Happy Halloween!

(I've used this picture before, but I still think it's adorable!)

 

It's just after sunset and is just starting to get dark.  Our porch light it out, but there is a partial bag of Otter's green apple pops candy on the half-moon table by the door.  We've had one customer already while it was still light, he was a Power Ranger.  Maggie was very happy to see him, she loves people and he made sure to pet her before he got his candy.  We usually have a few kids while it's still light, and Otter volunteered her green apple candy.  Once it gets a little darker, I'll probably put the candy away since we don't have the light on and don't expect any trick-or-treaters.  Next year, we might be more inclined to pass out candy as there are more youngsters in the neighborhood than there have been for the last couple of years.

 

I went to Wallyworld after work today.  Many of their employees dress up for Halloween.  My favorite was the Duck Dynasty costume - full beard, camo clothes and SHE was having a good time.  It was funny.

 

Sonic had a special today, 50-cent corndogs.  The commercial got Billyboy's attention, so I stopped and Sonic and got us dinner to go.  Of course, he got corndogs!  I had a chili/cheese footlong hot dog, I figured that if I was going to be bad I was going to be B.A.D.  It was good.  I'll pay for it later!  And I probably won't have another one for years.  Otter had popcorn chicken, which is about her favorite thing from Sonic.

 

I got a few more canned good for our storm/iced-in-day supplies.  While I was putting them away, they go to a specific spot, I noticed something that I did not see yesterday when I was putting something else in stock:  a dog food bag with a hole chewed in the side and obvious evidence of rodent!  I cleaned up the droppings and removed the bag, then Bill found a trap from the black hole also known as the garage.  He loaded it with peanut butter and birdseed.  I'll check it in the morning and see if we caught anything.  We haven't seen any mice in a few years, but with all the construction behind us I'm not surprised.  I also won't be surprised if we see more.  Or evidence of them, anyway!

 

I checked the rain gauge this morning.  It had just under 3" from yesterday and last night.  Today was beautiful, but it was windy and I've been sneezing all day.  Otter's had allergy problems today as well, she worked through a killer headache with the help of multiple doses of Tylenol.  She took a warm shower when she got home and feels much better.  She's going to take her night-time allergy pills tonight and probably go to bed early.

 

Which sounds really good to me, I didn't sleep too well last night.  Mostly because of my knee alternating with my allergies.  My knee is actually a lot better, but it still hurts.  It's following the normal process, I just don't like it.  I've been taking motrin as I need it and spending a little longer in the shower since warm water seems to help.  Now that it's better, my allergies are reminding me of their presence.

 

If it's not one thing, it's the other.  As my favorite 97-year-old teenager reminds me frequently!  Usually followed by a giggle.  :)

Wet Wednesday

It's been raining all day.  It was expected, but not until mid-morning or later.  Of course, we woke up to rain!  Not hard, although there have been some periods of slightly heavy rain and a little thunder.  Bill didn't take his jacket today and neither did I.  We met for lunch, and got pretty wet walking from the cars to the door of the Mexican restaurant.  I had enough time to run to Wally after we ate, it slowed down until I got out of the car at the store.  Every time I was inside the car or a building, it quit or slowed down.  Any time I was outside, it poured.  I did have an umbrella in the car - but I discovered that it has a hole in it so it was kind of useless.

 

I paid off my car yesterday!  We've always paid just a little more than the payment amount and it saved us two months by doing that.  Not sure how much interest it saved, but it's paid off and I'm happy.  We don't intend to buy another car yet, Bill's Impala has issues but he thinks it will last for a while yet.  Otter drives it when she needs a car and he also has the White Lightning.  My Impala has just over 100,000 miles on it but it is in decent shape as well.  However, I now have an official case of New Car Fever.  I saw one of the newly revamped 2014 Impalas today and it was beautiful!  It's getting good reviews, not just because of the body style.  Of course, I want one.  But not anytime soon and probably not even next year - or at least that is the plan today.

 

I got a letter from my bank yesterday.  Seems that the company that administers the debit/atm cards my bank uses was hacked and my card might have been in the compromised data.  They're issuing new debit/atm cards and all the passwords have been changed.  I have to keep a close eye on my account but I do that already.  If there is anything, I am supposed to notify them immediately.  They don't necessarily think that there will be anything, but I have heard nothing on the news at all about what is a very big company being hacked.

 

I have a very large, slightly wet chupacabra at my feet.  Wet chupa smells just as bad as wet dog!  Really stinky, and of course he frequently gets up to come get ear scratches.

 

I've been working on stocking up our storm supplies.  I bought groceries yesterday, and got several of the things we like to keep on hand.  There are still a few things we need, but I spread it out over several shopping trips.  That way, wehave it when we need it and it doesn't cost us a fortune.

 

But I still need to get marshmallows!

It's Just Sunday

Just normal Sunday stuff around here.  Laundry mostly!  And dusting, along with using the extra-long extender on the vacuum to go after the major cobweb situation on the ceiling.

 

 But I don't want Froggy to get after me about not blogging often enough. :)

 

Otter and I did a little shopping earlier.  Among other things, we went to the party store she used to work at.  While we were there, she talked to her former boss and it was pretty obvious that they wish she was still working there.  Otter doesn't, however, and neither do we.  They have their Halloween hours posted, and midnight closing is on the schedule.  She found out that one night, they didn't get out until after 1:00 a.m.!  Otter was scheduled until 10:00 last night at her new/current job, and she actually got out about 15 minutes early - she only has the occasional night and usually it's 9:00.  But the manager is there until 10:00 and he has to have a couple of witnesses as he counts the money; the employees are rotated so that it's a very occasional thing at that.  Otter's schedule for this coming week has no nights at all.

 

Bill thinks he can drive the El Camino even though the window is braced in place.  He just usually likes to roll the windows down.  He took the winder off the inside so that he won't accidentally forget and try to roll it down.  That way, Otter will still be able to take herself to work this week.  Which is good, because most of her hours this week are in the middle of the day.

 

I have a picture on my phone and I have an adaptor to upload it to the computer, but it's in the other room and I am not in a hurry to get up and go get it.  Its a Bad Knee day.  So, the picture of the very large Black Widow Spider I found in the back yard isn't being posted today.  The builder that built a house which straddles between our back yard and the nice neighbor has to move the section of the fence behind that house (we're not surprised).  We have some bricks stacked back there (on top of the grave of a hairless cat that belonged to Lovely Neighbor) and that will be behind the fence line after it gets moved.  They can have the cat but we want the bricks!  I was moving the bricks (with my foot, I'm not stupid) and that's where the spider was.  She's still out there, I probably wouldn't have killed her anyway based on where she was but she moved really fast once the brick covering her got moved and I probably wouldn't have been able to catch her even if I wanted to.  She was the biggest Black Widow Spider I've ever seen and absolutely beautiful.  That probably sounds really strange, but it's true.

 

After shopping with me, Otter went off to meet J at the mall.  I had a few things to donate, so I went to a thrift store.  I donated and then since I was there I had to shop.  I tried on several skirts but I didn't like any of them.  It was apparently "Unwatched Bratty Kid" day at Goodwill today.  And there were a bunch of them!

Marshmallows

Bill brought home another half load of firewood today.  We should have enough to get us through the winter.  It's all oak and will burn long.  We have a lot of firewood.  A LOT.

 

Guess it's time to replenish our marshmallow stash!

 

After we unloaded the back of the truck, Bill moved it back to the driveway.  When he went to roll up the driver's side window, it wouldn't close all the way.  He tried a couple of things, then he had to tear the door apart to get at the window mechanism.  Did you know that crochet hooks can be used in car repair?  Bill couldn't get part of the window winder handle off and I thought maybe a hook could reach inside the door to get the winder handle clasp off.  Worked wonders!  Of course, then we had to look underneath the car for the clasp because Bill dropped it!  He was hoping it was an easy fix, but no luck.  Several months back, the same thing happened with his Impala and we had to buy a replacement mechanism.  The problem this time is that the car is a 1976 model of a car that is not being made anymore, so it may well mean a trip to a junkyard to find another part.  If there are any, that is.  For now, he's blocked the window in place inside the door with a couple of blocks of wood - just like he did with the Impala.  But he's not going to be driving the El Camino for a while, not until he figures out something if he can't find the replacement parts.  Sorry Otter, looks like you'll be dependent on your mother for transportation for a while!  She usually drives Bill's Impala but he's going to be needing it for the near future.

 

Well, at least he got the last load of firewood first!

Whatever Fits Here

Otter's recovered from the bug, she spent most of yesterday taking it easy and is all recovered.  She did vacuum for me and put up some laundry, but she didn't do anything too strenuous.  The bug seems to last a couple of days, and she's back to normal today.

 

Bill brought home another truckload of firewood today.  He'll probably go get one more this week, probably Thursday.  Tomorrow, he's taking the Impala since Otter is off work.  She'll be housebound, but I don't think she really minds.  She'll need the car on Thursday, so he'll have to take the White Lightning.

 

I went thrifting at lunch today.  I found another popcorn can to use with the birdseed, I have 40 pounds of bird seed stored in three popcorn cans.  I found a couple of other things as well, including a Fenton silvercrest tidbit tray in perfect shape for $4.98.  The locked display cases were filled with what I refer to as "made in China/Walmart junk" but the Fenton was just tossed in with the coffee cups!  Needless to say, it found it's way to my basket in a flash.  I have a couple of silvercrest pieces, but they are getting harder to find.

 

My computer apparently was hungry.  For a snack, it ate my entire picture library!  If anyone has pictures that I've emailed you, let me know what you have because I may want you to email them back to me.  I can probably recreate the drives but there are a few pictures that may be gone for good - including Otter's senior pictures we took at a local park, her graduation and a whole bunch more.  I sent out most of the bluebonnet/Otter in the front yard pictures to assorted relatives and I still have those in my email file.  But I have lost so many pictures.  Bill's going to look at the laptop and see if he can restore the file, but I'm not holding my breath.  I have no idea why it did what it seems to have done, but it's very frustrating.

 

There was probably more but I don't remember!

Rearranged

We've been busy today.  Otter hasn't been busy today.  Otter has spent most of the day in bed.  I woke her up about 8:00 as she requested.  At that time, she said that she had a headache and wasn't feeling too good.  Almost immediately after that, she ran to the bathroom to throw up and has made a few more trips throughout the day.  Her headache has gotten worse, but she thinks it's probably more decaffeination at this point.  She still feels cruddy and felt feverish earlier, but didn't have fever when I took her temperature a little while ago.  However, it was just after she'd thrown up again so I'm not sure it was an accurate reading.  No achies, so I don't think it's flu.  I think she has the bug that Bill and I both had earlier in the week but I don't think she got it from us since it's been several days.  But it seems to be going around the Tulsa area, a lot of people have had this one.  She was already off work today, her D & D group was going to meet but they had to reschedule so she had made plans with J and some of their friends to go to a town near Oklahoma City for something they wanted to go to.  Obviously, Otter didn't go anywhere!  She's pretty disappointed, but she really is too sick to go anywhere.  She's off tomorrow as well, but this bug seems to have a fairly short span and she's actually feeling a little better this afternoon - not best, just better.

 

I've been looking for a coffee table for a while.  We had one, but then when we moved in 2004 we bought two sofa tables (narrow and tall, they fit behind couches) and donated the coffee table.  When the sofa tables were delivered, one was damaged and the delivery guys were very unconcerned - until RHTW* made her appearance.  Upshot is that they took the damaged table back and we kept the remaining one.  And realized very shortly that it was just too wide to use behind the sofa like we wanted to.  It gets used, it's been in a couple of places in the living room and is currently in front of the window to the back.  Bill uses it for pachinko repair and it works fine for what he needs.  I finally got tired of not having a coffee table and decided to buy one.  I've been looking on craigslist and at thrift stores, I don't like any of the newer made pieces because they are generally pretty flimsy.  I saw one listed this morning at a local "garage sale" store and it's now sitting in the middle of the living room.  With a very large, furry dog parked beside it!  We had a tall bar stool that we use as a table, it was in Otter's room for a while and then it migrated to beside the couch.  It's probably going to go back to Otter's room, she needs something to hold her phone and/or alarm clock where she can actually reach them.

 

Froggy, you probably remember the magazine stand that Uncle Aleck made - it's also in my living room and is now beside the couch where the bar stool used to be.  We had two tall lamps that we bought when we moved in, we used them for a while but then one day I realized that they hadn't been turned on in months.  They were behind the couch, the couch was off the wall just far enough that a certain beagle could get her behind back there.  Literally only her behind, it would just fit!  I took the lamps out from behind the couch, they will probably be donated somewhere.  We really don't have any more room, but it works better.  And I have a place to put my coffee!

 

I was going to work on the tulip bed today, but that hasn't happened yet and probably won't.  One day this week I'll get out there.

 

One thing that was on my list which did get done is that I dusted the living room.  That includes all the Fenton!  I had several other housecleaning chores that I managed to get done.

 

I had crochet on my list, but that hasn't happened yet either.  Hopefully, I'll get some time tonight!

 

Maggie Moo is in a little disgrace today.  Someone that Bill knows came by, he had a two pachinko machines for Bill (in payment of a repair job Bill did on one for him) and while we were standing out in the driveway talking a certain little beagle came slinking out of the garage and down the driveway to the street.  She ignored me, but she did hear me calling her name.  Because she slunk even lower to the ground!  And kept walking towards the street.  Little brat finally came back to me, she didn't like being picked up and held but I wasn't about to let her back down again.  After a little while, I put her in the back of the El Camino and she seemed to enjoy it.  New places to sniff!  When I carried her back in, I took her straight to the back yard and let her run for a while.  Frasier came out to play at that point, they were out for a while and seemed to enjoy it.

 

It's 5:00, I think I'm going to go check on Otter (she's awake I think but still in bed) and then I think I'll get my last load of laundry transferred from the washer to the dryer.  And then maybe I'll have time to crochet!

**RHTW:  RedHeadedTexanWoman.  She can be your worst nightmare. :)

(No idea why the text color is changed.)

Lasagne is in the Oven!

And we will eat in about an hour and a half.  More or less, we're also having garlic toast with it.  Texas Toast Garlic Toast made by New York company.  Anybody else having a TEXAN moment?  (New York City!?)

 

It's rainy.  It's cold.  It could well freeze tonight in areas to the north of us.  I have 3 baby blues coming up in the whiskey barrel, so it's about time for a freeze. :(  Although they might be able to handle it, they have come up in December before and then hung on until April or May and then still managed to bloom.  The cold weather means that the tulips will be planted soon.  We're going to get out and work on the bed again Sunday, turn the dirt and treat it again.  Then about a week later, more or less, the bulbs will be planted.  Then, it will be ignored again and left on it's own.  Until Spring!

 

Froggy, I don't usually feed the birds in the spring and summer and not always early Fall.  If I can see bugs, the birds can too.  Except for hummers, they get fed early spring until their migration in the Fall.  Which I think has already happened, I'll probably take my feeders down next week.  Then they'll get washed and put away for the winter.

 

Found out a new way to freak out the Otter today!  I ran several errands at lunch and I had to drive by her store.  I left her a package of peanut butter cookies in the car she drove, on the cup holder between the front seats.  With a note from me.  I get this slightly panicked phone call from her because she has gotten to the car (but not in it yet, smart girl) and she sees that there is something in the car that wasn't there when she got out of it when she got to work!  Geesh.  I had to explain to her that I knew about it already, eventually she figured it out but it took her a couple of minutes to re-adjust her thinking.  :)  She was not amused that I thought her unexpected reaction was funny, but she was thankful for the cookies.  Guess it's my fault that she's a tad bit on the paranoid side, but I have valid reasons for being that way myself and by association, so does she.  (My reasons are by necessity kept private but just accept that I have reasons and they are very good ones).  I guess she forgave me, because she called me from Wally to see if I needed her to pick anything up for me so I wouldn't have to stop on the way home myself.  But it was funny!  However, I'm also glad that she was aware of her surroundings and that she realized something was different - even though that was not my intention.

 

Tomorrow won't really be "cold" but it will be cool.  The morning might be cold.  I've got blankets ready to grab, I love to camp out on the couch on cold mornings with a blanket (and coffee!), and it's pretty much 100% guaranteed that I'll also have a foot warmer in the shape of a beagle.  And maybe even a chupacabra for company!  Dogs got their priorities straight, that's for sure.

3 Strikes and You're Out!

It took me three times to sign in, for some reason I kept typing my password wrong.  Or maybe I used the wrong one, after a while they all run together and I can't always remember which one goes to which account, etc.

 

Bill brought home two more half-loads of firewood this week.  The lumberyard doesn't care how they sell it, they just want it out of their way.  The first time, he almost overloaded the White Lightning, and that is saying something because those cars are pretty strong.  So, he bought a half load yesterday and another half load today.  He's probably going to get at least one more load next week, but someone he works with wants to get a few for himself and has a heavy-duty trailer so they're going to get the rest of ours and his sometime next week.  Although he mentioned how we are about out of room!  But he'll figure out a place to store it if he does get more next week.

 

I bought 40 lbs. of birdseed today.  Which won't be used until the weather is too cold for bugs.  And it is possible that I'll use more than that this winter, it depends on how much winter weather we get.  But I wanted to get some seed while I had a chance.  I also got 4 suet feeder refills.  I'll probably need more of those as well, but not anytime soon!

 

The dogs were very interested in what we were doing, when we transferred one bag of the birdseed from the bag it came in to the cans we store it in.  Their treats are stored in one of the cans, they are old popcorn cans and hold a lot.  The dogs knew which can was theirs, and they made sure we knew as well!  Otter took pity on the poor, neglected, underfed, furry brats and opened their can.  They were very happy after that, it's amazing how easily they can be bought with food!

Cool Wednesday!

It was in the 40's this morning!  It was wonderful.  Boot weather at last.  Also, I was happy to be able to wear my leather jacket again.  The dogs celebrated by napping all day long.  Or at least until Otter left for work and put them out.  Then, they probably napped all afternoon.

 

I went to Otter's store today.  They had a couple of things in their ad that I wanted, so I went shopping after work.  They didn't look too busy when I got there, but several people were coming in as I was leaving.  It was nice to see Otter for a minute.  Then, I went to the grocery store.  The first stop was fun and quick, but the grocery store was not quick at all!

 

Froggy, I worked on your shawl some more today.  I had it to the point of being able to work on the drape part of it, but then I discovered that I'd missed a stitch set 2 or 3 rows down and had to frog it out to the mistake.  It wasn't one that could be left alone, it was a corner and it wouldn't work without being correct.  But now it's back to where it was.

 

Bill and I have had a bug this week.  I actually thought I was coming down with the flu yesterday, but now I think it was "just" a bug.  I felt ok when I got up, but then I started feeling cruddy about 9:45 and left at 10:00.  Bill was already home, he woke up feeling not-so-good and stayed home.  Otter happened to be off yesterday, so she was already home.  I didn't even crochet, which means that I was feeling really bad.  It was a 24-hour bug apparently, because we were both back to normal today.

 

Ok Froggy.  I blogged.  And you didn't even have to get after me about it!  :)

30's

No, not temperature!  It's in the low 60's or possibly a touch lower.  It's been rainy all day long, it was supposed to be high 60's with rain not expected until tonight.  Nobody bothered with a jacket, of course that means that it rained and was cold.  Not sure .why we were surprised.  The rain gauge had 1 1/2" this afternoon.

 

Anyway.  The title refers to the fact that Froggy & Uncle Crazy celebrated their 30th Wedding Anniversary last Monday and today is the 30th Anniversary of when Billyboy and I met.  We celebrated by getting pizza to bring home for dinner.

 

Today is also what the rest of the country observes as a holiday.  We refer to it as something else, Genocide Day.  Comes from being raised by a Cherokee mother who taught me about columbus as the Natives see/saw him.  Otter did the math, I think she said 611 years of culture destruction.

 

My stupidrightknee is bothering me but not as much as it was yesterday.  Usually, it's the stupidleftknee but the right one has been the problem lately.  I'm not sure if the weather bothers it or not, but my weathertoes have been active lately.  Otter also might be developing a weather ache, the left arm she broke 9 years ago sometimes hurts before a weather change.

 

Bill is going to see about more firewood from the lumber yard.  One of the guys he works with is going to take his trailer over there, possibly tomorrow, and see if he can get two more for us and then however much he wants for himself.  Bill said that they had quite a bit on hand when he got the load he brought home last week.  We kind of feel in a hurry to get prepared for Winter, for some reason.

Cloudy Sunday

It's Sunday.  It's Cloudy.  Easy title today.

 

Also known as I have zero imagination when it comes to thinking of titles!

 

My right knee is really bad today.  It's hurting worse than it has in a very long time.  I'm babying it as much as I can, and Bill is micro-managing me about it.  But I'm not complaining too much about the micro-managing.  Yet.  My knee problem is nothing new, it's just that it's been bothering me since we unloaded firewood from the truck last week.  It's just part of the routine and it will get better.  Until then, however...

 

Bill's going to see about more firewood this week, he and Otter get together when she gets her schedule and see what day(s) he will take the El Camino which leaves the Impala for her use.  She's probably going to be taking herself mid-week this week, due to the specific hours she works.  He's thinking Thursday might be the day he goes to the lumber yard and see if they still have any firewood left.  She only has one night this week, and it's 9:00 which isn't really late.  Unlike before, actually gets off when she's scheduled to and not an hour to an hour & a half later.  She's worked most Saturdays, but not crack-of-dawn like before.  She seems to have most Sundays off, at least that's how it's mostly been to this point.  She likes the job.

 

Movie Review:  Earth vs. the Flying Saucers.  Made in 1956 or 1957!  Have I ever mentioned that I'm addicted to the 1950's B Sci-Fi movies?  Probably many times.  I have several of them and also have a list of ones I want.  I found one of them last week, and finally had time to watch it yesterday.  I was thinking I'd seen it before, but it turned out that I hadn't seen it at all.  It was better than a lot of them; some of them are horrible but this one was actually pretty good.  It was similar to War of the Worlds and The Day the Earth Stood Still in many ways.

 

I have a new craft project.  It's yarn related, actually.  I'm working on a yarn-wrapped wreath.  I bought a 12" styrofoam wreath and started on it yesterday.  I will post pictures on the craft blog when I get it finished.  I finished up the wrapping part, I'm just still deciding on the decorations.  I saw one that was decorated with yarn balls and then two knitting needles but obviously mine won't be knitting!  It's a fun project, actually.

 

We think we have the dorkiest beagle on the face of the planet.  Both dogs were very anxious to go out in the back this morning.  I opened the door and they both flew.  Frasier immediately ran to the shed and started running around it, barking in the specific way he has that means "cat" so I thought there was probably one underneath the shed and I was right.  Maggie Moo usually goes under the shed, she never actually finds anything but she likes to hunt.  Probably the beagle instinct.  This time, even though there was something underneath the shed and she could have gotten to it, what does she do?  Sniffs the grass and trails it!  Around the tree and away from the shed.  There was a cat, and it wasn't a smart one.  Because instead of running out from under the shed on the opposite side from Frasier, it ran out right in front of him.  He came with a couple of inches of catching it, and he probably would have if the cat hadn't been able to get to the fence when it did.  Frasier actually launched himself in the air and hit the fence with both front feet, if he'd had a few more feet of ground to gain speed I really think he'd have been able to get over the 6' wooden fence.  After the cat went over the fence, it suddenly occurred to the Magginator that there was a cat!  She then got into hunting mode and remembered she could fit under the shed.  A little late to the party is our beagle!!  I also think that this is the same cat that's been in our yard multiple times.  You would think that it would have figured out that Frasier is there, he's chased it enough times.  The thing is, he's gotten closer to catching it each time.  I am really not going to be surprised if we come home someday and he's caught it.

YEAH!!!

TEXAS 36, oklahoma 20

 

WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Today is One of My Very Favorite Days!

No, I am not referring to the day we call "persecution day" which is also today.  That's the day before the TEXAS/ou game.  I have only been tailgated once today and only had that "other driver showing me their single digit iq" wave once today.  This week though, I have been tailgated much more than normal - one time by a little old lady who was driving fine until we hit the school zone.  Then she floored it, and there is no way it was an accident.  I could also see her facial expression in my rear-view window.  She was not happy!  Further proof, as soon as we were both out of the school zone she dropped way back.  Her problem, not mine!

 

No, the day I am referring to is this:

Of course, I observe this day 365 days a year. :)

Wooden Soldiers

This is what we got from the recent windstorm.  It's maple, so it will burn fast.  But we didn't have to pay for it and the tree won't go to waste.

The next picture is what it looked like today, after Otter and I restacked it because Frasier apparently decided to play with it!

We had planned on getting firewood in a couple of weeks, it's just now available at most places that sell it.

 

Bill took the El Camino today, since it was easier for Otter to drive herself to work because of her schedule.  Not that he complained about a chance to drive the Go-Fast car!

 

On the way home, he drove by a lumber yard.  They had a huge pile of cut wood pieces with a "Firewood $10.00" sign.  I don't think he even had to turn the wheel, the White Lightning probably turned in automatically!  He filled up the back of the truck, he thinks he got about a rick and a quarter.  For $10.00!

 

Because of the length of the wood pieces, it doesn't look like it's as much as it is.  But it is a lot.

It's oak, solid and heavy.  He's going to probably drive the El Camino at least some next week - when and how many days depends on Otter's schedule.  If they still have it available and haven't sold out, he's going to get another truck load.

 

Just in case we have to deal with this in the coming winter:

Because the Borg Queen is always prepared!

Playing in the Dirt

(Play on the phrase Digging in the Dirt, which is from the fantastic Monty Python movie Monty Python's Holy Grail!)

It's kind of been a Derpy Day today, mostly due to whatever allergen is in the air.  I've been tired for a few days, which is an allergy symptom and also I've been sneezing.  A lot!

 

Which probably wasn't helped by the fact that Otter and I got out and did some Digging in the Dirt.  But the tulip bed won't get itself ready, unfortunately.  Bill mowed the weeds the other day, then I got out with the hoe and got as much of the roots & stems out of it as I could.  Today, we got the shovels out and "stirred" the dirt around.  Then I treated it with rain water which had a full bottle of baby oil and quite a bit of dishwashing liquid in it.  The water helps it all soak in,  The moles don't like the oily dirt, the gophers don't like it either but the soap kills any grubs that the gophers might want to eat, because they also destroy the roots of the plants when they are going after the grubs.  We'll hit it again in a week or so, the general idea is to plant the bulbs around Nov. 1 but it depends on the weather and the ground temperature.  We use baby oil which is essentially mineral oil with scent, buying mineral oil by itself is expensive and it also only comes in small bottles.

 

My favorite Teenager is turning 97 tomorrow!  I'm going to get cupcakes or something similar to take in to the office tomorrow.  We spoil him as much as he'll let us.

Otter managed to get a picture of the elusive Chupacabra!  She had to essentially stalk him around the yard, but she got the picture.  Frasier does not like to pose!  He's a lot more tolerant of the vacuum, but not the camera.  We were trying to figure out his age last night, we knows he's at least 11 but he's probably a year or two past that.  Which is a very good life span for a big dog, and we hope he hangs in there for a long while longer.

This is what we see anytime the back door is opened - the Magginator wanting to go out!  She did get to, as soon as Otter took the picture the door was opened and the beaglebrat shot out the door as fast as she would got.

 

This is what is known as "Deploying the Ears" and is usually employed when the dog wants something she's not getting.  Snack, a trip to the yard, my blanket, whatever it is that she doesn't have.  Dog might not be the sharpest crayon in the box, but she does know when to turn on the Cute!  Usually, she sticks both ears straight out and they stay that way.

Nice Fall Sunday

Today is a really nice day.  It's barely warm, the sun is shining and there is a slight breeze.  Gorgeous blue sky.  Perfect early Fall weather.

 

It was rainy, early Fall weather yesterday.  We were supposed to get heavy storms overnight Friday, but they were a little late arriving.  Otter looked at the weather report Friday afternoon, if the weather was rough she'd already announced her intention to sweet-talk me into driving her to work at 8:00 a.m.  There was a little thunder and a small amount of rain around 6:00 or so, then it quit.  But the actual storm system hadn't actually gotten here, the early stuff was just a tease.  About 10:00-ish, the sky opened up and it poured.  Lots of wind as well.  We had the house opened up and had a nice breeze.  The house has been de-allergied, at least for a short while.    It rained off & on all day, then it quit about 2:30 or 3:00.  Otter got off work at 4:00, so she managed to miss having to drive in it either way since it started after she left and ended before she got home.

 

I think she had a good day at work yesterday, they are encouraged to sell extended warranty plans (service plan is the correct term!) and they earn a small cash incentive for every plan they sell to customers.  It's not a quota, they aren't penalized if they don't sell them but management likes the cashiers to sell two per day if they can.  The first words out of Otter's mouth as she came in the door weren't to say hello to us or ask how our day went.  As she came in the door she was yelling "I sold three today!"  She really likes the job, aside from the cash bonus for selling service plans.  They don't push the plans, they just encourage customers to buy them if the item is anything large or expensive is all.

 

I spent most of yesterday with a hook in my right hand and my afghan over my lap.  I did probably about 12 rows on it yesterday, then we spread it out on the floor and measured it.  And realized that I was almost finished with it.  I originally planned for it to be big enough to put on our bed but after I was a few rows in, I decided to make it more lap blanket size mostly due to the width.  I had about 2 1/2 rows left and I finished those up this morning.  I've been weaving tails back in to it today, I have about 6 tails left to do but my fingers were cramping up so I put it aside for a while.  I'm going to get back on it this afternoon and get it finished up.  I'll get pictures, but I have to wait for Otter to come home from her D & D group since she took her camera with her.

 

I have a pot of pinto beans cooking at the moment.  They'll be dinner, along with cornbread.  I'll probably make jalepeno cornbread, I haven't made it with jalepenos in a while.

 

I bought a new Mr. Coffee Ice Tea maker.  The old one finally quit, I think I'd mentioned before that it was on it's way out.  The new one has two or three different amounts as well as a strength indicator.  It's a little quicker and it has less pieces to have to wash.  I like the fact that the container is rectangular in shape and not as tall.

 

Froggy, it's no problem making a shawl for you.  Do you want the triangular shape?  Also, do you have a color preference or not?  I'm going to frog out the ruffle row on my blue one and add two to four rows to it, then re-ruffle it.  It's not quite long enough as it is, but I was just plain tired of working it and it was either call it done and ruffle it, or I was going to throw it out!  I've worn it to church several times and it works very well, but it really is too short for my height.  You and I are about the same height, so I will be able to judge the size/length easily if you want the triangular style.  Just let me know, and let me know the color you want.  I suggest the triangular style instead of the rectangle style.  I mentioned to Bill this morning that I was now caught up on my projects and needed to find another one, so you have perfect timing.

Pachinko Whirlwind

We've been hit by a Pachinko Storm!

 

Several months back, the man we refer to as "the other Bill" or "Bill in SA" told Bill (my Bill) that he was going to get out of the pachinko restoration business and that he would be selling his stock.  Last weekend, he apparently decided that the time had indeed come.  The two Bills started negotiating and they came to an agreement on the price, as well as what exactly was included in the deal.  Yesterday, Wednesday morning, we got up at 3:30 (we were aiming for 4:00 but woke up earlier and just got up then) and I took (my) Bill to the airport for his 6:05 a.m. flight.  The Tulsa airport wants people to check in by 1 hour prior to the flight, so we had to get him there by 5:00.  Which meant that I had to get up with him, hence the early start to the day!  Bill's mom picked him up at the San Antonio airport, and took him to the UHaul place for the truck he reserved.  It wasn't the biggest one, the moving van size.  It was the next sized one down - the same size we moved the contents of a three-bedroom house to Tulsa 21 years ago.  In other words, it was a big truck!

 

Since the Otter and I were on our own yesterday, we went out for pizza for dinner.  We had planned on going to the grocery store after that, but the fact that I'd been up since 3:30 a.m. kind of took the wind out of my sails.  To say the least!  I was in bed by 9:30, and it would have been earlier except that I wanted to give the dogsters enough time to get all their last-minutes outside trips over with.  I got up at 5:00, which is the normal time.  I turned on my cell phone and had a text from Bill which he left for me at 2:57 this morning.  As he was about to leave his mom's house and head home!

 

He got home at 12:30 this afternoon, after a multi-hour drive with road construction most of the way and traffic when their wasn't road construction!  The truck was full.  To the gills.  He got somewhere around 75 vintage pachinko machines, a bunch of Aripachi machines (a type of pachinko), a few unusual machines and somewhere over 50 (closer to 100, I think) paper boxes full of parts.  Also, all the molds that Bill in SA casted parts with.  His dad came over this afternoon and helped, they got about 3/4 of the truck unloaded and in the shed.  They'll get back on it in the morning.

 

Then, I think that Bill has probably reached the Lifetime Allowance of pachinko machines!  Including all the variety of machines he got this week, the total of what he brought back is over 100 machines.

 

Bill hand delivered the shawl to Nana.  When I said it was on the way to her, it was actually in the process of being packed into Bill's carry-on bag so he could take it with him to give to her.  It turned out very well and she was happy with it.  I didn't have time to get pictures of it, though.  Now, I have to come up with another project.  Otter bought me the prettiest yarn at Wallyworld yesterday!  I guess she forgave me for the fact that I accidentally took her set of car keys with me yesterday!  Somehow, they wound up in my purse.  She was going to go somewhere when she realized that she couldn't find the key.  After I realized it, I remembered that Bill hadn't taken his keys with him and told her to use his.  Which is when she realized that the key she was trying to open the door of his car was actually the key to my car - she was a little miffed!  She figured it out eventually, and got the right key.  While she was out, she went to Wallyworld and that's where she found the yarn.  She also realized that the blinkers in Bill's car might not be working right.  And I realized that the key she usually uses as well as my spare key to Bill's car were getting thin from use and might break off in the ignition (had that happen once with another car) so I got two re-cut today.

Done!

With Nana's shawl, that is.  I didn't get pictures taken, it's already heading her way.  But it did turn out well and was fast to make.  Now, I'm going to get back on the afghan.  Especially since it might well be cold enough this weekend.

Fall is here, and our weather is reflecting that fact.  Parts of Oklahoma could even get into the 30's in the next few nights, although that is probably pushing it a bit.

 

I want one of these:

 

It fits me very well, I think.