Sick Weekend. Maybe.

Otter and I got our flu shots this afternoon.  We thought about putting it off, but Bill seems to be doing better.  So we decided to go ahead and get the shots.  I figure that Bill isn't going to be up for anything big or going anywhere for a couple of days, so it's probably as good a time as any for what has become known as Sick Weekend for me.  We got the shots a little after 5:00.  My arm starting feeling ouchie pretty quick, but the Wave didn't hit me as soon as last year.  It was about 45 minutes later, as we were waiting at El Chico for the fajitas we'd ordered.  And it wasn't as strong.  It's not quite 7:00 yet, and I'm really just beginning to feel it.  I hope that means a mild reaction this year!  We'll see, I guess.

 

There was a fellow TEXAN in the store where we got our shots.  I have no doubt of his nationality even though I didn't get a chance to talk to him.  First clue:  the t-shirt with a specific Davy Crockett quote "you can all go to he__ and I will go to TEXAS" but the 2nd clue really nailed it.  He had a tattoo.  A large one, above one ankle.  It was a specific state shape with lots of colors.  I'm sure nobody has to ask which STATE it was!  Like someone said once, TEXANS ain't subtle! :)  And we make no apologies about that, either.

 

Bill took a pain pill last night but he hasn't needed any today.  He has to sleep sitting up tonight and tomorrow night, then he should be safe to actually lie down.  I made him a nest on the couch last night with several blankets, a sheet and lots of pillows.  He slept all night, except for the brief time when Frasier apparently realized that there was someone on the couch and had to go investigate, but he was much more rested this morning than he expected to be.  Before I left for work this morning,  brought in a small folding table and put the current pachinko getting refurbished on it.  It's just at the right height so that he didn't have to bend over and he spent most of the day sitting on the couch working on the machine.  And watching Starship Troopers Animated Series dvd's.  His incision/stitches are swollen and reddish but not bad.  I think that they are at the point they should be.  I put the ointment on him just now.  His right eyelid is red and slightly swollen, but that could be because one of the stitches is rubbing up against it when he blinks.

 

Otter was home all morning, she went to a friend's house this afternoon so I came home at lunch to check on Bill.  But he's doing so much better than we expected, and I'm just glad.  He said that the incisions are starting to itch, so he's glad he has the pachinko machines to keep his hands busy.

 

I'm starting to feel cruddy now, so I think it's time to go park on the couch.

Runn Oft

Anybody who has seen the movie "O Brother Where Art Thou" will recognize the title!  I feel like my feet have been "runn oft" and like I've been "runn oft"ing all day long.

Bill had his surgical procedure today at the dermatologist's office.  And, even though I told him last week and he acknowledged it, the doctor apparently forgot (and didn't take me seriously today.  At first.) about the RedHead Curse.  But he (the doctor) learned his lesson quickly - at one point, there were 5, FIVE, people in the room holding gauze on Bill's face in an attempt to get him to stop bleeding.  The thing is, he really wasn't bleeding excessively - for a Redhead, that is.  Which means he was really bleeding a lot for an average person, but we're very much above average when it comes to that.  When the doctor first realized that Bill was bleeding more than he expected, he had someone come in and take his blood pressure in case it was elevated and that was causing the excessive (non-redhead excessive) bleeding but his pressure was only slightly elevated and that was probably because he was being sliced & diced!

It took a little over an hour, probably closer to an hour and a half.  The doctor took the rest of the skin cancer off/out and then he took a little extra skin from the area between Bill's eyebrows and made a patch/graft on the top of the bridge of Bill's nose.  He's got multiple stitches and he's pretty swollen in spots.  He's not really bleeding still, but one spot is just barely oozing blood occasionally but it's right at his eye and it occasionally runs into his eye which makes it look like his eye is bleeding.  Which freaked Otter out in a major way!  She's seen too many horror movies. :)  We're calling him Frankenwillie.  He goes back next Friday to get the stitches removed.

 

Bill can't do any heavy work or lift anything over 20 pounds for two weeks.  He can't bend down at all for 72 hours and he has to stay upright for 72 hours as well.  He says he's sleeping on the couch, since that way he is less likely to lie flat.  He's taking lortab for pain, which is the same thing that Otter is allergic to but I think her allergy to it came from my side of the family.  Bill's taken it before without a problem.  He doesn't like to take pain pills, or pills of any kind, so the fact that he is taking them willingly means that he's really hurting.  Bill is off work until Tuesday, the doctor wants him to stay home tomorrow and then Monday is a holiday.

 

I've been running all day long, as I mentioned.  When we were on the way home from the doctor's office, an indicator came on in the car for low oil pressure.  I was going to get the oil changed next week, but we thought that I'd better get that taken care of today since it's never had that light come on before.  I brought Bill home, he just wanted to be left alone to rest so Otter and I went back to the Chevy place for the oil change and I also got them to replace the headlight that went out yesterday since it's not something Bill can do at the moment.  After we got home, Bill decided he needed the pain pills so I ran to Walgreen's and got the prescription filled.  He was ready for lunch at that point, so I made him a sandwich and then I remembered I needed to go to the post office and Otter wanted to go to the library.  We get home from that trip and by then Bill had realized that he couldn't wear his glasses at all so he sent me to the dollar store to get a magnifying glass so he could at least read his email.  Otter went with me and we also stopped at Wallyworld for the few grocery items I needed.  It seems like there was another errand in there somewhere, but I can't remember.  I just feel like I've been in the car all day long!

Otter will be home with Bill in the morning.  I'm going in to work but I am planning on coming home at lunch to check on him.  Otter's going to one of her friend's houses in the afternoon so I'll come home and see how he's doing.  After work, I'll come home to pick Otter up and then we're going to get our flu shots - or at least that is the plan, it is subject to change depending on Bill but I don't foresee having to put the shots off.  After we get the shots, we're going to go pick up fajitas to bring home.  Then, I'll spend at least Friday evening and probably Saturday feeling rotten and taking it easy because of my standard flu shot reaction.  Bill won't be up to doing anything or going anywhere anyway.  Otter has to work Saturday and will probably work Sunday as well, but we're just planning a low-key weekend.  I stocked up on library books myself, so I'm set for the weekend.  We finished putting the trellises up yesterday, we went to Lowe's and got the lattice so that project is done until I plant the honeysuckle.

Still Only Tuesday!

But it feels like it should at least be Thursday.  Just one of those weeks, I guess.

 

Bill has decided that he is going to the dermatologist on Thursday.  He had been thinking that it might be best to wait until the plastic surgeon could see him, but that would be at least the end of October and probably later than that.  He was concerned that the spot would continue to grow, which is probably would, and that it would be as big as it was or even bigger.  So, he decided to keep the Thursday morning appointment with the dermatologist.  It's going to take at least an hour and it's not going to be fun.  But it is necessary.  I'm taking Thursday off and going with him.

 

Otter and I are getting our flu shots Friday.  We think that Bill will have definitely earned some of our traditional post-flu-shot ice cream!  Which I might get at Braums, in case you are interested Froggy!

 

In the meantime, we've been working on the trellises.  Yesterday, Bill set the middle posts in.  Today, he installed the top bar pieces.  Tomorrow, we'll go get the lattice pieces and attach them.  Then it will be ready for me to plant my honeysuckle starts and let them do their thing.  He might also get the wooden frame assembled to hold the new rain barrel but I'm not sure when he's going to get the rain gutter hooked up to actually put it in place.

 

Bill got some cuttings of trumpet vine today.  It's now happily (I hope) rooting in a plastic coffee can filled with rain water.  I'm going to order the crepe myrtle soon, but I'm not sure when.  They won't actually be delivered until after November 1st.

 

Froggy, I already mentioned this to you.  There was a toad in the dog's outside water dish yesterday morning.  I was dumping the water out so I could rinse out their dish as it was getting green.  After I took the bricks out, which are there for frogs so that they don't drown, there was a little hopper looking up at me.  It hopped out and went underneath the rain barrel.  I refilled the water dish and replaced the bricks.  Last night, the toad was on the front porch (Froggy, I think I told you it was the back porch) and was sitting underneath the light.  The light was on and it was bringing bugs by the billions.  As a result, we had a happy frog!  This morning, it was back in the dog's water dish.  I'm pretty sure it's the same one each time.  And it's really a toad, not a frog - they are not the same animal although they are related.  They're very welcome, by the way.  They eat lots and bugs and that's fine with me!

 

I had an interesting bird sighting yesterday.  It was coming in for a landing on an electric wire and the wire actually sagged - but then that is probably expected when an eagle lands on it!  It didn't stay long, it turned around and took off across a field.  It went pretty low and just skimmed the ground.  I think it got something, it looked like it had something in it's claws.  Today was hummingbirds, there were two and they were not willing to share any of the three feeders I refilled this afternoon.  Hummingbirds are fairly common, but eagles are not.  We've seen them before, but not often.

 

We also saw one of Lovely Neighbor's hairless cats yesterday.  It was out in her front yard, Otter went to the door to let her know but she said she already knew.  I guess she's quit blaming her daughter for letting her expensive cats out.  At least it didn't come over to my yard, Frasier would probably have done what he's known for and I don't think that we would have been responsible.  That was one UGLY cat.  Ugly with a capital UG!  The words "Butt Ugly" just about describe it.

Yard Work

Well, I guess it's still yard work if it involves digging holes and placing posts!  Bill started building the new trellises for the honeysuckle we're going to plant along the back of the house.  Three trellises, two of them will be separated by our bedroom window.   On the opposite end, the end and middle trellis will be separated by a fan-shaped trellis which will eventually have something else on it.  Possibly a climbing rose, I'm not sure about that yet.

This is a old picture of the rock garden, I'm not sure if it was before it was redone and enlarged or not but the trellis is the one that Bill built for Jessie.  It has morning glories on it but the honeysuckle we planted 1 1/2 years ago is now really taking off and may take over the entire trellis.  The ones Bill is building now are similar to this one.  The iris plants are where the trellises are going to be, the iris will be relocated.  Probably to around the redbud tree and probably around one of the trees in the front yard as well.

 

We're going to plant trumpet vine at the trellises on the back fence.  The ones that had morning glories that were doing wonderfully well.  Until the builder moved the fence, that is.  Although they actually bloomed the last two days.  Even though they have been pulled up!  They don't seem to realize yet that they are dead.

 

Otter's gone over to her friend's house, they have their regularly scheduled Dungeons and Dragons game today.  It's once or twice a month, depending on everyone's work schedules.  Otter worked out an alternating Sunday off schedule with her boss, which means that she'll be working next Sunday which is Labor Day weekend.  Already.  It still seems like it should just now be Memorial Day.

 

Labor Day weekend is when I try to get my flu shot.  That way, I have three days to recover!  Sometimes I need all three days.  Otter has to work Saturday, but we're still planning on getting the shots Friday afternoon.  She doesn't usually have the reaction that I do, she did have a bad reaction one time.  But that was when the Tulsa City/County Health Department stored the flu shot serum improperly and it went bad.  Otter was very sick all that weekend, but we didn't realize what it was since she'd never had a reaction before.  A few months later, she got the flu and was very sick again - along with probably 90% of the Tulsa area!  The reaction was probably because of the improper storage situation.  The only other time she possibly had a reaction was a couple of years ago, she was fine but suddenly threw up on the Saturday night but she'd also had a lot of allergy issues and that could have been the problem as well.  She may have some arm soreness at the injection site.  Me?  Well, I have the arm soreness.  And I have mild flu symptoms for a couple of days.  Not enough to really say that it's the flu, but it is the way I react to the shot and I will feel cruddy.  But it's worth it, if it helps me avoid the flu.  I did get the flu in January, but that was probably because they don't always guess correctly which strains will be dominant and it was a fairly mild case.  So mild that I didn't realize at first that it was the flu.  Otter got the flu a couple of years ago, but it was the same situation - the dominant strain was not one that the shot covered and that is probably the one she got.  But usually, it's for the right strain.

 

I have been calling Walgreen's on a regular basis, their ad has been saying for about a month now that the flu shots are available but the local stores haven't had it yet.  Today, they do have it.  So we're going this coming Friday.  Yes, Froggy.  We will get ice cream!  And it may well be from Braum's.  We'll also pick something up for dinner on the way home.  My reaction can start anywhere from 10 minutes to an hour after the shot, usually it's within about 30 minutes.  So, I like to make it as easy an evening as I can.  We'll get the ice cream before Friday.  Then, we'll pick up whatever we decide on for dinner on the way home.

 

While we were working on the trellis, I found the cutest little thing in the yard.  She had a very long neck and a shell, and I already texted pictures to Froggy.  Otter took a couple of pictures on her camera, but we haven't uploaded the pictures yet.  I'll get one posted in the next day or so.  We relocated the tortoise to the field behind the houses behind us.  Frasier would possibly have killed her, and we don't allow anything to happen to our tortoises if we can possibly avoid it.  Froggy, I know you are not a fan.  But they are very important animals, they play a MAJOR part in protecting our ecosystem.

 

Bill did something else this morning.  He started burning what was left of the limb pile.  He got about half of it burned, but then it started to get windy so he quit adding limbs to the fire and let it go out.  He stayed out with it until it quit smoldering.  He's not sure when he's going to get the rest of it burned, it depends on the weather.  I don't think we're supposed to get rain for a few days, but wind is not a good thing when you are burning anything outdoors.

 

Now, if my arms aren't too sore from the work we did this morning, I might attempt to crochet.  I'm back to thinking that maybe I do want to sell stuff on etsy.  I set up a shop months ago, but then I decided against actually selling.  But now I'm thinking that maybe I should.  I'll figure it out eventually!

 

Time to go make dinner.  Sloppy Joes, I think.

Fenced In

The builder got through moving the fence today.  They set the posts Wednesday and then his crew was back at it today.  We were hoping it would be yesterday since Bill was home, but we thought yesterday might have been too soon.  They set the posts in concrete and it takes a little time for it to cure enough to hold weight.  Otter was home today, she called me with regular updates.  From what the builder told Bill the other night, we were concerned that they might try to get away with putting chain link at each end since the only part that they actually moved is in the middle of the fence.  But they did put additional wooden fence slats.  The builder was there when Bill got home and he saw Bill looking over the fence so he asked Bill if it was ok with him.  Bill said it was fine, and that he was glad it was not chain link because that would have been a problem.  The morning glories were doing really well and would probably have been blooming within a few days.  We're probably going to go with honeysuckle instead of morning glories.

 

The dermatologist called me today.  He was confused that he called for Bill but I answered.  I guess he didn't see the note about it being my cell phone number as a contact.  He had to go look at the paperwork Bill signed before he could talk to me, but we make sure that we are on each other's approved list for medical stuff.  We're also on Otter's, at least as long as she's living here and is on our insurance policy.  Anyway, he said that the lab report came back and he did not get it all.  I'm not really surprised, the spot was pretty big.  It was NOT the bad kind, just a "standard" skin cancer.  But it's in a really bad place.  He suggested that Bill see the plastic surgeon, but Bill isn't willing to do that.  Bill's barely willing to go back at all, but I'm digging my heels in and not letting him avoid it.  The dermatologist made an appointment for Bill to come in next Thursday morning at 8:00 to get the rest of it taken out.  It should take about an hour.  IF, that is, I can get Bill there! :(

 

We've watched the first two episodes of Heroes of Cosplay.  It's not an accurate accout of cosplay or cosplayers, at all.  It seems to make the emphasis on the wrong things.  For one thing, cosplay can be sexy but it is not intended to be sexual.  There are a lot of other things we've noticed.  Cosplay is for everybody, as cosplayers will often tell you.  It doesn't matter if you are big, small, tall, short, disabled in anyway, etc., but the show makes it look like it's only for perfect people.  The show is not very popular among serious cosplayers, for a very good reason.  I'm not sure if we'll keep watching it or not.  Otter is a serious cosplayer, I probably would have been too if I was her age.  It was just coming into being when I was her age and it took it a few years to really get going.

 

This morning I saw something that I really liked.  I had to go into the "downtown" area of the small town we live in - it's one street and not too crowded but it does have some fun shops.  I was a little early for school zones, but the crossing guard I passed was there early.  She was sitting in her chair, waiting for the kids to show up.  To pass the time, she was crocheting!  I wish I'd had time to stop and talk to her, but it brightened my morning considerably.

 

My migraine finally went away, although I had residual pain from it until late this morning and now I have "almost" a headache.  I think I'm going to have a glass of wine and relax this evening.

Ouchie Day

For me!  I woke up at 2:30 this morning with a really bad headache.  My first thought was that it was probably a sinus infection but I wasn't really sure because of where the pain was.  I've only had one other migraine this year.  I went back to sleep - somewhat - and then Bill woke me up at 5:00 with a cup of coffee.  At that point, my head was still hurting and I was slightly nauseated.  The coffee did help a little bit, I decided to lie down on the couch for a few minutes.  Much to Frasier's delight, as he kept sticking his nose in my face.  After a while, I decided to go back to bed and see how I felt in a couple of hours.  Bill woke me up again about 7:30, and that's when I realized that the reason I woke up at 2:30 was because it was a full-blown migraine.  At that point, I called in to work.  I had a little more coffee, caffeine helps.  I took 3 extra-strength Motrin since I didn't want the usual migraine cocktail of Tylenol/aspirin/caffeine.  I can't take aspirin very often, thanks to the bleeding part of the Redhead Curse.  Just plain Tylenol doesn't work that well, but Motrin does seem to work a little bit.

 

I did try to take an afternoon nap and might have been able to, if it weren't for the builders behind us roofing one of the two newest houses.  Every time I'd just about get to sleep, someone would start hammering.  I finally just gave up and got up.

 

I mostly just took it easy and hung around the house today.  Except for a very short run to Wallyworld for more Motrin, when I prevailed upon Otter to run me up there since the idea of driving with a crushing headache was not something that thrilled me.  I needed a specific dosage of Motrin, otherwise I'd have just sent her.  I hope she got the car seat moved back far enough, sometimes she forgets and I discover it when I get in the car and my elbows and knees are up at my ears!

 

Bill is doing a lot better today.  He decided to call in, he's over most of the pain although it's still tender.  But he looks like he got punched in the nose - which I might claim doing!  He'll decide about tomorrow in the morning.

 

Such an exciting day.

 

Bill posted the steampunk pachinko machine on a pachinko forum he belongs to. He did say that it is not for sale.  He's already gotten one email from another member - who wants to know how much Bill wants for it!  It was an easy answer - it's not Bill's machine!  It's mine.  And I'm not selling it.  For any amount of money.

Whirlwinds

First of all, go check this out: Steampunk Pachinko

It's been a crazy week and it's only Wednesday.  I feel like I've been picked up by a whirlwind!

 

Otter worked the same hours I do yesterday, so I was her transportation.  She got off a little later than I did, so I ran a couple of errands and then went to get her.  Among other things, I stopped at Sam's and bought 4 large cans of chicken broth because I'm making chicken noodle soup for dinner tonight.  I also bought the largest size container of Pace Picante sauce they have, but that's pretty much always served at this house.  TEXAN lifeblood, you know. :) 

 

Bill got home before we did, so he was here when the builder who is building the houses behind us came to the door.  He wanted to tell us that the survey showed that they put the fence in the wrong spot, and they need to move it.  We thought at the time that it was wrong.  We were right about that.  They will be moving it back into our yard a few feet.  We thought about protesting, but it would probably be an expensive and possibly fruitless gesture so we're not going to worry about it.  The builder had the underground lines marked, so we now know where everything is for when we plant the crepe myrtles this fall.  They put new posts in, and they'll probably move the actual fence tomorrow.  I just wish that they'd figured it out months ago, because the morning glories are just now getting to the point where they might bloom!  We'll probably replant them next year.  I'm just glad that they didn't have to move back beyond my redbud tree, because they would NOT have liked what happened.  RHTW would have given them a "talking to" that they would not have ever forgotten.  But that didn't happen, which is a good thing - for them, that is.

 

Today's activities included taking Bill to the dermatologist.  In April or thereabouts, Bill noticed a spot coming up on his nose.  On the right side, almost up to where his eye is.  He thought it might be a callus from his glasses, but it kept growing.  Which is when I started the "let's go to the doctor in case it is a skin cancer" talk - we've had that talk many times over the year.  And probably will again in the future.  He resisted, and then I brought out the Big Guns:  Nana!  When she came to visit us over Mother's Day, we ganged up on him like we usually do and he finally admitted that he probably should see the doctor.  His favorite dermatologist retired, and he used that as an excuse but I didn't let him get very far with that.  I made him an appointment with the dermatologist that we used when Otter had the plantar's wart a couple of years ago.  The fact that this is a doctor Bill saw when we first moved to Tulsa and didn't like was not mentioned to Billyboy!  For various reasons, he needed to wait for a few things that he didn't want to have his face cut up for so we didn't get his appointment until today.  I was going to take the morning off, but the appointment was at 9:20 and Bill thought we might get out too late for me to go in for more than an hour or so.  So I took the whole day off.  We got home close to 11:00, so it was a good idea.  Anyway, it turned out that it was a skin cancer after all and not just a callus.  The doctor doesn't think it's the bad kind, but he did want to take it off.  He is sending it for a biopsy, but that is most to be sure he did get it all.  If not, then Bill either has to go back to him to get the rest of it removed or to a plastic surgeon because of the location and the fact that it might be a little more detailed then the dermatologist wants to do himself.  He might have a scar if he has to have more cut out, but I'm not worried about that.  He didn't need a pain pill prescription, but he does have an ointment he has to use on it twice a day which is a prescription item.

 

The Redhead Curse made the expectd appearance.  I warned the assistant as well as the doctor that two things would happen:  The numbing stuff would try to "puddle" in one area and might not spread around as much as it should and that there would probably be more blood than they expected.  Also, that it would take longer to stop bleeding.  When she gave him the shot, the assistant said she was glad I told her because it did "puddle" so she had to massage it around a bit.  The doctor did the actual cutting, and he remarked on how much Bill bled.  Then he was surprised at how long it took to stop.  They'll remember the next time they have to work on a redhead, we're a little different than the rest of the population.  Sometimes, it's not fun to be unique!  I also told them that Bill might need more numbing stuff than most people and that it wouldn't last as long as it does on non-Redheads.  He didn't need any additional shots, but he probably would have if it had taken the doctor longer than it did.

 

Bill said it feels like someone attacked his face with something sharp.  Well, that is basically what happened.  We're hoping that the doctor got it all, he thinks he did but we won't know for about a week to two weeks.

 

Otter and I did run off for a while today.  We went to the post office for Bill, then we stopped at Walgreens to get his prescription filled.  And we bought groceries while we were out.  Mostly though, we've been hanging around the house.  Trying to stay out of Grumpy's way but close enough if he needs anything.  He might take tomorrow off as well.  I want him to, but he'll decide in the morning.

 

Bill has been careful about sun exposure for several years now, he wears his hat and tries to protect himself.  But this is still a result of the several years he didn't take care - and only some of it is from his childhood.  Most of this is a result of those years when he was striping parking lots in the strong south TEXAS sun.  It's happening a lot less often, but he's very possibly got more in his future.  The fact that he is a redhead just makes it worse.

August 19

We bow at the feet of the Great Bird of the Galaxy in neverending Thanks!

Still Here

I have not fallen off the face of the earth!  Not yet, anyway.  It's just been an insanely busy few days.  Nothing in particular, the normal stuff.  Just more of it!

 

Anyway.  Froggy, I'm glad you got the box and that you liked the stuff in it.  I have pictures of all the things I crocheted, but I can not locate them.  I know that Otter and I got them uploaded on my computer, but they are nowhere to be found.  That has happened a couple of times with this laptop, they are out there somewhere and I'll eventually find them.  But the frog cap was the main item I gave you hints about.  The creepy turtle potholder was the "other" thing that I didn't hint about.

 

Bill's hoarding, excuse me collection, of pachinko machines increased by two.  He found one on craigslist that was near San Antonio and his sister picked it up for him.  She was here last week, so she brought it with her.  The other one is one he found on craigslist at a local-ish yard sale.  It's one he looked at months ago, in a neighboring town and the seller made the usual mistake:  rare and worth bunches.  Except that it wasn't either of those things.  What usually happens in that case is that the seller realizes his mistake after he tries to sell it for those bunches and bunches of money and winds up emailing or calling Bill to see if Bill's offer is still valid.  This time, the seller didn't call but he had a yard sale this weekend and listed a pachinko machine.  We went over there this afternoon, it was in a nearby small town, and it was the same person/house/machine.  I think Bill offered him around $30 last time, but of course he didn't take it then because it was worth hundreds (not!).  It came home with us today.  $10.00.  Part of the sudden price decrease was because the guy put it out in the driveway and his wife bumped it with her car when she was backing out of the driveway.  The damage is minimal and also easily fixable.  But even before that, I don't think he was asking very much from the way he talked.

 

After that, we stopped at a local Jack in the Box for lunch.  They are in this area again after a period of many years.  If today's lunch is an example, I expect that they will be gone again soon!  While we were eating, Bill got a call from a lady in Tulsa who saw his website.  She has a pachinko machine that she bought from someone in Indiana who Bill's acquainted with online.  Bill was never very impressed with that guy's machines or services he offers online.  Apparently, the lady bought a machine and a cabinet for bunches of money (like probably over $1,000.00) and it quit working.  She called the guy and he told her to JUST WHACK IT to fix it.  Which is when she looked online and found Bill.  Turned out it had balls jammed and was easily fixable, but whacking it would not have done the job and might have damaged it.  Froggy, I was waiting in the car when I texted you about being bored and not having anything to read.  I normally have a book in reach, but I took the one in last night that I had in the car.  I was so bored that I actually read the maps we have in the car!

 

I managed to finish my new scarf yesterday, I started it last week but then had hardly any time to work on it.  I also put three or four rows on the afghan, I think it's close to 200 rows now and is probably about half done.  I want to get it finished this year, it's a couple of years old already but its big and not a good project to work on when the weather is warm.  Which means that the last two years have not been good afghan weather.

 

I did a lot of crochet yesterday, and as a result I have sore arms today.  But I was thinking that we were going to be working on cutting limbs up and bundling them for trash pick up.  They have to be 4' lengths and tied up in bunches.  I got started on cutting them up this morning and discovered that the limbs are so old they were disintegrating!  So Bill's decided to just burn them in place.  Well, not exactly in place - they are too close to the wooden fence.  We'll move the pile out a bit and then he'll start burning them.  I don't know if he's going to get it all done at once or in small burns, but Bill and fire are not words that go together well!  Otter was also concerned at the thought of her father starting a fire of any kind but she also thinks that it would be good to get marshmallows ready to roast.

 

Otter's got her priorities.

Growing Our Own!

Mosquitos.  We had homegrown ones.  We've been finding them in the house.  Several, and we couldn't figure out how they were getting in.  Some will come in with the dogs and through the dog door.  But 3 or 4 a day was too many for that.  Yesterday, I found where they were coming from.  We had a mosquito farm in one of the two glasses we're rooting honeysuckle in, the glasses are in the kitchen window.  I only saw wrigglers in one of the glasses, but I dumped both out.  I rinsed the plants off and refilled the glasses.  It was water from the rain barrel and I checked it very carefully.  I usually leave the watering can about 1/2 full and there have never been any wrigglers in it.  I'm going to keep a much closer eye on the rooting glasses, as well as the watering can.  I'm not sure why the were incubating in the glasses but not the can since they were both water from the rain barrel and the barrel has mosquito dunks.

 

We've had so much rain lately that there is a pretty big problem with mosquitos in the Tulsa area.  It rained again yesterday, the rain gauge had about 1 3/4" this morning but some of that was yesterday's rain and then we got a lot of rain overnight.  I dumped out before I headed off to work this morning, but we've had rain off and on all day so I'm sure it's got measurable rain in it again.  I just haven't gotten out there to check it again.

 

Bill put in a new ceiling fan in the bedroom a few weeks ago.  It worked but then it started rattling.  Same as the last one we had.  He finally figured out that it was part of the assembly inside the ceiling itself that holds the fan in place.  The old fan was bad, it did need to be replaced.  The new one was actually used when we got it, but it was in good shape.  Bill bought a hanging pole, but he had to get it cut down because the smallest he could find was something like 8" and it needed to be a little smaller.  Unless we wanted the fan just a few inches over us, as it's over the bed.  Since we don't have any desire to be cut up by blades just by sitting up, he needed to get the hanging pole cut down considerably.  He put the fan on the pole and hung it back up this afternoon, it made the difference.  Now we have a working ceiling fan in the bedroom.  We still will use the stand fan at night, we like a lot of air circulating.  Also, the stand fan creates white noise which I'm always thankful for because sometimes Bill snores!  Like a rhinoceros.

 

Froggy, I mailed your stuff to you yesterday.  I think you will probably get it tomorrow but it might be Thursday.  Cut it open carefully, I fact the best thing is to just barely cut through the tape on the top.  It's closely packed.  Everything is inside of the quilted tote bag, which you already know about.  You've seen the frog cap already, but there is something else in the box that is fun.  Or at least it was fun for me to make!

Busy Sunday

I had the idea that today would be a calm day, although I did have a few things planned to do around the house.  With the exception of some of my neverending laundry, that plan went out the window!  I got a little of the laundry done, but the bathroom isn't cleaned yet, the Fenton hasn't been dusted and neither has our bedroom.  I did get the kitchen floor swept, at least!

 

Bill wanted to go to Ace Hardware for something, but they didn't have what he wanted.  We went to Tuesday Morning the other day and they had a rain barrel we liked but we wanted to look at another type first.  We decided to get the one at Tuesday Morning but the store we went to today didn't have any.  I wanted to go to BigLots so we did that while we were out.  Didn't find anything Bill wanted but we found a lot!  We went to another Tulsa area store, Atwoods, which is a farm & ranch store but that covers a whole lot.  I usually buy bulk peanuts there.  Which we did.  They also had a rain barrel that we liked better than the one we originally set out to get today, it was cheaper and had a better spout system.  It came home with us, it took up nearly the entire back seat of my car so it's a good thing Otter was off with her boyfriend today because there would have been no room for her.  (Side note:  I'm just going to call her boyfriend "J" on the blog.)  We also went to Lowe's, they didn't have what Bill was looking for either.  Bill suggested we go get something to eat at that point, we started out for Schlotzky's but got sidetracked by Taco Bell instead.  It was a more enjoyable day than if I'd cleaned the bathroom or gotten anything else done that I wanted to.  Not that I'm complaining!

 

He'll probably get the new rain barrel hooked up pretty soon.  We've had so much rain this year, but we aren't griping about that either.  This one is a stand-up barrel, the one Bill turned into a rain barrel before is a standard barrel and it's on it's side.  The new one will be on the opposite side of the house.  It has a metal spout, similar to an outside faucet and it's near the bottom.  Bill's going to get some bricks to set it on, since it will need to be raised off the ground very slightly.

 

We were also in the market for a riding mower.  We still are, it's just that we've decided to wait until the Spring to actually buy one.  We found a couple we liked, but  Bill realized that it would only be used a few times before being stored away for the winter.  And the warranty would start the second it as purchased, which also makes it smarter to wait until next Spring.  We discussed a used one, but he decided that is something he wants to buy new.  I think he's right about that.

 

Movie Review:  Looper.  We rented it to watch yesterday.  It was actually better than I thought it would be.  It's a little confusing, so you really have to pay attention to the details.  There is quite a bit of violence but it's part of the storyline and there really isn't much in the way of gore.  It's got a pretty good twist at the end.

 

And now, it's back to my laundry!

Made it to Friday!

Crazy week.  Glad it's over.  Well, it will be tomorrow.  But for all intents and purposes, the week is done done done.

 

Bill noticed last weekend that our electric meter wasn't working.  We had power, but the meter wasn't moving.  At all.  We were afraid that it might have been damaged in one of the many storms we've had, probably the one a couple of weeks ago where so much of this area was without power.  I called the electric company on Monday and they said they'd send someone out.  I made certain that they were not going to be allowed unless one of us was home, and I told them why - a few years ago, we very nearly lost Maggie when they opened a nearly unopenable gate and left it open.  I think that they may have made a not in our "file" because they usually ask me to be certain that someone is here and that my dogs (and they know how many we have plus other details about them) are up.  Otter was off on Tuesday, so that's when I scheduled the guy to come out.  Monday afternoon, he calls me to tell me he was on the way - I told him that no, he was not on the way and that it would have to be Tuesday.  He was extremely "sheepish" but he did say that he'd be out Tuesday.  Tuesday morning, I was getting ready to go to work when he called and said he'd be here shortly.  So, I just waited for him.  He was right on time.  When he pulled the lid off of the box the meter was in, it was nearly solid bird nesting material.  We had birds build nests in it before, so we have been keeping a piece of duct tape over the opening.  The nests were at least 4 years old, when Bill taped it up he made sure that there were no birdies and that it was well past nesting season so there were no deceased birds in it.  Just lots and lots of dead grass!  The technician said that probably didn't have anything to do with the meter conking out and that the tape was not causing a problem either.  He basically popped the old meter out and popped the new one in.  Took about 3 minutes, start to finish.

 

We've had a lot of rain this week.  The air was clear for a brief moment, but then the sun came out and that means that it got unbearably humid fast.  Also, we are dealing with a lot more mosquitos.  We've been dumping the dog's water dish out and refilling every other day but now I'm thinking that we might need to change it to daily.  The rain barrel is not the source, it's been "dunked" and will be for a while.  The dog's water is being dumped before any wrigglers can actually hatch out - and they like the dog's water dish for egg-laying, apparently.  We have a suspicion that they may be coming from Lovely Neighbor's.  It wouldn't be the first time!  She has a water feature in her front yard, but it's not turned on very often but it does have water in it.  Which means standing water.  Which means skeeters!

 

I've seen several spiders lately.  Mostly outside, but a few inside.  No bad ones lately.  Just the good ones and they are more than welcome.  We just need to keep them out of the beagle's reach!

 

Tulsa is apparently having a problem with snakes this year.  Mostly copperheads but there have been a few rattlers.  The problem is that it seems nobody actually knows what to do with one!  What do they do?  Well, apparently people think that snakes are either play toys or that it's safe to pick one up to relocate it.  You can probably guess what happens next!  The number of people being treated for bites by either rattles or copperheads is pretty high this year.

 

Can we say gene pool in serious need of a flush?

Alright, Already!

OK, Froggy.  You nagged me.  I'm blogging.  Happy?

Of course, the reason I wasn't blogging was because I was too busy.  I was working on something crochet, and it was for you.  But if you'd rather I blog instead of working on your stuff...

Ok, on to other things now that I've ragged Froggy!  (She deserves it, by the way.)

 

Last weekend was the Sales Tax Holiday.  Well, I found pretty much everything I was looking for.  I went to the Wallyworld by the mall and the mall parking lot looked like it was overflowing.  Wally was pretty crowded, but I was able to find nearly everything on my list there.  Bill wanted 3 pairs of jeans, I found two there so I decided to hit the Wallyworld by home.  I still needed to get stuff like milk, things that I didn't want to curdle by the time I fought traffic and got home (it was pretty warm) so I went on to the closer store and I found the rest of what I wanted there:  another pair of jeans for Bill and some socks for Otter.  I think we probably saved about $8.00 ish in sales tax, give or take, but I'm not complaining.  It's a couple of gallons of milk or a 3-lb. package of ground turkey, but it's still nothing to gripe about.  I used to save a lot more, but that was when I had a school kid and had to get back-to-school clothes.  Most of what I actually bought at the closer store was grocery related anyway.  I had to stop at the liquor store after that, but they weren't participating!

 

The liquor store was interesting - there is a type of tequila that has a REAL scorpion in the bottle.  I don't think that they sell much of it, but it was a good conversation piece.  The clerk and I talked about it and then another customer joined it, none of us would drink the stuff but also none of us would be afraid of a live one.  Although I'm not a fan of them, but that comes from having one run underneath my bare foot one time.  It didn't sting me, but I was in the process of putting my foot on the ground and I'm not sure how I managed to avoid squashing the critter and getting stung in the process.  The other part of the story is that I'm allergic to something in cheap tequila, so when I do drink it (which is rare) I have to get the good stuff!  Yes, I know - there's a redneck joke or a country & western song in that.

 

There is another part to the liquor store story.  Bill wanted a case of beer.  Being from TEXAS, he's never been satisfied with the low-point beer that is sold in backOklahomawards.  So, on the rare occasions he drinks beer it's usually bought at the liquor store so he can get the "real stuff."  I carried a case of it out of the store with my left arm, then I got it out of the trunk of the car with my left arm and carried it into the house with my left arm.  And pulled a muscle in my left side!  I'm finally beyond the pain caused by just breathing, but it wasn't fun.  It's probably also a redneck joke or song fodder.

 

Otter went to Tokyo in Tulsa, also known as TNT, over the weekend.  I was going to post pictures of her in cosplay here, but it turned out that her face was too identifiable.  But she had a good time and saw a lot of her friends.  She and 3 of her girlfriends rented a room at a hotel that was part of it and was offering special rates and she ran into several other friends of hers.  Including her boyfriend, he was out of town but got back in time to go for a little while on Sunday.  She left the house Friday morning and we didn't see her again until Sunday evening.  She was tired!  But she had a great time and she's already planning next year's costumes.  She did find the Borg drone hive, they were wandering around and she did tell them that her mom is a big fan - they said she should have a "Hi Mom" picture taken but they got sidetracked.  Besides, they'd have just followed her home if she told them the truth - that I'm not just a fan.  I'm their Queen!  And Otter is very much a Borg Queen in training - something she's finally decided to accept.  She's embracing her Borg-ness and she's obviously strong enough to carry the mantle.

Resistance is Futile, after all.  (Y'all, since the Borg Queen is a TEXAN,)