Happy Halloween!

Boo!

Sunday Noses & Toeses

Specifically, Beagle noses & toeses!  Well, she's only got one nose.  But she has multiple toes!  This picture looks like it's upside down, but it's from the perpective of a beagle asleep at my feet when I was sitting on the couch.  This is how Maggie Moo spent most of Saturday.

This is from the front, and is about the most that we saw of her.  Note the smile!  (Later on, the dog got up and went into the kitchen.  The entire blanket went with her!).

Part of the "toeses & noses" has to do with Otter:  her foot is doing great, and she's now able to wear fun shoes and not just her tennis shoes.  Also, she had a nosebleed this morning  and one this afternoon, but that's not unusual this time of year.  Dry air and cold air, along with the fact that we had to turn the heater on, all contribute.  She's probably going to set up one of the humidifiers in her room in the next couple of days.  Or tonight!

This should keep the rest of the noses & toeses in the family from getting cold this winter.  Bill bought our firewood on Friday.  He got two ricks, which equal one cord and it's all cut & stacked.  Part of it is against the wooden fence next to lovely neighbor's yard, the rest is under the lean-to he built a few years back.  When I look at this year's woodpile, I don't see firewood.  I see 'smores and roasted marshmallows!  Otter said that she sees hot dogs cooked over an open fire in the fireplace.

I started working on the tulip bed this afternoon.  This little guy was camped out on the side of the house, I might have accidentally destroyed his web but he'll build another one.  He's pretty big and very pretty.  The tulip bed won't be planted for a week or so, we need to "stir up" the dirt and treat it to avoid moles & voles & gophers, then it needs to sit for a few days and might get a 2nd treatment.  After that, we'll get the tulips planted.

Otter and I went thrifting this afternoon.  We didn't find much, she got a nice dressy vest but that's all we found.  It was still fun.

We also went to Wallyworld, we went to a specific store because HP works there and she surprised him, but we bought stuff for sub sandwiches while we were there.  Along with a bag or two of Halloween candy for Otter to take to school with her tomorrow!  She's always taken candy on Halloween, and her friends haven't forgotten.  She said she's not about to let them down now, so she's got two bags of Nerds candy.  I also got a bag of peanut butter kisses.  We don't do the candy thing anymore, although that might change in the near future as there seem to be more little ones in the neighborhood now than there used to be, but since it's on a Monday I won't be surprised if there are a few early trick or treaters.  If not, Bill & Otter keep the candy from going to waste!  I like peanut butter kisses, but they are probably not something that would work with dentures.  That's ok, I have my chocolate!

Movie Review:  Captain America.  It was better than I expected.  It was very over-the-top, but it was fairly close to the original comic book which was:  over-the-top and American propoganda from the WWII era.  For someone who is not familiar with the original story, it might seem silly but it was actually pretty good.  I think it's the last of the "Avengers" character movies before the movie which ties them all together and is simply called "The Avengers."

Speaking of Halloween, which I was a paragraph back, Otter and I were discussing all the costumes she's worn over the years.  She's been:  Pebbles (Flintstones), a clown, a pumpkin, bride, princess, yellow power ranger, Harry Potter-ish wizard, beanie baby calico cat, a skeleton, Jessie the Cowgirl (from Disney and anybody that knows us will know exactly why we think Disney owes us!), a vampire, a black & white kitty (for a church party), pirate (friend's costume party), cheshire cat (friend's costume party), Harley Quinn (batman character and also for a friend's costume party), a scarecrow.  There might have been more, I can't remember.

Halloween has always been a fun day, and we always had a lot of fun coming up with her costumes.  We made most of them.  We bought the yellow power rangers costume, the clown & pumpkin were made by Mom and I think all her grandkids wore them.  The bride & princess costumes were basically the same dress, but we augmented with lace & so forth the 2nd year she wore it (princess) so it didn't look like the same costume.

The other thing about Halloween is that she's mildly allergic to chocolate.  So we made a deal with her:  we would buy all the chocolate she got in her basket and then she could go get a bag of what she really wanted.  It's a shame she's too old for trick or treating now!  The chocolate negotiations were always a lot of fun.  And we got to eat it!  Oh well, guess I'll have to go buy my own.

This & That Thursday

Read this:  (Warning, it's bad and pretty terrible).

I thought "we" made it legal so that this wouldn't happen

Or at least that is what the pro-DEATH people say.

Any way you name it, it's still MURDER.  And obviously, making it legal didn't make it "better".

Frostbite!

Otter has had a spot on the bottom of her left foot that she thought was a callus, but it kept growing and developed a spot in the middle that looked llike a wart.  So, a trip to the dermatologist was in order.  She had a plantar's wart, which is what we thought, and today she learned just how (not) wonderful it feels to have something frozen off!  Bill's had skin cancer spots frozen off before, he said that it feels like a cigarette burn.  Otter's experience was probably worse at the time, because it was longer and there were several spots that the doctor treated.

She's got her foot propped up, which is what she's supposed to do tonight.  She has classes tomorrow, but she's got gauze & neosporin ointment, and the doctor also recommended foam corn patches because they will pad the area on her foot some.  Also, she can use perioxide.  Ideally, she would be able to stay off her feet tomorrow but since she can't, she'll have to be careful and the best thing for her to wear would be sandles tomorrow.  But, as a cold front is on the way in and it will be in the low 50's tomorrow, sandles are not practicle.  She goes back in 3 weeks for a follow-up.

Plantar's warts are caused by a virus and are fairly common.  There is a chance that it could recur, but it won't automatically.  She'll have to keep an eye on things, and if she does think she's getting another one then it'll need to be taken care of at the time.

We did get to instruct another non-redhead on the joys of the Redhead Curse.  The nurse was familiar with it, but the doctor wasn't.  We'd already mentioned the bleeding to the nurse, and she knew about it.  But we forgot to tell the doctor when he started the procedure.  The "callus" area had to be scraped/cut off prior to the freezing process, and Otter did what most redhead do:  she bled, fast and more than the doctor expected to see.  I saw his head jerk back and his eyes get big, and I realized that he was unfamiliar with redheads.  So, he got the lesson.  Then after the cutting part, he was surprised that it took longer than "normal" time to hold pressure on the spot to stop the bleeding.

We had our standard "recovery meal" tonight. DiGorno's pizza! I'm probably going to make strawberry ice cream later on, but that's just because we want it. It's always good.

Anyway, weather.  We will be in the 50's the next couple of days, but I'm not sure what the end of the week and weekend is supposed to be.  I think we might get rain tomorrow night.  Today was in the 70's or thereabouts, and it was pretty breezy.  As the day got later, the wind got stronger and now it's at the Rocks-in-the-Pocket stage.  (Rocks = weight so you don't get blown away).

Dogs are next up to discuss.  The last couple of mornings, they've been running around the deck like they were tracking something so we thought that we'd had an animal visitor.  Then yesterday afternoon, they started running like crazy in circles around the shed.  After a while, they stopped running and started looking underneath the shed.  At one point, Maggie Moo crawled underneath the shed and that's when I brought them back inside.  I don't think it was a skunk, but just in case it was, they had go to back inside.  I'm leaning towards one of the neighborhood cats, and Frasier's been raked down the top of his snout by something with claws.  I let them out while ago and they seemed uninterested in the shed, so whatever it is has moved on already.

Now, they are back to their usual occupation:  sleep!

Sunday Giraffes

Today's title brought to you courtesy of Otter!

Otter had a homework assignment for one of her classes, Biology class I think.  Among other things, it involved a trip to the zoo.  This is one homework assignment I insisted on helping with!  She usually just does her homework assignments when she gets home or possibly the next day, but this one was a little different.  And, since I am my mother's daughter, I never pass up an opportunity to go to the zoo.  The day we went was really nice and it was very crowded.  We hadn't been out there yet to see the two new giraffe girls, so it was a welcome assignment.  The picture is one of the two girls, I can't remember their names, but the idea is to give the male giraffe some companionship that will hopefully result in baby giraffes.  The otters were asleep or at least inside their dens, but then they have been every time we've been lately.  But we did see lots of turtles, and the chimpanzees were very active.

There are two baby chimps and they are so much fun to watch.  They seem to have no end of energy and there are times when it looks like the adults would gladly ship them off somewhere!  But they are really cute.  Watching them, it's obvious why some people think we are related to or descended from them.  (We don't believe that, by the way).

It's a nice day today as well, although it was very foggy this morning.  Yesterday was cool and a little breezy, then we had a rather long-lived thunderstorm last night.  There might have been some rough weather south of us, I'm not sure, but we didn't have anything bad.  Just bright & noisy!

Movie Review:  Rio.  This is another one of those "Don't Bother" movies.  Bad writing, stupid story.  Not one we will rent again.

I'm feeling a lot better.  I don't have much sinus pressure and no sinus pain.  I haven't had a headache since sometime yesterday.  I'm through with my antibiotics now.  Bill's a lot better but he's still coughing some.  Back to work for both of us tomorrow.

Dog Tired

This is how I feel today!  (Our dogsters aren't allowed on the furniture, so I had to go find a picture of a dog on a couch).

I went to work and made it until 11:30.  I got quite a bit done and am actually caught up.  It's not a really busy office. :)  I was aiming for noon, so 11:30 is close.  I still had to go to the post office & buy groceries since I wasn't up to shopping earlier in the week.  But I was home by 1:30, actually I think it was earlier than that.  I've been resting since then and still have a little over an hour before I have to head in the direction of Otter's college to get her.  We're going to stop at Subway for a take-home dinner tonight.  Tonight is all about making it easy on ourselves!

I am a lot better, I'm just mostly feeling really tired at the moment.  I've had a little sinus pressure, but not bad and not pain like earlier in the week.  Bill's much better, he's not coughing very often at all now.

The dogs got their vet check yesterday.  Both are healthy, Maggie is 30 pounds (down 2) and Frasier is just under 70 pounds.  They got shots and Maggie got her butt squashed.  Frasier spent a lot of the visit looking out of the window at the vet's office, Maggie spent most of her time standing in the corner (I think she thought she was hidden from the vet).  They were very happy to get home!

TGIF!

Thursday!

This is the best description of my week that I can find!

I went to work this morning but left at 10:00.  I was hoping to make it to at least noon, but not today.

It was really cold when I left the house this morning.  It got to 28 degrees last night.  That is cold!  I was very thankful for the remote start feature on my car, because it was nice & toasty when I got in it.  The downside to that is that when I got to work, it felt even colder when I got out of the car!

I'm actually a lot better, but I am not well yet.  I hate sinus infections.  I haven't had one in so long that I kind of forgot how hard they can be - at least on me.  They might be hard on everybody, but that's not something I can judge.

Bill's home today as well, I'm not sure if he's going to attempt work tomorrow or not.  I am going to attempt it, and we'll just see what happens.

I do have to get back out later on.  We put off the dog's vet visit from Tuesday until today.  I don't want to put it off any longer, Maggie really needs to get her rear squished soon.

I might attempt to hit the grocery store after the dog's trip out, but I might not.  It just depends on how I feel.  I hate to wait until Friday, but that might be what I do this week.

Sick & Tired of Being Sick & Tired

I didn't even attempt to go in to work today, I knew I wouldn't make the day.  I do feel a little better this evening, but I felt pretty cruddy this morning.  Bill did go in, but he only lasted about an hour and his boss actually started telling him to leave about as soon as he showed up.  He's probably taking tomorrow and Friday off.  I think I'll be back at work tomorrow, how long I stay there will be determined tomorrow. 

I had a quiet day, mostly spent on the couch.  I had a short nap, crocheted some and watched NCIS reruns because there is very little interesting stuff on daytime tv!  I did manage to watch 2 episodes of Say Yes to the Dress, and they were actually ones I had not seen before.  But mostly, I was lazy and so were the pups.  Bill was a little more active than I was, but not much.  He just didn't get the nap in until later in the afternoon.  He's coughing less than he was Sunday but more today than he has been.  He's still on his mega cough suppressing medicine.

We had Hamburger Helper for dinner.  We hardly ever eat it, but once in a while it's good.  It's loaded with bad stuff, but it makes an easy meal when I need one.  We have a freezer full of chicken soup, we've had it every day since Monday and we like it but I'm tired of it.  I told Otter that she needs to bake something tomorrow.

It could freeze tonight.  It was pretty cold last night, but I'm not sure exactly how cold.  I think it was in the 40's.  We still had the fan on in the bedroom, the house was warmer than the outside was and probably will be tonight as well.  We aren't turning the heater on yet, tonight is supposed to be the coldest night this week and the days are forecast for 60's.  But soon enough, it will be time to put the fan away and get the humidifiers out.

That's it for tonight!

Spoke Too Soon!

Well, I thought I was on the mend.  But I woke up with a really B.A.D. sinus headache this morning.  I took motrin and went in to work.  The motrin helped, but only to a point.  When my younger boss got there, he took one look at me and ordered me home.  But first, he put his hand on my forehead and told me I had fever.  So, I went to the walk-in clinic and it turns out that I have a sinus infection.  Which I really wasn't surprised about.  So I'm on an antibiotic, along with Willieboy.  Not the same one, however.  Mine is a little stronger, after I told the doctor about my sinus infection history he felt that the slightly stronger one was the best.

I used to get sinus infections pretty often, I had them quite a bit when I was a kid and young teen.  When I was 16 (the doctor didn't want to do the surgery before then because I was still growing), I had what is basically plastic surgery to get my septum (cartlidge piece in the middle of the nose) rebuilt.  The inner parts of my nose & sinus cavity aren't quite "normal" and as a result, I had the frequent sinus infections.  After the surgery, it got a lot better but it didn't really get completely fixed.  So I still tend to get them, just not anywhere nearly as often and I think it's been a few years since I've had one.

My nose isn't quite straight anymore, due to having it broken at least twice since the surgery.  I collided with Bill one time, and about a year ago I ran into the back of Otter's head when we were getting out of a car.  I know it broke the first time, but I'm not positive about the 2nd time.  But there is at least one other time when I'm pretty sure it was broken.  At the time of the surgery, the doctor told me that it would probably not be possible for me to have any more rhinoplasty (the actual name of the plastic surgery on noses) due to the way it had to be repaired - the bridge of my nose is much narrower than most people's because of the surgery.  I'm not too concerned about the fact that it has a small bump and isn't quite straight - it still works and it still looks much better than my "original" nose ever was.

I'm actually not feeling the best at the moment.  I spent a few of hours curled up on the couch and that's about as active as I've been.  I feel a little better, I just don't feel the best.  I'll decide about tomorrow and work in the morning.

Frasier has hardly left my side today.  He's a very affectionate doggie normally, but he seems to be very sensitive and he's a Klingon today.  (Star Trek reference, the dog is extra clingy).  When I was laying on the couch, he got as close to the couch as he could before he stretched out on the floor and periodically he would put his head up over the edge and look at me.  I think he was checking on me.  He's a good boy.

We put the dog's vet appointment off until Thursday.  I'm sure that Maggie's not too upset about that!

Monday Sickies

Well, we're still sick.  I didn't sleep the best last night, but Bill was even more restless than I was.  Neither of us felt very good this morning, although Otter felt great.  She had a long nap yesterday afternoon, then went to bed early with a bad headache.  She was fine this morning.  I didn't really feel up to going in to work, and neither did Bill.  I did feel better than I have been, but not really good.  Bill was starting to cough more than he had been, so I decided he needed to go to the doctor.

So, after breakfast, we tossed Otter in the car (ok, she got in the car under her own power!) and dropped her off at college.  Then, we went across the street to a **walk-in clinic we like and were the first ones in the door.  I was thinking that if Bill turned out to have something seriously contagious, that I'd be checked out as well.  But Bill doesn't have anything spectacularly bad, "just" an upper respiratory infection.  However, it's becoming bronchitis.  So, he's on antibiotics and a cough medicine.  Since I'm actually getting better, I decided against being examined.  If I start feeling worse, I'll go in.  But I'm actually a lot better so I think I'm on the mend.  The doctor agreed with me, by the way.

Otter and I started treating the symptoms as soon as we noticed them.  Bill kept thinking that he was having an allergy problem, and tried to tough it out.  As a result, Otter is fine and I'm much better but Billyboy is not.  Major denial on his part, since he's the most un-allergic person I know, but that's his typical thing to do when it comes to things medical. :)  I really think it's just a guy thing.  Bill has an excuse for today and tomorrow.  Also, he'll have Doctor Otter at home with him tomorrow.  She'll keep him in line!

(**We have a family phyisician, but it's getting harder & harder to get a same-day appointment with her and we are actually considering changing.  Also, she doesn't use the hospital we prefer and the clinic we went to is a satellite clinic of that hospital.)

I brought Billyboy back home, then I went to Walgreen's and got his prescriptions filled.  I also ran into Wallyworld and got chicken soup supplies.  But mostly we've just been home taking it easy.  I did a little crochet for a commissioned project which I'm about 1/2 way done with.  And I made chili for lunch.  I guess it was hot, I put plenty of chili seasoning in it, but I'm kind of stuffy and my sense of taste isn't exactly 100%.  But, it did help with the stuffiness and chili is just plain good at anytime.

While I was on the way to Walgreen's, I saw a coyote.  It was casually walking across the road, and it really looked like Frasier.  He's got the size and body shape, along with most of the coloration and the fur.  And the tail!  While I was waiting in the drive-through line to pick up the prescriptions, I watched a squirrel burying something for winter.  They are funny, squirrels are kind of crazy and comical.  I guess it was an animal day today, because we also saw two or three large flocks of geese while waiting for the clinic to open.  Most likely, they were pond-hopping and part of the resident flock at Otter's school.

I have to pick up the Otter in a couple of hours, and the doggies might get to go with me.  They got a short ride yesterday, when we took the movie back to the video store.  Tomorrow, they get a ride as well.  But they probably won't enjoy that one as much.  Since it's to the vet for shots & Maggie's butt-squish!

It's not really warm today, but it's not really cool either.  We are supposed to have a cold front hit tonight and we could get lots of wind and rain when it does.  The next few days should be in the 70's and 60's.  We could possibly get our first frost sometime this week, I forget which evening but it's not supposed to be a hard freeze.  Just a frost.  So it might not even be enough to affect the ragweed, but it does mean that winter is on it's way.  Not a moment too soon, as far as the ragweed goes.  Hate the stuff!

A Thought For The Day

You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich.

You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong.

You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift.

You cannot lift the wage earner up by pulling the wage payer down.

You cannot further the brotherhood of man by inciting class hatred.

You cannot build character and courage by taking away people's initiative and independence.

You cannot help people permanently by doing for them, what they could and should do for themselves.

- A. Lincoln
1862

Sunday Sickies

I'm no longer convinced that we "just" have allergies.  We (Bill & I) might be coming down with a bug of some sort, but it could still be allergies.  Even though he almost neveer has them.  We both feel cruddy, but no fever as of now.  Just coughing, sneezing, headaches, sore throats, etc.  So far, Otter has not joined this party and we don't want her to!  I'm realitively certain that we are not dealing with the flu.  We really just feel bad enough to know that we don't feel good.

We're mostly just hanging around the house today, although one of us does need to go return the movie we rented to watch yesterday.  Green Lantern, which was actually better than I expected.  It wasn't the most spectacular movie we've ever seen, but it was ok.  It helps to have read some of the comic books it was based on.  Otherwise, I'm not sure if it would have made sense.

Frasier's got a new trick.  Not sure why, but he will stand in the kitchen and lick the flap that covers their door.  Which makes it flap back & forth and make clicking sounds.  Who knows why that dog does anything?  He's too smart for his own good, but every so often he'll do something dumb.  Although it probably makes perfect sense to him!

Maggie has no comment on Frasier's actions, at the moment she's more concerned with keeping their blankets from getting lonely.  I actually had to watch her to see if she was breathing this morning, dog naps hard!  (She was breathing, by the way).

It's a nice day today, although it might be a little warm.  I have only been outside for a few minutes this morning, when I went as far as the end of the driveway to get the paper.  It was not quite light then and was still chilly, but the forecast for today is 90's.  However, it should be in the 70's and possibly rainy tomorrow.  Today is probably going to be the last really warm day we have for the year - although nothing is certain with Oklahoma weather!

Satuday, Mid-October Evening

Can't think of a good title tonight!

Anyway, I just re-read my last week's worth of posting and I have to say that it was a boring week!  I'm glad it's a new week, but it's kind of hard to believe that the year is coming to an end rapidly.  It's been a busy year.

We're all fighting allergies.  Bill has it the worst, which is unusual.  Also, the fact that he even has allergy problems is unusual.  He's spent the last two nights coughing, restless and snoring LOUDLY since he's stuffy.  Which means that I have had little sleep the last two nights, and have been resorting to using my ear plugs.  He doesn't snore much, but when he does...

I started a new crochet project today.  Otter likes arm warmers and we finally found a pattern that she likes.  I had started a pair for her a while back, making the pattern myself, but I didn't like the way it was turning out.  So, we've been looking for patterns for a while and finally found one.  She picked out the yarn a few weeks ago, but I had a couple of other projects to work on and also wanted to work on it when I had the time to really concentrate on it with few interruptions.  I've only done about 5 rows on it, but they are not big and it's going fast.  It's basically a miniature version of the same stitch pattern I'm using on my afghan, with a few differences.

I didn't put anything on last Sunday's blog (because I was tired and in a hurry), but we had company last Saturday.  Both of Billyboys's sisters were in town and were over Saturday afternoon.  Bill got to use his grill (first time all year, I think, due to the burn ban we had with the hot weather and no rain), and we served burgers & dogs.  Hot dogs, not beagles & chupas!  We had a really nice visit and enjoyed getting to see them.

Guess that's it for tonight!  I'm going to go chase Bill down now and force him to take an allergy pill. :)

Thursday Stuff, Leaks and Clutter Among Other Things

The leak story actually started yesterday, last night I think.  I noticed an odd smell in the garage, but there are all sorts of things (Bill's junk) as well as the deep freeze, tools, my work bench, (more of Bill's junk), lots of dust and (lots more of Bill's junk).  So, I wasn't too worried.  Until this morning, when it smelled more like a chemical and it was strong.  Bill couldn't find anything, but we did open the garage door and air it out for a while before he went to work.  When we got home, it was strong again so we knew it was something we had to find.  Otter and I took all the recycling stuff and loaded it in the car, and Bill started Searching.  (Searching with a capital S for a reason:  Bill!).  He finally found it.

We moved into this house just over 6 years ago.  A few years before that, probably around 3 to 5 years, we had to replace the sewer line at the old house.  (Lot of work, and one of the many MANY times I wished that Bill weren't an engineer so we could actually get someone else to do the work!).  We used PVC pipe to replace the old, cracked sewer lines.  When you use PVC pipe, it's necessary to use a special glue or sealant between the pipe pieces to seal them correctly so that they don't leak or allow tree roots acess.  Bill still had some left, it's just been sitting on (the very top) shelf in the garage, for all these years.  Guess what developed a leak?

The fumes can be explosive, so it wasn't something that could wait.  After my chauffer (Otter) and I got back from the library, we had dinner (spaghetti!) and then got busy cleaning out the middle shelf unit of the garage.  All that, just to get to one small can that leaked!  It wasn't a big leak, and probably not enough to have even been dangerous.  But it did have a very strong odor.  Problem's solved now.

But it gave me an excuse to start back on getting Billyboy motivated to clean/de-clutter the garage.  And, believe me, I'm going to use it!

It's been a crazy week at work.  My wonderful boss, E.L., turned 95 on Monday.  He's been celebrating all week, and he's certainly entitled to.  Among other things, he had multiple pieces of chocolate birthday cake Monday and was like a sugared up toddler all afternoon!  He also thinks that Monday's holiday (not one we observe, given the Cherokee heritage) should be renamed to EL day.  I agreed with him, by the way.

I mentioned the library earlier.  Otter and I made our weekly trip today, we only had a few things that hadn't been turned in but we were desperately in need of more things to read.  We're stocked up now, although we both read fast so the books might not last quite as long as it looks like if you were to look at our bookshelf.

I've been reading some stuff about color blindness.  Dad had it, although he could see really bright colors like red.  Which is unusual, men usually have problems seeing red or green.  One of the rather interesting things I found was that the color problems I have, as do Froggy and Toadly, is very common with children of fathers who are colorblilnd.  I always thought that there was a connection, and it turns out that I was right.  It's usually passed from father to daughter, but not always.  Otter will have to watch for it when she has children, and so will Froggy's kids.  I'm not sure if JediMom or her kiddos have any issues with it.

I'm also wondering if the distance/depth perception problem I have might be related?  It's not an extremely bad depth perception problem, but there are times when it bothers me more than others.  When I'm driving, I tend to wait way longer than I have to when turning left - there is a distance where oncoming cars look like they are right in front of me but then they get to where they really are right in front of me, then I realize that they were pretty far away to start with.  I've suspected that Otter might have inherited it, and she thinks she has as well.  She notices it when driving, the same way I do but hers might not be as "bad" as mine is.  Froggy?  What about you?  I don't think Toadles has it.

Doggies go to the v.e.t. next week.  It's time for most shots.  And Maggie is in for a butt squishing!  (Don't tell her).

Tuesday Funny Stuff

First off: 

Zombie Preparedness

We saw this on the news this morning, and I found a link for it online.  It's absolutely brilliant on Ace's part.  And it's really funny.

Just because I think it's cute:

And one more:

Redheads Rule!

Also, just because it's funny:

I found my favorite, did you?

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JEDIMOM!  Although I think maybe I'm a day late.

Fall Sunday

It's officially been Fall for a few weeks now, but until today it didn't really feel like it.  It's been breezy, downright windy yesterday, and we've had some rain as well as a few cool days here and there.  But today is the first day that it's really felt like Fall to me.

We have rain on the way, which is always welcome.  And needed!  S. Texas got some rain overnight and this morning, from what my sisterfriend Virginia said they've actually had quite a bit in a short time.  We are in line for the same storm system, but it's slow moving so it might not be here for a while.  Well, the rain barrel still has quite a bit of water in it but it could use a top-off.

I got a lot of crochet done yesterday, and my arms are still tired!  But it was worth it and I really enjoyed it.  I have a few requested items to make, so I have projects this week to keep me busy.

This is a short post, but we've been busy all day and I'm tired.

HOOK 'EM!!!! (Posted Friday for Saturday)

Tired Thursday

I'm tired.  Mostly, because my allergies are beating me up.  I'm feeling foggy brained and sneezing frequently.  When I'm not sneezing, I'm coughing.  And wheezing, since the asthma is waking up due to the allergies.  I can't take allergy medicine, I have never found ANY at all that work for me.  They just make me dull & listless, and they keep me awake.  All of them.

So, I mostly just have to suffer.  I take motrin for the sinus pressure and/or headache, and try to keep the liquids pouring down for the irritated throat.

Actually, the allergy attack isn't extremely bad, it's just that it's "just enough" that I know it's there.  And that it's only going to get worse for the near future.

Fun!

I managed to get some crochet done today, I'm finished with the hat & scarf I was making but I still need to finish weaving in the tails on the hat.  And the scarf needs to be fringed.  But they are easy to do.  If I can find the time, that is.

I went to the grocery store after work today and it was kind of busy.  I don't like to wait until Thursday, but it just worked out that way.  I would have gone yesterday, but I had to take the car back in for something (the steering wheel was crooked) so I put it off to today.  We filled up the trunk, it was one of those "we're out of everything" trips.

Yes, I wore one of my Longhorn shirts.  No tailgating today, but tomorrow is the day that could be bad - since the Game is the next day.  I did compliment a teenage boy in the convenience store this morning, since he was wearing a Longhorn jacket.  He appreciated it, and I know how he feels!

We'll have company this weekend, so Bill's going to get out the grill.  I don't think we've used it at all this year.  I guess I'd better ask him if he checked the propane level!  It would not do at all to run out of propane in the middle of grilling burgers & dogs.

That would be a Bad Thing.

It's Taco Day!

Today is a fun day!  I'm not sure if it's a National Day or an International Day.  But either way is fine with us!  (The picture is from my trip to TEXAS last year).

Of course, we had tacos for dinner.  I forgot to take the ground turkey meat out of the freezer this morning, so we stopped at the grocery store on the way home and grabbed some.  I also picked up a container of Wholly Guacamole, but I forgot to put it out so no whack-a-mole for us tonight.  (It'll probably not survive long,  possibly tomorrow's snack style supper will be nachos and it will be gone quickly).  And, since I was later than I wanted to be and starving, I picked up a package of Spanish Rice mix.  Which I almost never do, but I didn't want to wait for Nuclear Spanish Rice to cook.  The mix was good, considering that it was actually Spanish Rice flavored vermicelli (think spaghetti).  At least the refried beans were actual beans, even if they were from a can and the fat-free variety.  We're stuffed.  But it was so good!

Did you have tacos today?  If not, you should have.

Sunday Sneezes

Achoo!

We've been doing a lot of that lately.  Today, especially.  But that might be because Otter gave the living room and Fenton a good dusting.  Which it needed, by the way. Bill's also been raising dust, as he is (finally) (begining to) getting the pachinko clutter in the living room under control.

The ragweed is still bad here, but it pretty much is everywhere this time of year.  Until we get a good freeze, we'll have to deal with it.  Also, goldenrod is blooming and it's nearly as bad as ragweed.  We still have morning glories, but they are pretty to look at without being an allergy factor.

Bill mowed the back yard after we got home from church today.  The front looks ok, so he's leaving it for a few days.  I brought in my humming bird feeders today, they are going to get a good cleaning and then be put away until next Spring.  It's still too early yet to put the seed feeders out.

We went to the dollar store today.  We do that fairly often, but we haven't been up there in a couple of weeks.  We made up for our absence today!  The cookie jar is now full, for one thing.

Otter is busy typing away at the moment, school work.  Is it still called homework at the college level?  That's what I'm calling it anyway.  She seems to be really enjoying college, and she also seems to be doing well with the workload.  She's taking 13 hours this semester.  Our music minister at church just sent his last kiddo off to school, she's away at college so they have a really empty nest.  I asked him today how they are doing, and he said that he and his wife have scheduled a bunch of things to do so they keep busy and don't have time to dwell on the fact that they have no more kids at home.  We still have about 2 years before Otter will most likely be heading off to dorm life.  I say "most likely" just for Bill's sake - he's not dealing well with the idea!  Suddenly, it's not so abstract anymore and Dad is having difficulties - he's going to be really bad when she's actually off somewhere.  I'm not looking forward to it, I think it will be good for her but I am going to be the one who has to deal with SadDad!  (Froggy, I bet you know what I'm talking about.)  Also, for reference:  Otter's new boyfriend will be referred to on here as HP because I think he looks like Harry Potter.

I put several rows on my afghan yesterday.  It's coming along nicely, but it's back in the tote bag I keep it in for a while.  Yesterday was cooler than it has been, but the afghan is really warm and getting to the stage where it's like a blanket on me as I work on it.  But I'm really pleased with it.

Movie Review:  Transformers Dark Side of the Moon.  Too long!  Not well written, not well acted and just not really very good.

I think it's time to go wake up a dog or two, they could probably use some backyard play time.  Or a snooze in the sunshine, which is what Maggie usually does after they run!  Frasier usually finds a spot to nap, but Maggie has her spot she prefers:  right in front of the back door.