Sunday Switches

No, not this kind:

The kind of switch I'm talking about is switching from this: 

to this:

We've had a couple of fairly cool nights, so it's time to change from my spring/summer quilt to Bill's fall/winter quilt.

It's been a quiet weekend.  Otter went to one of her friend's houses yesterday, for a birthday/Homestuck party that was also a sleepover for some of the girls.  Homestuck is a story series that is pretty popular, I think it's just internet based but Otter seems to really enjoy it.  She's told me a lot about it and it sounds fun.  She and her friends have regular get-togethers and there is a lot of cosplay (character costuming) involved.  Because Otter is a natural-born crafter, cosplay is right up her alley as Mom used to say.  She came home a couple of hours ago, I don't think that they got much sleep last night because about the first thing Otter said was that she was badly in need of caffiene.

Frasier is officially Nekkid Dog now, he has been for about 4 days now.  He still has some interest in the spot, but it's pretty much healed now and he doesn't seem to want to lick/chew as much as he did.  Just every so often.  He's much happier now and is also letting us sleep all night.  Maggie's also pleased, she was probably tired of having to run and hide when he wanted to play - she might have been spliced into multiple pieces by the cone!

Movie Review.  Pirates, Band of Misfits.  Let's just say that it was a complete waste of time and leave it at that.

I did get one thing done that I wanted to do this weekend:

My version of Pinterest!  It's in the stash closet, and it's intended use is for crochet & craft related things.  Articles, pictures, jokes, etc.  I have a similar sized bulletin board in the laundry room, it's covered to the point of invisibility with political, religious, etc. cartoons/columns/pictures and things that just fit us, such as cartoons that feature Engineers and their native insanity.

I'm not opposed to Pinterest, actually.  It's just something that I'm not going to participate in.  Two reasons.  1), I have well-justified privacy issues and 2) I have enough ways to waste time without adding any more!  I have a feeling that I'd probably spend hours and hours on Pinterest.  It looks like a lot of fun, though.

I think I'm going to go waste some time on Craigslist now.  We're always looking for pachinko machines, and it's just fun to browse.

Wednesday's W(h)ining

I went to Wine Wednesday at the liquor store today (they were very crowded!).  First time I've been in about 6 weeks!  I don't think I really have any wHines to talk about, even though it's Wednesday.

Except for the fact that Frasier was up again in the middle of the night and thought that we should all be up with him.  I haven't been doing his ears the last couple of days, but I think maybe I stopped too soon.  They look a tad bit on the pinkish side today, I treated them this morning and will continue with the morning/night treatments for the next few days.  He's been indoors & nekkid most of the afternoon since Otter was home after her classes and she said that he didn't lick at the spot once.  It's not totally healed, but it's close.  He'll wear the cone tonight.  He's better but I still don't trust him very far.

It rained this morning.  We got a few spells of hard rain and some thunder. It is supposed to be off & on rain over the next few days and into the weekend.  At least through Saturday, Sunday is supposed to be dry.  I think.

I've been slowly cleaning off my craft shelves & work bench.  I realized that I actually do very little crafting that requires the bench or the particular supplies on the shelves.  I used to do a lot of tole painting but I've pretty much painted everything that there is to paint.  I do occasionally need acrylic paint, so I'm not getting rid of it but we did clean out the empty/gunky ones not too long back.  Also, Otter and Bill need acrylics at times as well.  I realized that I was never, ever going to get around to the oneofthesedaysifIevergetaroundtoit mosaic project, so it's been tossed/donated/recycled as appropriate.  My planting stuff and bird feeders are on the shelves and they probably take up more room than craft supplies at this point.  Especially since Otter's got the shelves in her room for her stuff.  I'm not getting rid of the workbench (Bill made it for me) or the shelves, I still have some need for them.  I just don't need very much of the craft stuff that I used to.  However, Bill is still forbidden from using my shelves/workbench for his junk!  Except for the occasional time, like now, when he needs to use his rock tumbler and it has to be on a firm surface.  He doesn't tumble rocks, it works like a charm to clean pachinko pins (the little nails).  He has a larger tumbler that is actually meant for gun reloading supplies, but when he just has a few pins to clean the rock tumbler is just the right size.

Besides, I'd really rather have crochet as my main craft/obsession.  :)

Tooth Fairy Report and Whatever Else I Think Of

Otter saw the dentist today.  Her teeth are now shiny clean, and they look like they don't have any cavities.  The two top wisdom teeth are ready to come out, the dentist said that they can come out at any time but we don't have to be in a huge hurry.  So, the oral surgery/extraction is the Wednesday before Christmas.  That's over Otter's break between semesters.  It's an afternoon appointment, at 3:30.  Our thought is that she can have the procedure done, with the laughing gas, and then will probably be ready for bed (and a pain pill or allergy pill) early in the evening.  The thought is that she's still going to be uncomfortable and in pain, but maybe it will be easier on her if she can just come home and go to bed early.  I'll lay in a supply of yogurt and ice cream, as she's already requested.  One tooth is beginning to come through, which is an extraction.  But the 2nd tooth is not coming through as much, so it's an actual surgical extraction like both of the two lower ones were last year.

The rest of the story from the dentist is one that we were hoping never to hear.  Otter's teeth show some signs of possibly heading towards decalcification.  Like mine.  Like Froggy's.  Like Toadles'.  Like our Mom's.  It's not a given that it will happen, but it's a strong possibility.  The dentist wants her to try to head it off, she already takes good care of her teeth but she needs to increase her calcium intake.  She already gets a lot of calcium, but she's now going to start taking the same otc calcium supplement I take.  And probably even more calcium-rich dairy is in her future.  But she has the advantage of realizing it earlier that I did.  She has strong teeth (thanks Bill!), which is also in her favor.

We ran a couple of errands after the dentist, including going out to the fairgrounds to get Otter's ride pass.  The rides can be expensive, the passes are good for the entire run of the fair although we'll probably only go once.  She'll still get my money's worth out of it!  I'm going to try to remember to take pictures of the quilts and crochet, etc. at the fair this year.  I didn't get any pictures of the ribbon winning quilts last time (2 years ago) and Froggy was a little bit miffed.

So Froggy, this is for you:

Pucker up!

A word of explanation:  Froggy had a frog lick her foot one time, in the flower bed in front of her house.  She's not blognamed Froggy because she has any particular affection for them, either.  Which is Toadles' fault.  I'm responsible for the issues she has with turtles, fyi.  Froggy is a certified Master Naturalist and sometimes takes groups on tours for things.  Like an owl hunt one time, properly called an Owl Prowl.  Just to see and hear them, that type of hunting.  She signed up to take a group last Saturday evening, but didn't bother to read what she'd be hunting for.  You guessed it!  FROGS!!!!  Next time, you'll read the details first, I bet.

Otter, this next one is for you:

Smooch!

Sunday Changes

Yesterday was the first day of Fall.  But it's felt like Fall was already here for the past few days.  Mostly, morning and night.  It was actually chilly this morning, I went out on the back deck shortly after sunrise and it was cold.  It was a nice change.  It's still warm, today is supposed to be in the 80's but the air has that quality that says that Fall is here.

We went shopping today.  We hadn't been on one of our Rambles lately, so we did today.  We went to a nearby town that we've never been shopping at - even though we've lived here for nearly 20 years and it's a well-known antique area!  We just never quite got around to it, for some reason.  Somebody Bill works with told him about a pachinko machine at one of the antique stores, so Otter and I went one day last week.  We found the machine but didn't buy it, it was a little more than Bill wanted to pay.  Normally in that situation, the shop workers will call the seller and ask if he'll take less.  Or, if they can't get ahold of the seller they'll usually take one of our cards and call us when they are able to contact him.  Not this place!  Additionally, they were about the rudest people I've ever come across.  We're not the only customers that have been treated badly - turns out, they have a very well-earned reputation and are losing customers although they don't seem to understand why.  But there are several other stores in the area, so we decided to go back today.  While we were there, Bill wanted to go the first store again with the idea of sticking his card to the pachinko machine and a note to the seller.  The seller happened to be there at the time and he had absolutely no problem at all with coming down on the price.  He also said he might have a couple of other machines as well.

(I posted a negative review on one of the main online sites about the unpleasant experience I had when Otter and I were there the other day.  There were a few others besides mine.)

We hardly saw any spiders this summer, besides the occasional one in the house and one brown recluse.  But yesterday, there was a big one with a big web.  It was on the deck, in front of the windows from the living room.  I saw it early in the morning, it didn't have any bugs yet but it was a perfect web so it was probably newly built.  Later on when I went outside, it was gone.

Otter found several books at one of the other stores.  I didn't find anything, but I did see a lot of Fenton that I liked and the prices were actually good.  But I didn't particularly want to buy any of it.  Sometimes, it's just enough to see certain pieces.  It was still fun.  And everybody else in the other stores were nice!  And a lot more crowded than the first store.

Froggy, I started another potholder for your collection.  This one is several pieces that are assembled into one.  I was going to start on the 2nd part of it today, but Frasier had other plans for me.  Such as petting him with both hands at once and every time I took a hand off of him, the leg would come out and bop me and he'd whine.  Maggie decided that it looked like fun, so she plopped down in my lap (I was sitting on the floor since I'd just treated his leg) and got affectionated for a while as well.

Otter goes to the dentist tomorrow.  She just needs to get her teeth cleaned, but the dentist is also going to x-ray to check the status of the top two wisdom teeth.  Since Otter can feel at least one of them starting to come through her gums, we're hoping that a) they are coming in straight, b) she'll have enough room in her jaw for them to fit so that they won't have to be taken out, or c) if they do have to come out it will be easier since they are already on their way.  We'll see what she says tomorrow after she's had time to look at the x-rays.  After the dentist, I think we're going out to the fairgrounds and get Otter's ride pass since we are going to the fair this year.

Bill was going to mow the lawn today.  His plan was to mow when we got home from church, but we had just enough rain during the night to make the grass too wet.  He then thought that he would mow when we got home from our Ramble, but it started sprinkling and the grass is just wet enough that it's too wet.  He's aiming for tomorrow after work at this point.

Movie Review:  Snow White and the Huntsman.  It was better than I thought it would be.  It was also longer than we expected.  It's a fairly dark story, but then the original story is very dark - the Disney version is not the original story by a long shot.  It's an old, old story actually.

Guess that's it for now!  My laundry is calling me.

Update on Frasier

Mostly.  There might be other stuff as well.  You never know.

OK, dogster.  He's doing great!  He's still in his collar most of the time, but I've noticed that he is less interested in the spot when he's nekkid.  He still licks it some, we watch him but the dog does get to have privacy at times!  The spot has gone from a huge, bloody mess to a small spot that looks more like a burn than an open wound.  I'm still spraying it, but he's been off of the antibiotics for about a week.

He's still terrorizing Maggie Moo every chance he gets!  He's playful and has a lot of energy, they have always had a lot of play time.  But with the cone on, Maggie doesn't want to play.  He'll force her to play, and one of us will usually take the cone off of him so that she doesn't get spliced into multiple pieces!

Speaking of Maggie Moo, she got a much-needed bath last night.  She was really getting smelly, and not in a good way.  Especially since her adventure under the shed the other day.  She was not amused, but she got bathed and smells much better.  Frasier was funny, he groomed her pretty much over every inch after her bath.

They're both pretty spoiled.

Arrrrrrr!

Or, Yar! Or, Arghh!

Whichever one you prefer.

Because...

It's Talk Like A Pirate Day!

(I have not checked the website link very much, so enter at your own risk.)

This was taken in 2008, but she's still my favorite pirate.

Today, Krispy Kreme was giving away a donut to anyone who came into their store and "talked like a pirate."  If said pirate was wearing a costume, they got a free dozen donuts.

Otter was well prepared for this one!  She wore her Pirates t-shirt to class today, and had her bandana and hat in her bag.  Her gloves were on her hands.  No weapons, but she did have the most appropriate earrings she could find.  There were a lot of pirates at college today, and some of them had on the full costume.  Two of Otter's friends went to Krispy Kreme and brought back their dozens to share.

When I picked Otter up, we headed straight to the donut place.  I waited in the car, my stupidleftknee was bothering me and I knew that there would be a long line so I sent the Pirate in.  While I was waiting, I could see through the windows and the store looked like it had been raided by an entire Pirate ship because there were so many!  Of all ages, and in various states of costume.  Basically, even if it was just a kid with an eye patch on they would get a dozen donuts.  When Otter was getting ours (she said Yarr! as she got up to order), they had run out of donuts and were making more so ours are fresh.  I think that the Russel Stover store might have also been participating in Pirate Day, because I saw two pirates walking out of their door.

Sorry, Toadles.  I didn't see any pirates with cursing parrots on their shoulders!

Can You Hear Me Now?

If you call me on the phone, you can.  Our phone was repaired yesterday.  It was probably caused by the rain, there was a short in the line but it was not by the neighbor's fence like we thought.  It was actually closer to the house, most likely in the pvc tube that leads from the phone box to the ground and has the phone line in it.  It's fixed now.

Frasier was noisy Sunday night.  He was bored and lonely for Mom.  He barked once or twice, I checked to make sure he was not wanting to go outside (he didn't) and then I went back to bed.  Shortly after that, he started talking.  I hollered at him to hush and yelled "NO" loudly.  He shut up.  Then, about 3 minutes later, he did it again.  I yelled "NO" again and he got quiet and stayed that way for the rest of the night.  Last night, he was silent.  But he got more excercise yesterday, we ran him around the back yard a few times and he got to play chase with Maggie.  I think that helped him.

Both doggies had a mini-adventure yesterday.  I got Otter at college after her class and brought her home, so that someone would be here for the phone repair guy.  Before I headed back to work, we let them out in the back.  After both of them answered the call of nature, Frasier made a sudden bee-line for the shed.  Maggie Moo was just finishing up her business, when she suddenly turned her head in the direction of the shed and did what we refer to as "missile lock" which means that she developed tunnel vision and the shed was the reason.  She ran, and she is FAST when she wants to be, to the shed and immediately went underneath it.  Then we heard what we hoped was a cat, but could also have been the beagle call that she's found prey.  If it was a cat, ok - that we can handle.  If it was the beagle's prey call, then it could have meant one thing and one thing only:  SKUNK.  I started calling both dogs away right then - Frasier was on the other side of the shed and I could hear him by then.  At that point, a large, furry grey and white cat exploded out from under the shed and just about flew to the fence - with the beagle thisclose behind.  The cat got away, Maggie was very pleased with herself.  Frasier?  Well, he was still on the other side of the shed.  Because he was hung up in brush because the cone got him stuck again!  He's such a goofy boy.

When the repair guy was here, Frasier was in overprotective mode.  He does that, especially when Bill's not home.  Bill was working a b(oring)ard meeting, so he wasn't home.  The dog did not want me or Otter out of his sight, and he made a point of staying between me and the kitchen door - the repairman was on the other side of the door where the junction box is.  I guess Frasier is forgiven for the night noise, since he took good care of us while he was "on duty" as we refer to it.

We let the dogsters out in the back yard for a while just now, they ran and ran and ran and ran and ran...  Now, I think they are both snoozing in the living room floor.

It was really pleasant today.  It was cool this morning, high 50's.  It was supposed to get to the mid-to high 80's today but I don't think it quite got there.  Tonight it could be in the 40's!  It's nearly time to switch out quilts, from mine to Bill's camo quilt.  We're still using the fans in the bedrooms, but probably not for long.  It will be time for the humidifiers soon enough.

Hurry Winter!  (Maybe.)

Sunday Martinis

There are martinis:

And then there are MARTINIS!

I'm not a martini drinker, but I have to admit that Frasier really reminds me of one lately. :)

(I just noticed that the Frasier picture was photobombed by a beagle!)

Dog's on my list.  The bad list.  I've slept in the living room the last couple of nights so that Bill could at least get a little extra sleep in the mornings.  Frasier is used to being fed about 5:30, and although he is able to eat some with the cone on, it's easier for him to be nekkid.  Also, the cone has to be put back on as soon as he's finished because he's attempting to lick the incision spot every time the cone comes off.  Friday night, I wasn't feeling the best due to the flu shot and didn't sleep too well anyway - except for the one time when Frasier woke me up.  Because he was stuck!  The cone got caught between the end of the couch and a wooden magazine stand we have, he was unable to free himself so he made noise until he got my attention.  I felt kind of sorry for the dork, actually.  (I got him unstuck, but it took some pulling and rearranging.  But he went right back to sleep after that.  I think he was embarassed.)  Last night, I was still not feeling the best but I did manage to sleep.  At least, I did until 3:00 a.m.!  That's when Frasier decided it was time to wake up and play.  From 3:00 until about 5:30, my time was mostly spent telling the dog to be still, be quiet, get off me, etc.  I fed them about 5:45, then Bill got up and ordered me back to bed.  He took the fan back to the bedroom for me, and I slept about another hour or so.  But I'm still tired.

I'm also still feeling cruddy.  This has been a bad reaction year, as far as the flu shot goes.  Also, the shot was higher on my arm than normal and it is still fairly sore.  I've rested as much as I could today, I never quite went to sleep but I did lie down a few times and almost doze off.  Otter is reaction-free so far, except for the arm soreness.

Frasier has managed to get out one dog door at a time, but he can never get out both of them.  We have had to go get him out of the garage and let him in/out a few times today.  He also managed to get himself hung up behind the shed today, but he freed himself before I could get there.  He's becoming a real menace to my knees at times, with that cone.  The cone itself is looking just a little bit beat up!  The incision is really healing up, it's very small now but I think it's going to take several days yet before it is healed up and healed enough to let him be cone-free.

I did manage to get a little crochet done yesterday.  I put one row on the afghan.  But I was already tired and it made me sleepy, so I gave in and took a nap.  I sometimes take a nap on Saturday afternoon, but it usually only lasts about a half hour.  I think I slept for about an hour and a half yesterday.

It's been rainy.  Friday was rainy off and on, yesterday had a few drizzles and this morning was very foggy.  It hasn't rained today, but it's been nice and we've had the house open to air out.  We have a slight grace period between rain cleaning the pollen out of the air and the pollen starting up again.  We're enjoying it.

September 15, 1919

Happy Birthday Dad.

I miss you.

Ouchies

We got ours today.  I've been having allergy issues and was probably a little over the threshhold to get my shot, but I did anyway.  The threshhold is the line between not having an illness of any sort and having one.  It won't affect the flu shot or it's effectiveness, but it can make a reaction worse.  Since I pretty much always have one, I don't know if I'll notice or not. !!

The shot itself didn't hurt, and I felt fine for a while longer than normal.  But within about 1/2 an hour, I felt what I refer to as the "wave" come over me.  That's the wave of not feeling the best, and it's generally accompanied by a slight feeling of fever.  We were in Wally at the time, getting our mandatory ice cream, but we were nearly finished getting what was on our very small list.

We took our tylenol (Otter)/Motrin (me) about 3:00 or so and I'm probably going to take another dose when I go to bed tonight.  Otter will probably take her allergy pills.

On a lighter note, there was no appearance of the RedHead Curse today!  Although we did remember to warn the tech giving us the shots.  At least she's had the lesson and will be prepared the next time she has one of us to deal with.

The lasagne is in the oven, the garlic toast will go in when the lasagne comes out and then the ice cream will come out of the freezer.  That's the exciting Friday night we have planned.  We usually have relaxed Friday evenings anyway, but this is our annual "sick weekend" or at least it could be, so we don't generally have much planned other than maybe a drink and watching whatever is on tv.

Also, Bill's stash increased today.  He bought another pachinko at a yard sale in a neighboring town that he saw advertised on Craigslist.  This one was out in the middle of nowhere, down a country road basically.  He didn't have one like it before.  It's dirty, but they usually are.

I might see about reducing my stash tomorrow.  If I feel halfway decent, and if my arm is not too sore from the shot.  It takes a LOT to keep me away from my yarn!

What a Day...

it's been.  And what a week it's been!

Frasier is much better, I've been treating his ears for a couple of days and it's made a huge difference.  I managed to sleep in my own bed the last couple of nights with no noises from the dog.  He's had the cone off a few times and has realized that he can reach the spot on his leg, so the cone is now only taken off so he can eat and when I treat his ears.  Sometimes, it will come off if I'm sitting in the living room and he's at my feet where I can watch him.  Otherwise, he's a conehead.  The spot is much smaller, I can almost see it shrinking up.  It hasn't bled anymore.  But since Frasier has licked it a bit, it's a little redder.  I don't think it's infected and it does seem to be healing up.  But it's a battle keeping him away from it.  He's on the antibiotics for a couple more days and the spray until it's healed completely.

The Teenager has been sick this week.  The 95-year-old-teenager I work for.  He's not extremely ill, but he will ignore things until he really is sick because he simply does not want to admit that he might be.  This week was no exception.  Yesterday, he needed to go to his eye doctor and he picked the one day I wasn't able to take him because I had to get Otter somewhere.  One of his buddies, the chemical guy we use on the wells, took hm and waited with him.  Then he took the Teenager home, and told him he was not allowed to leave his apartment - the Teenager must have been feeling really badly by that point, because he actually listened!  This morning, he called me and asked if I could go pick up a prescription that his doctor was calling in.  I never could get through to the pharmacy to see if it was ready, so I just headed up there.  They tried to tell me that they hadn't gotten it from the doctor, but then they found it and said it would take 15 - 20 minutes to fill it.  It took 45!  There were 8 or 10 pharmacists on staff and they were not busy.  I can see why the Teenager wants to change pharmacies, I have never been a fan of CVS anyway and this makes me even less interested in ever using them.  I took him his medication and he was much better, but realized that he needed to stay home and rest.  His car is still at the office, it's been there since yesterday morning and I'll go get him tomorrow if he decides to come in to the office.  I really don't mind.  The Younger Boss is on vacation (again) this week and is out of state, so it's been a very quiet (boring) work week for me.

Today is National Peanut Day and International Chocolate Day.  Yesterday or the day before was International Ice Cream Day.

Otter and I are getting our flu shots tomorrow.  We had been thinking of waiting a few weeks, but after looking at the calander we realized that we have something every time we thought we would get them.  She has a dentist appointment, she's going to a friend's house, we want to go to the fair and a few other things.  Nothing earth shattering but since there is still the wildcard of reactions to the flu shot, we're going to go tomorrow.  We're both having allergy issues, which could intensify any potential reaction but we need to get the shots so we're just going to think good thoughts and go.

Then we'll go get ice cream!

Dog Tails

Actually, Tales is the appropriate word.  But Tails sounds & looks better!

Frasier's won this round.  He was noisy all night.  He barked a couple of times, I tried to get him to go out but he wouldn't.  I went to bed and eventually used my ear plugs because of Bill's congestion and snoring because he was congested.  I didn't hear much, but I did hear my dog "talking" off and on all night.  At 4:15, I got up and I've been up ever since.  Frasier is prone to ear infections, I have drops to treat him with when he needs it.  He can't scratch his ears while wearing the cone, and his ears are bothering him.  We thought he was just griping for general purposes or because of the cone, but I now think that his ears have been bothering him for a few days.  I started treating his ears this morning.  I can tell that they were bothering him, because he lets my put the drops in without any protest.  I bought a big bottle of the ear stuff today and I'm going to be treating him two or three times a day for the next few days.

And tonight, I'm giving in and sleeping on the couch.  Otherwise, nobody gets any sleep!  I don't particularly sleep the best on the couch, but I will be able to get at least a little sleep.  So will Bill and Otter.  Maggie Moo probably doesn't want me in there, she can't sleep on the love seat when anybody is in there to see her jumping up on it.  Poor, deprived beagle!

Fraiser's surgical wound looked a little red when we got home, but he'd apparently been parked in the one dirty spot in their yard and it had a little dirt on it.  I sprayed it, then took a q-tip and gently removed the dirt.  There wasn't much.  While I was at it, I also took care of his ears and gave him his antibiotic pill.  Maggie always gets a bite of whatever Frasier's pill is in, tonight it was some ham lunch meat.

I keep remembering all those nights of being awakened by a crying baby, about 20 years ago.  But I was 20 years younger then.  This is very similar.  Except that babies grow up, dogs are eternal two-year-olds. :)

Sunday Tacos

(Bet you can't guess what we're having for dinner tonight!)

Fall is not for another two weeks, but today feels very much like a Fall day.  It was nice & cool when we got up this morning, Pastor Dave remarked about how much he liked the Fall weather in church this morning and it's still nice.  It's sunny and a little warm, but not hot.  Bill mowed the lawn after we got home and he said that it feels cooler outside than inside the house.

I trimmed a bunch of limblets off the trees in the back, and did NOT see any sign of bugs with stingy ends.  We did see several dragon flies, but since they eat grasshoppers and there are billions of those, I'm not surprised that there are so many dragon flies.  We saw a couple of hawks as well.  Also, I forgot about this, but the other day (Sunday or Monday morning), we saw an eagle on top of one of the houses under construction behind us.  It stayed there for a long time before it eventually flew off.  We couldn't tell what kind it was, but Bald Eages are in this area and it's possible.  We've seen them before.  It was B.I.G., whatever variety it was.

I'm wondering how much longer we'll have hummingbirds.  They usually start heading south about this time, and I've only seen one lately instead of the three we'd been seeing.  I'll keep the feeders up for a while, because the migrating birds need food on their journey.

There are 4 baby bluebonnets in the whiskey barrel, with two possible other ones.

Frasier is doing pretty good.  He's tolerating the cone, but he'd much prefer that he didn't have to wear it.  The spot looks grody, but it's definitely starting to shrink.  I'm spraying it twice a day, which he's not a fan of, but since he's also getting petted and ear/chin scratches at the same time he will put up with it.  It hasn't bled since Friday.  I'm thinking that he might be ok tomorrow without someone coming home at lunch and letting him in but we'll decide officially tomorrow morning.  He did manage to get into the garage while we were at church, but then he was apparently stuck and couldn't get back out.  So, their indoor water dish is going to be out in the garage so that he can at least get water.  He is able to get water with the cone on.  I can tell he's feeling good because he's getting playful again.  Even with the cone on, he's terrorizing poor Maggie! :)

I have decided that I'm going to work on my afghan now and not wait for cooler weather.  If we actually get any cool weather this winter, that is.  I originally planned it as a winter project, because it's getting big and it is warm.  My thought was that I'd be able to finish it last winter, but I kept waiting and winter never really got here.  Then it got to be summer again and it was really just too hot so the afghan stayed in the closet.  I got it out yesterday and started back on it.  I put two rows on it.  I like to have a couple of UFO's going at a time, so that if I get bored with one particular project but still want to crochet, I can.  I just don't particularly like to have huge projects or projects that take as long as the afghan has.  I think it's about 1/2 way done.  I intend to finish it this year.  I'm not going to hold my breath about winter, just in case!

We didn't really have any major tree damage from Friday's wind, but there were a few tiny limbs that had broken off.  Nothing major.  But there were some places that had it really bad, including a mobile home or trailer that was destroyed and the three people inside were killed.  And that was just "regular" wind, not tornadic.  We got enough rain after the wind so that the cars aren't all red & dusty at least.

This week will be both a busy week at work and a slow week at work.  Younger boss is on vacation, and I'll have the Teenager all to myself.  Sometimes, I get nothing at all done during Younger boss's vacations!

Movie Review:  Battleship.  It was ok.  Not spectacular, but some of the special effects were really good.  But we would have been disappointed with theater prices.

I've finally decided that my oneofthesedaysifIevergetaroundtoit mosaic project is never going to be gotten around to.  I'm going to clean out the glass pieces and either donate them (marbles & craft pieces) to Otter or (broken pieces) toss them in the recycle bin.

OK, back to my neverending chore of laundry.

46 Years of Greatness!

This is Google's doodle for today:

I think it's absolutely adorable!

And when the Borg Queen speaks...

Here's today's Frasier update:  I took him out before bedtime last night, he went out and came right back in.  After we went to bed, he barked.  A few times.  Then he knocked the dog block/baby gate down again.  I put it up again, but I put it on the other side of the door frame so that it would be blocked by the frame if he tried it again.  Then, I headed back for bed and he barked some more.  Bill thought that it didn't sound like a lonely bark, but that maybe he needed to go outside.  So, I took him out again and that was what he wanted - not sure why he couldn't tend to his business 15 minutes or so earlier!  After that, he was fairly quiet.

This morning, I gave him his pill in the corner of a piece of bread.  He ate the bread, the pill fell out and he promptly picked it up and ate it.  When Otter and I were getting ready to leave, we took him out and I sprayed the spot.  He didn't particularly like it, but he tolerates just about anything I do.  When I brought Otter home at lunch, he was fine and both dogs were happy to see us.  When I got home, they had been outside but had just come in and Frasier was messy - as in bloody.  Not like a serious gush, but it was still obvious that the spot had been bleeding.  I think it was the skin around it, it looked like maybe he'd bumped it on something.  The spot itself doesn't look that bad.  There were several spots of blood on the carpet, small ones and Otter got most of them cleaned up.  We'll get the spot cleaner out on Sunday and tackle it again.  I got Frasier to lie down and we put a towel underneath his leg, then I sprayed it really good.  Instead of dabbing the excess off, we petted him and he was content to stay on the towel.  It looks better than I thought it would.  He got tonight's pill in another piece of bread, this time with a little butter spread on it to keep the edges sealed so that the pill didn't fall out.  I might spray him again tonight.  I'm also considering sleeping in the living room, because he needs quite a bit of help/care in the mornings and it would be easier that way.

The rest of today's excitement is that we had a cold front scheduled to come through tonight.  It was early.  Way early, like about 4:00!  And it was preceeded by 50 - 60 + mph winds.  The winds hit as I was waiting to turn at an intersection and I felt my car move a few inches.  It was that strong.  I had one more errand to do, which was the video store to rent tomorrow's movie (Bill's choice:  Battleship) and I got that done quickly.  I had an interesting drive home, to say the least.  The wind was still just as strong and gusty, but I had to go over a really tall bridge and also past several construction areas that are basically just scraped down to the dirt.  Actually, red sand - this is NE Oklahoma, after all.  You know the pictures of sand storms in the dessert and parts of Arizona?  Well, I now know exactly what it's like to be in the middle of one.  It was a rather hairy drive home.  I'm sure that the cars are in need of a serious washing now.  Bill gets off work at 4:00, he had to deal with it just after he got on the freeway.  Which had several times the normal amount of traffic it gets at 4:00.  He said he had an adventure driving home, but that he spent a lot of time in traffic that wasn't moving.  That was the first wave, the second one is on the way but I don't think it's supposed to be as bad.  The turnpike at Oklahoma City had several 18-wheelers overturned when the front went through there.

Yes, Dad.  I hear you! :)

Frasier is Giving Me Grey Hair!

(I took the word verification off for comments, it's a hassle sometimes and the words are impossible to read.)

Actually, I should probably say that he's giving me more grey hair since I already have some.

I slept in my own bed last night.  Frasier didn't want me to.  He barked once after we'd been in bed about 30 minutes or so, and I yelled for him to hush.  I looked out from the bedroom door and could tell that there wasn't anything wrong, other than the fact that he wanted my company.  So I went back to bed.  A little while later, I heard one more bark but it wasn't quite as loud.  I ignored that one, since I thought maybe he was testing to see if he'd get any response.  Sometime after that, Bill was snoring so I grabbed my ear plugs and went to sleep.  I got up somewhere around 4:20 for a bathroom visit, and it was really too late to go back to sleep but I did at least get back in bed until the alarm at 5:00.  When I went into the livingroom, Frasier was sprawled out on the floor as normal but Maggie Moo was waiting by the dog block.  Usually, she's on the love seat which is off limits to her but she still sleeps there if nobody sees her.  I made sure that he was able to get outside (not that he did) and get water.  When Otter got up and fed them, (her job) she said that he kept her awake most of the night because he was "talking."  I didn't hear him because of the ear plugs.  She didn't take an allergy pill last night, which is probably the only reason she actually heard him.

Tonight, I'm planning on at least starting out in my own bed.  But I might move to the couch, if I have to.  We'll see.

When we came home at lunch, I brought the dogs in and Frasier went straight to the water dish.  I took the cone off of him and he drank and drank and drank...  But then he went back for more after the cone was back on and he was able to drink without any problem.

However, we discovered that his wound looked really bad and bloody.  I called the vet and they said to bring him in this afternoon.  I had to go back to work, or we would have taken him right then.  But since Otter was home and could watch him, and it wasn't gushing blood, they (and we) felt like he was ok to wait.  We took him after I got home, Maggie Moo went along for moral support - also known as it's impossible to get one dog leashed and out without the other!  Maggie got droopy this time, she didn't really want to be there.  When we got into the exam room, she ran to the corner and stood there.  When she heard someone out in the hallway, she immediately got underneath Otter's chair and squished herself into as small a space as she could! :)  When she realized that nothing unpleasant was happening to her, she came out from under the chair but she was still very timid about actually taking a treat from the vet.  However, the belly won out and she was happier after that.

The vet looked at the wound and agreed with me that the stitches had pulled out.  He went ahead and clipped them all out.  Frasier did pretty good, although he did try to move his leg a couple of times.  After the vet was through, Frasier put one of his front paws up on the vet's knee and had the sweetest expression on his furry face.  The vet didn't think that he would be able to re-stitch it, as big as it is, and I think he was right.  I don't think he was particularly surprised tht the stitches didn't hold.  I wasn't.  Basically, it is left like it was when he removed the stitches.  It looks like an open wound, but he could see some definite signs of healing.  I think he figured out a while back that I'm not squeamish.  (I never was particularly squeamish, but if I had been - Bill would have cured me quickly with all his accidents!)  The wound looks like the sides are flapping open but the skin/muscle underneath looks healthy.  I asked the vet if he still thought it was a lick granuloma and he thinks that it might have started out that way, but for whatever reason it turned into a cyst or tumor.  He said it was bigger than he thought, once he started removing it and that he also thought it had grown bigger quickly in the two weeks between the decision to take it off and the actuall procedure.  I thought it was growing quickly at the time.

He gave me an antiseptic spray to use twice a day and he sprayed it so we could see just how much to use - a lot, it needs to be soaked as much as I can and then I am to take a paper towel and dab a little bit off so it doesn't drip.  He also gave me an antibiotic pill that Fraiser gets twice a day.  I gave him the first dose tonight, in some ground turkey meat.  He said we can wrap it if we feel like we need to, but it will mean a very heavy, thick & stiff cotten, gauze and vetwrap bandage that might be too stiff for the dog to even walk with.  I won't do that unless I need to.  Fraiser won't need to go back at this point, unless it bleeds or gets infected.  Otter will be home with the dogs tomorrow afternoon, and then we'll decide about Monday after we see how it does over the weekend.  He'll have the cone on for the foreseable future.

I probably won't spray it tonight, since the vet did it today.  The spray is actually what is used in cleaning areas for surgery, and it came in a concentrated form.  We ran to Wallyworld and got a spray bottle, because it needs to be mixed with water.

I did not post a picture, it looks horrible.  It's not as bad as it looks, but it does look pretty gross.  If anybody wants to see it, I'll post one or email.

Frasier has been much happier the last few days.  He was acting like he wasn't happy or maybe not feeling the best in the days leading up to the vet's decision to take it off and the actual surgery.  We thought the growth was bothering him.  Since the surgery, once he got over the initial pain and the indignity of the cone, he's been playful again and like a puppy.  A big, fluffy, puppy with grey hair, but still a puppy.  I'm very happy that my puppy is back!

Frasier Tales

And other horror stories.

OK, it's not a horror story.  But I am exhausted!  I decided to sleep on the couch last night, since Frasier was antsy and the incision had a slight amount of blood on it earlier in the day (I think I mentioned that already.)  He wasn't too bad at first, there was a little snuggling with mom but the dog eventually curled up on the floor by the couch and went to sleep.  I didn't sleep to soundly, but part of that was because the beagle was snoring!  Like a freight train.  Frasier made a little noise himself, though.  I got up to go to the bathroom around 3:00 and that was the end of the night, as far as Frasier was concerned.  He was ready to a) play, b) have breakfast, c) play.  I managed to get back to the couch and after I pushed his head (and cone) off of me 3 or 4 times, he decided to curl up and I thought maybe I could get back to sleep.

Which might have actually happened, if we hadn't had a thunderstorm.  The lightning was just enough to keep waking me up, and I am pretty sure that Fraiser was watching and waiting for me to wake up again.  By the time I finally got him settled and convinced that he did not need to play with me, it was nearly 5:00 and that's about when I normally get up.

I came home at lunch to check on him, Otter is taking the afternoon shift with the dog so she was home all afternoon and could watch him.  While I was home, we noticed that the incision had been bleeding again.  Not gushing, more like a stitch might be tearing slightly or possibly he could have bumped it.  It's on the front of his leg, so it may get bumped a lot.  We cleaned it up, then I decided to call the vet to see if there was something we were supposed to do at this point.  He said to just keep cleaning it off and watch for redness, gushing or anything that makes us think it's infected.  (We don't think it is).  At this point, Frasier will not go back to the vet until Monday to get the stitches removed.  I'm hoping that we can take the cone off of him at that point, but I'm not holding my breath about it.  Dog is determined and he is smart.  That can be a very interesting combination!

I'm sleeping in my own bed tonight.  If Frasier barks, I'll tell him to shut up.  If he knocks the dog block down, I might just get up and close off some of the doors so that they don't get the run of the house.

I have another tale.  This one involves one of these (but much, much larger):

I was calling it a bullfrog, but I think it was technically a toad.  Either way, we have one of them living on the deck.  It probably lives under the deck and in the morning glories, because we've heard it before and seen it a few times.  Or maybe we saw a different one, this was was huge.  Probably one of the biggest toads I've seen in years.  Last night, nearly 10:00, I went out to get the sun tea that I'd nearly forgotten.  As I was stepping out the door, my foot came into contact with something - as soon as I felt it, I raised my foot so it wasn't squashed.  When I first felt it, my first thought was "Good Lord, what did I just step on because that is not fur!"  I was thinking snake, and a big one at that.  I'm not afraid of snakes, but I have a very healthy respect for them - especially certain ones that rattle!  I got back quickly, in case it was a snake, and saw this huge toad and I swear it was giving me a dirty look!  Then, I had to catch it because it kept trying to hop in the door.  Guess he thought he was invited in for the night.  I relocated him to the grassy area just off the deck and he probably had quite a night, as many grasshoppers as we've seen lately.  We hope he stays around, just not where I'm trying to walk.

Froggy, I thought of you!

Four Thirty!

Four Blooming Thirty is what time my dog decided it was time to get up.  By "get up", he meant me.  At 4:30 this morning!

He barked.  Once.  Once was just enough to wake us up.  I went to the living room to check, thinking he maybe needed to go outside.  No, he just thought it was playtime!  Poor Maggie Moo, she looked like she'd been played out.  I told Frasier to be quiet, then I went back to bed.  I knew I wouldn't be able to go back to sleep, so I mostly just laid there with my eyes closed.  The dogs are usually fed at 5:30, but it's been closer to 5:00 the last few mornings and that might also be part of the reason.

I think I'm going to have to do something like this to him:

I think he'd look just lovely.

Froggy - I slept in my bed last night, in answer to your question.  Blogger didn't tell me that you'd left me a comment, otherwise I'd have answered you already.  Tonight, I'm not sure.  I want to sleep in my own bed, but it might be the couch again.  At least that way Bill and Otter will get some sleep.   Although she's always been a hard sleeper - she even slept through the tornado siren once!

I'm beginning to think that the collar is going to stay on him until at least next Monday, when he goes back to the vet.  He's had at least two times today when he's been out of the collar for outside trips and both times, Otter's had to haul his face off of his leg.  One time was when I was home at lunch, and that was the first time.  Which is also when we discovered that he was bleeding at the incision site.  Not a lot, we think he might have chewed instead of licked but he was stopped almost immediately.  Otter got me a washcloth and got it damp with cool water, then I washed his leg off around the incision and could tell that it was just a little blood.  I don't think it's going to be infected or anything, but we're going to watch it.  After cleaning his leg off, I got to spot clean a couple of places on the carpet.  The cone has been on him nearly all the time since then and from now until "whenever", it's going to stay on him.  Exept for when he's eating and we'll take it off a few times to let him get water - but we will stay right there and also between him and the doggie door.

I am tired!

But it could be so much worse, it was a big place that was removed and it was not cancerous.  As much as I've been griping about Fraiser, he's a very special dog and very much part of the family.  Although poor Maggie Moo might be ready to ship him off to the nearest circus!

I am desperately in need of a yarn fix.  I did a little crochet on Saturday, but I was pretty tired since I'd spent most of Friday night with a dog leaning on me so I didn't get much sleep.  I did about 3 minutes of crochet and it almost put me to sleep.  At that point, I put it away and then I took a nice, long nap.  I haven't touched the yarn since then, I've been helping Bill clean pachinko pins and my arms are sore!  Pins are the tiny, brass nails that are all over the background of the pachinko.  They have to be cleaned by hand and each one has to be done individually.  The best way is to take the polish, dab it on the long part of the nail with a q-tip, then take a piece of cotton string, wrap a look around the nail and then pull both sides of the string back and forth while working your way up and down the nail.  The string has to be changed several times during each nail.  It's hard on the arms, my are muscles are really tight at the moment.  I think I'm taking a pachinko break tonight, but we'll be back at it tomorrow.

If I'm able to stay awake, that is.  I'm really wishing that Frasier's pain/anti-inflammatory pills were the type that would make him sleepy.  I might talk to the vet tomorrow and see if they have any suggestions, but I'm thinking that we're just going to have to tough it out.  Otter is probably going to be coming home after class the rest of the week, both to keep an eye on Frasier and the licking, and to let the dog have at least a few nekkid* minutes so he can at least get some water.  He loves ice cubes, so he's had a few of those today.

I just hope he's quiet tonight!

*Nekkid has been addressed previously.  It's an official word in the TEXAS language.  It means an state of undress, but it can apply to other things as well.  Such as a steak might be nekkid if it doesn't have any sauce on it.  By the way, steak sauce is A1 and only A1.

I Thought My Young Baby Days Were Over!

But apparently I was wrong.

The baby in question is Frasier.  He's doing really well, at least as far as his incision and healing go.  I spent Friday night sleeping on the couch, and he spent most of the night leaning on me.  I think he was uncomfortable and needed his mama.  There is a reason my local mother in law calls him a mama's boy!  Saturday night, he was good.  He did fine, although he wasn't too happy about the cone.  Last night was a different story.  I think we'd been in bed about 30 minutes, just long enough to be falling asleep, when I heard the dog block falling down in the hallway.  I get up to check it, and there's Frasier waiting for me.  I put it up, he leaned on it hard until it fell.  We do this a couple of times, then I finally just gave up because I was too tired to deal with it.  I got my bedding, pillows and the fan and camped out on the couch again.  He didn't lean on me all night, but he did sleep right beside the couch as close to me as he could get.  Big baby!  I didn't get much sleep, then I got up at 5:00 to feed them, let him out and medicate him.  I went back to sleep then, until 7:00 and I probably got the best sleep since 11:00 last night!

He's been nekkid* (without the cone) part of the time today.  But he's also tried to lick the spot a few times, so the cone goes back on him.  We've let him out without it a few times, but somebody has to go with him.  He's gone out twice, by himself, and both times I've had to get him back in because I can see him from the kitchen window when he's going out to the grassy area to relieve himself.  When he doesn't get to the grassy area, he's generally on the concrete sidewalk right outside the doggie door and licking.  Froggy said she feels sorry for him, but she wasn't kept up most of the night by him!

Tomorrow, the dogs will be back outside and Frasier will have to have the collar on.  Otter will be home after her class, so he'll be inside and hopefully nekkid* all afternoon.  Not sure yet about Wednesday and the rest of the week.  They do have a sheltered spot with shade since he won't be able to get back inside the garage through the doggie door with the cone on, and they have water.  I'm not really sure about his ability to get a drink with the cone on, which is another reason why Otter will be home after class.  As hot as it is, they'll need additional water.  We'll probably feed him several ice cubes before we leave in the morning.  They normally get a long drink of water after they eat but it's going to be pretty hot and we don't want to take a chance with him.

We've had a nice, calm Labor Day.  We didn't have anything in particular planned, we had burgers & oven fries Friday night since Otter was going to spend the afternoon at one of her girlfriends.  I made meatloaf and brown gravy (yes, Pioneer brand!) and Bill made his World Famous Mashed Potatos.  They were on the menu for yesterday, but nobody was really hungry for anything big so it got put off until today.  Which was fine with Otter, she loved the potato part of the menu but is not a fan of meatloaf.  I made a lot of potatos, so there is plenty left for her if she's hungry when she gets home today.

We did manage to get out this morning.  We went to Wallyworld for the vitamins I forgot yesterday and we got vanilla ice cream while we were there.  We also went to the dollar store, for two things but actually got about 10.

Bill and I were going to do some stuff out in the yard and cut up some tree limbs to an allowable size so we could put them out with the trash this week.  But it's 105 today, and it got that way fast.  It's also pretty humid and not at all pleasant to be outside.  It's going to be that way tomorrow and Wednesday, I would have made sun tea today if I'd thought of it early enough but I think I'll make it tomorrow instead.

Otter's allergies are really bad the last couple of days.  She had a migraine last night and went to bed about 7:45, allergies don't normally cause migraines but it made her that much more miserable.  She was going to lie down for a while, but she fell asleep almost immediately and stayed that way until I woke her at about 8:00 this morning.  I would have let her sleep longer, but the monkey bread she wanted for breakfast was ready and I didn't want to be on the receiving end of an angry RedHeadedWoman!  Been one myself, and it's not a pretty sight.

Also, the possibility of neighbors behind us is getting closer.  Otter and I drove behind our street today, there are more and more houses being built there and some of them are built to sale (empty).  It was the other way for a long time, built to suit (built for someone and not just to be empty in hopes of someone liking it.)  The spot behind Lovely Neighbor's neighbor on her other side has the beginning of a foundation clearing started.  Bill and Otter stand ready for mayhem, should anyone start to build behind us!

*Nekkid:  To non-Texans and probably non-Southerners as well, it means to be in a state of undress.  It is NOT pronounced "naked."  It's pronounced like it sounds.

Sunday Coneheads

(Grossness ahead!)  Well, I don't think it's particularly gross but then I'm not particularly squeamish.  So, in case you are:  pictures 1 and 2 are safe.  3 and 4 are the "grossness" in this.

The Conehead in the title is Frasier!

This was right after we got him home on Friday.  They had to use an extra long cone, since he could reach the spot with a normal sized cone.  This is actually an extra large cone and it's adjusted down to it's smallest size.  I'm almost afraid to image the dog that it would fit!  It would probably be the size of a horse or elephant.  Frasier's a big dog, but he's not that big!  Although he did seem to think he was a lapdog earlier, he tried to sit in my lap when I was sitting on the floor - all 70+ pounds of him!

Closer shot of a sad puppy face.

Sorry this is sideways!  This is the spot where the golf ball sized growth was.  The vet shaved a square area.

There's a little bruising showing up now, it looks grody but it's not as bad "in person" as it kind of looks in the pictures.  The place that was removed was just so darn big that the incision is fairly long.  Frasier's Golf Ball

Frasier's actually done pretty good.  I spent Friday night on the couch, which is pretty comfortable for naps but not for extended periods of sleep.  Not that I actually had much sleep!  Frasier needed his mom a few times in the night - I woke up more than once because I had a large dog head leaning on me and there was a plastic cone on the dog at the time!  He didn't act like it was an intense pain, but I'm sure that it was tender and probably hurt a little.  They gave him a pain shot before I picked him up and I've been giving him his pain pills.  They make him a little sleepier than normal, but he seems to feel pretty good for the most part.  He spent most of yesterday napping, he normally takes several naps anyway but he definitely seemed to sleep more and deeper than normal.  (Since it was Saturday, he's not the only one who took an afternoon nap!)

The cone has not been on him all the time.  It's been on him at night, but if we're in the room with him we've been leaving it off.  It's been off when he eats and drinks, and most of the times he's been outside but someone is with him the whole time.  He's only tried to lick the spot a couple of times, the cone goes back on him right away even if we're staying in the room with him.  Like now, Bill just had to put it back on him because he thought he was out of Bill's sight!

Frasier grooms Maggie a lot.  She likes it, she'll manuever herself to where her ears, belly, whatever are in front of him and then he'll groom her.  He cornered her earlier today, for a forced ear groooming.  He had the cone on at the time, she was kind of squished up inside of it!  She was not amused, but we were.  It was kind of funny.

I am really glad that tomorrow is a holiday.  Not that I will get to sleep in, I have gotten up early the last couple of mornings to feed the dogs.  Frasier can't eat with the cone on, and he also can't fit out the dog door so I have been staying in the kitchen while they eat and then making sure he gets outside (with supervision) and then back inside.

The plan for today included pulling both the couch and the love seat out so that I could vacuum behind them, but we haven't gotten that far yet.  Bill did some cleaning out in the garage, which was mostly just some wood that he didn't need.  It was shelving, etc., that he got for free and used a lot of with the pachinko machines but he had a bunch that was either too small or odd shaped so it got moved to the wood pile.  It will still burn, if we ever get winter.

I'm pretty sure that I have a bunch of baby blues coming up in the whiskey barrel.  Bill noticed them when he was mowing Thursday, and I noticed them yesterday.  He was pretty sure that they were bluebonnets, the initial leaves don't look like they do when they are bigger but they are still unique.  The normal pattern is that the plant goes to seed after blooming, then the seeds lie dormant for several months until the next spring.  But that's in TEXAS, where they don't get a lot of rain during the dormant months.  This is not the first year that they've come up in the late summer, I've even had them come up in the winter before.  This crop might actually have enough time to make it to the bloom stage, we'll just have to keep our fingers crossed.  There are several and probably still several seeds that are dormant.  Wild Blues!  I have also transplanted them into pots when they came up at the wrong time.  They don't spread out as far as normal and look funny, but they are still bluebonnets and are still special.  If I have to do that this time, then I will.

I'm also wondering how long the hummingbirds will be here.  I'll keep the feeders out as long as I see them and then for a while after that, in case of any that need a snack during their migration south.  The ones I have now are fun to watch, there are three birds but only two feeders and they have a lot of spats.  Gotta watch out for the little needlebeaks!

Bill saw a preview for a tv show in the fall season.  He thinks it's the same TEXAS hog-hunters.  The real ones, not the wannabes.  Hope so, it was a good show and we enjoyed it.  But I'm not holding my breath, considering that the producers, etc. felt the need to subtitle the father of the family!  He wasn't speaking a foreign language - just TEXAN.  Well, I guess to them maybe he was.  But please, if you are going to subtitle:  at least get it right!  The word is FIXIN, not FIXING!

We don't like it when people change our words.  We don't take lightly to misuse of them, either.  Use them at your own risk, but be prepared for an "attitude adjustment" if you get it wrong.  One thing you do NOT want to do is get a TEXAN riled.   :)