Hot & Tired & Sweaty

It's warm today, and the fact that we had to drive somewhere in the White Lightning just makes it hotter.  No a/c in the El Camino!

 

Bill needed a new compressor, the one he had died a few months back.  He bought it used, through Craigslist I think, and it worked for a very short time then it more or less came apart.  He got it cheap enough that it was worth buying the parts to fix it, so he did that.  One year warranty on the parts.  Literally just before the warranty ran out, like 3 or 4 days before, it did it again.  But the parts were covered by the warranty so the manufacturer sent replacement parts and it worked quite well.  Until it did it again, but this time it was well out of the warranty period.  Bill was able to borrow a small compressor so he's been able to get some of the stuff done he needed it for but the small one was not big enough to run the sandblaster.  He's been looking into different compressors, the first one came from Sears and while Craftsman used to be a good brand it was pretty obvious that it's lost a lot of it's quality so he knew he wasn't going to get one of those again.  He found one in the Atwood's ad, it was big enough and was also a little cheaper than he thought it would be.  $499.00 which is actually a very good price for the size he needed.  We went up there today and it took 3 of their employees to get it loaded in the back of the White Lightning.  Remember the wood guys we referred to as Bubba and Bubba?  Well, Bubba and Bubba made these guys look like Rhodes Scholars!

 

It had to be upright, so it took some time for Bill to get it tied down securely.  We had a back roads was to get home, it took a while but it was fairly uneventful.  Just very warm, which was not helped by the fact that the driver's side window is still out of commission because the tiny little part needed to fix it does not exist any longer.

 

Bill was able to get the 250# compressor unloaded, he scooted it back and then used some large wooden blocks to rest it on until he could get it scooted down to the driveway.  It's in the garage and it's going to stay there until tomorrow, he is too tired and hot to mess with it.

 

It's the last Sunday of the month, so we had our traditional Family Outing.  We went to Cici's pizza for lunch.  They've gone downhill.  I eat lunch there about once a month or so, but today we discovered that they have made changes.  For one thing, you don't get plates anymore.  They hand the customers a metal tray, like the kind a small pizza is made on, and point in the general direction of wax paper which is to be put on the metal pan then tossed after the first helping, the wax paper is replaced the next time you go up to the buffet.  They no longer have metal cutlery, it's now plastic and they no longer have reusable glass/heavy plastic drink ware - it's the cheap waxed paper-ish stuff.  The crushed red pepper and parmesan shakers were also no where in sight.  I'm kind of thinking that maybe the Cici's company has had a financial downturn, but really - how expensive can it be to wash dishes?!  We also went to a store that Otter wanted to check out something she saw in their ad, a thrift store and an antique store.  Otter had to work this afternoon, so we made sure to get home in plenty of time for her to not be late and then Bill and I made our trip to buy the compressor.

 

I'm on my second load of laundry, but I don't necessarily think I'm going to get it all done.  The laundry basket has overflowed to the point of bursting, but I'm off tomorrow so I'll probably get it finished up then.

 

Mostly, I'm just sitting in front of a fan and the a/c is turned down!  Later on, after Otter gets home, Maggie Moo is getting a bath.  I'll handle the tossing the dog into the tub and torturing her by washing her, Otter gets to handle the drying of the beagle part of the fun.  Maggie Moo love the drying process, she thinks it's fun.  The bath part, not so much!

 

If I'm feeling especially brave tomorrow, it will be Frasier's turn.  But that might be more trouble than it's worth.  The chupacabra does not see any reason that he should ever have to be subjected to a bath.  He thinks he smells just fine.  But he's the only one who does!

Yeah, I Know

3 is a collection, 4 is an addiction.  But I'm not sure if that applies to me or not!

After all, it's not a Coach!

 

I have 3 Coach bags, but this one is Something else entirely.  However, it's my 6th "Better Bag" so it might count.  Actually it's my 7th, but one of them was a thrift store purchase although it is a leather, SAS brand purse.  Actually, my "gateway" Coach was also from a thrift store but I was actively looking for a Coach at that point.

 

I already know what Froggy will say.  But in my defense, I have been lusting after a Brahmin for quite a while but I was having a problem paying that much for a bag.  Even if it is top of the line leather!  They almost never actually go on sale.  Otter and I were in Dillards, which I probably should avoid but I never do, and I mentioned to her that I was probably safe to walk though the better purses section since Brahmin pretty much never go on sale.  Except, today, apparently they do!  The one I bought is more of a cream color with light gold-ish highlights, but it's the same purse as in the picture.  The leather is very good and it is made to look like crocodile although it isn't.  However, it does have that distinctive smell that really good leather has so it's not where I normally park my purses - I'm taking no chances with this one and it's well out of dog/coyote/chupacabra reach!

 

On to other things.  Otter and I took advantage of the fact that she was off work today and ran off to go shopping.  We started out at a couple of fabric stores, she found a pattern she liked and also fabric to make another circle skirt (her cosplay pattern was a circle skirt) and I found the perfect fabric for the back of the lap quilt I'm making for Bill - I'm currently collecting fabric for it that fits Billyboy - tools, hammers, robots, Dr. Suess, bandaids, etc.  It's going to be a lap sized blanket.  The fabric I bought today is reminiscent of pin-up girls from the 40's and 50's, cowgirls (mostly redheads!) and cactus.  We went to the mall so she could get a Build-a-Bear puppy made for a friend's birthday gift and I managed to stay out of the Coach store - not that it mattered!  We went to Michaels and she found a few things there.

 

While we were at Dillards, we had to check out the shoe department.  I've been having worse issues with the plantar fasciitis lately and I've had several people recommend croc shoes to me - I think that they are pretty ugly and not something I'd really ever wear but I'm at the point of desperation.  The salesman was very attentive and he showed me several different brands that also will work - Dillards trains their people very well and he was actually very enjoyable to deal with (I know about Dillards employee training from experience, I worked at Dillards a long while back and they are very thorough.)  The problem is in my heel, it's essentially a bruised muscle and what actually helps it is arch support with a little padding on the heel.  I did wind up with a pair of crocs shoes, but they are not the tackytackytacky clog-type shoes.  These remind of me of swimming shoes, but they feel pretty good on my tender heel and they don't hit on the wrong spot below the weathertoes.

 

Froggy, you said you were going to live vicariously through me today since you are still housebound, I hope I gave you enough details!

One Potato, Two Potato, Three Potato, Four!!

Bill is having a Domino Day.  Also known as one potato, etc.

 

He was on his way from the pachinko hoard/workroom to the kitchen so he could clean parts - which needs the sink.  He was carrying the super-strong bleachy cleaner he uses and he dropped the bottle.  When it hit the floor, the lid flew off and the cleaner exited the bottle fast.  It splashed on his pj legs, they got taken to the sink immediately and cold water running over them - 2nd potato.  He also got it on his legs so he got washed up - 3rd potato.  Then he took a bunch of paper towels to the large spot in the carpet in the hallway and then he yelled for me to get the steam cleaner.  As soon as he headed in the direction of the bathroom (our closet is off the bathroom and the steam cleaner is stored in the closet) and as soon as he gets close, the clock in the bathroom launches itself off the wall and the batteries pop out!  Four!!!

 

At that point, I told Bill that he was not allowed to even think about using any sharp objects or power tools tonight, and I wouldn't even let him plug the steam cleaner in himself.

 

Otter thinks we should just wrap him in bubble wrap and seal it shut with duct tape, just leaving enough space so he can breathe.  Then I think we are supposed to prop him up in a corner somewhere so he'll be safe.

 

Froggy thinks he should just go to bed and stay there until morning.

 

I'm very glad that tomorrow is Friday and that it's a 3-day weekend.

Today is a Fun Day

It's International Dog Day!

And my two heartily approve! 

Thursday is another fun day, but it's more for Billyboy than for the dogsters.

50-cent corndogs!  Bill saw the Sonic commercial and immediately announced that he knows what dinner is on Thursday.  Guess I'd better plan a stop at Sonic on the way home!

 

We nearly had another water outage in my small town.  Saturday, it was announced that we were being asked to restrict water usage due to an algae bloom in the city's water plant that was clogging the filters - the new filters that they put in last year after the water outage we had.  That one actually involved other issues, but the filters were bad and so they were replaced then as well.  The new filters are supposed to be better than the old ones.  Anyway, we were not supposed to use outdoor sprinklers, wash cars, fill pools, etc., and that was supposed to be through Monday morning.  Monday morning comes along and the city does not make any announcements, but apparently they thought that we were just all going to still restrict usage.  Gotta tell people that, folks!  So, Monday's water usage was more than normal because people were making up for last time as far as the amount of water they used.  But the algae wasn't cleared yet and was actually making the filters work ever worse.  So, they announced yesterday that we were still to follow the restrictions and that it would be fixed by today.  Today comes along and guess what!  The filters are still not cleared.  By today, the city had already had to switch to the reserves in the water towers and the level was dropping pretty quickly.  We were told that if they didn't get the filters cleared, we were on the verge of having the water restricted like last year when we were told not to use it at all.  Otter ran the dishwasher for me this morning before she ran off with a friend, she filled the dog's water dish to the brim and filled up a couple of pitchers.  When I got home, I went ahead and ran a load of laundry - a big load.  I also got the coffee pot ready for tomorrow morning and refilled the britta pitcher Otter keeps in the fridge.  I also planned on getting a shower the minute we finished dinner.  But shortly before we got through with dinner (we were listening to the news on tv), the city announced that the filters were cleared and that the restrictions would be lifted in the morning to give them time to get the towers filled.  I went ahead and took a shower, just in case they change their minds and we don't get the ok for full usage - not beyond the realm of possibility.  I hope the water usage restrictions are lifted, Otter works the truck in the morning (unloading and stocking) and she usually runs to the shower the second she gets home after truck day!

 

Also, I think that today might be the anniversary of when Bill and I got remarried.  Either today or it was Sunday.  It's not a day we really celebrate, January 26th is the original anniversary and that's the one we acknowledge.  But every so often I remember the day in August.

 

Labor Day is next Monday.  Already.  I don't think we're going to do anything much, Bill might grill some steaks or we might not even do that much.  He's probably going to work on pachinko machines, but that's a no-brainer!  I might get some crochet done.  Also a no-brainer!  I started the poncho that Otter wants on Saturday, it's a new stitch pattern that I've never done and it took me a few tries to get it right.  I frogged it out yet again yesterday and re-did it, I think I finally got it figured out and it looks right.  I worked on it while I was waiting for Chevy to change the oil in my car this morning and it really looks good.  It's going to be a fast project, if I have the time to actually work on it, because it's a fast stitch and stitch pattern.  Froggy, I am going to get back on Uncle Crazy's lap blanket but not until it's a little cooler.  A yarn blanket is not exactly what I call easy to work on when it's 100+ degrees!

 

It's officially Ragweed Season.  I've known it for days, but the weather forecast includes the allergy/pollen count and it's officially showing up today.  I could have told them that!

Monday Again?

I guess it is.  Monday keeps coming around, and I keep trying to skip over it and go straight to Tuesday.  No luck yet!

 

Maggie Moo is a derpy dog today.  Well, she usually is.  But today she is a little more derpy than usual.  Even though I blocked the dogs from getting into the larger part of the garage, she found a tiny spot where she could get between the cardboard boxes, flattened out cardboard boxes that were standing up, the recycling bins (blocked be another large cardboard box) and a bar stool that was holding up most of the standing, flattened out cardboard boxes.  And she apparently spent most of the morning in the area she was blocked from.  Because she couldn't figure out how to get back!  Goofy baby.  Otter got home from work about 11:00 a.m., I put the dogsters out in the garage about 6:00 this morning so she was only out there for a few hours.  (They were put in the garage but they have access to their yard.)  Otter retrieved the beagle from the back part of the garage and then took a damp washcloth to the little furry brat and gave her a sponge bath - beagle kind of stunk!  Otter said Maggie Moo seemed to enjoy the sponge bath, I guess it was like a massage to her.  Frasier was well-behaved today, and he is snoozing in the floor at the moment.

 

Just because it's cute, but then Beagles generally are.

 

I called the internet provider we use today.  They gave me the free week, they actually gave me a little more off the bill than the 5 days downtime.  I would have preferred more, but we're satisfied.

 

This is the absolute truth:

Sunday Ketchup

Haven't done a Ketchup post in a while.  I thought maybe it was a good time to do one, since we were not able to get online last week.  I did take my laptop to work a couple of days and did quick posts, but they were just that:  quick.  This one won't be, don't say you weren't warned.  :)

 

The last time the internet connection actually worked last week was Monday morning.  I checked my email before I left for work, just as I was getting ready to turn the computer off the connection died but that happens fairly frequently so I wasn't worried.  Otter was home that morning, she got up around the time I was leaving and she tried to get online about 8:30 with no luck.  I had to come home at lunch to get her (Bill got his wires crossed about the fact that she needed the car and he was to take the El Camino that day so he took the Impala) so she could get to work at noon.  I checked the connection then, and that was the first call I made to the unsmart carrier we use.  The answer was "Thursday" even though it was only Monday when I called.  Tuesday evening, I called them again to see if there was any way they could move us up on the schedule due to the internet-bases business Bill has.  No luck, and the person I talked to was even more clueless than the Monday person!

 

Bill arranged Thursday off, since all they could say was that it would be between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.  I was on the way to Otter's store to look at a toy/tool/log splitter for Bill about 3:45 when I got an automated call that told me the repair had been done.  Which it hadn't, they hadn't even been out to our house.  That caused the first of the really serious RHTW* calls to them, which She enjoyed (and so did Otter because I was walking into her store when I finally got connected to a person) but the company representative did NOT enjoy.  She was helpful, but it took her a while to figure out why I was upset.  Let's see, maybe the fact that they hadn't even been out but had already closed out the work order and said it was repaired?  I came home to get Bill since I really wasn't sure which of the two log splitters he wanted, and we saw a couple of cable-line repair crews a few houses up from ours so we were thinking that maybe they were working on the "area-wide problem" that our carrier claimed to be the issue and that maybe it would actually be fixed this time.

 

Well, they were part of the issue but not the repair crew!  Bill took Friday off as well, since they hadn't gotten it fixed by Friday morning, it was still out and that was the 2nd RHTW* call and the most "extreme" shall we say.  This time, I really let them have it.  The repair call had been cancelled again Thursday evening AFTER RHTW* talked to them, and that is what really made me let Her out of the fence.  And she came out of the fence with both barrels blazing, just in case there was any doubt!  The upshot was that they gave the repair crew my cell phone number and Bill's, and the lead repair called us both.  When I got home, he was standing in my living room and he looked a little on the terrified side when I walked in the door.  Guess RHTW* made an impression!

 

The crew we saw up the street Thursday evening was working at a neighbor's house, on some work in his yard.  This was a company, not just an individual digging around in his yard.  Whatever they were doing, they had never gotten the line markers out and they cut the line when they were digging - which was apparent to the company we have Monday but they didn't decide until Thursday that it was a neighborhood issue and not just us?  Something RHTW* asked them about and got a stammering "I Know Nuzzing" type answer to.  The line was repaired, we have phone service again and the internet is back - it still has a lot of issues and cuts out at strange times, but that was what it was doing before.

 

Bill had several orders that came in during the time we were unable to get to the internet, he was in the middle of a couple of repair jobs and was unable to continue until he got input from the customers, there was a repair job machine delivered last week that was damaged in transit and he was unable to contact the customer/shipper about how to handle it, etc.

 

I will be calling them tomorrow morning.  As I told the rep on Thursday, they WILL be adjusting my bill.  Originally, I was going to tell them that I wanted at least the entire month free but since the problem was not their fault, we're going to ask for at least the week we missed and maybe a little more, considering that we lost 5 days of business because of it.  That's mostly because of their bad attitude towards fixing the problem, especially the fact that they kept reporting it as fixed when they had not even been out here.  RHTW* is ready to be deployed if need be.

 

Other stuff did happen last week.  Bill got a log splitter, which is actually a cool and amazingly simple tool to use.  Yes, Froggy - he could hurt himself on it, but he would have to try really hard to do that.  I took the last of his stitches out of his hand on Monday evening.  The doctor said that this week would be good, that it would have had enough time to heal and that we could take them out.  We were thinking Thursday, because that would be exactly 4 weeks but by Monday it was obvious that some of the incision area was healing over the stitches, so I took them out then.  Bill was happy, he was going to go to work the next day and tell his co-workers that we got to Play Doctor!  He's easily amused...  Anyway, his hand looks really good.

 

Thursday, as we were attempting to leave the parking lot where Otter's store is with the log splitter in the back seat of my car (it's long and heavy), it was just before 6:00 and the traffic was kind of heavy.  There was a terrible accident, which we witnessed, involving an older driver who made a left turn into a residential street and he apparently didn't even look because he turned directly in to 2 oncoming lanes of cars moving fast.  It was an almost complete head-on wreck, both cars were severely damaged, one of them was spun around a few times and while it was apparently not a fatality, both drivers had to be hurt pretty badly.  I actually saw it out of the corner of my eye just as I was turning my head to look back in that direction and I saw more of it than Bill did.  I had just decided to turn right and go to the next intersection when it happened (I was hoping to turn left out of the parking lot), so I turned out to the right and immediately back in to the parking lot at the next entrance so we could call 911.  We were not where we could get back to the accident easily, but there were several other people who saw it and were running to both cars to help until the police got there.  The police go there less than a minute after my call, and the ambulances and fire truck were right after that.  It took us a while to get home, we had to go to the next intersection and then turned back to go through the parking lot across the street to get back south of the accident so we could head home.  We got in the door about 5:50, just as Otter texted me that she was on her way home and I told her about it.  She went what we call the back way home, and got home safely.  But I was kind of a basket case for a while!

 

It has been pretty warm the last few days.  We've had Heat Alerts so we've spent a lot of time indoors.  The high temperature is just over 100, which is more or less the environment I grew up in, south TEXAS after all, but it's been very humid.  Which is odd because we haven't had rain in a couple of weeks.  But the humidity is there and it is bad.  It will be hot this week, but it is late summer and August after all.  However, September is just in a few days and that means that Fall is not too far away.  We're starting to stock up on firewood and I'm going to start redoing our winter storm supplies.  It's basically the same as the Spring storm supplies, I just take a few things out to use up and replace them to store for winter weather housebound times.

 

We went to the post office before Church this morning to clear the box.  And found a notice that my car is part of the Chevy recall about the ignition issues with the keys falling out.  I'm actually not surprised.  I am taking it in for an oil change this week, I'll ask the department manager when I talk to him in the morning to get my appointment.  I had asked him about it when the car was in for one of the big repairs we had done recently, at the time it was not showing up as being in the recalled group but he said it could be added at any time and I expected it to be.  I took the key off of the key chain I have it on, and even took the remote fob off.  Which is what Chevy said to do, but I would have done it anyway.  Hopefully, it can be fixed soon but Chevy's letter said that they might not have the right parts in stock due to the number of cars in this recall and it might be a while.

 

The dogs are still goofy, Frasier likes to play with their blankets and he will frequently stick his head underneath them.  Sometimes, he'll pull them over his head with his front feet.  No idea why he does this.  This morning, he was sticking his head under the blankets when I called his name.  He popped his head up and looked at me, ears up and with his head completely covered by the blanket!  Goofy boy.  Maggie is still being herself, little fluffy bellied baby.

 

*RHTW:  She does not play well with others!

 

OK, I guess that's it for now.  I did warn you that this would be long!

Back Up and Running!!

And it only took 4 1/2 days and several phone calls by RHTW* to get it taken care of.

 

Even this morning, when our internet/satellite/phone company showed it as being repaired - when they hadn't even actually checked it at our house.  I think that was about the 5th call, and I let Her completely out of the fence at that point.  As in Scorched Earth, but it did the trick.  I also told them that I'm calling them back and that they WILL be adjusting my bill.

 

If you're gonna play with matches, you gonna get burned.  And Red Hair is the hottest fire there is.  (Yeah, I know:  grammar!  But it's Texasspeak.)

 

This is just because I think it's cute:

It's just about right, except that it doesn't have a category for chili!

 

**Bill's Her biggest fan today, he even gave me suggestions of what to say if I had to call them back again.  And very detailed instructions of where to put the Horns to them!  :)  Now, I just gotta convince Her that She really does need to go back inside the fence!

Internet Troubles

We're having trouble with our internet connection again.  It might actually be the ongoing problem with the phone lines that is causing the problem.  We've been without phone service since sometime Tuesday morning, but we all have cell phones so we are reacheable and also can call out.  We just can't get anywhere with the home phone and can't get internet/email.  The soonest the company can send a tech out is Thursday.  We are unhappy with them, and they know it.

 

Courtesy of RHTW!

 

We may be looking into another internet provider, but that won't be decided until after the repair on Thursday.  And they had better be able to fix it!

Sunday Birds Toads and Water

It's Sunday so I guess I'd better blog.  Otherwise, Froggy might get mad at me and since I have already tormented her today by sending her pictures of a drink cup from the place we got lunch at (Braums!)...

Bill mowed the yard this morning.  It was overgrown again, but not as bad as it was when we had it mowed by Slow & Clueless a week and a half ago.  We got just enough rain a few days ago to start the grass growing.  It was still very damp when he mowed, but it was so humid that it wouldn't really dry and he finally just got tired of waiting and mowed it damp.  With frequent stops for a baby robin!  Flying lessons were taking place in the back yard and he didn't want to run over it.  At one point, he had me go move it off of the fence at the dog yard because Frasier might have had a snack, if he'd seen the little featherbrain.  The baby robin was pretty stubborn, but I think that the parents finally got it to fly off with them.

When Bill was mowing the front yard, I found a tiny toad in the grass.  It was smaller than the top of my thumb.  It was a toad and not a tree frog, it was just very small.  I relocated "him" to the back yard to be free of being mowed as well as the fact that it would have more access to water, hiding spots and mosquitos.  How did the little squishy thing repay me?  He leaked!  I wasn't really surprised, they tend to do that.

The first rain barrel has been full for a while but we haven't been using it.  The spigot was plastic and the twisty part broke off a while back so we left it closed until we could get a metal spigot to replace the plastic one.  Which we forgot about!  We've been using the 2nd rain barrel, every time we get it down to a point where Bill can consider moving it back into place (it got out of place when it froze over the winter and the bottom shape changed), it would rain again.  Bill remembered the first rain barrel spigot issue today, so we went to Ace Hardware and got a metal one.  Which was the wrong size, so I had to go back and exchange it.  He drained the first rain barrel and cleaned it out, then he put a mosquito dunk in it and put the metal spigot on it.  It's ready for rain now.  Of course, that probably means that it won't rain for a while...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TOADLES!

Blogger is being odd today, it won't let me justify the margins and eaven everything up.  Which is a real problem for the Borg Queen!  Everything in it's place...

(Nevermind, I found a backdoor way to fix it.)

Friday Has Been a Long Time Getting Here

But it finally got here.

 

TGIF!

 

This has been such a long week, it started out with major sadness.  I was also still dealing with the after-effects of the flu shot on Monday and I think that next year I will go back to my original plan of Labor Day weekend.  Sometimes, I really need that third day (Monday) to recover and this was one of those years.  I managed to make it to work on Monday, but I was sluggish all day long.

 

We've been having internet issues all week, also.  It was an area-wide problem, our internet service provider was aware of the problem and was working on it.  They finally got it fixed last night.  Hopefully, it will stay fixed!

 

Bill went by the lumber yard Wednesday.  They had quite a bit of smaller cut pieces that a lot of people use in chimineas.  They said he could have all he could load into the El Camino, it brings us up to about a cord of firewood and we haven't had to pay for any of it yet.  He's going to go back for more, probably the larger stuff and he will attempt to pay for it this time.  Most likely sometime next week, depending on the weather.  It could be rainy.

 

Bill saw the doctor yesterday about his hand.  It was a skin cancer, the lab report showed that it was the 2nd stage and not the first stage like the doctor originally thought but it was still not the bad kind.  He took out 7 of the 16 stitches, the remaining stitches are in an area that he was afraid might not heal up as fast and he was right about that.  It is healing, it's just an area that is harder to heal as far as incisions go so he left a few stitches in.  Bill could go back in a week, or he can take them out himself - you probably already know that he's going the DIY route!  They gave him a set of disposable scissors and tweezer, although they will most likely be run through the dishwasher and then join the other tools in the pachinko workroom!

 

I took off the entire day yesterday.  I took Otter to work at 7:00 a.m. and dropped off a carload of recycling at the recycling center.  I went to the doctor with Billyboy, then we had a couple of errands.  Otter got off at noon, we picked her up and went out for lunch.  We had Chinese, there is a pretty good buffet we go to sometimes and that's where we decided on.  Since we were off, we went to an antique-ish booth store in our small town - not the one where our booth is, but down the street from it.  Otter found another picnic basket, not a Redman like her other two but older.  It will work perfectly for her craft supplies, she has fabric in the other two.  The one she got yesterday also had plastic cutlery inside, some of it was cracked and thrown out but some of it was just dirty.  It got washed up and she'll probably incorporate it into her craft stuff as well.

 

I am nearly through with my second donate scarf, I started it yesterday morning and got almost done with it.  Put myself to sleep at one point, I was sitting on the couch crocheting and the next thing I knew I was waking up!

 

Guess I was influenced by my oh-so-energetic (not!) dogs.  They've been snoozing on the floor at my feet ever since I sat down to blog!

Sad News

The ones that burn the brightest, burn out the soonest.  Too soon, way too soon.

Robin Williams was a super nova.

Otter said it's like losing a favorite Uncle.  But to me and Bill, he will always be Mork from Ork.  He was something special, there will never be another one like Robin Williams.  We are all poorer for his loss.

Sunday. Still Waving.

Yes, I am still riding the Wave.  But yesterday was worse than today.  Yesterday, I spent most of the day being lazy because I felt cruddy.  Just bad enough to know I felt bad but not as horrible as I've sometimes had with the flu shot reaction.  I never actually had fever, but it felt like it a couple of times.  I had a mild headache most of the day and occasional achiness.  I felt much better today, but this afternoon I'm back to feeling tired.  We went out to lunch at a Mexican place we had a gift card for, but that's about it.  I did mange to get one load of laundry done but it's not put up yet.  I don't know if I'm going to get anymore done today or not, but everybody's got enough clean clothes for the next couple of days!

 

Thunderstorms yesterday mid-morning.  They were loud and there was a lot of rain.  Then it cleared up and got humid!  We had a small thunderstorm this morning.  Now, it's back to sunny and humid.  We're probably still under the rain amount average, though.

 

There was another wasp starting a nest right outside the back door.  Bill went out the back door yesterday and I saw it dive at him but it didn't quite connect.  He knocked the small nest down but the evilness came back later.  He hit it with the spray just now.  Hate those things!  But, we think we now know why Maggie Moo is so skittish of flying bugs that make buzzing noises.  She's probably been tagged by bees or wasps in the past and associates flying buzzing things with pain.  She's ok if she can see the fly or moth, but if they are not visible to her she will hide.  Don't think I blame her!

 

I did manage to get some crochet done yesterday.  I made a couple of face scrubbies, they are supposed to be made out of cotton yarn but I think the cotton yarn is a little to hard on the skin.  Otter uses hers frequently, but mine is a different brand of cotton yarn and that may be why they feel different.  Anyway, hers was starting to show wear.  When we were in Hobby Lobby the other day, I found a new yarn.  It's bamboo with silk, and it is very soft.  It's also fairly strong, silk is stronger than people realize.  The skeins are small.  They are also $5.99.  Otter absolutely fell in love with it, and started talking about needing a new scrubbie.  But then she said that $5.99 was too much to pay for a small skein - guess she's forgotten about the mink yarn!  I let her think that I wouldn't buy it, but then I went back when she wasn't with me and got one that has a lot of purples in it.  I made her new scrubbie yesterday morning, she pretty much immediately ran to take a shower so she could try it out.  She said it works great and felt much softer than the cotton one did.  I'll probably make one for myself eventually.  I have a new de-stash project, I'm making scarves to donate.  I've done that before.  I still want to make chemo caps, but I'm not happy with any of my cap patterns for that at the moment.

 

Bill cleaned out the outside air conditioner unit.  For some reason, it gets full of tan dog fur on a regular basis.  Can't imagine why!

Riding the Wave

Got flu shot just after 4:30.  Around 4:45, I felt the first edges of the Wave.  (The Wave is what I call the flu shot reaction, it hits like a wave.  Starts small, then builds.)  We got all our errands done so that Walgreen's was the last stop, I needed to get milk but we got it there.  So all we had to do after getting the shots was to head home.  There's no way to tell for sure, sometimes the speed of the Wave hitting means a worse reaction.  Sometimes not.  But I kind of expect this year's Wave to be a harder one.  We'll see, I guess.

 

At any rate, I'm parked on the couch and that's pretty much the extent of my Friday evening activities!  The frozen lasagna is going in the oven as soon as it warms up, we also have garlic toast and I just might have to get into the Bluebell Cookies & Cream ice cream I picked up at the grocery store last night.  Or maybe not, the ice cream might wait until tomorrow.  Either way, the ice cream is in the freezer and we'll eat it.  Bill got into it last night, he always get to partake of the post-shot ice cream even if he doesn't get the shot - he has to put up with me/us dealing with reactions so he deserves it!  Besides, he got cut on last week and he's still got 16 stitches on the back of his hand so I think that counts.

 

Bill's actually doing really good, he worked Wednesday and yesterday but his hand was kind of sore this morning and slightly swollen, so he decided to stay home today and rest it.  I have not heard anything from the lab report, so I'm thinking the doctor probably got all of it.  He gets the stitches removed on Thursday, he's ready for that already.

 

Froggy, your Care Box is on it's way to you.  It will probably be Tuesday, but you might look for it on Monday.  Just some stuff to keep you occupied while you recover from your ankle surgery in 2 weeks.

 

Maggie Moo is nuts.  She was bouncy and crazed while ago, she came in from whatever she'd been doing out in the yard and had a serious case of the Zoomies.  Then she quit running around like a headless chicken, played Carpet Shark for a while and now is parked beside me with a worried expression.  The worried face generally means that she saw a bug that she couldn't catch, which means it must be a Bad Bug and that it will eat her.  Nobody ever said the beagle was overloaded with brains!

Mowed Down

The beagle no longer has to be worried about getting lost in tall grass, the mowers got here this afternoon.  Of course, the beagle is still a tad bit silly but at least she doesn't have to worry about being eaten by weeds.

 

Cost $60 and they didn't do the best job, but it's done and I'm glad.  Our friend was tied up and sent someone to take care of our yard.  Bill said it was like Bubba & Bubba!  They spent more time starting their mower which kept quitting, than he would have taken to mow both the front and back!  They also had a weed-eater running, which is also good because that is usually my job and it's not one I enjoy. :)

 

We've made a discovery.  It's a new-to-us tv channel.  Retro TV.  We found it totally by accident yesterday, Bill was changing channels and he found something special.  Extremely special.

This:

Last night, we caught the first episode that was broadcast on Retro TV.  It was not the original episode, although we have seen that one.  It was probably very early in the first season's run, maybe 3rd or episode in.  Two episodes per night and we intend to watch every single one that we can.  According to the website, the first several seasons will be aired.  I think that what they are actually doing is running the entire original series, it was off the air for several years until # 9 (Christopher Eccleston.)  That means that "Teeth and Hair's" entire run will be broadcast.  # 4 IS the best Dr. Who, hands down.  Although # 9 was very good, he was just one season, and # 10 was excellent (David Tennant) but # 4 IS Dr. Who.

I still think that the theme would make an excellent ring tone.  But I think I'd want the first theme, it changed later on in the series.

But then I'd either constantly call myself just to hear it ring, or I wouldn't answer my calls because I'd want to hear it!

It's a Jungle Out There!

Or at least it looks like it in my front yard.  I called someone we know and he is going to either come out here in the next day or so, or possibly send one of his crew over here.  Probably tomorrow.  Maggie Moo will be pleased, she's afraid of getting lost!

 

Bill's doing pretty good, just a little stir crazy.  Not that I blame him.  It's hard not to use your hand, but he's trying very hard.

 

Froggy, I know what you mean about women and their purses.  Many times, I've seen a woman shopping and the basket with her purse in it is either behind or, our several feet away.  I've seen more than one nearly be stolen, just my presence and obviously seeing the person has been enough to have the would-be thief walk away.  Otter has noticed it pretty often as well.  In fact, if she and I are shopping together and notice it we will make a point of walking by the basket/shopper in question and loudly (so that she hears us) commenting to each other how someone could have grabbed that purse and the owner would never have even noticed it.  Otter thinks she should print up cards to leave on top of the purse with words to the effect of "I could have stolen your purse and you'd never have seen me" as a warning.  I remember one time walking into a grocery store and hearing a woman yelling that her purse had been taken out of her basket.  I also went to Sunday School with a woman who had her bag stolen out of her basket at a clothing store.  There are enough bad people in the world, why make it easier for them?  But it happens.  Very frequently.

 

Migraine today.  This is the 4th one this year.  I usually average about 3 per year.  This is only August, I still have several months left in 2014.  I hope that it is not a trend!  I did have ranch dressing on my salad yesterday, I usually don't eat ranch dressing unless I can read the label on the bottle because it usually has msg by the ton in it, but this was a prepackaged salad and I just didn't think about it.  Hidden Valley brand is one of the worst, and it's also the most commonly used ranch dressing.  Well, it does taste good.  I think it's the most likely culprit.  The headache hit about 11:00 or so, I had planned on getting lunch and bringing it back to the office so I could crochet but crochet and migraines do not mix!  I was a little nauseated, which is also common with migraines.  I went ahead and ate lunch, I had a tuna sandwich at Subway and it helped.  I managed to stay at work but I left about 30 minutes early.

 

Otter needed to get something at Hobby Lobby and I had already asked her to wait for me so I could go with her, so I forced myself to go (not that it was all that hard.)  I actually need to buy yarn this time, I bought 5 skeins for Uncle Crazy's lap blanket but it's going to take 6.  At least.  I cruised the yarn aisles while Otter was getting her stuff, the fall colors are starting to come out and they are nice!  I was able to resist, but I'm not making promises for any future trips!

 

Froggy, you do realize that you are now an Official Conscript of the Pachinko business!

 

We just saw an advertisement for a can't miss movie:  Into the Storm.  All I got to say is, Yeah Right!  As Otter says, anybody who lives in Tornado Alley should know just how B.A.D. that one is going to be.  I'm pretty sure we'll pass on that one.

Weekend and Shopping Stuff

It's Sales-Tax-Free Weekend.  Otter and I went shopping!  Big surprise...  Anyway, we went to the mall yesterday and spent a few hours there.  And bought nothing!  We went to 2 different Targets stores, a few smaller stores and were ready to just give up and go home empty-handed.  We bought lunch at Whataburger (It's a Texan Thing) and decided to give thrifting a try.  We went to two Goodwills, and those are the only places we actually bought something at.  Well, we did go to Michael's but that was for something specific that Otter wanted and not connected with sales-tax-free shopping (I found yarn but you aren't surprised at that, are you?!)  Anyway, I found one blouse at the first Goodwill.  Otter found one blouse and one skirt at the 2nd Goodwill.  We knew we would get stuff at Wallyworld, but we were tired and my feet hurt so we put that off until today.

 

Otter found a pair of pink converse-type sneakers at Wally.  I got a package of socks.  So exciting!  Bill needed jeans and pj bottoms, he needs new jeans on a regular basis so they were already on my list to get this weekend.  A few weeks back, I bought him a pair of pj bottoms with the Captain America logo on them.  The tag said that they were the right size, and so did the size label printed on them.  So, I washed them and put them in his drawer.  I came home one day and he had just put them on - let's just say that it was a sight not to be missed!  I think that they were actually a larger children's or small adult size, but they were mislabeled.  I would imagine that there was a run of mislabeled pj's one day but Hane's quality control left a little to be desired.  They fit Otter, although they are a little long for her (happens often).  They are now in her pj drawer and she wears them often.  Today, I triple checked the size on the pj's Bill usually wears and then found a pair at Wally.  I checked the inside label and the sewn-in laundry instructions on the ones he had and I even copied down the numbers on the tag.  Of course, the ones at Wally had a different number on the tag!  I decided to grab them while there and made sure they were the same size as the previous pair and they are, so Bill now has enough pj's to lounge around in.

 

I think we saved about $7 or $8 this weekend.  Not nearly as much as in years past, but then again we don't have to buy school clothes and that always added up fast.

 

Bill's incision site looks pretty good.  He uncovered it yesterday so he could clean it up and start using the medicated ointment.  He's trying hard not to over use his hand but it's difficult.  The lawn desperately needs to be moved but he's not able to.  I was going to mow it and went to get gas for the mower this morning, but it's really humid and I can't really breathe outside so Bill won't let me - I'm not arguing with him about it, either!  I'm calling someone tomorrow to get both the front and back mowed, I was just going to mow the front but they both need it and it will be worth whatever we have to pay to get it done.

 

One other thing happened at Goodwill.  Well, almost happened.  We think someone tried to grab Otter's purse.  I had noticed a younger girl, maybe mid-teens or thereabouts, a few times because she seemed to be in the same area we were quite often.  I always notice that and then I always watch when that happens.  I'm really glad I did this time.  Otter was standing in front of, but not right close to, the shelves where the stuffed animals are kept at.  I was standing by her, she was facing to my left and her purse was hanging on her shoulder more of less between us but slightly towards her back.  I noticed the same girl coming towards us with a larger stuffed animal in her right hand and she was almost running - and she was looking straight at Otter's purse and starting to reach out with her left hand.  Otter became aware of her movement just as I did, she was starting to turn around just as I reached my right hand up VERY FAST and got it between the girl and Otter's purse.  As soon as she saw my hand and arm go up, she (the girl) looked up at me and the only way I can describe her expression is either a) Deer in the Headlights or b) Caught and she knew it.  More B than A, actually.  She grabbed the stuffed animal out of her right hand with her left hand and threw it in the general direction of the shelves, then she turned around and RAN as fast as she could to the other side of the store.  We watched her and she was doing everything she could NOT to be seen.  I think she left immediately after, it looked like she was with a couple of other people and I think what happened is that she "reported in" that she'd been spotted and that we were on to her because they cleared out in record time.  There is no way we misinterpreted what nearly happened and we have zero doubt as to what the girls intention was.

 

Two things would have happened:  A)  I would have put the little b--ch down on the floor and held her there while yelling for Otter to call 911 AND B)  Otter's a black belt, and she's got the reflexes so do I need to explain?

 

Otter may be petite, but she is a RHTW in her own right.  With a black belt.  She's also her mother's daughter.

Talk to the Hand!

But I don't know if it will listen.

 

Bill's hand is doing ok, it's still bandaged and wrapped so we don't actually know how the incision looks but he thinks it's ok.  It does hurt a bit, but he's probably used it too much today.  He is trying to let it rest, but it's pretty hard not to use your hands.  He had Otter helping him today, she washed pachinko parts and was at home in case he needed help with anything.

 

He's on his own tomorrow, at least for several hours.  Tax-Free Weekend!  Otter and I are going shopping.  We are going to one of the malls, then we'll see where else we need to go.  I'm thinking Wallyworld but that might be Sunday, depending on how crowded the mall is and how long it takes us.  Not that we really have anything specific there to look for, although I'm sure we'll find things.

 

I picked up Bill's prescription at Walgreen's this afternoon.  I was about to ask when they would get the flu shots in, and the counter display popped up with "Flu Shots Available Now" so that question was answered.  I did confirm that they have it in stock, and they do.  Otter is off next Friday, Saturday and Sunday so we're going to get our flu shots next Friday.  I guess I'd better get to Braums on Thursday then!  We'll probably get Subway for dinner next Friday, flu shot days are made as easy on me as possible because of the reaction I usually have.  It's early to get the shot, but the thought used to be to wait until about September or October because the protection wouldn't last very long.  But it turns out that either it does last longer or the vaccine has been reworked, because it will last until next Summer.  I prefer not to wait on this one, I want to get it as soon as I can.  I usually aim for Labor Day weekend, that way I have Monday off because sometimes I have bad reactions.  But I'm not waiting that long this year, Otter generally has a much milder reaction that I do but she has had harder ones some years.  So, since she's got the entire weekend off next week we are going to get the shots done then and out of the way.  We'll share our ice cream with Billyboy, since he has to put up with me (and sometimes both of us) feeling icky and being grumpy all weekend.  Payback for us taking care of him this weekend!

 

We had our Anniversary Pizza today.  I stopped by Little Ceaser's on the way home.  I bought three pizzas with the idea of leftovers.  Looks like it's pizza for breakfast tomorrow.  Good shopping fuel!