National Pecan Pie Day!

Mood:

One of my fave pies!I think it's a difficult one to get just right. Some are too sweet, some barely have any pecans, and some have way too many (making it extremely dry). But, when it's a perfect balance, it's amazing! Apparently French immigrants living in New Orleans baked the first American pecan pies. 

I marched with the local Pride group in a 4th of July parade. There was also the trans support group represented within it. Kind of like there was a mini Pride parade within the regular one.I got to hold a huge Pride flag, along with about 6 or 8 other people. It was quite impressive. Before deciding to help hold it, I checked to see if they had any ace flags. I was a bit disappointed when there wasn't any.There were quite a variety of different flags for people to hold individually. I think one of the Pride organizers said that he saw it in the office they store them in, but forgot to bring it. Oh, well.

It was cool, weather-wise, at the beginning. It warmed up as soon as we started, and there wasn't much shade. At least, it wasn't as warm as last year. Like last year, we went to Starbuck's afterwards. I needed something cool to drink (that being an iced chai), and some sort of snack (a sugar cookie). It was at the newer, louder, busier one. Surprisingly, not very many people there. This one also has a drive-through. Kind of weird.

I still haven't emailed my gastroenterologist, yet. She told me to do so 2 to 3 weeks after our phone appointment. It was the 4 week-mark yesterday. I don't know why I'm reluctant about it.Especially, after she clearly seemed to want to help me during that appointment. Unlike how I felt when my blood test results seemed to indicate remission, but I still had symptoms. She seemed to ignore them that time. But, she's different now. I still haven't done that nasty test she wanted me to do. I'll email her today or tomorrow, even though I haven't done that test yet. 

Woke up in the middle of the night (early Monday morning) with the worst sharp stabbing pain in my right mid-abdomen area. I actually screamed a few times.It came in waves. Scared me, too. Hurt to even breathe. I called the 24/7 nurse hotline about it after brunch that day. It really feels like they ignored the actual problem. They think I'm constipated. Yet, I'm a lot better than I was about a month ago. I didn't have this sort of pain back when I was the most constipated. I'm not 'regular' yet, but I'm certainly better. That doesn't explain why the pain in my side has suddenly gotten much worse...I still think it has to do with an organ or a section of my small intestines. 
I'll go with their suggestions for now. Which is to go back to having Citrucel twice a day, and take Milk of Magnesia. I absolutely hate Milk of Magnesia.Also, my gastro recommended it as a last resort. Actually found a bottle yesterday that has its own dosing cup, and is cherry flavored. Tasted like pepto-bismal. (Better than the last time I had it.) Had a full dose last night. The nurse said if the pain doesn't improve in that area after using it, I need to see someone. In the email I'll send out to my gastro, I'll mention this stuff, too. See what she has to say. Right now the pain in that area's a bit duller. But, I do have 'attacks' where it turns spiky throughout the day. (Not sure if attack is the right word...)

I'm also having some lower abdominal pain, still dizzy quite often, feeling sick to my stomach, etc. I'm getting really really tired of this!We'll see what my gastro has to say, though.

Despite the pain and symptoms making me feel less motivated to do my walks, I think I'm still losing weight. In fact, if I do any type of exercise like the marching or doing the garbage, it seems to be coming off of me even faster. I'm not sure if that's really a good thing. I still like to think as long as I'm not underweight, it's good for now...It doesn't seem normal, though. I'm still trying to stay within the calorie range I've set up for myself. Even with that, I'm slightly more lax than usual lately. Maybe I need more calories? I don't know. 

Decided to enroll both my novels into the July promo on Smashwords. It's only through them, and goes until July 31st. With the coupon, Sweet Endless Terror: An Anthology of Nightmares will be 50% off. Making it $0.99. Alliance will be free with that coupon. I've sold 4 copies of Alliance so far. 2 were sold today. One early in the morning, and one in the afternoon. (Kind of adds on the excitement for me to have 2 in one day!) For a while, it seemed to be one copy sold every other day. It's good that they were free copies of Alliance. They can read it, possibly review it, and tell their friends. It will probably take them a while to read...It is categorized as an 'epic'. I think Smashwords was the one to put it under that. Must be if they reach a certain amount of words. By the time they tell their friends, it might be after the promo. Who knows? And, even if they're still able to take advantage of the promo, they can tell their friends, as well. The other one is an anthology of 12 short stories based on my recurring nightmares. I'm not sure if that's a turn-off, though.They might be more interested in the fantasy one, rather than the horror one. (Although, Alliance does get pretty dark, and there are slight horror moments as you go through.) Here's Sweet Endless Terror's direct Smashwords' link: SET And, here's the other: Alliance. 

I'm also thinking about writing a sequel to Alliance. Hopefully, won't be as long. I ended it with a huge cliffhanger, and creating their world was fun.There's a lot more I can do with this one. I think I'll reread the whole thing beforehand. I never make outlines of what I write beforehand, which makes the story open to the many different directions it can go. However, it makes it a bit difficult to remember the main story line after not reading it for so long. I'll probably take notes/make an outline of Alliance as I read. Kind of backwards to the way some people do things, but oh well.I do brainstorm before I write things, though. With Sweet Endless Terror, I wrote one-liners about the recurring nightmares that I might use. That triggered memories of them, and I didn't have to write much for that to happen. With Alliance, sometimes I would brainstorm made up names of places, people, etc. Sometimes, would write out ideas for just that chapter. Or, of building designs. Also, on character backgrounds. I guess it depends on what I was writing about at that moment. While I'm writing I usually make a mental map of the story. I can remember tiny details, and bring them back in at some point. So, things aren't all over the place. There's certainly a framework and logic to it. But, when I'm done, I kind of forget about it all. I have a lot of other ideas for novels, too.

I'm also thinking about using Youtube's vlog or video blog. I normally hate seeing myself in media, but maybe I could get myself to be more used to it and/or comfortable. I've always felt weird around being photographed, on video, hearing myself in a recording, etc. Many of that stuff got worse when I was at my heaviest. It's gotten a lot better now, though. So, maybe it'll help a bit more. I'm not expecting a lot of subscribers, although that part should be interesting. I already have 6 right now. The only vids I've posted in that folder were a couple of them testing my iPhone camera with Rosie, and one of a fountain with no noise. (Should be another way to test my iPhone's camera as well.) Maybe those 6 like what I fave, and the playlists I make. I think of any of that sort of stuff as a social experiment. The only thing I don't want are the infamous trolls.I can block those people, though. Also, moderate the comments before they're posted. But, I would still have to see at least some of it to determine if they're trolls. Some people don't allow anyone to comment on their vids. I'll probably start with an intro series. Eventually, it'll just be things going on at that time, or topics that pop up in my head. It might be weekly or biweekly. But, hopefully not a longer time in between. I don't think I want them too long, either. If the vlog is supposed to be like a blog, why not use it like that? Hopefully, they'll be somewhat short. Also, might be another way to get the word out for my novels.

Went through my desk for the first time in a long time. Found 2 really old cameras. One was my first camera. Not that great, but ok for the time I got it. It was one where you had to turn a dial to take another pic. Also, used a roll of film. There were 17 pics on it, but I don't really care what they were of. So, I tossed it. I don't know how many places would actually develop the roll, anyways. The other one was a step up, and I think only took black and white pics. It wasn't that great, and I think I had it because I was taking a photography/video class in junior high. I think they wanted us to explore different techniques, and I decided on doing a series of black and white pics. I loved that class.It had a dark room, so we could develop our own film. Anyways, it's not that great, and uses rolls. So, I tossed that one, too. 

Found 2 large photo albums filled with stickers. I was really into them as a kid. Plus, everywhere I went, they gave me a sticker. They gave them out at banks, after seeing the dentist, sometimes at grocery stores, etc. Kind of fun. A lot of them were '90s designs. The more recent ones were from a friend in college (I think?) that gave me a ton of Chococat stickers. I think they're made to be put on envelopes when you send letters out to friends. Chococat is a Sanrio character. I think he's the counterpart to Hello Kitty. He is kind of cute. I don't write letters, though.In fact, I had a heard time with writing them when they were more popular. My grandparents used to urge me to write to them, but most of the time I forgot. To me, it's a lot easier with email, messaging (through Yahoo, facebook, forums, etc.), and texting. It's instant, too. So, I never opened the Chococat ones. I also found several different kinds of stationary. I'm keeping most of that stationary and the sticker albums for the time being. Some of the stationary are different kinds of Thank You notes. That might still come in handy.

Also, found some sewing stuff. 2 big plastic containers, that I think were originally used for jewelry. They have divided sections in each one. They're filled with different types of threads. I think one of them has some needles, too. Nice, but might be more than I would need in the future.

Also, found the 2 fringed shawls I had been planning to turn into tallitot (plural for tallit or prayer shawl). One has really fancy feeling material, and the other seems slightly tacky to me. The first one feels kind of like silk, is cream colored, and has an interesting clear beaded pattern. The other one is a bright pinkish fuchsia color, and looks a bit more rough. My mom and I made a tallit for my Bat Mitzvah. I chose the materials, did the cross-stitch of the atorah (an area near the neck), and the tzitzit (basically knotted tassels on each end. There are a certain amount of knots it has to have). Mom used her sewing machine to sew the atorah on, the stripes on, and the corners on. (I think she also made button holes for the tzitzit in the corners.) It already had a fringe. Mom continued to make many more tallitot after that. I thought I would try to fully do my own at some point, too. So, I found these 2 shawls. Maybe I'll get to them in the future.I think I still have the instructions on how to make your own. Also, have a really old sewing machine in my closet. Never used it, but that would be interesting. Found some cross-stitch projects as well. Hopefully, I'll get to them eventually.

Also, had to toss most of the pens and pencils I had collected. They were either broken, or the ink had dried up. Oh, well. Now that I've gone through my desk, it's a lot more roomy.I now have a designated writing/novel drawer. Everything related to either novel will be there. That includes notes, promo ideas, some of the drawings, and printouts of both stories. I only have up to the 8th story printed out for Sweet Endless Terror. There are 4 more. I have all of Alliance printed out. Nice to have some physical part of them. But, those last 4 of SET are still just floating in my computer and at online retailers.I'll get to those at some point. Found another unopened black ink cartridge, so that would help.

Decided to try the Pokemon Go app for iPhone last night. It seems like it'd be a fun app. Gets people out there, and they can explore the area around where they live. Or, explore other places. Kind of fun to be able to interact with something that isn't really there, but still interacts with the environment. I have 7 pokemon so far. I still remember the Pokemon craze in the '90s. I wasn't very into it, but some of my friends were. Kind of the same thing as with pog back then. I've noticed a lot of people around my age are into it, along with some teens. Some people who are much older than me are into it, too. I think with my generation, it's kind of like a touch of nostalgia. Some people say it's helped them get more exercise than several actual fitness trackers have. I can definitely see why. I think turning learning or fitness into games, is smart and helps people. It makes it fun.It's a lot more encouraging. I noticed that there weren't any pokemon in our neighborhood. (Unless you have incense.) There's a PokeStop at a Mormon church just outside of the neighborhood. Not sure what's beyond that. I haven't actually visited that area while playing the game. I pass the church during my regular walks, though. I noticed while we were at Shari's last week, two of the people we were with were playing it for the first time. There was a pokemon on the table, and a couple others in other places near us in the restaurant. It's probably good for when you're waiting for a table or in line for something, too. 

Finished watching Spec, and I'm unsure if I'll watch the next season. The last two episodes were really good. The only time I felt it was well acted. I kind of predicted that the one who was the real villain wasn't who he said he was. He could erase memories and write new ones, if he touched your head. He continuously did this to Toma. Making her think that they were in a relationship, and that her brother died in a fire along with the rest of her family. In reality he was a creepy stalker, and had manipulated her brother. Her brother was poorly misguided and was made to look like a villain. I think he went crazy towards the end. Killing people left and right. I kind of hope they didn't really kill him off at the end. Both him and Toma realized the truth by then. I kind of feel like the organization that's full of spec users were actually behind Toma and the others killing the main villain. They wanted him to be eliminated, but it had to be in a way that he didn't see it coming. He was annoying, so in that way, it was a good ending. I'm not sure how there could be another season, but I might try it.

Finished watching Koutetsujou no Kabaneri. It was pretty good. Left it open for another season. The opening and ending music were lame, to me. Opening sounded a lot like the Star Wars theme. Both were overly dramatic, too. 

Finished Bungou Stray Dogs. I loved this one!This is going to have a 2nd season coming up in the fall. It was witty, most characters were based on real life authors, some were based on an author's famous work, there was and still is a lot of mystery, interesting powers, one character doesn't have powers but seems to be very powerful anyways, every character is packed full of personality, and more. It was fun to watch, even when it was supposed to be serious. Apparently, most of the scenes were based off of real places in Yokohama, too. Someone did a comparison, and they were pretty spot on.

Finished reading Prayers for the Dead by Faye Kellerman. I think it was one of the longest ones I've read of the series so far. It had a bittersweet ending. Not much having to do with Judaism in this one. Most of the books in this series have a Jewish theme. Some have it more subtle than others. This was the 5th book I've read of the series. The next one that I'll read is called The Forgotten. From the synopsis, it seems to be somewhat Holocaust related. I'm skipping 3 books this time. It's the next one that I had. In total, I've had to skip 9 books. Maybe sometime in the future I'll find and read those others. 

Started watching Fukigen na Mononokean, or The Morose Mononokean. It's pretty good so far. Reminds me a lot of xxxHolic. Only, the person who exorcises things is a guy. The 'demons' are cute so far. Kind of feel bad for them. 

Started watching 91 Days yesterday. I'm unsure about this one. I'm giving it one more episode. It takes place during the Prohibition Era in America. The main character has been plotting his revenge on a mafia family for over 7 years. He plans to carry out this revenge within the next 91 days. (Don't know why that number exactly yet.) That mafia killed his entire family over a misunderstanding. His friend is a bootlegger. Apparently makes good enough alcohol that the mafia wants him. It's very dark, violent, depressing, not much humor, etc. so far. I like 'mature' shows, but this doesn't really have a good mix of things. The art is beautiful, and at times very realistic. It's interesting that it's based in America, too. I know that's a very dark time period, anyways.

International Museum Day!

Mood:

This holiday was actually yesterday. It's important to celebrate and raise awareness for what museums go through around the world, though.There are so many different kinds. Basically showing off humanity's arts, history, exploration, scientific discoveries, culture, etc. The holiday was started in 1977. Apparently, each year has a different theme. This year's theme was Museums and Cultural Landscapes. In 2012, 30,000 museums from 129 countries participated in hosting events for the day. World Baking Day was a couple of days ago. Hope to get more into that in the future. Baking's like a new frontier for me.

I did want to post more often on here. There's still more to the month, so hopefully I will get it to more by then.I've really felt horrendous the last couple of days. It was so bad last night, that I had to leave the room halfway through a support group meeting. I apparently was gone for about 20 minutes.Really painful abdominal pain, a burning inside my stomach, and extreme nausea were and are still my main symptoms. I'm trying to relax a little more today. Although, that's easier said than done.Might make an appointment to see a dietitian at the place my primary doctor referred me to, soon. That might help me. I feel frustrated and unsure if either of my current doctors can or will do anything about what I'm going through right now.It feels like since my blood tests came back, essentially saying I'm in remission, that they won't believe me or something. I naturally have that feeling with any health related thing. Like it's all in my head, and no one will believe me. Yet, that's never been true. So, this makes that feeling worse. I've read stories where people still have inflammation, even though their blood tests indicated that they were in remission. It got so bad for them that they had to go to the hospital. I don't want that to happen to me.So, I guess I'm in a weird 'head space' with it right now. Maybe I'm lacking in certain vitamins, not getting enough calories, or something. And, after talking to a dietitian, that stuff might change for the better.

Since Sunday, I've been trying to stay as close to 1200 calories as I can. I'm starting to think that low end might actually be too low.Also, have been trying to do 3 2-mile walks a day since then. My left leg started to really hurt a couple of days into it. I still want to keep at it, but since I was feeling so horrible yesterday (and today) I decided to lay off of it a bit. I got to one walk yesterday, at least. I was doing my sit-ups, as well. I think I lost more weight this week already. A little faster than usual. We'll see what happens when I feel up to going back to doing all that again.

I decided to drop Sousei no Onmyouji or Twin Star Exorcists. It felt like it was getting stale.Not much was happening, and it was going at a snail's pace. It seemed like it'd be an interesting one, so I was a bit reluctant to drop it. Kept thinking that it'll soon change, but I got tired of waiting.

Started watching Sakamoto desu ga or Haven't You Heard? I'm Sakamoto in Twin Star's place. It's a lot funnier than I expected. Sakamoto's supposed to be the 'coolest' student in school. Nothing seems to get to him. Even when he's bullied, he turns the situation around like nothing happened. Another student pulled out his chair before he sat down, and instead of falling, Sakamoto somehow sat in the air like the chair was still there. Another student threw his desk outside, so he decided to lay down on the window sill and open the window instead. He fought a huge wasp without batting an eye. He saved a bird, and seemed to be flying as he did so. Kind of reminds me of those commercials with the 'Most Interesting Man', and a little bit of Daily Lives of High School Boys. Same sort of humor with the latter, too. 

Started watching SPEC a couple of weeks ago. I haven't seen a Jdrama in a while. Someone suggested it on a list of Japanese dramas that people should watch when they start out. I've seen most of what was on that list. They said SPEC seemed similar to Bloody Monday. That automatically grabbed my attention.I loved that show! This seems quite different so far. It deals more with supernatural criminal cases. Bloody Monday was about a terrorist organization that had a deadly virus, and the detectives hired a hacker to help try to stop them. The acting was amazing. Especially with the 'evil' head of that organization. The acting in this one is questionable so far.I don't think it's on the same level as Bloody Monday. It also brings up the popular myth that we only use 10% of our brains, but there are few who can access it all. This is utter nonsense. If you only used 10% of your brain, you wouldn't be able to function.You'd essentially be a vegetable. Maybe worse than that. Some tasks require that you use every part of your brain. Sure, maybe at varying time intervals, but you still use it. However, I have heard people say that we don't know much about the brain, and that might be where that percentage came from. Just that we don't know much about the rest of it. So, it already has some points docked down in my book. The criminals use these special abilities they've gained through accessing those 'other' parts of their brain. Now, if they just said that they gained special powers that were somehow lying dormant, that'd be different and more interesting. There seems to be an organization that's visiting all the criminals that have been caught so far. Usually killing them off without the police knowing. (Even when they're in jail with a straight jacket, alarms around them, a lock charged with a high voltage, etc.) It's still interesting enough to keep me coming back to it. It'd be more so finding out more about that group.

Finished watching Erased. It had a good ending, but seemed a little too neat and tidy. The 'murderer' ended up never killing anyone, because Satoru was able to foil all of his plans since he knew the future. I predicted who it was by the 2nd or 3rd episode.The Japanese title, Boku Dake ga Inai Machi, when translated literally, makes a lot of sense. Especially, with the last episode. It's: The Town Where Only I am Missing. The murderer tried to kill Satoru while he was still his past self as a kid. Satoru was found instead, and fell into a coma for 15 years. Meanwhile, he was still growing. When he woke up, he momentarily forgot about his 'future' self, and was slightly surprised seeing himself suddenly as an adult. The murderer waited during that entire time. He contemplated killing Satoru every day, but never could do it. They finally got him for attempted murder after tricking him at the end. Satoru was able to save everyone, and his friends lived on without him during that time. Kind of sad. He created a manga about it all after a couple more years in the hospital. Later, it turned into an anime. 

Started watching Bitter Blood a couple of weeks ago. Another Jdrama. It was also on that list I mentioned. I've been reluctant to watch this one for a while.The promo pic and title are a bit misleading. It's popular, and I think it's been nominated for awards. Also, has quite a few actors I like and am familiar with. It's based on a novel by the same name. Another title for this is Partners by Blood. It's about a rookie detective named Natsuki Sawara, who's assigned to the Ginza Police Station. He's quickly partnered with his estranged father Akimura Shimao. His parents divorced when he was 13, and was raised by his grandparents. They're constantly butting heads, but are realizing they have quite a lot in common. Natsuki seems reckless at times, and his father might be overly cautious at times. They seem to be learning from each other. It has a lot of hilarious moments. Pretty good so far. Glad I finally tried it.

Also, recently started Tanaka-kun wa Itsumo Kedaruge, or Tanaka-kun is Always Listless. This has been interesting. Very relaxing and funny. Like the title says, Tanaka is always listless. Constantly using as little energy as possible. He sleeps half the time, or tries to. His friend Oota (sometimes written as Ohta), is constantly helping him get up and do things. Like, he picks Tanaka up and puts him over his shoulder when he wants to go somewhere, reminds him to eat, encourages him to participate more during PE, and more. Tanaka actually prays every morning at a shrine for an uneventful day. Ends it usually with threatening G-d. This one also seems a bit like Daily Lives of High School Boys. Only in a very lighthearted and semi-surreal way. Even the art is soothing. During the last episode, a short energetic female student, named Miyano, asked to be Tanaka's apprentice in becoming listless. The only time it somewhat worked was when she was daydreaming or stressing out about town mascots. She wasn't even aware of it. And, Oota thought she actually surpassed Tanaka in her listlessness at that point. She thinks that if she becomes like Tanaka, she'll look mature and her crush will like her more. Since she's short, she thinks people see her as immature. I thought she'd be annoying, but I actually liked her by the end. Interesting personalities with the characters so far. Tanaka mentioned at one point, that Oota looks more like a main character to a show than him. He helps everyone out, seems to be good at anything he does, stands out because of how tall he is, everyone seems to like him, he's quiet at times, and more.

Finished the manga Kuro or Black. It was cute, yet dark at the same time. Very short, too. I don't think there was a true ending.It kind of cut off abruptly, and there were 'extra' side stories after. It was about a girl living with her black cat in a huge mansion. The town has black monsters that attack people if they stray from the path. That path's lined with special paint from flowers that keep them away as a deterrent. Those flowers are used in shots so the townspeople can see those monsters. The flowers come from the mansion's greenhouse. The owners hand over a certain amount each month. The girl lives alone, besides the cat, in the mansion. The cat is named Kuro, and is half like those monsters, and the other half is still like his cat self before he was attacked. Apparently, those monsters can't fully take over something unless it's dead. At the time, Kuro was barely alive. So, he has some of the powers of those monsters, and uses them to protect the girl. The problem is they have to drain other creatures' color in order to live. So, he slowly drains her of color. Eventually, her hair turns white. The girl can't see the monsters, since she never got the shot. A lot of the townspeople hate Kuro, and attack him every once in a while. He never really hurt people, though. The doctor finally realized close to the end that Kuro is actually safe, and doesn't want to hurt anyone. Occasionally, he'll actually attack the monsters that wander near the mansion. It was a very interesting story. Just wish it explained more, and actually showed what happened after the last scene. 

Also finished reading 6 no Trigger or Trigger of 6. I ended up changing my opinion on the main character by the end. He was actually a lot more kind than I realized. He only had a certain crude attitude around one of the female characters, because I think he knew she wasn't who she said she was from the beginning. Turned out her boyfriend was possessing her, and the longer he did so, the more her body broke down. He tried to hide it from Tsubame as best he could. Apparently, the one who created the mechanical arms that Tsubame uses, named Frost, just wanted to be a mother. (Everyone apparently thought she was a guy.) She couldn't physically be one. Especially, because she had a disease and was going to die young. So, developing the personalities/souls connected to each arm was like her way, in her mind, to have children. Tsubame kind of became a father this way. She just wanted to use his body as a host body. She did care for him, but that was her main goal when she first met him. Also, her little brother came down with the same disease, and doesn't have much time left to live. Frost is already dead. Before she passed away, she put his soul in the final mechanical arm, and asked Tsubame if he could find her brother's body and return it to him. So, he's been searching for him ever since. If her brother's going to die soon, why give him back his soul just beforehand? I know that they said she wanted the soul to transcend his body, but why look for it, then? Who was that person that briefly showed up in a crowd that seemed to have another mechanical arm? (Not exactly sure if they had one, but it looked like it.) I think they can easily continue this one. It was pretty good.

My mom's yahrzeit (the Jewish anniversary of her passing away) was on the night of the 16th and went to sundown the next day. It was the 9th of Iyar on the Jewish calendar. I forgot until halfway through the day on the 17th. I was just going to plug in the electronic memorial candle. I had forgotten that we also had a huge bag of yahrzeit candles. So, we used one of those and the electronic one. The yahrzeit candles burn for 24 hours, so it went for about a half of a day longer than it would have if I had lit it when the yahrzeit actually started. I think she would be ok if it wasn't exact. Just the idea that we spent some time remembering her was more than enough. 

Rosie has found a new spot. Ever since I got the new lamp, she's been laying down, sleeping, and happily watching me in a corner next to/partially on my huge stuffed lamb with her back to my closet's door. Normally she uses that stuffed lamb as a kneading pillow. I think I got it when I was in the hospital for about a week for a 2nd time. That was in early 2008 (or late 2007), and I had 6,000 times the clotting factor compared to normal healthy people. I had a blood clot in every aveoli or air sac in my lungs. Never found out why or how.Or, it could have been a year before when I was hospitalized for pneumonia for a week. I could barely breathe, and they drained my lungs of a couple of liters of fluid. (Really painful.) Anyways, someone visited me during one of those times, and gave that lamb to me. It's about half my size. It was hilarious when I got it, and looked at it on my hospital bed. It can easily smother me. At least, when you hug it, it can hug back...It was very nice of that person, though. To give me something to try and cheer me up. It's so big, I keep it on the floor between my bed and closet. One of the few places where it's somewhat out of the way. It's really nice and soft. I'm surprised Rosie is just now discovering that it can be used for more than just a kneading pillow. Maybe it something to do with the lighting being better now with the lamp. I don't know why, but she loves to watch me. No matter what I do, she loves it.