Last Sunday of May

Last day of May, in fact but I can't think of another title.

It's been a busy weekend, after a busy week.  While we were in SA last weekend, Bill bought another pachinko business.  I think I mentioned it, but just in case:  Bill in San Antonio (also referred to as the Other Bill) was getting out of the pachinko business.  He is who Bill bought the bajillion machines from 2 years ago.  The Other Bill called my Bill a few weeks ago and said he was wanting to sell out.  They negotiated and came to a good price.  The Other Bill was willing to hold onto the rest of the stock until we got there for (my) Bill's sister's wedding.  Along with the remaining machines, parts and how-to dvd's, (my) Bill also bought the website and rights to the internet presence the Other Bill had.  It's taken a few days, but (my) Bill has been working on getting the websites transferred into his website.  I don't think he's finished yet, but he spent several hours on it yesterday and a few hours today.  He also spent a couple of hours yesterday tearing a machine down that is about to be restored. 

I went to a couple of antique-ish stores yesterday but I didn't find anything.  I took the beaglebrat on a couple of walks yesterday, and then one this morning.  We both took her on one this afternoon.

In between her walks today, this is what she spent a lot of her time doing:

Anybody see what I see?

Look closer:

Otter slept on the futon when she was house & beagle sitting last weekend, it was down in bed position then.  She said that Maggie was quite happy to sleep underneath it, she didn't try to get up on it but she did go underneath it as soon as she went into the room.

This is our forecast for the week:

NO RAIN!!!!!

It Had Better Be...

This short, 4-day workweek has been never ending.

And it's still raining.

We have had so much rain that there is nowhere for anymore water to go.  Which means street flooding, at least during rain storms such as the one late this morning that lasted until mid-afternoon.  But it's still not as bad as what TEXAS had to deal wit last week.  It's just that there is still more rain in the forecast for tomorrow.  I don't remember what Sunday's forecast is, but it might be rain early and then stopping.  The early forecast for next week is dry.  No rain forecast!  Woo Hoo!!!!!

The beagle will probably agree, she feels very short-changed on her walks.  She usually gets a short one in the morning and then a longer one in the afternoon.  Otter wasn't able to walk her at all last weekend when she house-sat for us and I've only been able to take her on a few this week.  None today, at all.  I did get Maggie Moo to go out into the back yard but I think she only went out because she absolutely had to - dog hates rain in the strongest way!  She was bouncy when she came back in so I played with her for a while, first time she's wanted to play since April 23.  Now, she's camped out on her pillow beside the couch and I hear snoring.  Hopefully, we can get a walk or two in tomorrow.  She's much better when she gets some exercise and the walking is good for me as well.

I discovered something when we were in San Antonio last weekend.  Texas is not backwards.  (We already knew that!)  I'm referring to the fact that I was able to buy local wine at the grocery store - which is 2 complaints (1 is that very few local wineries actually sell at liquor stores here because of Oklabackwardshoma laws and the fact that it was at a grocery store - something else not allowed here) and I was also able to buy it on a Sunday!  I think I'm going to crack open the bottle tonight and see what I can do about not letting it get lonely.

Tomorrow, I think I'm going to do some stuff around the house.  There will probably be a lot of crafting going on!  With possibly a trip to the library in there somewhere.

Been a Busy Few Days

The last real post was last week, on Monday.  The other posts since then have been quick.

We ran off to TEXAS last weekend.  Bill's sister got married and we made a fast trip to be there.  We headed down south at 4:45 last Friday morning.  We made really good time, considering that we had some major traffic issues on IH 35 in the vicinity of Austin.  We came back on Monday, we left San Antonio even earlier - at 3:45!  But we got home before noon, no traffic at all because it was a holiday.

There was some really bad weather last weekend, it's been all over the news and it's tragic.  I know a lot of the areas that are affected, Wimberly in particular.  We used to go to an outdoor flea market there.  It's not a big town.  We worry about tornados here, but people tend to forget how TEXAS reacts to a lot of water.  (Not well, obviously.)  Southern Oklahoma has also had a lot of flooding but a lot of the areas we saw were farmland and not built up too much.  Which doesn't make it easier for people affected to deal with, but there were a lot of deaths and some people are still missing in S. TEXAS.

Otter stayed at our house while we were gone, she beaglesat for us.  She reports that the futon is comfortable enough to sleep on, and she enjoyed getting to play with the beagle a lot.  She had already placed an order for things to eat.  I got her a frozen pizza, frozen chicken nuggets, cokes (TEXAN cokes, also known as Mountain Dew for Otter) and potato chips.

The wedding was a lot of fun, it was really special and we are very glad we were able to go.  Bill's youngest sister married a wonderful man and they did it their way:  on horseback.  It was great and it fit their personalities very well.  We had a really great time.

While there, Bill also acquired more pachinko machines.  7 to be exact.  Along with a lot of other stuff, he bought out a fellow pachinko fanatic's business that they owner wanted to sell.  It's the same person he got the 40+million machines from a couple of years ago.  (Otter would not have had a place to sit, she would have been strapped to the roof if she'd gone!)

Froggy and I were going to get together on Sunday, we had shopping plans.  But IH 35 was closed and so was 281, both highways that would have gotten her to San Antonio.  So we weren't able to see each other.  :(  That will be remedied soon!

I'm on day 2 of the first migraine of the year.  At least I didn't get it until late May, last year I think I had 9 or 10 total and they started early.  The flashers weren't too bad, the headache isn't horrible but it's just still there.

I'm wondering if the jalepeno and bell peppers are going to grow, or if they'll stay little and not produce fruit.  They have been planted for several weeks, but they are constantly being overwatered due to the rain.  I have been draining them often, they are healthy but they are not growing and have not had any sign of a bloom yet.  The peppermint is growing, but it isn't one that needs to bloom and produce fruit.

We could get yet more rain tonight and for the next couple of days.  We had a thunderstorm last night.  I'm beginning to think it's time to look up plans for an arc!

In Memoriam

Never forget.

TGIF! Didn't Think It Would Ever Get Here.

It's been one of those never-ending weeks.  Glad it's over.

An example of the kind of week it's been:  the daddy-long-legs spider I've been avoiding walking on in the kitchen finally got big enough for me to really see him.  Which is when I discovered that my daddy-long-legs spider was actually a fiddleback!  (Brown Recluse)  Needless to say, it went for a swim in the septic tank via the toilet.

Just that kind of week.

Never Ending Adventures of an Allergy Mom

I'm apparently still an Allergy Mom.

In this case, it's the beagle!!

The beagle had a bath last night, which was not her most favorite activity of the weekend.  But she kind of smelled and it had been a while, so a dunking in the tub was in order.  She has been scratching a lot.  A LOT.  There was one possible flea in the bath water, but mostly it was just dirt.  So, I don't think fleas are the problem.  No sign of ticks. She does have a few skin tags - dogs get them just like people do.  When she had the bladder infection, she was scratching at her belly in specific spots in what was probably an effort to get to the places that were painful.  But now, she's just scratching.  And scratching.  And scratching.  And scratching some more!

The vet's office called me today, to check up on her since she had the bladder infection.  I asked about the scratching, because I'm pretty sure it's allergies.  We know Maggie Moo has some, her eyes water in the spring and sometimes she gets a little itchy after being outside in the grass.  Now that we are walking more often, usually twice a day, she seems to be itchier.  The vet said I can give her claritan or zyrtech.  They told me which variety to give her and the dosage, I decided to go with zyrtech.  I may not be spelling it right.  Anyway, I went to wallyworld and had to ask the pharmacist if it was otc or behind the counter.  It's otc, she told me which aisle and then I still had to call the vet to be sure I got the right one.  I'm going to start her on it tonight.  I can give her a full pill, but I'm going to start with half.  When we used to have Misty, the really special dog I had when we moved to our current house 11 years ago, Misty would pull out all the hair she could reach in the spring because she was lab/chow and they both have very dense coats.  We used to give her benadryl.  It helped, she still yanked the fur out but not as bad - and she didn't look like she was horribly sick, either.

This is Misty, we referred to her as our little old lady.  She was an actual, 100 % real rescue, I literally took her off the street and never regretted it.  Her tongue was sticking out in this picture, the dark coloration is because she had a lot of chow in her ancestry.

We'll see how the allergy med goes with the Magginator.  Last night, the dog was coughing a little and I found myself telling her to calm down, relax and just breathe.  Exactly like I used to do with Otter when she was little and having an asthma flare!

Once a Mom, always a Mom!

Wheeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It's been one long, never-ending merry-go-round ride since Friday afternoon.

It started with a phone call from Bill as I was on the way home from work.  He wanted to tell me that he'd been in a car accident.  Talk about scaring me!  He wasn't hurt.  It was his work vehicle.  He stopped for a traffic in front of him which was stopped for a red light.  But apparently, the driver behind him didn't get the memo and he ran into Bill's work vehicle.  There was hardly any damage, but because it was his employer's vehicle it had to be called in to the police and a representative from his work had to come out.  Even though he felt fine, I told him to go get checked out and that was also the policy of his employer so they sent him to the clinic they use.  He had to wait a while.  A very long time, actually.  They said he was fine and he felt fine, so they released him to go on home.

Otter was at our house at the time, she was doing laundry and was still here when I got home.  She walked Maggie Moo with me, which delighted the somewhat silly & smelly beagle.  She stayed longer than she intended to, in case Bill turned out to be hurt and I had to go get him - she would have given me a ride to get his car and then I would have gotten him.  That turned out to be unnecessary.

Saturday was busy, we went to a local art show/sale/street fair in Tulsa.  Actually, two that were both happening at the same time.  It was a lot of fun, but it was very warm and crowded.  We didn't buy anything, unless you want to count the 2 Dr. Peppers we drank!  But it was a lot of fun and we enjoyed the day.  We were both pretty tired when we got home, however the aforementioned smelly beagle  needed a walk so I got her out the door for a short jaunt.  I took a nice, long nap after the walk and then got in the shower - and spent the rest of the afternoon parked on the couch with Billyboy watching the rest of the movies on the 100 Sci-Fi "classics" Otter gave him for Christmas - some of them were real "winners," too.  (Otter - he loved the gift and has had more fun watching them.)

Last night was the really wild part of the weekend.  We had a tornado watch in the late afternoon/evening and there were thunderstorms headed our way - but we didn't expect anything too bad.  At 11:30 p.m., I woke up because I heard something.  I didn't really know what it was, but it was not THE siren.  However, it was probably the LAST FEW SECONDS OF THE SIREN.  I turned the tv on and they were talking about my small town, but not right where we live.  The possible tornado had sprouted well east/northeast of us and was continuing on away from us.  We were in the middle of a really bad thunderstorm and still had quite a bit of it on the way, but nothing else bad was expected for us.  I considered texting Otter, but I didn't because a)  it was already on the other side of us/her, b) nothing else besides the thunderstorm was in our forecast and c) she has been known to sleep through the tornado sirens before and I didn't want to wake her up and disturb her in case she was still asleep.  I didn't check my cell phone for texts for her, but I should have.  When I got up this morning and turned it on, I had a text from her at 11:22 last night telling me that they were already in the basement, in case I was wondering.  I texted her back telling her why I didn't text her last night, and that they did the right thing.  She called me later, apparently not that many people actually went to the shelter - which is really dumb!  But it was the middle of the night and it is possible that not everyone heard it - the storm was L.O.U.D.

The storm did sprout something, but it might have "just" been high wind and not actually tornadic.  There is damage but it's all east/northeast of us. We got a lot of rain and very little sleep,  It was so hard to get up this morning.

But we had to get the garage finished up.  We started it a few weeks ago, then it was rainy then it was Mother's Day (and still rainy!) but today we had a dry day forecast.  Bill got the rest of the machines organized and took several out to the shed.  He took some misc. boxes out there as well and brought some boxes from the shed that have pachinko parts and they are on the shelves in the garage now.  I got my tree trimming tool and took care of a bunch of limblets on the three front trees and the tree on the side of the garage.  I got a little crochet done, sitting on the front porch while Bill was running machines back to the shed - that was a one-person job.

Then, the final fun event of the weekend was accomplished.  I bathed the beagle!  The beagle was not amused.  But she doesn't stink anymore.  She did smell like a wet dog for a while, but that is still better than she smelled before.  :)

May? Spring?

I'm not really sure about either one of those things.

The calendar says it's May 13.  But it's back to jackets the last couple of days.  At the moment, nearly 8:30 p.m., we are sitting on the couch.  With blankets!  (And a warm beagle on her pillow at my feet, also sharing the blanket with me.)  It's pouring at the moment, it started raining again this afternoon after a break in the rain for a couple of hours.

Maggie Moo is much better.  She was bouncy and happy this morning, she went outside for a necessary trip and then she came running inside and zoomed around for a few minutes.  About 6:15, it wasn't raining and she was bouncy, so I said "walk" and that was enough to get her attention.  I didn't get out the door fast enough for her, and she barked at me!  Probably because I was taking too long, she didn't think I should stop long enough to lock the door!  Shed actually "baroo'd" at me - twice!  Baroo is the term for the noise beagles are known for that isn't actually a bark, although they do bark sometimes.  She couldn't get out to the street fast enough.  Then she wanted to walk in the street and not beside the grass!  We had a short walk, it was fairly quick but it was enough to occupy her.  She was tired out from the walk, and I went ahead and gave her a pain pill but I only gave her half of the dose.  It was about time for her to go out for the day anyway, and she was excited about that.  Probably because she knows that means her treat can will be opened!  She was happy when Bill let her in this afternoon.  She was not quite 100%, but she was glad to see him and then me when I got home.

I wanted to take her for a walk but she didn't act like she wanted one.  However, she did want to take a ride with me and was more than willing to let me get her harness on and got in the car easily.  We went to a local pet store because I wanted to get her a different style harness and I needed to take her with me for that.  I got her one that is closer to the old-style harness that Mom used with her chihuauas, it's burnt orange.  I also got her a new leash, the one we've used with her for years was beginning to show it's wear and it needed to be replaced.  The new one is pink, it's decorated with words such as "Diva, Prima Donna and Princess" with pictures of things like crowns - in other words, it fits Maggie's personality to a T!  While we were there, she also met a cat - the resident cat who always greets every animal that comes in.  Maggie was happy to touch noses with the cat, the cat meowed at her and was her normal superior feline self and Maggie was happy.  The particular store hosts cat rescues, some of them have dogs but this one is kitties.  There were a few really young kittens in a couple of large cages on display, Maggie was fascinated with them.  They didn't seem to care that the nose sticking inside the bars was a dog and not a cat, they were cute.  I have no idea if she's ever been around cats, but I think she probably has.  She was a 2-year old dog when we got her, her previous owner was a lady who died of old age and was a friend of a person who ran a rescue group for dogs.  When she died, Maggie was given to the rescue friend to be re-homed.  I'm thinking that Mags had been around cats in her first home.  But since Frasier would kill any cat he could (downside of the coyote heritage), we never allowed either of the dogs near any cat if we could avoid it so we really had no idea how Maggie would react to a cat.  She seems to like them.  She was funny on the way home, she was very interested in looking out the front windshield at a work crew when we were stopped at a light.  Shortly after that, it started raining and Maggie was a little unsure at first, then she curled up and went to sleep.  She did not want to get out of the car at home, she had figured out by that point that it was raining and she does not like rain.  She ran from the car door to the front porch, I don't think she even got one raindrop on her fur but she had to shakeshakeshake before she even took one more step.

We had chili tonight, made with buffalo.  It makes it so good!  I sent a pound of buffalo and a dozen tamales home with Otter the other day.  I don't know if she's used either one of them yet, but J was very interested in anything made with buffalo.  She saw the doctor today and the stitches are gone!  She said that it itches a little still but that the doctor said it looks good.  She has to be careful for a few days and keep a bandaid on it at work.  But she does not need to go back.

OK, back to my blanket and my beagle now.

I still say it can't be any later than March!

Brick Layer

This is a brick:

This is Maggie Moo:

They are kind of the same thing, at the moment!

She is actually much better and the medication is working, but she was a brick last night.  She went to sleep on her pillow pretty early.  She didn't move at all, until shortly before we got out of bed.  I heard her collar tags jingling around 5:00 a.m., I was awake but not quite moving yet.  She was a little draggy still, but she was happier than she was before the vet visit.  She didn't want her antibiotic this morning, she kept spitting it back out at me.  I finally disguised it in a bite of bread and she took it then.  The pain pill was no problem, she likes the way it tasted but I gave her a bite of cheese anyway.  That was right before I put her out in the garage for the day and she was getting groggy quickly, but not as bad as after the shot.

Bill got home before I did so he let her in, then he went to mow the back yard.  She greeted me happily when I came in the door, then she sat down by the couch and waited for me to bring the groceries in.  After I got everything in, she was still sitting down by the couch but she was happy to see me.  She didn't act like she wanted a walk tonight, so I didn't attempt to take her on one.  If the weather isn't wet tomorrow, I'll see if she wants one when I get home.  She's much better but she's not quite back to normal yet.  At the moment, she is back on her pillow and is snoring loudly.

I sure miss my Frasier.

Mostly Musings on Maggie Moo's Manic Monday

I couldn't think of another word that started with the letter M and would go with my aliterive title.  Think I have enough M's?

I took the Magginator to the vet this afternoon and he thinks she does have a bladder infection.  While there, she also got her rear squished and her claws trimmed.  We are now on a 2-month schedule for the rear glands, 3 months is now too long to go between "rear alignments" for her.  The tech said she was just as impacted today (2 months) as she was the last time (3 months between squishings.)  The vet gave her a pretty thorough exam, he does not have any reason to suspect that there is anything other than a garden-variety bladder infection.  He gave her an antibiotic shot and a fairly strong pain shot.  He told me that she would start to feel the effects pretty quick, and she did.  She didn't want to get in the car to come home because they were walking another dog and she wanted to go say hi.  I took her over to the grassy area, she watered the grass and then she and the other dog got to greet each other - it was a huge, white bulldog mix and very friendly.  I think Maggie is lonely for another dog, but that's not something we can do anything about at this point.  Anyway, he also gave her pain pills - the same thing I turned into them 2 weeks ago so that they could donate them to someone who couldn't afford them, and antibiotic pills.  I start her on both of those in the morning, since she got injections of them tonight.

She managed to make it home before she got too droopy, she was happy to see Bill and was actually a little playful for the first time in a few days.  She'd been scratching a lot at her belly, no reason but probably because she was having some pain in the bladder area and she was trying to relieve it.  I got a damp washcloth and washed her face because her allergies make her eyes water, then she wanted a belly rub and I used the damp washcloth on her belly - which she absolutely loved!  She curled up on her pillow and I covered her with one of her blankets.  She went to sleep pretty much immediately, although she did rearrange herself a little later so that her head is uncovered.  She has been smiling in her sleep and snoring.  She's probably done for the day.  She's also almost due for her next set of normal shots - rabies shots, etc. around the end of the month but I didn't realize that until we were checking out.  The vet probably wouldn't have given it to her now anyway, she had a very slight fever and that can often nullify the rabies shot - or at least that was what I was told by a previous vet, but for various reasons we don't really trust much that particular vet told us.

Well, one big reason mostly.  A large, furry, red chow mix that was very ill but they told me was "just a little illness" and that he was fine - but he died two days later.  And we learned after that about the particular vet having a bunch of complaints and unhappy customers.

Maggie was funny, she was happy to get to the vet's front door but then she realized where she was and she tried to turn around and go back to the car.  She didn't want to get on the scale (26.6 pounds), but she was very happy to see the vet and the tech.  She went with them willingly, but I could hear them having to redirect her into the actual room to get her squishing done.  She was happy to come back to me, then she sprawled out in the floor with her nose to the bottom of the door and wagged her tail hard until they came back into the room we were in and then she was happy to see them.

I called the electric company today and told them that I was very unhappy with the work they did.  They started a claim for damages for me.  They will call me and send someone out to look, but I'm not sure when that will be.  We probably have more rain on the way mid- to end of the week, so I took a bunch of pictures this afternoon.  There are a lot of places where the dirt that was piled in the trench has now sunk into the trench, and it looks really bad around the concrete pad where the electrical box is.  I think they killed about 6 crepe myrtles and of course all the grass that they tore out to do the digging.  They also still have a shovel here and two large pieces of plywood.

That is the exciting Monday we've had, but since we know for sure that Maggie doesn't have anything B.A.D. like we were afraid of - not that we had a reason, but it's only been 2 weeks since we lost Frasier - it's a much calmer evening than it could have been.

Mother's Day 2015

Happy Mother's Day!

My day has been a lot of fun.  Otter and J came over for breakfast, we had Monkey Bread and assorted fresh fruit.  They stayed for a couple of hours and we had a nice visit.  Otter gave me kitchen towels, which I needed badly.

Bill gave me a set of craft blades, similar to X-Acto knives but they came from the store Otter works at.  It was also something I needed, I originally wanted another cactus but then I realized that I needed the craft blades so I changed my gift request to that.  I actually went and got that one myself, because I had to pick out the specific set I wanted.

Bill and I went to a couple of thrift stores today.  This is what I bought at the first one, it was a grab  bag (clear plastic bags, not a mystery bag) and it was $6.98.  For all of this:

It's on the couch with a blanket for background, but it was a very full bag.  The next picture is what I actually bought the bag for:

Yarn spools!  8 regular ones and one larger one.  And for what is a ridiculously low price, especially considering everything else that was in the bag.  I've seen these priced (and selling for) for upwards of $5.00 each, sometimes more since they have thread on them and the bigger one would probably sell for more than the entire bag.

The tag says it's a handmade purse, silk fabric maybe.  I'm not sure if it's a keeper for something craft related or it it's going to be sold or re-donated.  It's sort of evening bag size.  I didn't even see it in the bag when I bought it, it was in the middle of everything else but I grabbed the bag as soon as I saw the yarn spools.

These are small hats, hand crocheted obviously.  I'm not sure if they are for dolls such as an 18" doll, or if they might be dog hats.  Because also in the bag were three dog outfits.  (The hats are probably for dolls.)

The orange and pink/blue one are obviously hand crocheted.  The pink one is Martha Stewart brand, which I think is really funny.  I did try it on Maggie Moo so I could text a picture to Otter, but it's wool and I didn't even have to look at the tag to figure that out because I started reacting to it as soon as it came into contact with my skin.  The dog clothes are all in the donate pile.

The blue fabric has a tag from when it was purchased originally, I think it was somewhere around $4.00.  The cotton collar is probably not new, but I don't think it's been worn before.  It's very clean and still has that "stiff" feeling.  Not sure if it's etsy, donate, if Otter wants it, or what.

This might be hand-knitted or it might have been done on a knitting machine, but it is homemade and not professionally done.  It's a vest with a sash.  I thought it was an uncompleted cardigan style sweater but the sleeve openings are too big.  It might fit Otter, for a size comparison - I don't think it's anything she would want, but I might well put it on her and have her model it for an etsy picture if I decide to sell it.  The final yarn ends are still attached but they are tied off.  It has a button on the bottom.  It's clean and there is no smell that I can tell.

Froggy, got any idea what these are?  They are obviously holders for "tape" or ribbon of some type and I think they are sewing related.  Possibly etsy bound as well, but maybe not.

There were a few other things, a bag of small safety pins and some misc. stuff.

The next two pictures are from the 2nd thrift store.

2 square doilies which were marked 49 cents each but then they turned out to be half price so they were 25 cents each.  There is also a very long table-runner size doily, I think it was 79 cents.  It has a couple of spots I need to mend slightly and it also has a reddish stain but I think it will come out.  All three are bound for my doily curtain.  The reddish crochet thing is a hanging towel, it has a granny square front and a backing crochet piece.  Not sure if I'm going to copy the pattern or what, but it was somewhere around 70 cents or maybe less.

This is a clear ruler, used in sewing and also in things like crochet.  I'm not sure if it's an etsy item or if I'll keep it, as I frequently need something like this but I have a clear plastic ruler I use.

I keep talking about etsy, I think I'm finally going to start listing things in the store I set up a few years ago and then never used.  I have a few ideas for crochet pieces that are not scarves & hats, because the market is basically flooded with that sort of thing.

We also bought an old nut cracker that it mounted on a wooden board.  It was etsy bound at first, but now I'm thinking we may keep it.

After the 2nd thrift store, we decided to have lunch at Cici's pizza instead of cardboard pizza from wally.  We also went to a fabric store.

Speaking of flooding, we've had so much rain the last several days that there has been some street flooding in the area.  The ground is over-saturated.  We've had several instances of hard rains the last couple of days, yesterday afternoon (I got caught in it literally and got soaked) and this morning were very strong storms.  My back yard literally looked like a lake, the ground can not absorb any more water and it was beginning to stand - which is really saying a lot.  I've drained the potted plants a few times, Bill had to clean out one of the downspouts because it was clogged and the rain gutters overflowed.  The ground is so soft it's almost like walking in a swamp.  There is water standing in ditches and on the side of the road in places it never actually does, and we saw evidence of a few street areas that had obviously been under water at some point either yesterday or this morning.  Next week is supposed to be dry and warm, it's going to be very humid for a few days and then it will be mosquito season so I'm trying to get rid of any standing water I find.

I'm thinking that Maggie Moo might have another UTI or bladder infection.  She's "leaked" twice in the house in the last 3 days, I caught her at it in the hallway yesterday and she would not stop - even when I yelled at her.  I don't think she could really stop.  She's acting like she might not feel too good, she really acts like she did before when she had one.  She might also need to get her rear glands cleaned out, it's been 2 months since the last time and we did think that 2 months would be about right.  Or it could be both.  Either way, I'm calling the vet tomorrow to see if I can get her in there.  She's perky when I say the W or R words (Walk or Ride) but even when she actually gets to do either of those things (or both!), she's not acting like she's 100%.  I don't think she's moping around over Frasier not being here, she seemed to get over that and she acts like she doesn't feel too good.  She's finally sleeping on the pillow we bought to make her a bed out of, at least.

(I did give in the my asthma last Friday and stayed home.)

Time for ice cream now!

Talkies

(I may have used that title before, it seems like it.)

When Otter was very young, a few years after the diagnosis of asthma, we noticed something about her.  When she was dealing with a flare, she would frequently talk.  Like constantly!  Turns out, that when you aren't getting enough oxygen in your system your body will do what it takes to get it.  Including talking.  Because you need air to talk, and the air is oxygen.  She hasn't done what we call "the talking thing" in a long time, because she hasn't had a flare in what feels like forever.  Which we are very thankful for, by the way!  Anyway, there is a point to this.  I also do "the talking thing" when I'm starting a flare.

Guess what I've been doing today?

The Talking Thing!

I've been dealing with allergy tiredness today and it's been really bad this afternoon.  I don't have a lot of congestion, although my lungs are beginning to feel like I'm in the starting phase of a flare.  I've been outside more than normal for this time of year, but that can't really be helped.  Maggie Moo needs to be walked, she's a beagle and they are energetic little bratties.  Walks are good for her and they are also going to be good for me, I just wish that my across the street neighbor's magnolia tree would just die off!!!

It's probably not the only thing that is aggravating my allergies, but it's a pretty strong allergy and is probably the current worse issue.

Springtime!

Otter was over this afternoon.  She comes over about once a week to do laundry, and of course to see the aforementioned beaglebrat!  (She also just comes by to say hello sometimes.)  She accompanied me when Maggie got her trip around the neighborhood.  Talk about a happy dog!  She had a few hours of Otter's undivided attention, then she got a walk with Otter.

Otter's hand is doing well.  She saw the doctor yesterday for the 3-day follow up.  He said that he sees no signs of infection and that it looks like it's healing.  She goes back next Wednesday to get the stitches removed.  Until then, she is to continue the care procedures and she can now start leaving it uncovered if she's at home and not going to do anything that might aggravate it.  She said that it does still hurt, although not nearly as much.  The main thing she's noticed is that it is beginning to itch.  The doctor told her that's a good thing, since that means it's healing - which she already knew, by the way.

J graduates from college tomorrow!  He will have a Bachelor's Degree in English.  He's an honors graduate.  He has worked very hard to get to this point.  He took several classes at the community college that Otter went to - that's where they met, actually.  The community college told him very clearly that his credits would transfer.  But when he transferred to the university, it turned out that several classes would not transfer and he had to take them over again.  Which meant that he actually wound up graduating a year later than he originally would have.  But he's finally there.  J and his mother will pick Otter up tomorrow and they'll go to the ceremony.  He's been attending a local satellite location of the university, but the graduation ceremony is at the main campus which is in a not quite next door but still close by town.

Sunday is Mother's Day.  Otter and J are coming over for breakfast, I'm making my own breakfast but that is because I want to.  Monkey Bread!  Apparently, Otter has been telling J how good it is and she was going to make it for him, but she's willing to let me make it instead.  :)

But seriously, way to go J!

Updates? I Don't Know What to Call This Post.

So far, May looks to be following in April's trail in more than just the calendar!

Otter's hand is doing well, all things considered.  I took her some ice cream after work today - it's the accepted treat after a shot and she technically got more than one in her hand yesterday.  So, I think it counts!  I took her (and Roomie!) a carton of cookies & cream ice cream and I also grabbed a package of frozen french fries for them while I was in the store.  They were both overjoyed to get the treats, and Otter was also happy to discover the package of pepperoni slices that were in the bag, too.  She said her hand hurts quite a bit, which is to be expected at this point.  She's also got a fairly high pain threshhold, which is also part of the RedHead Curse so "quite a bit" for her is agony for a non-Red.  She's been trying to keep it propped up and not use it, but that is harder than it sounds.  She has been taking tylenol and following the care instructions they gave her yesterday at the walk-in clinic.  She had to day off from work as a regularly scheduled day off and also tomorrow.  She works Wednesday morning and will go get the stitches checked when she gets off work.  Then they will tell her how long she should have to keep the stitches in.  I'm really glad that they want to remove them in the office instead of telling her she can do it herself!  Like I said before, she's her Father's Daughter...

One more to beam up, Scotty!

We lost another one today.  Grace Lee Whitney, 1930 - 2015.  She will always be remembered fondly as Yeoman Janice Rand, first season & first 8 episodes of the brilliance that is Star Trek.

There are only 4 bridge crew members left now.  And a lot of the "background" actors are gone as well.  Plus quite a few of the writers, directors, etc. and of course the Great Bird of the Galaxy himself, Gene Roddenberry.

I had been thinking about getting an actual dog bed for Maggie Moo.  We had one briefly, but Frasier apparently thought he had to rid the universe of it's presence pretty quickly.  So we started using flannel blankets for them.  Maggie has always been fine with the blankets, but I thought she might like something softer.  I priced dog beds and decided to just get a pillow for her.  I bought one for $3.00 at BigLots today.  She's slept on pillows before, she was briefly using a laundry basket with a spare pillow that Otter had in her room and she also slept in Otter's bed for a while (until she did what she does and licked everything!)  So, I put the pillow down on top of the blankets this afternoon.  And she's done everything she can to not actually get on it!  I got her to sit on it once, but she didn't stay.  Bill thought maybe it smells different, which I also thought might be the case.  So we put it on the love seat - she's not allowed up there but she usually gets up on it pretty quickly after we go to bed.  We have an old blanket on the love seat just to protect it from BeagleBaby.  The pillow is now in the spot where she usually sleeps, we'll see if she sleeps on it tonight since it's on the love seat and we know she'll be up there at some point after the lights go out!  She got a walk this morning and then I took her on another one after I got home from work today.  Otter did ask me if I'm spoiling the beagle sufficiently, I have to say that I think I am. :)

My right knee is kind of sore.  It also has a small cut above the knee cap.  I walked into the baby gate at the end of the hall this morning.  I was taking a load of laundry out of the dryer and I forgot we moved the thing to the other side of the laundry room door.  And I ran right into the stupid gate!  Maggie is much quieter than Frasier was, she will sit at the baby gate and wait for us to get up but she isn't really much of a barker (except for now and that's because she's asleep and dreaming)  We've heard her jingling collar coming down the hall a couple of times, but she will sit or lie down and wait patiently until we get up or one of us goes to the kitchen to feed her.  We always seperated their food bowls in the kitchen, one on each side of the kitchen and the water dish was on Frasier's side but they both used it.  We moved the water dish down a little bit, and I tried to relocate her food bowl to that side as well.  She absolutely refused to go anywhere near her food bowl on that side of the kitchen - we spent a lot of time telling her to get out of his food bowl, now when we want her to eat on that side she finally decides to remember what we told her! :)  Goofy baby, but we love her anyway.

Before Otter's Adventures in BillLand yesterday, I did manage to get the peppers transplanted.  Otter has two jalepenos and a peppermint, we have two jalepenos and two bell peppers.  They are in large size pots on the deck, most are in clay pots but two of them are in plastic ones.  I watered them tonight, they look good.  It could be rainy Wednesday so I might move them up closer to the house so they have a little bit of cover - sometimes rain this time of year is very hard and I'd just as soon not lose them to hail force rain.  Otter will eventually get her plants, but they are fine where they are until she does.  She'll be over one day this week to do laundry (and play with the beagle!) and she might take them then, but I think she'll probably wait a little longer until her hand heals up some.

Then, she'd better quit trying to live up to Bill's reputation!

Footsteps

Otter is following in her father's footsteps.  Whether we want her to or not!

This is the palm of her left hand, fortunately.  She's right-handed.

About 1:00, just as Bill and I were starting to eat lunch I got a text from Otter:  "In case you were ever worried that I don't take after dad enough - I successfully sliced my hand open trying to cut a potato."  I told her to call me after getting that text.  She was attempting to cut into a raw potato so she could bake it and it was slightly damp.  Her left hand slipped - right into the ceramic knife she was using to slice!  This was a little over an hour after it had happened, and it was still bleeding enough that she wasn't sure but thought maybe it needed stitches.  She wanted Mom to look at it, she was at work at this point, so I went to her store to check on it.  Being a redhead, she bleeds like the rest of us do so the fact that there was still blood wasn't enough to say it did need them.  She didn't really want to take the gauze wrapping off it it but I had to see the cut so she took it off.  I thought it was deep and long enough, so she told the supervisor and he said that his wife works at a close walk-in clinic.  He called her and they weren't busy, so we went up there.  They took her back quickly (the nurse was a redhead and we compared notes on bleeding) - Otter wanted me to come back with her - and the doctor thought it needed stitching up.  The shots to numb it was pretty painful, but they generally are.  However, stitches would have hurt worse without the shots.  She knew what to expect, having been to the ER with her dad more than once when he got stitches!  The doctor kept telling her to look away, but she's not squeamish at all and she always has to look.  I rubbed her back while he was numbing it, she said that helped.  He took 4 stitches in it, but because it was with a clean, ceramic knife he doesn't think she needs a tetnus shot.  She has to go back on Wednesday to get it looked at, at that point they will decide if the stitches need to come out in 7 or 10 days.  They will take the stitches out, they are not the disolving kind.  I took her back to work, the doctor said she'd be able to work today.  I went to Walgreen's and got her some neosporin, gauze, vetwrap and tylenol.  She texted me about 5:30 and said the numbness was really starting to wear off.  I told her to take tylenol before it was completely gone.  She already had Monday and Tuesday off from work and she will be off early enough Wednesday to not have to miss any time when she gets the stitches looked at.

I'm pretty sure I have more grey hairs than I did when I woke up this morning!

Bill texted her later on: "Who'se yo daddy!"  She answered "YOU, OBVIOUSLY."

What can I say, she is very much her father's daughter. :)

Middles

I've discovered something.  Today, I went to several yard sales.  A couple of them were neighborhood wide.  Lots of houses having sales.  And almost all of them were one of two items:  baby clothes, young kid toys and supplies or medical equipment and things that an old person in bad health would need.

We are firmly in the middle!  We no longer have a kid at home, and we aren't in need of the medical supplies, either.

Guess we really are middle aged?  :)

The electric company is in my bad list now.  I took Tuesday afternoon from work and got home in time to meet them.  And waited.  And waited.  And waited some more.  And called the crew chief.  He eventually called me back and had the gall to act dumb with me.  Which usually is the final turn of the key to unlock *RHTW's cage.  He made a bunch of excuses, tried to pretend he'd never set the time up with me, claimed he couldn't call me back and then when I told him that I knew he had my number he then started making excuses about the number of calls he always had and that he couldn't be expected to call everybody back now, could he?  I let him have it.  Somehow, I don't think he still likes Redheads!  He told me that he could meet me at my house Wednesday morning.  I told him that I was not taking anymore work off for them.  Then he told me I could just leave my gate unlocked - at which time I reminded him that THEY were the specific reason we always keep the gates locked.  I told him that it would have to be on our schedule and that I would call him back "sometime."

Otter came over on Wednesday afternoon to do her laundry.  She called me just as I was about to leaver work and said that they'd shown up.  I told them to wait until I got there to let them in.  They didn't have the small backhoe from Monday, it was just a little too big to fit through the gate so they had to get busy with shovels but they got the trench covered up.  I'm not sure when they actually left, they didn't tell me.  I noticed that they were gone and waited about an hour before I locked the gate up again.  They left two pieces of plywood and a shovel.  I'll eventually call them and ask them if they are going to come get it, and also ask them when THEY are going to replace the two or three crepe myrtles that they killed.

We've been walking Maggie Moo more often lately.  We didn't walk the dogs much over the winter because of the weather, then Frasier was having obvious issues with the arthritis so we didn't get too many walks in once it became Spring.  Now that Frasier's crossed the rainbow bridge, Maggie Moo is obviously in need of more physical activity so we've been walking her again and more often than we would have been doing if he were still here.  I took her to a local walking part the other day, she really liked that.  Especially when a lazy squirrel walked across our path - she didn't want to chase it, but she was very interested in it.  One morning she was very bouncy and led me to the closet where the leash is kept.  It was still pretty early, so we had a short jaunt down the street and back.  Today, Bill and I took her for a walk around the neighborhood.  She's been very playful the last couple of days, she seems to be getting back to normal - normal nutso for her.  She has wanted to play tug again and is interested in chasing her tennis balls again.  She's no longer looking for Frasier, but she has looked towards the outer dog door flap a few times when she's been in the garage like maybe she's wondering if he's about to come in from the dog yard.  But she's doing ok.  I've taken her with me a few times lately when I've gone somewhere she can go.

At the moment, she curled up on her blankets.  She seems to take longer naps after walks for some reason!

*RHTW:  Just start running now.