Pachinko Room Progress Report, Day One

Actually, we had already started some of the project before today but today was the first day we really had time to get a lot done.  I moved my desk out from where it was at to a temporary spot in the office room, vacuumed several places and got a lot of Bill's stuff on the shelves in the closet.  When Bill got home after work today, we moved his desk to where mine was originally, then I moved my desk from the temporary spot to where his had been.  Bill moved the 2-drawer wooden filing cabinet we have in there.  We moved the plastic milk crate cabinet, I vacuumed and dusted, we rearranged quite a bit of stuff, cleaned out some stuff to donate and Bill also moved the wireless modem box which is now attached to the wall.  There is still some work to be done in there, but mainly it's things like the several weeks worth of filing I have to do and some work on the shelves.  But mostly we are done with the big stuff, Bill's about 3/4 of the way through with a restoration project and he's going to finish it before he moves the actual machines, tools, parts and 2 plastic drawer units back there.  He's at a point where the restoration project can't really be moved - too many parts that can be lost, and it's a commissioned job (not his machine in other words) so it's not worth taking a chance.  But the light is at the end of the tunnel and it's very bright!

 

Otter had to be in at 5:30 this morning, Monday is Truck Day and she's part of inventory control now.  She also out-worked most of the male truck crew; 2 of them basically did everything they could NOT to do their actual jobs - which she'll probably mention to someone.  She was supposed to get off at 1:30, but about 12:45 her boss told her to go home and get some rest because she was obviously tired and he knew how hard she'd been working.

 

I got up with Otter at 4:30, Bill got up at 5:00 and she left about 5:15.  He left at 6:00.  And about 10 minute after that, I went back to bed!  Actually, I went to the couch and not actually to bed, but I got about another hour and a half of sleep - after I had a visit from a very large, furry dog who was overjoyed that "mama" was there.  Frasier eventually decided it was ok to lie down and then Maggie Moo discovered my presence on the couch.  So it was probably closer to 6:30 when I fell asleep, after I'd decided that I might not be going back to sleep because of the poochsters.  When I woke up, they were both snoozing right beside the couch.

 

Along with the work in the office/pachinko room today, I also did some housecleaning.  The kitchen floor gets regular sweeping, but Fraiser is fluffy and he sheds so much in the spring and summer.  He's had a couple of brushings, I tackled him either yesterday or Saturday afternoon and brushed the bejeebers out of him.  Filled up a plastic grocery store bag with fluff from him and there is still more!  He looks very sleek now, he loves the brushing out but he still had a lot that he was shedding and it seems to all collect on the kitchen floor for some reason.  I did a few loads of laundry and vacuumed the house in general.  I also watered Otter's crop of jalepenos, mint and rosemary out on the back deck and then I refilled my watering can from the rain barrel because I'm eventually going to transplant the wandering jew.  I bought a larger plastic pot for it, but I'm not really sure if it's going to be big enough.

 

After Otter got home, she took a shower and relaxed for a little while.  Then we went to Wallyworld.  I bought Bill a new pair of pj bottoms, he seems to go through them at a fast rate for some reason.  We picked out Captain America pj's for him this time!  It's just the emblem on one leg and the words Captain America, but he thought it was funny which is what we were going for.

 

Before we went to Wallyworld, in fact when Otter got home, we had to take care of a wasp nest at the front door.  Literally right beside the doorbell.  Normally, we wait until dusk when they are all heading for home but we couldn't wait this time.  Otter was almost not able to get in the door, they seemed to view her as a threat just by her presence.  She got in, quickly, and then she brought me the spray.  I got one of them, the other one just barely managed to get away from the spray stream.  He got splashed with it, and he was flying wonky but he did fly away.  I made sure the first one was actually dead, then I got my rain-filled watering can and washed the dead one and the spray overshoot from the porch.  And that's when the first little beastie came back!  And tried to get me as I was going back in the door.  Otter brought me the spray again, and this time I got him.  With a lot of spray, I was taking no chances with this one - he was obviously aggressive and mad.  So, I rinsed the porch off again, along with the doorbell and a small plaque we have above the doorbell since I sprayed a lot and all over the place to be sure I got the 2nd one.  When we were leaving to go to Wallyworld, there was another one out there but we think he was a scout from elsewhere because he was gone when we got home and he didn't show up again as far as we can tell.  I'm calling them wasps, but they might well have actually been small hornets - small being a relative term!  Wasps are somewhat aggressive, but not like these two were.  We will watch for any returning but we think that the two were probably the only ones starting this particular nest. 

 

Otter did some sewing this afternoon, she's been working on her cosplay clothing for TNT.  It's fairly detailed this time.  She needs several different colors of felt for some of the decoration, we will probably hit a craft store in the next few days and it may well be Hobby Lobby.

 

We're so thrilled with the SCOTUS and decision they made today.  The issue is not about birth control, it is about the government not having the right to tell a PRIVATE, FAMILY OWNED business how it can or cannot operate.  The government simply does not have that right.

 

OK, cake time!  Otter made a lemon cake yesterday (or maybe Saturday) and I think I need to go keep it from getting lonely.

The Countdown Has Ended!!!

As of 3:30 p.m. last Friday, I'm officially on vacation.  And I'm going to enjoy it.

 

Even if my main focus is working on getting the Pachinko room/office conversion done.  I've cleared out all my stuff from the office, including everything that was in the closet.  I vacuumed behind/underneath my desk and also in the closet.  Bill moved a specific, very tall pachinko machine into the closet and my desk will maybe be moved to where it was at.  He'll be rearranging all the furniture in there, I'll vacuum as he does so.  He may have to do a little re-wiring in there, I'm not sure.  The 5 machines that are currently all over the living room will be moved, but one of them is actually being restored now and he's going to finish that one before he moves the rest of them.  It's in various pieces and it would be difficult to move it as it is, for fear of losing pieces and it's a restoration job for someone else.  Of the remaining 4, I think one is his that he bought last week and the other three are restoration/cleaning jobs but they won't be started until he's finished with the current one and NOT in the living room.

 

Otter and I went by her store earlier today and got the tarp he wanted, he's going to move his desk to where mine currently sits.  His desk will be beside the wooden filing cabinet, the tarp will cover both and that will be his new work bench.  We have a really interesting shelf-ish contraption made out of old plastic milk crates with a plywood top, it's used to store envelopes and misc. office supplies.  It might be moved to where the tall pachinko was, instead of my desk and it will hold the printer and scanner.  My desk will, if not moved to where the tall machine was, be moved to where his desk currently sits and that is the one he'll use for his computer and actual office/website work no matter where it lands.  He will have quite a bit of room to actually work, and the desk/filing cabinet will give him a larger workspace than he currently has in the living room on top of the sofa table.  His desk is pretty big.  There is also a shelf on the wall behind where my desk is now, his small plastic 3-drawer units that he uses for small pieces like screws, pins, etc., are on the shelf now.  He had 4 and he needed 6 more.  Otter and I went shopping this morning and found those for him.  He's got them all filled and labeled.

 

He has two tall plastic drawer units like I have my yarn in, I think I've shows pictures of the yarn stash before.  They are currently beside the sofa table in the living room, they will be moved to the office as soon as he gets through with the current restoration job.  They have things like larger tools, paintbrushes, glue, etc. as well as pachinko machine parts.

 

I'm not sure exactly what my next step in there is, I may have to wait until the rest of the furniture is actually moved before I can do anything else.  Mostly, I am running the vacuum in there and dusting as needed.  After all the junk, crud, pachinko stuff is moved out of the living room, I'm moving all three of my yarn drawers into the spot where his currently sit.  The sofa table will be moved a couple of feet, but all three of my drawers will fit where he has two sitting at the moment.  I am going to see what I can do about reorganizing my stash, it was organized but it was almost impossible to get to it when I needed yarn while it was in the closet.  So, I've been stuffing yarn in whatever drawer I could actually get to and open without having to move Bill's shipping supplies out of the way.  I need to get it back in order, it's really bugging the Borg Queen not to be organized!  I'm also thinking I might clean out a little, I have some yarn in particular that I don't think I'll ever use and I'll probably donate it.  I have a lot of really nice yarn that I bought in TEXAS recently, as well as yarn I bought in the last few months.  I am still going to use "regular" yarn for many projects, but I'm starting to use "better" yarns more often.  I have my "regular" yarn sorted into several drawers, my "slightly better" yarn and then my "really good and expensive" yarns together.  I also have several tote bags and some of them have yarn in them.  Some of them are just spare tote bags because I always need one for something, or Otter does.  I have some sewing supplies in with my stuff, some of it is Otter's (OK, a lot of it is Otter's) and I also have a collection of hooks.  I use most of them, they aren't very big and are in a metal "lunchbox" style container that I got in TEXAS a few years back.  But none of that is nearly as big as the pile of stuff Bill has in the living room, and of course the Borg Queen is always organized-to-the-point-of-obsession!

 

Bill mowed the yard first thing this morning, I got busy with my tree trimming tool and tackled the two trees in the front yard that were beginning to resemble bushes due to the limblets growing up from the bases.  We discovered that there are two evildenizensofhell attempting to start a nest on the front porch overhang, just outside the front door.  They will be dealt with tonight.

 

This is the last Sunday of the month, we usually do something fun as a family.  Sometimes we just go eat somewhere, which is what we decided to do this time.  We went to Goldie's.  Last month, we had intended to go to Goldie's and we completely forgot!  So, we made sure we remembered today.  We never actually had breakfast, Bill and I split a bagel and Otter had a roll.  So, we were pretty hungry by the time Goldie's opened at 11:00.  They had a huge group just ahead of us, 35 people - however, their grill only holds 30 items at a time so it took a while to get them served and then to get out food cooked.  It was pretty good, though.  We don't eat a lot of greasy food like that often, and it's going to be a while until we have it again.

 

As far as plans for the week, the main focus is going to be getting all the Pachinko stuff moved and not much else.  Bill's going to finish up the machine he's working on now and after he gets everything moved, because I won't let him start another one until then and won't let him stall despite his best attempts, he'll see about starting on the next machine in line.  Otter and I are thinking that we might actually get to go to the zoo, which we've been trying to do for ages, and J is going with us.  Possibly, we might run off and do a little shopping/antiquing/thrifting at various times.  But we aren't planning anything much other than that.  We might make pizza one day this week, possibly Friday.

 

Also, Otter has given me extremely strict instructions:  On Friday evening, even if she is deathly ill, I am to find something to lean her against in the back yard and duct tape her hand around a sparkler or two.  Then after I've lit the sparkler and it's run out, I can toss her back in her bed.  (This is a joke, she has a history of being sick on holidays for some reason and she had a major-league migraine hit her last July 4th so her fireworks never got used and we kept them for this year).  Although Bill did say that he's willing to pick her up and toss her over his shoulder, if she wants him to carry her anywhere!

Almost There!.

Only one more day.  Just one more work day until I have a 9-day weekend.  And I can't wait!

 

Today was Crazy Day.  It usually happens about Tuesday or Wednesday of the week prior to vacation.  This week, it was a little late.  But it still happened!  And it lived up to it's name.  But the Teenager wasn't the crazed one today, it was Younger Boss.  Teenager was fine, he was firing on all cylinders and kind of outran everybody else.  Younger Boss?  Well, he kind of lost his mind today.  As a result, I had to take off my Secretary/Office Manager hat and put on my Babysitter/Zookeeper hat.

 

But there is only one more day, and Friday is usually not the worst day before vacation.  By Friday, they've usually realized the inevitability of me being gone for a week and have started to deal with it.  I have been well beyond caught up for days now, in anticipation of Crazy Week.  I'm usually caught up anyway, I just am "more so" at this point.  I'm sure that there will be a few minor fires to be put out tomorrow, I just hope that they are only minor and not 5-alarm!

 

Bill wants a type of canvas tarp to put over the desk in the office-about-to-be-turned-into-the-pachinko-workroom.  He thought he'd have to go to a paint supply store for the kind he wanted, but Otter does work at a tool store after all.  She thought they might have some, so I went to check on them before I hit the grocery store.  The grocery store is in the same shopping center as her store.  She was putting up new price tags when I got there, she directed me to the tarps and they have exactly what he wants.  I didn't get one, I wasn't sure of the size and they have two types:  canvas and poly-backed canvas.  I didn't know for sure what kind he wants, he thinks he probably wants the plain canvas tarp.  We might get up there Sunday afternoon and buy one.  We won't have time until then.

 

The grocery store wasn't too bad.  I was in and out in about 40 minutes and I bought a lot.  A LOT.  We'll be home next week and I (maybe) will be cooking more.  Of course, the last vacation (last CHRISTmas) I didn't actually cook all that much.  We are possibly going to make pizzas one day next week, but I didn't get fixins* for that yet since that won't be determined until next week.  But, I did buy biscuits-gravy-sausage and also pancake mix (Pioneer brand of course!) and syrup.  And taco fixins* for tomorrow night.  Tacos will go well with the pina coladas I've requested Bill make tomorrow.

 

Bill needed a clock for the garage.  He keeps taking the clock out of the laundry room and then I have no idea what time it is when I'm ironing clothes to wear to work.  I got tired of my clock constantly running away so I bought him a new clock at Wallyworld today.  He wanted an electric wall clock.  But I discovered that not even the biggest, fanciest clock available is electric.  Seems strange to me.  But I think a battery operated clock is better for Bill's needs anyway.  He's going to move it constantly anyway...

 

The car seems to be fine, no sign of leaking oil.  I think I'll get the brakes done next month, more or less, depending on when it's ready for the next oil change.  But the Rack system work is going to wait.

 

Time to go surf the 'net now!

 

*Fixins.  See many posts with TEXAS language information.

Expensive Day

Although not as expensive as it could have been, the Chevy service manager gave me a huge discount and saved us a couple of hundred on the repair.  But the car is fixed, the oil leak is now history.  The rack system is still leaking, but not much and will wait for a while.  However, it is going to need new brakes soon and the rotors will have to be replaced this time.  That is at least normal maintenance.  Which is nice, for a change.  The brake work will need to be done fairly soon, like within a couple of months or so, but it can wait a little while.  I don't really want to wait long, possibly next month.

 

I talked to the service manager this morning about the previous shop and told him what the receipts said.  I also told him who the shop was when I showed him the receipts for the work this afternoon when I picked up my car, and he more or less said that he'd heard other complaints about them.  I told him some of the stuff we'd had to deal with and that the mechanic had lied to me more than once - and I also told him that the joke about the red hair being a warning for the temper is not really a joke, and that the other shop's mechanic learned that the hard way!

 

Bill took me in to work this morning, I got there about 6:30.  I took the laptop with me so I could check my email, then I got out my hook & yarn.  Froggy, I put about a row and a half on the blanket for Uncle Crazy this morning.  It's coming along very well.  I'm very pleased with it.  Of course, by 3:30 I was more than ready to get out of there!  It was actually closer to 4:00 by the time I left the office, Younger Boss took me to the Chevy and the phone kept ringing so we were delayed leaving.

 

Since it's Wednesday, I went to Wine Wednesday at the liquor store on the way home.  I also bought coconut rum, I want pina coladas!  Probably Friday, Bill has requested tacos for dinner Friday night and they'll go together just fine.  Not that it matters if they do go together or not! :)

 

I'm going to rearrange my plants in the dining room.  Well, I'm going to repot one of them anyway!  My Wandering Jew, I don't remember the actual name but that is what it's called.  It's the one I bought a couple months back and it's growing out of the hanging basket it's in.  I think I'm going to transplant it to a larger pot, but I don't think I have one big enough so I'll probably hit wallyworld in the next day or so.  The aloe vera that had babies growing (I transplanted two of the three babies) is going to become a hanging plant.  The other two babies are in the smaller side windows in the dining room, I might take the remaining baby aloe and transplant it but I'm not sure about that.  The currently hanging plant that is going to become a potted plant is going to be left indoors, at least for now.  It might get moved outside, but not at the moment.

 

3 days down, 2 to go!!!!

Ghosts of Car Repairs Past

I talked to Chevy today.  The car is not ready, but I'm not really surprised.  It should be ready tomorrow.  The service manager told me something interesting that the mechanic discovered:  a leak in the rack, which is part of the power steering system.  He specifically asked me if I'd ever had that part repaired or replaced, which tells me that he suspected something.  I know what he suspected.  That the work was "done" before on that part.  "Done" but not actually done, possibly.

Remember the previous shop we used?  The one that we felt like they were a) manufacturing issues as well as b) possibly not actually repairing work that they were paid for.  Well, I'm strongly thinking that b) might apply here.  I dug out the receipts and in 2011, the entire rack & pinion system was replaced.  Prior to that, there are estimates that state it was leaking and needed replacing.  It looks like the work was "done" and the warranty covered at least part of it.  But we still spent $1,200.00+ on that visit.  Some of it was tires, which were around $600-ish.  But the rest of it was mainly the rack & pinion replacement.  I told the chevy service manager that I'd look through my paperwork and see what was done in the past, that I was pretty sure the previous repair shop crooks had done a replacement and I'm going to see if I can fax him the paperwork tomorrow.

It's a slow leak and doesn't have to be addressed right away, we can watch the power steering fluid level and add as needed.  He thinks it can be done for around $600.  I don't think we are going to get it done right away, we're about to spend just under $900.00 on the car (the cost of the current repair, which includes the oil pan leak and another leak in the sending unit and I'm pretty sure that they are not charging me as much as they should/could) tomorrow.

We've been discussing buying another car, Otter needs Bill's impala more and more so he's been driving the White Lightning.  Which is not ideal, it is a project car but not a quick project.  Also, some of the parts are simply not available for a 1976 Chevy El Camino.  And then there is also the fact that it's a gasoline hog!  We were hoping to wait until December, when Enterprise rentals switches out their models.  That's how we've purchased the last two cars.  I'd still like to wait, but we might not.  I like the new Impalas, but I don't see too many of them on the road which is not a good sign.  The new malibus are really nice, but they are smaller.  However, I really like them and I see a lot of them so they are popular which generally means that people are happy with them.  Otter is in all probability going to get Bill's impala as her own car, it's a good starter car.  It does have issues, but we know what they are which would probably not happen if she were to buy a car elsewhere - she won't be able to afford a new car for a while anyway.  She and Bill worked out a deal, heavy negotiation around my house!  But it isn't planned to happen for a while, she's still saving her pennies.  She's getting a good deal, she just isn't quite there yet.  But Bill is going to need something other than the El Camino to drive on a daily basis, the usual thing we do is I get a new car and he gets my old one.  I drove his/her impala today, but I'm going to catch a ride in with Bill to work tomorrow.  He leaves at 6:00 a.m.!  But since my car should be ready tomorrow, it'll be ok with me to get to work about 6:30.  Otter does work tomorrow, but not until the late afternoon.  Since my car should be ready tomorrow, I don't want to take his/her impala and I think her shift starts shortly before anybody else gets home anyway.

No toad in the dog's outside water this morning.  I'm sure he'll be back, he's a regular visitor.  But there is a skeeter inside the house this evening.  I've been seeing it and have tried to slap/smash/kill it several times but it keeps getting away from me.

 

But Maggie Moo is obviously not bothered by the skeeter.  She's snoozing at my feet.  As usual!  Frasier is snoozing in front of the coffee table.  Lazy hounds!  But maybe they have the right idea.

 

2 days down, 3 to go!

1 Down. 4 To Go!

Work days until vacation, that is.  It's a stay at home vacation - I do NOT like the word "staycation" so I don't use it.  But the upshot is, I have 4 days of work left and then I have a 9 day weekend!

 

The resident toad was back this morning, "he" was hanging out in the dog's outside water dish when I refilled it.  He stayed in the water dish this time, he got out of the way of the water I was pouring but he didn't seem to be afraid.  He looks well-fed, too.  We usually move the dog's inside water dish out to the garage in the morning when they have to be outside.   They have outside water, but it gets warm and icky by the afternoon so we move their clean dish out for them.  Not that they would mind, I've seen some of the things they eat and they like to get dirty water from puddles, the plants, etc., but we like them to at least have clean water available.

 

I took the car in to Chevy this morning and left it in their hands, until Tuesday or possibly (probably) Wednesday.  They got me to work and Bill picked me up.  Otter works the afternoon shift tomorrow, so I'll take Bill's impala to work in the morning and then at lunch I'll get Otter to work.  That way, I'll have the car and a way to get to the grocery store if I decide to do that tomorrow.  I'll have to pick her up, but she gets off at 5:00 so that's not so bad.  Wednesday morning, if the car isn't back tomorrow, I'll most likely head in to work with Billyboy which means I'll be at work about 6:30!  I'll take crochet or my laptop with me, since I'll have about an hour and a half until the workday officially starts.

 

The El Camino has a problem, the driver's side window controls are not working.  Bill's been unable to find a replacement part anywhere - even on the internet!  He's got it blocked with a piece of wood so that the window doesn't fall out of the frame and shatter into a million billion pieces.  I called Chevy and talked to the service manager, he said that the labor would probably be $130 - $150.  BUT that he doesn't think the part is available anywhere.  He suggested junk yards, the internet and a few other places.  Which Bill's already checked.  We used to have the parts car, the blue El Camino.  Bill stripped it of most of the parts and then sold the body.  However, the one part he didn't get?  The window controls!

 

Froggy, I have gotten quite a bit done on Uncle Crazy's blanket.  I've gone through one skein of yarn already, and it's 21" across.  I have 4 other skeins and I'll probably use all of them.  I'll let you know when it's ready and when I ship it.

 

It rained this morning.  Then the sun came out and it got humid.  Again!

Something we strongly believe in

Now, tell me that you don't have the Reading Rainbow stuck in your head!

 

Reading Rainbow was such a quality show, it was an oasis in the desert and is very much missed.  Literacy is one of my big issues, and we are all for the return of RR.  Because, after all:

 

 

Humid Sunday

So I'm spending most of the day inside.

With my yarn, mostly.

Not ever!

 

Anyway.  It did rain a little bit this afternoon.  Just enough to make the already humid day unbearable.  Bill needed to readjust the block of wood holding the window glass in place in the driver's side window on the White Lightning.  It was sunny, but when we went outside it was raining.  But it was SUNNY at the time.

 

Otter's off with J today.  Bill's been working on a pachinko machine for someone who wanted a full restoration.  I've been doing laundry, in between crochet!  Froggy, I've gotten quite a bit done on Uncle Crazy's blanket.

 

Otter spent yesterday afternoon working on her cosplay for TNT.  She was going to make a circle skirt, she saw a tutorial online that we were going to use but it had some problems.  She put in her measurements and it came up with a pattern, but it was not written very clear so we gave up and she went to Wallyworld to see about an actual pattern.  Which is what we/she should have done in the first place!  She got the first layer cut out (it's a double skirt) and we figured out what length it will need to be.  But we got a late start on it, so we didn't get as much done as we wanted.  I say "we" but mostly my participation has been cutting out pattern pieces and helping her hold it on to see how it's going to fit.  She will be getting it done this week.  She's also going to make a blouse to go with it, she bought enough white fabric to make a full length ballgown style dress which was the original plan - same character, just a different style dress.  However, even though the skirt is smaller, it took up most of the fabric so we went to Joann's today and she got some more white fabric.

 

Frasier was a talky boy last night.  I should say this morning, to be accurate.  As in 2:15!  I hollered at him to be quiet and he did - for about 5 minutes.  Then he barked.  I went up the hallway and told him to go lay down.  Loudly!  He did, and didn't make noise again until about 4:45.  At that point, I let him out and he just about flew out the dog door.  I went back to bed at that point, I didn't wake up until around 6:15 and they were waiting patiently to be fed.  I fed them, got the coffee ready and then took it back to bed (the coffee, not the dogs!) to have with Bill.

 

Movie review:  The LEGO movie.  Otter loved it, she saw it in the theater and since she was off yesterday she got to pick the movie we watched.  It came out Friday, and that's the one she rented.  I'd been hearing a lot about how good it was.  So we were looking forward to it.  Frankly, it was probably the worst movie we've seen in years!  And that is saying something, because we have seen some absolutely awful movies.  Otter still enjoyed it, I'm glad for that.  But we didn't.  Bill's turn next Saturday, I'm not sure if there's anything out he wants to rent or not.

 

I went to the Salvation Army store in the "expensive" part of Tulsa on Friday.  This store is strange, the people who are in charge of pricing and display very seldom seem to know what they are doing.  The will usually have something that is actually worthless or worth very little displayed in the locked case with very high prices on it.  While the real "good" stuff is out on the shelves and priced at almost nothing.  I've found more than one expensive piece of Fenton for next to nothing that way.  Friday was no exception.

 

This is not the one I found, but it is one of what I found.  Mine doesn't have the sticker.  But it's in perfect condition, and it was $3.99.  While a coach purse that was so obviously fake a blind mouse could spot it from a mile off was in the locked cabinet with a price close to $200.00!  This is the same store where I found the cactus Vaseline footed compote a few years back for $2.00.  This one:

I already had one of the nappy (candy dish) pieces but I was wanting another.  However, I'd have bought it at that price even if I had a dozen.

 

I am taking the car to Chevy in the morning.  I hope that it's a 2-day job and not a 3-day repair.

 

So does Otter, otherwise I might have to drive the car she shares with Bill!

Of Fish, Squirrels and Stuffz Burgers

It's Billyboy's birthday today!  He's 53.  I had to ask him, in case you are interested.  The reason I had to ask him is that I'm 6 months younger than he is but I can never remember how old I am!  So, now I know how old I am (52 until December) and that Bill is 53.  So, I'm married to an older man for 6 months and he's married to a younger woman.

 

Otter has been known as the Birthday Squirrel on her birthday since she was little bitty.  I don't remember how we came up with the name, but I think it was a play on the words "birthday girl" and she loves animals so squirrel was a natural nickname.  She's not ready to share the Squirrel nickname, so we decided that Bill is the Birthday Fish.  It just works for him so we're going with it!

 

The Stufz burgers worked ok, but they weren't as easy as it looks.  They weren't difficult, and they actually tasted very good.  Mine was stuffed with chopped onions and shredded cheese.  Bill put cheese, onions and chopped jalepenos in his.  Otter, being Otter, went with a plain hamburger - no stuffing!  But they were beef burgers, so she was happy about it.  Bill thinks that they might work better on the grill instead of cooking them on the stove, we'll probably try that the next time.  But it would have been just as easy to make stuffed patties the old fashioned way - meat patty in one hand, stuffing in the middle and another patty on top.  Then form into the shape and cook.  But it's a gadget and Bill's an engineer...

 

Otter and I went to a thrift store this afternoon.  She found a backpack to use at TNT next month.  I found a new & unused foam padded slim laptop case that actually fits my laptop.  $14.99 for the exact same thing I priced at Staples for either $69.00 or $72.00.  I'd say a got a good buy.  I found a few other things, but nothing spectacular.  Otter tried on a corset (actually meant to be worn as a blouse, it had spaghetti straps and strings in the front) but it was a little too small for her.  Which is a shame, it was a very good quality and looked really cute on her - except for the fact that she couldn't breathe!  It could have been worn as a blouse by itself or underneath a jacket.

 

The pineapple upside down cake is in the oven.  I was going to make it last night, but they are really better warm because of the brown sugar.  So I made it when we got through with dinner.  Smells really good!

Humid Beyond Belief Today

I am a little title-challenged today, but it is humid.  HUMID.  Just being outside between the car and door of the office or at home is enough to trigger my asthma.  Otter doesn't normally have issues with humidity, but when it's as humid as it is today she does have some problems with it.  Not bad, but then she was only outside as little as possible.  She helped me carry the recycling stuff out to the car and was out for less than 5 minutes.

 

Otter is having other allergy related issues.  She is allergic to cottonwood pollen, it's always been one of her bigger triggers.  It's always been a respiratory allergy trigger, but she discovered yesterday that it's now causing itching.  Extremely bad itching.  Skin allergies are not fun, and it's even less fun when a trigger changes how it triggers!  It never quits the first reaction, it just adds another reaction to the mix.  She is now carrying hydrocortisone ointment around with her, I keep it in my purse because I need it often enough and now she's joined me.  I would have preferred she not join that particular activity!

 

I took the car to Chevy this morning, I got it there right at 7:00 and left it to get the oil leak repaired.  The man I deal with is actually the department manager, he's a good friend of both my bosses so they sent me to see him when we first realized that the previous repair shop was "less than honest" and now he makes a point of being the person I talk to and leave the car with when I have to take it in.  He called me about 11:00 or so, he had the mechanic look at the car and it is the oil pan as well as the part that has the oil pressure sensor (I forgot the name of the part), both are leaking and need to be replaced.  It would be around $1,000 but he is giving me a discount so it will be closer to the $800 he originally quoted when we didn't know about the sensor part being bad.  However, the car didn't get worked on today.  There was a vehicle that was ahead of mine on the schedule that was making engine noise and it turned out that it actually needed the engine to be replaced, so all the cars after it were delayed to get their work done.  He said that they could still start on my car, but it would probably be Thursday instead of Wednesday before they could get it finished so I rescheduled it for Monday morning.  I'll take it in at 7:00 a.m. and then, depending on Otter's schedule at work, either she or Bill will pick me up in the afternoon and then either one of them will get me to work the next day.  Most likely, the car will be ready on Tuesday but there is a slight chance it will take another day.  So the car came home with me today.

 

I was originally going to catch a ride to work with Bill in the morning, which would mean I'd be getting there by 6:30!  I was going to take my crochet with me, since I would have 1 1/2 hours until it was time to start work.  Next week, depending on Otter's schedule again, I might still have to go in early with Bill.

 

Billyboy's birthday is tomorrow.  I'm going to make him a pineapple upside down cake tomorrow.  I was going to make it tonight, but they are better when warm so I'll make it as soon as I get home from work.  Bill wants to use his Stufz and make hamburgers for his birthday dinner.  I bought ground beef, we usually use turkey but birthdays call for the real deal.  He still has some of his birthday/Father's Day bacon left but he's decided (at Otter's suggestion) to have it for breakfast on Saturday instead.

 

I forgot to mention it, but I went to an Auction last Saturday.  It was by the auctioneer we always used to go to when we were doing the eBay thing.  They all remember Otter, she was in early elementary school when we first started going to this auction house.  She wasn't with me because she was at work, but I have pictures on my cell phone.  They all agreed that she can't be a) old enough to work, b) old enough to drive and c) 22!  By the way, I got outbid.  There were 2 pachinko machines that Bill was interested in.  The man that bought them was a piano tuner who bought a few things (the auction was a collector and he had several pianos and related items) and he got them for his grandchildren to play.  I don't think he intended to bid on the machines until he saw them and decided that they looked interesting.  I didn't mind losing out to him, he was a really nice older gentleman.  I told him a few things about the machines after he won and gave him one of our cards.  If he hadn't been there, I would have been the only bidder and would probably have gotten them for around $40.00 for both.  It was fun to go to an auction, I haven't been to one in a while.

Wordwide KIP or CIP Day

Actually, week instead of Day.  June 14 - 22, 2014.

KIP:  Knit in Public.

CIP:  Crochet in Public.

Imagine a Fun Title Here Because I Can't Think of One!!!

It's Sunday, it's Father's Day and it's 3 days before Billyboy's birthday.  Still can't think of a good title!

 

We didn't exactly hit the ground running, but we have been busy today.  I had intended to wake Bill up with a cup of coffee this morning, we frequently bring coffee back to bed and leave the lights out on Sunday mornings.  It's a nice way to start the day.  But Bill got up a few hours before I did this morning, like maybe around 4:00 a.m., and he woke me up with coffee.  Which was good, even though the cup was full to the brim and I wound up wearing part of it!  (The sheets got yanked off the bed as soon as we finished the coffee and got up and they are now in the dryer.)

 

We went to Church, then Otter had to get ready for work almost as soon as we got home.  I ran a couple of errands, to the post office and to Wally for a couple of things I didn't realize we were out of when I went to the grocery store last week.  Later on, Bill wanted to go to the booth to check on something - he got a call from someone who had seen the machines at the booth and now her son had decided he wanted one.  She had some questions about the operation of the machines and Bill told her what she wanted to know.  She said she was going to buy one, he told to tell the cashier/owner at the store that we had authorized a 10% discount.  She did buy the machine, it was gone when we got there so Bill moved the other machines down a bit so that it doesn't look like a vacant spot.  He also needed to go to Radio Shack so we did that at the same time.

 

I got soup started in the crockpot before my first errand this morning, I used some fresh Rosemary from Otter's crop.  It's always really good with fresh Rosemary.  Very nice flavor and it smells so much better when it's cooking - it smells pretty good without it, but Rosemary just makes it better.  I made it a little differently this time, but it was not on purpose!  I thought I grabbed a can of peas, along with the corn, green beans and lima beans.  Turns out, I grabbed two cans of green beans and no peas.  Otter wasn't upset about that, she absolutely hates peas.  It was still good, even if it does have a slightly different vegetable mix!

 

Bill's beginning to rearrange the office into the pachinko workroom.  I took my 3 yarn drawer units out, they are temporarily in our bedroom.  They are also stuffed to the point of overflowing.  I also have several tote bags with yarn in them, and a couple with sewing and misc. craft stuff.  But most of them have yarn!  I really need to destash, but I'm not going to worry about that right now.  After we get all the pachinko stuff out of the living room and into the office, the yarn will be temporarily moved into the living room.  At that point, I'm going to take inventory and see what I can do about the "overabundance" of yarn that I suddenly and unexplainably have!

 

Froggy, I'm going to start on Uncle Crazy's blanket soon.  I was planning on starting on it today but I haven't had time yet.  It will go fast, it's a granny square like yours is.  It will be a little bigger, but it's a fairly simple pattern to make.  I did finish the green scarf I started when we were on the way to SA, the yarn is very pretty and will be warm but it wasn't particularly enjoyable to work with.  I will most likely make a cap to go with it, but not anytime soon!

 

Bill did get his birthday bacon.  He decided that he wanted it yesterday, since Saturday is about the only day we have time for a bigger breakfast.  Otter had to work, she left before we actually got organized enough to cook the bacon so I kept her 4 pieces back and she had a bacon sandwich when we got home.  I made bread yesterday, she had bread and bacon without anything else and she said it was good.  Bill cooked half the bacon yesterday, and we ate about half of what he cooked so we had some left for this morning.  Otter had another bacon-bread sandwich, but Bill and I had it on tortillas with cheese and scrambled eggs.  His birthday is actually Wednesday, he was thinking about blt's for dinner but Otter and I got him one of these:

It's a gadget, and gadgets are absolutely irresistible to engineers.  Bill wanted one of these the first time he aw the commercial, he also wanted a Bacon Bowl maker but changed his mind on that.  But he still wanted a Stufz, so Otter and I got one for him.  He's changed his mind on his birthday dinner.  But I expect him to have bacon stuffed in his burger!

 

I don't expect Otter to complain about that, either.  :)

It's pie time now!  Froggy, we got Bill a pie.  An ice cream pie.  Strawberry Cheesecake.  FROM BRAUMS.

Father's Day 2014

Happy Father's Day!

More Trip Stuff and Miscellaneous Rambles

It's been a busy week.  Monday was spent dealing with the Houston airport and waiting for Southwest to get it together and a) get a pilot, b) get a plane for the pilot and c) the weather to cooperate so that they could get a) and b).

Work has been somewhat busy this week, it's the one week of the month where I have a lot to do in a short period of time.  I scheduled my TEXAS trip for the days prior to Crazy Week at work.

No particular reason for this next picture:

Well, there is a reason.  Froggy knows why!

 

Otter had to be in at 7:00 this morning.  It was originally 6:00 a.m., but the boss called her yesterday to reschedule her.  She wasn't complaining, 7:00 a.m. is still early but it's better than 6:00!  She got off at 1:00 and went to the post office for me (we have a p.o. box) to see if we had mail.  Froggy, remember the post cards I mailed from your house last week?  They got here yesterday (the one to work) and today (the ones to home.)  I was beginning to think that they had been lost in the mail.

Or maybe this is the reason the mail is "confused"?!?!?!

 

I put two hummingbird feeders up yesterday and we saw a female on one of the feeders this afternoon.  She was probably wondering why I hadn't gotten o the ball and put the feeders up yet, but at least they are finally up.  Better late than never, I guess!

Slightly Accented

OK, so I'm a little more than slightly!  Happens after spending several days in TEXAS.  I make a serious effort not to lose my TEXAS accent, but it does soften over time.  But then I go Home again and get my TEXAN batteries recharged.  The TEXAN batteries power up my accent, among other things, and I always talk "right" upon my return to Okieland.  I'm even noticing it today, so it must be more pronounced than usual.  Not that I'm complaining!  Never about TEXAS or things TEXAN.

 

Froggy commented that the little town I couldn't remember the name of is Round Rock.  We hit several places in our shopping frenzy and they weren't all in the same town(s) so I got a little confused.

 

Otter had one night last week when she had to work until midnight.  She was scheduled for it, they were getting ready for the parking lot sale which involved a large tent and stocking it.  However, this is Oklahoma and it is Spring.  Which means that it rained.  A lot, from what she and Bill told me.  Enough that some of the merchandise got wet and the tent was basically useless, so after a few days and many hours of setting it up and stocking it, everything had to be moved back inside.  She texted me when she got home that night (I was asleep in Froggy's guest bedroom) and it was somewhere around 12:20 a.m.  She said that an owl flew in front of the car as she was leaving the parking lot, it was probably chasing something it wanted to eat.

 

Bill was sick over the weekend.  He didn't tell Otter because a) she would have worried and b) she would have told me.  He didn't tell me because a) I was several hundred miles away and would have worried and b) I was several hundred miles away and couldn't get on him about taking care of himself!  I think he had a cold-ish bug, he is still somewhat congested.

 

I managed to get to the grocery store today.  It was kind of busy, I intended to go yesterday but I was just too tired to deal with it.  I got in and out in 45 minutes or so, but they were out of the specific ground turkey meat we like so I still have another trip ahead of me but it's going to be a quick one.

 

I finally got my hummingbird feeders up.  This morning.  I put two of them up, I'm a little behind where I normally am.  By this time they have usually been up for a month or 6 weeks, but it's been rainy and cool too often to have them.  Hopefully, we'll still have some.

 

That's it for now!  More in a few days.  When I'm caught up on my resting.  And I'll still be accented then, too!  :)

I Have Spent Entirely Too Much...

...Time in the Houston airport.  Like most of yesterday.

 

I flew to TEXAS last Thursday.  I went to see Froggy!  She lives near Austin, so I flew into the Austin airport.  My transfer flight was through Dallas, Southwest uses Love Field and I liked the airport.  The Austin airport was nice.  Along with the Tulsa airport, they have good gift shops.  But I didn't want to spend all my money in the airport before I even got on the plane (Otter did that once!).

 

The visit was nice (more in a minute on that).  The trip back was not.  Froggy and Uncle Crazy got me to the airport in plenty of time, I had time (and still had money left!) so I wandered around a couple of gift shops and bought a couple of things.  My flight left on time.  And it was a really bad flight, there was major weather in the area and it was very turbulent.  In fact, the drink service was suspended because it was too rough for the attendants to be up and around.  I don't normally get airsick, but I was feeling slightly nauseated by the time the plane landed in Houston.  I originally had about a 2-hour layover, so I planned on lunch in the Houston airport.  It was a little while before I was brave enough to eat!  The Houston airport is smaller than you would expect and the gift shops are not very impressive.  After I ate lunch, I found my gate and wandered around a bit in an attempt to buy something.  Shortly before I was going back to my gate, it was announced that my flight was being delayed at least one hour.  Then it was delayed again.  And again.  And yet another time!  It was about 3 hours late by the time it finally left.  Part of the reason was that Southwest just didn't have enough pilots working yesterday.  Which means that they didn't have a plane there, and had to bring in another one from somewhere else.  More than one flight was rearranged because of that.  And the weather contributed to the lateness, since it was raining and storming in a lot of places.  At nearly 3:00, there was a plane that was supposed to have left before 10:00 a.m. to Seattle and it was just boarding then.  My plane finally arrived, we finally got to board and it was a full flight.  The flight should have taken around an hour, but due to the weather it had to be diverted around storms and it was 5:15 before we landed.  The drink service was offered, but we were nearly to Tulsa before the turbulence subsided enough for the attendants to leave their seats.  I had a quick coke because that was all I had time for, I would have had an actual drink but there really wasn't time and I did not want to chug a drink with alcohol!  There were several young children on the flight from Houston, some of them were fairly young babies and they had a really hard time which was not helped by how rough the flight was.  I remember flying with Otter when she was young like that and how hard it was because that age just isn't capable of understanding why their ears hurt and how to pop them.

 

I was absolutely exhausted by the time we got home.  Bill waited over 2 hours in the 15-minute limit area at the airport.  I had my flight times arranged so that he could take me to the airport on his way to work Thursday morning, which worked out pretty good.  My return flight was originally to land about 2:40 or so, which would have given me enough time to get my luggage and then he would have come to get me when he got off at 3:30.

 

The visit with Froggy and Uncle Crazy was a lot of fun.  We shopped (a LOT) and ate at several fun restaurants.  We went to a yarn store in Austin, a yarn store in a little town near Austin that I forget the name of, we went to a couple of craft stores and several thrift stores.  On Saturday, Froggy and I drove to San Antonio and stopped for breakfast tacos in Sequin (small town north of SA).  We met Bill's mom at the tiny restaurant we refer to as the Hole in the Wall (it's that small) that we used to live close to as kids and ate at frequently.  We went to the SAS (San Antonio Shoe) outlet/store/manufacturer and I bought shoes.  Lots of shoes.  We went to my favorite yarn store in SA and I bought a few things there that I'd been wanting - not all of it was yarn, either.  We went to the cemetery and put flowers on the family graves.

 

We also met Toadles for lunch and I got to tour the bingo hall he works at; he's kind of the Super and does just about everything.  He came to Froggy's house on Sunday, too.

 

There was one other store in the Austin area that I talked Froggy into taking me to.  A Coach outlet!  I did NOT leave empty-handed from that particular stop.  It's no secret that I love Coach bags.  I had seen one I really liked, but I didn't really want to spend $398.00 for it at one of the local stores.  However, the outlet had it and I bought it - for $129.00!  It's gorgeous, a really pretty tan leather and I'm very happy with it.  I actually paid more for one of my other good bags at Dillards a couple of years ago, which was a good deal for that particular purse.  But I got a very good deal on my Coach at the outlet so I am not complaining.  I don't particularly like the "C" pattern bags, I like Coach for the quality but I don't feel the need to advertise for them.  However, I will have this bag for a long time - years, in fact.

 

Last Wednesday was my 20th anniversary at my job.  They had a cake for me, a gift card to a local Mexican restaurant and pretty good (very good) bonus as well.

 

Otter and Bill were on their own last weekend, I left plenty of stuff cooked for them and Otter took over the dog's bedtime routine for me while I was gone.  (Frasier was noisy several times, he was probably looking for me.  I gave him two pills last night and will probably do that tonight as well.)  Bill wasn't the best, he woke up Saturday morning not feeling well but he didn't tell Otter because a) she would have been worried about him and b) she would have told me!  I wasn't happy with him about that.

 

Froggy, I really like your new house.  Well, I guess it's still new even though you've been there two years!  It was new to me, at least.

 

There was no problem taking crochet hooks through security at the airports.  I did mange to get some crochet done, mostly in the airports themselves and some at Froggy's house.  I bought a pair of rounded school scissors and they were allowed as well.

 

I'm really too tired to type any longer, so I'm going to post this and then relax.

70 Years

 70 years.

They truly were the Greatest Generation.

We can't forget any of them, especially the ones who stayed behind.  They gave up their future for generations yet unborn.

If you ever get the chance, say Thanks.  It's the least we can do, after all.

Miss you, Dad.

Busy Little Bees

Or at least busy family!  Otter's had a few later shifts lately, which is part of her new position.  She isn't complaining, it's still miles ahead of her previous job.  And it's not every night, she just has 3 this week which is unusual.  She was supposed to get off at 10:00 last night, but the floor cleaning crew got there late so she volunteered to stay a little longer.  Her boss was also there, she wasn't the only one.  But she didn't get off until nearly 11:00.  However, the previous job was often a case of the shift supposed to end at 9:00 and they didn't get out until 10:30 (one time it was actually 11:30 before they got out) because of bad management!  Also, we usually were her transportation when she had nights the old job because it was very isolated and not the best area when the sun went down.

 

I've been trying to catch up on a few UFO's and get them finished.  I really only had a few this time, Froggy - the pictures I texted you of the dogsters helping me is one of the UFO's I've had for a while.  I think I'm just about caught up now, with the exception of the scrap yarn lap robe/blanket but that's because I have used up all my scrap pieces.  Guess I'd better get a few more projects lined up so I have left over pieces of yarn!  I'm currently working on my scarf/cowl with the mink yarn, but that's an ongoing project and not a UFO.  Otter has a poncho order placed with me, and I'm going to make her a lap robe/blanket with some purple yarn I have.  It's a pretty shade of purple with flecks of other colors and she wants to get lavender for a 2nd color for it.  I have the yarn for a new scarf/hat set for myself, it's a very pretty green color.  That might be all, I'm not sure!

 

We're going to rearrange Bill's work area.  He's been using the sofa table and was supposed to contain the chaos to it.  But pachinko machines tend to spread out and take over, so he's now got about 1/2 the living room.  I have finally had enough of the disaster area, and I more-or-less bullied him into agreeing to move the entire mess out of the living room.  How?  By giving him "my half" of the office.  He can even have my desk, I don't care.  He can also have my shelf unit in the closet of the office.  I have 2 yarn drawers in the closet in there and one drawer set that is 3/4 yarn and 1/4 office supplies, they'll come out of there and I'll probably put them in the living room where his mess is, but my stuff is neat and contained.  He might take the sofa table back there, but he doesn't think so at this point.  My stash will not stay in the living room forever, eventually Otter will be out on her own and what is now her room will be the guest/craft/yarn room but as I mentioned before:  my stash is neat and not like Bill's!  The Borg Queen does not like clutter!  Therefore, she has none.  Bill might not want my desk, but he'll probably use it for a while at least.  It's eventually going to be part of the guest/craft/yarn room and will hold the sewing machines.  We're going to evict the pachinko machines from the living room when we are on vacation the first week of July.

 

Until then, I'll just put up with the creeping clutter.  Although it drives me nuts!  But it's only temporary.

I Finally Found It!

I've been looking for this one for years, no exaggeration, years.  Many of them!

Otter and I went to the flea market yesterday, and the man with the movie booth was there.  He usually is, and he usually has a lot of hard-to-find movies, especially the vintage ones and lots of the "B" 50's sci-fi movies we love.  I had just about given up on ever finding "Them" but he had it!  It was part of a set of two 50's sci-fi movies and it was marked $10.00 but he had a special and it was actually $5.00.  I bought several other movies and he told me to pick out another one for free, but I would have paid the original $10.00 price for this one.  Actually, I would have paid a lot more.  "Them" was one of the early cautionary tales about the danger of nuclear testing, and it was a serious movie at the time.  I now have my Top 4 (War of the Worlds, The Day the Earth Stood Still, The Thing and Them) and several others, but I'm still on the hunt for a few.  But at least I now have this one!  Otter bought a bunch of movies as well and she also got a freebie.  We don't go to the flea market very often, but we usually find several movies for our collection at this particular booth.

 

We went to the booth today and closed up the 2nd booth addition.  Now, we're back to the original size and at the moment it is just pachinko machines.  I might occasionally put something in it, but for now I think I'm glad to be done with my part of it.  As an experiment, it has been a success.  I had more sales than I thought I di in May.  But the stuff that was still there has been there for a while, and several items are from when we first started the booth.  I've dropped prices on things occasionally, and sometimes sold them.  But the stuff that was still there hadn't sold and I don't think it would have, some of it has already been taken to Goodwill but some of it has been put back where it was.  Such as the 3 or 4 Fenton pieces that didn't sell, and a few other misc. things.  Bill cleared out quite a bit of the Useless Collection (shot glasses), he's still got quite a few though.  Otter sold some of her creations, so everybody got something out of it.

 

It's been really humid the last couple of days.  Yesterday while Otter and I were at the flea market (it's indoors) it rained just enough to make it humid.  We were fine in a nice, air conditioned car.  But when we got out of the car, my lungs more or less shut down just on the trip from the car door to the front door.  Today was just as bad, and I've tried to stay inside as much as I can.  Which is hard!

 

I've been having issues with my jaw again.  I have TMJ Disorder but it hasn't really bothered me for years.  It's probably been about 25 years since I had to have it treated, at the time there were two main treatments:  a retainer that graduated in size to hold the jaw in place, which is what I did.  Or surgery, which turned out to have a very bad rate of failure and quite often causing severe and lasting consequences.  I've been having an occasional pain in the general area of the left side of my jaw and finally today it started to really hurt.  Since I have dentures, my jaw has a little more movement than is best at night but I left the top denture in Friday night and it was much better.  But I didn't leave it in last night and I should have.  It's really bothered me a few times today.  I'm going to sleep with the top denture in for the next couple of days.  You really aren't supposed to leave dentures in all night, the main concern is bacteria getting trapped but that really is more on a long-term basis.  I can use heat if I need to, I've been taking motrin and trying to remember all the tricks to keep my jaw in place that I used to have to use.  It is actually better this evening, I just have to be very careful the next few days.  Mom had issues with it although I don't think hers was very severe.  Otter has had her jaw pop a couple of times, but the dentist doesn't think she'll have bad problems with it like I did/do.  It ain't fun!

 

Frasier was a little barky this morning, but it was nearly 5:30 and nobody had let him out yet.  Maggie Moo has a new trick:  she howled in her sleep yesterday afternoon.  She sounded so funny.  They are very spoiled babies!