The days are long and the years are short

I'm feeling unusually cold today. I suspect it will turn out to be a fever.

long division. Emily is learning long division in math at school. So far, so crazy. She and her friend are not sure where on the paper any of the numbers go.

One of my outdoor peas is coming up. And I finally see something green in one of my peppers. I hope it is a pepper sprout and not mold.

The average adult has a blood volume in the range 4700 to 5000 ml. A donation (Red Cross or other) takes 500ml for the donation part. There are several test tubes of blood taken for tests at the same time (maybe 5?). These are smaller test tubes (maybe 10ml tubes?) with about a ml of agar at the bottom. So at a rough guess, they collect 9 x 5 = 45 ml for testing in addition to the 500ml.

So the blood donation process (for whole blood) takes about 11% of total volume, 11% of red blood cells, 11% of iron, etc. Assuming that the volume is made up within hours from tissue fluid stores and dietary liquids, other components will be diluted to 89% of their original values.

Regeneration times: if known. Red Cells--four to six weeks, maximum 8 weeks (Red Cross site)
Plasma--24 hours (Red Cross site)---Is this volume, volume and electrolytes, volume and blood proteins?

I *should* be eating, reading or sleeping. Instead, I am sitting at the computer, yawning and hungry. Plus, it is hard(ish) to type since two of the fingers on my left hand have been punctured at the tip (checking for Fe²⁺, to see if I can donate blood).

Maybe I'll cook something.

Long time since I posted.

Mrmoosie is sick today. He's napping because last night's sleep wasn't enough for him. Emily was sick before he was, I am hoping that I will avoid it.

I'm going to be working like crazy in Jan. I hope that the weather cooperates.

Aaaahhh, it's a miracle drug. I wish I had taken it two hours earlier.

I somehow sprained my back last night. Perhaps it was something I did in the pool. I had a miserable night, trying to find a comfortable position and STAY in it without moving or even breathing deeply. I passed off all the morning duties to mrmoosie , who is going to be rushing to complete a piece of work by 9:30am. He gave me Ibuprofen (my idea) and a hot pad at 8:15 and I am now functional. I owe him big-time.

Which is amazing, considering that it serves the function of childcare for me.

Emily had 16 pages of homework this week (one was a challenge, so she skipped it, so 15 pages). That's a ton of homework.
She was apprehensive about going to school this morning, since we had no idea how much work she would need to do during the day. I suspect that several of her fellow students will not be there today, since it is the Friday before a three-day weekend.

I got a phone call from her pediatrician's office to invite me to set up her yearly appointment. So I set it up for the day after school ends in the morning. I hope that there aren't any shots, but I really don't know. Of course, the flu vaccine for the 2010-2011 season will not be available, but we can get that without an appointment on "shot days".

mrmoosie is falling asleep on the couch. Emily is playing some sort of video game on the iPhone. There are several trucks on our street, one of which is digging up the asphalt of the street. There have been emergency no-parking signs there for a while, so this must be planned.

For a while there were cones suggesting that we couldn't get out or into this street, but they have been moved.

Emily is actually healthy. She will be performing in an ice skating show this afternoon. She's wearing red and pink.

Well, mrmoosie and I have been shot...up with vaccine. Emily was glad that she didn't have to have one.

I will call on Monday to try and get her the FluMist on Wednesday.

Nose is stuffed up. Throat is sore. Bleh.

Well, today at least starts quiet. I think I will put some of Emily's Bible stories in a bag to entertain the heavenly hosts while the late-comers get their wings. I am on sheep, shepherd, and angel-dressing detail. I might be one of the few who remembers how Joseph's costume works, but I remember getting completely foiled by Mary's costume. Only the actual experts can help her get dressed. The first step, however, is not to give any pieces of her costume to Joseph.

Emily explained to me that she is happy to be a sheep because there is no acting involved. Now I would call getting down on your hands and knees acting, but she means singing, having a line or responding to any lines. The sheep are just herded around.

My face itches on the right side and my gums on that side are bleeding easily. I don't know if that is a side effect of the Lyme or of the medication. I suspect the medication, since it is known to have skin effects.

I had a ton of Spanish homework and I didn't get it done by class tonight. The grammar I was able to fake (well, this is the third or fourth time we've done similar grammar). The essay I took a pass on. The opinion I did off the cuff and it was actually really good.