Happy Halloween!!!

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

Happy Halloween!

Hope everyone gets lots of candy and no tricks this year!

 

(If you are in my neck of the woods, better wear your long undies underneath your costume!)

It's a Sweet Day!!!

It's Candy Corn Day!!!!!

I think that people either love candy corn, or hate it.  I don't think that there is much of a middle ground.  I happen to like it, but I hardly ever eat it and only in small doses!

 

Froggy, I don't know what blogger's problem is.  I have checked several times and it is set for not having the word verification on commenting.  I've redone it several times and it still shows that it's not on there, but then I had Otter check it from her computer and it still showed that the word verification was necessary so I'm thinking that blogger might have just started putting it on all blogs.

 

We are supposed to get our first freeze Saturday morning.  And it's a hard freeze.  It is supposed to be in the mid- to high-20's early Saturday morning.  I plucked all the available jalepenos off Otter's two plants yesterday and brought in the three plants that were outside.  One of them was my begonia, it gets brought inside every Fall and by the time Spring rolls around it looks pretty scraggily!  But then it goes back out for the Spring and Summer, and usually turns into a mass of pink blossoms.  It did wonderfully this summer.  The other two plants are the mint and rosemary that were Otter's.  She gave them to me, she wanted the rosemary but it is in the strawberry pot that Bill gave me a few years ago so I told her I'll get her one next Spring.  Besides, it would need to be brought inside anyway and she doesn't really have a place for it that would get enough light inside.  Her patio faces west and gets good sun in the afternoon, so she is planning on a few plants next year.

 

Otter brought the car back this afternoon and got her laundry done while she was here.  She also ran the dishwasher for me.  When she and Roomie were here the other day, they washed the dog's blankets for me.  I took her home and we stopped at Walgreen's because she was out of Claritan.  I tried to get her some at lunch, but the Walgreen's I went to was out of the kind she uses.  The pharmacist said that it's very popular this time of year.  Well, if it does freeze it might just be enough to take out the ragweed!

 

Speaking of cars, I took mine to Chevy this morning.  For the oil change and the recall.  And I left almost immediately, WITH my car.  The service manager was helping someone else and one of the "guys" came over to me.  And then he told me that I had to have both keys with me because the part that is actually fixed is apparently the part that holds the key in place and they can't fix the ignition with one key?  Then he said that they could only fix the key I had on me, but that the other key couldn't be fixed later.  I thought it was the ignition and not the key itself?  AND he told me that the only keys they can fix are official Chevy keys.  AND that if it doesn't have a specific type of black plastic covering, it's not an official Chevy key.  Even though the keys that came with the car ARE official Chevy keys and only one of them has the plastic covering - the 2nd one is a slightly different shape but it is still an official Chevy key.  However, that meant that the 02 Impala key (which Bill has and it is also an official Chevy key) won't be fixed because it doesn't have the black stuff on it.  The other key to the 02 is the one I had, which might have had the plastic on it but it was NOT chipped although the guy tried to claim that it was (not in that model year) and the fact that I had to get new keys because the first key I had was basically smooth and wouldn't work - which means that we are S.O.L. as far as the 02 goes.  And apparently Bill's key to the 08 won't be fixed either.  I told them that I would bring the car and keys back later for the recall and get the oil change then - except that I an NEVER going back to this dealer.  I called the service manager after I left and left him a message to confirm what I'd been told.  He called me right back and first told me that the guy told me right, then he tried to back up a bit.  And then he told me that tomorrow is his last day, he's going to work for another auto repair shop and that it will mean he'll have to deal with less stress - and I think he knew a few months back that he was going to leave Chevy, and that it coincides with exactly when he suddenly stopped caring about his customers.  As far as the key issue, we're firmly convinced that Chevy is trying to same themselves a few bucks because the recalls have cost them plenty.  I am going to get at least my car/key recall taken care of and it has to be at a Chevy shop.  But it doesn't have to be the one I've been dealing with.  After that, I'm not sure what we're going to do when work is needed.  It will probably still be a Chevy shop.  Just not the one in Tulsa that is now on *RHTW's list.

 

Tomorrow is Halloween.  That means that it's also 50-cent corndog day at Sonic.  Bill's already placed his order!  I'm Otter's transportation to/from work tomorrow, I told her that I'll spring for dinner for her as well.  She immediately took me up on that offer!  She'll get the car tomorrow after that so she can get herself to work early on Saturday.  I'm thinking I'll let her take mine, it has the remote start to warm up the heater and she'll certainly need it Saturday morning!

 

I bought filters for the humidifiers today.  We'll use the fan tonight, but then the humidifiers will be up and running tomorrow night.  I don't think it's really going to be cold enough or cold long enough for a fire Saturday morning.  But it will at least be blanket weather!

 

Blankets mean beagles, and I'm sure that Saturday will be no exception.  The beagle will be ready at a moment's notice!

 

*RHTW:  Just run.  Fast!

Happy Halloween!

(I've used this picture before, but I still think it's adorable!)

 

It's just after sunset and is just starting to get dark.  Our porch light it out, but there is a partial bag of Otter's green apple pops candy on the half-moon table by the door.  We've had one customer already while it was still light, he was a Power Ranger.  Maggie was very happy to see him, she loves people and he made sure to pet her before he got his candy.  We usually have a few kids while it's still light, and Otter volunteered her green apple candy.  Once it gets a little darker, I'll probably put the candy away since we don't have the light on and don't expect any trick-or-treaters.  Next year, we might be more inclined to pass out candy as there are more youngsters in the neighborhood than there have been for the last couple of years.

 

I went to Wallyworld after work today.  Many of their employees dress up for Halloween.  My favorite was the Duck Dynasty costume - full beard, camo clothes and SHE was having a good time.  It was funny.

 

Sonic had a special today, 50-cent corndogs.  The commercial got Billyboy's attention, so I stopped and Sonic and got us dinner to go.  Of course, he got corndogs!  I had a chili/cheese footlong hot dog, I figured that if I was going to be bad I was going to be B.A.D.  It was good.  I'll pay for it later!  And I probably won't have another one for years.  Otter had popcorn chicken, which is about her favorite thing from Sonic.

 

I got a few more canned good for our storm/iced-in-day supplies.  While I was putting them away, they go to a specific spot, I noticed something that I did not see yesterday when I was putting something else in stock:  a dog food bag with a hole chewed in the side and obvious evidence of rodent!  I cleaned up the droppings and removed the bag, then Bill found a trap from the black hole also known as the garage.  He loaded it with peanut butter and birdseed.  I'll check it in the morning and see if we caught anything.  We haven't seen any mice in a few years, but with all the construction behind us I'm not surprised.  I also won't be surprised if we see more.  Or evidence of them, anyway!

 

I checked the rain gauge this morning.  It had just under 3" from yesterday and last night.  Today was beautiful, but it was windy and I've been sneezing all day.  Otter's had allergy problems today as well, she worked through a killer headache with the help of multiple doses of Tylenol.  She took a warm shower when she got home and feels much better.  She's going to take her night-time allergy pills tonight and probably go to bed early.

 

Which sounds really good to me, I didn't sleep too well last night.  Mostly because of my knee alternating with my allergies.  My knee is actually a lot better, but it still hurts.  It's following the normal process, I just don't like it.  I've been taking motrin as I need it and spending a little longer in the shower since warm water seems to help.  Now that it's better, my allergies are reminding me of their presence.

 

If it's not one thing, it's the other.  As my favorite 97-year-old teenager reminds me frequently!  Usually followed by a giggle.  :)

Thursday Ketchup

I thought that Ketchup would be an appropriate title because, among other things, I bought an industrial-sized container of ketchup at Sam's yesterday.  Also mustard.  And a case of Rotel!  And I haven't blogged much in the last few days.

Blogger is acting up again.  It's not telling me that there are comments until I log in, it's supposed to email me but it hasn't been.  I've checked my settings and it's still set up to email me.  I guess it's protesting or something.  So, if you leave me a comment and it doesn't appear for a while it might be a good thing to email me and let me know.

Froggy, I thought you'd like the Eeyore picture.  I thought it was adorable.

Frasier is both better and worse.  He's no longer barking at invisible intruders.  But he's still wanting company at night.  The benadryl did help for a little while but not long.  One of the things the vet suggested was that we leave a light on where he could see that there was nothing to be scared of.  We tried that last night.  Not only could he see that he wasn't in any danger, he could also see that Mom wasn't in the room!  So, I slept on the couch again last night.  First thing this morning, I called the vet and ordered the tranquilzers.  I picked them up today, 20 pills for $26.00.  The dosage is one to two pills, start with one and then work my way up if I need to.  About 45 minutes to an hour before bedtime.  They will make him groggy and hopefully, he'll sleep all night.  I can give him another pill or half pill after 4 to 6 hours, which might mean that they wear off in the middle of the night.  We're going to start them tonight, they don't have to be given around the clock and can be given just at night.

Then, if/when that doesn't work, we have one more thing to try:  allowing him back in our room at night.  He used to sleep at the foot of the bed and was never a problem, but Maggie was.  She would get under our bed, which was not a problem, but she has a habit of licking everything she comes in contact with until it is sodden wet (which makes it smell also).  At first, we thought she was having housebreaking issues, it was that bad.  She's the reason that they are blocked from the bedrooms.  But that's been the case for several years now, and is not a new thing.  Frasier can jump the block, he's tall enough and has done it on a few occasions.  What we're thinking is that we'll take the block down and take him to the bedroom with us (the block will be replaced) and he'll probably (hopefully!) go to sleep.  I might remind him about his ability to jump the block, stand on the other side and call him as an example.  I honestly think that we are going to get to that point, because his problem now is obviously that he wants to be where I am.  And it is me, he likes Otter and Bill, but there is a reason my local mother-in-law calls him a Mamma's Boy.

He does have some vision issues, but that are not as severe as we thought at first.  Of course, that was when nobody (dog included) had been getting any sleep for a period of several days.  We're pretty sure he has some hearing loss but I don't think it's bad.  He's an old man, it's to be expected!  His physical health is good, he does have the spots on his ribcage on one side that I think are cysts but they are fairly small and I think he's had them for a while so they are not an issue.  He's getting playful again, although probably not as bouncy as the beagle is - but then, Beagles are certifiably crazy!  If it takes letting him back into our room to get some sleep, then I'm willing.  He's one of the most special dogs we've ever had.  Even if he can be a pest at times!

We had no trick or treaters last night.  Not even the young ones we usually have before it gets dark.  And after it did get dark, we didn't see any sign at all of any kids on the street.  At all.  We're kind of in the lull - the time between the current crop of kids being too old and the next crop still being really little.  In a couple of years, I think that we'll have more and the houses behind us are probably going to be occupied with families.  We bought one small bad of peanut butter logs and each had one piece out of it.  Then Bill took about half of it to work with him this morning and Otter took the rest to college with her.  I'm not sure about Bill's candy jar, but Otter reported that what she took vanished almost immediately!

I'm going to put my crochet shawl project on hold for a while.  It's gotten to be very frustrating.  I work on it and do several rows, then it never seems to actually get any bigger.  I'm going to start back on my afghan this weekend, it does seem to grow as I add rows at least.  The shawl will eventually be finished - or I'll put the finishing ruffle row on it and call it done, and then I might donate it if I do that because it's not really big enough to fit an adult.

I can't believe that it's already November 1st!

Boo!

Happy Halloween!

Non-Whining Wednesday

No good titles are springing to mind, so whatever!

Otter's bliss:

She loves these things!  They are almost impossible to find anymore.  They used to be stocked with the rest of the candy, maybe not in large quantities but always stocked and in heavier amounts at Halloween.  She has been able to find them at specialty candy stores in the mall, but usually they are sold individually.  We've been haunting the Halloween candy aisles in hopes of finding them and had about given up with intentions of turning to the internet.  Target had them in their ad last Sunday, so I ran over there Monday afternoon.  They had 5 bags left, and probably didn't have a huge supply to start with.  I bought all 5 bags of them.  They will last her for a very loooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooong time.  Bill might get the occasional one, but I don't think that he's particularly crazy about them.  I do like them a little bit, but they don't work very well with dentures.  But at least Otter is now restocked with one of her favorite candy varieties.

Speaking of Otter, and I was, she's still having allergy issues.  She is a little better, the congestion is still there but it's not as bad.  Her throat hasn't been sore since Monday, although she said that it gets a little dry but that's probably because of the drainage and the fact that she's had a stuffy nose quite a bit.  But it is allergy and most likely not a sinus infection.  Which is good, because we are still planning on going to the Fair on Sunday!  Rain or shine.

We were also going to look at the Fair for the caramel apple pops, there is usually at least one booth selling candy.  I'm going to try to be good as far as food goes on Sunday, but Frito Chili Pie is my standard at the Fair and it's about the only time I actually eat it.  I love it, but it's not healthy.  But it's the Fair, and Fair food is in it's own category on the food charts!

I bought groceries this afternoon.  I was going to go tomorrow, but the cold front is expected tomorrow and the rain could start at any time.  So, I decided that today would be better and it wasn't very crowded.  I got in and out of Wallyworld in just under an hour, and I had a pretty big list so I'm not complaining.  Much!  Among other things, I bought more allergy medicine for Otter.  I also bought more of the ear plugs I use on occasion.  The cashier was very amused to see that I was buying those two particular items at the same time.  I can see why it was funny, but the ear plugs are something I keep on my nightstand all year round - Bill doesn't snore often, but when he does it's L.O.U.D.

Toadles, I'm wondering if maybe you have discovered the Fountain of Youth and didn't tell anybody?  I mean, how else can you explain a grown man having to get tubes in his ears!  (Actually, it's only one tube).

Teeiiired!

There's a joke about how certain words in the Texan language (we have our own, you know) have multiple sylables when they are single-sylable words in non-Texan.  (One in particular has 3, it's not a polite word and is usually refered to as "poop" in the family.)  It has to do with stretching out the existing sounds and inserting a couple of extra vowels.

Tonight, I'm tired.  Which, in Texan, is teeeiired!

(It's a Texan thing, you don't have to understand.)  :)  But when I'm this tired, my Texan tends to come out and play.

It's been a full day, but I feel led to blog for some reason.  Not about anything in particular, just to blog.  Also, it keeps Froggy off my back! (Sorry, Froggy).

We had a few kids at the door yesterday, the first one was before it got dark and then there were a few others just as it was getting dark.  After that, we turned out the light and shut the door.  But we could hear kids going up and down the street, there are several houses now in the area behind us and it looks like there are more families than the last couple of years.  So we might have a little more candy next year.

Otter is in the process of registering for next semester at College.  I'm still amazed that she's even old enough!  I am still on middle-school time, but Froggy reports that she's still on high-school time and her youngest is in her last year at college.  I guess it's just a mom thing?

We dropped off a trunk full of recycling, then I took Otter to the school this morning (it's a non-class day) so she could get the process started, then I picked her up at lunch and we had Arby's.  Curly fries!  After that, I took her back to the office for me because I'd been more or less ordered to by a certain 95-year old man we all know and love.  And he was overjoyed to see her, by the way.  After work, we went to a Halloween store that stays open until November 1st and always has everything 50% off.  I bought a few more squishy animals/bugs to add to my collection.  They live in the general vicinity of my desk and frequently migrate to Otter's desk.  Otter found a few things as well.  We also went by the post office and then to the grocery store.  Which is the really tiring part, it was an "out of everything" grocery trip and we filled up the trunk of my car - which is NOT easy to do.  We splurged tonight and picked up a roasted chicken at the grocery store's deli.  It was really good!

The car is going back to the shop in the morning.  It's been making a noise on occasion lately that Bill thinks is indicative of low power-steering fluid.  We checked it yesterday and it was a little low.  This is what we just spend mucho buckos on a month ago.  I called the shop today, the mechanic said that it's very possible that there was an air bubble in the line which would have made the fluid look full when they topped it off after the work but that the bubble could have worked it's way out.  Since I'm not seeing any evidence of an actual leak, that's the most plausible scenario.  But they want to see it, which is good because I was taking it in anyway, and I'm going to take it tomorrow.  I'll drop Otter off at college, then go next door which is where the repair shop is.  They'll take me in to work and then hopefully the car won't need any actual work done, because they just might get the RHTW* treatment if I feel it's necessary.  But it probably won't be.  Which is good, because sometimes it's hard to get Her back in the corrall!  Once She's out, She likes to stay out and play.

*RedHedTexasWoman.

Happy Halloween!

Boo!

Sunday Noses & Toeses

Specifically, Beagle noses & toeses!  Well, she's only got one nose.  But she has multiple toes!  This picture looks like it's upside down, but it's from the perpective of a beagle asleep at my feet when I was sitting on the couch.  This is how Maggie Moo spent most of Saturday.

This is from the front, and is about the most that we saw of her.  Note the smile!  (Later on, the dog got up and went into the kitchen.  The entire blanket went with her!).

Part of the "toeses & noses" has to do with Otter:  her foot is doing great, and she's now able to wear fun shoes and not just her tennis shoes.  Also, she had a nosebleed this morning  and one this afternoon, but that's not unusual this time of year.  Dry air and cold air, along with the fact that we had to turn the heater on, all contribute.  She's probably going to set up one of the humidifiers in her room in the next couple of days.  Or tonight!

This should keep the rest of the noses & toeses in the family from getting cold this winter.  Bill bought our firewood on Friday.  He got two ricks, which equal one cord and it's all cut & stacked.  Part of it is against the wooden fence next to lovely neighbor's yard, the rest is under the lean-to he built a few years back.  When I look at this year's woodpile, I don't see firewood.  I see 'smores and roasted marshmallows!  Otter said that she sees hot dogs cooked over an open fire in the fireplace.

I started working on the tulip bed this afternoon.  This little guy was camped out on the side of the house, I might have accidentally destroyed his web but he'll build another one.  He's pretty big and very pretty.  The tulip bed won't be planted for a week or so, we need to "stir up" the dirt and treat it to avoid moles & voles & gophers, then it needs to sit for a few days and might get a 2nd treatment.  After that, we'll get the tulips planted.

Otter and I went thrifting this afternoon.  We didn't find much, she got a nice dressy vest but that's all we found.  It was still fun.

We also went to Wallyworld, we went to a specific store because HP works there and she surprised him, but we bought stuff for sub sandwiches while we were there.  Along with a bag or two of Halloween candy for Otter to take to school with her tomorrow!  She's always taken candy on Halloween, and her friends haven't forgotten.  She said she's not about to let them down now, so she's got two bags of Nerds candy.  I also got a bag of peanut butter kisses.  We don't do the candy thing anymore, although that might change in the near future as there seem to be more little ones in the neighborhood now than there used to be, but since it's on a Monday I won't be surprised if there are a few early trick or treaters.  If not, Bill & Otter keep the candy from going to waste!  I like peanut butter kisses, but they are probably not something that would work with dentures.  That's ok, I have my chocolate!

Movie Review:  Captain America.  It was better than I expected.  It was very over-the-top, but it was fairly close to the original comic book which was:  over-the-top and American propoganda from the WWII era.  For someone who is not familiar with the original story, it might seem silly but it was actually pretty good.  I think it's the last of the "Avengers" character movies before the movie which ties them all together and is simply called "The Avengers."

Speaking of Halloween, which I was a paragraph back, Otter and I were discussing all the costumes she's worn over the years.  She's been:  Pebbles (Flintstones), a clown, a pumpkin, bride, princess, yellow power ranger, Harry Potter-ish wizard, beanie baby calico cat, a skeleton, Jessie the Cowgirl (from Disney and anybody that knows us will know exactly why we think Disney owes us!), a vampire, a black & white kitty (for a church party), pirate (friend's costume party), cheshire cat (friend's costume party), Harley Quinn (batman character and also for a friend's costume party), a scarecrow.  There might have been more, I can't remember.

Halloween has always been a fun day, and we always had a lot of fun coming up with her costumes.  We made most of them.  We bought the yellow power rangers costume, the clown & pumpkin were made by Mom and I think all her grandkids wore them.  The bride & princess costumes were basically the same dress, but we augmented with lace & so forth the 2nd year she wore it (princess) so it didn't look like the same costume.

The other thing about Halloween is that she's mildly allergic to chocolate.  So we made a deal with her:  we would buy all the chocolate she got in her basket and then she could go get a bag of what she really wanted.  It's a shame she's too old for trick or treating now!  The chocolate negotiations were always a lot of fun.  And we got to eat it!  Oh well, guess I'll have to go buy my own.

October Books and Monday Whatever

Books!  Books! Books!

Books are very important around my house.  In case you didn't already know that.

October's list:

1.  Without a Word, How a Boy's Unspoken Love Changed Everything by Jill Kelly.  This was about a boy who was unable to speak due to a health condition he was born with.  I don't remember the details, but I think it was a good book although a sad one.  True story.

2.  Regretsy, Where DIY Meets WT_?  By April Winchell (Fill in the letter in the title yourself).  Really funny.

3.  Weird US, Your Travel Guide to America's Local Legends and Best Kept Secrets by Moran and Sceuman.  This was good in general, but a lot of it was of no interest to me.

4.  D-Day in Photographs by Andrew Witmarsh.  Recommended reading for anyone and everyone.

5.  Lips Unsealed by Belinda Carlisle.  Autobiography and like most of the other books by/about the entertainers of "my generation":  drugs and she's lucky to still be alive.  Bad choice after bad choice.

6.  Swim to Me by Betsy Carter.  Entertaining, she reminds me of Debbie Macomber in her writing style.  It was ok and I might see what else I can find by this author.

7.  Little Girl Blue, the Life of Karen Carpenter.  By Randy L. Schmidt.  I'd already read a couple of books about her so I already knew the basic story and I remember when she died.  Karen never had a chance.  For a lot of reasons.

8.  Plus Size Crochet, Fashions that Fit & Flatter by Margaret Hubert.  I don't remember finding much in this one.

9.  My Heart May Be Broken But my Hair Still Looks Great by Dixie Cash.  If this is the one I think it is, it wasn't anything to get excited about.

10 - 17.  Batman

18.  Green River, Running Red by Ann Rule.  Many times a rerun and will be on my list again in the future.

19.  The Persian Pickle Club by Sandra Dallas.  Froggy recommended this one.  It is about a group of quilters.  Froggy and I have a similar situation, quilting in her case and crochet in mine - you know you are addicted when you choose a book just because it has fabric/yarn in the title, story or on the cover!  This was actually good and I think that I have another book by this author waiting on my bookshelf.

20.  The Village Bride of Beverly Hills by Kavita Daswani.  This one was ok, but it was a little too close to a romance novel for my tastes.  But it wasn't bad.

21.  Amish Grace, How Forgiveness Transcended Tragedy ty Kraybill, Nolt and Weater-Zercher.  This was about the Amish school shooting and how the Community responded.  We could and should all learn a lesson from them.

Not as many books as usual for me, but October was a busy month.  November might be just as busy, but I'll give it a good try to read as many as I can!

We had a trick-or-treater last night, we didn't actually buy candy to hand out but had some on hand for us, but this one came when it was still light.  It was a clown.  A very young clown, maybe 3 but probably closer to 2 years old.  He was so cute!  Of course we gave him candy.  I wasn't about to turn him away!  His parents were smart, they were taking him around while it was still light.  We did that with Otter the first few times, her first Halloween was when she was a baby and she still had a costume.  She didn't really trick or treat then, but Bill carried her around with him while he was accompanying (sp?) a friend of ours who was taking his daughter around.  The next year, we were in Oklahoma and she had a family clown costume that she wore to the zoo for their event.  She didn't actually go around the neighborhood then as I recall.  But the year after that, she got to trick or treat for real.  She wore another family costume - she was a jack 'o lantern.  She was escorted by Grandpa and Bill, around Grandpa's neighborhood.  Which is now ours.

Really bad picture, I already know that!  But this is the costume that Otter wore to the party Saturday night.  She wasn't quite finished when I took the picture.  This is one of the few pictures of Otter's face I'll EVER post.  I think this one is pretty safe, considering that she's made up and wearing a wig!  But I really do need to get busy and learn the camera settings.

We just came from the Halloween store.  Today is their last day and it's half-price clearance day.  We ran into two of Otter's friends there.  She found several things and I found a package of squishy rubber bats.  I was hoping to find spiders, TOADLES IN CASE YOU ARE INTERESTED.  But no spiders, just squishy bats.

Speaking of spiders, our 8-legged tan friend is still out on the deck.  He's got a good spot for his web.  We might get a freeze towards the end of the week, we didn't quite get that cold last week but I'm thinking that we probably won't have the spider's company for much longer.

I finished the last part of the crochet on my pillows.  I put Otter's together completely last night, I just have to finish the ones I made for the couch.  There are 4 of them.  I sewed the fabric covers yesterday and stuffed the pillow forms into them - which was kind of difficult, since I didn't leave the openings quite big enough!  But I managed to get them into the covers.  They are still waiting on me to sew them closed, then I just have to attach the crocheted covers.  Because they are granny squares, the white of the pillow form would show through so I bought some fabric to cover them with first.  Otter's is blue fabric, one crochet side is blue and the other side is the color called Beach that I made a scarf out of - the scarf is on the craft blog if you want to see the color, it's the one I made for my sisterfriend Virginia.  The ones for the couch are all various shades of brown or tan, some solid and some varigated - one is turquoise and brown and is similar to the color I made the prayer shawl out of that is also on the craft blog, but is not the same yarn.  The fabric covers are tan for two and brown for the other two.  I might get them finished up tonight.

I guess that's it for now!  I hear the dogs making nosie in the living room, I hope that they are just playing but I probably should go check on them.

Sunday Candy Corn

Always one of our favorites!  Probably one of the worst ones for us, but always good.

Otter enjoyed the party, they had pizza, candy, games and movies.  I picked her up this morning and we ran a few errands.  She says she's tired, but that they didn't stay up too late - 1:30 ish.

Maggie was evicted from Otter's room again, at least for last night.  Otter's purse was left where the dog could reach it.  Maggie took everything out of it (I'm not sure how considering that she doesn't have opposable thumbs).  And some of it was candy.  She ate at least some Nerds and most of one Bit O Honey.  Then she proceeded to run around like a headless chicken, at least until the sugar buzz wore off!  But now that Otter's home, Maggie has access to "their" room again.  Sugar really isn't good for dogs, but it's not as bad as chocolate at least.  Maggie was funny, she was zooming around the living room until we finally got one of her tug toys in self-defense!  We played with her for a while, then she more or less crashed and curled up on a blanket piece that was on the floor.  And she stayed there until this morning.  Guess she was a tired beagle!

We quit doing the Halloween candy thing a couple of years ago, because there aren't that many young kids in the neighborhood at the moment.  But we still had our own treat.  DiGornio's!  And cupcakes, because we had to have something (un)healthy and sugary.

Froggy, I emailed you two pictures this morning.  They are of the latest projects which I won't post here or on the craft blog yet.  But now you've seen them, so you can quit complaining.  About that, at least! :)

Bill mowed the front lawn today.  That is, after he replaced the pull cord on the mower.  The one that Frasier chewed off.  This is the 3rd time.  The first two times were the old mower, and after the second time Bill found some type of thick, harder rubber hose that he ran the cord through so Frasier couldn't chew it as easily.  I didn't realize that he left it on the old mower, however.  He's going to have to do the same thing to the current mower, because Frasier is very smart and he does not forget very much.

I cut down the sunflower.  It was just about dead, I left it up for a while so the birds could get the seeds.  But it was past time, so it got snipped and tossed.  Hopefully, there will be more come up next year.  And hopefully, I'll find them before Bill does!  He doesn't like sunflowers, he thinks the plants look like weeds.  I think he's crazy.  Well, he is!  But I mean about the sunflower plants.

Bill also wanted to play Chase.  With Frasier.  And the lawn mower.  (I told him no!).

I guess that is it for today.  I'm going to probably get the 2nd half of my final pillow cover crocheted this afternoon and then I might get the fabric covers sewn.  I adjusted the tension on the sewing machine and it works better.  I think it still needs to be serviced, but there aren't a lot of places here that work on them.  But I can at least use it now.

Also, Otter is going to finish her skirt.  Hopefully, this week.  It's going to be a busy week, but I'm going to try to get the sewing finished up on my pillows.  Then, it's afghan time!

Quiet Saturday Evening

Otter's at her friend's party, so it's just me and Billyboy.  And two dogs and one hamster.  And one spider, but he's out on the back deck hanging out!

The spider was gone this morning, and most of the web was as well.  So we thought he'd moved on, hopefully to better hunting and not to a bird's tummy.  But he's back this evening, he was busily building his web when I looked out late this afternoon.  I could watch him for hours.

Otter gave up on the skirt for the costume.  She waited too long, basically.  It was a little more sewing time than she thought, she's still going to finish it and wear it as a regular skirt.  But she had to go with a slightly different costume.  She's still Harley Quinn, who is a character from Batman.  Harley is the Joker's crazed girlfriend.  A few weeks back, Otter found a red & black 2-piece jester costume at a thrift store.  She bought it to change around and use next summer at the anime convention she wants to attend.  She went to this year's con with BF, that's when they wore the cat costume pieces.  When it was obvious that she didn't have enough time to make the skirt, she was going to wear one of her other skirts but then I remembered the jester costume.  She decided to wear it instead, she still wore the blonde wig, the black gloves, mismatched shoes and the face make up.  She looked really cute, although I'm not sure that she would make a good blonde!  :)  Anyway, I dropped her off at the party about 6:30 and I'll pick her up tomorrow late morning.  Maggie is probably already moping, looking for Otter.  That's what usually happens when Otter's not here.  But Maggie is back to sleeping in Otter's room, so she'll be fine.

I'm thinking that tomorrow might be when we start getting the tulip bed ready.  Basically, we have to clean out all the weeds, etc. that have over taken it.  Then we will treat the dirt with a combination of water, mineral oil and liquid dish soap.  Not much soap, and baby oil is basically mineral oil with scent so it's what I use.  Then I might treat it again in a week or so, and then we'll plant the bulbs.

I did some crochet today, not as much as I hoped but I was able to finish one project.  I also did some on my pillow covers, I'm on the last piece of the last pillow.  And I worked on Bill's blanket.  The blanket is now big enough to cover the top of our bed, but it needs to be bigger so that it covers the sides a little bit.  It's pretty big, just not quite big enough.  I'm thinking that I'm just about ready to start on the afghan, although I think I'll need to come up with a couple of smaller projects as well.  That way, when I get frustrated with the time it's taking or just want to be finished soon, I'll have something I can finish quickly.  I know myself, and I'll need some smaller items.  I have a few ideas on that.

Otter wore her black & white scarf yesterday, she said it was really warm.  I'm glad that she likes it.  It was in the low 30's yesterday morning, so I'm glad that it was warm.  And I'm glad that I finished all the tails!  The crochet wasn't hard and was quick.  But there were so many tails, because the rows were small and there were lots of changes between black & white.  I enjoyed making it for her.

OK, Froggy.  Now you can't say that I haven't blogged enough!  I've blogged every day this week.  Don't expect it to continue.  I do have a life you know.  And it revolves around crochet!  :)

Boo! To You

It's Halloween. But it doesn't feel like it. Maybe because it's somewhat warm for the last day of October. Or maybe it's because of the fact that we aren't passing out candy this year. Since we had so few kids last year, and there are not very many really young ones in the neighborhood at the moment, we decided to just skip it. Of course, I still went to Walgreen's yesterday and bought us a little candy! I mean, after all, it's Halloween! Gotta have some candy!!!

We did make pizza today, which was about as festive as we got. I brought in my decorative ceramic jack-o-lanterns last night, they are on the fireplace hearth. Tomorrow, they'll get put away for another year. Along with the jack-0-lantern placemats I have. I had a pumpkin shaped ceramic container I used as a sugar bowl, but I couldn't find it. I have a sneaking suspcion that it became part of a goodwill donation a while back, but it was accidental if it did. But I can't find it, so that's probably what happened to it.

We've spent quite a bit of today running outside to the back deck frequently, to look at the sky. Specifically, at the B-17 that's in town and has been flying around all day. It's the Aluminum Overcast, the same one that was here last year. It's wonderful to see her, she is one of only 12 left in the entire world. 12!

I'll get my book list posted in the next day or so. It's not nearly as big as usual. I've had a lot to do this month, and some of the books are the big, thick kind that I love to read but haven't had much time for.

I managed to get some crocheting done today! My Walgreen's trip yesterday was actually for something in the way of a glove or bandaids for my split skin. The candy was just because I was there and it was on sale. Anyway, I wound up buying liquid bandaid. Not sure if that's the exact name. But it did the trick. It stung when I put it on first, but then it sealed up the places on my fingers and they are much better today. They still hurt if I bump them, but they don't just ache by the sheer fact of air touching them. I think it's been close to two or three weeks since I've been able to crochet. It wasn't fun.

But I'm much happier now. Just ask Billyboy!

This, That and The Otter

I like puns, ok!

Otter has decided not to enter Maggie in the costume contest this year. She's had a problem coming up with a way to attach a fin where it won't fall off or tip the dog over. So it's shelved for this year. But it's probably going to happen next year. In the meantime, here's a few Maggie pictures in her clothing.

This is the bigger t-shirt, it fits closer to her tail part.

This was waiting by the front door, in hope that the big yellow bus would be bringing her mom home soon.

This is the first shirt, the smaller one. She was checking out the sleeves on her legs. She was a little mystified. But then she frequently is!

This is also the first shirt. The sleeves are tighter and longer.

This concludes the Maggie style show portion of this entry.

The dryer vent was cleaned out today. The chimney wasn't, it has some issues that we need to get fixed and we're looking into that. But now, I can use the dryer and it doesn't take (literally) 3 or 4 times to get a load dry.

We had a power outage last night. About 9:30, the power went out and flickered a couple of times. Then it quit completely. It was obviously the entire neighborhood. As I was reporting it, there were several other calls coming in. We found the flashlights and Bill fixed up his (work only) cell phone alarm. But I still slept badly, I was afraid that we would oversleep. I woke up at 2:00 and called the electric company then for an update, they said that there had been a serious car accident which is what we thought. At that time, they thought that it would be around 4:00 before our power came back on. We woke up with Bill's temporary alarm at 5:00, then about 15 minutes later the power came back on. It wasn't cold last night, but it was cool. But we have blankets, and Otter had a warm beagle, so we were fine. But I was very glad that the power came back on when it did - otherwise I would have had to do without coffee!

And that would not have been pretty.

Maggie Moo!

It's not Maggie Monday, relax. It's just a post about Maggie on Monday. :)

Otter got a size 18 month grey shirt at Wallyworld today. It's the basis of the shark costume for the dog. When Maggie saw me holding it open at the neck in her general direction, she pretty much ran into the shirt. She is very obviously used to being dressed up and she really does like it. Of course, Big Brother Frasier immediately came over to her and pulled the shirt off of her. Then he chewed on it.

I took it away from him and put it back on her. All good up to this point, but she really did not like having to put her legs through the sleeves. Of course, part of that was probably because Frasier was trying to play with her at the time. He does that, you know.

Anyway, once we got it on her we discovered that it was just a little snug, so Otter might get the next size up (24 months) and cut the sleeves down. The shirt is a mock turtle neck, Otter might just cut the cowl neck off and see if that makes it fit better. But a larger size would also be longer, which I think it will need to be so that we can attach the fin to it.

My life has gone to the dogs! But they are cute dogs, so no complaints.

Froggy, there is no way I could even get near Frasier if I tried to put anything on him. It simply will not happen, so that's why he isn't going to have a costume for the dog parade. He's not left out, he's just not into dressing up. We tried to put one of Maggie's bandanas on him one time, he avoided us for hours after that!

I'll post pictures as we get Maggie Moo's costume situated. We got a couple of pictures tonight, but Maggie was more interested in going up to Otter than in posing for the camera that Otter was holding.

Halloween is Coming!

And the beagle is going to be a shark. A carpet shark, to be excact.

There is a farm and ranch store we like, it sells all sorts of things besides just farm & ranch supplies. They have a pet costume contest the Sunday before Halloween. Otter talked about taking the beagle last year, but we had some other things we had to do that day so we just went to look at the dogs. This year, Otter wants to take Maggie. There is a pet parade as well as the contest. (Froggy, remember Atwood's?).

One of Maggie's tricks is to roll over on her back when she wants a belly rub, and if nobody pays attention to her she will start to squirm and twist until she can reach anyone who happens to be close by. With her teeth! She doesn't bite, she just nips. But it does get your attention! Otter's been trying to come up with a costume idea, I suggested she dress the dog up like a baby - so we can put a diaper on her. But Bill suggested that she dress the dog up like a shark, since we call her the Carpet Shark when she's trying to get belly rubs. Otter loved the idea.

We have some left-over carpet pieces from the rent house, from the carpet that was destroyed, and no use for it anymore. Bill got a couple of small pieces out of the attic, and I brought them inside. Otter is probably going to get a small sized grey t-shirt to put on the dogster, then the fin will be made out of the carpet pieces. (Carpet shark, get it?). The fin will be attached to the t-shirt, but it will probably have to be strapped around the beagle belly so it doesn't fall off. We measured Maggie this morning, Otter had a great time measuring the dog and the dog seemed to like it too. We measured her belly, chest width, neck and just for fun we measured her tail and ears. And the tail wagged the whole time.

I'll post pictures later on, Otter is just getting started on the costume. She's having fun with it. And I think Maggie will enjoy it. But Frasier isn't going to be in costume. He'll go with us, but just for fun. Besides, Frasier's costume would be easy: Incognito Coyote!

September Books and Other Stuff (Edited)

September's book list:

1. Beating Back the Devil, On the Front Lines with the Desease Detectives of the Epidemic Intellegence Service by Mayn McKenna. Long title. Very good book, I learned a lot from this one.

2. Simple Crochet by Erika Night. Not impressed!

3. Cozy Crochet - 26 Fun Projects From Fashion to Home Decor by Melissa Leapman. I got a couple of ideas from this one.

4. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Book 6. Many times re-run. I started re-reading the series last month, but I read it out of order. Now I'm finished. For the moment, I'll read it again.

5. Dear Laura, Letters From Children to Laura Ingalls Wilder. This one was fun.

6. 24 Hour Crochet Projects by Rita Weiss. A few ideas.

7. New Ideas for Today's Crochet by Jean Leinhauser & Rita Weiss. Not much new in this one!

8. Stitch and B_tch Crochet, The Happy Hooker by Debbie Stoller. I might buy this one, there were several interesting patterns in it. And for the record, if you want to insult someone who crochets then you call them a hooker. It's not a "nice" insult, it's a real one.

9. True Blue Police Stories by Those Who Lived Them, by Sgt. Randy Sutton. Very interesting and informative.

10. Easy Living Crochet edited by Carol Alexander. Not much.

11. Sensual Crochet, Luxurious Yarns/Alluring Designs by Amy Swenson. Not much at all, except for the fact that there were lots of pictures and some of them were swimsuits - which Bill liked and wants me to make. (No!)

12. Lark Kid's Crafts Crochet by Jane Davis. Every so often, I like to look at beginner or basic books because they sometimes have patterns I haven't seen. This one didn't have too much but it would be a good book for anyone of any age who wanted to learn.

13. Crocheting School, a Complete Course. This was a refresher for me, see comments on # 12. But I learned a few things I didn't know from this one.

14. Cursed by Carol Higgins Clark. Fluff, as usual. I read her books when I just want something to read but not anything heavy. It wasn't as good as her earlier books in this series, which is saying something!

15. The Secret by Beverly Lewis. Part one, I have ordered the next book in the series from the library but there is a long waiting list. I hope it comes before I forget this one! It was not as good as other books by this author.

16. Mortal Danger by Ann Rule. I've read this one before. Ms. Rule is one of my internet friends, I correspond with her and she is a very interesting person. The subject of the main story of this book is also someone I've corresponded with. This book is more scary than some of the other books Ann has written, it deals with spouses who aren't quite what they appear to be and has some very good information.

17. The Zombie Survival Guide, Complete Protection From the Living Dead by Max Brooks. This is one that Otter suggested I read, it was really a lot of fun. It's written as if it's a serious book, and it was really funny. There are a couple of other books written like this one and I think I'm going to see if I can find them. Very entertaining!

18. Coming Home by David Lewis. He's Beverly Lewis' husband and this book was good, but somewhat predictable.

19. When Men Become Gods by Stephen Singular. This book deals with the FLDS. It's a true story, actually several different stories, and very good. I'm actually still reading it, but I'm nearly through so it's on the September list. There are a lot of books that deal with the FLDS, and I have read quite a few. (Later edit: I see from looking back that this book was on an earlier list. I think I did read it before, but I'm not sure if I actually finished it. I think I thought that I had finished it because I was getting it confused with another book, and it was returned to the library before I was actually finished. I did read the entire book this time.)

Not as many books as last month, but we've had the rent house to keep us occupied.

Regarding skeeters, Froggy commented about a filter screen. Yes, I have one. Which is why we didn't look at the rain barrel when we first started to see/hear/feel more of the little suckers. I've killed a few of them today and there are still more. But they won't last forever. At least I hope not!

Since it's October, Otter and I put our ceramic jack-0-lantern pumpkins out on the front porch just now. We are probably not going to have candy this year, because there really are not many kids in the neighborhood that are old enough or young enough to still trick or treat. We had very few last year. Of course, if I don't buy candy this year we'll be inundated with kids ringing the doorbell even though the porch light will be out! But we're still going to the pumpkin patch, tomorrow after school. The one we like has a lot of animals and it's always fun to feed them.

I'm glad that it's nearly Friday. It's been an odd week, we've both been very busy but it feels like we haven't gotten anything accomplished at all. We are all very much in need of a Saturday!

Boo! October's Gone Bye-Bye

This is Otter's "Tortured Soul Jack-O-Lantern" that she created last night. It's not the same pumpkin that she got at the pumpkin patch a couple of weeks ago. That pumpkin turned out to be rotted all the way through, which was a very unpleasant surprise when I cut into it, so we made a last minute run to Wallyworld and since they were all $3.00 we got a larger one. Then we ran home and got to carving. Otter absolutely hates to have to stick her hand inside one of those things, but I made her do some of it anyway. Then we compromised. She hates is so much that she was willing to clean the toilet instead! The blood is white karo syrup with red food coloring.

If you look at the side of the pumpkin picture, you can see the front storm door. This is what was watching Otter place the pumpkin! Maggie was not happy that she wasn't allowed out, she thought that she should be able to help. Poor poochie!

We did not have very many kids at all this year. We usually have a boatload, but I think we had under 10 last night. We still have quite a bit of candy left over, Bill will take a lot of it to work on Monday where it will magically disappear. I'm also taking some to work to refill the candy jars that we have, but they don't get opened very often. If we had not had much candy, we would have been overrun with kids. Next year, we might just skip it entirely and not even participate.

Books! I need to post my October book list. Here goes:

1. Green River, Running Red by Ann Rule. This is about the several decade hunt for a serial killer in the Seattle area. It is a very disturbing book, it is well-written as all of Mrs. Rule's books are but it is a very frank picture of the dangerous that girls face "out on the streets". And they are not usually out there by choice, they are frequently very young and being taken advantage of by pimps. They don't deserve what happened to them. Otter started reading it, but it scared her so she quit until she's a little bit older.

2. On The Way Home by Laura Ingalls Wilder. I've read it before, so it's probably been on the list before. And probably will be again.

3. Trick or Treat, a Peanuts Halloween.

4. It Was a Dark and Stormy Night, Snoopy.

5. Create a Bewitched Falloween by Kas Rogers. No, that is not a misspelling - Falloween. Craft stuff, not too much I'll ever do.

6. Gifts to Make, Better Homes and Gardens. Some ideas.

7. Gifts for the Family. A few more ideas.

8. Change of Heart by Phillip Gulley. Part of the Harmony series, cute but not as good as the earlier books.

9. Lost Pet Chronicles by Kat Albrecht and Jana Murphy. A true story of a woman who trained her search and rescue dogs to also look for lost pets.

10. A Woman After God's Own Hearty by Elizabeth George. Wifehood from a Biblical perspective. It was not very well written and I felt like the author was kind of hypocritical in the examples she gave from her own life.

11. Georgia Cooking for Oklahoma Kitchens by Trisha Yearwood. Hope Garth has good life insurance, because a heart attack just might be in his future!

12. Chalked Up, Inside Elite Gymnastics Merciless Coaching by Jennifer Sey. What happens when you combine unattentive parents with extreme overzealous coaches and a very young girl: eating disorders, stress that would kill an adult and severe injuries. Otter took gymnastics for a couple of years to help with the scoliosis, it did help but I saw quite a few girls at the gym that in all probability did have eating disorders. The coaches seemed to be decent, but Otter was not in the competitive class and it might have been a whole different thing.

About 13, 14 and 15: Otter has her teenage fangirl obsession. And I have mine.

13. Batman Chronicles Vol. 5.

14. Batman Detective by Paul Dini.

15. Secrets of the Batcave.

16. Turbulent Souls, a Catholic Son's Return to his Jewish Family by Stephen J. Dubner. Interesting, but not very well written.

17. Sarah by Jerry Eicher. About an Amish girl.

18. Sarah's Son by Jerry Eicher. Sequel to # 17. Not the best written books, I don't know if I'll read anything else by him or not.

19. Texas Off the Beaten Path by June Naylor. Texas, of course I enjoyed it!

20. Cheech & Chong - Unauthorized Biography. Since this was written by Tommy Chong, I'm not sure about the unauthorized part! It was interesting, and let's just say that Chong wasn't really acting when he was onscreen!

21. Blue Sky July by Nia Wyn. This was written in poetry form, which I really didn't care for. It was a good book, a true story about a child born with severe physical problems and his parents were basically told to abandon him to an institution because he would never be normal. Except that he was, he only had a physical disability but his mind is normal. Fortunately, his parents ignored the advice.

22. Catch Me If You Can by Frank Abagnale, Jr. You might have seen the movie made from this book a few years ago. It's a true story. The movie didn't cover all that much that actually happened, otherwise it would have been many hours long. Also, there were a few things changed for the movie but in general it was pretty close. He was a very sucessful forger and con man, all before he was even out of his teens! He lives in the general area of Oklahoma that I live in, he's a friend of one of my bosses and I've met him. You would never have even the slightest idea of what he did, he's turned his life around 100% and works as a consultant so that businesses won't be hit by someone like he used to be.

Ok, that's it for now.

No, I Did Not Forget

About Whine Wednesday. I just didn't have anything to whine about. But I'm sure I'll have other subjects in the future! It just probably won't be a regular weekly feature.

Otter went back to school today, she seems to be much better. Her peak flow is reading good and she is able to breathe without difficulty, which is always a good thing. Her peak flow range is usually 350 - 380. Last night, when she was finally beginning to clear, she blew a 400! She's never blown that high before, and the fact that it was at the end of a flare is very surprising.

For those of you who are not versed in the ways of asthma (unlike Froggy and myself and probably Jan/Azbax), a peak flow meter is a tool to measure lung strength. It's basically a piece of plastic with a numbered gauge on one side and a mouthpiece to blow into on one end. The numbers represent lung strength. When Otter was small and just learning how to use it, we would sit in front of her and pretend that she was blowing so hard we would be unable to stay upright. She loved it, but it worked - you have to be able to blow air into the peak flow for it to work, the harder you blow the higher the number will be. The peak flow is like the inhalers - it goes with us wherever we roam.

I will try to get my book list posted tomorrow, but it is Halloween and also Friday night so I might have a bunch of stuff to get done before Sunset. I will wait until the last minute to get the bags of candy open - even with the candy I got just for us, Bill has a tendency to get into any candy he sees! I already know that quite a few of the tootsie rolls we bought to give out won't make it past the bags being opened! Also, Otter has a small pumpkin that needs to be carved and scooped out. She hates the scooping process, but I have news for her: it's her pumpkin. She gets to do the dirty work! I also will bring my ceramic pumpkins in from the front porch, they are sitting where the real pumpkin will be placed. Most of my ceramic pumpkins can be used with tea light candles, but I am not going to do that this year - I have never remembered to get tea lights! Maybe next year, it bugs me to buy a pumpkin that is just going to be thrown away. We blocked the dogs out last year, they kept trying to answer the door with us every time we had a trick or treater! They love everybody and they think that everyone who comes to the door is really coming to visit them.

Ok, enough goofing off! I'm going to get Otter's pirate pants/pj bottoms finished and then I have some eBay stuff to do.