Sunday Ketchup! (Volume 23409123891439872509)

It's been a busy week, the last couple of days especially.  Well, not yesterday so much although I did do a few things around the house.

 

We (we, being Bill) got the honeysuckle plants in the ground as I mentioned but we still needed a couple more.  So, Otter and I went to the nursery and got two more today.  Along with several coleus plants (Mom loved them) which I'll put in the fountain-turned-planter that's in the rock garden and Otter got a few herbs and 2 jalapeno plants.  The nursery has several resident animals, including a really cute little Papillion dog.  He's adorable and he pretty much thinks he's in charge.  He's always happy to see people and more than willing to get petted.  But he's a little calm, he won't usually go to people but instead waits for them to come go him - which always happens and he knows that he'll be the center of attention so he waits patiently.  Until Otter got there today - this dog has never seen her before.   But she walks in the door, his head pops up and his ears are suddenly up at attention and he runs to her so fast that I'm not entirely sure his feet were even on the floor.  He acted like she was his long-lost best friend and he was absolutely overjoyed to see her, no other word for it.  Froggy, remember Dad's gift with animals (especially dogs)?  Otter has always had a way with animals, especially dogs.  But I've never seen it quite so spectacularly as I did today.  I have a feeling that Dad would be so happy.  Otter was thrilled.

 

The resident chickens were also walking around the outdoor plants area, doing their pest-control thing and they looked quite happy (and well-fed!)  The cats were nowhere in the vicinity, they might not have been there today but the huge birdcage with parakeets and a cockatiel was loudly chirping!

 

I split another baby aloe vera off of the mail plant yesterday and transplanted it, I now have a plant hanging in all three windows in the dining room and it looks good.  There is still another aloe vera baby and I'll get it transplanted into another pot soon, probably tomorrow.  The two honeysuckle we bought today will get planted tomorrow.  It was in the low 90's today and nobody wanted to go outside again.

 

Otter's been having allergy issues all afternoon, which probably has a lot to do with the fact that we were at the nursery today for a long time and it's also windy.  We went to Wallyworld this afternoon (for more potting soil) and I got her more claritan.  She was just about out of the box she had, and she's going to be needing them a lot in the next few weeks as everything is blooming.  She's been taking them for a few days anyway, she's been having some minor (for her, anyway) allergies lately.

 

We also went to a couple of thrift stores today.  We both found books, Otter found some ponies to refurbish and I found a stuffed otter toy.  They always come home with us!  We went by the booth as well, just to neaten it up and I think a couple of things have been sold.

 

Bill's just about over the cold but he still insists it was allergies.  NOT!  But he is much better.  We didn't go to church this morning, he was still to congested and coughing a bit.  I woke up with my back hurting, I don't remember what I did but I remember doing something last week and it hurt a bit afterwards.  I had a slight back spasm on Friday but it was fine after that.  But I apparently slept in an odd position last night because I woke up with very tight muscles.  I woke up because a certain large, furry dog was barky but it was 5:45 and they are normally let out to visit the grass about 5:00 and fed about 5:30 so I'm not mad at him.  I got up, let them out and filled their food bowls and then I went back to lie down for a while because my back was twingy.  I thought I'd just rest for a while, but the next thing I knew was when I woke up shortly after 7:00.  Bill was up by that point.  Since we didn't make it to church, I had time to make waffles for breakfast.  There are several extra, I make enough to have leftovers when I make them.  They get popped into the toaster and eaten the next day or so.

 

I have a prayer request.  My sisterfriend Virginia has custody of her three grandchildren.  Her late daughter's kids.  Their father basically disappeared from their lives within just a couple of months after Sarah died.  Then Virginia lost her husband unexpectedly and she's the only "parent" these children have really ever known.  There is a very strong chanced that the 2nd child, a little boy, is bi-polar.  As in the mental illness.  He's in elementary school and the symptoms are there and they are strong.  He has been in counseling because the thought was that he was just being a bratty little boy and acting out, but it's obvious now that it could well be much, much more serious.  She's going to talk to his doctor and the insurance company tomorrow, and see if she can get him in to a doctor that can either confirm or rule out a diagnoses and hopefully, help him.  I'll refer to him as "Little J" here.  He is so young but it is very possible.  She's at her wit's end, she just wants to get help for him.