Stewart spends time with fans online, tells of comforts of home, discomforts of ankle device

NEW YORK (AP) _ As if home confinement wasn't bad enough, Martha Stewart says the electronic monitoring device she wears around her ankle chafes, too. <br/><br/>Stewart told fans in an online chat

Monday, March 7th 2005, 10:01 am

By: News On 6

NEW YORK (AP) _ As if home confinement wasn't bad enough, Martha Stewart says the electronic monitoring device she wears around her ankle chafes, too.

Stewart told fans in an online chat Monday night that the rigid plastic bracelet _ which she can't remove for even a minute until her home detention is over in August _ is uncomfortable and gets in the way of exercise.

``I wish it were removable, but it is not,'' she wrote in her chat.

Stewart, 63, touched on a number of subjects in her chat, which took place from her home in Bedford, N.Y. She recalled missing her pets during her five-month stint in a West Virginia prison, along with fresh lemons. She also said thousands had applied to be on her version of ``The Apprentice'' airing in the fall.

Stewart was convicted of obstructing justice and lying to the government about her 2001 sale of nearly 4,000 shares of the biotechnology company ImClone Systems Inc., run by her longtime friend Sam Waksal.

She was freed from prison March 4.