Tales From the Bill Side, Part 298234821478923498724987

(And probably more to come in the future!)

Bill got to break in a new dermatologist today.  I think he actually liked this one, which almost never happens.  We were taken back to the exam room on time, the assistant was right in and took blood pressure, etc., the doctor came in very soon and he was very attentive.  He listened to Bill and explained everything to us very clearly.  He was polite.  And, most important, HE ALREADY KNEW ALL ABOUT THE CARE AND FEEDING OF REDHEADS!!  That alone tells me that he's thorough and knows how to care for his patients.

The upshot is that it was a skin cancer, it was the lightest of the three different kinds - the worst one is melanoma and that's the really BAD one that can kill you.  Most of the ones Bill has had have been the lightest but he's had a couple of the middle kind as well.  Today's was kind of tricky because of where it was on his hand.  There was also another little one beside it, I'm not sure if he got that one or not.  If not, it's a very slow-growing beastie and might not ever need to be removed if it doesn't really grow.  I think he did get it, but since Bill's hand is all wrapped up I can't go look at it!  He gave Bill the several small shots to numb his hand up (which did the normal puddling and not spreading out - part of the Redhead Curse) and while he was waiting for that to take effect, he literally zapped Bill's arms in many places with the freezing spray to get rid of several pre-skin cancer spots.  Then he got to work with the "slicing and dicing" tools and took out the big one.  He's fairly certain he got it all, but it's been sent to the lab to verify.  Then he put 16 stitches in Bill's hand, which come out two weeks from today.  The lab test should be back before that.  He gave Bill a prescription for an antibiotic ointment, which he's supposed to start using on Saturday because it needs to stay covered for 2 days.  The doctor also checked Bill over and didn't see anything to be concerned about, mostly they are on his arms and face when they show up but occasionally he'll have something pop up on his chest or back but there is nothing at the moment.

Bill's off work until Wednesday, he had already taken off today and tomorrow.  The doctor strongly suggested that he not even attempt to go in on Monday or Tuesday, which I agreed with because a)  I know Bill and b)  I know how they are where he works!  The doctor also said that a backrub before bedtime would be a good idea - I told Bill he will have go to find another masuese!  His alternative suggestion was a good, stiff drink.  That one, I can do.  The doctor was really funny, which was nice.  Bill actually likes him, I wish we'd gone to him last year when Bill had the surgery to remove the one on the bridge of his nose.  Also, since we paid for it ourselves they gave us a 50% discount.

 

Bill sent me to the liquor store after we got home, I think he's probably going to self-medicate and have that drink tonight.

Wednesday?

I know what day it is, but I have had to be reminded all day.  I don't know why, but I have been off on what day is actually is all week long!

 

Yesterday was Froggy's birthday.  I did get a card in the mail to her and I texted her birthday wishes.  But that's about the only thing I know for sure this week!

 

I spoke with Toadles yesterday.  He reminded me about something today, which I knew of but hadn't done the math for yet:  Dad earned his Purple Heart 70 years ago,

 

Rain today!  Lots of it, at 3:30 when I left work the radio news was on and they were reporting that Tulsa had received at least one inch of rain.  Just since mid-morning.  It came down all day and some of the rain was heavy.  It's quit now, but there is probably still more on the way for tonight and tomorrow.

 

Bill got the first truckload of firewood yesterday.  He went to the lumberyard and loaded up the back of the White Lightning, but when he went to pay for it - they told him he could just have it for free this time.  We've made a good start on the wood we need for this winter, but we want to get more.  Anywhere from 2 to 4 more truckloads.  He was going to get another load today, a little rain wouldn't have been a problem but it was too much rain today so it'll be next week sometime.

 

The "sometime" is subject to change.  I'm getting Billyboy to the doctor tomorrow, he has a spot on his left hand that is in all probability the next skin cancer to be removed.  It's actually been coming up for a while, but there were some changes where Bill works and they were unable to take any time off at all before July 1st.  But since the dermatologist couldn't get him in until tomorrow, it doesn't really matter I guess!  He's not seeing the same doctor he saw last summer.  For good reason, that dermatologist turned out to be the one I went toe-to-toe with when Otter was little and she got sub-standard care.  Sub-standard would actually have been better than this guy!  But we didn't realize that until Bill saw him the first time last summer and we decided we didn't want to change doctors in the middle of treatment.  However, we knew that when it was time for the next skin cancer removal (there are always more!) that we'd be finding a different doctor.  The one that Bill really liked retired a few years back, but we are going to the same office he was out of and Bill will be treated by another doctor in that practice.  Keep your fingers crossed that he's a good doctor and that Bill likes him!

 

I'm taking tomorrow off, Bill is off both tomorrow and Friday.  The doctor may say that he wants to just do a biopsy and then have Bill come back later for the removal, but Bill will not go for that.  He'll need to get it all out at once, or at least give it a good try.  So, I took tomorrow off and Otter is off on Friday if Billyboy needs home nursing - which he might, but I don't think it will be like last year's skin cancer removal from the bridge of his nose.

 

I'm tired.  Otter had to be in to work at 5:30 this morning, so she got up about 4:00.  Bill woke up somewhere around that time, they both tried not to wake me up but I think the lights on in the office/pachinko workroom and Otter's bedroom were just enough that I was aware of them.  I tried to go back to sleep for a while, but it was hopeless so I got up about 4:30.

 

Friday is the 10th Anniversary of when we moved into our current home.  Our tradition is that we get pizza, since it was the first meal we had here.  When we moved out of the old house, we had McDonald's because that was the first real meal we had there - it was actually before we moved in, but the house was ours at that point because we had closed on it that afternoon.  We decided to continue that tradition here.  If we ever move (I'm not planning on it!), our final meal here will be pizza as well.  We have pepperoni pizza every August 1st or as close to it as we can.

 

Pizza Pizza!

Tired Otter!

My Otter's tired today.

You probably would, too.  Especially if you woke up at 9:00 a.m. on Monday, went to work at 9:00 p.m. Monday (no nap between!) and worked until 6:30 a.m. on Tuesday!

 

Which means that she was awake for nearly 24 hours, with many of those hours being spent in work time.

 

She got home at 7:00 this morning, and went straight to bed.  At noon, she called me to tell me she was awake and somewhat able to talk sensibly.  She's still tired, she's been taking it easy all day.  She was sick Sunday and then stayed up until 3:00 a.m.  Monday, thinking she would sleep very late on Monday (like until at least noon or later) but she woke up at 9:00 Monday morning and could not go back to sleep no matter how much she tried.  She did attempt to nap Monday afternoon but wasn't able to.  She didn't intend to stay up all day then work all night, but that's how it worked out.

 

She was just exhausted when she got home.  And I don't blame her!

Trekkin' Monday

Monday ain't exactly my favorite day, but when I turn the tv on and pick a station at random and its showing (Original Series movies) TREK, it's always a good day.  Especially when it's one of two specific # movies - both are even-numbered, in case you are wondering.  (Even Numbered Trek Films Don't Suck).  The best one is the 2nd one, The Wrath of Khan which we refer to as TOS TWOK, or sometimes just TWOK.  Tonight's movie happens to be # 4, The Voyage Home or TOS TVH or just The One with the Whales.  I think the station may be running a marathon, because # 3 was just ending when I turned the tv on.  Which means that I'm turning of OFF OR CHANGING THE STATION as soon as this one is over, because nobody (I mean NOBODY) watches the next one!

In fact, we don't even refer to it by number if we can avoid it.  And we do avoid it, at all costs.  It's the one we prefer to forget about and frankly, wish it had never happened.  It's just that bad.  Well, it is an odd number - the oddest of them all!  (It was originally meant to be the last in the series of TOS movies, but we are all thankful that the powers that be realized that to end TOS with that drivel would probably be the final Sign of the Apocolypse.)

 

Otter just came in and saw what was on tv.  Then she yelled "It's the One About the Whales!"  There are times when I feel sorry for Billyboy, he's a little outnumbered on multiple levels.  :)

Anyway.

I've been doing some research on coyotes because I'm wondering about some of Frasier's habits.  Such as more or less walking with all four of his feet in "single file" (putting each foot in the step of the one in front of it.)  Coyotes do that, it turns out.

Like this:

 

That's coyote tracks in sand, but it's a pretty good example of how they walk.  With Frasier, it's more the front feet than all four but he will walk with all four feet in a line at times.

 

Bill is probably going to start getting firewood soon.  The lumberyard had a sign out that they have firewood available now.  $10.00 for a pallet full, we'll get at least two of those and maybe a third one as well.  So, he went out into the dog yard and checked on how much we have left from last year's.  He thinks it's about half a rick, or about a quarter of a cord.  He got out the chainsaw and cut some of it to smaller lengths - yes, the chainsaw and no injuries!  I cleaned up after the dogsters, they leave little "gifts" in the grass and Otter normally get that job (Lucky! Not really) but she was down with a migraine all day yesterday so it didn't get done.  So, I got the job today.  I dug down into three different mole trails in the back yard, found the tunnels which are very shallow and then I left them a "gift in the tunnel before burying it all.

 

It is going to be pretty cool this week, for last July.  It could well be in the 80's this week, and we may get rain Wednesday and/or Thursday.  Guess I'd better get busy and get as much water out of the rain barrel as I can.  I discovered today that the dog's outside water was growing another crop of skeeters.  The frog has not been seen in a while, we were afraid he might have become snake or hawk food but I almost stepped on him yesterday morning when I went out on the deck.  He was hopping around and seemed quite happy.  Otter was watering the crop (jalepenos!) so she watered the froggy as well - he seemed to like it, then he hopped off into the honeysuckle area at the edge of the deck.  He probably hopped back underneath the deck after that, he sometimes stays under there.

 

Speaking of frogs, tomorrow is Froggy Day!

Sunday Rearranged

That seems to happen on a fairly regular basis, around here!

 

Today's original plan was that we were going to a specific Mexican Restaurant in Tulsa today, as it's the last Sunday of the month and we do something special then.  Then, according to the plan, we were going to come home and Bill was going to head back to his pachinko workroom.  At that point, Otter and I were going to the mall - she wanted to shop for shoes and I just wanted to shop.  And try to avoid the Coach store!  But since Otter woke up with a migraine in progress, that plan was blown to smithereens.  Bill and I went to church and left her in bed, attempting to go back to sleep.  When we got home, she was awake but still had the headache so she went back to sleep.  Bill and I went by the booth and shopped a little at the store it's in, then we went to the Mexican place for lunch.  We also went to Big Lots, which Otter nailed me about for going without her, and we looked at a junky/antique store.  We got a couple of things at Big Lots, but nothing at the junky/antique store.  I did get Otter a package of animal crackers, the cookies in the circus train box!  I also promised her that I'd make sure she goes to Big Lots with me the next time I go.

 

Since the sales-tax-free weekend starts this coming Friday and Otter's off on Saturday, we've rescheduled our shopping trip for then.  The mall will be crowded, but there are also a lot of sales then and besides, it's just fun.

 

It's 6:30 p.m. as I type this, she's feeling much better.  She got up about 4:00 or so, after sleeping most of the day.  But it actually worked out good that she was able to sleep so much today, because she needs to stay up as late as she can tonight.  She goes to work at 9:00 p.m. tomorrow and will probably work most of the night.  They are rolling out a new pricing structure and everything has to be rearranged/repriced/etc., which is impossible with customers there so it's going to be done tomorrow night.  She's going to sleep in as late as she can tomorrow morning and then hopefully, take a nap sometime in the afternoon.  She's going to be mega-caffeinated before she goes to work.  I wish she hadn't had the migraine, but at least it will be easier for her to stay up so late tonight.

 

I think I figured out why Frasier is such a goofy boy.  He's part coyote, and they are very intelligent animals.  He's also part dog, and frankly sometimes they are pretty dumb.  So, he's a mixture of dumb dog/smart coyote!  Which explains why he's sometimes the dumbest smart dog I know.  But, he's a sweet natured boy and we love him.  Even if he sometimes is as dumb as a box of rocks.  Oh, wait.  That describes Maggie Moo!  So does sweet natured, she's just not smart.  But she knows how to work it, and she does it well.

Too Long For Friday to Get Here!

But it finally did.

 

And I, for one, am glad.  It's been a looooooooooooong week.

 

Froggy, blogger didn't tell me about the comment you left on the last entry until I signed in to post this.

 

Otter has had a pretty good week.  She's been at her current job just under a year.  A few months back, she got a promotion and a raise.  Yesterday, she had her annual performance review.  And she got another raise!

 

We had fajitas tonight, to celebrate.  And there is a Braum's ice cream pie in the freezer, strawberry cheesecake!  Not that anybody actually has any room for it, after the fajitas.  They were so, so good.

 

Yesterday, Otter had to be in at 5:00 a.m.  As in early in the morning before light 5:00 a.m.!  She got up at 4:00 a.m., so she could be at work on time.  About 3:30, I woke up.  I think I was probably subconsciously listening for her to get up.  I got up to see her for a few minutes before she went to work, then I went back to bed.  At about 4:30, Frasier barked in his "gotta go out now" bark so I got up to check on him - I had asked Otter to open the dog doors when she got up.  I thought maybe she'd forgotten the doors, but they were both open.  She said that Frasier watched her open them, so he knew that they were open.  But he couldn't go outside until mama (me!) showed him that they were open!  He's the dumbest smart dog I've ever seen.  He is such a goof.  Sweet, but still a goof. :)

 

This morning, I heard him bark so I got up to check the time.  It was 3:30!  I waited until he yapped the second time, then I went as far as the doorway of our room and hollered "Frasier!  Hush!  Go lay down!" and surprisingly, he actually listened to me and did what I told him to do.  I think we might need to reset his clock, he's a little confused as to what time to a) wake up and b) go outside.  I think it's because Otter's had quite a few early (5:30 a.m.) days lately and it's kind of mixing him up.

 

Maggie Moo has no problem with time, it's all naptime to her!  Except when it's time to eat.  She's always aware of that time on the clock.  :)

Heat Wave, We're Having a Heat Wave

Anybody else besides me remember that song?  Because we can sing it today, in our little corner of NE Oklahoma.  Humidity is through the roof today.  It rained this afternoon, which cooled the temp down quite a bit.  But it got warm again after the rain quit, and the already extreme humidity multiplied by about a million.

 

Otter said that the dogs have spent most of this warm day doing what they do best:  sleeping!  Well, they do that on cold days, hot days, rainy days, sunny days...

 

Froggy, I don't really think I want the spinning wheel lamp.  If I can walk away from something and it stays on my mind, then I generally still want it.  But this time, after I posted the picture on here, it completely left my mind.  In fact, until I checked for comments to be posted (blogger didn't tell me about your comment) I had completely forgotten about it.  I guess I don't really want it.

 

I made sun tea today.  I should have put it out yesterday, but I didn't think about it until it was late in the afternoon.  It was hotter today, but yesterday was sunnier.  I still got it made today and it looks like it's strong enough.  It's in the fridge, cooling down because sun tea is pretty hot when it's first made since it's been sitting in the sunshine all day.  I actually got ours put out before the sun came out this morning, and then Otter brought it in about mid-afternoon, so it didn't become rain tea!

 

OK, Froggy.  I blogged again and you didn't even have to nag me! :)

Derpy Sunday

Been that kind of day today!  All day long.

 

Not helped in the least by the fact that I had a nosebleed to deal with, with no warning.  I thought my nose was trying to run when it was in fact bleeding.  Not a good time to discover that I'm down to one box of Kleenex!  (TEXAS speak:  All forms of tissues are Kleenex.  Even the Puffs with lotion that we use.  They just are.)  It's allergy related, nothing to worry about.  IF I didn't blow my nose too soon and have it start bleeding again, that is!

 

Otter does have an ear infection.  She was supposed to get off at 6:00 Friday evening, but by 5:00 her ear was really starting to hurt so her boss let her go a little early.  I took her to the urgent care clinic we use and she saw a doctor there.  It's not bad, it was caught early.  But she still has an antibiotic to take which is in the form of horse pills.  She has to split them, they are huge.  Yes, Froggy.  We did get a lot of yogurt!

 

Otter and I went to a fabric store in one of the small, neighboring towns yesterday and we also went to a few yard sales.  We didn't really find anything at any of them.  We did see one estate sale sign on one of the main streets so we followed signs until we found it and I bought a few things there, but I still spent about $1.00 there as it was the last day of the sale and everything was 75% off.  We went to the Hitching Post, Froggy that's where I sent you the pictures from.  One of the booths has something I really like, one of these:

This isn't the actual lamp, but it is very similar.  The shade on the one I saw is much bigger and a different style.  I like it a lot, but it's kind of big and I am not really sure where I would put it.  I could put it on the sofa table for the moment, but I don't know if I want to pay $30.00 for it.  I'm still thinking about it.

 

I found a different hat pattern that I decided might work well as a Chemo Cap.  I have been looking for a good pattern to make them with, a lot of organizationpings that work with people who are being treated for cancer take donations of them and then they are given to people who have hair loss due to chemotherapy.  The pattern I found was more of a stocking cap and it looked like it might work.  I made it with very soft yarn, so that if it did work I could donate it - they need to be made as soft as possible.  It worked, but it used up a huge amount of yarn and also took way too long.  Also, I don't like the way it looks - at least not for what it was intended for.  I'll keep looking, I'll find a good pattern eventually.  I can use my standard hat pattern, it would need to be made slightly looser and larger than I normally make them but that's not a problem.  But I want to see what else I can find first.

 

I have a slight headache, courtesy of the nosebleed.  I kind of have to just deal with it, since anything I could take for it is a potential blood thinner and that's the last thing I need right now.  One of my least favorite parts of the Redhead Curse is the bleeding issues we have.

 

The weather has been really nice lately.  Last week was really unusual for July in NE Oklahoma - 70's and 60's at night.  Today is nice, I think it's in the 80's but it was very cool this morning.  I was out trimming tree limblets about 8:00 a.m., and it was actually almost cold.  I had a lot of help, in the form of a beagle!  Maggie Moo apparently decided that she needed to help me.  Help me keep the limbs from flying!  She was very bouncy and playful, and as soon as she saw me by the tree she literally bounced over to me from the other side of the yard.  She got in my way quite a bit, but she managed to get her delicate little furry behind on top of a bunch of branches, then she settled down and stayed there.  Even as limblets were falling (and nearly falling on her!)  She had leaves on her head at one point, but she didn't move until I was through.  Then, she got up and bounced (literally) around the tree, behind the shed and on top of the shell-top to the El Camino that is stored behind the shed.  Who knows what goes on in that little furry head!  Frasier was out in the yard with us, but he's smart enough to stay away from falling limbs.  Maggie is such a goof sometimes.  OK, most of the time.  When I got ready to go inside, I yelled for Frasier and he went straight to the back door to wait for me.  I hollered for Maggie a couple of times, but didn't see her anywhere so I figured she was probably under the shed again.  Then I got to the deck and she was sitting in front of the back door, wagging at me and apparently just waiting until I was ready to go inside!

 

We have been dumping the dog's outside water dish just about every day lately, because it's had wrigglers (mosquito larvae.)  Nearly every day.  It's now sitting empty, we always put their inside water dish out in the garage when we leave for the day and we'll continue to do that, but the outside dish might stay empty for a day or two.  The frog hasn't been seen in days anyway, and that might have something to do with why the wrigglers have been so bad.

 

Otter's harvested a few jalepenos from her plants on the deck.  They are not huge, but they are good.  Bill's been helping keep them under control!

Um OK, Friday?

Drawing a complete blank on a title today.

It's been an odd week.  It's July, but it's been in the 60's for a couple of days.  60's!!  Yesterday was rainy, today is cloudy and overcast but not rainy.  We were supposed to get rain a couple of days early this week, but it held off until yesterday.  But it was not the hard rain we were expecting.  We still need more, but at least we got some rain.

I've been fighting what I first thought was a sinus infection for a few days, but now I think it's "just" allergies.  I thought Wednesday morning that it was a migraine and I called in because my head hurt to bad but now I don't think it was.  However, I have had allergy issues and they've been enough that I thought I needed to get as much rest as I could.  I've gone in the last two days, but I didn't have a whole lot to do and I came home as soon as I got my daily stuff done.  Motrin, liquids and rest.  I really wish I could take allergy medication, but none of it works on me.

Otter just texted me (she's at work) to let me know that one of her ears is bothering her.  She said she put drops in it this morning, I guess she means Swim Ear drops, but she said it still feels funny.  I hope she is not dealing with an ear infection.  She hasn't been swimming but she might have gotten water in it in the shower.

No particular reason for the picture, I just thought it was cute.  Of course, the sofa table in the background is cluttered but it doesn't look like that anymore.

Just because it was cute.  Otter babies!

Yarn on the floor, and it must be dealt with immediately!

Froggy, I bet you agree with this one!  (But did we ever listen to Mom and do it her way at first?)

 

OK, that's enough for today.  Keep your fingers crossed that I do not have to run Otter up to the urgent care place about her ear tonight.  The fact that she's actually admitting to "discomfort" means that it's really bothering her, she is a very stoic young lady and it has to really be bothering her for her to even admit that much.  I think that comes from years and years of severe asthma spells and learning from a very young age how to deal with potentially life-threatening issues without panic!  Unfortunately, it also means that when she does have something that needs to be dealt with immediately, she doesn't always realize it!  Oh, yeah - she also learned over the years how to deal with serious stuff like blood and broken bones from having to deal with the Resident Engineer!  Froggy, I bet that KN#3 also learned a few lessons from Uncle Crazy and that might have had some bearing why she is a natural nurse!**

 

**KN#3 will be an official nurse with a degree to prove it in a few weeks.  We're very proud of her.

The Things You See in Tulsa on a Random Weekend...

Introducing:

Paige the Sketchbook and Tony the Talking Clock, from the slightly odd and off-kilter story Don't Hug Me, I'm Scared. 

(Also known as Otter and J.)

 

(Keep in mind that Otter is very much her mother's daughter and not everyone will like the story!  OK, it's actually a creepy story, so consider yourself warned.)

Otter made her own costume, there is a red skirt underneath the white skirt but it's not visible in this picture.  The clouds, orange, pencil, etc., on the skirt and blouse are felt that she painted and appliqued on.  She's wearing long satin gloves and tights, and obviously a multi-colored wig - I think nearly everyone that was there in cosplay had on either a hat, headpiece or wig depending on the character they were portraying.  Plus she is also wearing white face makeup with black accents (the glasses are hers and are real, she's nearsighted) and she's carrying a magnifying glass.  J's costume is a suit jacket and black slacks, and he's wearing white gloves.  He made the sash and the clock applique, he's carrying an apple which Otter was originally going to paint on one side as if it was rotted but the apple is plastic and the paint probably wouldn't have stayed on very well without scratching off.  J's eyebrows are also yellow, which Otter colored with chalk dust, basically.

 

They were very popular and quite a few people wanted their picture.  Otter said that she will probably re-work the underskirt idea, she might use red tulle and attach it to the bottom of the white skirt instead of actually wearing the 2nd skirt.  The idea is that she pulls up the edges of the white skirt in a curtsey and the red skirt (which was supposed to look like raw meat) shows but the red skirt kept sticking to the white one.  She's wearing several fluffy petticoats underneath and they stuck to the red skirt which stuck to the white skirt, and the point is NOT to show her undies!

 

(Yes, J really is that tall.  And Otter is on the petite side.)

(Not) Blind(ed) By The Light

We are now nearly curtainless.  Bill put the miniblind in the living room window on Friday, then he got the office/pachinko room and bedroom taken care of today.  Otter's room will wait, possibly until she's moved out and it's my "craft/guest/yarn" room!  She's got quite a bit of stuff in her room, nobody wants to have to unload everything from there anytime soon.  Not having curtains makes the rooms look bigger, and there is certainly more light coming in the windows.  Also, the miniblinds make it harder to see inside from the outside when they are closed.  The office/pachinko room will be open when Bill's working in there because there is not enough light in that room, but closed all other times.

 

Otter had a good time at TNT this weekend.  They thought they would be staying all day today, but as she said they'd seen it all and done it all by this morning so they went for a couple of hours and then all three girls decided that they were tired and it was time to come home.  J was able to go for a couple of hours this morning as well, so he hung around with them and he was with them all day yesterday.  Otter texted me a picture of her and J in costume, but I haven't transferred it to the computer yet - not for lack of trying, the computer wouldn't read the files from my phone.  But they were very popular, there were a couple of other girls dressed as the same character she was but only one other guy as the male character that goes with hers and she thinks the fact that they were there as a pair is why they got photographed so much - including by some of the press that attended.  She had a great time and she spent nearly every cent she had saved for it, so she says it was a success.  She's more or less collapsed on her bed at the moment, although she might drag herself to the shower at some point.  She has to be in at 5:30 tomorrow morning, she would probably go to bed early anyway since she's exhausted but she definitely will tonight.

 

Yes, she did see the Borg.  She was already out of her cosplay costume, they changed back into t-shirts and jeans about halfway through the day yesterday and they found the Borg after that so I won't be posting a picture of the BorgPrincess (yes, Otter I do mean you.  Yes, you are!) with my drones on here.

 

Maggie Moo was so overjoyed when Otter got home.  Otter texted me when they were nearly here, I opened the front door and Maggie Moo zoomed right to it.  Where she immediately started wiggling and making noises.  LOUDLY.  When Otter's friend pulled the car into the driveway, the dog just about wiggled out of her skin!  I opened the door and Maggie Moo immediately slinkywalked to Otter, greeted her with lots and lots of puppy kisses and then turned around and walked right back to the door for me to put her in - took her a looooooooooooooooooooooooong time but she finally learned that she has to go back to the door and go back inside after she gets to go out on the front porch.  Frasier is not allowed out there unless he's leashed or I'm holding on to his collar.  He knows the rules, he just chooses not to follow them - dog is too smart for his own good!

 

Bill and I went to the Hog Trough (Golden Corral) for breakfast this morning.  It wasn't very good, we were disappointed in it.  It used to be so good, but it wasn't all that spectacular today.  But we made up for it - he met someone at Dairy Queen to deliver a pachinko machine he restored and I rode along with him.  Since we were there already, we had to get Blizzards!  And they were very good, too.  Sorry, Froggy - no Braums today!

 

But I might eat lunch there one day this week.  Just in case you wanted to know, Froggy.

Where We Stand

What a Week and it's Still Not Friday1!!

It's been a crazy week.  Mostly, my time has been taken up with Otter and helping her get her cosplay ready for TNT this weekend.  She tried very hard not to be stuck at the last minute putting things together, but she was sick with allergies yesterday and has also had a lot more hours at work the last couple of weeks.  She finished up the sewing on both skirts a few days ago, but the white outer skirt had a lot of felt pieces that needed to be made and then glued on.

 

The blouse was another story altogether.  The pattern was for a peasant-style blouse that had a band around the front which tied in the back.  Otter didn't want the tie and she wanted the front piece to be one piece, not three different pieces sewed together.  So, we took the back pattern piece and altered it slightly.  Then we held our breath and crossed our fingers that it worked!  It did, but she still had a few alterations to make to the neckline and the sleeves.  The sleeves are short and have elastic at the ends.  She got the blouse front and back sewn together, got the neckline adjusted and hemmed and then all she had was the two sleeves to be sewn on and the bottom hem to be done.  That's when the sewing machine broke.  We thought maybe the needle was chipped or bent, but replacing the needle didn't help.  Bill looked at it, it's his machine, and he things it needs to be serviced and a good cleaning would help.  Since all she had left to actually sew on was the sleeves, I got out needle and thread and put them on by hand.  She's already done the casing for the elastic and inserted it into the casing on both sleeves.  But it was nearly 10:00 last night by the time we realized the sewing machine was not going to work.  I got finished sewing the sleeves on at 11:30 last night.  Can we say tired?

 

Otter had one felt piece which had to be glued to the front neckline of the blouse, she got that done this morning and then it sat on the table all day drying.  It was fine when we got home, and she got it packed with the rest of her luggage.  Looked like she was going away for weeks!  She'll be back on Sunday, the pile of luggage/suitcase/boxes/ice chest/tote bags was immense.

 

It rained today.  Of course it did, the rain barrel level was about 1/4 down, every time we think we might get to level it and stabilize it, it rains!  Lots.  Like nearly 2" in just a few hours.  Well, we do need it.

 

But I can do without the humidity that will happen!

I Guess it's Just Tuesday

Can't think of a title today! :)

 

Day 2 of being back at work.  I was caught up about 30 minutes after I got there, yesterday.  I didn't particularly want to get up at 5:00 yesterday morning, which is maybe why I woke up at 4:30!!

 

Otter's been working feverishly to get her cosplay ready for TNT.  She's just about through, she still has to actually sew the blouse together but that won't take too long.  She's been working on the felt items that will be attached to the skirt, she's been painting and gluing them and that means drying time so the sewing isn't quite as critical.  But she's going to get that done tomorrow when she gets home from work.

 

The most exciting part of my week so far is buying a new kitchen trash can, the old one dates to 1994 (when we moved into our old house).  Bill needed a bigger trash can for the pachinko workroom, so I gave him the old one from the kitchen about bought a new one that is slightly larger.  Really exciting, huh!?!

 

There was another wasp nest starting in the front.  Actually, I think it was smaller hornets but I didn't get close enough to find out for sure.  Bill wanted me to hose out the old trash can, but the nest was in the window right over the faucet so I told him he had to kill it if he wanted his trash can cleaned.  There were two on it yesterday when we first noticed it, today it was actually quite a bit bigger and there were 3 of the little demons.  He sprayed them, one died immediately (I squashed the body into about a billion flat pieces with my shoe) and the other two flew off but not were not flying very well, since they were sprayed pretty good.  Otter found two freshly dead demon bugs when she was outside while ago, so I think he got all 3.  Hopefully, there won't be any more!

 

We bought miniblinds to put in the living room window, pachinko room window and our bed room window.  The living room and bed room are in back of the house, but we've seen our neighbors behind us peeking over the fence but pretending not to.  So, miniblinds it is.  The pachinko room is in the front of the house so it's just a good idea to put one there as well.  I think Bill's going to put them in the windows in the next couple of days.

 

Yes, Froggy.  S.A.B.L.E. is the only way to go!

Last Day

We have to go back to work tomorrow.  Don't Want To!!!!!!!

 

We had several chores to accomplish this last week and I think we managed to get them done.  The living room is back to not-being-ashamed-to-have-anyone-see-it, Bill has a room with plenty of space to work on his pachinko machines (and I don't care how messy it gets in there!), Otter's just about finished with her cosplay clothing for TNT, we got to the zoo and we shopped/thrifted a lot.  It was nice to sleep in a bit.

 

The only drawback to Bill getting all his pachinko stuff out of the living room is that I now have access to my Fenton collection.  I can see it now.  I can also see how dusty it is!

 

Otter needed a few more felt pieces for her cosplay costume, so we went to Michael's this afternoon.  I found yarn.  Big surprise!  It is very pretty, a nice shade of blue with silver thread through it.  It was $5.99 per skein and was marked down to $1.99 each.  They are smaller skeins so I grabbed 5 of them.  Clearance generally means that I'd better get plenty when I see it, because it will probably not be available later.  When I got up to pay for it, they rang up at .99 cents each.  I thought that was a pretty good deal.  It's in one of the drawers, the one with the Really Good Yarn I got in TEXAS.

 

I went through the yarn drawers yesterday, I reorganized them all and cleaned out a few odds & ends to donate.  The drawers were actually in pretty good shape, I'm generally organized (OK, I'm obsessively organized...) but I wanted to look through my stash and see just what exactly I have on hand.  A lot more red and yellow than I thought!  I did find a few small balls and small amounts that I put in the project bag for the scrap blanket and a few small but not so small amounts which are now in the donate pile.  The yarn I'm donating is not anything I think I will ever need or want to use.

 

But I'm sure I'm still at S.A.B.L.E.* stage!

 

Since today is the last day of vacation, we went to lunch at a local Chinese buffet.  It was pretty good.  We ate too much, but I think you kind of have to at that type of place.  It was good.  They had cheesecake on the dessert buffet!

 

*Stash Amassed Beyond Life Expectancy.  The only way to be!

Happy 4th of July! (And Other Stuff, Too)

Home of the free, because of the brave.

 Now, for the other stuff:

 

 Froggy, it might be a few days before I can get anymore work done on Uncle Crazy's blanket.  Blame one of these:

 

 

Left hand, forefinger just below the lowest knuckle on the inside of my finger.  The Alaskan ulu knives have to be carefully hand washed and the water has to be kept from the wooden handle.  We used ours on pizza tonight, and it worked wonderfully by the way.  But when I was getting ready to wash it, it had a little cheese still stuck on it so I rubbed it on a wadded up paper towel that I had in my left hand.  And that's when I learned just how razor-sharp they really are!  It's not a bad cut, but it is in a bad place.  And I'm a Redhead, so of course I bled.  A LOT.

 

The final week day of our vacation started out with going out for breakfast.  We discussed the Hog Trough, but they don't offer breakfast during the week so we went to a local well-known place and had a really good meal.  Otter and I went shopping, Bill begged off so we took him home first.  Among other places, we went to the mall.  I wanted to get some leather cleaner/conditioner at the Coach store.  They carry it, no problem at all with getting it.  But then I made a mistake (well, I don't think it was a mistake...) and talked to the sales clerk.  She promptly told me about the specials they have and the clearance corner had plenty of specials!  Needless to say, another Coach bag came home with me.  $298 marked down to $149, black leather and it's very nice.  Love it when I get a good deal!  They also tossed in another dust bag for the one I got at the outlet store in Austin, one came with the new purse and I also bought the cleaner/conditioner.  Otter was more than willing to enable me help the sales clerk with her pitch!  Yes, I know - 1 or 2 is fine but 3 makes a collection!

 

We went to a thrift store before we took Bill home, then Otter and I hit another one.  We also went to our favorite used book store and found a few books, and we hit Wallyworld.  Apparently, we are among the few people who DON'T wait until the last minute to get supplies for things like picnics on the 4th of July!  They were so crowded.  We found the smallest checkout line and got in it, then a lady from the jewelry department was roaming the lines and getting people with small enough amounts of items and checking them out in the jewelry department so we didn't have to wait as long as we could have.

 

We had "cardboard pizza" from wally's deli for our 4th of July dinner (the ulu knife worked so well on it.)  Otter found her sparklers from last year, she also had a few smoke bombs and some poppers but I'm not sure if she's going to set them off with the sparklers or not.  But I did tell her that I had a heavy-duty yardstick to duct tape to her back if she needs to be held upright!!!

 

The living room has been reclaimed from the pachinko mess junk trash pile work area.  Bill got it all finished up this afternoon.  Otter and I got all three of my yarn drawers moved into the living room, after I vacuumed and cleaned up the area where the pachinko stuff has been for the last few years.  While we were at Wally, I bought two under-bed Rubbermaid type boxes and we put a lot of the stuff that had been in tote bags and on the shelf in the office closet into them.  There is still some stuff that is in our closet, and a few other things that were on my desk.  But they will eventually find a better storage space.  They're out of the way now, mostly anyway.  I'm going to move one of the plants, probably a peace lily from the bedroom, to the sofa table.  We're also going to get mini-blinds for the living room window and I think at that point I'm going to get rid of the curtains in that window.  I was going to go by Lowe's today, but I decided to wait and do that one day this week on the way home from work.

 

Now, it's time to enjoy the fact that I have my living room back!

It's a Beautiful Day

Really nice and also like Spring, not like the first week of July!  The sky is gorgeous, the perfect shade of blue and no clouds at all.  It's warm but not hot and there are birdies chirping all over the place.

 

It was in the 50's last night.  The 50's!  In July.  Bill opened the house up this morning, it was nice & cool.  The birdies were chirping their little feathered heads off then, too.  Including a huge dove that landed in one of the trees in the back yard.

 

Well Done, Tulsa Police Department! Well Done.

 

Today has been a "whatever" day.  Otter had to work, she talked me into taking her this morning and we took the recycling stuff on the way.  Bill's been working on his pachinko restoration as well as moving more of his stuff back to the office/pachinko workroom.  I've been doing stuff around the house, and for the first time in a long time and probably the last time in a long time, the laundry basket is empty!  That won't last long, it never does.  I swept the front porch off, judging by the "evidence" I'd say the resident bat has been back.  Fine with me, he is welcome to come eat all the buggies he can catch!

 

Otter and I have shopping plans tomorrow.  At least in the morning, she still has quite a bit of sewing and misc. stuff to do on her cosplay clothing.  But we are going to the mall so I can go to the Coach store about getting some of their leather cleaner/conditioner and we're going to hit a few thrift stores while we are out and about.  Bill's going to be enjoying the day at home, he is still working on the pachinko restoration and the work room but he enjoys it.  Seems like it would be work-like to me, but not to him.

 

Well, Bill just reminded me that I was going to mail something but I forgot to take it when I got Otter from work so I guess I'd better head in the general direction of the post office!  I guess I'd better check the UPS box while I'm at it, and I think that he also wants me to take his car so I will run it by a gas pump while I'm at it.

 

Also, Blogger is acting up again.  Froggy, your comment posted but when I told it to post KN#3's comment, it sent hers to the delete file.  I was able to find it but I couldn't get it to post or move the comment back to the "waiting to post" file so I retyped what she said and posted it that way.  I do remember Uncle Buck's RV and he would generally have a crowd of grandkids with him where and whenever he travelled, now that I've had time to think about it I do remember Mom saying something about the rain when y'all went to the zoo but I don't remember all the actual details.

 

OK, the post office is waiting on me!

Warm Wednesday

OK, it's not bad weather at all for this time of year.  It's warm, but it is not hot at all.  It is supposed to be like this the rest of the week.  A little on the cool side for this time of year, but it is really nice.

 

Yes, Froggy.  I do remember Mom taking us to the zoo many times.  But I don't remember the story about Uncle Buck's kiddo and the water.  Was that maybe before I showed up, or maybe I was too young to remember?  I know we went to the zoo with "the cousins" as we referred to them, many times.  I do remember the elephant rides, and also monkey island with all the monkeys and goats.  We also always went to Breckenridge Park after the zoo and rode the train.  The Tulsa Zoo has a train, but it is inside the zoo.  We usually ride it, but we were all hot & tired yesterday and didn't take a train ride.

 

Today's vacation fun was shopping.  Unsuccessfully, I might add.  I went to the booth store and the store you reminded me about, I saw a few things but nothing that really "talked" to me.  I think that Otter and I are going thrifting for a little while on Friday, and to at least one fabric store.  Yes, Froggy.  I will get the pattern and license plate for you!  There are actually several on the list you sent me that are in the general area of where I live or close enough.  Otter won't let me go to a fabric store without her.

 

I got two rows on Uncle Crazy's blanket this morning.  I was hoping to have more time to work on it this week, but not so far.  However, I don't think that anybody has anything planned tomorrow so maybe I can get in a crochet marathon.

I stopped at the liquor store this afternoon.  And taped to the front door are 4 pictures:  three of the same man and one of a woman.  And all of them are shoplifters, the pictures came straight from the security camera and there is a sign with the pictures:  "WE ARE WATCHING YOU" written on it in bold letters.  I talked the clerk, she said that they have been in several times and that the clerks all know them on sight now.  There is usually only one person working at a time there, she said that the pictures were taken when she was working and that she knew what they were doing - they were pretty bold about it, but that she was by herself and really was afraid to confront the man.  I told her she should grab her phone and dial 911 as soon as they come in the door the next time.  She hadn't thought about that, but I think she will do that if they come back again.  I don't blame her for not wanting to confront the man, but they really should have more than one person working at any one time.

Bill is watching a particular movie at the moment.  From 1975.  One with a very specific and well-known musical score that will still cause a chill to the blood:  JAWS.  The original one.  Being part of that generation, I remember seeing it in the theater right after it came out and being absolutely terrified - not of the ocean or swimming in it, it was just a very scary movie.  But it never kept me our of the ocean, and we used to go a couple of times per summer.  But I do remember the first summer the movie was out - when apparently a lot of other people did let it keep them off the beach!

Zoo Tails

We went to the zoo today.  We took J with us.  We had a great time but my feet are tired!  But it was really fun.

 

Tulsa's got a new baby:  Seymour  He is really cute.  The otters were out of their enclosure today, which isn't always the case.  They were curled up at the base of a tree by their stream, snoozing.  But at least they were outside today!

 

Tulsa also has an animatronic dinosaur exhibit.  It was ok, but not the best one we've seen.

 

Froggy, you asked about the progress in the office/pachinko room.  All the furniture is now in place, the tarp is over the desk/filing cabinet work station and Bill's got the computer hooked up again.  There were two printers that he didn't use very often, they are now in the "donate" pile and I might take care of that tomorrow.  All that we are waiting on now is for Bill to finish the pachinko restoration he's working on at the moment and that should be this week.  Then, the last of the debris pachinko related junk clutter will be moved out of the living room.  And then the yarn will move in!

 

After the zoo today, we went to Hobby Lobby because both Otter and J needed items for their matched companion cosplay for TNT and J needed Otter's help in a couple of the components for his.  While they were wandering around the craft section, I was lost in the yarn aisles.  My stash increased by two skeins today, it's a very pretty light pink with metallic speckles.  I got the last of the office supplies out of the plastic drawers last night and my ReallyGoodReallyExpensive yarn that I got in TEXAS is in that drawer.  Along with the two pink skeins I got today!

 

We took J back to his house in a neighboring town, then we went by the booth store today to pay rent for July and collect for June's sales.  Then we went down the street to another craft/antique mall and we both found a few things.  I got a few more crocheted doilies for the curtain drape I'm going to eventually make.  Eventually being when I have enough, and it will take lots.  I also found two more yarn spools, but they aren't as big as the other two I got a few weeks back.  I did not get any more Fenton, but I did see a few pieces that are interesting.  Just not interesting enough to actually come home with me!

 

Yet, anyway.