Boo!

Happy Halloween!

Better Mood Today But Still Tired

I did sleep on the couch last night as planned.  I gave Fraiser 3 benadryl about 9:00 or so, then I got my nest made and attempted to go to sleep.  Frasier did have to come check on me a couple of times, but then he went to his blankets and went to sleep.  I didn't.  I kept thinking that he'd be waking me up and it was hard to actually get to sleep.  I heard the cuckoo clock strike 11:00.  Sometime after that, I did manage to fall asleep.  And shortly after that, Fraiser barked.  I called his name and he hushed, but then he had to come over and nose me.  Maggie was also awakened at this point, but she mostly just tried to get on the part of the sheet/blanket that was on the floor since her little behind is apparently too delicate for the carpet.  Frasier was probably awake the rest of the night, I woke up several times and he was just sitting there or laying in the floor but I could tell he was awake.  He checked on me a few times.  I'm not sure how much sleep I actually got, but it wasn't much.  It was a mega-caffiene day today.

I talked to the vet again today.  There is a tranquilizer that we can try, it's prescription but they have it.  She said the dosage is based on his weight.  I told her that I'd let her know, probably tomorrow.  At this point, I'm thinking it's worth a try but Bill hasn't decided yet.

Everytime I think that the dog is on a downhill slide, he bounces back and acts like a puppy again.  Or at least like a younger dog!  Today, he's kind of in the middle - happy and enjoyed getting to go outside, but he's not very energetic.  I have noticed that when he did get a full night's sleep (before the benadryl stopped working), he was just about back to normal.  But that only lasted a couple of days.  I think he's fairly healthy, from a physical standpoint.  But we're not sure about the rest of it.  He's acted fine today, doesn't seem to be confused or anything.  But he's not particularly playful.

I'm going to sleep in the living room again tonight, I haven't decided about the benadryl.  It only seemed to work for a couple of hours last night.

Back to Where We Started From

The benadryl isn't working any longer.  Frasier is actually worse than he was.  So we are having to rethinnk our plan for him.

No idea what the next stage is, except that I'll probably sleep on the couch for a couple of nights.  That way, at least Bill and Otter can get some sleep.  I'll sleep better in there than if I were in my bed because the dog is less likely to bark if I'm there.  He'll still wake me up, he'll have to check on me a few times in the night to make sure I'm still there.  But maybe he'll be quiet(er).

The last couple of nights have been really bad ones.  Last night, or this morning actually since it was around 2:00, I moved to the couch and spent the rest of the night there.  I didn't wake up until 6:00, which is about 30 minutes later than they usually eat.  They were waiting on me, and they were very happy when I got up and fed them.

We've been going over the way he's acted lately, and along with the vision issues we also think he may have some hearing problems.  Well, he's an old man in dog years so I guess it's not surprising.  But now I really wish that we had not put him through the surgery in early September, just because it was unpleasant for him.

Some of the symptoms of senility in dogs, also called dementia, are getting their days & nights mixed up.  Which he seems to be doing.  Confusion as to what things are, such as barking at the wall.  He's done that a couple of times, and also growled at nothing.  Loss of appetite, which he's been acting like off & on for a few weeks.  There are more symptoms.  It's just like with people.

I had an hour long nap this afternoon, Bill said he fell asleep on the couch while ago.  I think Otter's managed to stay awake today, but she may go to bed early tonight.

In the meantime, don't be surprised is none of us make any sense if you talk to us!

And we might have a decision to make soon, and we don't want to.

(Normal Sunday Posts will probably resume next weekend.)

Two Out of Three

Nights of sleep without barking, that is.

I gave Frasier his pills about 9:45 last night and he was fine for the most part.  But I woke up just after 3:00 for a bathroom trip and that woke Bill up.  He came into the bathroom and was surprised to find me in there, but we were fairly quiet.  Until I went to get a drink of water and smacked the glass on the faucet - loudly!  We've been avoiding flushing the toilet at night in an effort to be quiet, but Bill figured at that point that it didn't matter so he flushed.  And talked to me even though I told him to be quiet.  One of those things, or maybe all three, woke Friaser.  He barked once, and I decided to just go to the couch so that at least Bill could get back to sleep.  Otter was obviously still snoozing, at least.  (But then she's got a track record of sleeping through just about everything - including the tornado siren once!)  Frasier was overjoyed to see Mom, and he kept putting his face in mine.  I told him to go lay down and amazingly he did.  After a few minutes of silence, I went back to bed.  Which was enough to wake the dog up again!  I yelled at him to hush and he did.  But by that point, Bill was not able to go back to sleep so he just got up.  He went to the office room, he shut the bedroom door so I could have some quiet but Fraiser could see the light in the office and probably decided that since it was nearly 4:00 it was close enough to breakfast.  Bill put him out at that point.

Tonight, we're increasing the dose of benadryl.  And I'm going to threaten Bill with all sorts of dire punishment if he makes any noise in the night!  I'm also going to have to be quiet myself, so maybe I'll just skip the drink of water if I get up!

I talked to the vet again today, he said that Frasier can take the benadryl at night "forever" without it causing any problems.  Not sure if we'll keep giving it to him that long or not, but we will at least for a while.

And now, my wine I bought at Wine Wendesday is calling me.  And so's the couch.

Two in a Row!

Two bark-free nights, that is.  :)

Frasier is obviously getting more sleep, but he's also getting playful again.  One of the signs we were seeing that we thought was old age was that he was not nearly as playful as normal.  But he's back to terrorizing the beagle again and wearing her out.  He was up at 4:15 again this morning, I think we'll give him the pills about 9:30 or so tonight and see if that makes a difference.  But I was already awake before he was, for some reason.  Maybe the fact that for two nights in a row I'd managed to sleep all night long might have a little something to do with it because I woke up ready to face the day even though it was about 4:00 a.m.

Tonight, I was making sandwiches for dinner (Bill and I were eating light) and small salads.  Both dogs absolutely love lettuce, Frasier was outside and Maggie was dancing around the kitchen - on her back feet only, by the way.  I gave her a piece and then called him in.  He came in but did not see the lettuce I dropped right in front of him.  I touched the floor and he saw it, but it makes me think that his vision is worse than we thought.  Or maybe it's worsening.  Quality of Life is the deciding factor as far as he's concerned, we'll just have to keep a watch over him as far as his vision goes.

Froggy, I know I said that I'd get your crocheted stuff finished up and in the mail to you this week.  But I haven't quite gotten there - I really didn't want to attempt to finish up the last one when I was dealing with so little sleep.  No telling what it would have looked like!  I'm aiming for Monday or Tuesday of next week to get them mailed to you.  I'll let you know.

Otter and I ran to Wallyworld this afternoon.  She's always been a milk drinker, but now she's drinking even more milk.  Along with taking a calcium supplement due to the fact that her teeth show some signs of decalcifying.  I've always gone through a few gallons of milk in a week, and now I'm remembering how many gallons we would go through when she was little!  Fine with me, by the way.  Calcium is important for both Otter and myself.  But she's needing to increase her calcium intake a lot more than I do at this point.

Otter's also been dealing with a little bit of what is known as Red Head Anemia.  It's part of the Red Head Curse, and it's been a big issue for me at times.  I think I blogged about that but I'm not sure.  When she was a baby, she had a pretty strong case of it.  Anyway, she's been increasing her iron/protein intake lately and it's beginning to work.  She's like most of us, she's got the very pale, light complexion.  But she's been almost as white as a piece of paper lately.  That's better, she's getting her normal color back.  Well, she's still pale but then we all are! :)  Red Head Anemia is one of the many problems that we deal with, iron (and lack thereof) is a big issue for most of us.  Froggy, you might have just enough of the Red Hair coloration gene to deal with this yourself.  There are several facets to the Red Head Curse, and we learn to deal with them.  Then they become routine and normal for us, which leads to forgetting to mention it to people like medical technicians who get a rude awakening when we bleed all over the place!  I was "lucky", when Otter was born I did have a little more bleeding than a non-redhead, but not nearly as much as I could have.  But it was still a learning experience for one of the nurses!

Otter's also got a pair of fangs that she bought at a local Halloween store.  These are the good ones, they look pretty realistic.  She wants to wear them when she goes to the dentist in December for her oral surgery.  I think it's a funny idea, and I also think that my Dad would have loved it.

It started out in the 70's this morning.  Then the expected cold front hit, about 10:00 or so.  It was in the low 50's when I left work at 3:30.  It was also windy and cloudy.  The clouds thinned out a little and I saw the sun for a few minutes, but now it's cloudy again.  It's supposed to be in the 40's tonight.  Tomorrow is the 50's, with tomorrow night right at freezing and Saturday is also supposed to be cool with a better freeze Saturday night.  Got the blankets ready to be deployed, I'm going to spend Saturday keeping the couch company and making sure that the blankets don't feel lonely!

It's Amazing What a Good Night's Sleep Does!

We drugged the dog last night.  And will again tonight.  And probably for a while.  I gave him the dose the vet recommended, 2 adult dose pills although the vet did say that I could go to three pills if I thought he needed it.  I gave him the benadryl about 9:00, and he was groggy about 20 minutes later.  I went to bed at that point, and slept all night long.  Without any barking or dog noises!  (Of course, it took me a while to fall asleep but that was due to Bill apparently running a marathon or something in his sleep).  I woke up around 4:00, because I hadn't woken up any time in the night and nature was screeching!  I heard the dog bark once about 4:15, but that's about the normal time that somebody (usually Bill) wakes up and lets the dogs out.  Tonight, I think I'm going to wait until about 9:30 or so and then medicate Frasier.  9:00 was probably a little early, but it was a struggle for me to even stay awake that long.

I answered Froggy's comment on my last post with another comment, but basically Frasier's quality of life is the issue.  Right now, he's pretty good and generally happy.  As long as he is doing well, he's just going to be spoiled as normal.  If he loses his vision, that is not necessarily going to be the determining factor of when it's time to let him go.  But it will depend on the whole picture, and I've decided to look on this as having the gift of knowing that our time with him might not be too much longer so we're going to enjoy what time we do have.  He's old, but we've never really known how old he is.  The rescue group we got him from said 2 - 3 years old, but we (and the vet) have always thought that he was older than that.  The vet's official records say 10, but we're really thinking it's more like 12ish.  Dogs age and they get grey, which he's got and it seems like he's aging more rapidly the last few months.  Right now, he's pretty good and we're hoping that it stays that way for a long time but we are realistic.

We're not ignoring Maggie Moo, it's just that Fraiser has been the main issue lately.  The Magginator is fine, still silly and still lazy.  And still round!  Last night, I was scratching Frasier's ears and he was parked on the floor.  He put his head down on the floor and sighed happily - and then Maggie came over and sat on his head!  He was not amused, by the way.

A couple of years ago, we bought 3 tree saplings.  One was a redbud, it's in the back yard and is doing great.  One was an oak tree and it didn't survive the hot/dry summer, but that might have been partially because we bought & planted them in the spring instead of the fall.  The third tree was a lacebark elm and it's done amazingly well.  It's in the front tree, it was to replace one of the two maple trees that were victims of the 2007 ice storm.  It's grown very well and it's getting fairly tall.  This spring, a seed must have dropped in just the right place because a sapling suddenly sprouted.  Bill's been babying it along, and he transplanted it tonight.  It's on the opposite side of the driveway from the parent tree, and is about halfway between the mimosa he transplanted there last year (also a sprout from a seed off of the tree that used to be on the edge of Lovely Neighbor's fence line with ours in the back), and the stree.  He thinks he dug deep enough to get the main bulk of the roots.  We'll see how it does.  I'm hoping that it makes it, the fact that it's between our driveway and Lovely Neighbor's is really just coincidental - but I wouldn't mind a bit if there was another big tree between her and us!  I think that there used to be a tree there, it was gone before we bought this house from G & S but I don't remember much about it.

Otter's decided against planting any tulip bulbs this year.  She wants to give the tulip bed a year to rest.  However, there might still be tulips that come up next spring because some of the ones she planted last fall (that came us this year) might have been two-year bulbs.

I brought all my cactus plants in yesterday.  They are in the dining room and it's a little crowded, but they all fit in front of the window.  We repotted her bamboo plant this week, it was extremely root-bound but it seems to like it because it's gotten a little greener since the transplant.  It's in our bedroom, at least for now.  Also, we tossed the venus fly-trap plant.  It was several years old and lasted a lot longer than we expected it to.  When they are planted in pots and not in their natural environment, they sometimes only live a couple of years.  This one probably made it to about 5 or 6 years.  I'll most likely replace it, but maybe not until next Spring.  Until then, Maggie Moo the bug hunter is on the job!

And so's the wolf spider that Bill discovered this morning - it was running around on the ceiling of our bedroom.  It's more than welcome, by the way.  It was a good sized one, and we hope that it stays around for a while.

Tuna Fish Tuesday!

I asked Bill one time what he wanted for dinner, and his joke answer was Tuna Fish.  Since it was Tuesday, it kind of became a family joke about Tuna Fish Tuesday.  We had tuna casserole tonight, and then I realized that it is in fact Tuesday.  So I guess I'm right on time!  Actually, Bill's not a big fan of tuna.  He'll eat it, but it's not his first choice.  I could probably eat it every other meal - the alternating meals would be spaghetti.

We have a serious concern about Fraiser.  Last night, he woke us up about an hour after we went to bed.  He was barking and growling (the serious bark), and he refused to hush.  We both got up, and there was nothing at all that was a concern.  Everything was safe & secure, but the dog was antsy to say the least.  After a while, I dragged him by the collar and tossed him into the garage.  I had just enough time to get back to the bedroom when he started barking again.  I went back to the kitchen and yelled at him, which shut him up.  For about a minutes.  I yelled "NO" as loud as I could and he got quiet.  But I could still hear him moving around in the garage, so after a while I just brought him back in.  I figured that if I could hear him at the opposite end of the house and over the fan, Lovely Neighbor could also hear him.  He eventually (after a while) got quiet, but then Bill heard him about 4:00 this morning so he just let the dogs out.  Two or three times lately, he's done something else:  growled.  But there's nothing there, he's looking at the wall or their blanket and growling.  The serious growl, not the play growl.  I've also been wondering about another thing:  when he looked up at me the other night, I wasn't totally sure if he saw me - or recognized me, which is a bad sign.  That was the first thing that happened when Tagalong # 1 developed schitzophrenia, actually.  But the next thing to happen with that dog was that he definetely did not recognize me - in fact, he attacked me.  Twice, the first time the vet wasn't sure and the second time there was no doubt so we had to have him euthanized.

I called the vet this morning.  After being up most of the night and literally too tired to even think, we both called in to work.  The vet opened at 8:00 and I called them shortly after that.  The tech talked to the vet and then she called me back.  After a long discussion, we think that Fraiser's probably getting a little senile.  It happens to old dogs just like it happens to old people.  He could very well have the beginning of a cataract in one eye or age-related vision loss starting.  When he's barking in the night, he's probably waking up and then not really sure what he sees since it's dark.  Since he didn't act like he wanted to attack me when I wasn't sure about his vision/recognition the other night, I think that is probably what it is.

At this point, we aren't doing anything.  There isn't really anything that can be done.  If his vision becomes a serious problem, or if he does get senile to the point that he's not functioning well or has much quality of life then we'll have a decision we don't want to make.  But we aren't there yet.  But we will not let him suffer in the slightest.  He's also got some spots that could well be more cysts/tumors coming up, over his ribcage on one side.  I originally thought that they were bb's, like the one by his ear, but bb's don't grow and these are.  We will not put him through another surgery, should they become a problem like the one on his leg was.  We will probably have to cross that particular bridge with him, but not yet.  And hopefully not for a long time.  In the meantime, we're going to continue to spoil him rotten.

We have two options regarding the nighttime issues.  One, a small lamp in the living room left on all night so he can see.  Two, medication.  We're going with option # 2, and we'll use benadryl.  I've had to use it before on a dog that insisted on eating whatever weeds she could find and having her whole face swell up and it is recommended as safe for dogs.  It makes them sleepy, just like it does people.  We're supposed to give him the dose the vet suggested about an hour before bedtime, but since he's been waking up about an hour after we go to bed I'm thinking that it will be closer to bedtime.  Maybe about 30 minutes before I think we'll be going to bed.  I just hope that he's quiet tonight.

I was going to talk about some other stuff, but I'm too darn tired.  And I also forgot what I wanted to say, but I think the fact that I have only had a couple of hours of sleep since yesterday are a good enough excuse.

Sunday Serendipity

Serendipity

About 10 minutes ago, I was cleaning out the lint trap in the dryer and pulled the hose off - accidentally.  I had to get Bill to come help me reattach the thing, and while we were at it we pulled the dryer out to clean underneath it.  Which was a good thing, as we discovered that the hose was probably not attached tight enough and there was lint everywhere.  It was probably a fire hazard, actually.  So it's a good thing that I pulled the hose off by mistake.

But that's not exactly what this is about.

About 5 minutes before I pulled the hose off the dryer, for no reason whatsoever (or at least I didn't think so at the time), thoughts of one of the opal earrings I lost nearly 3 years ago suddenly popped into my head.  Specifically, the one that Bill gave me and I thought was probably lost in the car when the seatbelt got caught in my hair one day.

I was getting ready to hand Bill the vacuum hose, to get behind the dryer.  For some reason, I happened to look down at the carpeted floor in the hallway.  Right in front of the vacuum.  And there was my earring!  It was probably in the dryer at some point, and must have made it's way through the hose because it apparently fell out of the hose into the hallway when I was moving the hose out of Bill's way so he could vacuum.  It's actually only the drop part, the part that has the opal.  The stud itself is not anywhere that I could see, but that part can be replaced.  The opal was part of a matched set.

However, since there really are no such thing as accidents, I think I was just graced.  As in from God.

And I'm thankful!

And it almost was enough to make the migraine I've had since yesterday about 6:30 p.m. go away.  It certainly made me stop griping about having to do laundry! :)

Frasier barked last night.  All night long.  For no reason that we could determine at the time.  After a while of yelling at him, Bill finally got up and dragged him forcefully to the garage.  Where he stayed the rest of the night, blocked from the kitchen and also blocked from the outside.  Didn't shut him up, though.  At first, we thought he was just being idiotic, but then I remembered hearing dogs in the neighborhood bark just as I was drifting off to sleep (about 8:30, since the migraine drove me to bed early).  When Bill got up, around 4:30 or 5:00 a.m., he said that Frasier was still barkey but that he could also hear dogs outside.  Somewhere, and not necessarily in a yard but probably roaming the street.  I got up about 7:00 and we could still hear them, although they were further off in the distance by that point.  I sat out on the deck later on, probably around 8:00 or so and I could still hear them.  Except that I'm pretty sure that they weren't dogs!  It wouldn't be the first time we'd had coyotes.  But it would explain the type of barking we were hearing, they are canine but they don't sound the same as dogs at all.  If Frasier is barkey tonight, I might just give in and sleep on the couch because he'll be quieter if I'm in there.  That way, at least Bill and Otter can get some sleep.

Or, I could just turn BigDog into a rug.  Or houseshoes and a purse.  No, I think a rug would be a better choice.

Life in the Dust Bowl

This is actually a picture I found online and is from the Dallas area a couple of years ago, but this is what our sky looks like today.  All around Tulsa.  In the more western parts of the state, highways have been closed due to zero visibility and there has been at least one 30+ car pileup with injuries.

It's not a day to be outside, especially if you have any type of allergy at all.  Which we, of course, have lots of!

It wasn't too bad this morning, but the wind picked up early this afternoon.  It hasn't let up much, and it's still gritty & grey outside.  I really didn't want to get out after getting home, but I'm at my wit's end with Frasier and his licking/chewing of the surgical spot and that meant a trip to buy a spray the vet told me about.  Normally, I'd have stopped on the way home and got it but Frasier hasn't gotten as much exercise as normal lately, so he's been up at night a lot.  Noisily!  So, we tossed the dogs in the car and took them with us.  They enjoyed their outing, once they realized that we'd driven past the vet's office!  We were originally going to take the dogs for a walk this evening, but the dusty wind changed our plans.  Besides, some of the wind gusts could possibly make Frasier go airborn!

Otter and I are working on something.  We're going to open at Etsy shop.  Details later on, but it's on the way.  Among other things, it will give me another outlet in my destashing efforts.  Etsy is like eBay, it's an online store but it's for crafts and vintage items.  Vintage is over 20 years old in Etsy's dictionary.  So, along with sewn, crafted, crocheted, knitted, etc., items to infinity and beyond, there are also listings for things like Fenton glass and other collectibles.  Craft accessories such as craft supplies are available on Etsy.  And so are pachinko machines!  I fully expect that Pachinko Restorations (Bill's company) will probably want to list one on our store.  I think I'm going to make him grovel! :)

I haven't mentioned much about it, but Bill and I are working on losing some weight.  We are using a diet plan that we've used before, and had good results.  It's mostly a portion control adjustment, it's a healthy and sensible diet plan and we've been on it for about 3 weeks.  We're getting results, my jeans are outgrowing me!  He needs a new jacket, but he doesn't want me to get him one yet since he wants to be a smaller size.  We don't own a scale, so we don't really know how much we weigh although we have a general idea.  But we're 50 (me) and 51 (Bill), with a family history of heart and diabetes issues on both sides so it's time to get serious.  Also, my knee issues are affected by my weight.  It's an ongoing process, the diet plan is designed to ensure weight loss at a good rate.  It's not a crash diet and it's not a miracle diet.  It's just common sense and is pretty healthy.  Although I do have to jiggle it around a bit - it's not a low-carb diet (low carb is a stupid idea, anyway), but it doesn't have quite enough carbs for me.  Most people that have their gall bladders removed are able to adjust and not all need higher carbs.  But then most people don't have nearly fatal pancreatitis that has more or less permanent effects after it clears up!  We realized pretty quickly that I was going to have to eat more carbs than the diet calls for, it took me several days to find a good level without being so nauseated I could hardly move, but still eat less calories.  I think I'm there, but I still have moments when I realized I haven't had enough carbs.  Saturday is our "free day" but free doesn't mean we go hog wild.  It just means that we can have whatever we want - within reason.  It's working for both of us.

Movie Review:  Otter rented the new Dark Shadows movie last weekend.  I was pleasantly surprised.  The previews and advertisements when it originally came out made it look like a parody movie.  It wasn't.  It had some laughs, but not an excessive amount.  I was not a huge fan of the tv show when it was on, as I recall it was one that Mom did not want me to watch!  But I did see some of the episodes later on and I read all the books that were written in the series so I pretty much know all the characters, story lines, etc.  It did deviate some from the original story but not too much.  It wasn't exactly Academy Award caliber, but it was ok.  I do think that we would have been disappointed if we'd paid theater prices though.  It didn't do too well in the theaters, and part of that might have been because the fans of the original series are nearly as rabid as Star Trek fans!  (I do know what I'm talking about with ST fans).

Because, as we all know, Star Trek rules!  The rest of it (with the exception of the terrific Dr. Who) is just entertainment and some of it's pretty bad.

Nag Nag Nag

Froggy, this is for you:

(You deserve it, too sister of mine!)

It's only Wednesday.  It's been such a long week already, and there are still two more days of it!  Well, technically three since Saturday is the last day of the week.  But I meant work days.

I'm tired.  Probably because I woke up at 3:30 this morning and couldn't go back to sleep.  Until just before it was time to get up.  I woke up because I heard a dog barking.  But it wasn't bigdog, it was the dog I was dreaming about!  Bigdog was actually quiet until about the time we were getting up.

Dealing with Wallyworld for groceries tonight was also tiring.  They were not too crowded, but I was tired to start with.  But at least it's done for the week now.

Come on Friday!

Sunday Walkies

This picture is from a couple of years ago, I didn't even try to get a picture of him today - he does not like the camera!

Frasier went on his first walk since before his surgery this afternoon.  He was happy!  Maggie was bouncy, but she generally is - especially when she sees the leashes come out of the closet.  It was also our first walk since before bigdog's surgery, so we are all tired now.

We noticed that Frasier is begining to put on his winter weight.  He's a skinny dog naturally, but he will get a little bit fluffier in the fall and he's doing that now.  His coat is starting to get thicker as well.  Maybe we'll have a colder winter this year?  I hope so.

I've extended my observation of I Love Yarn Day, I crocheted for a few hours yesterday and it's on my schedule for today as well.  I put 4 rows on my shawl and also started putting together the latest pot holder I've made for Froggy.  Froggy, I think I'm going to make one more for you still so it may be a few days before I mail the shawl, hat and 3 now probably 4 pot holders to you.  I'll let you know when I get them on their way to you.  But for now, I'm making pretty good headway in de-stashing.

We had a nice rain storm last night.  It was a thunderstorm and there was a lot of rain, but we didn't have anything bad.  I'm not sure just how much rain we actually got, but it was plenty.  Bill had the house open yesterday because we had a drizzle early, but it wasn't enough to clean the air out so we all had to deal with allergy issues yesterday.  Today, the air is nice & clean and the house is open again.  It's breezy and very pleasant and the sky is georgeous.

There really wasn't much exciting last week to blog about.  I'm not complaining, I like calm weeks.  We didn't get too much TEXAS persecution, just a little bit of tailgating.  But since we got slaughtered in the game yesterday, it probably doesn't really matter.

Otter and I checked out a new grocery store Friday afternoon.  She was at work with me for the afternoon, she wanted to go see her adopted grandfather to wish him happy birthday (96!) so I got her at my lunch hour and took her back with me.  After we left the office, we went to the new Fresh Market store which recently opened in Tulsa.  They are a chain, but I'm not sure how far across the country they are.  I think we'll be going back there again, not necessarily for everything but I was extremely impressed with their produce section.  It's one of those "you get what you pay for" situations, but I'd say that it will be worth it.  Otter was also impressed with their selection of teas.

Bill's been working on a pachinko machine today, I think it's a repair job for someone.  He's beginning to get a lot more repair work, generated by visits to his website.  He still repairs/refurbishes machines and sells them, but he's got about 3 waiting on repairs and possibly a couple more on the way.  He's a happy camper!

I have a pot of soup in the crockpot.  This is the 2nd time I've used frozen vegetables in it.  It turned out well the last time, but I'm still tweaking it.  For one thing, I warmed the (large) bag of frozen mixed vegetables in the microwave for about 2 minutes before putting them in the crockpot, and I also put the meat in first (along with the crushed tomato).  Then, I added some of the water and the water was warm/hot this time.  Last time, I put it together as I usually do but then it took it a long time to warm up and the crock itself was cold on the inside and hot on the outside - it got a lot of extra stirring and I turned the temperature down much sooner than I normally do since I really did not want the crock to crack because of the hot/cold issue!  Warming the vegetables a little seems to have done the trick.  It still didn't get warm/hot as fast as it usually does, but I left it on the high/hot setting longer than I have before.  And when I added the rest of the water, it was also pretty warm.  Of course, I'm also using some fresh vegetables - celery, onions, green bell peppers and potatos.  The rest of the veggies are frozen, the mixed vegetables don't have lima beans so I put in about half a bag of frozen ones - also warmed just slightly in the microwave.

I guess that's about it for today.  Back to my laundry, the pile of dirty clothes never seems to get any smaller for some reason.

Today is I Love Yarn Day!

And I plan to celebrate it.

Just in case you were wondering.  :)

I Love Yarn Day

Stuff

I have too many passwords!  I can't remember half of them at any given time, and then I don't always remember the other half when I need them.  It only took me two tries to log in here tonight, usually I do remember this one but I didn't tonight!  :)

Here's a few more pictures from the Fair:

This took some time!  It's all paper - paper folded into triangles, and then assembled.  I can not even begin to imagine how long this took.  It was pretty big.

Otter fell in love with this dress.

This is not a "skull" or it wouldn't be on here.  It is actually a Dia De Los Muertos emblem.  The Spanish translation:  Day of the Dead.  The Day of the Dead is a traditional holiday, observed on Nov. 1 or 2 each year.  It's a way of remembering our family members who are no longer with us and one of the main symbols is a skull.  They are usually decorated.  This particular one was part of a patriotic disply and it was very well done.  There are also specific foods associated with the holiday, and frequently people will have picnics in the cemetary where their loved ones are buried - which is not morbid, although I can see how it might sound like it.

(While we are not Mexican or Spanish, I did grow up thinking that Mom's heritage was Mexican and not Cherokee.  She did that on purpose, I'm sure she had her reasons.  But whatever they were, it's a culture that I am very familiar with and like most things about.)

After a couple of cold days, we're back to normal Fall weather.  Warm but not hot days, cooler nights.  However, we might get SLS (SpringLikeStorms) towards the end of the week.  Probably not anything too bad, but it sometimes happens this time of year as the seasons are changing.  We could use the rain, but I'd prefer not to have to deal with anything else.

Today, the Teenager turned 96.  And he celebrated all day long!  When you get to his age, you are allowed and encouraged to enjoy yourself.  He certainly did.  He kept my jumping all day long. :)  We had chocolate cake for him this morning.

Froggy, I was going to send your scarf and hat this week.  Along with two other crocheted items, hot pads I've made for your collection.  But it might actually be next week, I thought of another one I wanted to make.  I'm about 3/4 through with it.  I'll let you know when I send them.  But since the weather is still warm, you probably don't need the scarf and hat yet.  Besides, I made you one of each already!  I don't think that they matched, the scarf was A & M colors (maroon and white) and I don't remember what the hat color was but it might have been purple?

I guess that's all the stuff I can think of today!

2012 Fair Report and Farmily Rambling

Yesterday was Fair day.  It was the last day of the Fair and we like to go that day.  There is limited free parking, so we usually go early so we can get a space.  We managed to get one, and it was early.  The fairgrounds opened at 10:00 officially, but we got there just after 9:00 and they were letting people in already.  We waited until about 9:30, since the car was warm and the outside was not!  It was at least warmer than Saturday was, and dry.  But it was still fairly cold.  The buildings didn't officially open until 10:00 but they started letting people in about 9:45, probably because it was pretty cold still.  We went into the children's zoo building first.

 These were just a couple of days old.

Little Piggies!  Not sure how many piggies there were, but they were adorable.

After that, we hit the building that has most of the prize winning items.  Lots of photographs, artwork, craft items.

Froggy, you might be able to click on this one and enlarge it.  You'll know why we took this particular picture for you!

Let's just say that there are a lot of  "US" up here in NE Oklahoma.  As evidenced by the numerous Burnt Orange t-shirts, caps and jackets we saw - most of them had a specific logo on them, too.

Otter really liked this one:

There were a lot of quilts and we took a lot of pictures, since I didn't have any from the last time we went and Froggy was miffed!

Of course, there was also this:

Isn't this frog hanger just the cutest thing?

And since no Fair visit is complete without this experience:

Otter is up there somewhere!  Look closely at the picture.  Those things on the top of the ride?  THEY ARE FEET!  She loved it, by the way.  This was actually taken after they'd been completely upside down and spinning around.

But there wasn't a butter sculpture this year.  Instead, it was a veggie dragon.  There's a little too much glare on the picture because of the glass enclosing it, but it's actually quite good and very detailed.

However, I heard more than a few people grumbling about the lack of butter, so this might be a one-time departure.

The Fair was a lot of fun, but we were exhausted when we got home.  With major soreness to the feet and legs!  It was cool most of the day, once the sun came out it was nice but the sun didn't stay out and it was very cold by the time we left.

Today was also busy.  Bill and I took the day off as vacation, Otter had one class in the morning.  We picked her up after class and headed north on one of our Rambles.  We went nearly to the Kansas border, but that's really not all that far.  Of course, when you grow up in TEXAS you have a different definition of "far" to drive. :)  But we actually only went about 45 miles north of Tulsa, to Bartlesville to one antique store and then to Dewey, which is about 5 minutes further north.  Dewey had a boatload of antique stores and we had a lot of fun.  I found some discontinued yarn at the place in Bartlesville, and then I found a piece of Fenton that I've been looking for at a store in Dewey.  I'll possibly eventually get around to a picture of the Fenton, but it is Vaseline glass in the hobnail pattern.  She wanted $25 and I got it for $20.00 which is going to sound like a lot for a fairly small piece, but I know my Fenton and trust me - it was a pretty good deal.

Now, since my feet hurt from all the running we did today I think I'm going to hit the "publish" button and get this posted.  Then I think I'm going to stay in a seated position for a very long time.

At least this will be a shorter work week.

Watch This Space For Something Tomorrow

Because I'm too darn tired to post tonight!

The Fair was fun.  We have achy feet and are tired.

Manana!  (As my mother used to say - it's Spanish for "tomorrow"!).

Blanket Weather!

It's Fall and it feels like it.  I'm not complaining!  I'm actually enjoying the cooler weather, although I'm sure I'll get my fill of it soon enough.  In the meantime, I got blankets out of the storage chest and they are ready to be deployed for some couch time tomorrow.

Today was in the low 50's, which is quite a change from the 70's - 80's we've had lately.  It's also misting off and on.  It's going to get colder tonight, and tomorrow's high is in the 40's.  It might actually be a little warmer, maybe low 50's but it's also supposed to be rainy tomorrow.  Since it will be Saturday, we wouldn't be going anywhere anyway.  Sunday is supposed to be in the low 60's and dry, although it might be overcast.  Sunday is Fair Day.

Otter's allergies are a lot better but they are still bothering her.  However, she's at the point where Sunday at the Fair should be ok.  We will have to take jackets with us.  She's still going to ride as many rides as is humanly possible, since we have already bought her ride pass and Sunday is the last day of the fair.  We don't anticipate a sunburn, unlike the last time we went.

Fraiser's all healed up!  But he's still a goof.  He is licking some, it's impossible to stop him, but the spot is healed.  It's rough looking skin and is thick, I'm watching to make sure he doesn't lick it to the point of rawness.  Is that a word?  Anyway, he has been out of the cone for a while now and he's happy about that.  So's Maggie Moo!

I had an interesting experience yesterday.  Well, it probably wasn't interesting for all the parties involved.  I was running an errand yesterday, it was shortly before 7:00 last night so it was getting dark but it was still plenty light.  As I got down my street a few houses, I noticed two girls in a driveway and they looked like they were about to run across the street judging by their crouched-about-to-spring-up posture.  So, I slowed down a little bit just in case.  They weren't about to run across the street.  They were waiting for something else.  For a car to go down the street so they could throw rocks at it.  Which they did, and as soon as I realized what they did and heard the rocks hit the car, I slammed on the brakes.  You know the expression "deer in the headlights?"  Well, that would be a good description of these two girls, who were probably about 9 or 10 - if that, they might have been closer to 8 or 9.  They obviously had not thought this through, because they were not expecting me to stop.  As soon as I did, they turned tail and ran as fast as they could to the front door of the house that they were in front of.  I rolled down the window and yelled at them that it was too late because I'd seen where they were going.  And then I followed them to the front door.  As I got to the door, Dad opened it and asked me what had happened because they had run in the door screaming in fear about a car and I told him exactly what had just happened.  One girl was obviously visiting and she immediately owned up to her mistake and apologized - repeatedly.  I told her that apologizing was the right thing to do and that she'd better not do it again - she said she won't and I hope she meant it.  The girl that was obviously his daugher looked extremely terrified of me (Otter says I can be scary in full RHTW and/or MadMom mode and I'm sure I was last night - I was trying to be) and she tried to deny it, then she must have realized that it wasn't going to work because her friend had just confessed and also her Dad was standing right there.  So, then she said that she was throwing rocks up in the air and it accidentally got away from her - Dad did not look like he believed her, by the way.  I pointed my finger at her and told her that she was telling me a lie and that she knew it.  Dad was turning colors at this point - he wasn't made at me, but he was furious.  He sent her to her room and told her that he'd been there in a minute to deal with her and he told the visiting friend that he'd deal with her next.  She squeaked "with me?" and he said yes, with her as well.  He started to ask me if the car was damaged (it isn't) and I told him no and that as long as he was going to take care of the situation with his daughter, then I was satisfied.

No, I didn't overreact.  What I did was deliberate and to hopefully put the Fear of Mom (or Dad in this case) into them (it would have been called a Come to Jesus moment in S. TEXAS and parts of the south.)  Because they were obviously starting down a very dark path.  It's kind of been an epidemic in this state, and it's usually teenagers, to drop things off overpasses and throw things at cars driving by.  People have literally died from having that happen to them.  There have also been some instances of people shooting at cars off of overpasses.  I wanted to get the point across to them that this is not acceptable behaviour, and that there are consequences to our actions.  I think I did.  I'm also pretty sure that the instigator was the visiting friend and not the girl that lives in the house because we've seen them before since they live down the street.  The parents seem like they are very involved with their children and believe in discipline.

I just wouldn't want to be in the girls' shoes at the moment.  My dad would have tanned my hide, to use a TEXAN expression.  And I'd have deserved it, too.

OK, I think I'm going to start my couch & blanket time in a very few minutes.  We aren't going to turn the heater on yet, since it's not really that cold and will be nicer next week.  But I still have cold feet!  My feet always get cold, generally from about September 1 but it was later this year.  They stay cold until around May 31.  It's not that they really are cold, they aren't.  It's just that my south TEXAN upbringing did not include very much in the way of cold weather.

When we say we had 90 degree Christmases, we aren't exaggerating!

Non-Whining Wednesday

No good titles are springing to mind, so whatever!

Otter's bliss:

She loves these things!  They are almost impossible to find anymore.  They used to be stocked with the rest of the candy, maybe not in large quantities but always stocked and in heavier amounts at Halloween.  She has been able to find them at specialty candy stores in the mall, but usually they are sold individually.  We've been haunting the Halloween candy aisles in hopes of finding them and had about given up with intentions of turning to the internet.  Target had them in their ad last Sunday, so I ran over there Monday afternoon.  They had 5 bags left, and probably didn't have a huge supply to start with.  I bought all 5 bags of them.  They will last her for a very loooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooong time.  Bill might get the occasional one, but I don't think that he's particularly crazy about them.  I do like them a little bit, but they don't work very well with dentures.  But at least Otter is now restocked with one of her favorite candy varieties.

Speaking of Otter, and I was, she's still having allergy issues.  She is a little better, the congestion is still there but it's not as bad.  Her throat hasn't been sore since Monday, although she said that it gets a little dry but that's probably because of the drainage and the fact that she's had a stuffy nose quite a bit.  But it is allergy and most likely not a sinus infection.  Which is good, because we are still planning on going to the Fair on Sunday!  Rain or shine.

We were also going to look at the Fair for the caramel apple pops, there is usually at least one booth selling candy.  I'm going to try to be good as far as food goes on Sunday, but Frito Chili Pie is my standard at the Fair and it's about the only time I actually eat it.  I love it, but it's not healthy.  But it's the Fair, and Fair food is in it's own category on the food charts!

I bought groceries this afternoon.  I was going to go tomorrow, but the cold front is expected tomorrow and the rain could start at any time.  So, I decided that today would be better and it wasn't very crowded.  I got in and out of Wallyworld in just under an hour, and I had a pretty big list so I'm not complaining.  Much!  Among other things, I bought more allergy medicine for Otter.  I also bought more of the ear plugs I use on occasion.  The cashier was very amused to see that I was buying those two particular items at the same time.  I can see why it was funny, but the ear plugs are something I keep on my nightstand all year round - Bill doesn't snore often, but when he does it's L.O.U.D.

Toadles, I'm wondering if maybe you have discovered the Fountain of Youth and didn't tell anybody?  I mean, how else can you explain a grown man having to get tubes in his ears!  (Actually, it's only one tube).

Early October

It's October already.  I find that hard to believe.  This year has been a whirlwind, so many things have happened and there are still 3 more months to go (counting this month).

Fall allergies are hitting us right now.  Otter is having an especially hard time with hers.  She's running through kleenex at a record pace.  She's living on tylenol during the day and allergy pills at night.  She woke up yesterday morning with a sore throat and she was very congested.  After she'd been up for a while, the congestion improved some.  Her throat was sore most of the day, but it got better after a cup of tea with plenty of honey.  She didn't have any fever or anything and her throat isn't sore any longer so it's probably "just" allergies.  Mine are bothering me, but not anywhere near as bad as hers are.  It's mostly ragweed, it's a really bad year for it and we'll be dealing with it until we get a good, hard freeze.

The weather is definitely turning!  It's been cool & nice the last couple of days; the early mornings have been wonderfully cool.  It's going to get cooler, we are expecting a cold front and it will probably bring rain with it.  The rain is supposed to end Saturday, and we are keeping our fingers crossed that it does, since we are going to the Fair on Sunday and it would be really nice if Otter can actually ride the rides - since we already spent $$ on a ride pass for her!

Bill mowed the lawn after he got home this afternoon.  Depending on the weather, he might not have too many more times to do that this year.  Probably at least a couple, but not many.

I brought in the hummingbird feeders today.  I was going to bring them in the other day, but I saw a hummer so I refilled one of them and put it back out.  But I think the bird might have been a migratory hummer on her way south because she didn't come back.  However, there are a bunch of very happy honeybees now!  They emptied it in a matter of 3 days!!  There were also a few casualties - some of them managed to get inside of it and drowned.  I rinsed out a bajillion ants and about 5 or 6 bees.  Both feeders have been washed, bleached, rinsed and rinsed and rinsed..., and are now drying on a towell on my kitchen counter.  After they are well dry, they'll get put out in the garage on my shelves.  Soon enough, it will be time to put the seed and suet feeders out.

We changed Otter's appointment for her oral surgery.  It's still in the same week in December, we just moved it back to Monday from Wednesday and it's at 4:00 instead of 3:30.  While we don't anticipate any problems, since the dentist is out of the office on Fridays and the weekend, and the next week is Christmas, we decided it would be better to get it done a few days earlier.  I'm thinking that she might also be able to get the stitches out that same week, about Thursday maybe.  I can't remember how long she had to wait between the first wisdom teeth being removed and going back to get the stitches removed, but it seems like it was only a few days.

Either way, she's already put in her order for Bill's famous mashed potatos!