Otter Still Feels Like She's 12

Even though she is 22 today.  To be precise, she feels like a 12-year-old in an adult suit.  But she is, in fact, 22.  She just looks a few years younger is all!  She said that the crew at work all threatened to sing Happy Birthday to her today - however, she convinced them not to.

 

We took her to dinner for her birthday, she chose the Chinese buffet.  It was pretty good.  The birthday candles have been lit (just 4!) and she blew them out.  But nobody had room for cake right then, so it went back into the fridge  and we're probably going to get into it shortly.

 

It's thundering at the moment.  The first "official" spring storm happened this evening.  If you can call it that.  Basically, north of here had a thunderstorm and their was a small amount of hail.  But, it is Spring and it is a storm, and the forecasters are going to spend the entire Season going nuts over the slightest breeze!  Which is not good, because they will panic and cause panic.  Then when it is bad, nobody will listen to them and the potential for injuries/deaths is very high when that happens.

 

After we ate tonight, we went to Big Lots.  We turned off the humidifiers last night and turned on the fan.  Otter used the box fan we have last summer, but it's kind of big and hard to use really well due to the fact that a)  it's too big for her room and b)  the contents of her room are also too big for her room!  So, we bought her a stand fan and Billyboy is putting it together at the moment.  She said it was kind of stuffy in her room last night so she's eager for him to get the fan together.

 

The Aripachi machines leave tomorrow!  Well, the first group leaves.  It might have to be a 2-day operations, there are so many of them.  But the upshot is that they will be out of our (mostly my) way very soon.  Grandpa is going to come help Bill tomorrow.  I took the Goodwill stuff today to get it out of their way, and I loaded the trunk of my car up with the recycling stuff so that they have more room to move the machines out of the garage.

 

OK, cake time!

Note to Self...

Don't ever EVER EVER drink green tea again.  Or anything made with/containing green tea.

 

That way, maybe I won't have to spend hour after hour doing anything I can not to scratch all my skin off!

 

We went to a nearby town for our Last Sunday of the Month Family Excursion.  We had a lot of fun.  I'm the only one that found anything, and I didn't find much but at least I did find something.  4 skeins of brand-new, unused, clean yarn for $1.00.  We ate at Arby's and instead of coke (Texas coke could be any brand, remember), I got a peach tea and I noticed that it said it was made with green tea.  Smelled great, tasted wonderful.  After I had two or three swallows, the itching started but I didn't quite connect the dots until I'd had about 1/2 of the tea.  I threw it out at that point, but the damage was done already and I had to deal with itching for a while.  I'm thinking it is a fairly strong allergy, since the itching was intense and long-lasting and started pretty fast.  I don't think I've ever had green tea before, and now I guess I won't have it again!

 

I hate my allergies.

 

Froggy!  I finished your non-crochet "thing" Friday.  I still have two crochet related projects that I need to finish but they need to be done start-to-finish at once and I haven't had enough time.  I have another project for you that I am working on as I get time, I'm not giving you any hints at all about that one.

 

Taco Night tonight!  We had tacos, rice-a-roni Spanish rice and refried beans.  This time, I bought flour tortillas.  Usually, we buy taco shells but this time we wanted a change.  We don't have flour tortillas very often.  It was so good!

 

Even if I am still a bit itchy.

Thursday Stuff

First of all:

This describes my Frasier to a "T" (except for the part about missing the ball, he has no interest in them.)  His eyes are very similar to the dog in the picture, although they are a little lighter in color - like a coyote's.

 

Yesterday was Wednesday, which is the normal day THE sirens are tested.  But it was rainy, cloudy and windy.  So the siren test was the silent one - I think the silent tests are basically when they confirm that the radio signals are working and that they can communicate with the sirens.  Some of the sirens were supposed to be tested today, with sound, but I don't think that it happened.  It was cloudy and cool with lots and lots of wind until mid-late afternoon.  When the sirens are tested on days other than Wednesday, there is usually a boatload of publicity about it so that people don't panic.  This year, because of last year, there has been a lot in the news already about readiness and preparations.  Not that you can ever really be "ready" for tornados.  But they do happen here, obviously.

 

Froggy, I'm so glad you agree with joining me on the A-list!  We'll be very happy there, I think.  :)

 

There was a really funny listing on craigslist yesterday.  Someone advertised a jackalope! 

 

One of these, for the non-Texans:

Although I don't think that they are strictly TEXAS.  It's just that we like strange animals, a prime example being what the rest of the world (other than TEXAS) calls a horned toad.  We know what they are really called, it's just that some people think it's an impolite term and I'm trying to be polite!  Anyway, the listing was for a 2-month old jackalope and it was really funny.  There was no contact information, obviously!  There were a couple of comments left today as listings on craigslist - one of them said that the jackalope in question was obviously an adult and not a baby, given the fully developed set of antlers.  I guess that they are born with nubs, similar to a baby rattlesnake!  :)

 

OK, enough nonsense for today.

Froggy! I've Decided What We Are

We're A-listers!  (Private joke between Froggy and myself.)  Froggy, do you agree with me?

 

I'm not sure, but I think the groundhog has snuck back here.  It's cold and wet.  Not icy cold, but cold for this time of year.  Or, it could just be my fault for switching the blankets out and putting the warm winter stuff away.  That's what Bill thinks, but I'm claiming to "No Nuzzing" in the words of Sgt. Schultz from Hogan's Heroes.

 

The aripachi machines are on their way out vey soon.  I'm going to start writing "Kick Me" in UPS-speak - also known as Fragile.  Fragileee!  (Anybody else remember the movie A Christmas Story?)

 

Otter and I are going shopping Saturday.  We're going to Hobby Lobby.  We had stuff we wanted to by there, but we have decided to wait until Saturday.  We might hit a few yard/garage sales if we see any, and there is at least one church that is having a yard-ish sale on Saturday that we want to go to.

 

Otter's picked her birthday dinner.  She was thinking about what we could cook, until I reminded her that she could also choose a restaurant.  She went with Chinese, there is a buffet we go to occasionally.  I'm going to pick up a birthday cake Monday morning, and she also reminded me that ice cream is required.  Of course!  And Taco Night is still on Sunday, the 30th.

 

I haven't been to the booth in a couple of days.  I think I'll probably go by tomorrow.  Bill's come up with a few things he wants me to take up there and there are still several shot glasses.  I'm also thinking about thinning the Fenton herd just a bit more - but I'm not sure yet.

 

We've changed the "flavor" of dog food we feed the poochsters.  A while back, the grocery store didn't have the specific type of the brand we buy - I can't remember the brand off the top of my head, but it comes in a yellow bag.  We'd been feeding them "healthy weight" which was mostly for Magginator.  When the store was out of that kind, I got "healthy longevity" for them and we noticed two things almost immediately:  1)  The flatulence issue disappeared almost immediately - we quit giving them the gas pills after a while and while they did help with the issue, there is almost no stinkiness anymore with the switch.  2)  Frasier is turning into a puppy again.  Consistently.  He's playful and very energetic.  He has run the beagle out of energy more than once recently.  It's amazing.  We went back to the healthy weight for one week to check and they did start to smell a bit more, again.  So, we've been feeding them the healthy longevity variety and will stick with that.  They seem to like it better, as well - although I've seen some of the things they eat and I don't think they care!

 

My puppy is a puppy again and I'm happy happy.

It Is Officially Spring Today

Because we switched bedspreads!

 

Much as I love the camo quilt, it is very warm.  It's wonderful to sleep under it during the winter, but it's getting warmer and that means that it's time for my quilt!

 

Bill got up around 6:15, the dogs were still quiet and calm.  That never happens, they want breakfast at a regular time and that time is generally no later than 5:30 a.m.  He brought coffee back to me (I was still in bed) and we enjoyed having coffee without actually having to get up.  It was nice, we didn't turn the light on and just enjoyed watching the sky get lighter outside the window.

 

We've been running errands and doing stuff around the house.  We went to several stores for stuff Bill needed (usually it's for me or Otter.)  Bill and Otter just about ran my feet off, but it was fun.  One of our stops was Otter's store, Bill wanted to get stuff for his soda blaster (like a sand blaster) and I got knee pads.  My knees have been really bad lately, Bill suggested I try knee pads and Otter said that they carry some good ones so I figured it's worth a try.

 

Especially with the fact that Spring has sprung and I'm going to be outside a lot in the near future, planting things.  Lowe's and Home Depot seem to be getting their stock of plants in but I don't think that they have a lot yet.  Honeysuckle and trumpet vines are on our list, as well as a few smaller things that can be potted and put on the deck.  I put out more yarn bits yesterday.  I have seen several robins lately, and one woodpecker that was happy running around the tree beside the garage yesterday.  It's a little early for hummingbirds yet, I probably will not put a feeder out for a few weeks but we'll be watching for them anyway.

 

I also ran to Wallyworld this afternoon.  My tennis shoes were starting to get a little uncomfortable, they are Dr. Scholl's brand and weren't cheap and I was afraid that I was going to have to replace them.  But then I realized that they have removable insoles and that the gel pads were just worn out.  I bought some more Dr. Scholl's brand gel insoles and they feel much better now, soft and nearly as comfortable as they did when I bought them last summer.  Other than the insoles, the rest of the shoes are in decent shape and should last a lot longer - I've finally learned to buy better brands!  They are worth the extra $$.  I also bought foam pad insoles at the dollar store, but they are for my leather house shoes.  They have an attached foam insole which has gotten flattened out a bit but the suede is still in very good shape.

 

Otter's runnoft with J today.  He went to a local arcade and she met him up there.  She's been getting her cosplay stuff together and she needed a slightly large magnifying glass for the main character she'll be at TNT this summer.  It occurred to me that a bubble wand could be refurbished into what she needed, but when I was at the dollar store I found a plastic bug collection kit that is basically a large, plastic magnifying glass - the bug collection is in the clear handle.  I texted her a picture and she said it was what she needed so I grabbed one while I was there.

 

We've been cleaning out stuff.  Bill found 4 old boxes of household records, 1996 - 1999.  They mostly had things that could be gotten rid of, he's been keeping busy with the shredder this afternoon.  Anything like taxes are being kept, but I don't think we need receipts from when Otter was in daycare!  I think that there are probably still a few years of boxes stored around here somewhere, I'm sure he'll come across them soon.

 

Froggy, I got a little work done on your non-crochet "other thing" yesterday.  It's almost through, then I will get started on the crochet "stuff" again.

 

Speaking of crochet, which I frequently do, I started a lap blanket out of scrap yarn.  I think I already mentioned that.  It's going to take me a long time to complete, since I don't have a whole lot of scrap yarn at the moment.  I'm thinking I'm also going to make a couple of non-scrap yarn lap blankets while I'm at it.  I have quite a bit of the cream yarn left over from the afghan (I've decided it's finally big enough) and I might use some of it.

 

Movie review:  Frozen.  We were disappointed.  The animation was mostly good, but the story was basically the same story that Disney has told for years.  Except that it was worse this time.  And even though the animation was good, there were several glaring animation mistakes that Disney should have caught.

 

Next Sunday is Taco Night!  That means that next Monday (week from tomorrow) is Otter's 22nd birthday.  She's requested bacon, no surprise there.  Because her birthday is on a Monday, her birthday breakfast will actually be on Saturday.  She's off next Saturday, so that's why she's having it then.  Bacon and eggs for Bill and me, but Otter said that she'd be happy with bacon and bacon!  We usually only have it 3 times per year, her birthday is the first one.  Bill's birthday in June is the 2nd and then Christmas is the 3rd.

It Slices, It Dices

Remember this?:

 

"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! I did not come here tonight to make you laugh! I came here to sell you something! And I want ya to pay particular attention, because The Amazing Master Tool Corporation, a subsidiary of Fly By Night Industries, has entrusted who? -- me! -- to show you! -- the handiest and the dandiest kitchen tool you've ever seen, and don't ya wanna know how it works! First you take an ordinary apple! You place the ordinary apple in between the patented pans! Then you reach for the tool that is not a slicer, not a dicer, not a chopper in a hopper! What in the heck can it possibly be? SLEDGE-O-MATIC!" 

• "Sledge-O-Matic removes unwanted fingerprints from walls. Sledge-O-Matic also removes unwanted walls from fingerprints."
• "Sledge-O-Matic will teach the dumbest dog to play dead, it puts the cat out all night, and it keeps the neighbors' kids in their own yards."

It's the brilliant Gallagher's version of this product:

It's a Veg-o-matic.

 

Back in our eBay days, we had a couple of these little gems show up in auction boxes.  They always sold amazingly well.  I kept one of them, and it was a wonderful little appliance.   I found one at a yard sale one time, it was not complete but I figured I'd be able to cannibalize parts from it for mine.  Which would have worked, except that Bill decided (on his own, without permission from me!) that he needed to sell mine and I could just keep the broken one.  Needless to say, the Borg Queen was not amused when she discovered it after he sold it!  And she's also never forgiven him for that act, either.  Very shortly after the Borg Queen discovered his traitorous act, he was officially banned-for-life from EVER even thinking about selling anything of mine, any appliance, anything in the kitchen and a whole list of other items.  EVER.  Unless I give him permission BEFOREHAND.

 

But he redeemed himself this week.  He found one on eBay, it's intact and has an extra blade.  It also came in it's original box!  It arrived yesterday.

 

However, he is still firmly officially banned-for-life from EVER even thinking about selling anything of mine, any appliance, anything in the kitchen and a whole list of other items.  EVER.  Unless I give him permission BEFOREHAND.

 

He'd better believe that I mean it, too.  Because I do.  I don't bluff and I don't give a 2nd warning.  Sometimes, I don't even give a 1st warning.  So, he'd better watch his step with me for a while!  But he has shown that he is at least capable of fixing his mistakes.

 

But he's still not a Good Boy!

Finally!

It's the last official day of Winter!

 

I saw notices at the booth store.  The first one was a bounty for the groundhog.  The 2nd one was that the groundhog was in custody.  The 3rd notice said that he'd been released on his own recognizance.  TO SIBERIA.  Nothing has sold at the booth since Saturday, but I wanted to rearrange it a bit and also Bill wanted me to bring the Erector Set home since it hasn't sold.

 

Wheeeee!  Spring starts tomorrow!

 

Unfortunately, Spring has it's own weather-related issues.  For the first few years after we moved to Tulsa, I would have a serious case of nerves that started in early Spring and continued until the early Summer.  Because by that time, the main threat of Spring storms would be over.  But this year, I'm feeling it again and it is early.  Probably in response to last Spring and specifically, May 20.  The news "reminders" of last year have not started yet, but it's only a matter of time before the forecasters start talking it up and promoting themselves.

 

On to other subjects now...

 

Yesterday's gopher is not the only dead animal found in the back yard.  Today, it was a male cardinal.  Yesterday, Bill made an offhand comment about the new neighbor behind us and that he hoped her dog wasn't responsible for the dead gopher and that she threw the carcass over the fence.  Today, I found the cardinal and it has something in common with the gopher - reasonably "fresh" and not eaten.  I don't think it was a cat,  I think it was the new neighbor behind us.  Both dead animals were very close to the fence line, and the bird really did look like it might have been tossed right over the fence.  If there is a third one, or anything else suspicious, then Bill said he might have to go have a talk with her.  We've only seen a woman and two dogs, so I don't know if there is a husband/boyfriend/son/etc., or if it's just her.  But I'm beginning to think that Lovely Neighbor might have a "clone" living behind us!

 

Gopher Tales

I let the dogsters out in the back yard when I got home.  Maggie Moo immediately ran to the shed and went underneath it.  Frasier wandered around for a while, no particular destination but just walking around the edges of the yard.  While I was yelling for Maggie Moo to get out from underneath the shed (she wasn't listening) I noticed a small, furry, un-moving object in the grass.  It was a dead gopher, but it didn't look like it had been there long.  The dogs haven't had backyard time since Friday or Saturday and it looked "fresher" than that.  It has been cool and damp (very cold yesterday) but I'm still thinking it was newer than it should have been if the poochies had gotten to it.  They didn't act like they were interested in it, usually we can tell if they got "it" by the way the act.  Maybe one of the neighborhood cats?  Which might be why Frasier was barking his head off a couple of times the last couple of days.  Whatever, it's wrapped in 3 or 4 plastic bags and has been thrown away.

 

Otter and I went by the booth today.  One of my vases has sold, and also an unused oil lamp.  I don't think anything else has, though.  I brought home one Fenton-ish piece (not Fenton, but similar) and since it was cracked (before it went to the booth and I did indicate it on the label) it is probably going to be tossed.  I don't usually donate broken stuff.

 

We also went to Goodwill.  I found a couple of books, Otter found a really cute stuffed animal that Maggie Moo went nutso over when we got home.  Maggie didn't get it, but she sure wanted it.  I also got followed around a bit, by a man who I'd been watching and he apparently realized it.  Because as soon as I turned around and faced him, he took off to the other side of the store and I think he was stalking another woman who wasn't watching her purse very well - so I made a point of walking over by her and again, he moved away as soon as he realized he was being watched.  I made sure Otter knew, she's got good instincts but I didn't take any chances.  I think he actually left the store at that point because I didn't see him again.  Not the first time that has happened to me, not just at thrift stores but it does seem like it happens more in certain areas.  Like the Goodwill we were at today, in my small town and in a fairly safe/good area! 
 

Otter's got good instincts, as I mentioned.  She's also got good reflexes and a Black Belt.  She has a tendency to "act first and ask questions later" and that's actually what she's supposed to do.  (Apples and trees, you know?).

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Kiss Me

I'm Irish!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Sunday Shishkabobs

I think that shishkabobs would be great, made out of fresh groundhog.

 

Today, we hit our high (50's) about sunrise.  It went steadily down, and by the time we left for church it was in the high 30's.  When we came out of church about 10:00, it was sleeting and there were a few snowflakes mixed in.  It started raining shortly after that and it's been in the mid-30's all day.

 

Anybody got any dipping sauce for the shishkabobs?  I'm thinking A-1 and maybe Sweet 'n Sour.  Picante, of course!

 

Bill was going to fix the dryer today.  He started to work on it, he started to take it apart and then realized that there is a 3rd part that he should have ordered.  So, he put it back together and ordered the other part.  He said that I can use the dryer, but I did a load before church in case it wasn't usable today (that was before he took it apart) so I haven't needed to run it.  He said it might take a little longer than it has been.  I'll probably need to run a load in a few days.

 

Otter and I ran a few errands this afternoon.  Michael's had a good ad with a 15% off everything coupon and she needed something for a specific project, so off we went!  We also went to Bill's favorite hardware store (where Otter works) because I wanted to get one of the palm-sized spotlight flashlights they sell since the "regular" style ones always seem to have dead batteries when I need them.  I keep one in my purse and that style always gets turned on accidentally, then they are useless when I need one.

 

The latest house that is coming up behind us is now bricked.  It sits between our house and Lovely Neighbor's.  Bill noticed yesterday that the bricklayers could see inside our dining room windows without a problem, so he closed up the blinds.  But that means that anybody that moves into that house will also be able to see inside our house.  We were afraid that was going to happen.  I think we're going to put a mini-blind in the big window in the living room, the one that looks out into our back yard.  It currently has sheer curtains and regular curtains, but I think we'll be putting miniblinds in soon.  The house behind us isn't able to see straight into that window, but they can see in the bedroom window so it will probably be getting miniblinds at some point but for now the bedroom window is fine because of the curtains I have in there.

 

It was so much nicer when the only neighbors we had behind us had 4-feet and said Moo!

 

We took the middle leaf out of the table today.  It's now round and much smaller.  Otter wasn't sure it would be big enough, but it works fine.  It's not completely centered underneath the light in the dining room anymore, but we still have plenty of light.  And Frasier doesn't have as much of a target to run into, when he zooms into the kitchen from the dog door and midjudges the  curve he needs to take into the livingroom!

 

Otter and I ran off yesterday.  We went to several antique-ish stores, Froggy I think you've been to all of them.  I didn't find a thing, but Otter found a lot.  It was still fun.  We went to the booth store and put a few more things in the booth, then we shopped there as well.  There are still several more shot glasses to go up there and I have a set of bookends to take.  I'll probably do that tomorrow.

 

OK, Froggy.  Now you are updated!

Still Here

Just been busy!

 

But Froggy will get after me if I don't blog, so here goes:

 

It's Wednesday.  Wine Wednesday at least!  But not Whine Wednesday at any rate.

 

We sold a pachinko machine at the booth!  The buyer saw the craigslist ad and contacted Bill about a couple of machines he had that he wanted restored.  One machine was pretty far gone, it is what we call a "parts machine" and the other one was in decent shape but it did need a few things and the restoration would have been major.  So, since he was looking at spending mucho $$ he went to the booth and decided he wanted to just buy an already restored machine.  Bill worked a deal with him on a discounted price for the machine at the booth and he took the two machines the buyer had in trade.

 

I took a few more shot glasses up to the booth today, as well as a couple of other things.  I don't think anything has sold since Sunday, when we took more stuff up there.  But at least one machine did sell.

 

I put several pieces of yarn out for the birds yesterday, both front and back yard.  I haven't seen any birds out today, unless you count the geese I saw at work.  One was standing in the grassy area across the street this morning - honking his head off at nothing!  Later, there were two geese just walking down the street when I came back from lunch.

 

OK, Froggy.  I blogged.  Happy?  :)

Signs of Spring

OK, so it's not officially Spring for a few more days.  But today was a beautiful day and very much "Spring."

 

The birds seem to agree.  I saw robins gathering nesting material.  Time to get my yarn scraps out!  I have a Ziploc sandwich bag full of bits and pieces of yarn from assorted projects from the Fall and Winter.  It's short pieces, but some of them may need to be cut shorter.  Also, some of them may be pulled apart into several strands.  Then it gets spread out all over the yard and the birds grab it for nesting material.  I also head several mockingbirds.

 

The tulips are coming up!  There are a bunch of them, I forget how many we planted but Otter thinks it was over 100.  It's on the blog somewhere, it would be in an entry from last Fall.

 

We watered the tulip bed, the baby blue in the whiskey barrel, both elm trees and the mimosa tree.  We're using water from the 2nd rain barrel.  When that barrel froze (several times) it bulged out on the sides and bottom which made it heavy.  The ground was soft and the weight of a frozen rain barrel made the stand it was on settle a bit, but it settled unevenly and the rain barrel is not level anymore.  It's also just barely underneath the drain spout.  It's going to have to be taken down from the stand and then the ground underneath where it sits will need to be re-leveled.  The rain barrel needs to be empty or close to empty to be able to take it off the stand.  We really don't want to waste the water, so we've been using it when we need to water anything. Otter saw a tiny spider climbing up the side of the stand the rain barrel sits on.  I've seen a few other misc. bugs.

 

I think the dogsters are also enjoying the nice weather.  They've been very playful, especially Magginator.  Frasier is very happy and bouncy, and very affectionate.  They both got some outside time in the back yard this afternoon when we were getting the water.  Maggie did NOT get under the shed this time.  However, she did spend a lot of time tracking something around the area in front of the shed.  Frasier was also tracking something, but he was closer to the fence at the front of the yard and he kept going back and forth.  I'm thinking cat!

 

Dog's Beffday is Wednesday.  In honor of Mom and her love of/for animals, which she taught to her children and grandchildren.  I'm thinking we're going to make homemade ice cream (for us) to remember Mom by.  The dogs will get milkbones!  They probably already think they had their Beffday feast - I made a salad for dinner tonight and they went nutso the second they realized that the lettuce container was out of the fridge.  They got a bite or two each, and they also got a small piece of carrot each.  They were all sorts of happy!

Think I'm Just About There

Yesterday was the first day I've felt good, really good all day, in somewhere around a month.  It was nice!  I feel pretty good today, too.  I think I'm pretty much recovered from The Bug.

 

I have to be careful not to overdo it; yesterday was a little boring at times since I didn't want to do to much and exhaust myself.  So, I cooked!  I made a pot of crock pot soup, beanie-weenie surprise for the freezer (Bill's lunches) and cookies.  The cookies were from a roll of slice and bake but it should have been named "bake and disappear" because that is what happened to them.  Frasier helped me take it easy, every time I sat down he would appear and lean on me until I petted him.  At one point, he more or less melted to the floor where he stayed for a very long time - purring!

 

Otter is off next Saturday, so she and I are going shopping Saturday morning.  We're going to a few antique-ish stores we don't get to very often.  She's off with J at the moment, she wanted a ride today to meet him at the mall so I took her.  I'll go pick her up in a couple of hours, it might be getting dark about that time so I am going to take Bill's car since I didn't get the headlight repaired on mine last week as that was the day I stayed home and rested.  I'll call Chevy to get the oil change rescheduled and get the headlight replaced then.  Then I'll take Bill's Impala in for an oil change and tire rotation the next day, if they have an appointment open early.  I like to get the 7:00 a.m. slot, they can usually get the work done and I can get to work on time.  They do have a shuttle to get people where they need to be, I just prefer to get it done quickly and then have the car without having to get them to pick me back up.

 

Bill has been happily boxing up Aripachi machines.  They are similar to pachinko machines and he got a lot of them in the inventory he bought from SA last summer.  He's been selling then on eBay and he's got someone who wants to buy the last few he's got left, so there are large boxes all over the house and each one has an Aripachi machine in it.

 

We went to the booth this afternoon.  Bill's been listing the booth on craigslist as well as on his website.  Someone that has had Bill work on pachinko machines wanted one, so Bill told him to go look at the ones we have at the booth.  He and Bill spoke earlier and they made a deal on one of the machines at the booth.  Finally!  Bill cleaned out the Useless Collection (shot glasses) yesterday.  He's keeping several of them, some of them are being donated and quite a few will be put in the booth.  We took a few things up there today and I put 10 shot glasses out.  We'll see if they sell.  I had a moonstone opalescent Fenton candle stick at the booth that I was going to bring home if it didn't sell soon.  It finally sold.  Along with a gel-filled bicycle seat that I think I used once.  I'm going to get a few more shot glasses priced and ready, and see what else I have to take up to the booth.  I'll probably do that when Bill meets the pachinko buyer there since he'll probably rearrange the pachinko machines until he gets another one ready to replace the ones that is going to be leaving.

 

I'm not sure if I mentioned it before or not, but the dryer keeps eating things.  There is one spot where stuff sometimes gets caught, it's right at the top near the door.  Bill looked at it today (because I finally remembered to leave the caught item there for him so he could see exactly where it was caught at!) and he thinks he knows what the problem is.  There are two components to the barrel piece and he found them online.  One is a felt piece that fits underneath it and helps the barrel stay in place.  The other piece is plastic and fits on top of the barrel at the door.  He's thinking that maybe the barrel has not been revolving as fast as it should be, hopefully the repair will help with that and maybe it will be quicker to get the laundry dry.

 

Froggy, I have been working on my "projects" for you.  One is nearly finished, I think it probably just needs a couple of finishing touches.  The other two are half-way there, they are crochet and I have not had a lot of time to work on them.  I didn't want to attempt them when I didn't feel good recently, they involve counting stitches.  I think I'll get them done this week, they won't take that long.  Also, Otter has finally decided she wants a poncho.  Similar to the triangular shawls in style, but not open in the front.  I have a few patterns, she just needs to look through them and pick the one she wants.  Then, we get to go buy yarn!  Because it never fails, I get a project and I don't have the right yarn.

 

Not that I'm complaining about having to buy more yarn.  Ever.

Finally

It's Friday!

I Hate Sinus Infections!

I am still having issues.  I managed to make it to work Tuesday, which I mentioned.  Yesterday, (Wednesday), I didn't even try.  I woke up tired and knew Resistance (to resting) would be Futile.  Other than going out on the front porch to get the paper, I didn't leave the house at all.  I mostly just rested, I napped a little bit and took it easy.  Otter was off with a friend of hers, so I had a very quiet house until Billyboy got home from work around 5:00 ish.

I was beginning to get concerned that maybe it was time to go back to the doctor but then I remembered that this is exactly how sinus infections used to affect me.  The ones I had frequently when I was a kid that eventually led to the rhinoplasty when I was 16 to rebuild my sinuses.

 

I did manage to make it to work today, I had high hopes that I might make it past noon!  Younger boss said that I looked like I felt better than the last time he saw me, which was Tuesday.  I felt pretty good and got a lot done.  Until about 11:00, when I crashed.  Bill and I already had plans to meet for lunch at the Chinese place, we did that about 11:40 and then I went home.  I did have one errand, which involved the booth.

 

We've made a few changes at/with/about the booth.  The booth next to ours came available this week.  We talked to the owner of the mall and he gave us a discount on renting it as well as the original space.  We originally were going to try it for 3 months and see what happens, and we have had sales but not that much.  However, we started the booth right after Christmas and right before Tax Season - spectacular timing, huh?!  We really didn't have room for all the pachiko machines and the misc. stuff that Otter and I have.  So, we decided to take over the next space and expand our booth.  We're also going to keep it a few more months longer than planned and see what happens.  I've unearthed a few things in my cleaning out efforts lately and several are things that would potentially sell at the booth.  I picked Otter up from work this afternoon and we met Bill at the antique mall.  We (OK, mostly Bill!) rearranged the machines and moved the shelves around.  Then Otter and I put everything back on the shelves.  I took a few things up there and I still have a few other things.  Bill's thinking he might clean out the Useless Collection (the shot glasses) and see about putting a few of them in the booth as well.

 

I was sitting on the couch this afternoon, thinning the herd of crochet hooks, and I noticed that Maggie Moo was just sitting underneath the coffee table.  Just sitting there.  She was just chilling, and she looked like she was enjoying it.  Silly little derpy baby!

There is a reason we like Derpy Hooves!  She reminds us of Maggie Moo!

March 6, 1836

178 Years

I Thought I Could, I Thought I Could...

Make it to work today and last the day.  I got the first part down easily, the roads were bad in the neighborhood but good outside and there wasn't much traffic.  I bribed Otter into taking two birdfeeders out for me - she works cheap, I offered her something warm to drink at the convenience store by her store but we were earlier than I thought we'd be so it became hash browns and something caffeinated to drink at McDonald's instead.

 

The second part wasn't quite to easy!  I made it until 11:30, but I probably should have left at least 30 minutes before that.  EXHAUSTED!

 

Otter was supposed to get off at 1:00 and Bill was going to pick her up, but she didn't expect them to be busy and there was a chance she'd get off early.  So, her instructions were to call me first since he almost never actually remembers to turn on his cell phone when he's at home and I would call him if she couldn't get him.  She called me just after I left, she was going to get off at noon.  So I went and got her, then we stopped at Little Ceasar's for lunch/dinner on the way home.  Too tired to cook today.

 

I've been mostly taking it easy, I am feeling better but I am extremely tired.  My Younger Boss said he didn't think I'd last as long as I did and that I should have left sooner.  I'll play it by ear tomorrow.  The Teenager called me this afternoon and reminded me that I was sick for 2 - 3 weeks, and that it is natural that it might take me a while to recover.

 

I'm hoping to stay longer tomorrow and I might manage to get the grocery shopping trip done after work - or maybe not!  Otter's off tomorrow, but she's going to be running around with one of her friends.

 

Bill was off today as well as yesterday, he's been working on pachinko-related projects most of the day.  We did have one errand, he took a machine to the booth and I went with him.  I pulled a few things out and put the new stuff in that I came up with over the weekend.  We did have some sales last month, it looks like they were all in the last week of the month.  That was a fairly easy trip, it took maybe 5 minutes total inside the antique mall.  About half of the sales were Bill's, Otter sold one of her pony necklaces and the rest of it was mine.  Froggy, my proceeds went into my Fun Stuff Fund - which will come in handy in June.

 

I mentioned pizza.  I bought extra and also cheesy breadsticks, with the idea of getting 2 meals out of it.  Lunch was pretty good, and it was even better because I didn't have to cook!  If anybody ever gets ready for supper, they know where and what it is.

 

My neck is much better today, I was able to sleep in a comfortable position last night.  It's still a bit twingy but I'm able to move it a lot more than yesterday at least.

Road Warriors

The snow and ice were still with us when we got up, which is what we expected.  Bill's employer announced yesterday that they were closed so he knew in advance that he wouldn't be going in today.  I was thinking I might attempt it, until we turned on the tv this morning and saw just how bad the road conditions actually were.  Otter was scheduled for work today, 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. and since she works so close she wanted to try.  Bill took her, when they left he was going to see how it actually was but said that they might be turning around and coming back home.  It took them close to 40 minutes, as opposed to about 10 normally.  When he got home, he said that the road conditions were really bad.  If she'd worked any further away, he wouldn't have tried and she'd have called in.  We are kind of at the far edge of our small town and the road crews almost never actually get to us so we weren't surprised at the fact that the roads were so bad.

 

I decided to go with Bill when he got her at 1:00.  Amazingly, the plows had been out by us and the road outside of the neighborhood had been cleared!  I think that is maybe only the 2nd time since we moved here 9 years ago?  My thought was that I needed to know where any potential issues would be since I am going to try to go in tomorrow, but now I don't anticipate any problems.  Once I get out of the neighborhood, that is!  There are still spots but in general the roads are decent.  There is still a lot of water on the roads, ice that has melted from cars driving over it, but it was sunny today even though it was in the low teens.  We could see steam rising from the street in some places.

 

We stopped at Subway (across the street from Otter's store) and got lunch to bring home.  We originally had planned to take some stuff to the booth today, but that has been put off.  Possibly tomorrow.  However, Bill's employer is closed tomorrow and he might go to the booth in the morning.  I'll take Otter to work, he'll pick her up.

 

It's probably not a bad thing that I didn't go in to work today.  I am still coughing some, not as bad but still quite a bit.  I've had asthma issues related to the bug, and the cold air would have been very B.A.D. for my lungs this morning - Bill wouldn't let me go outside even to get the paper.  It will still be cold in the morning, we'll be in the low teens tonight and possibly single digits.  But I'll be able to go straight from the front door to a warmed up car and should be able to get into the office without too much cold air exposure.  I have some stuff to take the booth, I'll probably do that after work.  Bill's going to take another pachinko machine, but I'm going to remove a couple of things and add several other things that I unearthed over the weekend while I was looking for something else.

 

The something else I was looking for is a cast-iron match holder that belonged to Mom.  I found it eventually (it was in a drawer in the kitchen), but I also found several other things that I didn't even realize I/we still had.  I found a beautiful small vase that had been Mom's, it's in the china cabinet.  I found the homemade nutcracker that belonged to Dad, it's on the corner plant stand that now holds some of my kitchen décor.  But we also found some misc. stuff to put in the booth.  Including two plastic bento-style lunch boxes that Otter used in high school, a vase I've had since I left my job in TEXAS and never actually needed/wanted/had a place for, Bill had two shot-glass games:  checkers and bingo.  There are a few other things, I just can't remember what they are at the moment.  But there are two bags full of stuff to take tomorrow.  I think the booth store was closed today anyway, due to the weather.

 

I did get a little bit done around the house today, I had a wooden trash can in our bathroom that was originally painted pinkish with flower stickers on it.  I changed that décor scheme a few years back and started to paint the trash can a green color with the idea of bluebonnet stickers, but I never could find any and forgot about the trash can.  Until the other day, when I found it again.  I got some darker green paint at Michael's when we went on Saturday night and painted a vine, then used 2 shades of pinkish red and made dot flowers.  Today, I hit it with varnish and called it good.  It's back in the bathroom, and the broken plastic trash can that was in there has been put IN the trash.

 

(Bill was trying to find the remote control to the tv just now, he grabbed my mouse by mistake and I thought my computer was going crazy.  There may be typos here but they are not my fault!)

 

Maggie Moo just emerged from her spot at my feet - under the blanket.  Now, she's stretched out again and probably about to take another nap but this time she's on top of the blanket.  Both doggies have spent a lot of time in front of the fireplace, when they aren't on/under assorted blankets that is!  OK, Maggie is now snoring at my feet.

Sunday Nesting

I'm back in my corner of the couch, where I spent most of the last 2 weeks.  But this time it's because Winter has shown up again.  It was supposed to start snowing and/or sleeting late yesterday afternoon but it was slow.

 

Otter worked yesterday, she got home around 12:45 or so and promptly took a nap.  I tried to, but I never quite got there.  We watched the movie we rented, Thor 2, then decided that we'd better go ahead and return it to the video store last night even though we rented it through today.  Just in case we weren't able to get out today.  I needed something from Michael's, so Otter and I headed up there about 6:00 p.m. and we dropped the movie off at the same time.  Still no bad weather, but the temperature was dropping rapidly.  By the time we got home, it was much colder.

The movie was pretty good, by the way.  It was a little overdramatic, but it's supposed to be so it worked.

 

Frasier woke me up at 4:45 this morning, I let them out but did not feed them.  He's gotten into the habit of barking around 5:00 when we normally get out, but he's slowly starting to wake up earlier and barking for breakfast.  I'm going to break him of that habit.  When he chirped this morning, I got up and let them out but didn't feed them.  I went back to bed.  Bill got up sometime after that and he fed them, but it was closer to 5:30 which is their normal time to be fed.  I went back to sleep until around 7:15, it was not snowing then and it didn't look like anything.

 

I went out to get the paper about 7:30 or so, it was just starting to snow then.  It's been snowing all day and there has been sleet mixed in.  It's really cold.  We've had a fire going all day and we've decided that Bill is going to get more firewood from the lumberyard as soon as he sees it next summer.  Otter's plans were changed, she was going to one of her friend's houses today but they've rescheduled that for later in the week when it's not winterish.  It's been thundering off and on today, thunder snows are fun but today we've also had thunder sleet!

 

I've spent most of my day on the couch and frequently with the heating pad on my neck.  I gave myself a crick in the neck last night, my hair was in my face and I shook my head to get it out of the way - and my neck felt tight immediately.  It didn't really bother me last night, but it felt tight when I woke up the first time.  When I actually got up, it was pretty painful and the muscles were pretty tight.  I've been using the heating pad and motrin, it's not horrible but that doesn't mean I like it!

 

I have done a couple of loads of laundry and also a little misc. crafting.  Froggy, not telling!

 

Other than barking this morning, Frasier has been pretty lazy today.  I think it's the weather!  Maggie Moo has been just as unenergetic as her big brother.  Except that Maggie Moo actually managed to get lost underneath the blanket she was snoozing under.  Couldn't find her way out!  She's done that a couple of times.  She's not the sharpest tool in the shed by any stretch of the imagination!  Frasier gets up every so often, stretches and then rearranges himself for another nap.

Wish he'd go get that groundhog!