Fast Friday Stuff

I know that this is the last day of the month and I need to get my book list posted, but I don't have enough time this evening.  I'll get it posted in the next day or so.

My allergies are a little better today.  We had rain.  Lots of rain in a short period of time and it has cleaned the air.  However, that won't last long.  I'm going to enjoy being able to breathe easily while I can.  Because it won't last long.

TGIF, everybody!  I'm going to spend my weekend lost in my yarn basket(s).

I Hate Allergies

But I have to deal with them, apparently.  I tried to talk the allergies into leaving me. But they just laughed.  And then I sneezed.  And then sneezed some more.  And then sneezed some more.

Yeah, I know.  I live in what is officially The Allergy Capital of the World.  That one, I'm not making up.  Wish I were, but sadly I'm not.

I think my sinuses exploded sometime today.

Wednesday's Mid-Week Whining

Not all that much to whine about actually.  Just sore feet & legs, but that's because I got on the bike again this afternoon after about a week of not riding.  It was a short ride, the wind was playing a game with my allergies, but it was nice to be able to ride again.  Otter went with me this time, the wind bothered me more than it did her.  I'm going to pay for it tomorrow, my allergies are already reminding me that they are there.  Unfortunately, there isn't an allergy medicine that really works for me.  Think I'm going to convert my Whining Wednesday into Wine Wednesday! :)

We also spent a long time out in the back yard, watching the dogs alternating between tracking moles & coming up to us to get affection.  We discovered that the morning glories are starting to come up.  I saw the first one the other day, but now there are several more that have poked through the dirt.  They might be some of the assorted seeds I planted, they are in the right area but I'm not picky.  I 'm just glad that they are starting to grow.  The ones at Otter's trellis are the ones I'm referring to, I didn't get out to the fence to check those but they should be up soon if they aren't already.

Otter's got about 3 weeks of school left.  She's happy about that, for some strange reason.

It has been really cool the last few nights, last night was in the 40's.  The days have been nice, partly cloudy and warm but not hot.  Today, it's very nice but it's also very windy.  Tomorrow is supposed to be the same and then we could get rain on Friday.  The rain might last through to Sunday, it depends on which tv forecaster we want to believe!

Whatever, I'm just ready for Friday to get here.

Spring Surprises!

No, not the weather kind.

The floral kind.

There are now three different kinds of irises.  The purple ones, which are the original ones and are lovely, were the first.  Then the white one showed up last year - and is now spreading so there are a few this year.  And now, there is another one!  It's more creamy yellow on top than white, the picture makes it look white but it's a yellow color with a beautiful lavender bottom half.  This picture actually shows all three - there is a purple one towards the back that was just opening up and two of the white ones are visible in the front.

And it's fixing to have company!  There are several other iris buds that match the new bloom's colors.  We were hoping that this was one of the ones that would come up this year, there were a couple that we transplanted in hopes that this is what they were.  They will spread, along with the white ones, and we'll have quite a multi-colored iris bed next year.

One Simple Thought For The Day

Redheads Rule!

Sunday Ice Cream

I think we're going to make some in a few minutes, so it seemed like an appropriate title!

Relax, it's fat-free. We use fat-free Half & Half in place of cream and fat-free milk. There is sugar, so it's not totally healthy. But it's a lot better than most ice cream and it tastes pretty good. Very good, in fact. Probably just vanilla this time, sometimes we make strawberry. But since we use strawberry milk, it's low fat but not fat free. However, we also use fresh strawberries in it. We tried pineapple in it one time, it was ok but the fruit kept getting stuck in the blender bar part of the machine.

I'm making myself hungry!

One of Otter's friends spent the night at our house last night. The girls had a good time, I'm not sure what time they went to bed but it was after midnight. Which was fine, they were warned that we would be getting them up at 8:00 for church this morning no matter what time they went to bed. The didn't exactly want to get up, but they did and we made it to church. We got there with just a couple of minutes to spare, but that was because we went to the post office to clear the box on the way and not because of the girls.

After church, we went to a thrift store. Nobody found anything, but it was still fun to take the girls shopping. I also hit a couple of thrift stores on my lunch hour last week and found a few things, but nothing spectacular. One thing I found is a very cute pair of slipper socks for Otter - monkeys. I guess you could still call them Sock Monkeys!

It was a busy week. We had quite a bit of rain, I think it was Friday morning, but no bad weather in our area. There was some heavy weather expected Thursday evening but the storm never got here. However, it did go north and I think it was the same storm system that spawned the really bad stuff in the Denver area.

The craft blog has a new post, about pillows I've made recently.

I didn't get much crochet time in last week, there were just a lot of things that kept me from it. But I did manage to do some yesterday and I've gotten a lot done today on a specific project. Which will eventually make it to the craft blog but is NOT the project for Froggy!

Let's see, what else happened last week. Obviously, it wasn't a very exciting week because I can't really think of anything.

Movie review: Avatar. It was Bill's turn to pick the movie for Saturday and that's what he chose. We really didn't expect to be able to get it, but the video store still had a couple of copies left on Friday afternoon. It was ok, but I wasn't that impressed. I know that I'm probably in the minority here, but I would have been extremely disappointed if we'd paid full theater price for this one. It was extremely, extremely predictible and not very original. And I can certainly see why the conservatives (of which we are a part) say it has an agenda. It does, and it is a very obvious one. But aside from that, it was ok. I did enjoy it to an extent and the special effects were very good. The soundtrack was not original, either, but the music was good. I think that Otter wants to buy it, so it will probably be part of our collection in the near future. Bill's second choice was Men Who Stare at Goats, so I probably shouldn't complain (too) much!

Well, I think it's time to go play with the dogs. Maggie keeps nose-bumping me, which means that she wants my attention. She was following Bill around, but he's apparently lost his shadow because she's now in here pestering me. Maggie was kicked out of Otter's room sometime early this morning, I think around 2:00 a.m., because that's what time Bill heard her (Maggie not Otter!) sitting outside of our room, whining. Guess they didn't appreciate a noisy, cold-nosed beagle!

Some Spring Stuff

I'm happy, I got to get outside and play!

I planted morning glory seeds along the back fence, I had 8 or 10 packages of seeds in various colors and now they are all out there under the dirt. Hopefully, they will come up soon. We have blue ones there already which are georgeous, but I wanted some other colors mixed in. I had a few seeds left, so I planted those under Otter's trellis at the side of the deck and maybe there will be some color variety there as well. Playing in the dirt is always fun! Right, Froggy?

The latest addition to the rock garden. I bought this many months ago and tried a couple of different colors on it, but never could get it to look right. I wanted it to look aged, I fiinally just hit it with a coat of Kilz and called it good. I'd love a real one, but so would the dogs. So, concrete it is! Otter's 3 piece alligator is in front of it, it's just there to see how it looks. Because it's small, the dogs keep relocating it so it probably will get moved soon.

The rock garden from a slightly different angle, and the 3 banana trees are planted at the end of Otter's trellis. Also visible are some of the irises which are exploding right now.

This is the back of the house, that's our bedroom window visible and if you look closely at the side of the house - there's also a beagle. The irises are just starting to bloom, they have plenty of blossoms but they also still have billions of buds. There are two white iris plants out there, there will be more because they spread like wildfire. Which is what we want them to do, by the way. There was one white one last year, now there are two and they are not really close to each other so I'm not sure if last year's has multiplied or if maybe there was one that was dormant last year and didn't bloom.

A close up of an iris.

This looks like one stalk, but it's actually two - one stalk has two white blooms and the purple is on another stalk that was leaning on the white ones. Guess it was jealous and wanted to be in the picture, too.

I had some inside chores to do, but they got put off. If I don't get my outside time, I get cranky. Just ask Bill! I also pulled a few weeds that were along the edge of the rock garden and had to come in and wash my hands two or three times - allergies!

I let the dogs out while I was out in the back yard. They were crazed before we went out, they were very excited because they could see the across the street neighbor's lawn mower. They are so strange at times. Ok, they are always strange but today they were moreso! Anyway, they ran around for a while in the back yard and then found assorted spots to water and/or sniff. When I came in, they were ready to come in as well.

Now, they are probably having a nap. Sounds good to me!

To Remember

http://ottermomramblings.blogspot.com/2009/06/april-19-1995-902-am.html

Sunday Pepperoni

We made pizza yesterday, in case you're wondering. We also had it for breakfast this morning since the bread machine can only make enough dough for 4 medium size pizzas so we always have plenty left over! Otter makes her version of Pepperoni Lover's and I made our version of Supreme. Pretty good stuff, and a lot less bad for you than the commercial stuff. Not that it's healthy by any stretch of the imagination, it is pizza after all! But we use fat-free cheese and a whole bunch of veggies on it.

Anyway. It's been raining since sometime early yesterday morning. Yesterday was off & on rain, today is constant. It's not a hard rain, it's actually nice.

I finished one crochet project yesterday - Otter's throw pillow, and made the first prototype of the "thing" I'm working on for Froggy. I am pleased with the way it turned out, but it's still a work in progress idea.

Otter and I went to a thrift store today (no luck) and an antique/flea market type of store - the one where I found the picnic basket, Froggy, and you found Scooter's 3-d puzzles. They had some Fenton, but nothing I was all that interested in because I'm cheap when it comes to Fenton. I did find two more shot glasses for Bill's Useless Collection. One of them is Texas, so I had to buy it. The other one? Well, it matches my vintage & very delicate drinking glass set that I got from Mom and Aunt Jessie - so of course it had to come home with me! Bill said that I could keep it with my glasses, wasn't that special of him? (I'm joking here - although it IS with my glasses!)

While Otter and I were out and about, we also went to our favorite fabric store. And I found the chenille yarn I'd been looking for. And it was even on sale! Which was good, but I would have bought it anyway because I discovered that Lion Brand has discontinued this style. I bought 4 skeins, spent $15.00 and might go back for a little more. I have a possible project in mind for two of the skeins - they are a royal blue - I'm thinking I need a new scarf. The other two are 1 pine green and 1 light tan color that will work together if I decide to use them on one project. I'm not sure if I'm going to get more or not, but I might simply because there won't be any more. But I'm still thinking about that. Although Otter is more than willing to sacrifice some of her time to go with me! Yarn is something that will keep, so I don't have to have a project right now.

Let's see, what else is going on. Well, Bill's been up to his ears in pachinko machines. Otter's probably up to her ears in a book right now. And I have laundry going - normal Sunday afternoon, in other words! Have I ever mentioned how much I dislike laundry? (Yeah, I know - many times).

Movie review: We rented Sherlock Holmes, the new one. It was pretty good. I'm not particularly a Sherlock fan, but it was a good movie. A little confusing at times, and it kind of felt like it was a part 2 but it was enjoyable. I'd recommend it. It carried the warning of shocking scenes - or words to that effect - but I didn't find anything really objectionable. There was some violence to the story, but there was little gore to speak of so we're not really sure why it had the warning.

And now, I'm off to clean the kitchen. And do laundry.

(If anybody has any Lion Brand Chenille Thick & Quick yarn, please email me or leave a comment! I might be willing to buy it from you).

Miss This Guy Yet? I Sure Do.

MISS THIS GUY YET?


"Socialism only works in two places: Heaven where they don't need it and hell where they already have it." -Ronald Reagan

'Here's my strategy on the Cold War: We win, they lose.'
- Ronald Reagan

'The most terrifying words in the English language are: I'm from the government and I'm here to help.'-Ronald Reagan

'The trouble with our liberal friends is not that they're ignorant; it's just that they know so much that isn't so.'
-Ronald Reagan

'Of the four wars in my lifetime, none came about because the U.S. was too strong.'- Ronald Reagan

'I have wondered at times about what the Ten Commandments would have looked like if Moses had run them through the U.S. Congress.' -Ronald Reagan

'The taxpayer: That's someone who works for the federal government but doesn't have to take the civil service examination.'- Ronald Reagan

'Government is like a baby: An alimentary canal with a big appetite at one end and no sense of responsibility at the other.'- Ronald Reagan

'The nearest thing to eternal life we will ever see on this earth is a government program.' - Ronald Reagan

'It has been said that politics is the second oldest profession. I have learned that it bears a striking resemblance to the first.'- Ronald Reagan

'Government's view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it'
- Ronald Reagan

'Politics is not a bad profession. If you succeed, there are many rewards; if you disgrace yourself, you can always write a book.'- Ronald Reagan

'No arsenal, or no weapon in the arsenals of the world, is as formidable as the will and moral courage of free men and women.'- Ronald Reagan

'If we ever forget that we're one nation under GOD, then we will be a nation gone under.'-Ronald Reagan

Today!

Today is April 15. Tax Day. Tea Party Day (you already know which side of the aisle I'm on for this, right?) Thursday.

And, it's also International High Five Day. So go High Five somebody, hopefully you won't get left hanging!

It's been a long, hard week and I'm very glad that it's nearly over. Sabbath can not get her fast enough. I am in desperate need of several hours of uninterruped crochet and/or reading time. Oh, also nap time sounds really good.

Frasier probably agrees with that last statement, he's parked in the floor beside me and is currently doing his pedicure but that's generally the last activity before he puts his head down on the floor and starts snoozing.

Nevermind, he just got up and left the room. Probably to go to his spot in the living room and nap there. Dog's got his priorities.

I took Otter to a local park yesterday. Froggy - the one where we fed the squirrels and walked around the stream. The azaleas are blooming and it was just beautiful! There were lots and lots of people, a few dogs (on leash only at this place) and billions of kids. Kids of all ages, there was also a senior center that had a field trip and they seemed to be having as much fun as the kids that were there. We contributed to the welfare of several squirrels and they followed us for a while. They are very used to people, and they are tame enough to take peanuts out of our hands. We're careful about it. There were a lot of birds, they tend to congregate where people are feeding the squirrels because they get fed that way, too. No tadpoles yet, it's a little early for them. Surprisingly, my knee wasn't too bad. The ground is very uneven but I managed to walk the stream area without too much difficulty. Of course, my allergies were "full speed ahead" and I was itchy for hours afterwards. But it was worth it! Nana, this is the same park where we took Otter when she was young and you took pictures - which you then turned into a painting of her sitting in front of some of the azaleas. We try to go several times a year, but I don't think we made it more than once last year - Froggy, when you were hear and the squirrels weren't very hungry (for once).

I have ridden my bike twice this week, Sunday and Tuesday. I would have ridden it today, but I didn't have enough time this evening. It might be rainy the next couple of days, so I'm not sure when I'll get back on it but soon. My knees were not happy with me yesterday, the day after a bike ride, which is why it was so surprising that I didn't have problems at the park.

Froggy, I haven't forgotten about the crochet project I have in mind for you. I think I've narrowed it down to how I want to do it (which pattern/stitch I want to use). I'm thinking that Saturday is when I'll see how it works. I'll keep you posted.

Just A Thought

Read this:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/36449471/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts/?GT1=43001

Some types of speech are not Free Speech.

And some people who call themselves Christian, aren't.

Dog Day Afternoon

The dogsters went to the vet today. They enjoyed the ride in the car, and they were so happy to get there. Until they realized where they were! Frasier drooped a little bit but her tolerated his part of the visit - rabies shot and exam, and even let the vet check his ears without protesting too much. He knows he'll get a treat when the vet is through with him. Magsters, on the other hand... :)

She wasn't too happy about it. She didn't get a shot this time, but she did have to get her rear squished again. The vet said that she was pretty impacted, but she generally always is. It took a considerable amount of dragging by the tech, to get her out of the exam room and to the procedure room. When the vet brought her back, she ran just as fast as those short legs could go and straight to where Otter was sitting in a chair. Then she (Maggie not Otter!) parked her behind on the floor and would NOT budge. The vet brought the treat bag out and Frasier immediately got his, at that point Maggie decided that she wanted one but I really wasn't sure if it would work. She goes back in the fall for her rabies shot and I'm sure she'll be in for another squishing by then.

Frasier weighs 74 pounds, Maggie weights 30 pounds - she's lost two pounds! Woo hoo! Frasier has actually gained a few ponds, but he's still within a healthy range for a shepherd/collie/coyote mix. The vet said that his ears look pretty good - pretty good for Frasier would be bad for most dogs, but he didn't see any sign of active infection at the moment. I think it's been about two or three weeks since the last one, which is actually a long time for him.

Before we left the house to go to the vet, I told Fraiser that he was going to go on a ride. They know the word "ride" and get very happy. Fraiser got bouncier than I've ever seen him - he tried to climb up in my lap, but since I was sitting on the "throne" at the time he was not sucessful. He's not a lap dog by any stretch of the imagination, and fortunately he doesn't want to be one. Except then.

Sunday Advil

Today's installment is brought to you by the wonderful product, Advil. Something I'm on a first name basis with, as far as my knees are concerned. Especially today. Because I finally, finally! got to go on a bike ride. And it was wonderful! I think I'm really going to enjoy my new bike. I've had it since November or thereabouts, so it's probably not really "new" anymore but I've only ridden it twice aside from today - when we went to look at it, and then I took a test ride around the neighborhood when we got it home. Actually, I think it was the next day or a day or two later. But then it became winter and my bike had to be cooped up in the shed, waiting for me and warm weather. Bill replaced the bad brakes, although it still squeaks (loudly) but at least they do what they are meant to do which is stop all motion. After Otter and I got home from running our errands, Bill had gotten the bikes out of the shed and was in the process of airing up the tires for us. So we took a ride. We raised the seat on Otter's bike (again!) and I think mine will probably need to be raised just a little bit, but I'm very pleased. It's a really good ride, it feels like a solid bike and I'm happy with it.

But my knees aren't happy. Which is why this post is titled what it is. It will take a little time, my knees will probably be really unhappy with me for a while but after I've gotten back into the routine and have ridden a few more times, my knees will adjust to the excercise and will be happier. It's the best excercise for bad knees, repetitive motion without a lot of stress on certain parts of the knee and no impact. It's just not going to be fun getting to that point...

Part of the errands Otter and I ran included (big surprise) the library. We both got a lot of books, she probably got more but mine are thicker and we're about even on the amount of book weight.

We also went to an estate sale. It was a lot of fun, and Otter found a couple of things. There was Fenton, but it was overpriced Fenton. So it didn't come home with me. There were a couple of yard sales we were going to, but we never found the first one (we realized later on that we turned the wrong direction at an intersection) and were out of the mood then because the library was waiting. And we couldn't keep the library waiting.

We went to Lowe's and I found some other plants to put in the whiskey barrel. I had 4 Gerbera daisies. Two of them died almost immediately. Two were doing well, but I decided to replace them because the two remaining ones looked kind of lonely. However, when we got home I noticed something. One of the remaining healthy ones is gone. As in somebody took it, the entire plant is gone and it was obviously dug up. Really tacky! It was there this morning, I remember noticing it when we left for Church.

(I decided to drown my sorrows in chicken fajita with an Advil chaser. It was very good, and now I'm stuffed. But my knees are still yelling at me.)

Think I'll go get into my chocolate stash now.

Wednesday!

I have two more Fenton pieces to add to my ever-growing collection, but I still haven't gotten pictures! I had planned on taking pictures of them as well as yesterday's addition, but life got in the way so I haven't gotten the pictures yet. Today's finds are from a thrift store, which is about the best place to find cheap Fenton.

Today's Life Intrusion moment is because we got a new ceiling fan for the living room. It's bigger than the one we had before. 5 blades instead of 4, also. We had to go to Bill's other home, also known as Lowe's, to get a few things so he could hang it. But, for once, we didn't have to make multiple trips! This is a first, we usually have to make at least two trips (and usually more) when Bill has projects but not the tools, etc., that it requires. The living room has a vaulted ceiling, and Bill decided that he wanted to lower the fan slightly so he also had to buy an extended pole to hang it on.

I would much rather have spent the evening at home, playing with my Fenton or crocheting, but instead I spent quite a while holding the ladder still while the Engineer was up on it with assorted tools (some of them powered), working on something that he could just barely reach over his head. It was a little nerve-wracking, but that's normal life with Billyboy! :)

While we were at Lowe's, we also cruised the paint aisle and got several paint chips. We have a very big project coming up this summer, one that was put off from last summer because of the rent house. We get to paint the outside of the house. Which means Bill gets to be up the ladder again! And so do I. And so does Otter. The house is rock, sandstone to be exact, but there are lots of places that are wood and they are in need of repainting. I'm not sure how long it's been since it was painted, we've been here just under 6 years so I'm guessing it's a couple of years more than that. It's held up well, but it's time to repaint. It was originally a really nice tan color with a darker brown accent color and it looked great. But now that the roof is slightly lighter, we've realized something: our house is pink! The tan has lightened up over the years and the roof is light enough that it looks pink in just about every light. The pink isn't why we're repainting, it really does need it. But it won't be repainted pink. We'll probably go with a tan & darker brown color, similar to what it was originally. I found some really pretty brown colors - they are all named versions of chocolate! Also, there is another one that I like a lot - coffee! Coffee & chocolate, add in some Fenton and some crochet and I'm in heaven! :)

And, as Otter will confirm, I'm not good with colors. I can tell the difference, it's not that I'm color-blind. It's just that I can't tell which ones go well together and sometimes I can't really tell the difference between colors in the same shade. As in brown, light brown, nutmeg and all the other assorted names for brown shades will pretty much look the same to me. There is a reason I tend to wear all one color, or everything with black or white! Otter wants to know what I'm going to do when she's moved out of the house, I don't think she thinks I'll be able to dress myself without her help. She might be right.

It was a fun day at work today. My younger boss's son brought in his 8 week old baby boy. So I spent a couple of hours playing with a baby! Then I had to come home and immediately get in the shower as well as run a load of laundry because, well, babies leak! In many ways. But it was a "been there, done that" situation, so I wasn't upset about it. Besides, the baby was cute!

Frasier is due for his rabies shot, so I set an appointment up with the vet for Monday afternoon. Maggie Moo is also going along on this trip, to get her rear end squished.

Tonight could be in the high 30's. Springtime in Oklahoma!

A Pretty Good Thrifting Day

Any day is a good day, when I find $1.50 FENTON!

This is an example of my newest piece, not the actual one. Because mine is in the other room and I'm at the computer. Also, it's clear and I don't have a good background handy for a picture. But this is what I found today. Daisy & Button pattern, it was originally made between the 1930's to the 1940's, this line probably ended by the mid-1940's. This pattern was reproduced a couple of years back, in colors, but this one is one of the early pieces. Clear glass is called Crystal as a color name. (I could go get one of my Fenton books and look up a closer estimate of the production years, but there is a large & furry 4-footed "carpet" between me and the door of the room, and he is being unmovable at the moment.) I have been looking for one of these for quite a while, and I was hoping to find one of the original pieces as opposed to a repro - but I'd have been happy with a repro, after all it would still be Fenton! But I'm happy that I found an original piece. The fan tray was originally intended to be a vanity tray - you know, it sits on the top of the vanity cabinet and holds jewelry, etc. but I think also it could have been used as an ash tray.

A while back, I mentioned finding a piece that I knew was made by Fenton but that it was made for the Avon company and I didn't buy it because it had the Avon logo in the front and very visible - it was one of these, but smaller. I'm not a fan of Avon, so I had no problems letting that piece go.

Happy, Happy!

Sunday Peeps (2nd post of the day)

(I didn't want my Easter message to be missed, so it's seperate from this.)

Peeps, as in Easter candy. You know, these:

Wonderful, sugary, sweetness mixed with air! They are probably not all that healthy, but they are better than a lot of things. They are mostly just sugar and air, they are pretty much non-fat and they are just good! And, thanks to Grandpa & Sweetie, Otter now has plenty of them. Which I hope that she'll share with me (hint hint).

It's a lovely day. Sunny & warm, slightly breezy and just nice. Lots of birds about, I heard the woodpecker & a rooster when I was outside getting the paper this morning about 6:00 a.m. We've also seen robins and other assorted feathered creatures.

I planted my Gerbera daisies in the whiskey barrel when we got home from church. I also managed to get my strawberry pot planted and the extra plants are now in the water fountain turned planter.

We went to the early service at Church this morning, there was a special 8:30 service since last year there was an overflow crowd. I wish that we had an 8:30 service every Sunday, but I don't see that happening any time soon. But we did enjoy the service, the music was wonderful and the message was probably one of the best we've heard from Pastor David. My shawl came in very handy, even Otter was huddled under part of it at one point. I noticed that since I've started taking mine, there were several other women who had them. I don't know if it's because they like the idea of a shawl or just because they get cold like I do, but at least one of the women I saw today usually has a jacket on. I think I'm just going to start calling it a prayer shawl, although it's not strictly that.

We went to Sweetie & Grandpa's for Easter lunch. It was wonderful, great food (we ate too much) and we had a really nice visit. Sweetie's birthday is towards the end of the month and we don't know if we'll see her before then or not, so we gave her her birthday present a little early. (See craft blog for pictures and details).

The dogsters got some back yard time while I was planting the strawberry pot. They ran around for a few minutes, then Maggie Moo went and stood by the back door when she was ready to go inside. Frasier followed her, then they came back out the dog door and played some more. They are back inside now, both asleep. Frasier is in his spot in the living room and Maggie Moo is beside me on the floor.

I also discovered that the shed is full of something unpleasant. Yellow jackets. I found that out because I was standing by the shed when Otter opened it to get the shovel and one flew into her forehead. It bounced off of her, no stinger involved, but it was an unpleasant surprise for her. I got the shovel out for her and looked inside, there are quite a few of them in there. They seem to be trapped and can't get out, but they got in somehow. Probably through the vented spot above the window but they can't quite figure out how to get back out so they are smashing into the window repeatedly and getting angry. There is probably a nest in there somewhere. I looked at them from the outside, and one of them was trying to sting the window - I guess since it was the reason he couldn't get out. Bill will take care of the problem soon.

Froggy, I'm rethinking the crochet project I mentioned to you. I haven't given you details yet! I have been thinking about a specific thing I want to make and I'm still going to do it, I just have decided to go a slightly different direction with it. I made a couple of them yesterday and they look good, but I want to try a couple of other things. So it will be a little longer, I'll let you know, before I get "it" sent on the way to you. But it's the reason I asked you for your favorite color. I wanted to get Sweetie's present finished up first, but I've had it in mind for several weeks.

Movie Review: We saw Planet 51 yesterday. It was cute, funnier than we expected. It was a little predictible but it was good. We weren't expecting much so we were pleasantly surprised.

OK, Maggie Moo is awake now. She was just looking out the window, but now she's wandered off with her nose to the ground. No idea what she thinks she smells, but she's probably gone to one of two places: 1) to instigate war with Frasier or 2) to Otter's bed for another nap. I'm leaning towards choice # 2!

Act Two

By itself, this doesn't mean much beyond wood.

But because of This,

and this,


we are all His children.

And that is what Easter is about.

Happy Easter, everybody. We have the most wonderful, unspeakable Gift to celebrate today.

Yes We Have No Bananas!

Yeah, I know. It's a bad pun. But I like bad puns.

We do have bananas as it turns out - but they are still in the form of trees. Actually, banana trees aren't really trees but I'm not going to get into the plant lesson at the moment. :)

Someone Bill works with gave us some banana sprouts last fall. They are temperamental, but they will grow up here with the right kind of care. Each fall, the plants start making little sprouts at the bottom and those need to be cut off and planted in a pot full of dirt, and brought inside to survive the winter. We get too much cold weather to just leave them outside. We had 6, we are now down to three because three of them didn't get brought inside in time and they froze - it wasn't even below freezing but right at 32 degrees, but they keep water inside and it doesn't take much for it to be too cold for them.

There are two in this picture, one is small and is behind the tall one.


This is the third one. It's next to the pink pot that holds my prickly pear - which is also coming out of winter dormancy. The person we got them from said that he always plants his on April 15 and not before. They need lots of water, even in winter dormancy. They will produce bananas, and then at the end of the summer they will make more little sprouts and then these will die. We'll see how it turns out. Basically, they just need to be planted and then watered frequently. They have a habit that I've discovered - all that water is drawn up into the leaves like most plants, but then they leak. I keep having to clean up small puddles, which are NOT dog related for a change.



My redbud tree. This is the 3rd year for it, it has gotten taller but this variety won't be a huge tree. But it survived the winter just fine, and it started budding out this week. Leaves will be showing up soon.

A closer shot.

The new fence that the neighbor installed. You can see a ladder on the side of the picture, it's been there for over a week now. I think that her fence is through, the fence installers must have forgotten about it. If they don't remember, it probably won't stay there long with all the traffic we now get behind us because of the housing being built.

We actually preferred the view before the house construction - the cow pasture was much quieter and more private. Just the occasional moo!

Some Thursday Stuff

Not much of importance, just random rambling today. I'm fighting allergies. Which were aggravated by the fact that I pulled weeds out of the whiskey barrel when I got home. I was going to plant my Gerbera daisy plants but it's supposed to rain tomorrow and I decided to wait until after it rains. The plants will need to be watered after transplanting, but I don't want them to get flooded out and tomorrow's expected rain could be heavy.

Or maybe not. This is Oklahoma, after all. And we all know how (in)accurate the forecasters are!

Bill's now got 16 pachinko machines. Yes, 16. He just got three more this week. He knows someone in Denver, who saw a listing on Craigslist and sent the link to Bill. Bill of course told him to go get them, and they were shipped here yesterday. UPS did it's usual damage, and he's had to start a claim for damages for one of the machines but it's not anything that can't be fixed. However, one of the ball trays is now in pieces and that is the hard to find replacement part.

All I have to say is that I had better not hear one word about the amount of yarn I have! Not now, since he's probably not stopping at 16 machines. He says he's going to sell some of them, but we know better. :)

I'm really glad that tomorrow is Friday. It's been a kind of a long week, which is odd considering that Monday was spent at home with a sick Otter. But it seems like it's taken forever just to get to Thursday evening.

Frasier is asleep on the floor beside me. I just heard the deepest sigh, I think my dog is deflating. And yes, it was a sigh - although he did attempt to asphyxiate me earlier! The last time I saw Maggie Moo, she was curled up in Otter's bed - right on top of the pillows and Otter's pj's. Creature comforts!

I'm not so sure that Frasier is asleep, his tail is wagging. At least I hope it's just wagging and not fanning!