100 Gallons

That how much rain water we have stored between 2 barrels.  The older one is 55 gallons, but the way it's set up it doesn't hold water totally to the top.  The new one is 50 gallons and it's full to the brim.  It was actually overflowing, until I got a little water out of it with my watering can.   We got nearly 3" of rain yesterday, and it was needed badly.  We may get more, towards the end of the week.

 

Otter's new store opened today.  We went shopping there this afternoon.  So did Otter's Grandpa.  She had a lot of customers aside from family, and she said that she is tired but not nearly as tired as she would have been at the party store.  It's a nice store, we were frequent customers at the existing store in the Tulsa area so we're already familiar with the chain.  The new store is about the same size but the aisles are a little wider.  I think Otter's going to enjoy working there.  She has had a couple of 10 p.m. nights, but she got out within just a few minutes after 10 and not 11:30!  Also, the management is a whole lot better.

 

I've been crocheting like a madwoman the last couple of days.  I'm working on a shawl for Nana and it's going fast.  It's the exact same as the turquoise one I made myself, but it's much easier.  For one thing, I'm using the correct size hook this time.  Makes a difference.  If I think about it, I'll post pictures on the craft blog but in case I don't it is exactly like the turquoise one, except that it's white yarn.

 

Froggy, in case you are interested - we had Braums for lunch today!

Read a Banned Book

We do.  We own as any of them as we can.  Censorship is never right.

 

http://www.bannedbooksweek.org/

 

There may be (and are) books that I don't necessarily agree with.  But no one, no one, has the right to tell me (or anyone else) that I/they can't read it.  That is up to me.  ME.  And to each of you.  Make your own decisions, don't let anyone take away your freedom of choice.

 

The nazi's burned the books they didn't agree with.  Eventually, they burned the people they didn't like as well.  There is a connection, although it seems like most people miss that - possibly on purpose, or they prefer to be ostriches about things and not deal with reality.

 

This is one soapbox we won't ever get off of.

Our New Favorite Book! (and other stuff, too)

This has now become our favorite book:

 

Way to Go, Ted!

Here's a few pictures of things that have been going on lately.  Captions are underneath the picture they describe.

A few weeks back, before Bill's surgery, he found something he knew we'd find interesting when he was mowing the lawn.  He brought it in for us.  It's obviously something left behind when the occupant outgrew it, most likely a grass or garter snake.

What looks like a leg is actually a piece of grass that was stuck to the skin.

The textures are really neat, the scales are in such a pretty pattern.  We tossed it back out in the yard when we got through looking at it, Maggie Moo & Frasier were very interested in it and I think they rolled on it a few times.

I don't think I got these posted before, but they may be a rerun.  These are the support for the trellises.

This is the one right outside of our bedroom window.

 

This was taken today, a certain little beagle was looking for Rose of Sharon blooms.  To eat.  Both dogs love them, but we try to keep them away from them.  I have heard that they are poisonous for dogs, but they don't seem to have suffered any ill effects.  They don't eat too many, but they would like to!

Sorry this is sideways!  This is the new rain barrel and also visible is one of the three completed trellises.

Bill made a stand for the barrel, it's upright.  The other one is horizontal and Bill had to install a spigot in it but this one came with one already.

Again, sorry it's sideways.  I can't get it rotated.  The top lid screws on and off.  It's a flat piece of plastic, Bill drilled a series of holes in it and then placed a piece of window-ish (metal) screen on top of it.  The outer ring isn't attached to the top piece, it sits on top of it and holds it down when it (the ring) screws on.  By doing it this way, it has a screen to keep leaves & crud out of it.  The rain gutter isn't actually attached, but it is just barely above the now holey lid.

This is the spigot.  The barrel sits on a stand that is tall enough to get my watering can underneath it and is far enough towards the front of the stand so that a hose can be attached easily.  It's not shown, but the stand is on bricks that are on sand and is level.  We are supposed to get a good rain this weekend, hopefully the forecaster got it right this time!

 

There was one other picture I wanted to post, but it's on my phone and even though I've downloaded the software I can't figure out how to upload it.  Last night, Otter saw something really cool on the front porch side wall up near the top.  It was a bat!  It was hanging out close to the porch light, which was on at the time.  It was a smart bat, it apparently figured out where all the bugs were collecting and then it had it's own all-a-bat-can-eat-buffet!  It was gone this morning, but there was a considerable amount of bat droppings on the front porch and I'm kind of thinking that it might have had a few friends join it for dinner.  We hope it comes back.

 

Tomorrow, I'm going to go buy more mosquito dunks.  If I'm feeling better, that is.  I gave in to my sore throat and called in today - Bill more or less told me I had to but I would have anyway.  I sound better this evening, but I'm still not feeling 100%.  I made very hot chili for dinner tonight, it did help a bit.

 

Also, we're pretty sure that the State Fair is going to happen without us this year.  Otter has to work both days this weekend, the store actually has it's soft opening this Sunday and then the Grand Opening is probably next weekend and she'll probably have to work both days.  We've gone the last two years, so I'm not too upset if we have to miss it.

Think I'm Losing This Round...

My allergies are winning the battle today.  Or, possibly I'm coming down with a cold.  It's still to be determined!  I'm not entirely sure which way it's going, but I have been fighting a sore throat since yesterday evening.  Along with sinus congestion and a headache.

 

Aside from that, it's a nice day today.  It's been nice for the last several days.  It may be rainy by Saturday, the chance is high but that is also to be determined still!

 

Otter's been fighting her allergies, she can at least take allergy medication that actually works.  She is at work today, and she also works tomorrow.  She's not sure beyond that, the supervisor wasn't through with the schedule when she clocked in today.

 

Well Froggy, now you can't say I haven't blogged lately!  Even if I am rambling.

Falling. Or Fallen?

Today's the first day of Fall.  Or Autumn, if you prefer.

First things first:

More about V'Ger

We've had a busy Sunday.  Otter had to work today, she had to be in at 8:00 so she didn't go to church with us this morning.  They're setting up the new store and they are working long hours, they are at the point of actually stocking all the shelves they installed last week.  She worked 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Friday, although the boss let them go at 5:00.  Then she had to be in at 1:00 yesterday afternoon and didn't get off until 10:00 p.m.  She was having major allergies and didn't want to drive herself, so I took her and picked her up - and handed her a night-time allergy pill as she was getting in the car when she got off.  Which she took immediately, by the way.  She gets off at 5:00 today.  She's probably going to be tired, but she'd have been tired if she was off today because we'd have put her to work!

 

Bill got the 2nd rain barrel set up today.  It was time-consuming, a little bit of hard work involved but not nearly as much as Otter's probably been doing today. Bill got to use power tools so he's a happy boy.  No bleeding or anything!  But the rain barrel is now in place and we just need some rain.  Bill was wondering if he ran around nekkid in the back yard, would that count as a rain dance?  I'm sure the neighbors wouldn't think so! :) 

 

Movie Review:  Epic.  It wasn't exactly epic, but it was not horrible either.  It was frankly very dull and very predictable, but the animation was beautiful.  The story line was somewhat reminiscent of Fern Gully, which is probably at least 25 years old.  It's not on our list to buy.

 

The State Fair starts this week.  We aren't sure if we are going or not.  We were originally planning to go this coming Saturday, it runs for two weeks and we usually go at the end but decided to go at the start this time.  But that was before Otter changed jobs.  Right now, they are trying to get everything ready for the store to open so she might not be off next weekend.  Then the weekend after, which is the end weekend of the Fair, is when the store will probably actually open so she doesn't think she'll be off then, either.  I'm out of personal days at work, I used the last of them when Bill was having his medical issues, so our original alternate plan of me taking a weekday off and going then is probably not practical.  Otter's only got her schedule through Thursday, her boss wasn't through getting the employee schedules finished up yesterday so she's not sure what her actual work days are yet.  But I will be really surprised if she does manage to get either weekend off.  So, the Fair might just happen without us this year.  We went the last two years.  It's fun, but I won't be upset if we don't get to go this time.  Although Otter might!

Aarrrrrrrgh!

It's Talk Like a Pirate Day!

 

So, Otter wore assorted parts of her pirate costume to Krispy Kreme and got one of these free:

Breakfast tomorrow, courtesy of Otter.  I think this makes the 2nd time this year for Krispy Kreme, which is about twice what we normally have.  They are not my favorite donuts, but hey they were free!

 

Bill's new cell phone didn't work this morning.  Neither of us could get it to turn on, so I took it to the Verizon store at lunch.  The girl who waited on us yesterday was there, she got it turned on first try.  She checked the battery, turned it on and off several times and handed it to me.  And I couldn't get it to turn on again, so I handed it back to her and she had no problem.  Sounds like one of those stories, but basically we weren't pushing the on button at the right angle.  !!  I played around with my phone today and figured out most of the features.  Although at one point, I managed to make it talk to me.  Took me a while, but I figured out how to turn that off.  The main reason we got the new phones was because we got such horrible reception, especially at home.  Otter and I checked that out today, we had absolutely no problems.

 

It rained today.  In parts of Tulsa.  Not all parts, but the parts that did get the rain also got hard wind and apparently there are more tree limbs down in areas.  I don't think we got any rain at all, at home.  But we could get more rain tonight and into tomorrow.  Bill isn't going to have time to get the new rain barrel set up until Sunday, however.  But the first rain barrel was getting low, so any rain will help towards refilling it.

 

Just as long as it doesn't refill mosquitos!

Phoning It In

We switched cell phone carriers today.  We still have the same numbers as before, but Bill and I no longer have matching phones.  Which is what I wanted, although he was a little surprised for some reason.  We went with Verizon this time.  Otter's new phone is very similar to her old one, Bill's is the same as the cell phone he has for work - which he says will not be a problem and that he's not going to take my offer to decorate it for him!

 

Otter survived her day at work but she was tired when she got home.  She said that they spent the day assembling the display shelves, sticking spikes into the wallboard, etc.  She wanted a shower and a meal, but she had to go with me to the phone place since we had to buy new phones and she wanted to pick out her own.  The second we got home, she more or less yelled hello to Bill and then she went straight to the shower.  She is off tomorrow but Friday is back at it again.  I'm not sure when the actual store will open, but she gets paid for all this so she's not complaining.  Much!

 

But the new company service should be better than Sprint's was.  We went with an unlimited minutes/text/nationwide calling plan.  We almost never used all the minutes we had before, but I learned the hard way:  have more minutes than you need!  Because otherwise, car trouble or some other emergency is all but guaranteed to happen.

2's Day

(Tuesday, get it?)

 

(I like puns, in case nobody knew that.)

 

I'm in the process of sending most of the pictures I have stored on my cell phone to Otter's phone.  She can save them on her computer, since her phone uses an sd card and mine doesn't.  We're going to be changing cell phone providers, and the last time I was told my pictures would transfer along with all the contacts but they didn't.  I have a few pictures I want to keep, so I'm sending them to her and then she can email them back to me.

 

Bill's phone is acting up, we replaced the battery last week but it didn't help.  We don't have a lot of towers out in our area and we are tired of calls being dropped or not going through.  So, since we will have to buy him a new phone we are going to make the switch now.  Possibly tomorrow.  Our numbers are transportable, so they shouldn't change.  Which is good, because Bill would probably explode if he had to learn a new number!  We may go with Verizon.

 

I'm almost through with baby cap # 4.  It might be the last one, or I might make one more.  Then, I'm going to send them off to the charity.  Then I have got to get back to the shawl I'm making for Nana.  The afghan is an ongoing project but I really do want to finish it up this year.

 

It's been really nice the last couple of days, in the 80's.  It's been 60's at night.  It rained this morning.  I don't think we got a lot of rain, but anything is good.  I'm thinking that Fall is on the way and in a hurry.  We still haven't switched from the summer quilt (mine) to the winter quilt (Bill's camo) but that's probably not too far off, either.  I'm starting to restock the winter/ice storm/blizzard supplies.  We also need to get a couple of ricks of firewood.

 

We're also anxiously awaiting the first freeze.  The ragweed is horrible!

Partied Out

Otter's no longer employed at the party store, as of 4:00 yesterday afternoon.  She's happy about it, by the way.  She has been employed at the hardware/tool store for over a week now and has worked two days at the Tulsa location.  She got a lot of good experience at the party store, but I don't think she's at all upset about not having to fill helium balloons!  She's already put all her khaki pants in the donation pile, she said that they reminded her way too much of school uniforms and she had enough of those when she was in (private) elementary school.  She's going to be very busy in the immediate future, she has the training class tomorrow and I think that she'll be at the new store after that.  The employees at the new store will help with stocking and getting it all organized, which will be a lot of work but she is definitely not afraid of hard work.  It also might make it easier when the store opens, they will be more familiar with what the store sells since they'll have stocked it.  It's going to be a very hands-on training, I think.  I won't miss the late nights at the party store, 10:00 shift ending but not actually getting out until after 11:30 was getting old.  With the party store's busy season being Halloween, that would have just gotten worse and would have stayed that way for a few months.  She bought a lot of stuff on her lunch break yesterday, since she no longer has the 30% employee discount!  She'll probably still shop there, the party store does have a lot of stuff that can't be found in a lot of places.  She'll have a 20% discount at the new job and she will buy stuff there, she's her father's daughter after all and she was already a customer before!!!

 

She's off with J at the moment.  They started out at a mall, they were going to eat lunch and possibly go to a movie.  I think they are also going to the book store across from the mall and there are a few other places they may go.  She's enjoying the first day off she's had in over a week, since she worked at the new job on the days off from the old job.  Her allergies were bad yesterday, last night especially but she is feeling much better today.

 

Bill's also doing better.  He's out of his restricted duty and he got to mow the backyard this morning.  So, he's a happy camper.  He's finally admitted that he is out of room as far as the pachinko machines are concerned.  We looked around in the garage and he's trying to come up with a better system for storage.  Which can be done, but the problem is going to be keeping it organized once he figures it out!  That's going to be the hard part.  :)

 

I've done 3 baby caps for the purple hat donation.  They are easy and quick.  I probably can get two or maybe three more out of the lavender yarn I have.  I'm not sure if I'm going to do anymore after that, I have plenty of purple yarn but none of the soft stuff it needs to be.  But until I run out of the lavender yarn, I'll keep cranking out baby caps.  Then it's back to working on the shawl I am making for Nana and as soon as the weather is consistently cooler, I'm dragging the afghan back out of the stash closet!

 

It has been very nice the last few days.  It was in the low 60's Friday night and last night, the days have been in the high 80's and Fall is very much on the way.  Which will hopefully help with the cricket invasion that the Tulsa area has had to deal with!  Especially since the main cricket predator is brown recluse spiders - we got one in the living room Friday evening.  I like spiders, but I could do without the fiddlebacks!

 

I didn't see it, but Bill said that Maggie was chased out the dog door.  By a fly!  Dog's a goof, that's for sure.  So is Frasier, he's just isn't quite as goosey as the Magginator is.  Except for when he is!

V'GER IS ON HIS WAY!

V'Ger

RIF, Y'all

Out of Juice

It's been a week for dead batteries.  Bill's cell phone has been acting up, we thought the battery was the problem so I bought him one at a battery store since Sprint never seems to have one when we need one - however, they always are more than willing to sell us new phones!  But the phone is still acting up, so I don't think that the battery is the issue.  The battery store said I can return it for a refund, so I'll do that tomorrow.

 

The other dead battery was the one in my car.  This morning, I turned the key in the ignition but it didn't do much!  Bill had already left, so the only choice I had was to drive The Beast.  Which is fun, actually.  But the part about not having an air conditioner isn't fun.  He pulled the battery out of my car when he got home and we ran it up to the auto parts store where we got it almost 4 years ago.  It was dead.  It was just a few months past the full warranty but it did have trade-in value so we got a $124.00 battery for about $41.00.  Bill got it put in the car just in time, because we had a small rain storm.

 

I feel like I have a low battery myself, but a lot o that is because Bill didn't sleep well last night.  Which means that I didn't, either!  I have a feeling that going to bed early may well be in my plans for tonight.

 

Otter worked her next-to-last day at the party store today.  She said that they were very busy and she was exhausted when she got home.  I know the feeling!

Middle of the Week and Nothing Constructive Going On

Froggy, Otter sent me this picture.  I think it's absolutely adorable.  Also, I think some people just have waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too much time on their hands!

The expression on the cat's face is priceless.  (I could so totally do this.  Fraiser?  Come here, boy!).

 

The honeysuckle looked good this morning when I watered them.  Hopefully, they'll make it.  The last ones did great, then we thought that they died but they came back very strong this spring.

 

We're watching M.A.S.H. reruns.  I always enjoyed it, it's still a funny show and the social commentary is still very biting.  The next show on the oldies station might be Gilligan's Island.  Not nearly as sarcastic but I'm enjoying the early episodes, we've forgotten most of them.

 

Otter only has two more days at the party store, she cleaned out her locker today.  She had a book and cough drops in it, but she didn't want to leave anything behind.  She works Friday at the new job, and then has to attend a training class on Monday.  She hopes to get her schedule at the new job on Friday.  We're just glad she got out of there before the Halloween rush.  And the midnights.  Nobody was looking for ward to that.

 

Wonder if I could get Frasier to be still long enough to measure him?  Here, boy!  Maybe I should just stick to something easy.  Anybody got any greased pigs that need to be wrestled?  It would probably be a cinch, compared to what I'd have to go through to get Frasier dressed in anything!

Sneezy Tuesday

Bill and I have the sneezing part of the day.  Otter's just got the itchy nose part of the day.  Allergies, what can I say?  Well, I can say a lot.  I just won't!

 

Bill went back to work today.  His incision spot looks like it's healed, although we have to keep using the medicated ointment on it for a while.  But it does look good.  He's still micro-managing, but not as bad.  He still is supposed to be careful and not lift anything.  He's probably doing a bit too much, but not enough for it to be an issue.

 

I did get the honeysuckle planted at the trellises before he got home today, I wasn't in the mood to be micro-managed!  Of course, he did ask me how I planted them - I told him that I planted them in the dirt! :)

 

Otter is working two jobs this week.  She worked her last night shift at the party store yesterday, she was to get off at 9:30.  At 10:15, they finally walked out.  Today, she worked 4 hours at the new job.  At the existing store in Tulsa, the new one should be opening sometime around the end of the month or early October.  She works at the party store tomorrow and Thursday, day shifts thankfully.  Then on Friday she'll be at the new job again, and Saturday will be her last day at the party store.  Today, she had a little bit of training but since she's already had some cashier experience they put her on a register and she only needed minimal supervision.  Friday will probably be the same.  Most of the people she'll be working with at the new store are going to be trained and start working at the Tulsa store and some of them started this week along with Otter.  She has a training class on Monday, beyond that she doesn't know what her schedule will be.  The "new" boss said that he hopes to have their schedules by Friday but it might not be until Monday.  I'm just glad that she got a new job before the October rush at the party store!  So is she, and so is Bill.

 

Bill's hoard increased today.  He had someone call him about restoring a pachinko machine.  He met the guy today and gave him an estimate on the restoration the guy wanted.  The upshot is that he decided he'd rather sell it than spend several hundred dollars on a machine he overpaid for in the first place, so Bill bought it from him.  The hoard increased yesterday as well, he has a restoration/repair for someone else and that person is paying him with other machines!  He got the first one yesterday, the customer might give him two other machines or he may decide to split the payment up between cash and machine(s).

 

I don't want to hear one word about the amount of yarn in my stash, now!

Hurry Friday!

I'm already anxious for it to be next Friday.  It's only Sunday!  That means I have 5 days (including today) until Bill can actually do something.  Well, he is doing something:  micro-managing me!  He's driving me crazy.  Today's example - I had some iris bulbs to transplant.  Apparently, I don't know how to correctly operate a shovel.  Or put on a hat.  Or how to plant bulbs (nevermind the fact that I've done it many times already).  OR (and this is the one that really ticked me off) how to drink water and where to put my cup!  He actually went to the shady spot I had my water sitting in, brought it out to where I was working and told me I had it in the wrong spot!  His suggestion was to place it in the sunniest, hottest spot in the yard - on top of a fence post.  At that point, I asked him (nicely) to tell Otter to get me some water from the rain barrel so I could water the bulbs when I got them planted.  She got me the water, then was more than willing to go put my drinking water back in the shady spot where I had it originally.  At that point, I decided I was through with yard chores for the day.  Or at least until after next Friday!

 

Yesterday, he attempted to tell me how to crochet.  You probably already know how that one turned out.  Not the way Billyboy expected, either!

 

On to other things now.

 

I posted this on the craft blog, but read this article from the Tulsa World newspaper.  When I posted it, there were no objectionable comments but it's a public site and I'm not responsible if there is anything ugly left.  But read it anyway:

 

Purple Caps to Protect Babies

 

I started mine yesterday, which was actually when Bill decided that he needed to tell me how to crochet.  I found a pattern that I liked and it was easy, but I frogged it out and re-did it.  Then frogged that out as well.  The pattern worked well and I made it to the size it was supposed to be, but the pattern stated it was for a 9 month old baby but it was way too small.  I found another pattern and thought about making it, but when I read the instructions I realized that the finished size would be even smaller and the 2nd pattern said it was for an older baby!  So, I had Otter run me up to Wallyworld this morning when she was returning a movie we rented, and I measured baby hats.  The first pattern is close, it was a little bit too small for an actual newborn cap but I know how to enlarge that type of pattern (No, Bill.  You don't have to help me.  I really do know how.  Yes, I do know what all those abbreviations and strange-to-you words mean) and I think that's what I'll do.  I'm using some very soft yarn that is lavender, it just has to be in the purple family.  I might get some "actual" purple yarn as well, but I'm not sure if I will or not.  I'm trying hard to de-stash and I have made some progress in that direction.

 

Otter got her schedule yesterday.  She is off today, the manager kept the agreement she made with Otter.  The manager also told her that she can use them as a reference any time she needs to, I think she meant as a personal reference, and that she'd get a good one.  Otter is already using them on her resume as job reference, but I think the manager meant using her specifically as a personal reference.  Otter only has one night shift this week and it's tomorrow, she will get off at 9:30.  Then she's off Tuesday and Friday.  She hasn't heard back from the manager at the new store yet.  She doesn't really expect to until tomorrow.  She'll see if her wants her to come in either or both of those days.  She is scheduled to work next Saturday, which will be her last day at the party store.  I went in there yesterday when I picked her up (I volunteered to take her to work and pick her up yesterday, Bill thinks I just didn't want her to deal with the traffic but we all know I really just wanted to get out of the house and not be micro-managed for a little while!) and stocked up on birthday cards and misc. stuff, while Otter still gets her 30% discount.  She wanted to get a few things as well, mostly costume-related stuff to use in cosplay.  I'm just glad that she managed to get out of there before October, which was her goal.

 

Gotta got start another load of laundry now!  Then I think I'll catch up on my ironing.  Or maybe I'll just make Bill do it! 

18

That's the number of stitches the doctor put in Bill's face when he did the surgery last week.  18!  In a fairly small area, no wonder he looked so scary!  They are all out and he's good to go.  He has to be careful for a few more days, no lifting over 20 pounds or bending over very far and the doctor wants to see him again in 6 months for an all-body scan in case there are any more bad things growing.  He has to keep using the medicated ointment for a while longer.  There is still a little swelling.  But the skin cancer is gone and he's healing well, so I'm not complaining.  Except that he keeps trying to lift too much and I've caught him bending over a few times!

 

Otter got all her new employee stuff signed at the Tulsa area store, she will probably be training at that store but will be working at the closer store.  I'm not sure when it will actually open, but pretty soon I think.  She'll wear jeans to work, they provide golf shirts and she can wear tennis shoes or any other type of close-toed, practical shoe.  She will probably actually start working there this week, the manager said that when she got her schedule at the party store for this week he'd see what he could do about arranging some time for her.  The schedules usually come out on Friday afternoon, it was late morning when she went to the party store and gave her notice but the schedule wasn't out yet.  Next Saturday will probably be her official last day there.  She said that the manager at the party store was understanding and not very surprised by the fact that she's leaving there.  She was supposed to be off tomorrow, she worked out an alternating Sunday schedule with her boss a while back when it was obvious that they were taking advantage of her.  But since she has given notice already, she's not sure if she'll be off tomorrow or not.  I just hope that she isn't scheduled for a bunch of nights this week.  She'll find out tomorrow.  Otter's running around with one of her friends this afternoon and the new store manager was only going to be there until early afternoon so he told her to call him tomorrow which she'll do on her lunch break.

 

Bill and I went to Big Lots and I finally found a decent non-stick frying pan that didn't cost me an arm and a leg!  I actually found two, one is a square & flat griddle and the other one is technically a chicken fry pan because it's round and deep with a glass lid but it'll work for what I'll use it for - which is just about everything!  We also went to Staples and he finally got the new wireless capable printer we've been needing since we got new computers a few months back.  It's over the 20 pounds limit, so I had to carry it in.  Which wasn't that difficult, except for Billyboy being silly about it!  Of course, I also bought groceries earlier today and had to carry them in myself - the entire trunkload!  I'm not actually complaining, just teasing Bill about it.  He deserves a little teasing, by the way.  We went to a couple of other stores while we were out running around.

 

I've been up since 4:30 and I think I'm about to run out of steam.  I didn't intend to get up that early, I just woke up then and figured I might as well get up.  And now, I'm just plain tired!

Maybe I'll Make More Sense Today?

The end of the Bill-stress is in sight!  At least, the current Bill-stress.  There's always something going on with Billyboy, its just that some things are more stress-fairy-filled. :)

 

Which is a good thing.  I'm running out of battery power!  Bill has been able to actually lie down since Sunday night, but he hasn't slept that well.  Which means that I haven't slept that well!  He is thinking that he might have to be sitting up for the next few days, even if the doctor doesn't recommend it.  He's feeling less pressure in his face when he's laying down but not as much as he was.  It looks a lot better, too.  He's really getting frustrated with not being able to pick anything up over 20 lbs. or bend down very far.  I don't blame him, but the end is in sight.  Just one more week of restricted activity, pending the doctor visit tomorrow.

 

Otter has been busy, but she wasn't ready for me to talk about it yet.  She has been looking for a new job over the last couple of weeks.  She's had a couple of interviews and has been offered a new job with a hardware/tool store that is opening a new store in our small town.  They have an existing store in the Tulsa area and the company is nationwide.  They've been in business for a few decades and coincidentally happen to be one of Bill's favorite places.  He's hoping for an employee discount!  She goes to the Tulsa area store tomorrow to fill out all the new employee paperwork, but she's not sure yet when she'll actually start working.  She is going to ask that tomorrow, and then if they give her an answer and it's close enough she will probably go ahead and give her notice at her current job.  The current job is not horrible, but it's got a lot of things that she doesn't like that seem to be increasing - such as being scheduled for literally every weekend almost since the day she started.  She asked about that, and the answer was that they know she's responsible, a hard worker and they can count on her.  So, they took advantage of her - and admitted it when she asked.  There are a few other things, she also was getting scheduled for late nights several times more than the other employees - for the same reasons.  There was also an issue with the late nights.  Specifically, her shift ending at 10:00 p.m. but at 11:30 they still weren't finished closing up!  Almost every time.  They have a newer supervisor who doesn't seem to know how to do her job and that was the main reason for the near-constant hour to hour & a half later shift ending.  So she decided that instead of waiting the 1 year she was aiming for, 7 months was a good time.  Also, she wanted to be out of there before October as Halloween is the busy season and the employees were already warned to expect many, many nights where they work until midnight!  So, she started looking a couple of weeks back and started getting responses almost immediately.  She went to a job fair for the new store last Thursday, she had an interview then and on Friday they emailed her asking for information to do the background check so she was encouraged about her chances.  Yesterday, they called and left her a voice mail (she was at work) asking her to call to set up her appointment to come in and fill out her new hire paperwork so she figured out that they were offering her a job.  She called this morning and confirmed the offer.  The new job will have more hours, her current job started out with a certain number of hours expected but then they started cutting everyone's hours back almost to where it was not even worth it for her to go in.  The hours will also be more stable/regular.  And the kicker is that it's a higher wage and they have a lot of employee incentives.  And no midnights!  There are times that my many years of being in the Personnel Department at my job in TEXAS (I was the Assistant Manager of the Department) comes in handy and this is one of those times; Otter's called on my many times for job-hunting advice.  But she got the job on her own merits.

 

However, she is very much her Father's Daughter.  That means that she's still in danger of spending her entire check at work! :)

Wacky Wednesday

I asked Bill for a title suggestion, but it wasn't exactly family friendly!  So, I had to come up with something on my own.

 

Bill's doing pretty good, and we got very good news from the dermatologist today:  he got all the skin cancer!  It's gone, gone, gone.  And hopefully it will stay that way.  We're still using the medicated ointment twice a day.  The incisions look pretty good and I see signs of healing.  Bill goes back Friday for the stitch removal and follow up.

 

Bill's not happy with the fact that he has restrictions on certain activity.  For example, he can't mow the lawn and it's driving him nuts!  I mowed the front yard yesterday, and I have to say that Bill got what he paid for it!  My mowing skills are pretty bad, I have to admit.  But it's at least mowed.  The back yard is waiting.  It's the bigger part of the yard and I'm in no hurry.  When it gets too tall to see the beagle, then I might be more inclined to mow.  Maybe!

 

Otter's been busy with work this week, she's fine.  I just haven't mentioned much about her lately but that's just because Bill's been the main focus lately.

 

We had chili tonight.  It's been an allergy day, so a nice bowl of hot & spicy chili was the cure.

 

OK, I've rambled enough.  It's been that kind of a day.

Monday's Mowing Adventures

Among other things, Bill's forbidden from mowing.  However, the grass still grows.  It obviously doesn't care a bit about Bill's surgery!  I mowed the front when I got home this afternoon.  Bill micromanaged!  He also brought me water and made me take breaks on a regular basis, so I really can't get on him.  Too much, that is.

 

The back yard needs it, but it's not visible from the street so I'm not in a hurry.  Besides, the beaglebrat likes hiding in the grass and stalking things like moles.  And bugs, she loves to catch bugs for some reason.

 

Bill went back to work today.  He still looks a little scary, but he is doing really well.  He said that he was very tired by the end of the day.  He's only got two more days, he's off Friday and then also next Monday.  I'm taking off Friday.  He goes back to the doctor Friday morning and we hope that it's a simple matter of removing stitches and being told he's done.

 

One of the local tv stations shows "classic" television shows.  We've been watching it when we have a chance.  Yesterday, we watched two or three westerns, Adam-12, Dragnet, Emergency, Perry Mason, Get Smart, M.A.S.H. and the first two episodes of Gilligan's Island.  We're enjoying it.  Some of those shows were probably not anything I was interested in when they were on at first, but they are enjoyable now.

 

I tried to have a migraine last night.  Shortly before 10:00, I suddenly had "flashers" which are the lights that preceed the headache.  I took 3 extra-strength motrin and went to bed.  I think I managed to head most of it off.  I have had a very slight headache today, but it could have been allergy.  I'm thinking that it's mostly stress-related.  And my stress is 6' tall and redheaded!

Frazzled Labor Day

I can tell Frankenwillie is getting better.  He's driving me nuts!

 

Actually, he does that on a normal day. :)   But he's wanting to be more active.  Except that he can't, yet.  He needed to plug something in, the outlet was behind the love seat.  I moved the love seat out for him.  Then I had to stop him from bending over to plug the cord in.  Otter handled that for him.  In a little while, I'm sure I'll have to go yell at him (again!) about not doing something he wants to but shouldn't.

 

But he is doing better and that's a good thing.  He managed to sleep in bed last night, he said he did feel a little pressure in the surgical area but not like it was Saturday afternoon when he tried laying down for a nap.  The incisions look a lot better.  The black eye is lighter, but now I'm seeing the tan shading around his eye as the pooled blood dissipates.  He goes back to work tomorrow.  Tomorrow will be a nerve-wracking day!

 

Otter and I got out for a bit this morning.  We went to a fabric store but they didn't have what I was looking for.  We went to a local used bookstore and Otter found several things.  We went to a specific store in the mall for her.  We also went to Hobby Lobby and they had the fabric I wanted.  We were gone about 2 hours.  It was almost too much for me, I am just about over the flu shot reaction but it's still there and I get reminded occasionally.  I'd better not get the flu this time!

 

Back to work tomorrow.  It's going to be an even shorter week, I think I'm taking Friday off to attend to Frankenwille and his doctor appointment.

Middle of a Long Weekend

Too tired to think of a good title!

 

I am actually not having a bad reaction to the flu shot.  But I am definitely having a reaction.  I'm mostly just tired.  Very tired, in fact.  But not all the time.  About 11:00 yesterday morning, I suddenly could hardly stand because I was so tired.  So I took a nice nap and it helped immensely.  Today was similar, although it was about 2:00 when the nap fairy visited me.  I'm sure that part of it is stress.  I've had slightly stronger allergy symptoms but not bad.  Otter has had more of a reaction than she normally has, but hers is similar to mine - tiredness and some allergy issues, but hers is not as strong as mine is.  She worked yesterday and today, she managed to get through both days but was more tired than normal.  Everybody is off tomorrow, and I think we're all hoping the dogs will let us sleep in!

 

Bill's doing pretty well.  I can tell that the skin is beginning to knit at the incision sites, the stitches still look pretty grody but I think that's normal.  Each time he takes a shower, they look better.  His eye lid discoloration developed into a black eye but that's a lot better as well.  He has been sleeping sitting up on the couch since Thursday night.  He took a nap on the couch yesterday, laying down but propped up somewhat.  He said that he felt a little pressure in the surgery area, so he was back to sitting up for the rest of his nap and also last night.  He tried laying down for a little while on the couch today, so see if it worked ok.  He thinks he will try to sleep in bed tonight, but we're going to make his nest on the couch in case he isn't able to.  That way, he'll just have to bring his pillows to the couch.  He's had some swelling of his feet, due to the fact that he's been sleeping sitting and isn't able to prop them up much.  But in general, he is doing very well.

 

We aren't doing anything big for Labor Day.  We usually grill something, but we're having a low-key day this year.  Bill really doesn't need to be out in the sun standing over a hot grill!  We had chili dogs tonight, and we'll still have burgers tomorrow.  It's just that everything is being cooked on the stove.

 

I keep thinking that Labor Day weekend last year was the beginning of a very bad time with Frasier.  We had his surgery on Friday of Labor Day weekend, and we spent the next several weeks dealing with a dog whose mental state was bad and getting worse.  We honestly thought that we were going to lose him.  Fortunately, we figured out what the problem was (the medication mostly) and were able to address it.  But it was scary, he's part of the family.  Just like Maggie Moo, the little carpet shark isn't forgotten!

 

All for now, I'm tired!