Twenties Part Two

Twenty years ago today, a lot of things happened.

Twenty years ago today, we got up and put just about everything we owned into a U-Haul truck and pointed it north.

Twenty years ago today, that same truck wouldn't start again after we'd filled the tank near Dallas.  Fortunately, we were at a truck stop at the time and were able to at least get a meal and stretch our legs a bit while we waited on the U-Haul mechanic.  By this time, baby Otter had figured out that her daddy was back and she did not like it when he was out of her sight while she & I were in the restaurant and he waited with the truck - we took him food, so he didn't starve.  The U-Haul mechanic eventually got it running and then he offered us two choices:  another truck, which would mean that we'd have to unload it all and then reload it - by ourselves, or to head on but not turn it off for any reason until we got where we were going.  We chose the 2nd option, which meant that the next time we stopped for gas meant that one of us (me) stayed with the truck (and baby Otter) while it was being filled up and Billyboy found the restroom, then he stayed with the truck (and baby Otter) while I found the restroom.  Our original plan had been to spend the night somewhere, but two things happend:  Not being able to turn the truck off with the very real possibility that it might not start again and the fact that Bill took the one of the two highway choices availiable that didn't have any hotels we could stay in!  Baby Otter spent most of the trip playing in her carseat while it was light, with a lot of reaching over and patting her daddy's arm and she was happy about it.  We got to Grandpa & Sweetie's house (which is now our house) somewhere around 3ish - AM.  OK, so that was actually not Twenty Years today, but it was a Leap Year and still the last day of February even though it was not the 28th any longer!  And the truck did start that morning, which is good because we were able to drive straight to our apartment and move in.  But if it hadn't started, at least we were in a safe spot and would have been able to get help if we needed it.

It's been a busy 20 years, we left TEXAS with an 11 month old baby and she'll be 21 in a month.  She's gone through all 12 years of school, 1 1/2 years of college and is now working.  We've had 7 dogs, if I'm doing the math right and that does include the two poochies we have now.  We still had my parents with us then and we've also lost Bill's Grandmother on his mom's side and Grandfather on his dad's side in the last 20 years as well.  All the grandkids on "my" side are grown, most of them on Bill's side are grown.  Some of them are now parents themselves!

We've had two business ventures, eBay and Pachinko Restorations.  Also, we had a rent house for a few years.  Bill's had two jobs, I've had one.  Otter's been through three school districts, she went to elementary at a private Christian school and then middle & high school were public schools.  I'm on my 4th car, Bill's on his 5th but one of them is also my previous car so I'm not sure if that actually counts of not!  We briefly had a boat, for one summer.

We've learned to deal with actual winter, including more than one blizzard.  Also, ice storms.  And there are always those "other" storms that this area is known for.  It's not called Tornado Alley for nothing!

We've belonged to four churches, although there are two others that we attended for a while but didn't join.  We changed demoninations once.

We've dealt with asthma and scoliosis (Otter), asthma (me), pneumonia (me, Otter and possibly Bill as well), a serious illness that put me in the hospital for a week and ended with surgery to remove my gallbladder followed by a week at home to recover from a life-threatening illness (me, pancreatitis).  I also had my original teeth 20 years ago, now most of them are gone and replaced with plastic ones I can take out.  Bill, being Bill, has had stitches more than once but he's an Engineer and it goes with the territory!  There have been a couple of broken bones (Otter, left arm.  Me, foot & toes.  Me, probable broken rib(s) but that did happen in TEXAS when we went home to visit and I was stupid enough to get on a see-saw with Toadles - not that it's his fault, he was just on the other end of it.  OK, it is partially his fault because he decided to leave me hanging in the air, but it was still my decision to get on the thing in the first place so I don't really blame him.)

We've moved three times.  Four, if you count the original move and then three since.

While there are times that I would like to go back and redo, there are also times that I wouldn't trade away for anything.  The last 20 years have been good overall.  TEXAS is and always will be Home, but Oklahoma is also home.  Just not with a capital "H" but it's still home and we're happy here.  We could have landed in a lot of other places, and they might not have been good or as good.  We feel like this is where God wants us, or we wouldn't be here.  But we are and will always be TEXAN.

(There was also something else that happened twenty years ago today, it affected all of us and not necessarily in a personal way but it still affected us all:  Waco.  Waco was not entirely the fault of the government, although the governments actions in the stand-off did affect what happened.  But what ultimately happened caused repercussions that were felt in Oklahoma City two years later on April 19, 1995 - the Waco stand-off started on February 28, 1993 but it didn't end until April 19, 1993.  It was, unfortunately, not the last terrorist attack that we has a society and nation have had to deal with, but it was the worst to that date and I think it was probably the first real "homegown" terroristic act.)

Twenties Part One

20 years ago today, I quit the last job I held in TEXAS.

20 years ago today, I was sick with an allergy/sinus infection and had to go to an emergency clinic before I could go to work for my last day.

20 years ago today, Bill flew back to TEXAS from Oklahoma (where he'd been for 2 months, getting a job and finding a car plus an apartment for us) and I was too sick to meet him at the airport so I had to get someone else to do it.

The Groundhog Lied!

I know this because we've had 3 episodes of winter since Feb. 2!

Including yesterday.  We were expecting snow and possibly ice, it was supposed to hit Monday evening.  Then Monday night.  Then it was expected early Tuesday morning, like around 2:00 a.m.  When we got up yesterday, there was nothing on the ground and nothing coming down and the forecast had been changed to 7:00 a.m. and that last one was accurate.  It wasn't bad, it wasn't a lot and the roads were fine.  But it was rainy all day Monday and Monday night, and then with the 1" of snow we did get much needed moisture.  The snow melted almost as soon as it hit, it was just around long enough to be admired and then it was gone.  It's still pretty cold, we're in our winter coats.  The wind is the main reason for the coats.

I'm out of birdseed and probably won't get any more for a while, but I did get 4 suet cakes and put those out last night.  I don't usually feed the birds in the spring/summer/early fall.  But they like the suet cakes and they did need feeding yesterday.  We have a resident woodpecker, we've seen him a lot lately and usually on one of the suet cake feeders.

Guess Bill was right about not switching out quilts on our bed yet.  But I still want to get my patchwork quilt out!

Otter and I went to the Dollar Store this afternoon.  Among other things, we bought a dog toy.  This one is a rope toy and it's for Maggie, she loves to play tug of war.  Only problem is that it looks like a hangman's noose!  The beagle is not a smart dog, but she knew what it was the second I took it out of the bag.  She was dancing and wiggling so much in her excitement that she could hardly stand up, then she immediately grabbed the end of it and started pulling.  Frasier tried to do what he's known for - take the toy away.  So that he could take it outside.  No idea why he does that, but that's what he does.  The toy is still inside, after we had dinner I noticed that Maggie Moo was on one end of the tug toy and Bill was on the other.  Then when he got tired of it, he handed it to Otter and the beagle was still attached.

Froggy, the last comment you posted actually showed up!  But keep emailing me, at least for a while, when you leave a comment.  I'm not sure what the problem is, but Blogger told me this time that you'd left a comment.  Hopefully, it will continue.

Buds & Beans

The trees are budding.  It's only February, they shouldn't be at this stage for several weeks yet.  One of the maple trees in the back yard is starting to show colors in the buds, leaves are not far behind.  The redbud hasn't started pinking up yet, but it's probably not too far off either.

I told Bill that I think it will soon be time to switch from his camo quilt to my patchwork quilt on our bed, but he disagreed.  Silly boy! :)

I made a pot of pinto beans for dinner.  I also made rice, we had beans & rice and it was delicous.  (Otter's gone to her regular Sunday Dungeons & Dragons game, but beans aren't her food of choice anyway.)  I decided against cornbread because I just didn't quite get around to it, so we had rice instead. :)  It was still good!

Froggy, I'm not sure what the problem is regarding comments you've left.  Blogger still shows that it's set to email me when comments come through, I've checked the spam settings and there aren't any comments that were sent to the spam file instead.  I just doesn't show any other comments other than the one you left on the snow post.  I emailed you already, but you might email me to let me know you've left a comment and you also might email me the comment as well.  I don't know what the issue is, but Blogger has made a bunch of changes and not all of them seem to be working.

Otter seems to be enjoying working.  She's working for a party supply store and she's learning a lot.  She's a hard worker, that's never been an issue for her.  But she does have one complaint:  she said that if she never, ever sees another heart-shaped mylar balloon, she'll be happy!  She had to fill literally hundereds of dozens of them in Valentine's week.  Apparently, Valentine's is one of the biggest seasons for party supply places.  Halloween is also heavy, Christmas and Thanksgiving are also big weeks.  In between, there are many other times that people have parties and the summer is a busy season.  She has worked one Saturday so far, she just uses one of her days off in place of Saturday as a day of rest.  She was off yesterday and is also off next Saturday.

I can hear Billyboy sneezing his head off.  We've all been having to deal with varying degrees of allergy issues.  Still too soon!  Also, the Tulsa Health Department made an announcement the other day.  Seems that there is a strain of the flu going around that has just enough symptoms to make people think that they might have the flu but not be sure if they actually do - which is why I no longer think that I had to deal with RSV in January.  The main strains are the two that the shot was for, plus a few others this year.  Including the milder one, which I had and then Bill decided to get as well.  We're just glad that Otter didn't get it!  She was sick enough last year, we don't want to go there again.  And I'm sure that she doesn't want to, either.

Bill Got His Wish

It snowed.  Lots of snow.  It started early and stayed all day.  And it's all gone from the streets by now, but it's still on the grassy areas.

OK, let me back up.  We knew we had a good chance of winter weather as of a couple of days ago, but the forecast was never certain.  At one point, it was supposed to start early last night, then it was middle of the night and then it was by daybreak today.  At daybreak, the forecast had changed again and it was now supposed to start around 7:00 a.m.  We were hoping for the first or second one, because we'd have prefered not having to go in today!  Bill left for work at 6:15, it was very cold but dry.  At 7:00, Otter and I left the house and ran into Wallyworld for a couple of things.  At 7:15, we walked out of Wallyworld and the snow was just starting.  I dropped Otter off at Braums, she had something to eat and then walked across the parking lot to her job for her shift starting at 9:30.  I went on to work and by the time I got there, it was starting to come down heavy and beginning to stick on the street.  (Our jobs are literally down the street from each other; if her hours are similar to mine then I take her to work.  Also, if the weather is iffy I will take her.  Anyway, the weather was iffy today!)

I got to work about 8:10, even though it should have only taken me 10 - 15 minutes tops, it took me closer to 30 - 40 minutes and mostly it was because of traffic.  The weather obviously had something to do with it, but Okies in general seem to regard bad weather/road conditions as a challenge and so they drive worse.  I parked my car in the street as opposed to my parking space because my space is on a sloping driveway.  About 20 minutes later, the teenager called me to tell me that he'd decided not to attempt to come in today (he listened to us for once!) and to move my car into the garage since he wouldn't be using it.  By this time, my car went from just barely having any snow that I could see to being completely covered and piled a couple of inches high.  I broomed the bulk of the snow off, and pulled into the garage - by the time I got into the garage (less than 3 minutes!), I couldn't even see the color of my car anymore due to the snow.

(OK, I'm back.  Had to go check the clothing in the dryer.)

My car spent the day in the garage, it liked it and now feels deprived because it never gets garaged at home!

The snow was pretty heavy almost all day, and it looked pretty thick.  I'm not sure what we actually got, but the snow on the grassy areas was a couple of inches thick.  I left about 30 minutes early, but the roads were actually good by that point.  I ran into Hobby Lobby for something Bill needed, got Otter when she got off work and then we went to Wallyworld for groceries.  I should have gotten groceries last night, but I was too tired.  I figured that I'd better go tonight, while I had the chance so we headed straight there.  In and out in just over 30 minutes, with a basketful of groceries.  I think that's a new world record!

The streets were not icy when we got home, but they were very wet and it will be well below freezing tonight.  I'll take Otter in tomorrow as well, her shift starts at 9:30 (I think.)  I am not going to be in a hurry, since the roads will in all probability be bad.  I'll get her there in time, and I'll get to work when I get there.  If the schools are closed, Bill will probably call in.  If the streets are not safe for the buses, it's kind of silly to expect all the other employees to show up but that is what happens where he works (for one of the local school districts.)

Anyway, I'm going to head to the living room now and see what the couch is doing.  It might be trying to fly away, so I will have to go keep that from happening.

Early Spring

Springtime means two things:  Storms and Allergies.  No storms yet!  Hopefully not for a while, or ever actually.  (I don't mean no rain, I mean no SpringLikeStorms!)  However, the allergies are here in force already.  I've been fighting mine off & on for a while, and yesterday I started feeling the first signs of an asthma spell trying to start.  I woke up with no doubt that the asthma bug had come to visit, but it's a fairly mild one at least.  Hope it stays that way!

Of course, it's still not officially Spring for a few weeks.  But that's not stopping the bugs, both insect type and allergy type.  I had to take a stink bug out the other day, it was crawling around the office floor so I relocated it out the front door.

Otter's gone to her friend's house, they have a semi-regular Sunday tradition of Dungeons & Dragons.  They don't always get together every Sunday, it depends on various schedules but they do try to get together as much as they can.

Otter's off from work today and tomorrow.  She works Tuesday through Friday this week, then she's off next weekend.  She said that the new shoes are much better, her feet didn't start to feel tired until she'd been on her feet at work for several hours.  She likes the job, also.  I think that she'll be good at sales.

I never quite got around to that drink on Friday night.  I did get the feet propped up, at least.  But I managed to get a start on the lap blanket for Nana.  Not a big start, but I got a few rows.  It's still really small, obviously.  I might get some time to work on it this week.

Book Review:  A Week in Winter, by Maeve Binchey.  This is one that I never wanted to end, both because it was just so good and because it's the last thing that she wrote before she died last summer.  It was not exactly part of her earlier "series" of books but it did have a few connections in the form of character mentions.  Her series books were not really a series in the sense that they carried a plot arch, but they did center around a place & group of people, and I think that she might have been about to start another series with this book.  Her earlier books were stand-alone stories and were very good, but I think I enjoyed her series books more.  She was a major talent and she will be missed so much.  At some point, I'm going to re-read all of her books in order of being written.  I now have the complete set, at least what was released in the US.  There are a few other things she wrote that were not released here, but I think that they are mainly short stories and one is a writer's guide.  I'll probably read it too.  There is one book that might be a sort of autobiography, it deals with aging and health issues connected with it.  I'll eventually find them, even if I have to order them from a bookseller in Europe.  She was too good a write to leave anything unread.

Whirlwinds

It's been a busy week!

I'm glad that it's Friday.  This has been a very busy week.  Part of it has been Otter's work schedule, but it's just been busy in general.  I tried to find a good picture of a whirlwind, but I didn't see anything I liked.

We apparently have millions of dollars.  They are waiting for us.  In Nigeria.  At least, that's what the phone call Bill got on his cell phone said!  I guess that the scammers have gotten tired of their mail being unanswered and have moved to technology.  Bill hung up on the guy, but he apparently kept calling back for a while.  He quit calling after several times of Bill not answering the phone.

I took all my scarves to be donated for the police officers.  I got 4 made.  And when Otter was helping me get them ready Friday morning, I discovered that the one I got through with in record time was one row short!  Well, I guess that's why it was so fast.  It still worked, it just looked different from the others.  I donated it along with the rest of them, the only person who would know the difference is me and I change my scarf style occasionally anyway.  Now that the scarves are all done and donated, I'm going to start on Nana's lap blanket.  Probably tomorrow.

When I'm not reading, that is.  I bought my copy of the final book by Maeve Binchey.  I started reading it today and I'm really enjoying it.  She had such a wonderful writing style.  I'm really going to miss new books from her, and I'm not alone.  She had so many fans.

Otter's enjoying working.  He feet have been hurting by the end of her shifts, she's on them all day and the shoes she was wearing were just not made for that.  They didn't have much support and Otter has the high arches that run in the family.  We went to a good shoe store yesterday afternoon and found her a pair with good support and a soft inside.  We also bought her a couple of pairs of replacement gel-type insoles.  The shoes we bought her are Dr. Scholl's brand.  Not sure if I'm spelling that right or not!  Anyway, she'll try them out tomorrow and see how her feet feel at the end of her shift.

I guess that's it.  Time for dinner, a drink and putting my feet up!

Busy Few Days

I just realized that I haven't posted anything since Sunday and it's Wendesday already.  Before Froggy gets on me, I thought I'd better get busy.

Froggy, I guess we're even now.  I text you about Braums and you make sure I knew you went to SA and ate lunch at the Hole in the Wall!  I guess we're even.  But only for the moment.  Insert evil grin here.

Otter's got a job, she started work on Monday.  I decided against naming the place here.  It is not Radio Shack, where she was pretty much promised a job that didn't actually exist at that particular store - I named them because there are so many and they are all over the place.  She did get a call from one of the other two Radio Shack locations where the manager of the first store sent her application to, but she found a job before the interview that was scheduled.  She's working in a store, it's a nationwide chain but there are not a lot of them in our area so no names.  But she's enjoying it.  When we thought she was going to get hired at Radio Shack, we bought her a pair of nice black slacks.  So of course the uniform she has to wear now is not black pants!  It's kahki pants with a black shirt.  Figures.  But the black slacks will be worn, they just won't be worn to work.  She also has to wear either black shoes or white tennis shoes.  She has black shoes, but they are not comfortable to be on her feet all day so we're probably going to get her another pair tomorrow.  She won't complain about having to get another pair of shoes!  She's in training this week.  Her job is actually not too far from where I work.  I have taken her some, mostly yesterday because she had to work until 9:30 p.m. and winter made it's appearance (briefly.)  Since she hasn't had any experience at all driving in snow or ice and we knew the forecast included a winter storm, she wanted me to take her to work yesterday.  Well, she actually drove us there.  Then I went on to work myself - takes me forever to get the mirrors back where I like them after Otter drives!  The rain turned into snow about 8:30, so the manager told her that she could leave at 9:00 instead of 9:30, and it was plenty cold.  The temperature was hovering right at freezing and the roads were ok in places but iffy in others, so I'm glad that she didn't even attempt to drive.  The snow didn't stick and today was nice, warm and dry.

The point of all that was to say that Otter is now gainfully employed, and she's happy about it.  She opened a checking account last week, but she said that she won't really feel like an adult until a year from now - when she has to file income taxes!

We don't do a whole lot for Valentine's Day.  We never have, with the exception of the fact that Bill and I got engaged on our first Valentine's Day together.  We usually have a special meal of some type - frequently steak!  I generally get us a little candy, usually chocolate for me and Bill and Otter gets non-chocolate candy which she sometimes picks out or requests a specific kind.  Tomorrow, Otter's schedule is 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. so we'll be able to all eat dinner together.  I let Otter pick this time, she chose Digorno's pizzas since we haven't had them in a while.  Bill always wants steak, so we don't ask him to pick unless we also want steak!  I made brownies tonight which we will eat tomorrow and I'll probably make ice cream then as well.

I finished my 3rd scarf, started the 4th one yesterday and finished it this morning.  I'm going to stop at 4, I had planned on at least 5 but Bill's just about ready for me to start cleaning the pachinko machine that he bought for our family project.  It entails a lot of detail work, and it's going to play havoc with my tendonitis so I'm probably not going to get a whole lot of crochet done over the next few days.  I'll probably take the 4 scarves to the yarn shop tomorrow.  I changed my basic pattern slightly and I think it works better.  I did manage to use up quite a bit of yarn, which was actuall a good thing.

Although I probably still have more yarn than the law allows!

Nesting

Remember this?

This was from last spring or possibly the year before.  On the front porch, in the planter that was on Mom's back porch.  I put a small, clay pot with fake ivy in it.  The last two years, it's had a bird build a nest in it.  Possibly the same bird each time, or both wrens.  I kind of forgot about it until today, when I realized that the birds will be looking for nest sites and that it needed to be cleaned out.  I took the old nest out and for the second year in a row, it had yarn in it!  It's still only mid-February, but the birds will be busy soon so I'll probably start putting yarn pieces out for them fairly soon.  I didn't get a picture of the nest after I removed it, Otter had the camera and she was about to run off to a friend's house for a Dungeons and Dragons session.

I finished the 2nd scarf for the police donation yesterday and started the third one today.  I'm probably about 2/3 of the way done with it but I really needed to stop as my arms were getting sore.  I might get it finished tonight, but I'm not sure.  I think I might still manage to get a 4th one done, but I'm not making any promises on that.  I will at least get three donated.

I went to the yarn shop on Friday.  Just to look around and also to get the details on when/where to take the scarves.  This shop is mostly wool so I don't actually buy much there, but occasionally I do find non-wool yarn there.  It's more high-end yarn that Wallyworld would have, for example.  They have something I want.  I'd heard of yarn being made with mink, but nobody had it local.  But they got some in and it is so soft.  It's made by combing the minks, similar to sheep except that it's combed and not shorn.  It was the most georgeous red color and buttery soft, but at $28 for a somewhat small skein it's probably not something I'll buy!  Maybe.  It is not as soft as it sounds like it would be, but it is very soft and I think it's also very strong yarn.  I couldn't stay in there very long, they have so much wool that it bothers my allergies just to be around it.  My wool allergy is fairly strong, even being in close proximity is enough to set me off and Friday was no exception.  For about an hour after I left, I was still itchy but not as bad as the last time!  I stayed longer the last time.  I deliberatly don't go in there if I have a lot of time, because I'll stay too long and then might not have any skin left!  I really, really, really hate being allergic to wool!

But I have made a lot of de-stashing progress.  Although Otter did make a point of telling me about some yarn she saw when she was at Hobby Lobby on Friday, she went into great detail about how soft it was and how it was acrylic so I could use it.  There is a reason I call her my Chief Enabler after all!

Movie Review:  Hotel Transylvania.  It was ok, it was actually kind of cute.  But it was not nearly as good as we'd hoped.  It also wasn't as bad as we were afraid it would be.  But it could have been a lot better.

Frasier has been getting his tranquilzers at night the last couple of nights.  He's been better and I'm thinking that he'll probably only get them a couple more nights.  He's such a goof, and Maggie Moo is just as silly.  They had a head-on collision earlier, she was going out the dog door and he was coming in.  He won that battle, by the way.  Maggie looked kind of confused, but then she normally is!



Raindrops

Rainy day today.  We need several more of them!  A nice, slow rain.  Is that too much to ask?  We might get it, although today is supposed to be clear the next few days are possibly going to be rainy.  Otter isn't too happy with Frasier at the moment.  He tracked muddy footprints all over her recently cleaned kitchen floor and she had to mop it again!  He also decorated the carpet a bit, but that hasn't been cleaned up yet.  It will just take a vacuum to clean it up, but StupidDog keeps going outside and then he comes back in and makes more arts & crafts projects on the floor!

Froggy, I didn't remember that Kid#1 was hospitalized twice, but now that I think I about it I think I do remember.  Mostly, what I remember is the 2nd time.  The time that was so bad, and as you said - we almost lost him.  It was a very bad time, I'm just thankful that it wasn't worse.  You'd never know he'd ever been sick, to look at him now.  What is he, something like 8' tall?? :)

It's been a tiring day.  No particular reason, I'm just tired.  And this time, I do NOT think that it's the flu/rsv masquerading as the RedHead Curse!  I'm just tired is all.

But I did get a little crochet done on my lunch hour.  I got back on my 2nd donation scarf this morning and got most of the first actual row finished, then I finished that row and started the second row at lunch.  I would like to make a couple more, but I'm not sure how many I'll actually get done.  They are supposed to be turned in by the 25, but I don't always have time beyond Saturdays to sit and crochet for hours on end.  But I can generally get a lot done on Saturdays.  After that, I have another project planned for Nana.  It's not a surprise, I had to ask her if she'd want the particular item (a lap blanket) and then what color (deep red.)

Seems like there was something else, but I don't remember!

Little Fuzzy Squirrels

Today's animals sighted include a little fuzzy squirrel crossing the street and a big fluffy robin, both in the neighborhood and sighted on my way home.  No more stink bugs!  But they'll be back.  And the trees are definetely starting to bud out.

Froggy, you commented on the last blog about Kid # 1 (Scooter) being hospitalized with RSV.  I remember when he was hospitalized and just how desperately sick he was, but I didn't realize it was when he had the RSV.  I thought that the hospitalization that terrified us all was a different illness.  It was not a good time.

Otter and I braved the wilds of Wallyworld for groceries this afternoon.  It usually isn't to crowded mid-week.  But Otter thinks that maybe my secret of shopping mid-week for fewer people has been discovered, because they were c.r.o.w.d.e.d. today!  We bought a lot, this was what we refer to as the "big" trip which is usually the first grocery run of the month.  So, I convinced Otter to go along with me today.  It was also "screaming unwatched child day" at Wally.  But then it frequently is!

I'm not sure, but Frasier might have talked a little last night.  The other day, Bill and I switched sides on the bed and now I'm closer to the door so I hear more doggie noise.  Usually, it's just Maggie Moo's collar when she is either scratching or jumping up on the loveseat.  She's not allowed up there, but when the cat's away...  Well, maybe "cat" isn't the best choice of word considering that Frasier would like to eat every cat he sees!  (Literally, I'm afraid.)  But anyway, I thought I heard him but it was only once.  I was going to get up and get him a tranquilizer if he talked more, but I didn't hear anything else so it might not have been him talking.

Bill and I switched sides because he prefers to sleep on his left side, and that means that I was being awakened by the sound of a freight train in my ear!  Numerous times per night.  I would generally poke him or move his arm, and he'd eventually roll back over to where he was on his right side and facing away from me.  I got tired of getting less sleep because of the buzzsaw than when the dog was acting up, so I finally just switched sides with him.  Now, he can sleep on his left side all he wants!

So, what has he done the last two nights?  Rolled back over and slept on his right side which means that he's been snoring in my ear again!

Little Stinky Bugs

You know that Spring has arrived when you spot the first stink bug of the season!  Yesterday's discovery, actually.  Yes, I know that Spring won't be here for a few more weeks "officially" and that we could still have winter weather.  But along with little stinky bugs, pollen is suddenly making it's appearance known.  My allergy symptoms can attest to that!  By the way, the stink bug was gently coerced into leaving the door frame and heading off in another direction on the porch.

I don't think what I had a few weeks back was actually the flu.  I think I had something else.  RSV, respiratory synctal (not the right word but I can't remember!) virus.  Which is making it's annual rounds lately, as it does this time of year.  It can be bad, it can be fatal if a young infant or older person gets is.  For most adults, it's "just" a flu-type but without serious side effects but it's still a hard one to deal with and get over.  I've had it before, when Otter was less than a year old.  She was exposed to it but we didn't realize that the child she'd been around had something serious.  Until the doctor sent us to the ER!  We had just been to Tulsa on our "do we want to move to OK" trip and inadvertantly exposed Otter's grandparents to it.  After we got home is when Otter got really sick.  She was pretty sick, but she was lucky - some kids wind up in the hospital.  I think one of the nephews on Bill's side did wind up hospitalized with it.  It's also a contributing factor to asthma developing.  Otter already had it, asthma is something that you are more or less born with if you did have it, but it might have remained dormant longer than it did.  It can cause asthma to be a lot worse than it would have been otherwise, as Froggy can probably attest!  I did get it at that point, but I didn't have a bad illness.  However, I think that it's what I had recently.  I fit the symptoms.  Especially the way that it came on so fast.  And took so long to get over.

I started the 2nd police officer donation scarf today.  I got the base chain done and two or three stitches on the first row.  I didn't have much time on my lunch hour today, I might get back on it tonight but I'm not sure.

I made another discovery today, it was a nicer one than a stink bug trying to get in the door!  Last fall, Otter decided against planting anything in the tulip bed.  She wanted to give the bed time to rest and recoup.  The last tulips we planted were mostly regular bulbs, but there were some that were 2-year bulbs.  This is the 2nd year and they are coming up.  Along with a boatload of daffodils!  It was a nice surprise, we didn't expect the 2-year bulbs to come up although we probably shouldn't be surprised.

I had another discovery, but it's from several days ago.  Remember those confused bluebonnets?  The ones that don't know what season it is?  Well, they are still there.  They've survived several very hard freezes and they are STILL ALIVE.  They look to be very healthy.  I'm hopeful that they'll actually get to the blooming stage, but there's no way to know yet if they have been too damaged by the freezes.  But I'm just glad that they are even still there!  Bluebonnets are very special.

I Guess It's Just Monday

No title inspirations today.  Just Monday.

Not that I'm complaining.  It's been a somewhat busy day.  After I got home from work, Otter and I decided we needed to go thrifting.  We went to the close Goodwill and she found a couple of vhs tapes of movies.  I found a book.  We then went across the street to a resale shop we like and she found what is essentially a small shawl, except that it's beaded.  It's basically made of beaded strands instead of yarn, and it's just beautiful.  She thinks she'll wear it with one particular sundress she has.  I didn't find anything there, but I wasn't really looking seriously.

Maggie Moo had lost some of the weight she needed to, but I've noticed that she's beginning to get fat pads on her sides again at the hips.  Which is not good.  We usually feed them a weight control formula, but the store was out of it the last time I bought dog food so we had to get a different variety.  Same brand, just a different mix.  It's for adult dogs, actually I think it's for older adult dogs.  They do like it.  But it seems to have more calories, etc., and Maggie Moo is beginning to look a little rounder again.  So we're going back to the weight control formula for them.  They have been getting a lot more exercise lately, which is always good for them.  We get them playing with each other, and nobody's safe!  Frasier likes to run around the back yard when they first go out there.  He will run around the edge of the yard next to the fence, then he will just runrunrunrunrun all over the yard.  He gallops, there is no other word for it, and he has the happiest expression on his furry face.  When he's run enough, he'll sometimes go see what he can find to sniff or he'll get Maggie playing.  After a while, they get tired out and decide it's time to come inside.  Frasier usually is still running at this point, although slower.  He usually runs straight into the house and to their blanket.  Maggie Moo usually bounds across the yard, over the deck and follows Fraiser to their blanket.

Not much else going on around here tonight, Bill's working a b(oring)oard meeting but he should be home soon.  I might get started on my next donation scarf, or I might read instead.  I've been sitting at the kitchen table, reading a book.  I sat there so long I was stiff when I finally got up.  The chairs are great for sitting down to a meal, but they are not comfortable for a couple of hours reading time!

Day After Groundhog Day!

Not that we actually believe a rodent is capable of predicting anything!  Also, look at the calender.  There are still 6 weeks until the first day of Spring so it doesn't matter!  But it is fun, I agree.  Of course, if we'd ever actually had winter...

Check this out:

Yarn Bombing!

My latest yarn adventures include crocheting a scarf yesterday.  I started it yesterday, but didn't get it finished until this morning.  There was an article in the paper a couple of weeks back, about two pre-teen girls who learned how to knit from an aunt or grandmother of one of the girls.  They then taught all their friends and classmates how to knit.  The entire bunch of them decided to knit scarves for the school district's on-staff police officers.  Then they taught the rest of the 6th grade, or at least most of them, how to knit.  One of the local yarn stores has now picked up the effort and is sponsoring a drive to provide every Tulsa police officer with a hand-knitted or crocheted scarf.  The one I made yesterday/today is the first of a few that I'll donate.  I'm not sure how many, probably 3 to 5.  But it just depends, once I get going it is hard to stop!  I was looking for a de-stash project and had planned on making Chemo caps next, but the yarn store wants the scarves by Feb. 25 so the Chemo caps have been put off for a bit but I am going to make them as well.  I used a deep grey color for the first scarf, the same one I made the sock monkey hats out of.  I have two different green colors, a smoky blue and possibly also will use camoflauge yarn for the scarves.

Otter and I went to two estate sales today.  Well, we drove by two estate sales.  We didn't actually stop at either of them, we could tell from the street that neither of them had anything we were interested in.  We also went to an antique/craft mall that we like but we didn't find anything there either.  The only thing we actually bought was at Marshalls store and it was a pair of slacks for Otter.

Also, we bought dinner.  It was in the form of a pepperoni pizza!  Dominos had a special, so we got two.  One for today and one for tomorrow.  Tomorrow's might well be breakfast!