Torture, Ed Sullivan Disease, and a Giveaway

My right hand doesn't work correctly, and the pain and fine motor control has been getting a lot worse over the last couple of months. Enough so that I finally broke down and made a doctor's appointment. This has snowballed into many appointments and tests, and the past two weeks have seemed like near constant medical events. We've determined that I have some arthritis, miserable but common so no big deal.

They're still trying to figure out the rest of the puzzle, and at one point a doctor mentioned Ed Sullivan disease. It's real name is Ankylosing Spondylitis (try saying that three times fast!), and it causes your spine to curve and your neck to stiffen to that you have to turn your torso in order to look right or left. I don't think I have that, and besides, I don't want to spend my remaining days saying things like "rillly big shew."

Yesterday's tests were, officially, valid medical tests: a nerve conduction test and a needle EMG. The doctor seemed like a pleasant, soft-spoken sort when he introduced himself. As he started sticking needles in my hand and zapping me with electricity, I swear he morphed into Jack Bauer. I keep having flashbacks to the scene where Bauer rips a lamp from its electrical cord so he can use the exposed wires to shock some poor guy into confessing some horrible crime or other. (If you don't get this and haven't seen 24, it's time you visited Netflix.)

I left the doctor's office totally and completely traumatized, and with the knowledge that I'd give in to torture before it even started. After sleeping for 14 hours I'm still feeling the effects and am about ready for a nap. But let's move on to the happy part of this!

I love how you've all jumped in and left opinions on my Little People post! I feel like spending more time reliving my childhood right now, and it seems as though many of you are ready to join me. I have (left over from my years working in publishing) an extra autographed copy of Marianne Gingher's How To Have a Happy Childhood. It's a sweet little gift book I worked on some years ago, just the thing to bring back memories of a simpler and less-tortuous time.

To enter my Happy Childhood giveaway, leave a comment on this post telling me about your favorite childhood toy by September 18. Earn an extra entry by blogging about this giveaway, linking back to this post, and leaving a second comment directing me to your post. Make sure you leave some way for me to reach you if you're the winner. Open to bloggers and non-bloggers world-wide. On September 19 I'll use the randomizer thingie and choose a winner. I'm off to take that nap now. Good luck!

I Love Little People

When I was about 8 years old, my younger sister got a bunch of Fisher Price Little People. I wanted a set of my own, but by then I was way too old for preschool level toys. I satisfied myself by playing with my sister's people when she wasn't around and complaining that she always got all the "good" toys.

As I grew older I continued to complain, not because I was jealous, but because it was fun to tease my parents. At some point during my late twenties my mom gave me a pack of Little People. These were not the original style, but the new updated models, and they just weren't the same. Not to mention the fact that my fingers were no longer small enough to fit inside and wear them as tiny puppets.

I am so excited about finding the Play Family House shop! There are photos of Little People scenes on greeting cards, photo prints, and framed "portraits"--and they all make me smile! I think I'll send one to my mom just because I can; after all, she was too old to have her own set to play with, too.

I'm Giving Away a Ton of Jewelry

Well, maybe not quite a ton. Some fraction of a ton, definitely. The thing is, I'm a lousy photographer. I've got dozens of dichroic pendants that I refuse to list for sale because the photos are so bad. When I take photos, I take 8 or 10 shots of each piece and hope that at least one of them turns out well. Dichroic glass shifts color depending on your angle, and can look drastically different in different light, so it's a challenge to get photos that are truly representative of the actual piece. After I download the photos I often find that none of them are good enough to use, so I put the piece into the pile for my next photo session. After 6 or 8 sessions I usually give up, and the piece goes into my "special" drawer.

Now my "special" drawer is full so I've got to do something with all those pendants. I could sign up to sell at a couple of holiday craft shows and bazaars, but I'd really rather give them away. So here's the deal: place an order of $25 or more from either my Etsy shop or my eBay store, and I'll select a beautiful dichroic or irridized glass pendant for you and include it with your order. Just send me a message as your checking out that includes "$25 Blog Gift" in it, and you'll have a nice start on your holiday shopping. Or a lovely gift for yourself (I always love those!). This offer is good through the month of September or until my special drawer is empty, which ever comes first.

Lucky Number 13

I spent too much time waiting for a doctor's appointment this week. After leafing through the magazines from 2002, reading the medical posters on the wall, and checking out the chart of bone names, I was left with nothing to do but review the emergency exit map. This was a rather large practice with 19 patient exam rooms. Nope, make that 18 patient exam rooms--they skipped over room 13, sort of like a hotel with no thirteenth floor.

I never knew why the number 13 was supposed to bring bad luck. I've discovered that the Egyptians were the first to have a superstition about 13, but it was related to good luck. Ancient Egyptians believed there were 12 steps on the ladder to eternal life and knowledge and to take the thirteenth step meant walking into everlasting life.

According to their website, Colgate University was founded by "13 men with 13 dollars, 13 prayers, and 13 articles". (I'm not sure what sort of articles this refers to.) To this day, members of the Colgate community consider the number 13 a good omen.

So how do you feel about the number 13? Do you embrace it for its luck? Or go out of your way to avoid it?