It's Monday! And We're Still Shopping.

Three, yes three, thrift stores today. Two grocery stores - one was a run in and run out since they didn't have what we wanted and the second one was run in and buy peanuts. Two restaurants - Braum's for lunch and then the Hog Trough (Golden Corral) for dinner tonight.

It's not all shopping. We also spent a couple of hours at a well-known local park. We fed squirrels. By hand, mostly. We've been to this park before, there is a predictible pattern to squirrel feeding. Find one, toss a peanut down towards it and then in a few minutes it will be standing there wanting another one. After a couple of peanut tosses, the rest of the squirrels in the area will realize that there's food. Then they'll ALL come see what's up. After a few minutes, they will get brave enough to take peanuts from your fingers if you are very still. At one point, we counted 24 but there were still more. We moved to a second spot to feed another herd of the furry things but I didn't count that time. Sometimes, the herd will follow you around. It's kind of like an Alfred Hitchcock movie! We also walked around the park and really enjoyed it. This time, I did remember to take my knee brace.

At the thrift stores, Froggy finally found what she's been looking for: A ceramic Christmas tree that can be lighted. I knew that if she was going to find one, it would be at a specific thrift. And I was right. I found a smaller one for her a few weeks back, it's in need of some work and it's currently sitting on my workbench while paint dries. The one she got today is similar to the darker one in the above picture, but it doesn't have the plastic ornaments that are inserted in the holes. The light source would fit inside and it looks like the ornaments are lit. They are really pretty when they are lit. This one doesn't have the light, but kits are usually easy to find at craft stores.

She also found several other things, and I found two more ceramic jack-o-lanterns for my Halloween decorations. And a bunch of other misc. stuff that we didn't need!

Tomorrow, we are going to Hominy to the cemetary and probably to a junktique store. Then to Woolaroc, which is a natural area and Museum. Really neat place, I haven't been in years. Wednesday, well I don't think we have anything specific planned. But it might involve shopping!

Froggy's kids: Bill shipped two boxes to your house today, stuff that your mother bought up here. Not anything spectacular, mostly just more junque but she didn't want to pack it in her suitcase. And there will probably be at least one more box on the way to you after tomorrow.

Shopping Sunday

It's Sunday. We're still shopping our way through Froggy's vacation. Today, we went to church then came home to change clothes and grab a sandwich. Then we went to a flea market, two thrift stores and of course Braum's. I found a few things, Otter found a few things and Froggy found a few things.

Now we are about to head for the pool, then later we'll probably sit and plan tomorrow's excursion. Which will include shopping. And a visit to a park to feed squirrels. And possibly Braum's again!

Toadles, we bought you something. That's all I'm going to say about it.

Very Busy Saturday!

But it was a fun one.

First, Friday's report: Froggy's plane was on time, we went straight to Braum's for lunch. Then we went shopping! There is a store here that she liked last year, Atwood's Farm & Ranch, which is more like a variety store/farm store combination. After that, we went to what Mom would have called a junk store. It's an antique/consignment/junk store. I found a Fenton vase for $3.00. Then we went by WalMart for a couple of things. Then it was home to the pool.

Maggie was very happy to see her, and Frasier was too but not quite as happy as Maggie was!

Today was pretty busy. We went to the Tulsa Flea Market at the fair grounds and had a great time. We both bought several things, but it was pretty reasonable. We spent about 3 hours there, then we went to Subway for lunch. We went to a small gift shop, then we thought we still had about 1 1/2 hours until Otter was supposed to arrive but they got in very early. So we went to get her, she was extremely glad to see us. Then since she wasn't totally exhausted and we were still in shopping mode, we went back to the antique/junk store from yesterday because I'd seen a few things that I knew Otter would want. (More ponies to rehab!) I also bought a neat plant stand there, it's like a staircase. Then, as if that's not enough, we went to a new consignment/craft/antique store and I found something I've been looking for, a picnic basket. I wanted one that was big enough to use to store my yarn and crochet supplies, but I didn't want to pay over $5.00 for one. I saw a few at the flea market that were in my price range but they were smaller than I wanted. I found one at the consignment store for $3.50. It works perfectly, it holds everything I wanted to put in it.

Then, since we're crazy, we decided to hit a thrift store. So we went to a Goodwill store. And I made my find of the day. Or maybe my find of the year. For $3.00, I found a FENTON basket - signed by the artist, in perfect condition, one of the painted ones they have at times and easily worth $85.00 OR MORE at a Fenton store. I absolutely could not believe it, it was just out with the regular stuff instead of behind the glass counters with the really good stuff. It was actually on one of the wheeled shelving units that they use to bring stuff out to put on the shelves, and they leave the wheeled shelves out so people can take stuff off of them to buy when they shelves are full. Needless to say, I grabbed it immediately. Otter was pretty excited about it as well. I have noticed that frequently the stuff in the locked glass cabinets isn't really worth much, but because it's pretty it's assumed that it's worth a lot. Generally when that happens, the "real" stuff is just out on a shelf somewhere. Also, Otter found the armadillo beanie baby I wanted for my Texas related collection at this same Goodwill. For 25 cents. All in all, it was a pretty darn good shopping day.

We made pizza tonight and discussed peppermint ice cream. But we all ate too much pizza, so the ice cream is on tomorrow evening's menu.

We are going to church in the morning, then coming home and changing clothes. Then I think Froggy wants to go to a flea market and possibly we might hit a few more thrift stores.

Notice a theme? Shopping! And lots of it.

We are actually getting a lot of visiting time in, it's not all shopping. We are having a great visit.

Otter had a really good week at camp. She has a slight sunburn on her nose, and she was more than ready for bed tonight. But she really enjoyed herself. The kids are all going to wear their camp t-shirts to church tomorrow. She said that she swam a few times, the food was pretty good, there were quite a few games and that she wants to go back next year. I'll probably post more detail about her camp experience, or she will on her blog, in the next few days. The dogs were very excited to see her, I'm not quite sure how Maggie managed to remain upright because her tail was wagging so hard when she saw her Otter coming to the door!

Froggy Friday

I took off the ticker about Froggy's arrival, since she arrives today and the counter went back to zero days. She'll be here in a few hours. I am now dealing badly with anticipation. I woke up before the alarm this morning.

I had some flowering plants I wanted to plant in the whiskey barrel but was holding off since the bluebonnets were blooming again. I just came back in from planting them. The bluebonnets are fading anyway. Instead of spreading the new plants out, I planted them in two clumps. Since there are still bluebonnet blooms, even if they are fading, I didn't want to dig them up. They are making more seeds so I'm leaving them there until the seeds have fallen. I also bought a small cactus a week or so ago, it is now replanted into a ceramic pot I had. The cactus is the kind I'm not crazy about - one type with another type grafted on the top of it. The only reason I bought it is because the top piece is a prickly pear and being a Texan, I like pears a lot. I'm hoping that the pear will be the part to take over and grow, but if not I still have a cactus. It's not an ugly cactus, I'll still enjoy it if the base piece is the dominant one to grow.

I've done all my normal morning stuff, the dogs are fed and the trash is out. I have a load of laundry in the dryer and the dishwasher is running. I was going to sit out on the deck with my coffee but we could be about to get some rain, so my coffee and I are going to stay inside this morning. I'm going to move to the living room in a few minutes and read the paper. I told Bill I'd make the eBay post office run for him, since I'm at home this morning so I'll head out in an hour or so for that. I'm also going to stop at the gas station, a trip I am NOT looking forward to! But I have to do that one.

Both doggies are parked in the floor beside me. Frasier is yawning and probably about to take (another) nap. Maggie is grooming her feet. And probably has a nap on her schedule next. Maggie has been sleeping on Otter's bed this week, but last night I heard her come into our room several times. I think she was missing her Otter! She'll be very excited tomorrow when Otter gets home. So will Frasier, Maggie is just very much Otter's dog.

Ok, now I've managed to kill a little more time! I'm going to go find something else to do now. Involving a book, coffee and the couch.

Vacationing!

I'm on vacation, as of 2:30 this afternoon. And not a moment too soon! Froggy arrives tomorrow, Otter comes home from camp the next day and I have a whole bunch of days before I have to even think about work. Happy, Happy!

Now I just have to find something to do to keep myself occupied until I leave for the airport tomorrow to pick up Froggy for her visit. I was originally going to get groceries in the morning but I decided to do that today, so I really have nothing to do! I guess I'll just have to force myself to sit out on my deck with coffee in the morning and read. Somehow, I don't really think it's going to be too hard to make myself do that. :)

Bill has to go to work tomorrow, then he's off the next week also. I'll still get up at the normal time (5:30) so I can have breakfast with Bill, but that's about the extent of my activities tomorrow morning.

My neice (Toadly's daughter) has provided me with some natural cleaners that she uses, I'll probably post some of the recipes for those in the near future.

I think I'm going to suggest a few things to Otter for her web comics. She has some troll dolls somewhere packed away, I think I'll suggest that she add them to her comics. Remember the trolls, Froggy?

I am going to post my June book list early. I'm not sure I'll have much time to read once Froggy gets here. We have too many flea markets, thrift stores, places to go. So, here's the books I've read this month:

1. Fasting, by Jantzen Franklin. This is a subject that we've been interested in for quite some time. Bill's done it a few times, I have done it once and will again. It is part of a process, not the end goal. This book is Christian and really makes you think.

2. Mistaken Identity, by Don & Susie Van Rynn & Newell, Colleen & Whitney Cerak. This book is very good, both very inspiring and very sad at the same time. It's a true story of mistaken identity involving two girls who were in a car accident, for several weeks one girl was identified as the other girl. When the mistake was finally discovered, it was joyful for one family because they thought that their girl was dead and wasn't but it was also devastating for the other family because the girl they'd been caring for was not after all their daughter. Their daughter was killed in the accident. Their strong Christian faith is what gets them through. Keep the kleenex handy if you decide to read this one.

3. Remind Me Again Why I Need A Man! by Claudia Carroll. It sounded good but it was really stupid and I will probably not read anything else by this author.

4. Light a Penny Candle by Maeve Binchy. This is one I've read many times before and will read many time again. It's about my favorite book EVER. And that is saying a lot, since I read so much. Maeve Binchy is a very talented author and one of my favorites. She is an Irish author and I have several of her books.

5. Clever Crafting with Flea Market Finds. Forget the author's name, but it was interesting. Probably not any projects I'm going to do from this one.

6. Encyclopedia of Projects for the Weekend Crafter. Seven different authors. Lots of projects, some I might make.

7. Book of Facts by Isaac Asimov. Interesting, doorstop size book and it is FULL of information. Not a fast read!

8. Oh My Stars by Lorna Landvick. Not her best book, I've read a few by her and she's usually pretty good but I didn't care for this one. I have another one by her sitting in my "waiting to be read" pile but it might go back to the library to be checked out later.

9. Speed Bumps by Teri Garr. Autobiography and pretty good. I think I might have read it before, I realized about half way through it that parts of it were familiar. When you read as much as I do, that happens!

10. Laced by Carol Higgins Clark. Part of a series, pretty good but it is also what I consider "fluff" reading. It was a fast read. The author is the daughter of Mary Higgins Clark, who writes a lot of mysteries and is good at fluff books as well.

11. In An Instant by Lee and Bob Woodruff. Bob Woodruff is the ABC reporter who was injured in Iraq a couple of years ago. He was nearly killed, but he's managed to triumph over his injuries. I'm actually not finished with this one yet, but nearly. I will probably finish it tomorrow while I'm sitting out on my deck with my coffee.

12. The Sand Castle by Rita Mae Brown. This is also one of my favorite authors but it wasn't quite as good as her usual stuff. It's part of a series she writes, I really enjoy most of her books. She has a whole series called the Mrs. Murphy books which are really fun. Mrs. Murphy is a cat, the book series is really fun.

Our pastor, Dave, has surgery tomorrow. Any prayers will be greatly appreciated. We are confident that he will have a good report. But it never hurts to pray anyway!

Froggy - TOMORROW! Hope you got my rocks packed securely.

Complicated. Need to Simplify.

I'm talking about life in general. There have been plenty of times when Bill and I both feel like we were born to the wrong generation - like maybe we should have been born a couple of generations ago. We have discussed simplifying our life at times and we've been taking some steps to do that.

Most women of my age range read the Little House on the Prarie books when they were younger. I loved them, I have a set now that I re-read at times. (It will eventually go to my future grandchildren). But when I was a kid, I kind of wanted to BE Laura. Or at least live the life she led. It still appeals to me to basically live off of the land and not have to depend on anyone else. I have my mother's Cherokee lessons to thank for that, although we didn't know at the time that it was Cherokee. It's also part of the Texan mind-set. I'm not complaining, I think it was a good lesson she taught me. I'm not afraid of hard work, and niether is Bill. And Otter has been taught to be a strong woman as well. She might occasionaly gripe when asked to do something, but that's mostly normal kid stuff. When she needs to, she works just as hard as we do. And we can (and do) work pretty hard.

Toadles, I'm probably talking your language. But I think we are on the same page.

Did you ever stop to think about how many different chemicals you come in contact with during any given day? Go read a label sometimes, you'll be surprised. Food as well as non-food items. Chemicals can make life easier, some of them I don't want to do without. But there are a lot that we don't need. There are some cleaners that I am not going to compromise on, but I am going to look into more natural cleaners. (Kim, you reading this? You've been talking about that for months now! I'm finally listening.) I have been reading food labels for years now, due to certain food allergies that I have to contend with. And since my illness last year, I have had to read the labels to check the fat content and I'm also reducing the salt intake. I haven't added salt to anything or cooked with it for years, but there is a LOT of salt in most processed foods. Salt is at least a natural chemical, just not one that we need all that much of.

We've been slowly taking steps to eat less chemically enhanced foods, but that one is not as easy as it sounds without a garden. Which we might have next year. But there are things that can be done, it takes some organization (my calling in life!) and a little time, not to mention attention to detail. I learned to cook from scratch, from the time I was little. I still use a lot of mom's recipes and techniques. And Otter has been taught like I was, she frequently spends a lot of her Saturday Sabbath rest day baking or reading a cookbook to find something to try.

We are not tree-hugging environmental wackos by any stretch of the imagination. I do work for an oil company, after all. But we are taking steps to reduce the amount of "stuff" we use, and we recycle as much as we can. Newspapers, plastics with 1 or 2 codes, most glass, tin cans, aluminum cans and cardboard are all things that we can recycle locally.

This is a work-in-progress. I'll post periodic updates or comments as I think of them.

Too Quiet!

It's too quiet at home, we're Otterless this week. I dropped her off at church on Monday morning at 7:30 and I will pick her up on Saturday at about 3:00 in the afternoon. I'm sure she's having a good time. But it will be good to have her back home as well.

Monday morning was pretty easy, Otter's alarm clock went off at 5:30 and I'd say she was dressed and ready to go about 5:33. Of course, if it had been a school day... It was slightly rainy but that ended early. The weather has been warm and dry but we have a chance of rain tomorrow evening into Thursday. Then back to warm and dry.

Otter told me Sunday evening that Maggie might get lonely, and she suggested that I sleep in her bed a couple of nights. But Maggie's been sleeping by herself! And it doesn't seem to have bothered her a bit.

Bill went to an auction yesterday. It was an Army surplus store, the owners were retiring due to health issues and instead of selling the store they decided to just close it. It's been there for many years. Bill called me shortly before I got off work and said that he needed my help, oh and could I get him lunch while I was at it? I think he was mostly just hungry! So I stopped and got him something to eat, then went over there. He bought about 15 pair of the wool socks he likes, which are nearly impossible to find. I now have a good pair of gloves, there are several that will fit Otter and hopefully we'll manage to get through next winter with at least one of the pairs still intact! He also got a boatload of shirts, some to keep and quite a few to resell in the fall since they are flannel and other long-sleeve, colder weather type stuff. He now has a good coat, he needed one. He filled up the van with all the stuff he bought, but I don't think we'll have a problem at all when it comes time to list them on eBay.

I have been able to see 2 baby doves in the nest on the porch post. We thought that there might be one, but I could clearly see two babies today. This is the second nest we've had there this year.

I re-hung my hummingbird feeder that was by the dining room window. I saw a hummer on it yesterday. I took down one of the other ones, it had been hanging for several weeks with no visitors and I figured that the food was probably rancid. There is still one more hanging, I need to get it down also. I'm not sure if I'll put either one of those back up, I may just leave the one by the dining room window up. We've also had a bunch of honeybees and bumblebees on the hyacinth plant and I noticed a fat bumblebee on the bluebonnets yesterday.

Only two more work days this week for me! Then I have a 10-day weekend. And Froggy will be here! Froggy, I hope you are up to some walking because we are gonna be busy! Hurry Friday.

Another Post for Sunday!

But no Maggie pictures this time. Maggie has been funny today, she just hasn't been photographed. Frasier has been kind of weird. He kept bumping me with his nose, I was sitting in the floor playing with the two of them and he kept almost ramming me with his nose. He was being playful, I don't know what he was thinking though. He likes to be hugged, some dogs don't but he loves it. It's possible he was trying to get me to hug him again, since I just had. Who knows!

Otter is ready for camp. As soon as we got home from church, she got her duffle bags out and her list of needed items. Then we got everything together and made our list of stuff we didn't have, which meant a trip to Wallyworld. When we got home, she got everything packed and it's all stacked in the corner of her room. She has two duffle bags full of clothing and supplies, an Army surplus laundry bag that is currently holding her pillow and towels, her sleeping bag and a backpack that she'll take with her in whatever vehicle she'll be riding in. The backpack has snacks & a book. It's amazing, how much stuff it takes for one kid for one week at camp. She's excited about it, this will be the 2nd year at this particular camp and she had a great time there last year. It will be very quiet around my house for a few days.

But I'll manage to stay busy, I have plenty of projects to take care of. Among other things, Froggy will be here on Friday. !!! There is an auction at an Army surplus place tomorrow and Tuesday, the owners are retiring and they've decided to just close instead of selling their business. It's a big store, and the sale will take 2 days. Bill's off Monday and Tuesday, he'll go at least tomorrow (Monday). If he needs me, he'll call me and I'll head over there after work. If not, I'll go to the driving school and get Otter's enrollment finalized and if he does need me then I'll go to the driving school on Tuesday. I have a few craft projects I'm going to try to get finished up and several books I want to read. We still have some things to list on eBay for our friend's widow. Then I'm off on Friday, the start of my vacation. I'll hit the grocery store that morning and then go pick up Froggy at the airport.

We didn't have time to go for a swim today, but we have been enjoying the pool. We spent a few hours in it yesterday, it was very nice. But it's in full sun this year, so I have to be careful about how long I'm out there. Froggy, bring your suit!

Prayer Request: Pastor David will have surgery this coming Friday, the 27th. The doctor wants to take between 50 and 60 lymph nodes, that way he can get plenty out to test. If the tests are negative, then David will be cancer-free. Any prayers will help. His doctor was very positive, and David has a good feeling about it. But prayers are never wasted! So please add him to your prayers.

Maggie!

I will probably post again later today, but I wanted to get this shot of adorable also known as Maggie posted. Saturday must have been a hard day, all that napping in the living room on the floor most have just been so exhausting. Because when Otter went into her room to head for bed last night, this is what greeted her:

A little closer shot:

It's a hard life, being a beagle!

Frustrating Friday!

At least it is Friday. I had the office to myself today, so I thought I could get a few things accomplished that I normally can't do with "the boys" there. I got exactly one thing accomplished: I ran the vacuum! The rest of the day was spent giving myself a serious case of eyestrain, trying to read the older boy's handwriting on something he wants me to type. He writes like a 91 year old! Well, he IS one so I guess it's ok. I have had a headache for most of the afternoon.

Then I went to the grocery store, Food Pyramid which took over most of the Albertson's here. It was supposed to be a run-in/run-out trip. But after spending about 20 minutes looking for picante sauce, I kind of gave up on the quick trip idea. They have a small area with organic salsas. They have a very small Mexican food aisle, which has a (very) few different kinds - all in small bottles and none that I really wanted to try as they were all different brands and we don't like most off brands. They have a (very) small display with the chips, it was the dip brands and tiny sizes. Finally, I grabbed the biggest of the off brands in desperation. At this store, the employees will help you unload your basket and I asked the lady if they carried Pace (the only kind there is, really), in any other size besides the dip size. She asked me what size and strength, and she went to get it. THEY KEEP IT ON THE SCHOOL SUPPLY AISLE. I guess if I hold my breath long enough and squint my eyes, that might begin to make sense! By the way, the size I buy is the biggest that I can get and medium strength. I like the heat, but I also like to still be able to taste food so I don't usually get the hottest one. And it has to be Pace, remember the old "made in San Antonio" commercials for Pace? We still feel that way. ("New York City!!")

I see that Otter is finally back to blogging. She had a case of writer's block, I guess that would be called blogger's block. Anyway, she changed her whole direction on her blog and the name also. She has a collection of My Little Pony toys that she's had forever, and she's currently re-creating them. It's a popular past time with teenagers in this area, rehabbing MLP's. So she dug hers out of storage and she finds the occasional one at a yard sale or flea market. Then she gets busy and they look totally different when she gets through. She's painted some, dyed some and detail painted others. She's also learning to re-hair them and she's been making attachments out of her polymer clay. She's very creative.

Froggy will be here this time next week! It's very hard to wait. And Otter goes off to camp on Monday. Looks like next week will be a verrrrrrrrrrry loooooooooong week! And quiet, too, around my house.

I also discovered today that I do indeed still have Texas hair. (also known as Big Hair). I curled it this morning and it looked great. Then I went on to work and when I got out of the car at the post office on the way in, it promptly started raining. There went the hairspray! Of course, it quit raining once I got to work and was safely inside. My hair still looks pretty good, just not quite like I started out with. Well, there was nobody at work besides me (and the resident cat), so I wasn't too upset. I wouldn't have been upset anyway. But it was probably an omen for how the rest of the day was going to go. And the cat gifted me with not one, but two dead birds today. Thoughtful, wasn't she?!

Chopped!

I've been chopped today. Specifically, about 12" and 10" of Otter got chopped as well! I'm talking hair. See the picture if you don't believe me. It "only" took me about 4 years to grow it, Otter was probably closer to 3 years. Anyway, both pony tails are going to be sent on their merry way to Locks of Love tomorrow. Here's their website: http://www.locksoflove.org/ Otter donated hair to them about 5 years ago and I decided that it was something I wanted to do as well. This will be her 2nd donation and my first. They are a wonderful organization.

My pony tail is the longer one, it looks lighter than Otter's hair but when I held them both up under the light they were the same color. I always thought Otter's hair was darker than mine, but they are so close that it's almost impossible to tell the difference.

I look quite a bit different. Bill hasn't quite recovered yet! :) But I'll look even more different tomorrow. My hair is very springy, it always has been. It was about shoulder length when the haircut was finished. But it's slowly getting shorter, it will end up around chin length. I was hoping for shoulder length, but in order to have enough to donate it had to be cut close to shoulder length. So I knew it would be considerably shorter, but it was worth it. Otter's new hairstyle looks really good. I'm just glad that I won't have to deal with all that impossible long hair! I might get pictures emailed out in the next day or so.

I'm Younger Now!

At least, I am younger than my husband. For the next 6 months, that it. Then we'll be the same age for 6 months. Bill turned 47 today. I took him to lunch, and I'm going to make some steaks for his birthday dinner. He chose rice & gravy to go with the steaks, can't tell he's a Texan at all! :)

I also went to three, yes three, Braum's stores this morning on the way to work. During a thunderstorm. For a fruitless search for a strawberry cheesecake ice cream pie. I got a different story at each store as to why they didn't have any ice cream pies at all in stock. Then I went to the grocery store and bought a 1/2 gallon of Blue Bell Strawberry Cheesecake ice cream. So he won't get the exact dessert Otter and I had planned, but he'll get the next best thing.

Otter heads to camp on Monday. For any family who want to send her a card, here's the address:

(address removed)

She'll be there from Monday, 6/23 until Friday, 6/27. They will be heading home on Saturday the 28th, so any cards or mail really should be there by about Thursday to gaurantee that she'll get them. She really loved getting mail there last year.

If anybody is in the market for older electronic vacuum tubes (such as for vintage radios), check out our eBay page. We are selling them for our friend Larry's widow, and there are a bunch of them on there. We still have a lot more to list, but they do seem to be selling. Several of them have been sold to people in other countries.

I bought some flowering plants to put in the whiskey barrel planter that previously held bluebonnets. The new ones are only for summer color, it will be back to bonnets next spring. We clipped all the seed pods off of the bonnets, then discovered yesterday morning that the bag had moisture in it and they were all covered with mold. So it got tossed, much to my disgust. This morning, I discovered something very interesting. I have more bluebonnets growing out there & they are blooming! Bluebonnets in mid-June, unheard of. And a very nice surprise. I might plant my new flowers in pots instead, I don't want to disturb the bonnets. I will check later on, I might still be able to plant the flowers in the barrel, it just depends on how big the bluebonnet plant actually is. I noticed it this morning when I was backing the car out of the driveway and I haven't had a chance to go look at it yet. I probably should do that now.

Tuesday. No Rain Today!

That's a good thing, it's been rainy for the last few days. OK, weeks actually. It's odd, but Froggy announced last year that she was coming to see me. And then it immediately started raining and kept raining for most of the summer. This year, Froggy announced that she was coming to see me. And then it immediately started raining... I think maybe it's Froggy's fault! (Well, it sounds good anyway).

Before I forget: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25214356 Read the article, it's a nice heart-warming story about one of the Vick dogs.

The next two pictures show what Otter's been up to today. Scroll down for the explanation.

Otter is hoping to be in Drama next year at school. The local library had a demonstration today on movie makeup. She learned how to make bruises with make up. In person, they look real. She also had a few other artfully applied bruises and also one "wart." She said that she had also made a "cut" but that the fake blood kept running off so she wiped it off. However, she has so many bruises on her left knee at the moment that are real, it was kind of hard to tell the difference! As soon as we got home and took the pictures, she ran to the shower. I think she was tired of looking like she'd been beat up. And I don't think that Bill was particularly pleased, either.

Otter's annual lung/asthma recheck was today. She's doing pretty good, the doctor was impressed. He didn't change her inhalers, but he does want to see her in 6 months this time instead of a year. So she'll go back in December or January.

Prayers are requested for my father in law, Don. On Thursday, he has a surgical procedure for what is basically a hole in the retina. While I'm sure the surgery is not going to be a walk in the park, the 3 weeks recovery period is going to be hard as he'll have to be very still most of the time and he will have to keep his head in a lowered position. Bill got him a mirror that he can aim at the tv and at least he'll be able to watch it, although the picture will be upside down. Darlene probably could use a few prayers as well, since she'll have to be his caretaker!

Also, prayers are still needed for our Pastor, Dave. Dave had a cat scan of his abdomen last week and it showed no sign of cancer. He is going to have surgery to remove more lymph nodes and the doctor was pretty hopeful that they will show clear - which means that they got it all.

I guess that's it for today!

2nd Sunday Post

It's been a pretty good day. Bill went to church for the first time since his skin cancer removals, he had been resting his leg as much as he could on the weekends so he's skipped the last few since there is a lot of standing. But he's back "in the groove" now.

Don and Darlene came over this afternoon, Bill and Don grilled burgers & dogs and we had a really nice meal and visit. Otter is always glad to see her grandparents. We all ate too much! It was a rerun of the Mother's Day meal, but it was still a good choice for today. Bill said that he's really enjoyed his Father's Day. We gave him two t-shirts, our tradition is to get funny ones for him for Father's Day and/or Birthday. His birthday is Wednesday, by the way.

Otter spent a few hours in the pool, I got in with her yesterday but today she was a solo swimmer. She has what we are referring to as a "creative sunburn" from yesterday. She missed a few spots with the sunblock, mostly on her shoulders but it almost looks artistic. Bill probably won't be able to swim much this year, because of the spot on his ankle. It's a lot better, but he still has to be somewhat careful with it.

Froggy, this is just for you. As I type this, Otter is out in the garage. She's trying to catch a frog that got in there. She's going to take it back out to the back yard and set it free. Just thought you might want to know! (At least it's not a turtle!)

Otter has redirected her blog slightly. She's doing web comics now. So far, her stories are starring plastic ponys that she is in the process of "rehabbing." They are turning out cute, she's very creative. If it works out, she wants to sell them on eBay. There are quite a few people who do that. She's enjoying it, whether they sell or not. I think the ponies in her web comics are pre-rehab. Check out her blog, she wants opinions. She hasn't been on the computer much this summer, though. Too much else to do. Like washing my car on a weekly basis. Don't you just love conscripted labor? :)

Father's Day

This is one of the last pictures I took of my Dad. It was taken in June 2003, on what was his last visit to Oklahoma. It was taken at the zoo, he was looking at the tortoise exhibit - which was very appropriate, considering that he's the reason I love turtles so much. We were discussing how the giant tortoises would have been so much fun to have. And probably also Froggy's reaction. It is one of my favorite memories from his trip.

One year later, we lost him. On June 15, 2004. 4 years ago today. He was a great father & grandfather, and we really miss him. But we also know where he is now, and that we will see him again one of these days. In the meantime, we have our memories.

Dad taught me so much. About standing firm, not giving in and about sacrifice - such as his on June 6, 1944 at Omaha Beach and then when he was wounded on June 30, 1944 at St. Lo, France. And he also taught me to laugh, he had an off-the-wall sense of humor and I certainly seem to have inherited it.

He was a man who loved his family, and his grandchildren were very important to him. He loved to make them laugh. Otter remembers being spoiled rotten by her Yaya. He loved children and animals, and they could not resist him. It was fun to watch the effect he had on them. He had a presence that no animal could resist, not even my probably abused chow mix who hated all men. Except him! When it came to children, forget it - they just automatically went nuts over him and it was mutual.

I really miss him.

Just Rambling Thoughts Today

That's the kind of mood I'm in today, rambling. It's been a busy week and this weekend is Father's Day. Also, Sunday is June 15th and the 4th anniversary of when we lost Dad. He's been on my mind a lot lately. I'm going to stop at the store tomorrow to get peanut M&M's, which we will eat in his memory/honor on Sunday.

Other things: The dogs are crazy tonight. They've been playing what we call "War" off and on this evening. The latest thing is that as Magginator is running around like a headless chicken, instead of actually stopping to change direction she aims for the closest piece of furniture and bounces off of it. Which is usually the couch - and frequently us! In between fits of insane running & jumping/barking at each other, they will stop for recharge periods which include grooming each other. And if I'm in the way, Frasier will try to groom me - he just barely nibbles on my arm if he can reach me. Then they start another round and run until they are exhausted. At which point, Magginator will slither off to Otter's bed and Frasier will either find his blanket or plop down in the middle of the living room floor - usually the most inconvenient spot.

Otter washed my car yesterday, then she vacuumed it out for me today. And when Bill got home, she washed his van. Well, she just aimed the hose at the top of the van since she can't quite reach it. But the rest of it is clean! Now if I could just get Bill to clean out the inside...

Otter goes to camp on June 23, I'll post the address if anyone wants to send her a card on tomorrow's entry (if I blog tomorrow), or as soon as I can. She really enjoyed getting mail last year.

Father's Day will be at our house this year, it's a rerun of the Mother's Day meal. We'll grill burgers & dogs and Otter will probably spend a lot of the day in the pool. It's supposed to be nice weather.

Next Wednesday, the 18th, Bill turns 21 with 26 years of experience. (47 for normal people). But then we all know, he's not normal!

There was more, but I think I'm going to follow Frasier's example and go to bed! He's actually sleeping in the floor beside me, but I prefer my nice, soft bed! Frasier will move into our room sometime in the night. He's been starting out on his blanket in the living room but lately he's been migrating in the middle of the night. I hear him come into our room sometimes, and I frequently hear Bill tripping over him! I also was awakened in the early morning hours a couple of days ago by the sound of a very large dog sneezing!

My Thoughts on the Upcoming Presidential Election

I didn't write this article, but it says everything that I've been feeling, thinking and fearing:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25105108/

Tuesday's Interesting Stuff

My coyote! He was running down the fence, but he stopped to watch some birds flying overhead. When I called his name, he looked at me and wagged his tail. Such a hard life he has!

After an absence of 2 years, the pools back! The mermaid (Otter) had just gotten out of it, she said it was cool but not quite as cold as Sunday.

I don't know why this picture is sideways! I have tried to get it to rotate, which it does on the computer but when I upload it to blogger it reverts back to sideways. Anyway, this is the volunteer sunflower's first bloom. It is loaded with buds.



Yes, we really do feed Maggie. But she likes to eat her feet for some reason. Actually, all dogs will bite off the ends of their claws when they feel like they are getting too long for comfort. Of course, Maggie being Maggie she only does this AFTER we've wrestled her down and trimmed them.

We're back at eBay listings. We had a few things that we posted as a cleaning out effort, some of them are going to be donated and some sold. Now we have a bunch of old radio/vacuum tubes listed, for our friend Larry's widow. There are still more of them, so we'll be listing them for the next few days. That is, when we aren't in the pool!

Surf's Up! Come On In, The Water's Fine.

We're in the process of filling the pool. We started on it early this morning, we had to do some leveling of the yard first. Bill decided to bury quite a bit of the tree limb debris, and the dirt he took from the hole got rearranged - we used it to level the yard. Then he got the pool out of the shed and we started putting it up. It's been filling for several hours now, and it will take several more. But it will be finished today. It won't be warm enough to swim in yet, but we should be able to swim sometime this week.

Otter was slave labor today. She filled in lots of holes with the excess dirt while I was working on leveling, then she and I got to cut limbs to a small enough size for Bill to bury them. Hot, sweaty work. But now it's done and we don't have to worry about it anymore.

When I posted Thursday night, I mentioned the possibility of bumpy weather. This time, they got it right. It was very bumpy. We were awakened by a thunderstorm about midnight. Actually, I was awakened by the sound of the fan quitting as the power went off. Then the thunder. Then the fun stuff! This time, the fun stuff included that sound that we couldn't identify a few weeks ago. We didn't realize it this time either, until after I'd spent several minutes trying to find the wind-up radios. The first one I found wasn't working, then I finally found one that did work. And that's when Bill realized that the background noise wasn't just the very strong wind! I got Otter out of bed at that point, she went to our safe spot and by then Bill found a radio station that came in well enough so we could get a report. The wall cloud that had been sighted was close, but not right in our area. Which is a good thing, because if there had been a tornado in our area it would probably have taken us out well before we figured it out since we spent so much time trying to find the radios! There is now a wind-up radio with a flashlight on the night stand by the bed. It's going to stay there.

We were without power for a while, and it was nearly impossible to get back to sleep after the excitement. Eventually, the power did come back on but until it did we had to deal with humidity. It wasn't pleasant. I spent most of Friday in a daze, trying to keep myself awake and drinking coffee. Lots of coffee.

We had more rain Friday afternoon, but not anything bad or twisty. It was extremely warm, and I had some difficulty with my asthma after a brief rain shower made very humid. Humidity is a big asthma trigger for me, and it was pretty bad Friday.

Today wasn't too bad, it was warm but it was very windy. The wind caused a few asthma-related difficulties for Otter. She had to come in and get her inhaler at one point. But she bounced back quickly. She is currently sitting by the pool, watching the water level slowly rise. Of course, the water will be too cold to swim in today!

Tomorrow, I'm going to look into driving schools. The original plan was for us to teach Otter, but there is more work than we have time to deal with right now to be certified to teach her according to the state regulations. Since we would still have to pay out a pretty good amount to teach her ourselves, we've decided after discussing it that we want to enroll her in an actual school. So I'm going to make some calls tomorrow. But with her summer schedule including a week at camp and a week & a half in Texas, she might not actually be able to start until towards the end of the summer.

Congratulations Amy! Graduation is a big deal and we're proud of you. Of course, if you'd picked the RIGHT college... :)

67 Years Ago Today

Thank you Dad. And all of them.

Healthy Happy Dogs!

Happy because they are home from the vet. Where they were pronounced healthy. Mags got her rear end squashed, Frasier had his ears checked. His ears look ok for now, but he'll probably have another ear infection in the future because of his track record. But he looks good for now. And the vet said something that we had already suspected - Frasier is probably part Coyote. (But not chupacabra!) They don't have to go back for another year, or until Mags starts dragging her behind again.

Maggie weighs 32 pounds, we were thinking that she looked a little smaller but she has gained. No idea how, she doesn't get too many treats beyond lettuce & ice cubes and she runs constantly. We feed them a good quality food. She'd probably be 40 pounds if she wasn't so active! Frasier weighed in at 62 pounds, which is about what he normally is.

It's very windy today. We have a high wind warning. I had a difficult drive home because of the wind. And we have two more limbs down in the front yard. That makes three this week. (Later update: It turned out to be 3 down today, which makes 4 this week.)

We also could get "bumpy" weather tonight. It's pretty late in the spring for bad storms, but we have a good chance tonight. Lovely!

At least tomorrow is Friday. That's always a good thing. Otter will be going to work with me tomorrow, then if the weather is decent we might look at yard sales before we go to the grocery store. Yard sale season is just starting here, we've been to a few but haven't seen a lot yet. But it's just now time for them. Which is fine with me! Yard sales are fun, at least to shop at - we probably won't have any more.

Maggie is parked in the floor, she's just laying there and sighing every so often. I think she wants my attention now. Frasier was here a minute ago, but he's wandered off. He's probably on his blanket in the living room, having another nap. They snooze a lot. Those two dogs have got it made, I hope that they know that. Gotta go play with a dog now.

I Have Crazy Dogs!!!

But at least they are clean dogs. For the moment. They'll find some dirt soon, they always do when they get baths. It's just a matter of time. And it will probably be before they are completely dry.

But in the meantime, they both go to the vet on Thursday for their regular check up and shots. Mags gets her rabies shot, and all the misc. shots but Frasier isn't due for his rabies shot until next year. So he just gets the misc. shots. DHLP is the name of the misc. shots, I think. They'll also be checked stem to stern, stem (ears for Frasier) and stern (rear glands for Maggie) being part of their check ups. They are also out of heartworm pills, last month was their last dose and Thursday will be time for their next dose anyway so I scheduled their visit then.

They are now running around the house. Repeatedly!

I also have a load of laundry going, it's all towels and all were used attempting to dry the dogs! Oh yeah, my pajamas are also in the load since they were dry until Frasier decided to shake all the soap off. I'm going to get a shower when the laundry is finished, and Otter will probably need one too. Although I got most of Frasier's attempt at sharing his bath with us.

Frasier is very fluffy now. Maggie isn't so fluffy, but she does look brighter. Physically anyway, she's not too bright mentally, But she's a good girl, most of the time.

That's the exciting life I lead, washing my dogs.

Looks like it's going to be Obama as the Democratic candidate and McCain is the Republican candidate. Well, McCain is ON the Republican ticket. But that doesn't make him one. I guess it's obvious that I'm not too terribly impressed with McCain. I'd like to tell him that there is nothing wrong with admitting that he's as liberal as it gets, and to stop pretending to be something he isn't - namely, conservative. I don't even consider him to be moderate. I'm not really sure what I'm going to do in November. I guess I'll figure it out then.

I think that Frasier has forgiven me. He's now back to standing behind me, staring out the window. Or maybe he's just looking for a cat!

I'm adding a new feature to my blogging. I'm going to start a book list. It'll be part of the regular posting, and it will be at the end of the month. I read a lot. I mean A LOT. All of us do, Mom made sure of that and I thank her for that. Otter is as book-crazy as the rest of us. I have varied interests, and not everything I read is because I agree with what it says at least in the case of political or historical stuff. But I like to learn, as well as to be entertained. So, whenever I remember that is, I'm going to list books as I read them and then post the list at the end of the month.

We have a few things listed on eBay. A couple of things are Otter's, and some of it is glass stuff that I'm cleaning out. Yes, I'm actually cleaning out some of my glass! Not my Fenton, I'm not going to do that again. I did that once. And I'm still kicking myself for it. But I have a toothpick holder that I bought with another one, I really only wanted one of them so I have the spare posted. If it doesn't sell, it'll go back into the china cabinet and be used. So it's not a big deal, but who knows - maybe somebody out there will want it. We have some stuff that we'll probably list next week, old radio tubes from our friend's Larry's estate that we're going to sell for his widow.

I just realized that I am exhausted! Mostly from wrangling two dogs who did not want to be wrangled!

Wait 5 Minutes...

Because the weather will be different! I heard that said about Texas, but it's much more appropriate up here in NE OK! Today is a good example of that. It was cool when we headed out for church and it looked like it was going to be a sunny day. About 10 minutes after Sunday School started, which was about 30 minutes after we left home, I heard thunder. Then 45 minutes later when we went into the church itself, it was starting to rain. Then it poured. Loudly! And the power went out for a few minutes. Then by the time church was over, the rain had stopped and it was windy. Extremely windy. Then about 30 minutes later, it was sunny again.

We had a storm come through yesterday afternoon that was the same way. It was very windy and we got a lot of rain. We had a little hail, but I think that other parts of the area got bad hail from yesterday's storm.

Froggy emailed me because she'd heard that our specific area had lots of trees and limbs down from this morning. Not quite, but in Tulsa it was worse. Otter and I went to a cactus sale (a bust but more on that in a minute) in Tulsa, and there were lots and lots of limbs down. One main street was blocked because of a good sized tree that had come down. There were several people attacking it with chain saws. The area we were heading to is next door to a really neat park in Tulsa, which is filled with trees. The first thing we noticed was a huge tree, that had probably been there for decades if not longer, laying on it's side with the roots up. It wasn't alone, we saw a few others there. However, the resident squirrels seemed to be ok - they were begging for food as usual, then walking away when the saw that we didn't have any. Don't feel sorry for the squirrels, they don't miss any meals! Some of them are fat! And not because they are full of little squirrels waiting to be born, just fat.

We were heading to the cactus sale put on by the Tulsa cactus association. They have it twice a year, spring and fall. We have found some neat cactus there before. It's always on a weekend. We get there, find the building it's usually held in and walk in. Only to find people setting up for a wedding and no cactus in sight. I called the phone number I had for them, it turned out that the Tulsa Garden Center double booked for today and told the cactus association late yesterday afternoon that they were not going to be able to have the second day of their show. So they didn't even have time to let anyone on their mailing list know. So since we didn't get to buy cactus plants, we decided to walk around the park. Which is when we discovered the downed trees. We didn't spend too much time at the park, since it wasn't the original destination I didn't take my knee brace with me and I didn't want to risk aggravating my knee further. But it was a nice unscheduled visit.

We didn't make our annual spring visits to the park since there were still limbs everywhere due to December's ice storm. And the trees that came down or lost limbs this morning are probably also related to the ice storm. We will go back to the park soon, and this time we'll have peanuts so the squirrels aren't angry at us! Froggy - we want to take you there. But bring your walking stick.

The Youth Leader at church is back from his trip. He wasn't in church because he got back in the middle of the night last night. From Myanmar. His trip was planned before the storm that hit them so badly, but he was there during the main part of the recovery period and I can really see the hand of God in the timing. Next Sunday he'll be there and will have a presentation about his trip. Myanmar is an extremely closed country and it's not at all safe to evangalize there. But Wes is home safely, which is what we all were praying for.

Otter's decided to get serious about getting her learner's permit. She finally found her driver's license booklet after just about tearing her room apart, and she's out on the deck in her chair reading it. I'm going to call tomorrow and find out the actual details about her permit, I think it's a written test. Then we'll go from there and see about her actually learning to drive. I'm not sure if we can teach her or if she'll have to go to an approved driving school, it seems like she'll have to go to the actual school. However with her camp, Froggy's visit & Texas trip schedule, she might not actually go until later in the summer or even after school starts in August. But she'll still get driving lessons from me or Bill, once she gets the permit.

Oh, I got more of my neighbor's dirt yesterday and this morning! At this rate, I'll have a completely new yard very soon.

And now, back to my laundry!