2015 Review

2015 is just about over.  And I am glad.  It's been a hard year, although I haven't (and won't) posted about most of the issues we have had to deal with.  Very possibly, 2016 (for reasons not being mentioned) could well be a continuation.

There have been some good things, it hasn't been all bad.  I really don't mean to gripe.  But I guess I am!

Anyway:

January

Very cold month with some winter weather.

It was very stressful for Otter because Roomie lost her job right before Christmas 2014 and January was the first of over 3 months that Roomie was without a job - and not looking very much, either.

Michael's had yarn on sale and I added to the stash!  (Always good.)

Froggy started planning her trip to see us.

The Teenager's health suddenly took a turn for the worse, he was weakened by a bug and while he did recover from the illness, he never got his strength back and although we didn't realize it at the time, it was the beginning of the downhill turn for him.

We celebrated our 30th Wedding Anniversary, this year we had pizza!

February

We switched internet and email providers.

The stupid groundhog saw his shadow!

I had what I first thought might be the flu, but then realized it was "just" a cold.

This month saw the first issues with Frasier; he fell in the kitchen and couldn't get up.  We had to help him up but he was sore and stiff for days.  The vet thought he might have age-related issues, probably arthritis in the mix as well.  But he was always a happy dog when J came over!

Otter was really getting concerned about Roomie and the lack of a job.

The Teenager and his lovely bride celebrated their 78th Wedding Anniversary and were one of the featured couples on the Today Show!

Snowy weather.

22 years since we moved from TEXAS.

On February 27, the world lost one of it's shining lights in the form of Leonard Nimoy.  We're still mourning this one.  LLAP!

March

The month started with having to replace tires on the car that Otter was driving, as well as a front-end alignment.  $1200.00 was Chevy's estimate and it was also the last time we actually used that particular dealership - and they are under NO illusions as to why.  It was a M.A.J.O.R. moment for *RHTW.  We had the work done at a local shop for about $500 less than Chevy's estimater.

The vet suggested we start Frasiser on pain pills, which did seem to help but he didn't need them all the time.

I came down with another cold!  I literally sneezed all the way to work one morning and by about 8:15, I was feeling miserable.

We had more winter weather.

Otter was overjoyed when we discovered Green Apple gatorade!

I started crocheting a poncho for Otter, which took me a while to finish.  I had a lot of interruptions!

The dogs had their "beffday" and we spoiled them with plenty of treats - in hindsight, I'm glad we gave them so many extra treats.

We got several boxes of Girl Scout cookies.

The dry air caused me to have a few nosebleeds.

We decided it was time to talk to the minister at the church we'd been attending, we had to reschedule the appointment we had so we didn't actually talk to them this month.

Otter turned 23!

There was a tornado that struck a very nearby, next-door to Tulsa town.  It was bad.

My glasses broke in 2!  Bill had to glue and tape them back together so I could at least go get them replaced the next day.

We had to replace our insurance, thanks to NObamacare.

April

Our new insurance company took 2 premiums and *RHTW had a few "fun" phone calls with them.

One of the bright spots of this year happened.  Otter had her annual lung recheck and we feel like we have received a miracle - it's gone!  It never really goes away, but hers is as close to not being there as it can possibly be.  It is a true Blessing and we are so beyond thankful for this.

Otter gave Roomie a "no job, move out" date.  Amazing how motivated she got when that happened and she suddenly found a job.

Otter officially became the owner of a 2002 Chevy Impala.

The electric company messed up our yard and also cut the phone lines.

The hummingbirds showed up this month.

My precious dog, Frasier, one of the most special pets I've ever had, left us on the 23rd.  He was one of those rare, once in a lifetime dogs.

May

Otter proved that yes, she is very much her Father's Daughter.  She the cut palm of her left hand and had to get stitches!  I think she got 4.  She was a typical Redhead and bled a lot.

Maggie Moo was sick, the vet thought she had another UTI and the medication helped her pretty quickly.

Stupid electric company kept at it!

Bill was rear-ended in his work van - it was not his fault in any way, he wasn't hurt.

Maggie Moo was scratching herself silly - and driving us nuts!  The vet said she has allergies and put her on zyrtec - which didn't work too well but then we tried it later and it worked fine.

Bill's sister got married!  We went to TEXAS over Memorial Day weekend for the wedding and it was really nice.

Rain, Rain, Rain!

I had my one and only migraine of the year.

It was one of the better months of the year.

June

Otter went to Dallas with J, his mom and some of their friends.  They went to a convention and debuted their "Joker and Harley" gender switched costumes.  Which were very well-received.

We decided to get rid of the landline phone, since it was out more than it was working.

We decided to try an automatic feeder for the Magginator, it works very well.

Maggie met two other beagles when we went to get her annual shots.  Then she met a wolf!  Luna the wolf lives in our neighborhood and she is absolutely gorgeous.

The electric company was still being stupid!  I made a pest of myself, or actually I let *RHTW deal with them - and they finally decided to send out a repair crew, which was a company they contracted with and the repair crew foreman was appalled at how bad the damage to our yard was and how tacky the electric company was being about fixing it.

After they fixed it, we realized that our house was not getting the electric current it was supposed to and I had to place an emergency call to them.  I started the call but *RHTW finished it.

Froggy and her daughter came to see us, which was a bright spot.

Bill's birthday!  For 6 months, he was older than me.  He got bacon for his birthday meal, which made him happy.

My vacation started and the first thing was Maggie the Wonder Beagle getting stuck under the shed.  That should have been our first clue that it was not going to be a good week.

The Teenager was pretty sick in June.  The last time I actually saw him was right before I went on vacation at the end of the month, he was weak but he was very mentally clear and it was actually a fun day with him.  But in hindsight, I think he knew something was coming and from what he said and how he said it - I think he was telling me goodbye.  When I was on vacation, he had to be hospitalized for pneumonia and he was recovering from that when he had what was probably a stroke.  That was actually in July.

July

The frame holding the driver's seat in my car (the 2008 impala) broke and we had to buy a replacement seat at a salvage yard, then put the seat from my car on the frame of the salvage seat.

The next day, the brakes on the El Camino basically failed and Bill had to replace them.

Otter and Roomie decided to move to a 2-bedroom unit.  Otter was cautiously optimistic about it, since Roomie was working again and she hoped that it would work out but she was also pretty sure that when that lease was up she would suggest that Roomie find her own place.  They moved on the 31st.

On July 8, the Teenager had the probable stroke.  It was overnight and he was most likely asleep; he never really woke up from that and that is actually a blessing.  On the 12th, he left this life behind.  He was 98 years, 9 months.  This was one of the worst things that happened this year, at least from our perspective.  But we know exactly where he is and that we will see him again.  Until then, we'll all miss him terribly.

August

This month literally started with Otter's car having issues.  The radiator ruptured and we had to replace it.  It was just the beginning of trouble with that car.  It spent more time at my house than it did at hers!

But she did get a pretty good raise at work so she was happy!

Bill saw the dermatologist for his annual visit, the spot we thought might be a skin cancer on his nose turned out not to be but there were a couple of very small ones on his hand that the doctor froze off.

We finally met with the pastor at the church we'd been visiting.  And we knew almost immediately that it is not the place for us.  That was very disappointing.

We put tires on my car, the 2008 impala.

I was sick, it was a bug that was going around but it took me a few weeks to really recover from it.

We closed our booth at the antique store.

The Bluebell plants reopened!

September

Labor Day.

Bill came down with the mega-bug I'd had.

Otter and I got our flu shots and I spent most of Labor Day weekend dealing with my reaction.  Which wasn't as bad as some years have been.  But the reaction hit me within 2 minutes of getting the shot, I got my shot at 5:30 and at 5:32 I was suddenly freezing cold.

Then I came down with a cold.

I crocheted purple baby caps for a local charity.

There was a lunar eclipse, we could see it from the back yard and it was very pretty.

It was pretty obvious that Otter was under some stress, she was having problems with Roomie and was very upset over the situation.  She wasn't sure what she could do, as Roomie was on the lease but she really regretted moving to the 2-bedroom unit, although at the time it was a good decision.  But she knew that she would not renew the lease (or any lease) with Roomie when it was up.

October

We went to the State Fair in Tulsa, we took J along with us and we had a fun time.  We were tired but it was an enjoyable day.  I discovered that I am a sheep magnet - they are evil!  They know I'm beyond extremely allergic to them.

We had a lot of the typical "persecution" because of the TEXAS/ou game the first weekend of the month.  Then TEXAS won!

Roomie lost her job.  Or at least she admitted to Otter that she'd lost it, the actual time that happened might have been in September.  But it was a major retailer and she was fired, she would not say why but this particular store does not fire employees unless they have very good reason.  She claimed to have gotten another job at a fast-food place and probably did, but we're not totally convinced that she kept it longer than a couple of weeks.  When she told Otter that she'd lost the job and got the new one, Otter told her then that Roomie was going to have to find her own place a) when the lease was up or b) immediately if she lost the fast-food job.

Because Otter was expecting to have to move when the lease was up, she did a little looking for other complexes that might be a little cheaper but nobody expected Roomie to do what she did:  move out and attempt to do it without giving Otter any warning at all - but Otter caught her packing.  It was a very ugly, nasty situation and I'm not going to detail it here because it was already detailed.  But it was bad, however it could have been much worse.  There was very heavy *RHTW involvement.

The Teenager would have been 99.  We had cupcakes at work to celebrate and remember him.

The 32nd anniversary of when we met was on the 14th.

Bill decided to get another booth for the pachinko machines.

We put Maggie Moo back on the zyrtec, she was scratching again and had caused a little bald spot above her tail from it.  She had a slight case of Bald Bobo!  But the zyrtec helped her a lot more this time.

It rained.  A lot.

One morning was really strange:  The sunrise was brilliant in the east, it was dark and cloudy in the middle area and then there was a huge rainbow in the west.  All at the same time!

November

Our "lovely" insurance carrier sent us a letter with a $400+ increase in our monthly premium.  We made a lot of changes that took weeks.

Otter went to a Dias De Los Muertos (Day of the Dead) festival with J and his mom in his not quite next door to Tulsa neighboring town.  She left rememberances for the Teenager and my aunt we refer to as AJ (who Otter was named for).

That night on her way home, her car acted like it was overheating and we had to go get her.  About 9:30 at night, in almost the middle of nowhere, dark and very isolated - but J and his mom came to wait with her until we got there.  Bill drove her car home, although he had to stop a couple of times, I brought her home in my car and then she took my car on home with her.

For the next few weeks, we dealt with her car acting up and she had my car quite a bit.

In the midst of all the car issues, Otter moved to a one-bedroom unit in the same complex.

Bill got a bad cold.

Then I got a bad cold.

Thanksgiving was a little different, we wound up at Taco Bell because it was the only place we could find open when the power went out!  That was the first of several times we got a senior discount!

We finally got our Bluebell ice cream!

There was a hard rain storm and then we saw a double rainbow.

The new booth store opened up.

The El Camino developed a problem with what is probably the thermostat but the specific part is pretty much unavailable.  It is a 1976 vehicle, after all!  It's going to spend the next few months in the driveway anyway, like it usually does in the winter.

We started discussing Bill buying a 2nd hand car to drive in the winter, since Otter had the 02 impala he used to drive.

December

We realized that Otter's car was becoming a serious concern and it was not a car we were comfortable with her driving any longer.  We bought a new car for me, a 2015 impala.  Then we traded the 2008 to her and she gave Bill the 2002.  The 2002 is still acting up, it is probably a series of cascading problems that keep causing other things to act up and it may well be that the car is just worn out.  But in the meantime, Bill will drive it and she has a car that she can trust.  New tires and in very good shape, she should be able to drive it for several years.  I am very happy with the new car, but we really did not want a car payment yet.  However, it was a good decision.

Otter and I went to the mall to Christmas shop one evening and had a very interesting encounter - I didn't mentioned details when I blogged about it, but we almost literally ran into her first boyfriend - and his girlfriend - and their two very young children!  He was a real jerk when he and Otter broke up and at one point we had to tell his dad to reign his son in or we would call the police - which explains why the former boyfriend would not even look me in the eye when we saw him.  Otter said that she's extremely glad that she dodged that particular situation, and she hopes that the idiot boy treats his baby mama better than he treated her and also that he's finally learned to be faithful.

We decided to put up a Christmas tree so I went to Hobby Lobby and bought another artificial tree.

We still had to deal with the cold bug we got in late November.  Even up until right before Christmas.

Then Bill came down with another cold which I thought was the flu at first.

We finally got actual winter weather, much later than usual.

There was a lot that happened, it wasn't all bad and most of the really cruddy stuff is not being mentioned.  But this has been a fairly bad year.  We do realize that it could have been worse, and there have been some good things.  But the main thing that defines this year is the loss of a man who was like a father to me and that Otter considered to be another one of her grandfathers.

Here's to 2016 and hopes that it will be a good year for everyone!

Cold. Tired.

It's cold today and I'm tired!

Yeah, I know.  Not a very imaginative title.

Anyway.  It was very rainy all weekend, especially Saturday.  I had to go run a couple of errands, and literally every time I was inside anywhere the rain would quit.  When it was about time for me to leave and go outside again - yep, the skies opened up!  I would have preferred to just stay home and not have to deal with seriously bad rain, but that wasn't possible.  There waags a lot of street flooding, so I picked my routes carefully.  But I still wound up having to drive in a few absolute downpours.

Yesterday, Sunday, was my birthday.  For the next 6 months-ish, Bill and I are the same age.  He wanted to go to the Hog Trough (Golden Corral) for their breakfast buffet but I really didn't want to because we would have eaten too much.  So we had breakfast at home then we went to an antique store I haven't been to in a while (didn't buy anything) and then to a thrift store (found a real sun tea jar for Otter) then we came home for a while.  We decided to go to dinner so we went to a local place we've eaten at before and it was good.  I don't have chicken fried steak all that often, but we both had it last night.  The servings are huge, so we brought about half of each of our steaks home and Bill finished them for dinner today.

Bill is doing what he usually does when it's either vacation or holiday time:  he's sick!  I was thinking he might have the flu last night, but now I don't think he does.  He has had some fever but I don't think it's been very high - not that he will let me take it!  But he has his normal rash he gets after fever today, and he usually is on the mend when that starts, or at least is over most of the fever.

We've been home today, which we probably would have been even if he wasn't sick.  The rain converted to sleet overnight, which means that the forecasters got it right and wrong again. Right because we did get a little winter weather, but wrong because we were only supposed to get a small amount of sleet and the main storm line would be ending well west of us.  Of course, we had a pretty heavy sleet fall most of the morning followed by snow in the afternoon.  It was a good day for soup, and since Bill has been under the weather himself lunch was potato soup.

Tomorrow morning, IF the forecast is correct and I'm able to get out, I'm taking Otter's car to Chevy to get the ignition recall taken care of.  Then I'm going to pick her up from the not-exactly-next-door small town that J lives in, she went to OK City with J and his mom for Christmas and they came back on Saturday instead of Sunday or today like they originally planned because of the weather forecast.  We are also probably going to get the car titles officially switched.  The 02 is in her name and she will transfer it back to us, and we will transfer the 08 to her.  We have to get everything notarized and then we can get it all switched.  We would have done it a few weeks back, but the title never was sent to us for the 02 when we transferred it to Otter so we had to order a copy.  I also had to call Enterprise because they still have not sent me the information to register the 15 in our names.  The paper tags are only good for 30 days, and I'm on day 28.  I called them the other day and they said it takes 3 weeks normally.  We are well past the 3 week period and I told them that I was very concerned about the fact that we still haven't received the paperwork.  I know that the loan has officially gone through because we looked it up on the loan company's website and it looks like they've paid Enterprise.  I waited until after the mail came today, not that we ever really get mail other than mainly junk mail at home, just to be sure - although it was supposed to go to the post office box and as of Saturday's mail it still hadn't.  The person who handles that was already gone for the day but they promised to check first thing in the morning and will overnight the paperwork to me if necessary.  We'll see if they do what they say, they generally do so I expect them to actually call me tomorrow.  I hope so, *RHTW really does NOT want to have to educate Enterprise!

Maggie Moo has been really funny the last few days.  We have always given a specific type of "bone" as a treat to the dogs, Frasier would always take his outside and eat it immediately.  Maggie Moo would wait, she would put hers where he could see it and then she would wait for him.  If he even acted like he saw it, she would turn into the canine version of *RHTW on him!  The last one we gave them was on March 12, their "beffday" and then Frasier crossed the Rainbow Bridge just over a month later.  We have not given her any of them since then, but we thought it had been long enough that maybe it would be ok and she'd just eat it so that was her Christmas treat.  Well, she was certainly happy to get it.  But she didn't eat it.  She kept putting it in place where it was obvious and impossible to miss.  She acted like she was waiting on her Big Brother Fraiser to come attempt to get it and a couple of times we wondered if she was looking for him again - she hasn't done that since several days after he left us.  We decided that maybe it was a mistake to give her that type of treat after all, but then she started doing something else:  she kept hiding it.  She would "bury" it in whatever spot she could - her beds, her blankets, under the blanket I was using, behind things, etc., and she kept moving it.  After a while, Bill started unhiding it and moving it to where she could see it.  She would hide it again.  This went on for a while, and she was actually bringing it to Bill to hide from her after a while.  She had a great time playing with Bill, and he enjoyed it as much as the beaglebrat did.  Today, she finally decided it was time to actually eat it.  She seemed to enjoy it.  They come in packs of 2, so there is still another one.  She won't get it anytime soon, she doesn't need the extra calories!  But eventually we'll give it to her, and then if she still acts like she's waiting on Frasier then we will switch to a different treat for her.

I will probably post my year-end review in the next few days.  There have been quite a few things that I have not posted about but that have made this one of the worst years we've had in quite a while.  And indications are that next year might not be much better.  It's not all bad, there have been some good things and we are Thankful.  But it's been a rough year and 2015 has not been one of our better years.

Christmas 2015

 

Luke 2:10-11King James Version (KJV)

10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

King James Version (KJV)

(Credit to the Author)

Froggy?

You there?  I haven't blogged since the 7th and you have not been bugging me.  What's up?

Otter and Bill have switched cars although the titles have not been changed yet.  We were going to do that one day last week but we realized that the state never actually sent us the title to the 02 when we put it in Otter's name.  They don't show that it was delivered and returned, just that it was changed in the computer and they did send us a receipt.  But we never got the actual title, so we had to request another one be sent.  $13.00 and it should still be a few days, then we'll get the car titles switched around.  The insurance has already been taken care of, the 02 and 08 were basically the same as far as the premium was concerned, and the insurance company has transferred them so we are paying for the appropriate vehicle, but we are also all authorized drivers on each other's cars.

The 08 still has a recall issue with Chevy, which I'm going to take care of during the time I'm off after Christmas.  Chevy will make a minor change on the key itself and it has to be the official Chevy key, so the 02 is still and will continue to be out of lock as far as that particular recall is concerned.  I still think Chevy is trying to welch out of paying out any more money than they have to!

I'm happy with the new car.  When we bought it, the 2nd set of keys did not get transferred to the Tulsa office so we only got one set.  The 2nd set was sent to them and I picked it up last Saturday.  Bill now has a set, but he still hasn't driven it!

But now we all have safe cars with good tires.  Which will be important, if we ever actually get that wet & heavy winter that was forecasted to have hit us already.  Monday, actually had to use the a/c in the car.

I decided that we need a Christmas tree this year.  The plan was to get one of the artificial trees out of the attic, but that would mean moving about a billion pachinko machines out of the way of the attic access in the garage.  Ain't nobody want to do that!  (Yes, I know.  My TEXAN is showing.  Deal with it.)  So, I picked Otter up one day and we went to Hobby Lobby.  I bought a 4 1/2' artificial tree, ornament hooks, a couple of ornaments I liked and a 4-pack of plain stockings.  I forgot lights so I got some at Walmart but then I had to go back and exchange them for a smaller string!  I put the tree together last week and it's now in the living room with a crocheted lap blanket I made for Otter a few years back as a tree skirt.  I had a bunch of ornaments to turn into an ornament wreath, the majority of the ornaments on the tree are from that particular craft stash.

It's on a small plastic table that we usually use as a plant stand.

The lap blanket/tree skirt that is folded around the tree and not allowed to hang down the sides because of this:

She's also the reason that there are no presents under the tree yet!  We don't do a lot of gift giving anyway, so I don't shop until a lot closer to Christmas.  But I did get a little bit of candy to go in the stockings.

I think I've posted this before:

Baby Bevo and the Texas crew!  They are in the small wooden rocking chair that was Otter's when she was a toddler.  The crocheted piece is the only piece of crochet that Otter has ever done, I taught her how and she did enjoy it but it isn't really her thing.  Which is fine, actually.  Anyway, I tied the end off so it won't come undone, put it in Baby Bevo's hand with a plastic crochet hook and the Texas Crew is accompanied by Crickey the crocodile, which is Otter's and mine and is from many years ago.  Crickey stays underneath the rocking chair, although at the moment he is also out of beagle reach and is sitting on top of the futon.

Today I discovered the yellow yarn ball was not where I left it.  It was in the bed Maggie has in the yarn room!  And it did NOT get there by itself.  The beagle is claiming to "no nuzzing" but I kind of have a hard time believing her!  I put it back in place, found the crochet hook (it had landed under the futon) and then I turned the entire chair around so that it's facing away from the beagle's bed and is a little harder for her to reach.

Otter texted me today.  Her next door neighbors are moving out and they offered her a futon.  She immediately said yes, and they even helped her get it into her apartment.  So she now has a couch and also a place for visitor's to sleep.  And probably still a pile of boxes that have been unpacked but not taken to the recycling center yet, which is probably still next to a pile of boxes that have not been unpacked yet!  Mostly her craft stuff is still waiting to be unpacked.  She's pretty much unpacked everything else and she has plenty of room in the 1-bedroom apartment, now that it 's just her.  She has not heard from Roomie, which is about what we expected.  Nobody is disappointed at that.  We were surprised that Roomie went backwards like she did, but in hindsight is is probably not surprising.  We're just glad that it wasn't worse, although I think everybody does feel sorry for the girl because she had a chance at being an adult and having a good, emotionally healthy life but she chose not to take that opportunity.

Bill is taking a few vacation days in addition to his nearly 2 weeks of holiday time and I'm taking the rest of my vacation at Christmas like I usually do.  He's probably going to spend most of his time working on pachinko machines, my main project (other than sleeping late and shopping!) is to work on my crocheted doily curtain.  Along with turning 53 2 days after Christmas.  Maggie's plan for our time off probably includes as many walks as possible, if the weather cooperates.

That is, when she's not napping!

74 Years

Never Forget.

Amen

Hackers

We've been hacking and coughing for days and days.  The cold bug Bill shared with me is still hanging around.  It's actually a lot better, but I have asthma and it has been triggered big-time.  He still has the cough but he doesn't have asthma so even though he's still coughing, he's actually better than I am.  I'm getting there, it just takes a while.

It's been a busy week, even with the cold.  Bill has been thinking that he needed to get a second-hand car to drive, with the intention of parking the El Camino until at least the Spring.  It doesn't like winter and it hates icy weather.  But then Otter's car has been acting up and he's had to deal with it for her a few times.  It's still having the problem with the radiator/air/antifreeze, etc., that it was having earlier.  He thinks he knows what it is, but the weather was cold and rainy and then he was sick.  In additional, he took the El Camino to get something checked and since it's a 1976 it's kind of hard to get the part!  So, we decided it was time to just buy me a new car, Otter will get the 2008 I've been driving for a few years and he will get the 2002 that we sold to her earlier this year.  Sold being a not totally descriptive term!  Anyway, we went back to Enterprise this week and bought me a new toy.

We got a really good deal on a really nice car, it's a 2015 Chevy Impala (silver again) and it has less than 14,000 miles.  It still has the majority of the original warranty so we did not buy an extended warranty on this car.  It does not have the remote start feature, which I'm sure I'll miss in the winter, but it is bluetooth enabled and my phone is compatible.  I've enjoyed that feature, actually.  We got a very good financing offer and the payments will start in January.  When we first discussed buying a new car for me last year, I commented that I was tired of silver cars but apparently silver Impalas are just what we're supposed to have.  Not that I'm complaining!  It also has a sunroof, which I will use some but probably not that much.

The 2008 will officially be transferred to Otter and the 2002 will be transferred back to us, probably sometime next week.  We'll go to the insurance company and take care of all their needs in person, because it's going to be a little confusing.  Same thing with the tag and titles, since we are playing musical cars at the moment.

Otter and I went to the flea market at the fair grounds today.  Our favorite movie guy was there and he did his usual "discount and deal offers" which is part of why he's so much fun.  We usually buy a lot of movies from him.  Today, he had something that I've been wanting for a while but have never, ever managed to find:

This one is very rare.  Extremely rare, in fact.  He had it priced at $30.00, (which was already a very good price) but he let me have it for $20.00 with the stipulation that I buy another movie from him - which was already going to happen because I had another one in my hand and so did Otter, but he knew that - he's a lot of fun and he always makes good deals.  Then he gave us a free movie.

Bill's activities for today included replacing the faucet in the kitchen sink.  It started leaking on him this morning and when he took it apart the gasket basically disintegrated in his hands.  He went to Lowe's and found a similar one that would work and he had it installed by the time I got back from literally spending all day shopping with Otter.

I'm still coughing and actually have now lost most of my voice.  Which Bill probably thinks is a good thing, but I'm going to convince him that it is actually a bad thing!  Until then, we're watching animated Star Trek!

Just Catching Up

Last week when we were moving Otter, Bill was sneezing and coughing but we thought it was just the very strong wind we were dealing with.  However, it turned out that he actually had a cold coming on.  A cold which he then shared with me!  I've been fighting it since sometime on Saturday, it hit me when we were attempting to get the last of Otter's stuff moved.  Otter and I had made an attempt on Friday, but it was raining really hard so we put it off until Saturday and we invited Bill to help then.  She had to go to work on Saturday, so it was just Bill and myself.  Otter had discovered that there was an access point through the basement/laundry room which has a door through the firewall - so we could have moved everything on Wednesday without ever going outside in the wind and also she & I could have moved more on Friday when it was raining!  It meant more steps, but it would have been worth it!  Anyway, Bill and I made a few trips with the heavier boxes and qot quite a bit done but he was sick and I was coming down with it.

On Sunday morning, Otter picked up a friend of hers who had been unable to help on the actual moving day.  I met them at the old apartment (and was promptly lectured by both girls on not overdoing it) to finish up.  They let me vacuum both bedrooms and clean the fridge out, but they did not let me do much else.  In fact, they sent me home with instructions to get well!  I did give them lunch money.  They got everything finished and got the cleaning done.  Then Best Friend was able to stay overnight with Otter and they got a lot of her things unpacked.  Otter was called in to work a few extra hours on Sunday evening, also.

When I left, I brought Otter's car home with me because the temperature gauge was acting up again.  I was nearly home when the "low coolant" indicator came on.  Bill checked it and he thought that it had more air in it, which it did, but that the problem might be a loose radiator cap.  We drove it a little bit and it was fine, then he drove it to work yesterday (Monday) and today (Tuesday).  This morning, the low coolant light came on again and another light that we had checked before.  I'm going to take Otter's car back to her in the morning on my way to work and get my car back from her.  She is off the next two days and isn't planning on going anywhere, unless she has to get groceries or something.  On Saturday, Bill is going to take her car to the shop we've been using and have them check it.  Then we'll see what they say.

When Bill and I got home from her apartment on Saturday, I went straight to my pjs and parked on the couch.  I pretty much stayed then until Sunday morning when I got up to go back to her apartment.  After I got home on Sunday, I did the same thing.  And that's where I pretty much stayed.  I called in yesterday, I had hardly any voice left and have been coughing my head off.  I stayed home today, I am coughing less but my ribs still hurt from it.  It is a cold, but it has triggered my asthma.  Which is normal.  I'm going to attempt to go to work tomorrow, for one thing I need to go switch cars with Otter, but I'm not sure if I'll be able to stay all day or not.  Mostly, I've been parked on the couch with a blanket and a beagle for the last couple of days.  Although at the moment, the beagle in question is now laying on her back with all 4 feet in the air!

Kind of like this!

Happy Thanksgiving! And More. (EDITED)

Hopefully everyone is having a safe and Happy Thanksgiving.

Just because Maggie Moo wants to say hi:

This picture is from a few days ago.  I came across this bandana in my craft stuff and Maggie looked kind of happy when she saw it.  So I tied it around her neck and she was very happy.  I left it on her for a long time and she seemed quite content.  She was eager to go out in the back yard when I took this picture, that's what the look on her furry face is about.  "Hurry UP!  I gots stuff to do!"

She attempted to get a squirrel this morning.  I let her out in the back yard and she was about half-way across the deck when she spotted a squirrel all the way across the yard, in the shady corner behind the shelf.  She went from slooooow mid-step to full warp speed the second she spotted it, and evidently she thought she could actually catch it.  But it was already too late, the squirrel saw her before she saw it and it was up on the fence and running down the top to safety before she was even off the deck!  Silly doggie. :)  By the time I was able to call her name, she was already half-way across the yard.  She is fast when she wants to be.  She was not happy that I wouldn't let her go after the squirrel, but he was long gone by that point.  Not that I would have let her get it, but she is a beagle and that is the instinct.

Otter's internet was not transferred after all yesterday.  The company had both her cell phone and J's, they also (obviously!) knew which apartment they were transferring from and which apartment they were transferring to.  The guy called her (she was at work) about 20 minutes after 5:00 and she told him that someone was at the apartment they were transferring from.  Then that was the last she heard of him.  At about 8:20, she called me so I could look up the office number for her and I gave it to her but I also told her to call him back at the number he called her from.  He said that he'd gone to the apartment but nobody was there so he left.  IF he even went at all, he went to the one that they are transferring TO and never to the one that they are transferring service FROM.  He never called either one of the phone numbers to say he was there or to ask where anybody was who might be waiting on him - both things he was supposed to do if he got there before J was at the old apartment.  I told her she should call him back again and remind him of all that, and demand that he get back and do what he was supposed to but she didn't have enough time on her break and is going to call the office Friday.  She's going to give them an earful, and it's going to be her version of *RHTW.  She is going to tell them that they need to get out there tomorrow afternoon, but who knows if they'll do that or not.  They will get it switched, it's just a question of when and if they will do what they are supposed to.

Because we originally thought we would still be moving furniture today, at least that was the probable plan if it had rained like it was supposed to do, we didn't really have anything in the way of Thanksgiving planned.  So J and Otter have gone with J's dad to visit his family outside of Tulsa.  Otter texted me earlier, they were giving her a tour of haunted sites in the county that they are visiting.  I think she was really enjoying it.  I have a frozen lasagne in the freezer and some garlic toast, Bill and I are going to have that tonight as our Thanksgiving feast.  I did get to Braums and managed to snag one of the two strawberry cheesecake ice cream pies they had left, so we even have dessert.  We have already gotten into the pie, we had a very light lunch and decided we needed dessert. :)

When she moved out of our house, she left her stackable shoe shelves and I used them with my craft stuff.  Bill bought a tall plastic shelf unit, like the ones we have already.  He put it in the office/pachinko/junk room.  He claims he's going to get a little more organized in there, but I'll believe it when I see it!  Anyway, I decided to get one for my craft stuff.  I put it together and put it in the room, but I haven't had time to really get it organized yet.  My stuff WILL be organized!  I'm also going to be able to get the sewing machines out of the closet and sit them on it and possibly some (or maybe all) of the fabric/sewing stuff - although quite a bit of the sewing and fabric related stuff is Otters and it may be going to her apartment at some point.  She said she wanted the shoe shelves since I'm not using them anymore, so I took them over to her new apartment this morning.  Nobody was up yet, so I left them in her living room.  Along with a hammer that Bill is loaning her and some wood.

When we were moving her furniture yesterday, Bill was moving her bookshelf and it kind of had an accident.  It's wooden and very heavy, about 6' tall and we bought it out of surplus and a local school district when we first moved into our old house when Otter was 2.  It has always been in her room to hold things and she's been using it lately as an actual book shelf.  It's huge and she also has more books than it can hold, which actually is a Good Thing.  Anyway, Bill got it (with the dolly) out of her old apartment, down the stairs and across the sidewalk to the door to the other side of the building without a problem.  But then he stopped to rest a minute and check his cellphone to see what time it was.  It was windy and cool, and as soon as he stopped and took his hand off of the bookshelf there was a very strong gust of wind and the bookshelf went right over.  It landed flat on the front and it landed hard.  It wasn't broken, probably due to the sturdy construction and solid wood, but there are a couple of places where it looks like part of it tried to separate at the top corner and bottom where the feet are.  It can be hammered back into place, but she only has a small hammer so Bill loaned her one of his (many, too many) hammers and also a few pieces of wood to use as hammering blocks.  She may also wind up using them as shims to secure it because when she and Bill put it in place, it looked like it was leaning to the front.  They moved it to another corner and it wasn't leaning.  She asked the apartment office about that, and they said what we thought - it's an old building and it's quite possible that there may be some settling.  Not enough to even be worried and the building is structurally sound.  But the bookcase may need a little support under the front if she decides to put it where she originally wanted it.

The plan at this point is that I'm going to the grocery store in the morning and Bill is going to take the El Camino to get the oil changed and also to get something checked on it.  If his car is going to be there for a while, I'll bring him back home.  If it's a quick thing, he'll either wait at the mechanic or walk around the grocery store with me - they are in the same shopping center and so is Otter's store.  She has to work the Black Friday opening and when she gets off work, I'm going to meet her at the old apartment so we can see about getting what is left moved.  I could tell that she and J did manage to get quite a bit moved after we left yesterday, but there is still more there.  When I talked to her about 8:30, I woke her up when I called her and she said she wasn't awake enough to think, much less converse with any sense!  I told her to go back to sleep, she worked her behind off yesterday with moving and then she had to work until midnight last night, getting the store ready for Black Friday so I think she deserved to sleep in a little bit today.  She couldn't remember how much was still at the old place but she thinks we may be able to get the rest of it moved in one afternoon, it's boxes and probably trash bags with stuff but all the furniture is moved already.  We hopefully will be able to get the cleaning done tomorrow afternoon as well, but she doesn't have to work on Sunday so that is our second plan of attack if tomorrow doesn't work out.  A lot of it depends on the weather, the rain that was supposed to start yesterday finally arrived this morning.  It may be strong rain but it might not be steady.  It could be off and on, and it could be heavy at times.  Sunday is supposed to be dry I think, but we want to get it done as quick as we can.  The apartment office said that they won't change the lock until Monday so she can have all weekend, but we don't want to wait until the last minute if we don't have to.  Also, we want to go to a local museum that has a really fun Christmas tree exhibit.  We haven't missed too many years of the museum exhibit and it's only there for a very short time, so Sunday is probably our only chance this year.  J has to work, otherwise he would go with us.

Hopefully, the El Camino is a minor issue.  The engine temperature light came on yesterday when Bill was on the way to Otter's.  He checked and there was plenty of antifreeze, the radiator was not leaking and the system seemed to be working.  The car had plenty of time to cool down but he said it came on again when he was on the way home (we took separate cars since I went earlier than he did) so he's going to ask them to check it when he gets the oil changed tomorrow.  It is very probably the sensor itself going bad, the car is a 1976 model after all and it is probably the original part.  But it is still odd/funny that out of three cars "we" have, two of them have similar issues!  My car had better not decide to join the party the other two are having!

**EDIT:  I turned the oven on about 4:30 for the lasagna, and I turned it off about 5 minutes later when the electricity went out!  We looked out the front door and it looked like it was at least our neighborhood, so I called the electric company.  I was the first person calling, so they couldn't tell me what/why/how long.  I opened the freezer long enough to toss the lasagna back in.  We waited a little while, then we decided to go in search of a restaurant that was actually open and had power.  The police department already had an officer out to direct traffic at the intersection closest to us, but there were lights on a little farther than that so we knew it wasn't very widespread.  We wound up at a Taco Bell, because they were open and had power.  Most of the actual restaurants and fast food places that were in the area with power were closed.  But it was still good and kind of fun, even if it wasn't what we expected to be doing on a rainy Thanksgiving night.  We were gone about an hour and when we got back the power was back on.  I looked on the news station website and I think it was a squirrel that caused the outage.  Maybe Maggie Moo had the right idea this morning?!!!!

Really Beginning to Wonder...

If we are ever going to have a so-called traditional Thanksgiving meal again.  Last year, we were dealing with Otter's dental issues and the fact that she couldn't eat just about anything!  We made pizza, which worked because it was crispy enough without being too chewy.  This year, we were originally planning on the traditional thing, but then Otter's roommate moved out and the apartment manager is letting her transfer to a one-bedroom unit.  The day before Thanksgiving!

We want to get it done in one day, but that may not be possible.  Otter has to work tonight and will get home fairly late so she will be very tired tomorrow.  Then she has to work the late afternoon shift, since she's the Assistant Pricing Coordinator she has to be there to ensure that they are ready for Black Friday.  So she'll be moving, then stopping for a shower and then heading to work while the rest of us keep working.  Bill still thinks we can do it in one day, but she may not be able to get into the new apartment until noon instead of the 10:00 they originally told her.  The carpet has been replaced and they weren't sure that it would be done by 10:00.  Also, the dishwasher has a leak and the part has been ordered but might not be delivered in time for it to be repaired before she moves in.

And, at the last minute (Monday afternoon) it was discovered that the manager told her the wrong apartment would be hers so she had to scramble to get the electric company and the internet provider situated.  The manager apparently has bad handwriting and some of her letters look alike, I think that this sort of thing has happened to the manager before.  Otter discovered it when she went in to sign the new lease, it's on the same hallway as the one she thought but it is at the front of the building and not around the back.  She's actually happy about that, it means that she will be able to make sun tea next summer after all!  The cable was originally to be switched in the morning but they are now coming in the late afternoon since she probably can't get into the new apartment as early as she thought she would be able to originally.  Because of that and the fact that the holiday is causing them scheduling issues, they are waiving the transfer fee which is a nice thing.

And, as if that's not enough:

It is probably going to rain tomorrow.  Possibly all day.  The plan at this point is to get her mattress and box spring moved first, assuming we can get it done before the rain starts.  Even if the bed frame and headboard are not moved until later, we want to get the bedding itself moved and into the new apartment and keep it dry.  Things like her clothes are packed in trash bags, along with her stuffed animal collection, towels, etc., so they are somewhat protected from rain.  But a lot of her belongings are in boxes, so we may wind up wrapping trash bags around the boxes as well.  We'll see tomorrow.  The rain is not expected to start until afternoon, the timing changes depending on which station the tv happens to be on.  It's actually a 20% chance, which is not too bad.  But the forecasters here are not known for being accurate...

Thursday on is supposed to be very hard rain all day, and there are already flood watches being posted.  Not for our area so much, mostly for southern parts of the state.  But we could get localized street flooding.  Because of that, we aren't really sure when we'll finish up.  We should be able to get everything moved, but she might not be unpacked until Friday afternoon.  Also, the cleaning of the old apartment is tenatively set for Sunday but that may change.  I took my vacuum cleaner over there yesterday, the original plan was that I vacuum as each room is emptied and also wipe down the walls and then we finish cleaning sometime on Thursday morning.  But the office said she can have until Sunday to get everything finished, both because of the holiday and the weather but also because of her work schedule.  They are being very nice about this whole situation.

And now, it's time to go get into the Bluebell in the freezer!

Still Here!

Just up to my neck in stress!  

We figured out what we're doing as far as insurance goes, although it has been un-fun getting to this point.  I did the research and picked a plan which would work for Otter and me, Bill will be able to get insurance where he works.  It's not the best plan, but it's ok because it will bring the cost down enough so that we can actually afford the plan for me and Otter with our current carrier.  But yesterday, they nearly convinced me that it would be a mistake to stay with them.  We called them and went through the entire application process and were just about done, when the girl who was helping us realized she had put the wrong zip code and she wasn't able to correct it so she had to transfer me back to an actual agent.  He then basically tried to bully me into getting the government assistance to pay for it - which will NEVER EVER EVER happen, and then he lied to me and told me that the plan (which I had already picked out and was happy with) was not available and in fact, never had been.  He then informed me that they didn't have anything at all in that price range and he was very rude.  *RHTW then told him to cancel the application and that we would probably be going elsewhere entirely.

We considered enrolling along with Bill at his employer's insurance but I got online and checked up on what he told me.  And discovered that he was lieing through his teeth.  I called them back again - and talked to someone else.  She couldn't quite figure out why he told me what he did, then she figured out that even though I had told him repeatedly that it was for 2 of us, not my husband but just me and my daughter, he thought I needed to insure all three of us.  Although at the time, he told me it was just for the two of us.  I told her that I was interested, but she also helped me to find an even better and cheaper plan which meets our needs.  However, Otter was not with me anymore (she was at work) and they had to be able to ask her if she was enrolling since she's not a minor anymore.  So, they got the process started and then they suspended it so we could finish it today.  I went over to her apartment after work, this time I took my computer in case they needed to email me and it took about half an hour.  They called me when they said they would and it was easy.  I'm going to call them tomorrow and request the proof letter we need showing Bill's lack of insurance effective 1/1/16 and then he can finish the enrollment at work.  I'm also going to complain about the idiot agent from yesterday, I did get his name.

That's one stress fairy vanquished.

There are more.  Otter's move in next Wednesday.  The day before Thanksgiving.  She has to work the night before and then the late afternoon shift on moving day.  We have a 60% chance of rain.  It's out the door, down three flights of stairs, across the parking lot/grass area, in the door, back up three flights of stairs and into the new apartment.  We are going to try to get it all done in one day, but it might not be possible to get the old apartment cleaned so I may well be going back over there on Thanksgiving Day itself to finish up the cleaning.  She has to work Black Friday.  I'm probably going to spend Black Friday collapsed on the couch!

That's another one at least tamped down to manageable.

We got the booth finished up last week.  We basically built it from scratch and this time we've done more with the booth itself.  We took the machines up there one day last week and the store opened last Friday.

Bill built the booth sides with peg board.  The boars across the back and one side are to give it enough strength to hold pachinko machines in cabinets.  There are also boards on the back side which are not visible,they are between the 2x4's that make up the frame.

He used light hog wire across the top of the booth.  It's bolted down.

He strung Christmas lights across the top.  Each booth has electricity access and he has a timer so that the lights are only on when the store is open.

We bought two packs of kites at the dollar store a few years back and I found them in the closet the other day.  He attached them to the top and also used paper Japanese lanterns.  Since this picture was taken, he added two red lanterns between the blue ones.  He was going to insert small lights inside the lanterns but he didn't like the way it looked so he went with the Christmas lights instead.

The sign is a plywood board with a plastic car wrap type label.

Since this picture was taken, two of the machines have been sold.  They were sold off of our website, but that didn't happen until after we'd carted them up to the booth.  They were in my living room for weeks and weeks and not a bite, but as soon as they were out of the living room (and my way!), two of them sold.

The view from the front of the full booth.

Bill has a poster on one side which explains what pachinko machines are, also there are pachinko balls, board feet (for support for table top machines) and how-to restore dvds.  Also our business cards and a free information flyer.  The bulletin board at the top has pictures with the progression from before restoration to after.

Now, we just need someone to come buy machines!

Now, I'm just waiting for the rest of my stress fairies so I can beat their heads in!

Pray for Paris

That Kind of Week...

Veterans Day 2015

Thank you.  All of you.

Cars and Shower Curtains and Brownies and Pachinko Machines and Otters...

I made brownies on Thursday evening, and I made sure to double the batch.  Because otherwise, they would not be safe from Willie!  I frosted them this time, which I don't always do.  But I made them for J and his mom, to thank them for watching over Otter until we were able to get to her the night she had car trouble.

Otter saw a sign for a craft show and it was the same one I was going to yesterday, so we decided to go together.  Bill had the car loaded up with pachinko machines to take to the new booth and he dropped me off at her apartment and she was my chauffer.  For a while, anyway.  We went to the craft show and had a good time although we didn't buy much.  Then we went to Target in search of a new shower curtain for Otter.  Well, that was the plan anyway!  When we were pulling into the parking lot, the car light "low coolant level" came on.  So we called Bill, then we headed back to our house (I was driving the car then at Otter's request) and we watched the engine heat the entire way home.  It never really got very warm, it stayed in the normal range so we weren't worried about overheating.  Bill checked the car, it really didn't seem to need much anti-freeze but he added a little anyway and that's when he realized that the overflow tank was slightly bubbly.  There was apparently still a little air in the radiator and it was basically exhaling into the overflow tank.  He watched it for a while and let it run, he checked a few things and it seemed to be fine.  Otter and I went back to Target, Bill said it would be a good idea to drive her car and let it work any remaining air out of the radiator so we took it.  She wanted me to drive it, so I did.  She really doesn't have to drive very far to work, and our trip was the most distance the car had been driven and for the longest time since it was seen at the repair shop.

She found a shower curtain she liked, it's got bright colored stripes and it's very pretty.  She also found a matching bath mat but Target didn't have anything else that she liked so we went down the street to Walmart and she found a trash can that was not even made by the same company but it almost matched so we got it.  We also got her a can opener since she didn't have one, other than a hand-operated metal one that she said is almost impossible to operate.  When Roomie moved out,she left the shower curtain and bath set there which her mother bought when they moved into the first apartment.  It was never Otter's favorite, it's a nice blue but let's face it:  it's not exactly what 20-year old girls would have picked out for themselves! :)

Otter was going out to the not-quite-next-door small town that J lives in, she was still a little apprehensive about more car trouble so she asked me to take her.  I did, and drove her car.  It is probably all burped now, but she wants Bill to drive it this week and make sure.  I'll go back out there and get her in a few days.  Sometime between now and then, I'm going to go put her new bathroom stuff in place in her apartment and she also wants me to water her plants.    Otter is still moving in a couple of weeks, but she really does not want that blue shower curtain anymore - it's about the last thing that was Roomie's that is left in the apartment.  She's going to donate it to Goodwill or Salvation Army, but I'm going to wash the curtain and bath mat first. The apartment office changed the locks for her and Roomie did give us her keys when she moved out, but we didn't know for sure if she had given a key to her parents so I checked things a couple of times when Otter was gone last week/end.  Even though the lock isn't the same, Otter still wants me to go over there and check it a couple of times.

We went to the booth yesterday afternoon and took a couple of machines.  Bill realized that one of the walls was not strong enough for the weight of the pachinko machines and cabinets, so he talked to the owner and her husband stabilized/strengthened the wall last night.  We went back there this morning and Bill was satisfied, so he re-hung the machines on the wall.  We also put a fabric covered bulletin board on one of the side walls and it has a series of photographs, before restoration to after restoration of a pachinko machine.  The one Bill used is the Kanji-print fabric board that Otter made, she gave it to him when she moved into her apartment.  He also has a shelf which will hold pachinko balls, business cars and flyers.  The shop is opening for business on Friday, so we'll be back over there Thursday evening with the pachinko balls and also some how-to restoration dvd's.  We looked around the store a little bit, it's got a really good layout with good sized aisles and we hope that it succeeds.  Not just for us, she's a really nice person and she has a lot riding on this store.

Mags is very happy lately, I think she likes the cooler weather.  She's been pretty bouncy lately and is very playful.  As I type this, she is on her back and is attempting to catch her tail.  I guess it's easier to catch it that way? :)

EsCuuuuuuuuuuse Me!

(Anybody remember Steve Martin's tagline?  ExCuuuuuuuuuse ME!)

Bill talked to our neighbor the mechanic Monday evening and we also called the repair place we've been using.  All agreed that it sounded like the thermostat might be the problem with Otter's car.  Like maybe it was going out but hadn't gone out completely, because Bill drove it Monday and it was fine.  I took it to the repair shop on Tuesday morning and was expecting to have to get the thermostat replaced.  It turns out that it was a much simpler repair - in fact, it didn't actually need anything repaired.  When Bill replaced the radiator, 3 months ago, he did not get all the air out and the car basically just needed to be burped!  Once they got the last of the air out, they topped it off with more antifreeze and sent me on my way - at no charge.  I went on to work Tuesday and wound up keeping her car through today, because of the hours she worked and the fact that we had to go finish building the booth at the antique mall after work yesterday and I didn't have time to meet her to switch cars.  I watched the temperature gauge and it's been consistently fine.  Bill checked the belt and it's in good shape and he also checked the oil, since we had the car through this evening and he just wanted to make sure everything is ok.

Younger Boss filled the tank yesterday for her, which was nice of him to do.  I took the car back to her this evening, along with a few boxes for her.  She's gotten quite a bit of packing done already but she still has more to do.  I also got her laundry, I told her I'll do it this time for her so she can get as much packing done as she can.  She wants to go with me to a craft fair on Saturday, so I'll take her laundry back to her then.

We are back in the market for insurance again.  We got the renewal notice in the mail and they are raising the premium over $400 per month!  I am not about to pay more than $1,100.00 for insurance.  No blooming way.  Especially with as little as we actually use it.  We have a few options and most of them are a lot better than the "blue" company wants to charge us, I'm finding more than I did last year at this time when we were having to replace the insurance we had at that point.  There is absolutely NO EXCUSE for insurance to cost that much - that's even higher than my mortgage payment.  Way higher!

However, one Good Thing did happen today:

BLUEBELL IS BACK!!  

I have one of these in my freezer now.  It hit store shelves on Monday, I was going to get some then but with the car issue and the fact that there was a possibility I would have had to go get Bill if Otter's car had acted up, it wasn't possible.  I didn't get it yesterday because I had to take the car to the shop in the morning and then I had to run home as soon as I could after work so we could get to the booth place to finish assembling the booth.  As soon as I left Otter's, I went straight to the grocery store and my first stop was the ice cream freezer.  It looked like it was selling pretty fast, but I grabbed one before it was all gone.  The second I got it home and to the kitchen, we had the lid off the carton and the spoons out!  We just had a spoonful (ok, I had two!) and then put it in the freezer.  We each had a bowl after dinner, it was so good!  I had forgotten just how spectacularly good Bluebell ice cream is.  It tasted a lot sweeter than I remember, in fact.

Happy Happy Texans around my house!