I took the sleep test and ...

... I passed with flying colors as far as falling asleep went.

For a few years now I have been having troubling bouts of sleepiness when driving. That is, I would almost fall asleep at the wheel and wouldn't realize it until I was heading into the other lane. So I went to Nurse Leanne (I don't see a doctor) and asked her what was up. She scheduled a sleep exam to make sure it isn't sleep apnea which would account for my symptoms.

At 9:30 last night I drive up to Boone and checked into The Sleep Clinic with Nurse Cindy. She was very pleasant, showed me to what looked like a nice guest room in some one's home, and hooked me up to dozens of little wires and sensors on my chest, my back, my leg, my head, up my nose, and a cute little click on for my finger that made me look like ET. Then she hooked me up to a couple of machines, one named ALICE-5 and said good night. Apparently I fell asleep a lot quicker than most people do with all those wires pasted on to them. She was impressed. Carmen was reminded of Li'l Abner and his job testing out mattresses at the mattress factory. We both have the talent.

I thought I slept pretty well, except for that one little trip to the bathroom at about 3 am which has become almost obligatory for me lately. Cindy has to monitor the machines all night and listen on the intercom for any requests since I could not get out of bed unless she came in and unhooked all the wires!

She said two significant things in the morning. Since she is a nurse technician and not a doctor she couldn't discuss the results, but said that "This test will answer a lot of questions." She also said that 'the Sleep Doctor (what a great title!) would probably want me to come in for another night to test my sleeping with one of the sleep masks.

So I think I probably do have apnea and it may be correctable if I wear one of those masks. They look goofy as hell, like a scuba mask with a snorkel running up the front, but if it keeps me from falling asleep at 60 mph, I'll wear it and be happy.

Besides, when I go to bed with it strapped on my face it might scare Ben bad enough to keep her from wailing and bumping heads all night.

The world's smallest horse...

... EVER! Also the world's cutest horse, and perhaps the world's biggest equine ham - apparently little Thumbelina loves the limelight.

Just click here. For some reason the picture of Thumbelina, all 17 inches of her, facing down the draft horse cracks me up.

Charity night at the Café Portofina ...

.... was the first Tuesday we all didn't go to the Mellow Mushroom since I can remember (which at my age and the way my mind is going may not say much). It was charity night at the Café Portofina so a portion of the night's take was devoted to charity. There were lots of volunteers helping the regular staff deal with the crowd, including the notorious 'Watauga Cabbage Queens'. They came complete with shamrock green dresses, elbow high white gloves, outrageous red wigs and dripping with bling crafted from exquisitely tacky plastic. One turned out to by Mulan's mother's doctor!

Mulan and her mother were both there, and her friend Maeráed with her mom Máire. It is always fun to see how Mulan and Maeráed interact. Their personalities are so different, and Mulan is almost eight years older. That doesn't stop Maeráed from trying to do everything Mulan does. What is interesting is that now that Maeráed is a little older Mulan seems to enjoy her tagging along. I am not sure little boys would do that.

Anyway, I had a great time, Cabbage Queens and all.

There is a specter haunting me here in Wilkes ....

... and it's getting a little creepy. I first saw her on my cereal box, smiling cheerfully at me. Then I noticed her on my box of crackers - still smiling. Soon I could see her everywhere, especially in the grocery store - there she was. Everywhere! Relentlessly cute and perky, on cereal boxes, crackers, cookies - on magazine covers, in ads, on cookbook covers. Everywhere. I can not avoid her.

So I just want to know one thing. Who the hell is Rachel Ray and who did she have to sleep with to get this kind of exposure?

It has been a long day here in the land of Wilkes...

... because after watching "300" at the movies last night with the gang I became sick, and was up for most of the night. I have felt pretty sick all day, and I will spare you the details. Let's just say I feel drained. It's very late so I won't be writing the half dozen posts I was going to put up on Not Mayberry. There are some reviews of the movie and the history involved if you want to see them over on Sententciae (click on the blogger profile).

In the meantime it is nearly 3 am and I am going to bed.

The improving computer situation ....

.... has almost solved all of my problems. People have occasionally commented on both my blogs about my seeming inability to spell. Well, I have a good excuse - technical malfunctions, to wit, a sticky keyboard that does all kinds of strange things. That, and dial up service via the never to be sufficiently condemned AOL (which is actually getting worse).

Well, I think I have solved THAT problem. I went out and bought a brand new Dell Inspiron with most of the bells and whistles. AND I am getting 1.5 m broadband from Embarq. I've even had young Clovis come over to help set it up - only cost a dinner and a movie.

That should fix it. No more sticky keyboard, no more interminable waits for the machine to actually DO anything, and best of all - no more dependency on AOL.

Of course, this does endanger my reputation as a luddite.