I really wanted to skip today. The week hasn't gone well. It started with the piercing migraine that would not die, and now that the pain has faded enough for me to be upright again, I guess I'm supposed to do something about the fact that there isn't a clean dish or a clean towel in the house. I've been washing dishes and laundry for two days now, but I'm not making any progress.

Think it's like those stretches of knitting where you seem to spend a solid week going backward and then suddenly everything is miraculously done? I don't.

And, because I'm not stressed enough, Leif had a doctor's appointment today -- probably what caused the migraine in the first place, because I can't possibly describe how much I dread taking him in to see the doctor. And this time we were going because there was something wrong and I fully expected her to schedule surgery or refer him to a specialist.

We made the run to Salem yesterday for Alex's belated birthday party, today to see the doctor, and I get to do it again tomorrow for karate. Just in case I find any possible reason for us to stay home tomorrow, we hit the library and grocery store before we went to the doctor.

I also thought about stopping at Joann's for the new Quilter's Newsletter, but convinced myself to be good. I've got a long tradition of rewarding myself with yarn for surviving doctor's appointments. But this time I was going to tough it out without a fibery reward. The universe apparently had other plans.

On my way to the reserve shelf to pick up Bag Style, I saw a quilting magazine sitting on the free magazine bench. It was stacked there with about ten other old issues of Quilter's Newsletter and a couple of brand new ones -- including the one I'd just talked myself out of going to Joann's for! I scooped them up into the stroller, checked the rest of the magazines on the bench to make sure there were no more treasures, then went to get my books and round up the big kids.

Quinn had to run over and look at the snake mural before we went upstairs. He had to run over and look at it again while I was in the checkout line. And while I was trying to wrangle him out to the car, I almost tripped over a paper grocery sack sitting next to the magazine bench. The one that was full of fifty more quilting magazines. Which I would have totally missed if he wasn't throwing that particular tantrum.

And it turns out that Leif is just fine and probably will outgrow his hernia without needing surgery. Yippee!