Happy Halloween!!!

The Carpet Shark wishes you a safe and Happy Halloween!!

Quick Stuff

Otter's problem with the apartment is situated.  I'm not going into a lot of the details here, but there were issues with Roomie as a roommate from shortly before Christmas and it never got any better.  It involved Roomie's inability to keep a job but there were other issues that came up later.  Although it turned out to be the wrong move in a lot of ways, things did get better when they moved to the larger apartment.  But then other things happened and Otter told Roomie that when the lease was up next summer it would be time for separate apartments.  Unless Roomie had another job issue.  Which she did.  She may have gotten another job but Otter wasn't really sure if that was true or not.  Saturday night, shortly after midnight, I got a frantic call from Otter because she had discovered Roomie packing to move out on Sunday.

She's pretty sure that Roomie did not want her to know and was going to move out when Otter came over to our house to do her laundry.  But since she did find out, we were able to be over there and not let anything other than Roomie's possessions actually be moved.  There was a lot that happened and that's what I'm not going into, but the upshot is that Roomie's father is the biggest bully I have ever met and I am pretty sure that I'm the only person in his life who has ever stood up to him.  It was pretty nasty and involved literally watching every single move anybody made (including Roomie and her brothers) and a threat on my part to call 911 - and I do NOT bluff.  (And it also involved a very strong visit from *RHTW, full blast and full strength.)  And it was pretty obvious to everyone that the bully in question is now afraid of me and frankly, I'm glad.  Otter wanted her dad to come over at that point and he did, he got there after I'd already given the bully an extremely strong verbal lesson but I'm still glad he was there because I really did not know if the bully was going to back down or not - he did, but I really wasn't sure at one point.  The bully would not even look at Bill and I think he was scared of Bill as well.  The bully was absolutely horrible to Roomie and I think that she grew up being treated like something less than human, which explains a few things about her but does not excuse them.  His wife acts like a whipped dog, one son is obviously not the favorite although I think he got treated better than Roomie, but Roomie's twin brother is treated like he's God.  Hopefully, Roomie will be a ok but I don't think that any of us will ever hear from her or see her, unless it's accidental.  I did tell her that she did not have to put up with being treated like that, but I don't know if it will make a difference for her or not.  She had over a year away from being treated like dirt, we hope that she'll at least take away from the experience that she can be an adult and that she does not have to put up with that.

(I can be very fierce when my daughter's safety, health and happiness is threatened.  And Bill would probably be even more fierce.)

One of the concerns Otter had, and we shared, is that if Roomie did move out when she wasn't there that Otter's belongings might not be there when Roomie was through and I think it was a valid concern.  The bully told Roomie to get "everything" out of the kitchen, and I told him very firmly that the majority of the kitchen stuff belonged to Otter because we bought most of it.  Then he told her to just go get the microwave that they bought her, which makes me think that Otter's concern was right and that at least the kitchen stuff would have been gone and quite probably more of Otter's belongings.

After all the not-fun stuff was done and they all left, Bill helped her move her tv from her bedroom to the living room (they'd been using Roomie's) and he stayed for a little while to make sure that the bully in question OR his daughter did not come back and then he left.  Otter and I followed shortly after that and came home, I brought her (and her laundry) with me and we left her car there to look like she was still there.  She did her laundry, got some serious beagle therapy and we went to a store we needed to go to then I took her home.  When we got to her apartment, she wanted me to stay a while so I did.  Roomie had returned her keys to Otter,although Otter had to ask for them - which was also a problem with the bully, he did not want Roomie to give them back and then he was pretty mad at Roomie when she did give them back.  Roomie told me that she had never given the keys to anyone else including her parents - I don't think she did and neither does Otter, but we aren't 100% certain.  But there are 2 locks on the door and they don't match, Roomie only had the key to one of them.  Since the apartment office now knows that she does not live there any longer, they most likely would not let her in if she came back and asked them to let her in.

Even though Otter was exhausted last night, she said it was already less stressful knowing that Roomie was gone and she didn't have to deal with the problems anymore.  Roomie had already paid for her half of November rent, I reminded her that she was legally responsible for the entire half of the rent until the end of the lease before her father got there and she said that she would pay her half and since she had already given Otter that half, Otter did not say anything to remind her of that fact just in case she wanted it back or in case the bully did.  It would not have been returned.  Otter knows that Roomie has no intention of paying any more even though she legally should.  I think Roomie thought I meant just November instead of the entire remaining lease amount but at this point, it's ok.

One of the things I told Roomie, and I told her a lot - which Otter wanted me to do but I probably would have anyway, is that I wanted her out of my daughter's life.  I told her that I am not going to pick Otter's friends, but that she (Roomie) does not act like a friend does and that she's caused too much trouble.  Otter said that she agreed with me.

Otter talked to the apartment manager this morning as soon as they opened the doors and explained what had happened.  The lease did have a clause that she could have used to get out but it would have cost her a pretty good amount and she would have forfeited the deposit.  But the manager said that they really don't want to lose her as a tenant and they are going to let her transfer back to a one-bedroom unit.  The one that she had before has already been rented, but it was above a serious smoker and there were a lot of times when Otter would have asthma, allergy and headache issues because the smoke would come up through his ceiling/her floor.  So it's just as well that she can't move back to that unit.  I also think she'd prefer one that is "hers" entirely at this point, that never had Roomie in it.  The manager said that there are a couple of single units, one is in the same building although it's at the opposite end.  Actually, it's a separate building because of a firewall but it is two buildings built against each other.  The unit will be ready in about 3 weeks, probably not Thanksgiving week but the week before that.  Possibly even a little earlier.  The deposit will transfer, I don't remember if the manager said that they would charge her a pro-rated amount or not and I don't think she cares at this point.  She went ahead and took their offer and she paid the final rent for the 2-bedroom for November while she was there today.

I went over to Otter's after work today and she is 100% away from the stressed out, tired and worried girl she has been lately.  She has really not been able to relax and enjoy being in her own apartment for the last several months,   She said her stomach has been in knots for days, but it's not any longer.  She said that she could actually feel the stress leaving her body.  She is looking forward to moving into an apartment she can afford on her own, although it will be tight, and being able to decorate how she wants to.  The move itself is not going to be fun:  out her door, down three flights of stairs, out the door and down to the other end of the building, in the building's door, then up three flights of stairs and into the new apartment.  Quite a bit of her books and craft stuff is still boxed from the last move, but she's going to get boxes tomorrow and I'm going to go over there one day next week and help her pack.  She cleaned out some stuff before the last move but she said she may have more stuff to donate.

I just want my daughter to be happy and I think that she will be.  She knows that she'll have to be very careful financially but she is willing to do what she has to do.  If she had not been able to transfer to another apartment and had wound up having to pay to get out of the lease, she would most likely have put her furniture into storage and then stayed with us until she could get enough $ together to get another apartment, which would probably have been a month or so but she wouldn't have wanted to move back in long-term and I understand that.  We will never let her go without a roof over her head and a place to sleep, or a meal.  But she wants to be a responsible adult and we respect that.

The next several days are still going to be very busy, we are going to be dealing with getting the new booth built and then loading it with pachinko machines so I may still be away from the blog for a few days.  But the biggest worry we've had has been situated and we are Thankful.

*RHTW.  There is nothing She will not do to ensure Otter's safety.

Lots

Lots of stuff going on.  I am not ignoring the blog, Froggy.  But you know some of what I've been dealing with.  Well, I think you might know everything!

The main thing has been getting ready for the new booth we're getting for the pachinko machines.  But Otter has been having some issues which culminated in her roommate moving out unexpectedly and unannounced today - Otter found out in time so we were there and it was a good thing as it turned out, because her main issues with Roomie were entirely Roomie's fault but it's still left Otter is a bad spot as far as the larger apartment, etc.  She will get her issues situated but it may involve our help in moving her to a smaller apartment.  Everything is hitting us at once, so if I don't post often it's because I simply do not have time in the near future.

I may need to be cloned!  :)

Fall Means...

Allergies!

I have them for each season, but Fall is pretty bad.  It used to be Otter's worst season, then her worst season switched to Spring but Fall was still a rough one for her.  Over the years, her allergies have gotten a lot better but mine seem to be getting worse.

I have not slept too well the last few nights, mostly due to allergy issues.  I gave in to them today and called in.  I did take the Magster for a walk, that's kind of a non-negotiable thing with her.  But that's about it.  I pretty much spent the day parked on the couch.  With crochet in hand frequently!

Since I was home, I made a pot of pinto beans this morning.  I made rice as well, combined with the beans and a little cut-up sausage turned it into a pretty good meal. And very filling.

Bill got a load of firewood.  The place he gets it from has raised their prices and although it was still a good price, it wasn't all that much cheaper than if we had it delivered.  So, if we get more (which will probably will) I'm thinking we'll just call someone that delivers and order it.  But we do at least have a good start, in case that early & wet winter that we're forecast for gets here.  I still need to get the new box of filters for the humidifiers cut.  Eventually.  When I get around to it!

Froggy - in case the email still doesn't include the picture:

It's an American Dagger Moth caterpillar.  The caterpillar was crawling around outside my house the other day.  This is what it will eventually turn into:

We were kind of thinking that last summer's visitor, the raccoon, had moved on.  But when I took Maggie out in the back yard while ago I saw a few new footprints in the dirt.  I guess he's still there, or at least there has been one out there since it rained the other day.  She's been showing more interest in the shed again the last couple of days, so I guess I'm not surprised.  I was hoping it had moved on, but since Frasier went to the Rainbow Bridge we've noticed more squirrels and cats in the back yard.  Guess they have figured out that they are safe back there, because the beagle is hardly ever out there alone.  We don't trust her not to get under the shed, so we take her out instead of just letting her out.

No tulips were planted this year.  They were Otter's and she has an apartment now; I wasn't inclined to clear the weeds, prep the tulip bed two times, buy bulbs and then get busy with the shovel.  I'll probably have them again but not right away. We've also discussed extending the back yard fence a little bit and that would mean that the tulip bed won't be getting enough light.  I'm not sure exactly where it will be moved to, I probably won't figure that out until we're done with the rock garden relocation.

I've also put off the rock garden relocation until next Spring.  I'm pretty sure what I want to do but I want to be absolutely sure before we start a chore that involves heavy lifting and physical labor!  It will be moved from the back yard by the deck to the front yard along the front of the house.

Now, I'm going in search of chocolate.

Another Star Trek Loss

Lt. Kevin Riley

It's another sad day for Star Trek fans.  Even though Bruce Hyde was only in two episodes, the character of Lt. Riley was a fan favorite.

I think this is the 5th Star Trek related death this year.

Cold Feet

Every Fall, even if it's still warm, I get cold feet.  They stay cold for a few weeks, until I adjust to the idea that Winter is on the way.  Even after 22 years here, I still get cold feet when it starts to get cool!  They aren't really cold, but I think that they are.

On to other news.  Maggie Moo has been itching a lot more lately.  When she was itchy in the Spring, the vet said to try zyrtec but it didn't seem to help much.  At the time, she was about due for more frontline drops on her back and that helped more than the zyrtec so we quit the zyrtec.  But here lately, she's itchy again.  She's got a spot on her back above her tail where she's barely able to reach.  She's yanked out hair and has a slight case of Bald Bobo!  I put her back on Zyrtec again on Thursday.  It seems to be working better this time.  The problems she had in the Spring may have been because she did have a few fleas, which we thought possibly may have come from one of the many dogs next door - Bad Neighbor has a rotating cast of canines and it is highly possible.  Mags doesn't really have fleas to speak of, but we'll keep her on the frontline drops until it gets cold enough to kill any possible fleas that might think she'd be a good dog to hitch a ride on.  The Zyrtec started helping her pretty fast, and she is definitely less interested in yanking the hair off her rear!  I was going to call the vet and see about benadryl but then I remembered the Zyrtec I still had and thought I'd give it a try.  Mags gets a half of a pill twice a day and it makes her pretty sleepy.  She wakes up after a while, at least after her morning dose.  But by the end of the day, she's tired and ready to go to sleep.  She gets her allergy pill, then she is usually sleep (or at least very stoned!) pretty quickly.

I did try a damp washcloth on her backside last week, which did seem to soothe her little bald patch.  I also put a very light amount of vaseline on her, but that was not so easy.  She was happy until the lid came off of the vaseline and I think she could smell it.  I had to literally drag her out from under my bed.  Once I put the vaseline on her she was fine.  I think that maybe the vet might use it or something similar when they have to squeeze her "rear glands" and it has unhappy connotations for her.  I haven't put it on her again since I started her back on the allergy meds.

Guess we're just a family with allergies.  Even our dog!

Bill's going to get another booth for the pachinko machines.  We sold a few out of our first booth, but there were other issues.  Such as a high commission on top of the monthly booth rent but mostly the fact that more than a few small things disappeared - but did not show up as sold.  We knew a couple of other people that had booths there as well, and they also had things stolen.  So then we moved to a 2nd booth type store and it was very nice, but we didn't sell anything.  The lady who owns it is very business -oriented and we really like her.  But the problem was probably the location, we thought it might be a good spot and it was but it doesn't really get much traffic.  However, she is opening up a 2nd location in a currently vacant store that has held other craft/booth stores and is in a very good location, on the main shopping street in our smaller town.  The first booth store is on the same street but is at the opposite end and not quite in the actual "shopping district."  The last booth store that was in the now vacant place is still in operation, it just moved to a different place.  Bill worked out a deal with her today, she hopes to get the 2nd location up and running on November 1 and that is when we'll try it for a few months.  We are not really sure if that type of store is a good venue for the pachinko machines or not, we did sell a few at the first place and the 2nd place is not in the best area for store traffic so we'll give it a try and see what happens.

Now for the sad stuff:

Longhorns are mourning

We lost Bevo!  There will be another one, Bevo is forever.  But each one is special and # 14 was quite a special one.  But Otter and I do wonder, who will he greet at the Rainbow Bridge?  I'm sure he'll have lots of TEXAS company!

HOOK 'EM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Poor Little Neglected Blog

I didn't intend to neglect my blog, Froggy.  It's just been kind of crazy lately!

Otter's had a lot going on that she needed me to help with, Bill's been crazy busy (and he's just crazy!) with pachinko stuff which I have become conscripted labor for and work has been pretty busy.

Last Saturday, Bill and I spent most of the day looking at antique stores (I found cheap, vintage Fenton!) and then Sunday was when Otter, J and I went to the Tulsa State Fair.

The Fair was a lot of fun.  Yes, Froggy.  Quilt winner pictures are coming!

This is in the petting zoo at the fair.  Alpacas are about the softest things on earth.  It was like petting a cloud and the cloud liked it!  I commented to "him" that I could crochet him - and he responded by laying that soft head on my shoulder and batting those big eyes at me!  He (not sure of the gender) seemed to really enjoy the ear scratch as well.

The other thing that happened in the petting zoo is that I discovered that I am a sheep magnet!  I am really only allergic to one animal on the planet, as far as I know.  It's sheep.  I stepped inside the enclosure, and suddenly just about all the sheep were standing around me.  And grinning!  Sheep are evil, no doubt about that.  I wasn't able to stay inside the petting zoo very long, even without touching them (Otter petting them for me) I started having upper-respiratory issues pretty fast.

There were donkeys, ducks, assorted chicken, wallabies (one had a joey on board!), several alpacas, a few variety of deer, about a billion goats (of all ages) and probably a few other animals including a really sweet brahma calf!  Most of the other pictures have faces in them, so they are not going to be posted.

(Sorry this is sideways).  Froggy, look at the next picture.  It's a close-up of one of the deer at the bottom.

It's yo-yo's!

I think Mom and AJ would really have liked this one.

The butter cream sculpture!  This year, it was an angel and a lion.  Sorry it's sideways.  Also, there is a glare that I could not avoid.

This little critter is crocheted.  I'm not sure if it was a dinosaur or a dragon, but it is cute.

Look at the next picture.

The decorative edging is doilies!

The fair was fun and the weather was perfect.  We parked the car at one of the satellite locations and caught the shuttle bus to the fairgrounds.  We wound up with an extra ticket since Otter's friend had to cancel because of a family member's health issue but I was able to give it to someone at the entrance gate who hadn't bought a ticket yet.  We had ride tickets, which Otter and J used but we still had a few left so I gave those to a father with a young boy who were in line at a ride.  We didn't eat anything too outrageous, although there were some "interesting" food choices including bug pizza.  As in insects.  Not on my menu!

I did do one thing that is worth mentioning.  The prize-winning quilts, crochet, photography, etc., were in the same building as some of the kid exhibits - a giant sand box, blocks (which were being played with by adult emt officers), a few so-called odd animals and there was a small enclosure with an aldabra tortoise - on of the big babies.  I had noticed the tortoise when I was walking by, but then I saw a couple (boyfriend/girlfriend or husband/wife) who were looking at the tortoise.  The man was standing up, behind the woman.  She was squatting down and sticking her fingers through the fence, right in the tortoise's face.  Anybody who knows anything at all should know that was a very dangerous thing to do.  Tortoise was watching her fingers very intently and I could see that it's neck muscles were tensing up, which means that it was about to strike.  At that point, I went over to her and told her exactly why that was a very B.A.D. idea.  She had no idea that they bite!  All the tortoise was thinking was that it was time for a snack.  The woman pulled her hand back - to the very obvious disappointment of the man with her!  I honestly think he wanted her to get bit.  But it probably would not have been a gentle nip - it could have taken her finger off.  At the very least, she would have had a broken finger and it would have been very bloody.  I can't believe that an adult would have been so stupid!

OH YEAH!!!!!!!

TEXAS 24, oklahoma 17

That Time of Year Again...

And the "persecution" has been going for weeks.

I've had several instances of tailgaters and some of them have been really bad.

Yesterday, Bill and I went to Golden Corral for lunch and that was where one of the two good encounters happened.  I had on one of my Longhorns t-shirts, we picked our table and as we were sitting down to eat a man at the next table smiled really big and gave us the Horns hand sign.

(The other good encounter was a couple of weeks back and was funny:  I noticed a guy in a car behind me waving and I watched him to be sure he wasn't about to flip me off of something.  Then he changed his wave to one particular sign:  The Aggie Thumb!  I could tell he was saying something about being a TEXAN, too and he was smiling really big.  When he passed me, I gave him the Horns sign and then we just waved at each other.  That was fun and I think he was enjoying it, too.  The Aggie fans get some mistreatment up here, too but not nearly as bad as what we get.  Or at least that is what I've heard from a few of them.  None of it's right, because it's not generally in fun but is in fact malicous towards us.)

Anyway, the rest of yesterday was not good encounters.  We were getting on the highway and a car from way, way back very suddenly sped up until he was literally right on our tail and he swerved like he was trying to run us off the road.  Bill made the comment that he was thinking about giving the guy the opportunity to see if his brakes were working by slamming on ours, but then another driver flew past us at a very high speed and this one flipped the bird at us.

Otter said she had someone change lanes and run up behind her to tailgate yesterday and they nearly hit her.

And people think TEXANS have bad attitudes?  Sheesh.  We don't start any of it.

(UT/TEXAS has had a bad year and we probably don't have a snowball's chance in the game next Saturday, but it won't change the way that some people act.)

At least nobody has been pulled over by a cop or highway patrol this year - yet, anyway!

By the way, TEXANS aren't arrogant.  We are simply blessed with an overabundance of confidence.  Which can be mistaken for arrogance, but it's not really.  We just don't take "garbage" off anybody.

Yes, I will be wearing my shirts this week.  I frequently do anyway, but especially this week and especially Saturday.