Not Exactly Black Friday For Us

Except for Otter, and that's because she's working today.  I did have to wake her up this morning, so it's a good idea I had already planned on it.  What can I say, she sleeps soundly!  She had leftover pancakes and milk for breakfast then a Mountain Dew chaser.  Mountain Dew isn't her normal breakfast drink, but the caffeine was very much needed.  I took her to work after all, she was still kind of a cross-eyed zombie when it was time for her to leave.  We got there shortly before 5:00 and she was the first employee there - even before the boss.  I had planned on going back to bed when I got home, but Bill was up by then and the coffee was ready so I stayed up.

My version of  Black Friday shopping included going to the post office to clear the box and I ran into the grocery store.  But I don't think milk and orange juice count as Black Friday shopping.  The Salvation Army bell ringer was in a Santa suit and he had the right build to be Santa and, most importantly, he had the right beard and it was real.  There was an adorable little girl waking in the store with her dad and she was so cute.  Dad pointed "Santa" out to her and she was absolutely entranced with him.  Santa looked like he was really good at it, he was playing along with her and she was just precious.

 I went to the video store as well, but that is a normal Friday stop.  Bill's turn to pick the movie for tomorrow, he wanted Red 2 this weekend.  It sounds good, hopefully it will be.

 

(Later).  Otter got off about an hour early, she called me and I went to get her.  We had a couple of antique/junk stores we wanted to go to so we did that and found a few things.  For one thing, I found the quilt top I've been looking for.  $25.00 for a vintage quilt top that is probably about a double bed size.  It's mostly cotton, I have seen a few but they were polyester and I wanted cotton for this.  It's going to be the curtains for the bedroom.  I think I'm probably going to cut it down the middle across the wide part and then use the left over squares we have from the quilts Bill made to enlarge each half, they will probably be sewn around the outer edges.  I will probably back it with a sheet, it needs some type of backing but it won't have batting since it's going to be curtains.  It needs to be washed, it doesn't have any odor so I don't think it was ever exposed to cigarettes or anything but it is slightly dingy from age.  Otter also brought a piece of goldcrest Fenton to my attention, which I have been looking for.  It was $10.00 but on sale for 20% off so I got it for $8.00.  I don't buy a lot of Fenton anymore, just specific pieces or styles I want.  There are a couple of pieces I'm thinking about still.

 

Otter got off early because they were a little overstaffed and she also worked later one day this week, so her boss told her she could leave early, especially since she went in so early this morning.  She's not the head cashier, but she is the main one and her boss has repeatedly told her that she's the best one.  She's tired, but she did survive her first Black Friday working in retail day.

 

It's just after 3:00 now.  About 4:30, I'm going to head in the direction of a pizza place and get dinner to bring home.  Possibly Little Ceaser's.

Later In The Day

We're back from the feast we had with Grandpa & Sweetie.  Feast is the only word for it.  Lots of food and it was all delicious!  I did eat a bit too much - Thanksgiving rules say you have to, you know - but I didn't overdo it as much as I wanted to.  It was very hard to restrain myself, it was all so good.  We had a nice visit.  But now, I could use a nap.  It's after 4:30 so it's too late to take a nap, otherwise I would probably be in the middle of one.  Maybe I'll just go to be early instead.

 

I made the green bean casserole this morning, I used 2 small cans of mushrooms this time and I think I'll continue to add two cans to it in the future instead of just one like I normally do.  Otter's cake turned out great, it was baked last night then she assembled and decorated it this morning.  It was a poke cake, she used cranberry flavored jello to pour over it and it was really good.

 

Otter has to be in at 5:00 in the morning, the store actually opens at 7:00 but she is part of the early opening crew this time.  She was going to take herself, she really didn't want us to have to get up with her at that awful hour (4:15 a.m.!) but she is seriously afraid that she'll sleep through her alarm.  She has a loud one, but she sleeps soundly and has slept through it before.  One time, she even slept through the tornado siren and it was set up only one house away from us!  So I'm going to get up early with her and make sure she gets up, then I will probably go ahead and take her.  She gets off at 2:00 p.m., and if she's not totally exhausted we might go to a thrift store or an antique-ish store that probably won't be crowded.  I have a couple of errands tomorrow, such as the post office and the video store.  I will probably do them around the time I pick her up, then we'll see about the one or two stores.  After that, we'll most likely get pizza to bring home for Friday Night Dinner.  Bill's Friday plans consist of working on a pachinko machine, big surprise!!

 

Last night was pretty cold, we had a fire going and made 'smores.  Maggie Beagle figured out that it was warmer in the corner of the living room where the fireplace is, I guess she forgot about it since last winter.  After staring at the fireplace for a while, she picked her spot and parked her furry little behind.  Then, she scooted back until her backside was literally smooshed up against the rocks that make up the hearth.  Then, she went to sleep.  She's not a smart dog, but she does have her moments!  Froggy, the picture I texted you was of a metal toasting fork loaded with 2 marshmallows and about to get stuck in the flames.  Shortly after that, they got eaten.  And they were good!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thank you Heavently Father for the many blessings You have bestowed upon us.

I Think We Managed To Get There

Because the tv weatherman said it was 18 officially at the Tulsa airport.  It was mighty cold this morning!  I almost feel sorry for the unsmarts who are already camped out in front of the Best Buy in Tulsa.  We saw them on the news yesterday, they have apparently been there for a day or so already.  They have a tent and a tv in the tent - but even if they have a space heater, I'm sure they were plenty cold last night.  It ain't worth it, people!

 

The saline spray has really helped my dry sinus issues.  I used a q-tip to get it in the right place, which tickles a lot.  But it does feel better.  Although I think it made me sneezy - the saline, not just the q-tip.

 

I brought in my birdfeeders just now, they were emptied pretty fast.  I will probably put them out again in the morning.  The suet feeder is popular but it lasts longer than the seed feeders do.  The dogs prefer the seed feeders, they are more than willing to hoover up any seed the birds spill.

 

The phone guy came out this morning.  He switched us to another line at the phone junction box.  It sounds better, we just hope it stays that way.  But I won't be surprised if they have to come out again at some point.

 

It is going to be another cold night tonight, but not quite as cold.  At least it's dry.

19

We could have the coldest night of the year tonight.  The forecasted temperature is 19 degrees.  That is cold!  Tomorrow will be in the low 30's again and windy.  Very windy, but at least it's dry this time and no snow/ice/etc. is expected.

 

I took the car in to Chevy today.  When the previous shop, the ones we refer to as the "crooks" because they were, saw the car last (over 2 years ago) the mechanic said that he saw the beginnings of an oil leak and that it would be a couple of years before it showed up.  Because they did lie about so much, and charged for work not done or done wrong, we weren't too inclined to believe him.  Turns out, he was actually telling me the truth.  There is an oil leak.  But, this is the fun part - the mechanic at the bad place said we were looking at $2,000.00 - $2,500.00 to get it fixed.  Chevy said that it will most likely be around $800.00.  Chevy also said that it doesn't have to be fixed right away, I can probably wait months on it in fact but I might have to add oil to it periodically.  I'm more or less aiming for after the first of the year, it's a two-day job and right now we need all three cars to be running.  Also, with the fact that we do get winter weather we don't want to be stuck with the El Camino having to be driven as it's basically giant sled on ice!

 

I'm no longer feeling that I might be in "pre-sinus infection" mode.  I shouldn't be having allergy symptoms, but that's what it feels like.  Either that, or I might be on the way to a cold.  I bought some saline nasal spray and I'm going to see if that helps.  Because of the surgery I had when I was 16 to rebuild my septum/sinuses/nose, I can't really use any type of spray but I can use the saline but I can't actually spray it in my nose.  I will probably have to spray it on to a q-tip and then moisten the affected areas, but it's worth a try.  No nosebleeds the last couple of days, but I feel like a desert - dried up.  I changed out the filter in the humidifier this afternoon, it was dusty but not really moldy.  The humidifier does seem to help a little bit.

 

The phone repair guy is coming out tomorrow.  So of course the phones are working fine!  Just a hint of the noise we were hearing.  We're still going to have him come out, it seems to keep happening.  Bill will be here this time.  I don't think that the repair guys are at fault, they have fixed things each time they come out.  But something else keeps messing up and I really think that they should just go ahead and replace all the phone lines.  They probably don't want to, buried lines are a little harder and more expensive for them to replace.

 

I frogged out the ruffle row on my turquoise shawl and am going to add a few rows to it.  I put one on it today at lunch, I think it probably needs anywhere from 3 to 5 rows to be as long as I want it to be.  But I'm not sure exactly how many additional rows I'll put on it, I don't want to buy anymore of the specific yarn if I don't have to.  It's pretty but it is not fun to work with.  I think I have enough for at least a couple more rows plus the additional ruffle row.  The ruffle row uses a lot more yarn than a standard row.

 

I don't think I'm going to make any more of the rice bag/warmer bags.  The pattern worked and they turned out ok.  But they are small and not really practical.  I made one using the stitch the pattern called for and the right amount of rice, then I took out over half of the rice because it was just too fat.  I made a smaller one with a smaller/tighter stitch and it worked better and I didn't use nearly as much rice.  They just aren't really as practical as I hoped.  I will eventually get pictures on the craft blog.  If I think about it!

 

Guess that's it for now!

Too Tired to Think

So I'll blog instead.

 

We did get a touch of sleet overnight, just enough to show up on the car this morning.  The roads were fine, there were just a couple of spots where they looked wet but might have been a touch icy but they were minor.  Except for a couple of bridges that had to be shut down.  But mostly, it's just cold.  Very cold.

 

Bill needed his car today, so he took Otter to work and then I picked her up.  She was supposed to get off at 3:00, she was going to walk across the street to either McD's or Arby's and get something to eat.  Then I was going to pick her up and go to the grocery store, which is in the same shopping center as where she works.  But they asked her to stay until 4:00, so I went straight to the grocery store and she walked down there when she got off work.  It was starting to mist slightly when we got out of the store, it's not supposed to continue.  I hope that it doesn't, it's still below freezing and mist combined with below freezing temperatures do not make for a good driving experience!

 

I'm taking the car to Chevy tomorrow.  It's time for an oil change but I've also noticed what could well be and oil leak.  I talked to the Chevy guy tomorrow and I'll take it in first thing.  Hopefully, it's not a bad leak and is something fixable.  Easily fixable please!

 

I haven't talked about Star Trek lately.  Guess I'd better remedy that!  We've been watching it on the local channel that carries Me TV, they show an episode on Saturday night.  A couple of years back, the shows were re-mastered and they are very well done.  The colors are brighter, the special effects are in many cases totally re-done as well.  We've only seen about 5 or so of the episodes and they are well into Season 2.  The best episodes are in Season 1, I'll eventually get to see them but I may have to look the up online.  The absolute best episode, Balance of Terror, is the one I really want to see.  My second favorite is without question Space Seed, followed by The Devil in the Dark and then (of course!) The Trouble with Tribbles.    There is one other, which is probably really my 4th favorite, so Tribbles is actually 5th on my list.  The Doomsday Machine.  After all, it is my earliest memory!  It's 2nd season, so we got to see it a couple of weeks back.  The special effects were tremendous!  Absolutely spectacular.  The way they should have been done, and would have been if today's technology had been available in the early 1960's.  The show was state of the art at the time.  There are some misguided people who don't like the upgrades, because they are not "authentic" but I love them.  Especially on episodes that have a lot of special effects - such as The Doomsday Machine, and probably Balance of Terror as well.  One other comment on the special effects and upgrades - everybody has belly buttons again!

 

RIF, y'all.

Sunday Cats

If the cat is away, the mice will play.  Or, in this case:  If the Otter is away, the parents will go out to lunch!  Otter is at J's house this afternoon, so Bill & I went to El Chico for lunch.  We were going to Cici's Pizza, but it was close to 1:00 and they had a line out the door.  So, we went to the El Chico in the same shopping center and had what we call a "sit-down" meal - the one where you sit down and people wait on you.  It was good, we spent a little more than Cici's would have been but we ate less than we would have at the pizza buffet.  But I wish that I'd remembered to ask for the cilantro to be left off!  I'm somewhere between strongly sensitive to it and mildly allergic.  And I just plain don't like it anyway.  I think I got most of it off, but I'm sure I probably ate a little bit of it.

 

I feel like I may be in what Otter calls "pre sinus infection" mode.  Several times lately, I've felt like I was on the verge of one.  Then it would go away.  I've had three nosebleeds in two days, due to the dry air and they were not bad but they sometimes presage infections.  I woke up with a lot of sinus pressure but not actual pain this morning.  It's better this afternoon, but I still feel it.  I could go to the doctor now, but I know from experience that they'll just tell me that it's an allergy when I know what is actually is based on my history.  I have learned over the years to wait until the symptoms get to a certain point, otherwise I get treated like I don't know what I'm talking about and sent out the door.  Without any relief.  So, I'll watch it for a couple of days and see what happens.  Been there, done that enough times to know what to do and when to do it as far as medical treatment is concerned.  But it might be improving this afternoon, so I'll just have to wait and see what happened.

 

Froggy, my I finished the prototype rice bag/warmer.  I think it's a little bit big and I also think that the pattern called for too much rice.  I took out about half of the rice it called for and it works better, but I think that I'll make them smaller than the first one.  They would work great for hand warmers in pockets, Otter has already requested a matching pair.

 

Otter has to work on Black Friday.  She's not surprised, but she was really hoping not to have to be in the first shift.  She has to be in at 5:00 a.m., the store opens at 6:00.  She will probably leave the house about 4:30, so she'll be getting up at 4:00.  I'm very glad that I'm not in her shoes.  She does have more hours scheduled this week, which she expected and she is glad about that.

 

Bill is off this week, he's taking vacation days Monday through Wednesday.  We've been having problems with our home phone and the soonest someone could get out here is Wednesday morning anyway, so it works out well for him to be here.  It used to be that the phone would go out completely, every time it rained.  They came out a few times and replaced a few things and it got better.  But sometime over the last couple of weeks, something apparently went wrong with the phone lines and now we can hardly hear anyone because of the horribly loud buzzing sound.  We all have cell phones so we aren't out of reach, but it's still kind of frustrating.  It's a smaller phone company and the only one that is available out here, unless we wanted to go with Cox Cable company and that is the last thing we want to do.  So, if anybody needs us it's still best to use the cell phones until Wednesday at least.

 

Bill built a fire in the fireplace while ago, he's back in the office.  He is working on his computer but I'm in the livingroom so he made me a fire.  We have gotten a lot of use out of the fireplace already, Friday night and then just about all day yesterday.  We haven't gotten the possible snow yet but it has been very cold.  We might have gotten above freezing yesterday, but I'm not sure.  I refilled my birdfeeders Friday and switched to bigger ones.  I also put out a suet feeder.  The seed feeders needed to be refilled this morning, the suet feeder is still there and intact but it's considerable smaller now.  We've had mostly sparrows, two varieties in fact but we also saw a female cardinal.  I think that there might have been a couple of starlings.  No sign of woodpeckers yet, but they will probably show up sooner or later.  I have three large popcorn tins full of birdseed, I've used about 2/3 of one.  The dog's water dish was frozen over this morning, Otter went out to pour warm water over it and she said that there were a lot of birds.  Birds need water in the winter but not everybody realizes that.  So even when the (stinky!) dogs are inside, we keep their water dish as full and as non-frozen as we can.

 

The dogs don't seem to mind sharing their water with birds.  Besides, they spend most of their time snoozing, either on their blankets or in front of the fireplace!  Which actually sounds pretty smart to me.

Ready!

Froggy, don't worry.  I got the chocolate!  We bought marshmallows already and I checked the graham crackers.  We're prepared.  Of course, Bill brought in firewood already.  Because I need to make 'smores.  (That's the most important reason for the firewood!)

 

But you are right Froggy - chocolate is good anytime.

 

I don't think we're going to have anything bad, just really, really cold.  But I filled up the car tonight anyway - I try to not let it get below half a tank when there is the possibility of either spring-like storms or for most of the winter.  Just common sense to be prepared.

 

I also brought in the birdfeeders that I put out several days ago.  I bought 4 more plastic birdfeeders at Atwood's the other day that were in their clearance section.  They are kind of cheaply made but they were a buck apiece so I grabbed them.  I'll fill up at least a couple tomorrow morning and put them out - it I remember.  If I forget, I'll get them out Saturday morning.

 

Otter got good news at work yesterday.  Her boss wants to increase her hours and very soon she'll be getting trained on "back of the store management" soon.  It's not actual management, but it is more responsibility.  I think she's really enjoying a job where a) she's not taken advantage of and b) is recognized for being a dependable, hard worker.  And also the fact that the manager knows what he's doing.  And then there is also the fact of the lack of late nights!

 

There was probably more I wanted to talk about, but I'm tired.  It's been a long day and I think I'm going to spend a little while keeping the couch from flying up to the ceiling and the tv from getting lonely.

92!

Otter and I planted 92 tulip bulbs this afternoon.  She put some of the colors in patterns and some are just planted.  There are several rows, either 5 or 6 in each row.  We treated the bed a couple of times, stirred the dirt around a few times and got all the bulbs planted today.  We both have sore backs, but it's done and we don't have to do anything else now.  We found several earth worms and the dirt looked good, nice & rich.

 

It might be winter this weekend.  At least, it will be cold and possibly wet.  The type of wetness will be determined by how cold it actually gets, we have a chance of wintery precipitation - in other words, we have a chance of flurries.  But since the forecasters can't predict a hole if they dig it themselves, we are prepared for all contingencies.  Even if we don't get anything!  Bill's been cutting some of the firewood to size to fit the fireplace.  We hope to be able to use it Saturday.  Guess I'd better get more chocolate tomorrow, you can't make 'smores without it!

Just a Few Random Thoughts

I've been cutting up habeneros to put in the freezer, so my allergy symptoms are temporarily gone!  I used latex gloves, cut carefully, removed the gloves carefully and then scrubbed my hands with soap and hot water.  I've learned from watching Bill that there are never enough or too many safeguards with habeneros!

 

I've been having allergy symptoms today, and I think it's the wonderful mountain cedar making it's presence known.  Hate the stuff.  Almost as bad is the sneaky cinnamon scented pine cones that most stores seem to stock and seem to put by the register and/or entrance so that I can't escape them.

 

Looks like winter is going to show up towards the end of the week.  Possibly as soon as Thursday but maybe not until Friday evening.  We probably won't get anything bad, but it's going to depend on the temperature when the rain starts.  Bill brought in a bunch of firewood while ago, we'll probably have the fireplace going most of Saturday.  Which means that the dogs will be overjoyed, they stake out their nap spots pretty much immediately upon Bill starting a fire.

 

The 50th Anniversary of the JFK assassination is coming up this week.  Obviously, it's been in the news and will be for a few more days.  I think the actual day is Friday.  I was around when it happened, but I wasn't quite two years old yet and so I have no memory of the event.  But it was sort of the background to the childhood of everyone who was young at the time, we all just sort of grew up knowing about it.  No matter a person's opinion of a particular President, murder is never the answer.  There are a lot of conspiracy theories out there, and some of them are pretty wild.  I personally have never felt that the "lone gunman" theory works or that Oswald was the actual killer - although I do think he thought he was and he did fire his gun.  My money would be on organized c r i m e, but that's just my opinion - and Bill's, by the way.  But the point is that it was still a life taken.  I think that people tend to forget that fact, among all the mania that accompanies anything connected with him.  I may have more to discuss on this subject at a later date.  (The spacing on c r i m e is so that it's not searchable, some things always show up on a search no matter how many safeguards are in place and I want to be private.)

 

Along with allergy issues, I've been fighting a case of RedHead Anemia.  I'm increasing my protein and iron.  We had homemade sloppy joes tonight, I made it with ground beef.  I changed it up slightly, I added chopped celery and cut up a banana pepper to add to it, then we also topped it off with parmesan cheese.  It was pretty good, although I'm not sure I used enough chili powder in it.  Not that Bill objected!  It's one of his favorite "easy meals."

 

Is it Friday yet?  It's only Tuesday!  This has been a long week and it's still not even half-way over.

Not Sure Which Season it Really is...

but it might be Spring again.  Judging by the amount of wind we've had the last couple of days, and also by the amount of allergy symptoms I've had.  I'm really thinking that it's April again!

 

I did a little thrift/antique shopping today.  Didn't find anything I wanted to buy, but I was feeling a little housebound and it was nice to get out of the house for a couple of hours.  Otter is gone to her D & D game, she'll be home sometime in the next hour-ish.  Bill spent the day working on assorted projects, including using the chain saw blade sharpener.  Which worked, by the way, and there was no blood spilled!  We got into the shed a bit this afternoon, he pulled two machines out of the never-ending-pachinko stash and he's going to start working on them this week.  But he's still got more pachinko machines than should be legal!

 

I have a "little old man" in the form of a large furry dog at my feet.  He parked himself there a little while ago and I think he's dozing off.  The beaglebrat was already snoozing, on their blankets at the end of the couch.  Lazies!

 

Froggy, I texted you the pictures of the shawl already but I've put the ruffle row on it since then.  I will get it sent to you sometime this week, possibly tomorrow (Monday.)  I'll let you know for sure when it's on the way.

 

Since I finished up Froggy's shawl, I don't really have any more UFO's.  I have temporarily put off finishing the yarn wreath until I've gotten a few planned Christmas gift projects out of the way, so I'm don't consider the wreath a UFO.  I have managed to get quite a few things finished up this year, the afghan being one of them.  Froggy, your shawl was not intended as a de-stash project, but it certainly was a good one.  I still have quite a bit of that particular yarn left, it's the same yarn as the afghan was made from and I bought a lot since I wasn't sure how much the afghan would take.  I'm sure I'll have a use for it at some point, it's really good yarn and I really like it.  But not for a while, my arms are just a bit sore after I spent most of yesterday crocheting!

Dog Days

The dogsters went to the vet today.  Frasier was (over)due for his rabies shot and Maggie Moo was ready for a rear end alignment (anal glands cleaned out) as well as a tire retread (claws trimmed).  Both things were accomplished with a minimum of fuss, Maggie was even glad to get to the vet's today.  Frasier does have cataracts, I thought I could see a hint of opaqueness in his eyes at the right angle and the vet noticed it as well.  Not bad and not anything to worry about, but we are aware of it "officially" now.  Frasier has also had a really severe issue with bad breath, off & on.  The vet thinks it's "dental disease" the same way that a person with bad teeth gets.  He's not willing to do anything to the dog's mouth and neither am I, but he did give me an antibiotic to give Frasier for several days.  It might be something I'll have to give him every several months, depending on how often/strong/if the infection comes back.  Maggie Moo is 28 pounds and Frasier is 69 pounds.  Both are healthy, Frasier is just old but pretty good for an 84-year-old man!  (Approximately 12 years x 7 dog years.)

 

Frasier's shot was due in late August/early September, but we were kind of busy with Billyboy's skin cancer issues and I forgot about it after all the fun with him was over.  But it's not a problem, the dog doesn't really go anywhere where he's exposed to other dogs and the vet wasn't concerned with it being late.

 

Otter is gone to see the new Thor movie.  Or at least that was the plan when she left with one of her friends at 8:30-ish this morning.  She'll eventually be home and then she is forbidden to tell me much about the movie.  Which is guaranteed to drive her nuts.  :)

 

Nearly Friday!

Somewhat Ready for Winter

I added a few things to our "Housebound/Stuckathome/Icestorm" supplies.  I think we're pretty much ready for the possibility of being caught at home this winter, we have plenty of firewood and enough canned/dried food for several days.  Not that I expect it, but we didn't expect Snowmagedden 2011 either!  Our supplies consist of:  canned chili, canned stew, canned Vienna sausage (for Bill, I personally can't stand the stuff), canned tuna, crackers, ritz crackers, instant coffee (the most important!), tea bags, dried pasta, peanut butter (creamy, because that's the kind I like and I was the one at the store), canned orange juice, canned dog food (can't forget the pupsters!), canned beans (also for Bill), bottled water, and a few other things.  I will probably get a small bag of dried dog food, but I think we're pretty much ready.  I might also get a few cans of soup.  We always have things like batteries, candles, first aid supplies on hand.  It's a Borg Queen thing, I have to be prepared for all contingencies.  More than once, it's been a good thing.  Not just in Feb. 2011, but enough times that prove it's warranted.

 

I figure I've always got enough yarn on hand!  And plenty of projects that need it. :)

 

It was very cold last night and this morning, we hit the predicted 21 degrees.  It got into the low 50's this afternoon.  It wasn't breezy, so it actually felt better than yesterday - even this morning.  Although Otter might disagree, she got the joy of scraping off a frosted car before she could go to work!  I did help her, after I'd finished my car.  It was just frost and not really ice, but it was still a cold job.

 

Bill has a new toy.  It's a sharpener for a chainsaw blade.  He need it badly, the chainsaw was getting pretty dull.  I know, it's a tool to make a dangerous item even more dangerous!  But a dull saw is dangerous as well, especially when it's a saw with an engine.

 

Otter's going to see the new Thor movie tomorrow.  She promises not to spoil it for me.  Which will be fun to watch, especially if it's a good movie and she can't tell me!  It's her turn to rent the movie for Saturday, since she's actually off this Saturday, and she's chosen the new Superman movie.  Which I actually want to see - possibly a sign of the end of the world that I want to see a Superman movie!

BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We had the first hard freeze of the season last night.  It was 28 degrees when we got up this morning.  28!  Talk about cold.  The car Otter drives was just about out of gas, so I ran it up to the gas station about 6:30 a.m. and filled it up for her.  I thought my leather jacket and a cap would be enough.  I was wrong!  I came back home and was home just long enough to warm up before it was time for me to head back out the door.  I did manage to get a scarf this time, as well as putting the lining that wasn't originally in my leather jacket in it this time.  After I got outside, I realized that I should have worn my heavy coat but I didn't quite have enough time to go back inside after it.

 

It never really got much warmer.  The temperature was somewhere in the 40's ish I think, maybe a little warmer.  But the wind chill kept the "feels like" temperature about where it was when we got up.  Otter didn't have to be at work until 11:00, she said it was still pretty cold when she left and she just got home (6:45 p.m.) and said it's colder.  When I got home, I got out in the back yard and picked up the few remaining walnuts from the yard.  It was still cold!  Bill brought in a load of firewood and we are now enjoying the first fire of the season.  I made extremely hot chili for dinner tonight.  It's a good day for it.

 

It's supposed to be even colder tonight.  Like the low 20's.  Well, we have plenty of blankets!

Eleven Eleven Eleven

With our grateful Thanks.  May we never forget.

(I miss you, Dad.)

Still Here! (Froggy will get on me if I don't blog regularly)

Froggy, I put 2 more rows on the shawl today, that is on top of the 4 or so I put on it this week.

 

I may be in the market for a new microwave soon.  I think mine is going out.  Well, it is 20 years old so I guess I shouldn't be surprised.  Except for being surprised at how long it has lasted.

 

I'm really thinking that Fraiser's teeth need some vet attention.  He has tartar build up and it's gotten bad.  His breath stinks, and so does anything he licks - which means their blankets, the carpet, himself, Maggie Moo!  The problem is that the vet will want to put him under and then we are back to the same problem we had a year ago when the tumor was removed:  an old dog who might not tolerate it.

 

My laptop is covered with dog hair.  Frasier likes to lay his head on the side of the keyboard and get my attention.  No, the laptop doesn't smell!  But it does have a little furriness to it this evening.

 

Thanksgiving is in two weeks.  Christmas is in 6 weeks.  More or less.  I think I might be getting a new microwave from Santa!  Santa Mom, anyway.

 

My allergies were a little better after the freeze, but then they got bad again.  It's been windy and that makes them worse.  Today was cool but at least it wasn't too breezy.  The humidifier is helping.

 

OK, Froggy.  I blogged.

We Got There..

It was 31 degrees when we left the house this morning.  Maybe that means that my Fall allergies will be a little better?  It won't knock them all out until we have a good, hard freeze.  That may be a little while.  But I'm hoping that at least some of the crud has been killed.

 

I also had my first official nosebleed of the season.  Dry air always causes them.  It wasn't bad, it was just unexpected.  But, being a redhead...  Anyway, I put the humidifier in the bedroom a couple of nights ago, on my side of the bed and close to the head of the bed.  It has helped some, I've slept better and when I wake up I'm less stuffy.

 

Not cold enough for a fire yet, though.  We still need to get the chimney cleaned anyway, which we are going to try to schedule for Thanksgiving week since Bill's taking vacation days that week.  If, that is, I can ever remember which company we used in 2009 when we had the chimney rebuilt!

 

The dogs seem to be enjoying the colder weather as well.  When I got home, Otter and I let the dogsters out in the back yard while we did "walnut patrol."  They were very playful.  Frasier particularly.  He ran and ran and ran and ran and ran...To Infinity and Beyond.  He ran over Maggie Moo several times, she finally figured it out and she tried to trip him several times.  She was on the losing end of his craziness quite a bit but she seemed to have as good a time as he did.  He was so funny, I have never seen him run quite so much and he was smiling.  If the grey on his muzzle wasn't so evident, I'd say he was a young puppy.

 

Walnut Patrol consists of picking up black walnuts which fall from the tree in the (nice) neighbor's back yard.  The tree in question was originally outside of his yard, but then fence the builders put up many years ago enclosed the tree into his yard.  The builder is going to move the fence, but the neighbor is contesting it so it's still in his yard.  The builder will probably eventually win the this one.  When that happens, the builder will take out the tree which is not in good shape anyway.  It never really recovered from the ice storm in 2007.  It's a Black Walnut tree and we've literally picked up hundreds of the things.  It has always dropped them in our yard, but never as bad as this year.  They are poisonous if the dogs eat them, or at least can make them sick.  Of course, that means that the dogs love them!  The neighbor may take the tree down himself, he said it would work great to use with his smoker.  Whichever way, either the builder or the neighbor, I hope it is taken out soon.  It won't take much, another ice storm or a bad wind storm like we had last summer and the tree may not still be standing.  The problem is that it might not be standing because it fell over in my yard, on my shed, on my fence or on someone or someone's pets.

 

TGIF tomorrow!

Dirty Jobs

Or job singular, to be exact.  Otter and I got out to the tulip bed and basically stirred the dirt.  There is some evidence of a mole trail, after we treated it.  We're probably going to plant the tulip bulbs next week and we will treat it then.  Then, we'll leave it to sit and hopefully we'll see tulips next spring.

 

I also came across my bluebonnet seeds, the ones I harvested from this year's crop.  I'm going to see about planting a few of them in the whiskey barrel - although I have a baby blue already sprouting.

 

The humming bird feeders came in yesterday and I washed them this morning.  They are now put away until next spring.  I need to get my seed feeders ready, I don't think I need to replace any of them this year.

 

We have a good chance of rain, it's expected to start after midnight.  It could continue through Thursday morning.

 

Real exciting, huh!?

Mousketeers

It took three tries, but we got the mouse!  The first night, Bill baited the trap with peanut butter and birdseed.  I checked the trap the next morning.  It was still there, unsprung and also unbaited.  It's just one of those stories that mice like cheese, they really don't care for it, but Bill used it when he re-baited the trap because it would at least stay on the trap and not be as easy to take off without springing the trap.  Mice will eat it if they are hungry enough or if it's the only thing available, but the mousie was apparently not hungry the second night.  Last night, Bill left the cheese on the trap and spread a tiny bit of peanut butter on the cheese.  This morning, the trap was not where he left it.  Because when it sprung, it flipped off the shelf and took the dead mouse with it.  It was a male mouse, by the way.  Which is the best one to find, a female might well mean that there is a family of mice somewhere.  Mice are social animals and one might mean another is close by, but since it was a male mouse there is less chance of a lot of them.  Bill's probably going to place another trap on the shelf and we'll see if we get any more.  We haven't had them for a couple of years, but with the construction behind us and the fact that it's getting cooler I won't be surprised if we do have/get more.

 

We went to Ace Hardware earlier, Bill got pachinko machine repair supplies and I got more mouse traps!

 

Movie Review:  Monsters University.  We rented it yesterday.  Otter saw it when it was in the theaters but we never got there.  It was ok, better than I expected, but not great.  It was a lot longer than I expected and fairly predictable.  But it wasn't bad.  It also didn't have the Agenda we thought it might.  I'm waiting until the sequel to Despicable Me comes out.  Hopefully, it's as good as we've heard.

 

Froggy, I've gotten several rows done on your shawl.  I put three or four on it yesterday and two today.  It is a pattern that works up fast, it's just been a matter of actually finding the time to work on it.  I also have another pattern that I think I'm going to try, it's made with cotton yarn and is a heating pad.  Basically, it's a knee-high nylon hose stuffed with rice and the outer cover is crocheted.  I'm going to make one and see how it works, Otter is usually a willing guinea pig for my projects and I'm thinking she'll like this one.  Who knows, I might actually make a few and put them on my etsy shop!  The one I've had for over a year now and have never actually used.