home is where.....

.....one spent one's childhood.

(very) Long story (very) short, my parents bought a new house. I am buying the house I grew up in.

It was something that happened very quickly and as the pieces fell into place for them, things in my own life started to line up. I matched into a family practice residency near to where I grew up and throughout their real estate adventure we joked/considered/seriously talked about the possibility of me buying this house. The timing has been tricky and not everything is tied up yet, but hopefully things will be final sometime in the next 2-3 weeks.

This house is small for a family but perfect for me, and I know that everything is in amazing shape and has been well taken care of. When they moved in (many years ago) the only bathroom had red shag carpet and a tub (the only shower was in the cement floor'd basement) and the kitchen had blue indoor/outdoor carpet with painted sky blue plywood cabinets. Both of those rooms were renovated during my pre-school years (I remember both being under construction) and each room in the house has undergone at least one transformation. (I am on the hunt for bathroom and pre-renovation kitchen pictures; I'll post them when I find them.)

(when tearing up the floors of the second floor we found newspapers from the first half of the 20th century; after looking them over we put them back, along with a few current pages from both the local and national newspapers.)

This past weekend was the weekend for moving all of the furniture into their new house. The two days passed quickly (I have the bruises to show for it) but it means that there isn't a whole lot here right now. I had hoped that the timing would be such that as their things disappeared my things could simply replace what was missing, but the coordination of getting my things down from the garage loft and out of the various other storage-hidey-holes hasn't happened yet. I am keeping it all in perspective and trying to remember that this won't last forever, but relying on borrowed floor and table lamps for lights and sleeping on the futon is going to get old fast.

.....the yarn is.

My stash is still spread out across the northeast and I'm sorry to say that my knitting time has been sparse. I'm less than 10 weeks until graduation and still need to get going on the green lace shawl. (I hesitate to share such info because my friend Kim has been keeping tabs on where I'm at in the process and I keep telling her that I have plenty of time. I'm not (yet) sure when I'll feel like I'm running out of time but I do need to get started on it....)

.....the cats are.

it's been over 10 years since I've had my own cat and on Monday I had time to go to the local animal shelter and remedy that.




These two cats will come to live with me on/about April 9th, after they are spayed. They're ~8-12 months old and were brought in together by their former owner. I was looking for a pair of cats and though I thought I'd fall in love with the older, more "out there" cats, these two seemed to be just what I was looking for. Both are quiet and calm but did sit with me and purr and headbutt. Right now they are named Peyton (on the left) and Georgina (on the right) but they didn't seem to answer to or acknowledge that those are their names. Peyton might stick (?), but the little dilute tortiseshell needs something "softer" to match her muted coloring. Any ideas? (extra points for being creative and original....)

when all else fails....

spin. or knit.

(or attempt both at the same time and fail miserably forcing me to choose one over the other.)

This has been a very long week - it started with the silly time change* and a great weekend by the ocean, and today ended with a new baby entering the world. The time in between those events - it's all a blur.

[* the time change means that I now have to get up in the dark, as opposed to starting my day with natural light. This makes me grumpier than grumpy. ]

This week I started a family practice rotation and am seeing both outpatients and inpatients; I've spent time in this office before and it's wonderful to see some of the same patients again. (Patient continuity is one of the key reasons I like primary care.) This afternoon's delivery was the first one I've done in a long time, and the doctor standing nearby let me do it all - as in, my hands were the ones that brought the little one into the world.

Words can't describe what it's like to guide a little, moldable head through the birth canal, and helping tissues stretch and controlling the last few pushes before the head is born is a balance - the mom is pushing with all her might to get! the! baby! out! and I apply pressure to the area so that the pushes are controlled and supported. At the time it looks almost cruel to hold back the advancement of the head but (I think) it's worth it to eliminate the need for tearing or cutting.

I forgot how much I love obstetrics.

Yesterday was the Ides of March - a significant day for me, as it marked five years since my life was (literally) turned upside down. I was run off the road on the Mass Turnpike and am still figuring out what lessons the accident taught me. My physical body feels the best it has in the past five years and with any luck I'll be able to get back into a yoga routine so I can re-learn what it's like to push myself to my limits and then return to center. The accident is one of the most significant events of my life, but it's also not the only event that has led me down a different path. I think about it often, but have learned that dwelling doesn't help.

Needless to say, I am passionate about seatbelts being worn, buckled and fitting properly.

I'm also in the process of buying a house - not just any house, but one that means a great deal to me. The bank paperwork is almost done and once everything is lined up, it will move quickly. This is the right thing for me right now and once things are (further) underway, I can open my heart to whichever cats walk in.

While at Cate's last week I spent some quality time with her Lendrum wheel. After a rocky start, I found a groove and had a hard time pulling myself away from it. This led to an online search, which led to finding a used (majorly discounted) Lendrum at Woodland Wool Works, which led to a large box being delivered this week. Last night I set it up and experimented - it doesn't feel quite the same as it did at Cate's, but it feels wonderful to be spinning again. (Robin being in Boston and Lyle the Louet being in Rhode Island added to the reasoning for getting this wheel.)

If you (or anyone you know) are interesting in spinning and want to borrow a wheel (to see if you'd like it) let me know and I'll figure out how to get Lyle Louet to you.

(yes, I'm serious.)

My mind is all over the place right now - it's full of things I should have done, things I need to do and things that I'd previously forgotten about. The snow is starting to fall and I have the place to myself tonight....after a crazy day of seeing patients, driving to the hospital and back to the office (a few times), being at the delivery and trying to get everything else to line up, I think a little quality knitting and spinning time is just what the doctor ordered.

are we there yet?

to recap (almost everything):

- weeks until graduation: 12
- (weeks until the Cummington Blegger: 11)
- step I of boards (Oct '05): passed
- step II clinical exam (Nov '06 in PA): passed
- step II of boards (Jan '07): passed
- the residency match: done, contract signed and submitted
- rotations done to date: pediatrics, general surgery, psych, family practice, radiology, adult heme/oncology, ob/gyn, internal medicine (both a six week "core" and a four week sub-internship), emergency medicine, breast cancer surgery, geriatrics, genetics, rural family practice
- rotations left to do: family practice pseudo'sub-I and a required osteopathic manipulation rotation (both scheduled and okay'd by all parties involved!)


The trouble with six days off is that my already missing in action motivation has no chance of reappearing before it absolutely has to. The beauty of these past six days is that I was able to forget about nearly everything and enjoy playing with Henry and Eleanor. (and Cate and Rhys and the dog and cat and imaginary fish and Cate's wheel) The only thing I'd do differently is figure out a way to stay with them longer...

As I get closer to being done with med school (and as I gear up for starting residency) I want time to start flying - much like the elementary school kids who can't fathom how far away summer is, I can't believe that the end of May will be here anytime soon.

Not helping the overall "want to be done now" situation is that I think my housing for the next few years is figured out. I'm going to hold back posting the details for fear that it'll jinx something, but the overall jist is that, with any luck, I'll be living somewhere that I can call my own. (without scary housekeepers who hate yarn, crazy roommates, last minute parking bans or helicoptors landing all night long (I was going to link to posts from the past two years that feature each of those elements but am running out of time)) After 8+ months of feeling like a turtle or snail who brings her house with her wherever she goes, I am looking forward to having a place to call home.

12 weeks to go.

(are we there yet?)

(I'm off to a weekend for women medical students and residents - it should be a good time with discussions, hands on learning and good food.)