last night I wanted to cry. This is a Koala bear in Australia who happened to be caught in the horrible fires they are having. This fireman came across him and gave him some water. Then he made sure that the Koala bear made it to an anmial shelter for its second degree burns on its paws. You can see the actual video footage on YouTube . Also, this Koala has been nicknamed Sam and he has made a friend. Read about this happy news here.

I just thought I would share this bit of happy news, in spite of what is occurring all over the world right now.

:) JKP

Well I'll Be Darned... We Had Some Snow!

Hey Y'all,

Well it looks like my wishing did a little something! We had a few flurries around the beach today! It started in earnest around 7:30 am and kept on going until about 10:00 am. Then the mean, bad old sun came out and melted everything! But we had about an inch of snow and it was really coming down! Most of it has melted, but it sure was fun while it lasted. I took my kiddies out in it twice today. The true Horry county kids were in awe. My kiddies who just moved here from New Jersey thought we were nuts! It wasn't quite the snow day I asked for, but it was fun while it lasted. We didn't get to go home early, but that's ok, it was a busy day. I had my mid year conference with my principal, I tutored and I had a meeting about a student after school. I must say though, I am worn out. Third graders, plus snow=1 worn out teacher!

I'm off to knit!
:) JKP

I've Been Entertaining Myself....

Hey Y'all,

Well you know. I'm trying to keep busy. My class is studying the American Revolution right now and The Boston Tea Party. When I was in high school (yes, note the PERM) I went and visited Boston for a few days. While I was there.... I threw my own Boston Tea Party. I made this little picture montage for my kids to see how it was done back in the day. Heee. Enjoy. No jokes about the spiral perm!!

Snow Day!

Hey Y'all,

Well, from the above picture you can use your inferencing skills to see that

a) as a child I was in serious need of some serious orthodontia

b) my mother was colorblind and liked to dress me in some hideous clothes!

This is a picture of me circa 1982. As if I had to tell you with that heinous coat. I mean, who puts orange, yellow and GREEN together on a coat? And... notice the lovely waist belt that accompanied the coat. So 1979......I swear it was left on the clearance rack back in the 70's and my mom had to buy it in 1982.

Anywhoo... during the day today I got to thinking about how great snow days are. Not like the bad, icy kind they are having in Kentucky right now, but the wondrous snow day that was not predicted, but a complete surprise. I'm from the south, so we don't see many snow days. If we do, the whole state shuts down. I can count on my hand the number of times we have truly had excellent snow days in the south. The ones where you go to bed and wake up the next morning to large amounts of snow. This picture must have been taken when I was in second grade. The next big snow we had was in Myrtle Beach when I was in fourth grade. Then, in my high school years we moved to Columbia. We had several snow days then too. Since 1989 though, I don't think we have had a huge snow in the south. Sure, we have had a few inches, but nothing like the 24 inches we had that year.

For the next few nights, they are predicting flurries around here. No accumulation, just A FLURRY. But still... the hope is there for me..... Just maybe, maybe we could have a SNOW DAY!!!!!

:) JKP

Will You Sign My Petition to Remove February From the Calendar?

Hey Y'all...

Well, it's February. For those of y'all who know me, and know me well.. you know how much I absolutely hate this month. I woke up this morning and I felt like I had a cement block on my chest. And no, it wasn't Zorro.

This is the month where I won't post a lot. This is the month where I try to get through one day at a time. This is the month where two days absolutely do me in. I just have to focus on taking one breath at a time.

You would think after five years things are starting to get easier. I seem to do ok during most of the year, except for Christmas and other random days. But February gets me every year.

So, if I made up a petition to remove February from the calendar, I hope folks would understand. Going from January to March would be a lot nicer. Right from winter to spring.

Well, have almost made it through one day. Only 27 more to go.

My plan of attack for February has always been to keep busy. Really busy. So that's my plan again this year. I have signed up to take a class on Tuesday nights. It's a sock knitting class and it is exaclty the complicated thing I need to learn how to do right now. I am thinking about taking a yoga class on Thursday nights. I tutor on Wednesdays.

But the kicker this year, is that it has been five years. It's the first time in five years, that the calendar has been the same as it was in 2004. Without the leap year. So in trying to get through this month, it will be even harder, because all the dates match up.

Also, the hard part is that it has been five years. An anniversary of sorts. Unlike the first Christmas, or first year... five years is so final. Somedays it is hard for me to fathom all that has happened in five years that Joy has not been a part of. Weddings, babies, jobs, moves. Somedays I just have a hard time realizing that life goes on and changes.

Most folks say that grief eventually goes away. I don't think so. I think when you lose someone dear to you, you always carry a scar on your heart.

So forgive me. Yes, I know that it has been five years. But I will always hate the month of February. I am so ready for March.

JKP