My busy day actually started yesterday evening. Maggie has had to have her "rear glands" cleaned out before, she's been dragging her behind off & on lately so we knew she probably was due for another butt squishing, as Otter calls it. Last night, she was walking across the living room floor and she suddenly flopped her behind down and dragged it across the floor. Then she started looking sad, very droopy. Then she started shivering. She was not in any pain that I could detect, her ears looked fine, she wasn't feverish. So I called an all-night vet and they said that it probably was those rear glands, that when they get impacted dogs will sometimes act like that. They said that they could take care of it, but that we could also wait until today to see our regular vet. We just had to keep an eye on her in case she had any other symptoms develop. Maggie sleeps in Otter's bed, Otter said that Magginator was quiet last night and not restless. So I called the vet this morning, they said to bring her in at 4:00.
Maggie was not in the yard when we got home. The gates were locked, nothing was missing besides the dog. However, I discovered that the back gate was slightly ajar. And there was a spot at the base of the gate where a dog had been digging. We think that Maggie was digging for a mole, because the hole did not look like she actually dug her way out, and bumped the gate. The gate is not the best, and it's not very sturdy. Otter was a basket case by this point. I went out in the field/street area behind the houses and started yelling as loudly as I could for the dog. After what seemed like forever, but was probably only 5 - 10 minutes, I heard Otter screaming at me and saw a furry blur running by at the end of the street where I was standing. I called Maggie and could see her jumping up as she ran, looking over the weeds to find me since she could hear my voice. I took off running towards her, and she was running as fast as all four feet could carry her towards me. I picked her up and carried her to the back yard, which was hard as she hates to be picked up and she was also in a big hurry to get to Otter. I might have a bruise on my lip and chin tomorrow, in the shape of a dog's snout. We blocked the gate closed with a cinderblock, then we went to the vet.
Magginator got her behind squished and she is much better. The vet said that he didn't see any signs of infection and that everything else looked good. That was one happy dog when we left, she could not get out of the exam room fast enough! I don't think I blame her for wanting to leave the vet's office.
When Bill got home, we secured the gate with a bungee cord and adjusted the cinderblock. Frasier was in the yard the entire time that Maggie was gone, he did not act like he wanted to get out at all. We think that the electric fence probably has a lot to do with that!
It was pretty busy at work, I'm getting ready to be gone next week and there was also a lot of work because my younger boss was gone last week. His desk was piled up with things while he was gone. Now mine is piled up with things from his desk! Tomorrow will be busy, and Wednesday probably won't be too calm either. But Thursday and Friday should be a lot better, I am going to try to get as much done tomorrow and Wednesday as I possibly can so that any last-minute stuff that comes up can be dealt with easily. Because there will be a last-minute crisis. There always is!
Monday, December 17, 2007
URGENT PRAYER REQUEST
I am asking for prayers for my friend Virginia's family. Her daughter, Sara, 25 years old & married with 3 young children, has been given 2 to 6 months to live. I've asked for prayers for her before, but here's the story:
Sara was diagnosed a couple of years ago with a rare, incurable form of cancer. At the time, the doctors said that there was a very strong medication which could probably buy her anywhere from a few to several years, and since she was young and healthy the doctors were very optimistic. However, Sara got pregnant and had to go off of the drug for the duration of her pregnancy. The baby is a few months old now, she shows no sign of any problems and Sara went back on the medication as soon as she'd delivered her daughter.
Sara has had a few problems lately, and she's been hospitalized a couple of times. Virginia and David (Virginia's husband) invited Sara, Jesse (Sara's husband) and the kids to move in with them a few months ago because Sara has been unable to work and they weren't making it on Jesse's wages alone.
On Friday, Sara was in a lot of pain and the doctor admitted her to the hospital again. The test results were not good. Sara has very little time left, from Virginia's email I get the feeling that the doctor is thinking that even 6 months is a stretch, that it will probably be a lot less.
They are all devastated. And so am I, Virginia is my dearest friend and I can't help her.
Sara was diagnosed a couple of years ago with a rare, incurable form of cancer. At the time, the doctors said that there was a very strong medication which could probably buy her anywhere from a few to several years, and since she was young and healthy the doctors were very optimistic. However, Sara got pregnant and had to go off of the drug for the duration of her pregnancy. The baby is a few months old now, she shows no sign of any problems and Sara went back on the medication as soon as she'd delivered her daughter.
Sara has had a few problems lately, and she's been hospitalized a couple of times. Virginia and David (Virginia's husband) invited Sara, Jesse (Sara's husband) and the kids to move in with them a few months ago because Sara has been unable to work and they weren't making it on Jesse's wages alone.
On Friday, Sara was in a lot of pain and the doctor admitted her to the hospital again. The test results were not good. Sara has very little time left, from Virginia's email I get the feeling that the doctor is thinking that even 6 months is a stretch, that it will probably be a lot less.
They are all devastated. And so am I, Virginia is my dearest friend and I can't help her.
Sunday, December 16, 2007
Tree Trimming!
We've been working on the trees today. We went to church and as soon as we got home, we got started on the trees. We have finished with the front and back trees, but the side tree is still waiting on us. There might be some additional trimming on the front trees, but it will be minor. We will have to take out at least 3 of the 4 trees in the front, but that will be later on. One of them will be "easy" but the other three will be much harder because they are bigger trees and we'll have to keep them from falling on the fence or the neighbor's house. But that is something to worry about at a later date. The two in the back might survive, we'll have to wait and see. There was also a limb that was from the neighbor's tree in the back and it was halfway in our yard so we trimmed that one while we were at it. We have about 2 cords of wood already, and we'll probably get a little more out of the side tree. When we take down the actual trees in the front, we will probably get at least 2 cords out of them. I'm really glad we had not ordered firewood this year, as we would have no place to put what we now have!
We have two huge piles of smaller limbs out in the front of the house, at the street. Eventually, the city will get them picked up. The city has announced that any limbs left by the curb will be picked up, but that they probably won't even start until the first of the year and that it could take them 6 weeks to get it all because there are so many. There are dump sites to take limbs to, but we no longer have the El Camino and we gave Don his trailer back a few weeks ago so we're just going to wait on the city. At least that is the plan right now.
We are both very tired and have sore muscles. I am not looking forward to getting out of bed in the morning! I have discovered that my muscles in the area of my surgical incision get tired very quickly, and they are probably not as strong as they would have been if they hadn't been sliced open! Bill thinks that it's normal for the muscles to still be tender and they aren't really hurting, just sore. I have a feeling that I'm going to regret tossing out the pain pills I had!
We had an automated phone call from the school district, school will be in session tomorrow. Otter only has three days this week anyway. Last week was to be finals, I'm not sure how they will handle that.
It did not get as cold as they thought last night, but it was still cold. It was in the low 20's, which is an improvement over the mid-teens that it was supposed to get to. But today was sunny, so even though it was still cold it wasn't horrible. There was no ice on the roads this morning, we just had to defrost the car a little bit so we could go to church.
The dogs have been silly today. Very playful. I think that they like this weather, cold makes them crazy but it's not icy at least. Last year when it was icy, they kept bringing in huge chunks of ice from the yard to eat. I'm glad we don't have ice to deal with at the moment. Although the dogs probably would disagree!!
We have two huge piles of smaller limbs out in the front of the house, at the street. Eventually, the city will get them picked up. The city has announced that any limbs left by the curb will be picked up, but that they probably won't even start until the first of the year and that it could take them 6 weeks to get it all because there are so many. There are dump sites to take limbs to, but we no longer have the El Camino and we gave Don his trailer back a few weeks ago so we're just going to wait on the city. At least that is the plan right now.
We are both very tired and have sore muscles. I am not looking forward to getting out of bed in the morning! I have discovered that my muscles in the area of my surgical incision get tired very quickly, and they are probably not as strong as they would have been if they hadn't been sliced open! Bill thinks that it's normal for the muscles to still be tender and they aren't really hurting, just sore. I have a feeling that I'm going to regret tossing out the pain pills I had!
We had an automated phone call from the school district, school will be in session tomorrow. Otter only has three days this week anyway. Last week was to be finals, I'm not sure how they will handle that.
It did not get as cold as they thought last night, but it was still cold. It was in the low 20's, which is an improvement over the mid-teens that it was supposed to get to. But today was sunny, so even though it was still cold it wasn't horrible. There was no ice on the roads this morning, we just had to defrost the car a little bit so we could go to church.
The dogs have been silly today. Very playful. I think that they like this weather, cold makes them crazy but it's not icy at least. Last year when it was icy, they kept bringing in huge chunks of ice from the yard to eat. I'm glad we don't have ice to deal with at the moment. Although the dogs probably would disagree!!
Saturday, December 15, 2007
Snowy Saturday
It's still pretty cold, when I got up it was 36 degrees and that was apparently the warmest time of the day. It did not snow last night like it was supposed to, but it started snowing about 10:30 this morning. It was not a heavy snow, but it did come down for several hours. We didn't get a whole lot of it, and it only stayed around for a while. But I'm not complaining! It should get into the mid-teens tonight. Parts of Tulsa still have no power and it can't be easy to deal with when it's this cold. A few prayers would probably go a long way. As of Thursday, my in-laws still didn't have power.
Otter did not have school at all last week, they were still closed on Friday. Hopefully, they will be able to open on Monday. They are now two days over the built-in snow days. There are two holidays, Martin Luther King day in January and President's Day in February, school will be in session on both of those days to make up the missing days. Any more missed days will probably have to be added on to the end of the school year. There are supposed to only be three days this coming week, Thursday and Friday are holidays already and then of course the next week for Christmas break. Except that it's actually called Winter Break. But not by me, I'm not politically correct! That's probably a rant for another day.
There have been a few stories of price gouging and a couple of scams in the last week, but I've also heard a lot of stories of people helping others. Like Trina, checking on her elderly customers on her paper route. A local radio station has organized a firewood giveaway so people can get enough for one or two fires to keep warm. The Maytag store has hooked up all their machines so people can do one or two free loads of laundry, as long as they bring their own detergent. The libraries have announced that people can bring in their cell phones & laptops to charge the batteries. Several churches have opened up as shelters for people with no electricity. Things like that. It's good to know that there are still good people in the world.
We're nearly done with our Christmas shopping. Otter and I were originally going to go tomorrow, but with the iffy weather forecast we decided not to wait. She went to work with me Tuesday through Thursday, we went shopping Wednesday and Thursday on our lunch hour. Then she stayed home yesterday, and I stopped on the way home. Just a couple more things that we need to get, and of course I haven't gotten Otter's presents yet because she was with me. It was a lot easier when she was tiny, I could buy her presents while shopping with her and she was too young to know or care!
Only one more week of work, then we're on vacation! Well, I am - Otter and Bill have the week after Christmas off as holidays and then he's taking another week off after that as vacation. Otter and I have a dentist appointment Thursday, she'll go with me to work that day. Then Friday is the last day of work for the year as well.
We are probably going to lose the tree in the back yard, the one that we thought was barely touched. Bill noticed something yesterday - we can see daylight through two of the branches. Not through the leaves, but through the branches themselves! They are both split but it didn't show at first for some reason. Possibly the tree will still survive, but it's not looking good. It's not a big tree to start with, and these are two major branches. We still have a lot of trimming to do, Bill's gotten a lot taken care of in the front but not all of it. The tree on the side is still waiting on us to get to it, and then there are the two in the back. But we are making progress.
Otter did not have school at all last week, they were still closed on Friday. Hopefully, they will be able to open on Monday. They are now two days over the built-in snow days. There are two holidays, Martin Luther King day in January and President's Day in February, school will be in session on both of those days to make up the missing days. Any more missed days will probably have to be added on to the end of the school year. There are supposed to only be three days this coming week, Thursday and Friday are holidays already and then of course the next week for Christmas break. Except that it's actually called Winter Break. But not by me, I'm not politically correct! That's probably a rant for another day.
There have been a few stories of price gouging and a couple of scams in the last week, but I've also heard a lot of stories of people helping others. Like Trina, checking on her elderly customers on her paper route. A local radio station has organized a firewood giveaway so people can get enough for one or two fires to keep warm. The Maytag store has hooked up all their machines so people can do one or two free loads of laundry, as long as they bring their own detergent. The libraries have announced that people can bring in their cell phones & laptops to charge the batteries. Several churches have opened up as shelters for people with no electricity. Things like that. It's good to know that there are still good people in the world.
We're nearly done with our Christmas shopping. Otter and I were originally going to go tomorrow, but with the iffy weather forecast we decided not to wait. She went to work with me Tuesday through Thursday, we went shopping Wednesday and Thursday on our lunch hour. Then she stayed home yesterday, and I stopped on the way home. Just a couple more things that we need to get, and of course I haven't gotten Otter's presents yet because she was with me. It was a lot easier when she was tiny, I could buy her presents while shopping with her and she was too young to know or care!
Only one more week of work, then we're on vacation! Well, I am - Otter and Bill have the week after Christmas off as holidays and then he's taking another week off after that as vacation. Otter and I have a dentist appointment Thursday, she'll go with me to work that day. Then Friday is the last day of work for the year as well.
We are probably going to lose the tree in the back yard, the one that we thought was barely touched. Bill noticed something yesterday - we can see daylight through two of the branches. Not through the leaves, but through the branches themselves! They are both split but it didn't show at first for some reason. Possibly the tree will still survive, but it's not looking good. It's not a big tree to start with, and these are two major branches. We still have a lot of trimming to do, Bill's gotten a lot taken care of in the front but not all of it. The tree on the side is still waiting on us to get to it, and then there are the two in the back. But we are making progress.
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Wednesday. Still Cold. Need any firewood?
'Cause we got plenty! And we are not anywhere near finished. There's still plenty more just waiting on Bill and the chainsaw. Bill's boss is out of firewood, so Bill told him to come on over but I don't know if he will or not. He said he was afraid that we'd run short, but I don't think he realizes just how much we will have when we're finished.
Bill went to work today. He'd been gone about 10 minutes when his boss called to tell him that they were closed. Fortunately, the cell phone worked so I could catch him and he came back home. After it got light, he headed over to the rent house to work on the tree. He said it's not as bad as he thought, the tree might survive. But it is badly damaged so it remains to be seen. The tree did miss the house, and the fence has a good sized dent where the tree limbs hit it. He brought home a van load of firewood and left some there, which he'll probably get in a few days.
Otter went to work with me today, Bill came by when he got finished at the rent house and we went to lunch. Then he headed on home and got back to work in the front yard.
After work, Otter and I were heading for WalMart but they were closed. They were open Monday, but they were closed today. Of course, we couldn't tell until we turned into the parking lot and saw the sign on the door - we didn't quite get to park so we didn't have to get out of the car to find out. We turned around and headed for another grocery store, and we were part of an unnofficial convoy of other cars that all went to the same place! I was able to get bread, eggs, milk and a few other things that they were out of the other day. But they were still very crowded and I did notice that they were out of or low on lots of things. There was only one variety of bread that had been delivered, fortunately it was a good wheat bread but I'd have bought it anyway! We also stopped at the gas station so I could fill the car.
When we got home, Bill was still out in the front yard working on the trees. He'd gotten a lot done, but there was still plenty for me to do. He's gotten at least a rick of wood, probably a cord and there's still a lot.
We had a mini-Adventure in Bill Land on Monday! I forgot about it when I was posting the pictures. At one point, he was cutting a limb off that had partially broken off and it fell down to the ground. Then it bounced up and hit him in the face! He came inside when I was on the phone to Froggy, so she already knows this story. He had 3 or 4 small cuts, none deep but he did scare the heck out of Otter! And then I had my own adventure today when I was helping stack the wood he cut for firewood. I smacked myself in the mouth with a log! OUCH! I might have a bruise tomorrow. But it was on the side of my mouth where I have the partial denture on the bottom, so at least I don't have to worry about teeth! :) At that point, Bill sent me back to the front to start stacking twigs and smaller pieces for the city to pick up. He thought I might be safer! But I still wound up with a frozen nose & fingers! At least they felt frozen.
I ran the dishwasher twice last night, and I've done two loads of laundry today. I'm not waiting, we have a good chance of snow the next few days and I'd prefer not to run out of clean clothing!
When the power came on yesterday, there were several instances where it flickered last night. So we had another living room camp out, just in case. And I woke up with a beagle on my feet again this morning!
No school again tomorrow. They have now used all three of their built-in snow days, tomorrow will be made up on President's Day. At this rate, they might not go on Friday either. But we don't know yet. A lot of the districts have announced for tomorrow and Friday, but ours hasn't yet.
I really hope that we don't get the forecasted snow. It would not be a good thing right now. But I have been to the store and stocked up a little bit more, and I'm getting the laundry done. Just in case.
Bill's Dad was still without power when I talked to his step-mom this afternoon. They managed to get some of their food into a friend's freezer, but she said that they lost quite a bit. We were just lucky to save ours.
My friend Trina said that they did not lose power, which they usually do. They are in an apartment, but they have a paper route so they still had to deal with the weather. She said that they have a lot of elderly clients on their route, and they've been checking on them as they deliver. Trina, I think that is very nice of you and I know the people appreciate it as well. Just be careful yourself! Maybe we will get to go thrifting again sometime in the next few months? If the weather ever straightens out, that is!
Bill went to work today. He'd been gone about 10 minutes when his boss called to tell him that they were closed. Fortunately, the cell phone worked so I could catch him and he came back home. After it got light, he headed over to the rent house to work on the tree. He said it's not as bad as he thought, the tree might survive. But it is badly damaged so it remains to be seen. The tree did miss the house, and the fence has a good sized dent where the tree limbs hit it. He brought home a van load of firewood and left some there, which he'll probably get in a few days.
Otter went to work with me today, Bill came by when he got finished at the rent house and we went to lunch. Then he headed on home and got back to work in the front yard.
After work, Otter and I were heading for WalMart but they were closed. They were open Monday, but they were closed today. Of course, we couldn't tell until we turned into the parking lot and saw the sign on the door - we didn't quite get to park so we didn't have to get out of the car to find out. We turned around and headed for another grocery store, and we were part of an unnofficial convoy of other cars that all went to the same place! I was able to get bread, eggs, milk and a few other things that they were out of the other day. But they were still very crowded and I did notice that they were out of or low on lots of things. There was only one variety of bread that had been delivered, fortunately it was a good wheat bread but I'd have bought it anyway! We also stopped at the gas station so I could fill the car.
When we got home, Bill was still out in the front yard working on the trees. He'd gotten a lot done, but there was still plenty for me to do. He's gotten at least a rick of wood, probably a cord and there's still a lot.
We had a mini-Adventure in Bill Land on Monday! I forgot about it when I was posting the pictures. At one point, he was cutting a limb off that had partially broken off and it fell down to the ground. Then it bounced up and hit him in the face! He came inside when I was on the phone to Froggy, so she already knows this story. He had 3 or 4 small cuts, none deep but he did scare the heck out of Otter! And then I had my own adventure today when I was helping stack the wood he cut for firewood. I smacked myself in the mouth with a log! OUCH! I might have a bruise tomorrow. But it was on the side of my mouth where I have the partial denture on the bottom, so at least I don't have to worry about teeth! :) At that point, Bill sent me back to the front to start stacking twigs and smaller pieces for the city to pick up. He thought I might be safer! But I still wound up with a frozen nose & fingers! At least they felt frozen.
I ran the dishwasher twice last night, and I've done two loads of laundry today. I'm not waiting, we have a good chance of snow the next few days and I'd prefer not to run out of clean clothing!
When the power came on yesterday, there were several instances where it flickered last night. So we had another living room camp out, just in case. And I woke up with a beagle on my feet again this morning!
No school again tomorrow. They have now used all three of their built-in snow days, tomorrow will be made up on President's Day. At this rate, they might not go on Friday either. But we don't know yet. A lot of the districts have announced for tomorrow and Friday, but ours hasn't yet.
I really hope that we don't get the forecasted snow. It would not be a good thing right now. But I have been to the store and stocked up a little bit more, and I'm getting the laundry done. Just in case.
Bill's Dad was still without power when I talked to his step-mom this afternoon. They managed to get some of their food into a friend's freezer, but she said that they lost quite a bit. We were just lucky to save ours.
My friend Trina said that they did not lose power, which they usually do. They are in an apartment, but they have a paper route so they still had to deal with the weather. She said that they have a lot of elderly clients on their route, and they've been checking on them as they deliver. Trina, I think that is very nice of you and I know the people appreciate it as well. Just be careful yourself! Maybe we will get to go thrifting again sometime in the next few months? If the weather ever straightens out, that is!
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Monday's Ice Storm Damage
We knew Sunday evening that we might get some ice out of the storm that was heading our way. But it wasn't supposed to be very bad. We all know that the forecasters here are seldom right. This time they were both right and wrong. Right that we did get ice. Wrong in how much! At 3:00 a.m. Monday, I was awakened by the sound of the power going out. I called the power company, even though I knew it was not just ours by looking out the window. But I was the first to report for our area. Bill got up to unlock the back gate, then he set his Blackberry to wake us up at 5:00. At 5:00, he got up and looked out and then he came back to tell me that I wasn't going anywhere. Because of the limb on my car.
It wasn't a huge limb, but it was a good sized one and there was no way we could move it out of the way.
That was just the start of the day's adventures! We let Otter sleep in, and Bill got a fire going in the fireplace. I'm so glad we have it. I have a gas stove, so I was at least able to get water boiling so we could have coffee. Without coffee, it would have been much worse!
Bill was able to get the car moved up closer to the garage door so we could see that it was ok, and he was able to get the van out so he went to get a chainsaw since we knew by then that we would have more tree limbs to deal with. Good thing he went when he did, the store was selling out quick. He went out again later, to borrow a ladder from his dad and he also got ice so we emptied the fridge into a cooler and put it out on the back porch - it was colder out there.
All day long we could hear tree limbs popping and falling. It sounded like gunshots or small explosions. Quite a few of the trees were our own. We have probably lost all 4 in the front yard. The tree in the back might make it, but that remains to be seen. The one on the side of the garage in the front doesn't look too good, either. The captions are below the pictures they are describing.
This is the side tree. All the rest are the front yard, except for the last one which is the back yard. This was early, there was a lot more of it that fell.
This is standing in the street, looking back towards our house. This particular tree was also blocking quite a bit of the street. 
This is the back yard tree.
It wasn't a huge limb, but it was a good sized one and there was no way we could move it out of the way.
That was just the start of the day's adventures! We let Otter sleep in, and Bill got a fire going in the fireplace. I'm so glad we have it. I have a gas stove, so I was at least able to get water boiling so we could have coffee. Without coffee, it would have been much worse!
Bill was able to get the car moved up closer to the garage door so we could see that it was ok, and he was able to get the van out so he went to get a chainsaw since we knew by then that we would have more tree limbs to deal with. Good thing he went when he did, the store was selling out quick. He went out again later, to borrow a ladder from his dad and he also got ice so we emptied the fridge into a cooler and put it out on the back porch - it was colder out there.
All day long we could hear tree limbs popping and falling. It sounded like gunshots or small explosions. Quite a few of the trees were our own. We have probably lost all 4 in the front yard. The tree in the back might make it, but that remains to be seen. The one on the side of the garage in the front doesn't look too good, either. The captions are below the pictures they are describing.
This is the side tree. All the rest are the front yard, except for the last one which is the back yard. This was early, there was a lot more of it that fell.
This is standing in the street, looking back towards our house. This particular tree was also blocking quite a bit of the street. This is the back yard tree. And as bad as these are, it got worse later on. I took pictures later but the disk had a problem so they didn't come out.
Bill loves gadgets, and he has several wind-up radio flashlights. They last for about 30 minutes, so we spent a lot of time winding them up yesterday but at least it kept us busy! That is, when we weren't out in the front yard with the chainsaw to get the tree out of the street. We're going to get a lot of firewood out of this, at least there is that as a bright side.
We camped out in the living room last night, and Maggie beagle apparently decided that my feet needed to be kept warm because when I woke up she was on top of them!
Otter didn't have school yesterday, due to the power being out, and no school today either. So I took her to work with me today. Most of the Tulsa area has been without power, although there are pockets that never lost it. Like where I work. But just a couple of miles away, my younger boss's neighborhood lost theirs. He's in Mexico this week (gotta stop letting him go on vacation, this always happens when he leaves!) and I met my older boss (his father) at the younger bosses house to help him clean out the freezer. Then we brought all his food back to the office and put it in the freezer there. When younger boss gets back, he's gonna owe me big-time! :)
When we left work, we went to the post office and then to the grocery store. I only needed a couple of things, but they were very busy. Most batteries are sold out, they were out of bread and I noticed that their dog food aisle was getting emptied out. I was afraid that if I waited, they would be completely empty so we braved the crowd today. On the way home, we saw a lot of places where huge trees are just destroyed. It looks like a war zone, and it sounded like one yesterday as well. A lot of people are still without power, ours came on mid-afternoon. There are still trees in the road all over the place. We also saw a couple of telephone poles and electrical line damage. Our lines are buried, but they are fed by above ground lines.
The first thing we did when we got home was start the dishwasher!
If anyone needs to talk to us, we are unable to call out if it's long distance. We didn't buy the long distance plan on our home phone because they didn't have any that were very good. So we got unlimited long distance on the cell phone. Which is great - until the power hasn't been restored to all the towers yet! I was able to use my phone at work, but I don't have any service at home. Hopefully, that will be fixed soon.
We've heard from our tenant. The tree in the front yard split, she said that it's pretty bad and the tree might not survive. She said that some of the limbs landed on the front porch but not on the house itself, but that the fence has a dent in it from part of the tree. We were hoping that it would survive, we planted that tree when we moved in to that house and we've always called it Otter's Tree. But at least it didn't damage the house and the tenant is safe. Bill's going over there after work tomorrow to check on it. He's taking the chainsaw. I guess we'll add it to the firewood that's currently all over the front yard!
There is also no school tomorrow, so Otter will go to work with me. Bill called in yesterday, then they were given the day off today.
And we've also noticed that the dogs are smarter than we give them credit for. They only go outside when they have to, and they run back inside as quickly as they can. And then they go to sleep!
Sunday, December 09, 2007
Finally Feels Like Christmas!
Because we got the tree up today. Otter did most of the actual decorating, she seemed to be enjoying herself so I just got out of her way and she got busy. Bill got the stuff out of the attic for us, although I still had to make a trip up there myself to find a few minor, unneeded things. Like the lights! And the wreath, by the way. Never came across the Nativity Set, so I'm using a small one I picked up at a yard sale during the summer. I also could not find my wreath hanger, so the wreath is hanging on the front door from a bent up coat hanger - don't look too closely!
My ceramic tree has survived for another year, it's sitting on top of one of the side shelves of the entertainment center but it's not plugged in. It might eventually be plugged in, but I really don't know if I want to mess with moving the entertainment center out which would entail taking just about everything off of it first, so the ceramic tree will probably not be plugged in this year. Actually, there are three of them up there. The big one from Mom the first Christmas we were in Oklahoma, a small one I got at another yard sale last summer and an even smaller one that I painted myself. All three can be lighted, but none are plugged in! But they are still cute.
I know the Nativity set is up there in the attic somewhere, it's just a question of where exactly! It's in a pretty big box, there are a lot of pieces to it. It's the Avon white bisque set that Mom bought for me over how ever many years it took Avon since they introduced one piece each Christmas for several years. It's mostly intact, only one breakage - the angel that hangs over the top of the barn. And I'm one piece short, the last piece that Avon came out with is a cow and it's nearly impossible to find. I've seen it on eBay a few times, but it's not cheap! So I keep saying that I'll look in the spring or summer when it's the off-season. But I keep forgetting about it until Christmas! I probably should put a note on my calendar for about March.
We did find the stockings, Otter got them up by the fireplace immediately. Her Liberty Falls collection of small houses hasn't been seen since we put it up in the attic last year, so it's not out this year either. But she does have a set of Liberty Falls tree ornaments that her Grammy gave her one year, and she put them on top of the other side shelf to the entertainment center instead of hanging them on the tree.
We have more Texas-related ornaments than we realized. Of course, they are all on the tree. Except for one that is sitting on the mantle. There are a couple of other Texas ornaments that we are looking for, I saw one at Garden Ridge several weeks back and I keep forgetting to go see if they still have any of them. I saw it when we were waiting for the new checks & credit card to be sent to us after the theft and I didn't have cash on me that day. Which is a bad time to go shopping, but we were just on a looking trip to see what they had in the way of bedspreads. We're going Christmas shopping next Sunday, hopefully we'll remember to go to Garden Ridge then!
It's pretty cold today. We woke to a little bit of ice on the cars. The street looked ok, so we decided to chance it and go to church. But not Sunday School today. The ice on the car wasn't thick, and the roads were fine. A lot of churches cancelled their services today, but ours was open. There were still quite a few people, although there were a lot that apparently stayed home. Tonight's services at church are cancelled, the pastor said that he really did not want to have to go to the hospital to visit anybody! We were supposed to get more icy stuff today, but all we got was a few rain storms. It's so cold that it will probably be a mess in the morning, but probably not so bad that school is cancelled. Although I'll probably drive Otter to school myself, the bus driver is a menace on a good day!
After church, Otter and I went to Wallyworld because I discovered Friday that I didn't have nearly as much birdseed as I thought. In fact, I was nearly out. I just barely had enough to fill some of my feeders. So I bought two 25-pound bags today. Should last for a little while at least! I have 5 seed feeders & 2 suet feeders up right now, there is still another seed feeder and one or two more suet feeders and I might get them filled & up in the next few days. Since we were at Walmart, we had to stop at the new dollar store that just opened a couple of weeks ago. Found a lot of stuff there, too!
I've been washing blankets today. We have several that we use on a regular basis, usually when we are in the living room in front of the tv. Even though the dogs don't get to use them, I was amazed at the amount of dog hair that I pulled out of the lint filter. It's surprising how much they shed! I guess that is to be expected with a long-haired dog like Frasier.
So far, the hounds have left the Christmas tree alone for the most part. Maggie was interested in all the boxes while we were decorating, but she mostly just looked in the boxes and sniffed them. Then she left them alone. Frasier had zero interest while we were actually working on the tree, but later he went up to it and sniffed a couple of the ornaments. Then he went back to his blanket and his chew bone. I'm still not about to put anything actually under the tree. I know those two very well and I do not trust them any farther than I can see them!
Back to the old grind tomorrow, Otter will be back to school. She's pretty much recovered, although she still has a cough and some slight stuffiness.
My ceramic tree has survived for another year, it's sitting on top of one of the side shelves of the entertainment center but it's not plugged in. It might eventually be plugged in, but I really don't know if I want to mess with moving the entertainment center out which would entail taking just about everything off of it first, so the ceramic tree will probably not be plugged in this year. Actually, there are three of them up there. The big one from Mom the first Christmas we were in Oklahoma, a small one I got at another yard sale last summer and an even smaller one that I painted myself. All three can be lighted, but none are plugged in! But they are still cute.
I know the Nativity set is up there in the attic somewhere, it's just a question of where exactly! It's in a pretty big box, there are a lot of pieces to it. It's the Avon white bisque set that Mom bought for me over how ever many years it took Avon since they introduced one piece each Christmas for several years. It's mostly intact, only one breakage - the angel that hangs over the top of the barn. And I'm one piece short, the last piece that Avon came out with is a cow and it's nearly impossible to find. I've seen it on eBay a few times, but it's not cheap! So I keep saying that I'll look in the spring or summer when it's the off-season. But I keep forgetting about it until Christmas! I probably should put a note on my calendar for about March.
We did find the stockings, Otter got them up by the fireplace immediately. Her Liberty Falls collection of small houses hasn't been seen since we put it up in the attic last year, so it's not out this year either. But she does have a set of Liberty Falls tree ornaments that her Grammy gave her one year, and she put them on top of the other side shelf to the entertainment center instead of hanging them on the tree.
We have more Texas-related ornaments than we realized. Of course, they are all on the tree. Except for one that is sitting on the mantle. There are a couple of other Texas ornaments that we are looking for, I saw one at Garden Ridge several weeks back and I keep forgetting to go see if they still have any of them. I saw it when we were waiting for the new checks & credit card to be sent to us after the theft and I didn't have cash on me that day. Which is a bad time to go shopping, but we were just on a looking trip to see what they had in the way of bedspreads. We're going Christmas shopping next Sunday, hopefully we'll remember to go to Garden Ridge then!
It's pretty cold today. We woke to a little bit of ice on the cars. The street looked ok, so we decided to chance it and go to church. But not Sunday School today. The ice on the car wasn't thick, and the roads were fine. A lot of churches cancelled their services today, but ours was open. There were still quite a few people, although there were a lot that apparently stayed home. Tonight's services at church are cancelled, the pastor said that he really did not want to have to go to the hospital to visit anybody! We were supposed to get more icy stuff today, but all we got was a few rain storms. It's so cold that it will probably be a mess in the morning, but probably not so bad that school is cancelled. Although I'll probably drive Otter to school myself, the bus driver is a menace on a good day!
After church, Otter and I went to Wallyworld because I discovered Friday that I didn't have nearly as much birdseed as I thought. In fact, I was nearly out. I just barely had enough to fill some of my feeders. So I bought two 25-pound bags today. Should last for a little while at least! I have 5 seed feeders & 2 suet feeders up right now, there is still another seed feeder and one or two more suet feeders and I might get them filled & up in the next few days. Since we were at Walmart, we had to stop at the new dollar store that just opened a couple of weeks ago. Found a lot of stuff there, too!
I've been washing blankets today. We have several that we use on a regular basis, usually when we are in the living room in front of the tv. Even though the dogs don't get to use them, I was amazed at the amount of dog hair that I pulled out of the lint filter. It's surprising how much they shed! I guess that is to be expected with a long-haired dog like Frasier.
So far, the hounds have left the Christmas tree alone for the most part. Maggie was interested in all the boxes while we were decorating, but she mostly just looked in the boxes and sniffed them. Then she left them alone. Frasier had zero interest while we were actually working on the tree, but later he went up to it and sniffed a couple of the ornaments. Then he went back to his blanket and his chew bone. I'm still not about to put anything actually under the tree. I know those two very well and I do not trust them any farther than I can see them!
Back to the old grind tomorrow, Otter will be back to school. She's pretty much recovered, although she still has a cough and some slight stuffiness.
Friday, December 07, 2007
2nd Post for Friday, 12/7/07
I didn't want to put anything else up with my Pearl Harbor reminder, so I'm posting twice today!
We're playing the Asthma Game with Otter today. She has been fighting it off all week, but yesterday the asthma won a round of the game. She is home today, and because it's asthma I stayed home with her. For most things, if she's sick she can stay home by herself. But not asthma. Frasier has been attending to her, Maggie was having a nap and now that Maggie is up from her nap I notice that she's glued to Otter's side. And now Frasier is having a nap. (And he's either snoring or talking in his sleep!) They're like a tag team sometimes. They took care of me when I was sick last spring, and when Bill was hurt in August I noticed that they seemed to pay very close attention to him.
It's in the 40's and misting. Should be like this all day, then tomorrow it might be a little colder. Sunday has a chance of winter weather, and we'll be below freezing or at least in the low 30's for a few days. Guess I should go get my birdfeeders out of the garage and hang them outside. As long as I see bugs, I figure the birds can manage to feed themselves. But when it gets this cold or when we get winter weather, I put the feeders out. The dogs help me, if any birdseed gets spilled on the grass then the dogs pretend to be vaccum cleaners!
Since I'm home, I've done all my laundry and cleaned everything I could think of. So thereotically I don't have to do anything else all weekend. Well, that's the plan anyway! Maybe I'll bully Bill into getting the Christmas stuff down from the attic for me. I was going to get it down myself, but it's a little more than one person can handle. I'll probably climb up there later on and see if I can find the wreath at least.
TGIF!
We're playing the Asthma Game with Otter today. She has been fighting it off all week, but yesterday the asthma won a round of the game. She is home today, and because it's asthma I stayed home with her. For most things, if she's sick she can stay home by herself. But not asthma. Frasier has been attending to her, Maggie was having a nap and now that Maggie is up from her nap I notice that she's glued to Otter's side. And now Frasier is having a nap. (And he's either snoring or talking in his sleep!) They're like a tag team sometimes. They took care of me when I was sick last spring, and when Bill was hurt in August I noticed that they seemed to pay very close attention to him.
It's in the 40's and misting. Should be like this all day, then tomorrow it might be a little colder. Sunday has a chance of winter weather, and we'll be below freezing or at least in the low 30's for a few days. Guess I should go get my birdfeeders out of the garage and hang them outside. As long as I see bugs, I figure the birds can manage to feed themselves. But when it gets this cold or when we get winter weather, I put the feeders out. The dogs help me, if any birdseed gets spilled on the grass then the dogs pretend to be vaccum cleaners!
Since I'm home, I've done all my laundry and cleaned everything I could think of. So thereotically I don't have to do anything else all weekend. Well, that's the plan anyway! Maybe I'll bully Bill into getting the Christmas stuff down from the attic for me. I was going to get it down myself, but it's a little more than one person can handle. I'll probably climb up there later on and see if I can find the wreath at least.
TGIF!
Tuesday, December 04, 2007
Got a few more today!
Grey Hares. Get it?
I know I have more than I did this morning. I looked in the mirror. And it's true. And they are all Willie Boy's fault! But then, they usually are.
Today's Adventures in Bill Land involved a missed step while carrying a printer and walking down the stairs. He "only" fell a little bit, he has a few scrapes on his right arm & hand (and bandaids) and a larger scrape just below his right knee. And he's sore. But not seriously injured, which is a nice change from his usual adventures! It was at work, and they made him fill out an accident report. Which is a little extreme, until you consider that this is Bill we are dealing with here. He says he's a good boy, but we all know the truth. But, he did manage to save the printer!
I was expecting a phone call, but I thought it would be Otter because I sent her to school with a sore throat. But she was fine, however now it's smoky and I'm sure she'll react to that as well.
When I got home, after we unloaded a trunk load of groceries, Bill informed me that he thought there might be a grass fire in the field behind the house. Lovely! I went out and there was definite smoke, but no flames and the smoke was thinning out. We kept an eye on it for a while, but I've had a slight headache ever since.
Still no Christmas decorations up, but we did manage to move the sofa table and clean underneath it. I think we clogged the vacuum up, there was enough dog hair & dust bunnies (yes, grey ones) underneath it to make about 2 Frasiers! We dusted every square inch of the table, then we put it back but moved slightly so that we'll have room for the Christmas tree. I think tomorrow when I get home from work I'll get started on dragging it all down from the attic. I'll try to remember to take pictures after I get it all situated and post them on here. But the tree won't have any gifts underneath it, due to Frasier and Maggie!
Maggie has finally learned to dance without having to have her paws held! She started doing it last week, we have been working with her to redirect her from jumping up on people and I think that we are finally getting through to her. She's not the sharpest crayon in the box, but she is good natured and lots of fun. And absolutely devoted to Otter. She will start to jump up but then she remembers what to do and she will stand on her back paws, and dance. It's so cute! Frasier has never been bad about jumping up on people, which is a good thing because the couple of times he actually has started to jump up his head has been above mine! He's a big dog.Happy late birthday, Amy! You are now 18. You know what that means, right? YOU DON'T HAVE TO LISTEN TO YOUR MOM NOW! Froggy, have fun! Yeah, I know - Otter's not too far behind Amy and my turn is coming.
Happy late birthday to Carolyn, also. For both of your birthdays! She's the only person I know who actually has two official birthdays.
Sunday, December 02, 2007
First Sunday in December
We officially joined our new church today! Otter and I also started attending Sunday School, which we really enjoyed. The youth have a Christmas party next Friday evening, and she's looking forward to it. Bill will be baptised sometime after the first of the year, I'm not sure exactly when yet but I'll post it as soon as we find out. I'm also toying with the idea of joining the choir. But not right away.
I took Otter and her friend to a local museum, they have an exhibit every year of Christmas trees. Or what they call Christmas trees anyway. This year's were pretty tame, but some years they can be really wild. There is also an exhibit of gingerbread houses, most made by school and scout groups. They are always a lot of fun and we always leave hungry! We also looked around the museum like we usually do, the girls seemed to really enjoy it. I did, too.
I think that we'll start our Christmas decorations this week. Otter went over to Grandpa & Sweetie's house yesterday to help decorate their tree. She had a great time. She's been pestering me about our tree now! I will probably ask Bill to get it out of the attic tomorrow or Tuesday. Along with all the boxes of lights, ornaments and assorted stuff. I'm not really sure where the wreath is, I guess it's up there somewhere. Hope so, anyway.
There was probably more I wanted to say but I don't remember at the moment. So TTFN!
I took Otter and her friend to a local museum, they have an exhibit every year of Christmas trees. Or what they call Christmas trees anyway. This year's were pretty tame, but some years they can be really wild. There is also an exhibit of gingerbread houses, most made by school and scout groups. They are always a lot of fun and we always leave hungry! We also looked around the museum like we usually do, the girls seemed to really enjoy it. I did, too.
I think that we'll start our Christmas decorations this week. Otter went over to Grandpa & Sweetie's house yesterday to help decorate their tree. She had a great time. She's been pestering me about our tree now! I will probably ask Bill to get it out of the attic tomorrow or Tuesday. Along with all the boxes of lights, ornaments and assorted stuff. I'm not really sure where the wreath is, I guess it's up there somewhere. Hope so, anyway.
There was probably more I wanted to say but I don't remember at the moment. So TTFN!
Friday, November 30, 2007
Friday Thoughts
First thought: Christmas Cards. We are not sending any this year. Just so nobody thinks that they've been skipped!
Second thought: I'm glad it's Friday, it's been a long week. I've been ready for it to be Friday since about Tuesday, actually.
Third thought: I am definetely going to turn Otter's cast iron stove "toy" into a lamp. Bill said that he gets to check it after I'm finished and BEFORE I plug it in. For some reason, he thinks I might electrocute myself. Which I find very funny, considering how many times he's hurt himself! I meant to stop at Hobby Lobby this afternoon and see if they have the kits, but I just wanted to get home and take my shoes off so it can wait. But I might have to go to someplace like Lowe's for it. Which I'm sure Bill won't mind, he's just about addicted to Lowe's!
Ok, I think that is all the thoughts I wanted to chat about right now. TGIF, everybody! Gonna go find my pj's now, then I'm going to take a book & a blanket to the couch and hibernate. I'm sure I'll have company - Otter and two doggies, and if Bill's a really good boy we might even let him have some room on the couch!
Second thought: I'm glad it's Friday, it's been a long week. I've been ready for it to be Friday since about Tuesday, actually.
Third thought: I am definetely going to turn Otter's cast iron stove "toy" into a lamp. Bill said that he gets to check it after I'm finished and BEFORE I plug it in. For some reason, he thinks I might electrocute myself. Which I find very funny, considering how many times he's hurt himself! I meant to stop at Hobby Lobby this afternoon and see if they have the kits, but I just wanted to get home and take my shoes off so it can wait. But I might have to go to someplace like Lowe's for it. Which I'm sure Bill won't mind, he's just about addicted to Lowe's!
Ok, I think that is all the thoughts I wanted to chat about right now. TGIF, everybody! Gonna go find my pj's now, then I'm going to take a book & a blanket to the couch and hibernate. I'm sure I'll have company - Otter and two doggies, and if Bill's a really good boy we might even let him have some room on the couch!
Thursday, November 29, 2007
It's still not Friday!
But it almost is. And that's a good thing! It's just been one of those days all week long. I've pretty much gotten over the cold I had last week, although I'm still coughing some. But I'm not having to blow my nose every 2 minutes. I'm up to about every 8 minutes now! But I have had two nosebleeds in the last few days, not nearly as bad as the one I had last February that sent me to the doctor. But still not pleasant. Dry air has a lot to do with it, I think. I'm constantly grabbing the hand lotion!
Otter and I got her annual Christmas bear tonight. Dad (Yaya!) started the tradition when Otter was pretty small. He would get one for her every year, and after he died I kept the tradition going because it meant so much to her to get the bears from him. Now she gets to pick out her own bear, and each time she talks about her Yaya. It's one of the few things we go to Wallyworld for now. But they seem to have drastically cut back the collector bears, we just hope that they are not discontinuing them.
I don't think I posted the latest with the check fraud. After we received the notice about the 2nd check, I called the agency and they told me (on two different occasions) that it would automatically be attached to my file with the first check. We got the official letter from them last week, informing us that they had completed their investigation and that my credit file shows that it was a fraud and that we didn't write a bad check. But it only referred to the first one. I called them again, and they did NOT include the second one so I had to fax the paperwork back to them - and I also wrote them a long, very detailed letter explaing the phone calls and what I had been told - by whom and on what date. I have not heard back from them yet, but I'm expecting another letter clearing us on the second check. And I'd better not be disappointed!
We realized this week that Maggie has apparently adjusted to the time change. The second it gets dark, she goes to bed! Poor Frasier, he has nobody to play with in the evenings so he just has to be content with me! He's such a mama's boy, I don't think he really minds too much. He has ways of getting my attention. This morning when I got up, as soon as I staggered into the living room on my way to the coffee pot I discovered that a plastic wrapper from a graham cracker package managed to miraculously appear in his bed spot and that it was accompanied by a trail of peanut shells from the trash can. But he claimed innocence! Unfortunately for him, nobody believed him. Poor doggie! He's so spoiled beyond rotten it's unbelievable.
Otter and I got her annual Christmas bear tonight. Dad (Yaya!) started the tradition when Otter was pretty small. He would get one for her every year, and after he died I kept the tradition going because it meant so much to her to get the bears from him. Now she gets to pick out her own bear, and each time she talks about her Yaya. It's one of the few things we go to Wallyworld for now. But they seem to have drastically cut back the collector bears, we just hope that they are not discontinuing them.
I don't think I posted the latest with the check fraud. After we received the notice about the 2nd check, I called the agency and they told me (on two different occasions) that it would automatically be attached to my file with the first check. We got the official letter from them last week, informing us that they had completed their investigation and that my credit file shows that it was a fraud and that we didn't write a bad check. But it only referred to the first one. I called them again, and they did NOT include the second one so I had to fax the paperwork back to them - and I also wrote them a long, very detailed letter explaing the phone calls and what I had been told - by whom and on what date. I have not heard back from them yet, but I'm expecting another letter clearing us on the second check. And I'd better not be disappointed!
We realized this week that Maggie has apparently adjusted to the time change. The second it gets dark, she goes to bed! Poor Frasier, he has nobody to play with in the evenings so he just has to be content with me! He's such a mama's boy, I don't think he really minds too much. He has ways of getting my attention. This morning when I got up, as soon as I staggered into the living room on my way to the coffee pot I discovered that a plastic wrapper from a graham cracker package managed to miraculously appear in his bed spot and that it was accompanied by a trail of peanut shells from the trash can. But he claimed innocence! Unfortunately for him, nobody believed him. Poor doggie! He's so spoiled beyond rotten it's unbelievable.
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Just in the nick of time!
That describes the tulip bulb planting event. We have another cold front that has just hit, and while it's not going to be a winter white-out it is at least going to freeze tonight. So I'm really glad we got them planted when we did. Now they can happily sit in their dirt and do whatever they do over the winter, and I don't have to think about them until next Spring!
My stress faires were better behaved today. They were still there, they just stayed out of my way for the most part. I kept finding myself wishing it was actually Friday today, but it stayed Wednesday. Darn.
Froggy, I didn't know that you had a cast-iron stove toy/lamp! I took the lamp parts off of mine many years ago, I think when it became Otter's. But I'm thinking that maybe it needs to be a lamp again. I still love the idea of Sharra's bottle lamp and might make one. But I'm thinking that the stove lamp would look just perfect in my living room, it would probably go with all my mismatched crocks and churns! I have a lot of crocks that I've turned into planters, for those of you who have not seen my house. I like to use different things for plants, not always the run-of-the-mill planters. They are fine, I just like to be different. (No comments from the peanut gallery!)
Also Froggy, I was wondering where Mom's dutch oven went to. I remember it sitting on the hearth in front of the fireplace. And I think she actually cooked in it a few times. I'm glad you have it, I was afraid it was gone for good. If I had it, it would probably have cactus in it.
I think I might be done with eBay now. I posted about 4 things tonight, they were things I meant to post last week but ran out of time. I'm not sure, but I think that I'm finished with everything I was going to post. We will not totally quit selling, there will still be the occasional item and we'll sell overhead projectors any time we can get them. And Otter has discovered eBay as a way to clean out stuff and make a little money - and she's also started shopping there. But for all intents and purposes, we are done.
And I really do think we've found our church home. Bill met with the minister this afternoon, and he was impressed. We have been going to this church about 3 weeks, which is not that long. But it just clicked, everything about it. The Pastor, his sermons, the people - everything about it just feels right. It's an old-fashioned, traditional, Southern Baptist church and the pastor is also a Texan - which is always a good thing! But that is just a coincidence, Bill discovered that in his conversation with him. We joined (re-joined for me) the Southern Baptist church about a year ago, but the church we joined just never felt like the right fit for us. So we started looking again a few months ago. We visited a few churches, and we weren't even planning on visiting this one but I saw it one day when we drove past it and we decided it was worth a shot - although we didn't think it was going to be anything other than a one-time visit. Until we walked in the door and the Pastor started the sermon. And we all walked out with the attitude that this was a church we very seriously needed to consider, in fact not even halfway through the service we all looked at each other and smiled at the same time. Otter and I are going to start Sunday School this coming Sunday, and at that point we'll make our decision. But we really feel like the decision has already been made, just not officially. God is always in control, and we feel like He's led us to Aspen Park Baptist Church. It's not a huge church, but it's the size we like. And the Pastor, David Crump is his name, knew Alamo Heights and might have known Warren Larck. Bill still needs the immersion baptism, Otter was immersed (dunked as mom used to say!) last December but Bill never did have his because we knew early on that we weren't in a church we were staying with. Here's the website for the new church: http://www.aspenpark.net/
Gotta go, Otter is yelling at me that the Shrek Christmas show is coming on! Then Grinch is next.
My stress faires were better behaved today. They were still there, they just stayed out of my way for the most part. I kept finding myself wishing it was actually Friday today, but it stayed Wednesday. Darn.
Froggy, I didn't know that you had a cast-iron stove toy/lamp! I took the lamp parts off of mine many years ago, I think when it became Otter's. But I'm thinking that maybe it needs to be a lamp again. I still love the idea of Sharra's bottle lamp and might make one. But I'm thinking that the stove lamp would look just perfect in my living room, it would probably go with all my mismatched crocks and churns! I have a lot of crocks that I've turned into planters, for those of you who have not seen my house. I like to use different things for plants, not always the run-of-the-mill planters. They are fine, I just like to be different. (No comments from the peanut gallery!)
Also Froggy, I was wondering where Mom's dutch oven went to. I remember it sitting on the hearth in front of the fireplace. And I think she actually cooked in it a few times. I'm glad you have it, I was afraid it was gone for good. If I had it, it would probably have cactus in it.
I think I might be done with eBay now. I posted about 4 things tonight, they were things I meant to post last week but ran out of time. I'm not sure, but I think that I'm finished with everything I was going to post. We will not totally quit selling, there will still be the occasional item and we'll sell overhead projectors any time we can get them. And Otter has discovered eBay as a way to clean out stuff and make a little money - and she's also started shopping there. But for all intents and purposes, we are done.
And I really do think we've found our church home. Bill met with the minister this afternoon, and he was impressed. We have been going to this church about 3 weeks, which is not that long. But it just clicked, everything about it. The Pastor, his sermons, the people - everything about it just feels right. It's an old-fashioned, traditional, Southern Baptist church and the pastor is also a Texan - which is always a good thing! But that is just a coincidence, Bill discovered that in his conversation with him. We joined (re-joined for me) the Southern Baptist church about a year ago, but the church we joined just never felt like the right fit for us. So we started looking again a few months ago. We visited a few churches, and we weren't even planning on visiting this one but I saw it one day when we drove past it and we decided it was worth a shot - although we didn't think it was going to be anything other than a one-time visit. Until we walked in the door and the Pastor started the sermon. And we all walked out with the attitude that this was a church we very seriously needed to consider, in fact not even halfway through the service we all looked at each other and smiled at the same time. Otter and I are going to start Sunday School this coming Sunday, and at that point we'll make our decision. But we really feel like the decision has already been made, just not officially. God is always in control, and we feel like He's led us to Aspen Park Baptist Church. It's not a huge church, but it's the size we like. And the Pastor, David Crump is his name, knew Alamo Heights and might have known Warren Larck. Bill still needs the immersion baptism, Otter was immersed (dunked as mom used to say!) last December but Bill never did have his because we knew early on that we weren't in a church we were staying with. Here's the website for the new church: http://www.aspenpark.net/
Gotta go, Otter is yelling at me that the Shrek Christmas show is coming on! Then Grinch is next.
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Just Another Day in Paradise
That's the name of a country song I like. It just fits today. It's been a day where I've been visited by what I affectionately refer to as "stress fairies." Ok, so I'm not affectionate towards them. But I seem to have a lot of them visiting me today! And most of them came in the door at work with my boss, whom I love to pieces but today he was every second of his 92 years and he made sure we all knew it! I think I'm on a first-name basis with the great-great-grandchildren of my stress fairies now, that's how many I had to deal with today. And they might still be hanging around the office tomorrow. Sigh. Just 3 1/2 more weeks until vacation! And it can not get here soon enough!
Froggy, I don't remember if I ever got around to emailing you the pictures of my latest two finds. So I'm going to put them on here.
The tall, brown crock with the silk bluebonnets is actually an old churn, it was Mom's or possibly Aunt Jessie's way back when and I inherited it. The new find is the blue, metal bucket next to it. The bucket is not necessarily an antique, but it is at least vintage. It was made in the USA, so it's got to have a little age to it! The blue paint was probably added way after it was made, and there is a light coat of black brushed on top of the blue. It reminds me of a milk can, but I'm not sure what it really was originally. I just know that it was $3.00 at a thrift store and it absolutely would not let me walk out unless I bought it! So I did. Didn't even know I was looking for one, until I saw it.
The two churns are not extremely new, I got them both last summer. The wooden one is the one Froggy found for me at a flea market, $5.00. The small one with the angel decal came from a thrift store for I think $3.50. The new item is the jug sitting next to the churns. It was a specific item I was looking for, but it's not really a jug. The next picture shows it turned around - it's really a cookie jar! The top comes off of it, but it works for what I wanted it for. I got it at a thrift store, Froggy remember the neat old lady with the corner booth? She was having a sale the day I found it, so I think I paid about $6.00 for it. It was 40% off.
Here's what it looks like on the other side. When I bought it, the seller told me that I had to go home and make cookies! But when I told her what I was going to use it for, and that I had a humongous cookie jar already she said that would be ok, as long as I really did bake cookies. She's really funny, I love to talk to her when we go to that particular flea market. We went back to that flea market last Sunday, she was up to 60% off this time. But no matter how hard I tried, and belive me I did try, I just couldn't find anything there I had to have! But that's ok, just gives me and the Otter another excuse to go back there. I think I know what my next treasure is going to be, my friend Shara (Monkeybox) has a really neat lamp that is made out of an old bottle. It's a tall bottle, if you look at her blog she has a picture of it and she's filled it with Christmas ornaments. I think I'm looking for something similar, or maybe just the bottle itself and I'll turn it into a lamp. (Froggy, remember my old cast-iron doll sized stove? Mom turned it into a lamp when I outgrew dolls. Otter owns it now, she used it with her dolls and at the moment it is in storage for her kids).
The next two pictures are just the kiddos tonight. Frasier is on his blanket, he'd been chewing the nylabone next to him until he saw the camera. Then he posed, like the vain boy he is! You can't tell as much from the picture, but he was smiling and his tail was wagging.
The Magginator was helping me when I took the pictures of the crocks & stuff. She took the tennis ball out of their toy box (it's a shoe box, the bones their toys are in it and they get whatever they want out of it when they want to play - but they don't pick up after themselves), then she threw the ball at me. She tosses the tennis balls up in the air a lot, sometimes she chases them around like she's playing soccer. This time, she did not want to play. But I think she did want attention because when I tossed the ball back to her, she let it sit beside her and gave me the sad-eyed look she's so good at.
If the pictures of the poochies were bigger, you could see all the lovely pawprints they arranged for me today! I don't even want to know how many holes they added to the back yard, but judging by the amount of dirt that they tracked in, it's a safe bet to say that NASA might be landing at any moment! (Think moonscape). The ceramic tile floor in the kitchen looks really bad, leading from the doggie door to the carpet. I can tell that they actually slid most of the way in when they came inside.
I'm seriously thinking that we will need a playpen to put the Christmas tree in! The tree will probably get put up next week sometime, but presents will not be put underneath it. They will be put up on the sofa table. I don't trust either of those furry babies, Frasier has been known to take staples out of paper and they both seem to have an unnatural attraction to paper of any kind. In fact, I'm not even sure if it will be safe to decorate the lower part of the tree! I have a clean/dirty hanger that Mom made for me for the dishwasher when I first moved out on my own. I can't hang it on the dishwasher, it has to be up on the counter because Frasier kept taking it outside when we first got him. After about the 4th time of having to go find it, I gave up on actually hanging it on the dishwasher. Same thing for fridge magnets! The only ones that are down low are the flat ones, because if he can reach them he will take them outside. No idea why he does that. Fraiser does a lot of things we can't explain! And he's teaching his little sister his tricks, she's a willing pupil I might add.
Monday, November 26, 2007
The Tulips Have Been Planted!
And I'm so glad to be done with it for a year, Otter just about tripled the amount from last year. But I'm not complaining, we get a lot of joy out of them in the spring. We were thinking that today's weather would not be conducive to planting, but the only rain we actually got today was about a tablespoon this morning. The ground is plenty cool, the tulips should be fine.
Bill had to go to the rent house this afternoon. The tenant called at 5:15 this morning - she's lucky I was already up! The bathtub faucet was dripping, the hot water never really turned off. It's done that before. Bill replaced a couple of parts, I think that this is about the 4th or 5th time that it's had to be done. For some reason, that one part keeps breaking!
I just had to pick up peanut shells in the living room. They were in the trash can, then when I came back in from putting up the gardening tools they had moved to the floor. And Frasier was suddenly outside, refusing to even look my direction! I think I see a connection there... Probably payback for treating his ears this morning.
Sunday I am taking Otter and her friend to one of the local museums. They have a display every year of Christmas trees. These are not your run of the mill Christmas trees. For one thing, the majority of them are not even trees. They are made out of some strange things, and some of them make me wonder if the artist (and I use that term very loosely) was under chemical influence! It's fun to go to this exhibit. Very imaginative. There is also an accompanying exhibit of gingerbread houses, which are usually made by school, church or scout troops. They are really fun. We were going to go yesterday, but Otter's friend wasn't back in town yet from the Thanksgiving holiday so we will try to go next weekend. Which is actually the last day of the exhibit, so if Otter's friend can't go we'll have to go without her and hope that she can go next year. I hope she can go, and so does Otter. It's an experience not to be missed.
Maggie has assumed her usual position - snoozing! She's behind Otter's chair, Otter is doing her homework with one hand and eating Cheez-it's with the other hand.
Froggy, I'm still waiting on an answer regarding your old report card!
Bill had to go to the rent house this afternoon. The tenant called at 5:15 this morning - she's lucky I was already up! The bathtub faucet was dripping, the hot water never really turned off. It's done that before. Bill replaced a couple of parts, I think that this is about the 4th or 5th time that it's had to be done. For some reason, that one part keeps breaking!
I just had to pick up peanut shells in the living room. They were in the trash can, then when I came back in from putting up the gardening tools they had moved to the floor. And Frasier was suddenly outside, refusing to even look my direction! I think I see a connection there... Probably payback for treating his ears this morning.
Sunday I am taking Otter and her friend to one of the local museums. They have a display every year of Christmas trees. These are not your run of the mill Christmas trees. For one thing, the majority of them are not even trees. They are made out of some strange things, and some of them make me wonder if the artist (and I use that term very loosely) was under chemical influence! It's fun to go to this exhibit. Very imaginative. There is also an accompanying exhibit of gingerbread houses, which are usually made by school, church or scout troops. They are really fun. We were going to go yesterday, but Otter's friend wasn't back in town yet from the Thanksgiving holiday so we will try to go next weekend. Which is actually the last day of the exhibit, so if Otter's friend can't go we'll have to go without her and hope that she can go next year. I hope she can go, and so does Otter. It's an experience not to be missed.
Maggie has assumed her usual position - snoozing! She's behind Otter's chair, Otter is doing her homework with one hand and eating Cheez-it's with the other hand.
Froggy, I'm still waiting on an answer regarding your old report card!
Sunday, November 25, 2007
Sunday's Stuff!!
It's been a few days since I posted. I did what I said I was going to do on Friday - stayed away from the Black Friday sales! The grocery store was not very crowded, and neither was the library.
But the tulip bed did not get planted yet. After looking at the weather forecast, we are aiming for Wednesday as soon as we get home from work/school. It's been pretty cool the last few days, but after having had to deal with the cold bug I probably don't need to be out in the wet, 40's weather. Tomorrow through Tuesday morning is supposed to be rainy, Wednesday looks fine - just cool - but not too bad. It won't take us too long to plant the bulbs, we use Bill's post hole digging tool and it goes pretty fast. Otter just has billions and billions of tulip bulbs this year.
We went to a thrift store today, I found a book and two skeins of yarn. Otter didn't find anything, although she did try really hard. We stopped at a flea market and I didn't find anything, but Otter did so she was happy. We also drove by the rent house, since we were on that side of town. Looks fine.
We still have a little left over turkey, but everything else is gone now. Well, there might still be a little salad left but I think I'll probably finish that tonight! The turkey became a pizza topping yesterday, it was actually pretty good. I made a pot of soup last night and it cooked all night in the crock pot, I considered putting turkey in it but decided against it. I also made a loaf of bread this morning, the house smelled so good when we walked in after church!
Bill brought in two boxes from the garage and we went through them yesterday. They were mostly fabric & scraps, the majority of it is destined for Goodies or Sallys (Goodwill and Salvation Army). But there are a few pieces I'm keeping, they are in the fabric pile for the quilt I'll eventually finish. I started it when Otter was in kindergarten. I don't work on it too often! Anyway, I also found several of my elementary school report cards. Nothing too bad, fortunately. But Froggy, I found one of yours - how much you willing to pay me NOT to show it to your kids? Like maybe a couple of rocks? You know the ones I mean. :)
Ok, back to laundry now!
But the tulip bed did not get planted yet. After looking at the weather forecast, we are aiming for Wednesday as soon as we get home from work/school. It's been pretty cool the last few days, but after having had to deal with the cold bug I probably don't need to be out in the wet, 40's weather. Tomorrow through Tuesday morning is supposed to be rainy, Wednesday looks fine - just cool - but not too bad. It won't take us too long to plant the bulbs, we use Bill's post hole digging tool and it goes pretty fast. Otter just has billions and billions of tulip bulbs this year.
We went to a thrift store today, I found a book and two skeins of yarn. Otter didn't find anything, although she did try really hard. We stopped at a flea market and I didn't find anything, but Otter did so she was happy. We also drove by the rent house, since we were on that side of town. Looks fine.
We still have a little left over turkey, but everything else is gone now. Well, there might still be a little salad left but I think I'll probably finish that tonight! The turkey became a pizza topping yesterday, it was actually pretty good. I made a pot of soup last night and it cooked all night in the crock pot, I considered putting turkey in it but decided against it. I also made a loaf of bread this morning, the house smelled so good when we walked in after church!
Bill brought in two boxes from the garage and we went through them yesterday. They were mostly fabric & scraps, the majority of it is destined for Goodies or Sallys (Goodwill and Salvation Army). But there are a few pieces I'm keeping, they are in the fabric pile for the quilt I'll eventually finish. I started it when Otter was in kindergarten. I don't work on it too often! Anyway, I also found several of my elementary school report cards. Nothing too bad, fortunately. But Froggy, I found one of yours - how much you willing to pay me NOT to show it to your kids? Like maybe a couple of rocks? You know the ones I mean. :)
Ok, back to laundry now!
Thursday, November 22, 2007
Gobble, Gobble. Oink Oink. ZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzz
Well, Thanksgiving is now over. I hope everyone had as nice a day as we did. It probably goes without saying that we ate too much, and I'll pay for it tomorrow! But everything was so good. Bill and Don fried the turkey and the girls were in the kitchen making the rest of the meal. We still have quite a bit left over, Don & Darlene took some home with them, but I still don't think I'll have to cook for a few days!
It was a nice, enjoyable day and I really enjoyed having it at our house this year. And I think the doggies did, too - they got attention and a few snacks!
We are not going to be part of the Black Friday shoppers this year. I do need to get groceries, and that will probably be tomorrow. But I don't think we're going anywhere else. Well, the library - but I don't see them as being crowded! And the tulip bed is still waiting on us. I'm hoping to get it done tomorrow, but we'll just have to see if that works out. We can't wait much longer on it.
Happy Thanksgiving!
It was a nice, enjoyable day and I really enjoyed having it at our house this year. And I think the doggies did, too - they got attention and a few snacks!
We are not going to be part of the Black Friday shoppers this year. I do need to get groceries, and that will probably be tomorrow. But I don't think we're going anywhere else. Well, the library - but I don't see them as being crowded! And the tulip bed is still waiting on us. I'm hoping to get it done tomorrow, but we'll just have to see if that works out. We can't wait much longer on it.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
Nearly Turkey Day
I'm home today. I feel a little better, but not a lot better. So I called in today, which actually is what my boss wanted me to do. When I talked to him, he told me that he would spank me if I came in today. Which is not harassment, if you met my boss you'd understand! He's 92 and jokes all the time, he's actually very funny. Anyway, I did get out for a short errand but mostly I've been loafing today. I needed a couple of things from the store, so Otter and I went up there and we also checked the post office box while we were out (there was a lot of mail, we hadn't cleared the box in about a week). There were a few housework items I wanted to get done today, she's done most of them. I did start a loaf of bread while ago, but that is not exactly back-breaking work! I might make fudge later on, and Otter has a cake to bake.
Otter has now learned the joys of eBay! She's been looking for things to buy, she just made her first purchase a little while ago. She's been selling things on eBay for a while now.
It's pretty cool, the forecast was for the 40's and it may well be. It's pretty windy and there were some hints of rain while we were out running our errand. Bill brought in firewood, Otter wants to roast marshmallows. Good thing we bought a bag of them at the store! But we're civilized - we don't use sticks. We have metal skewers! :)
Now for the fun stuff! I saw this on a web board this morning, I emailed it to some of you:
1977 to 2007 This is relevant only to those whose level of maturity qualifies them to relate to it...
1977 : Long hair
2007 : Longing for hair
1977: KEG
2007: EKG
1977 : Acid rock
2007 : Acid reflux
1977 : Trying to look like Marlon Brando or Liz Taylor
2007 : Trying NOT to look like Marlon Brando or Liz Taylor
1977 : Seeds and stems
2007 : Roughage
1977 : Hoping for a BMW
2007: Hoping for a BM
1977 : Going to a new, hip joint
2007 : Receiving a new hip joint
1977 : Rolling Stones
2007: Kidney Stones
1977 : Screw the system
2007: Upgrade the system
1977 : Parents begging you to get your hair cut
2007: Children begging you to get their heads shaved
1977 : Passing the drivers' test
2007: Passing the vision test
1977 : Whatever
2007 : Depends
Just in case you weren't feeling too old today, this will certainly change things. The people who are starting college this year were born in 1989. They are too young to remember the space shuttle blowing up. Their lifetime has always included AIDS. Bottle caps have always been screw off and plastic. The CD was introduced the year they were born. they have always had an answering! machine They have always had cable. They cannot fathom not having a remote control. Popcorn has always been cooked in the microwave. They never took a swim and thought about Jaws. They can't imagine what hard contact lenses are. They don't know who Mork was or where he was from. They do not care who shot J. R. and have no idea who J. R. even is. They don't have a clue how to use a typewriter.
Now we've all had our laugh for the day. Or in my case, the feeling of "I'm getting old!"
Otter has now learned the joys of eBay! She's been looking for things to buy, she just made her first purchase a little while ago. She's been selling things on eBay for a while now.
It's pretty cool, the forecast was for the 40's and it may well be. It's pretty windy and there were some hints of rain while we were out running our errand. Bill brought in firewood, Otter wants to roast marshmallows. Good thing we bought a bag of them at the store! But we're civilized - we don't use sticks. We have metal skewers! :)
Now for the fun stuff! I saw this on a web board this morning, I emailed it to some of you:
1977 to 2007 This is relevant only to those whose level of maturity qualifies them to relate to it...
1977 : Long hair
2007 : Longing for hair
1977: KEG
2007: EKG
1977 : Acid rock
2007 : Acid reflux
1977 : Trying to look like Marlon Brando or Liz Taylor
2007 : Trying NOT to look like Marlon Brando or Liz Taylor
1977 : Seeds and stems
2007 : Roughage
1977 : Hoping for a BMW
2007: Hoping for a BM
1977 : Going to a new, hip joint
2007 : Receiving a new hip joint
1977 : Rolling Stones
2007: Kidney Stones
1977 : Screw the system
2007: Upgrade the system
1977 : Parents begging you to get your hair cut
2007: Children begging you to get their heads shaved
1977 : Passing the drivers' test
2007: Passing the vision test
1977 : Whatever
2007 : Depends
Just in case you weren't feeling too old today, this will certainly change things. The people who are starting college this year were born in 1989. They are too young to remember the space shuttle blowing up. Their lifetime has always included AIDS. Bottle caps have always been screw off and plastic. The CD was introduced the year they were born. they have always had an answering! machine They have always had cable. They cannot fathom not having a remote control. Popcorn has always been cooked in the microwave. They never took a swim and thought about Jaws. They can't imagine what hard contact lenses are. They don't know who Mork was or where he was from. They do not care who shot J. R. and have no idea who J. R. even is. They don't have a clue how to use a typewriter.
Now we've all had our laugh for the day. Or in my case, the feeling of "I'm getting old!"
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
It's Tuesday and I'm Sick
I was hoping to avoid it, I was hoping that yesterday was just an allergy but it was actually the cold that Otter had over the weekend. I felt pretty cruddy last night but I slept well, I woke up feeling sort of good so I went in to work. But then I started to feel bad, and at 9:00 my boss told me to get my behind home, so I did just that. I've spent most of the day sleeping, I don't really feel a whole lot better so I might not go in tomorrow but I'll decide in the morning. I'm pretty much always caught up at work anyway. And I really do not want to pass this bug on to anyone, especially my 92 year old boss or his wife.
The first half of my day was spent asleep in bed. Then I got up and moved to the couch, and Frasier slept beside the couch. I woke up every once in a while and the dog was still there. Maggie was curled up in the middle of Otter's bed where she seems to have spent the day. Such energetic puppies!
Day two of Bill's vacation and so far, no injuries or illnesses for him. This is a good thing, considering the fact that he's either gotten injured or sick on nearly all of his vacations lately! He went to the gun range with Don today, I kept expecting to get a call to meet him at the ER! Fortunately, that did not happen.
Bill's been cleaning out a lot of stuff, he's found all sorts of old photographs and things we didn't even know we still had. Like the check book from our business in Texas, from 20 years ago. I think I'm probably safe to shred those, I don't really think we'll be writing anymore checks for Lewis Line Striping!
It's been warm, in the 70's the last couple of days. Tomorrow is supposed to be in the 40's and rainy. Then the 40's the next few days, and starting tomorrow night we should have a few nights of hard freezes. I probably should remind Bill to bring the jalepeno plants back inside. The cactus plants have been inside for a few weeks, but the jalepenos were still blooming so they survived the end of summer plant dumping.
The tulip bed is still not planted! But definetely by this weekend, now that we will have had cold enough weather. Tulips like cold dirt, if it's too warm they might start sprouting now and that would be bad.
I have a message for a friend. Shara, hang in there. You are an excellent mother and the Bean is a great kid. The principal/teachers can just go jump in a lake, as my late mother used to say.
The first half of my day was spent asleep in bed. Then I got up and moved to the couch, and Frasier slept beside the couch. I woke up every once in a while and the dog was still there. Maggie was curled up in the middle of Otter's bed where she seems to have spent the day. Such energetic puppies!
Day two of Bill's vacation and so far, no injuries or illnesses for him. This is a good thing, considering the fact that he's either gotten injured or sick on nearly all of his vacations lately! He went to the gun range with Don today, I kept expecting to get a call to meet him at the ER! Fortunately, that did not happen.
Bill's been cleaning out a lot of stuff, he's found all sorts of old photographs and things we didn't even know we still had. Like the check book from our business in Texas, from 20 years ago. I think I'm probably safe to shred those, I don't really think we'll be writing anymore checks for Lewis Line Striping!
It's been warm, in the 70's the last couple of days. Tomorrow is supposed to be in the 40's and rainy. Then the 40's the next few days, and starting tomorrow night we should have a few nights of hard freezes. I probably should remind Bill to bring the jalepeno plants back inside. The cactus plants have been inside for a few weeks, but the jalepenos were still blooming so they survived the end of summer plant dumping.
The tulip bed is still not planted! But definetely by this weekend, now that we will have had cold enough weather. Tulips like cold dirt, if it's too warm they might start sprouting now and that would be bad.
I have a message for a friend. Shara, hang in there. You are an excellent mother and the Bean is a great kid. The principal/teachers can just go jump in a lake, as my late mother used to say.
Monday, November 19, 2007
AhChoo! Hack Hack. Sniffle. AhChoo!
That has been my day. Otter so thoughtfully shared her cold with me. She's about over it, I'm just coming down with it so I still have a few days ahead of me to deal with it. I really don't think it's a cold, since it only lasts a few days as opposed to over a week for us normally. But it's still cold-type symptoms. We had dentist appointments scheduled for this coming Wednesday, but I put them off. The dentist's office said tht they appreciated that! I'm going to try to work this week, it's a short week anyway. I just don't want to be sick on Thanksgiving.
We did make it to the Fenton signing yesterday. Otter was feeling a little better, so she went with me. We basically stood in line, got our pieces signed and then left. She did ok, but she was really wilting by the time we got through and headed home. The Fenton family member that signed the pieces was really amused by Otter's story of finding her unicorn for 25 cents at a thrift store!
The Magginator has a new spot to snooze. She used to park right by my chair, as close as she could get and she frequently got squashed. Now she's discovered that her person (Otter) is sitting in the office at her desk, so Maggie is now closer to Otter's chair. Which means that she's also right in the walkway to the door! She'll probably be stepped on quite a bit before she realizes that she's picked a bad spot. But it will take a while, Maggie is not exactly the sharpest crayon in the box!
It's a scary week. Bill is off on vacation. Scary words! Every time he's been off on vacation lately, he's either gotten very sick or very hurt. So what is he doing this week? Going to the gun range with Don tomorrow.
We did make it to the Fenton signing yesterday. Otter was feeling a little better, so she went with me. We basically stood in line, got our pieces signed and then left. She did ok, but she was really wilting by the time we got through and headed home. The Fenton family member that signed the pieces was really amused by Otter's story of finding her unicorn for 25 cents at a thrift store!
The Magginator has a new spot to snooze. She used to park right by my chair, as close as she could get and she frequently got squashed. Now she's discovered that her person (Otter) is sitting in the office at her desk, so Maggie is now closer to Otter's chair. Which means that she's also right in the walkway to the door! She'll probably be stepped on quite a bit before she realizes that she's picked a bad spot. But it will take a while, Maggie is not exactly the sharpest crayon in the box!
It's a scary week. Bill is off on vacation. Scary words! Every time he's been off on vacation lately, he's either gotten very sick or very hurt. So what is he doing this week? Going to the gun range with Don tomorrow.
Saturday, November 17, 2007
Saturday Stuff
I haven't posted much this week. It's been kind of busy, but I can't think of a whole lot that we managed to get accomplished!
Well, we did get Otter's desk moved out of her room and into the office. Now she'll have more space, with the bigger bed she didn't not have much space in her room. Bill's gotten her computer back up and running, it has been for a while, (she's been using mine in the interim) but he didn't want to put it back in her room and then have to move it again so it just stayed parked until we got the desk moved. He's in the process of running cable so it can be hooked up to the internet again but I don't think he'll get it finished tonight. Probably tomorrow.
For those of you that have seen our house, her desk is now sitting right inside the office where there used to be a plastic shelf unit - between the door and the closet. She said that she likes her desk being where it is now, she gets more light for homework. Bill's going to put a shelf up for her on the wall above the desk.
The shelf unit used to be our eBay staging area but since we are nearly out of eBay we don't need the shelf anymore. There are still 3 of those shelves, two are in the closet and we have plenty of stuff to put on them - like my sewing stuff, but we don't need much room for the eBay stuff. We are going to work on cleaning off the three shelves we still have, there is a lot of stuff on them that is just plain junk and a lot of it will be thrown out.
The tulip bed is still waiting to be planted. I gave it a second treatment, and I had planned on this week sometime but it didn't quite get there! Possibly tomorrow, or in the next few days depending on the weather.
Otter has been fighting off what we were hoping was an allergy for a day or so, but now we think she's coming down with a cold. She's not a happy camper! And I don't blame her. Colds can be bad enough, but when you have asthma they are so much worse. The Fenton signing is tomorrow, if she's not up to going then I'll take one of her pieces and one of mine. We are hoping that she's up to church tomorrow, but she probably won't be. However, she said that she doesn't mind if we go without her so we'll see in the morning.
We rented Shrek 3 today. It's cute. Not as good as the first one, but that's not unusual. But it is funny.
Froggy asked my opinion about the upcoming Presidential election. I'm not sure yet about candidates, but I like Thompson and Ron Paul. But it is still pretty early. I just know that I am firmly Conservative and absolutely will NOT vote for Hitlary. Under any circumstances. I hope she does not get elected, because I think she is very dangerous. But I also realize that she has a very good chance so I won't be surprised. Just very afraid and disappointed. (Remember, I'm not politically correct and I do speak my opinion! And this is my blog, so it's my opinion!)
Bill's off the entire week, he has Thursday and Friday as holidays and he's taking vacation days for Monday - Wednesday. Otter is off Wednesday and I only have Thursday and Friday. I have dental appointments set up for Wednesday for Otter and me but I'm probably going to have to reschedule because of her possible cold. The original plan was that she would go to work with me on Wednesday, but that depends on how she's feeling and if she's contagious. If she is unable to go with me, I'm going to be in big trouble at work! I've already been informed by my 92 year old boss that he and his wife expect to see their adopted red-headed granddaughter very soon! :)
Well, we did get Otter's desk moved out of her room and into the office. Now she'll have more space, with the bigger bed she didn't not have much space in her room. Bill's gotten her computer back up and running, it has been for a while, (she's been using mine in the interim) but he didn't want to put it back in her room and then have to move it again so it just stayed parked until we got the desk moved. He's in the process of running cable so it can be hooked up to the internet again but I don't think he'll get it finished tonight. Probably tomorrow.
For those of you that have seen our house, her desk is now sitting right inside the office where there used to be a plastic shelf unit - between the door and the closet. She said that she likes her desk being where it is now, she gets more light for homework. Bill's going to put a shelf up for her on the wall above the desk.
The shelf unit used to be our eBay staging area but since we are nearly out of eBay we don't need the shelf anymore. There are still 3 of those shelves, two are in the closet and we have plenty of stuff to put on them - like my sewing stuff, but we don't need much room for the eBay stuff. We are going to work on cleaning off the three shelves we still have, there is a lot of stuff on them that is just plain junk and a lot of it will be thrown out.
The tulip bed is still waiting to be planted. I gave it a second treatment, and I had planned on this week sometime but it didn't quite get there! Possibly tomorrow, or in the next few days depending on the weather.
Otter has been fighting off what we were hoping was an allergy for a day or so, but now we think she's coming down with a cold. She's not a happy camper! And I don't blame her. Colds can be bad enough, but when you have asthma they are so much worse. The Fenton signing is tomorrow, if she's not up to going then I'll take one of her pieces and one of mine. We are hoping that she's up to church tomorrow, but she probably won't be. However, she said that she doesn't mind if we go without her so we'll see in the morning.
We rented Shrek 3 today. It's cute. Not as good as the first one, but that's not unusual. But it is funny.
Froggy asked my opinion about the upcoming Presidential election. I'm not sure yet about candidates, but I like Thompson and Ron Paul. But it is still pretty early. I just know that I am firmly Conservative and absolutely will NOT vote for Hitlary. Under any circumstances. I hope she does not get elected, because I think she is very dangerous. But I also realize that she has a very good chance so I won't be surprised. Just very afraid and disappointed. (Remember, I'm not politically correct and I do speak my opinion! And this is my blog, so it's my opinion!)
Bill's off the entire week, he has Thursday and Friday as holidays and he's taking vacation days for Monday - Wednesday. Otter is off Wednesday and I only have Thursday and Friday. I have dental appointments set up for Wednesday for Otter and me but I'm probably going to have to reschedule because of her possible cold. The original plan was that she would go to work with me on Wednesday, but that depends on how she's feeling and if she's contagious. If she is unable to go with me, I'm going to be in big trouble at work! I've already been informed by my 92 year old boss that he and his wife expect to see their adopted red-headed granddaughter very soon! :)
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Tuesday and the latest on the check theft/forgery
I called the collection agency yesterday, they said that I have to wait 10 business days from the day I faxed the paperwork back to them. So that will be about Tuesday or Wednesday of next week. Then today, I got ANOTHER letter from them asking for payment but it is on the other check that was forged and it looks like it was forged at the same place. Over a week's difference in the check dates. Awfully convenient that they were able to write two forged checks over a week apart on a closed account, like maybe too convenient. I think we all know what I'm inferring here! Anyway, I called the agency after I got today's letter and they said that it will automatically be included with my original forgery complaint so I don't have to do anything about it yet.
Then I got a bill in the mail today for the last installment on one of the medical bills. My October payment was one of the stolen checks. At the time, I called them and they were supposed to make a note in my file. I also sent them a replacement check right away. When my bank statement came the other day, I could tell that the original check to them was received by them and that they had deposited it. Of course, the bank refused it. When I sent the replacement check to them, I also sent them a letter following up on the conversation and very clear instructions about the first check not being good anymore, in case it turned up. Then today I get the bill from them and there is a $15.00 fee for a returned check. I called them, the girl in the billing office seemed really surprised that I am not willing to pay their NSF fee! She kept telling me that it would go to "collection" and I told her about three times that they could collect away but that I was not going to pay it (and why). I think she finally realized that I was serious because she finally gave me the address to mail a letter to with copies of all my documentation and ask them to take that NSF fee off. Which I will do tomorrow. And then they'd better take that $15.00 off because I still WILL NOT PAY IT. She made a bunch of excuses as to why they deposited the first check. But I think I got my point across. To her, at least. We'll see what happens after I send them my letter. I will pay the actual amount I owe, which will be the final installment on the doctor that saw me while I was in the hospital. I just won't pay them anything else!
So now that I am in full Texan Woman mode, anybody need any battles fought? Because I might just be willing! :) Bill better watch his step with me tonight!!
On Sunday, Otter and I are going to take some of our Fenton glass pieces to what will be the absolutely final probably last one ever & forever signing event. A Fenton family member will sign up to three pieces brought in for each person (however, all pieces bought then can be signed no matter how many), and we are each taking two pieces. Possibly I might take three, one will be one of my older pieces but I'm not sure about that. Signatures on the pieces will increase the value, but ours are not going to be sold. If I think about it, I'll take my camera with me. Not that it means anything to anyone but another Fenton collector!
We still haven't gotten the tulip bulbs planted. It was just too windy on Sunday. Sometimes in the next few days, maybe this next weekend. But soon!
Then I got a bill in the mail today for the last installment on one of the medical bills. My October payment was one of the stolen checks. At the time, I called them and they were supposed to make a note in my file. I also sent them a replacement check right away. When my bank statement came the other day, I could tell that the original check to them was received by them and that they had deposited it. Of course, the bank refused it. When I sent the replacement check to them, I also sent them a letter following up on the conversation and very clear instructions about the first check not being good anymore, in case it turned up. Then today I get the bill from them and there is a $15.00 fee for a returned check. I called them, the girl in the billing office seemed really surprised that I am not willing to pay their NSF fee! She kept telling me that it would go to "collection" and I told her about three times that they could collect away but that I was not going to pay it (and why). I think she finally realized that I was serious because she finally gave me the address to mail a letter to with copies of all my documentation and ask them to take that NSF fee off. Which I will do tomorrow. And then they'd better take that $15.00 off because I still WILL NOT PAY IT. She made a bunch of excuses as to why they deposited the first check. But I think I got my point across. To her, at least. We'll see what happens after I send them my letter. I will pay the actual amount I owe, which will be the final installment on the doctor that saw me while I was in the hospital. I just won't pay them anything else!
So now that I am in full Texan Woman mode, anybody need any battles fought? Because I might just be willing! :) Bill better watch his step with me tonight!!
On Sunday, Otter and I are going to take some of our Fenton glass pieces to what will be the absolutely final probably last one ever & forever signing event. A Fenton family member will sign up to three pieces brought in for each person (however, all pieces bought then can be signed no matter how many), and we are each taking two pieces. Possibly I might take three, one will be one of my older pieces but I'm not sure about that. Signatures on the pieces will increase the value, but ours are not going to be sold. If I think about it, I'll take my camera with me. Not that it means anything to anyone but another Fenton collector!
We still haven't gotten the tulip bulbs planted. It was just too windy on Sunday. Sometimes in the next few days, maybe this next weekend. But soon!
Monday, November 12, 2007
Veteran's Day (Observed)
I didn't write this, it was read at a friend's father's funeral. I have seen it before and it might be familiar to a lot of people. But here it is:
"Some veterans bear visible signs of their service: a missing limb, a jagged scar, a certain look in the eye.Others may carry the evidence inside them: a pin holding a bone together, a piece of shrapnel in the leg - or perhaps another sort of inner steel: the soul's ally forged in the refinery of adversity.Except in parades, however, the men and women who have kept America safe wear no badge or emblem.You can't tell a vet just by looking.What is a vet?He is the cop on the beat who spent six months in Saudi Arabia sweating two gallons a day making sure the armored personnel carriers didn't run out of fuel.He is the barroom loudmouth, dumber than five wooden planks, whose overgrown frat-boy behavior is outweighed a hundred times in the cosmic scales by four hours of exquisite bravery near the 38th parallel.She - or he - is the nurse who fought against futility and went to sleep sobbing every night for two solid years in Da Nang.He is the POW who went away one person and came back another - or didn't come back AT ALL.He is the Quantico drill instructor who has never seen combat - but has saved countless lives by turning slouchy, no-account rednecks and gang members into Marines, and teaching them to watch each other's backs.He is the parade - riding Legionnaire who pins on his ribbons and medals with a prosthetic hand.He is the career quartermaster who watches the ribbons and medals pass him by.He is the three anonymous heroes in The Tomb Of The Unknowns, whose presence at the Arlington National Cemetery must forever preserve the memory of all the anonymous heroes whose valor dies unrecognized with them on the battlefield or in the ocean's sunless deep.He is the old guy bagging groceries at the supermarket - palsied now and aggravatingly slow - who helped liberate a Nazi death camp and who wishes all day long that his wife were still alive to hold him when the nightmares come.He is an ordinary and yet an extraordinary human being - a person who offered some of his life's most vital years in the service of his country, and who sacrificed his ambitions so others would not have to sacrifice theirs.He is a soldier and a savior and a sword against the darkness, and he is nothing more than the finest, greatest testimony on behalf of the finest,greatest nation ever known.So remember, each time you see someone who has served our country, just lean over and say Thank You. That's all most people need, and in most cases it will mean more than any medals they could have been awarded or were awarded.Two little words that mean a lot, "THANK YOU".Remember November 11th is Veterans Day"It is the soldier, not the reporter, Who has given us freedom of the press.It is the soldier, not the poet, Who has given us freedom of speech.It is the soldier, not the campus organizer, Who has given us the freedom to demonstrate.It is the soldier, Who salutes the flag, Who serves beneath the flag, And whose coffin is draped by the flag, Who allows the protester to burn the flag."
Thanks Dad.
"Some veterans bear visible signs of their service: a missing limb, a jagged scar, a certain look in the eye.Others may carry the evidence inside them: a pin holding a bone together, a piece of shrapnel in the leg - or perhaps another sort of inner steel: the soul's ally forged in the refinery of adversity.Except in parades, however, the men and women who have kept America safe wear no badge or emblem.You can't tell a vet just by looking.What is a vet?He is the cop on the beat who spent six months in Saudi Arabia sweating two gallons a day making sure the armored personnel carriers didn't run out of fuel.He is the barroom loudmouth, dumber than five wooden planks, whose overgrown frat-boy behavior is outweighed a hundred times in the cosmic scales by four hours of exquisite bravery near the 38th parallel.She - or he - is the nurse who fought against futility and went to sleep sobbing every night for two solid years in Da Nang.He is the POW who went away one person and came back another - or didn't come back AT ALL.He is the Quantico drill instructor who has never seen combat - but has saved countless lives by turning slouchy, no-account rednecks and gang members into Marines, and teaching them to watch each other's backs.He is the parade - riding Legionnaire who pins on his ribbons and medals with a prosthetic hand.He is the career quartermaster who watches the ribbons and medals pass him by.He is the three anonymous heroes in The Tomb Of The Unknowns, whose presence at the Arlington National Cemetery must forever preserve the memory of all the anonymous heroes whose valor dies unrecognized with them on the battlefield or in the ocean's sunless deep.He is the old guy bagging groceries at the supermarket - palsied now and aggravatingly slow - who helped liberate a Nazi death camp and who wishes all day long that his wife were still alive to hold him when the nightmares come.He is an ordinary and yet an extraordinary human being - a person who offered some of his life's most vital years in the service of his country, and who sacrificed his ambitions so others would not have to sacrifice theirs.He is a soldier and a savior and a sword against the darkness, and he is nothing more than the finest, greatest testimony on behalf of the finest,greatest nation ever known.So remember, each time you see someone who has served our country, just lean over and say Thank You. That's all most people need, and in most cases it will mean more than any medals they could have been awarded or were awarded.Two little words that mean a lot, "THANK YOU".Remember November 11th is Veterans Day"It is the soldier, not the reporter, Who has given us freedom of the press.It is the soldier, not the poet, Who has given us freedom of speech.It is the soldier, not the campus organizer, Who has given us the freedom to demonstrate.It is the soldier, Who salutes the flag, Who serves beneath the flag, And whose coffin is draped by the flag, Who allows the protester to burn the flag."
Thanks Dad.
Sunday, November 11, 2007
Sunday, Catching Up. Veteran's Day.
I hope everyone remembers that it's Veteran's Day. Let's all thank them when we see one. I do if I can. Dad taught me that. I put my flag out this morning, but the wind keeps wrapping it around the flag pole.
Thursday evening, there was a Veteran's panel at Otter's school. The history teacher set it up, there were 6 veterans there. Two were WWII, one was Vietnam, one was 1970's - 80's, one was first Gulf War, one was First Gulf War and current Gulf War. There were quite a few students there, and they seemed to be really interested in what the veterans were saying. A couple of them went into a lot of detail about basic training. I think it opened up a few kid's eyes, especially when the Vietnam vet was talking about the training involving gas masks. The history teacher has the panels every year around Veteran's Day, and we'll probably go next year as well.
Possibly we might get Otter's tulip bed planted today. She is at her friend's house, she's been there since about 5:30 yesterday and when she gets home she is probably going to want a nap. I'm sure that they didn't get much sleep last night, they usually stay up most of the night giggling. But we need to plant the bulbs, so we might try to do that when she gets home. I say try, because it's so windy that it might be more trouble than it's worth.
So far I have not heard anything else from the collection agency. The grocery store had a problem with my check when I bought groceries on Friday, but it might have been because the amount was over $100.00 or because I was getting cash back. Seems like this particular store has to have approval when it's over $100.00 but I haven't shopped there too often so I don't really remember. They did take the check though. When the register didn't like the check the clerk kept pushing buttons to get it to work and her supervisor had to come fix it. And the supervisor told the clerk (loudly) that next time that happens, NOT TO PUSH ANYTHING ELSE! I got the feeling that the clerk has had problems and not followed procedures a few times in the recent past. Maybe because she spent the entire time she was checking my groceries gossiping with another clerk? The supervisor just approved my check and was unable to say why there was a problem since the clerk pushed all the buttons. We went to Sam's this morning (yeah, I know - they are part of WalMart) and had no problem there when I wrote a check. Even though we didn't forge the checks and they are a different account, I'm afraid that we could have problems in the future if the collection agency still shows us as writing bad checks.
I'm going to call the collection agency tomorrow or Tuesday and see if they have any more information for me. They might be closed tomorrow, some places are closed in observance of Veteran's Day.
We rented the movie "Barnyard" and watched it yesterday. It was cute. It was really for younger kids, but I couldn't find anything else that was even remotely interesting so that's what I rented. It's about a bunch of farm animals and there were a few funny spots. But I think that the writers and/or illustrators need to go back to school. Because the last time I checked, boy cattle were not called cows and boy cattle DON'T HAVE UDDERS!
Thursday evening, there was a Veteran's panel at Otter's school. The history teacher set it up, there were 6 veterans there. Two were WWII, one was Vietnam, one was 1970's - 80's, one was first Gulf War, one was First Gulf War and current Gulf War. There were quite a few students there, and they seemed to be really interested in what the veterans were saying. A couple of them went into a lot of detail about basic training. I think it opened up a few kid's eyes, especially when the Vietnam vet was talking about the training involving gas masks. The history teacher has the panels every year around Veteran's Day, and we'll probably go next year as well.
Possibly we might get Otter's tulip bed planted today. She is at her friend's house, she's been there since about 5:30 yesterday and when she gets home she is probably going to want a nap. I'm sure that they didn't get much sleep last night, they usually stay up most of the night giggling. But we need to plant the bulbs, so we might try to do that when she gets home. I say try, because it's so windy that it might be more trouble than it's worth.
So far I have not heard anything else from the collection agency. The grocery store had a problem with my check when I bought groceries on Friday, but it might have been because the amount was over $100.00 or because I was getting cash back. Seems like this particular store has to have approval when it's over $100.00 but I haven't shopped there too often so I don't really remember. They did take the check though. When the register didn't like the check the clerk kept pushing buttons to get it to work and her supervisor had to come fix it. And the supervisor told the clerk (loudly) that next time that happens, NOT TO PUSH ANYTHING ELSE! I got the feeling that the clerk has had problems and not followed procedures a few times in the recent past. Maybe because she spent the entire time she was checking my groceries gossiping with another clerk? The supervisor just approved my check and was unable to say why there was a problem since the clerk pushed all the buttons. We went to Sam's this morning (yeah, I know - they are part of WalMart) and had no problem there when I wrote a check. Even though we didn't forge the checks and they are a different account, I'm afraid that we could have problems in the future if the collection agency still shows us as writing bad checks.
I'm going to call the collection agency tomorrow or Tuesday and see if they have any more information for me. They might be closed tomorrow, some places are closed in observance of Veteran's Day.
We rented the movie "Barnyard" and watched it yesterday. It was cute. It was really for younger kids, but I couldn't find anything else that was even remotely interesting so that's what I rented. It's about a bunch of farm animals and there were a few funny spots. But I think that the writers and/or illustrators need to go back to school. Because the last time I checked, boy cattle were not called cows and boy cattle DON'T HAVE UDDERS!
Tuesday, November 06, 2007
(Maybe) Quick Update on the recent stuff!
I faxed all the paperwork to the Telecheck collection department today, and mailed them the originals. I made several copies. I don't let anything go without keeping copies of it for our files.
My bank statement came today, it has the last of the old account and the start of the new one. It also has the checks that did not clear - including the one I got the collection letter on (shown as not clearing, showing as stopped and showing the forged amount) - AND ONE OTHER ONE THAT WAS STOLEN BUT DID NOT CLEAR - FOR OVER $1600.00. It's the correct number as one of the stolen checks, the bank did not clear it but it still shows the amount it was forged for on the statement. I'm guessing that it might also be WalMart, but I haven't heard anything from anybody else in terms of collection agencies. There were 5 checks in all, two of them got to their destination but were returned to me since I'd already called the places, the $1800+ that was forged at WalMart, the $1600+ that showed up as stopped and was forged on today's bank statement and that left one. Which apparently DID get to it's destination, and they tried to send it through but the bank denied it as I'd stopped it already. I've already replaced that one with a check from the new account, so there should not be any NSF charges on it being run through (which I wouldn't pay anyway since I called them the day the theft happened!). But now we at least don't think that the checks were copied, since the check numbers match up with the stolen ones. They were "just" forged.
When I sent the paperwork to the collection agency, I attached a list with the check numbers, original payees, dates written and original amounts since the letter did not say which specific check number it was for. If the second one was also written to WalMart, hopefully they will be able to look up the file they now have on me and I won't get another letter! If I do, I'll send them copies of what I sent them today. If there is another letter from another collection agency, they will also get copies.
The staph infection that has been in the news has now hit the Tulsa area. It's in several schools, including our district. Otter brought home a letter from the school district about it, and we also got an automated call from the principal about it. I'm not too worried about it, it can be contagious but it isn't automatically horrible, fatal or even serious! Yes, there are cases that are serious. But the majority of the cases are resolved, although it might take a while since it's resistant to a lot of antibiotics. I was already familiar with it, since Mom had a case of it towards the end of her life and Froggy and I researched it then. Wash your hands with plenty of soap and water, and don't share things with other people like make up, drinking glasses, etc. In short, use common sense. And don't panic when the news media makes it sound like something out of a Stephen King novel!
It did not quite get to freezing last night. But it was still plenty cold! It is supposed to get well below freezing tonight. I hope it does, I've sneezed a lot today and I'm getting kind of tired of it! It's been breezy all day and pretty cool, the wind made it feel colder than it actually was. We do have some Fall color, although I was beginning to think that the trees would skip that stage and just go to bare naked!
My bank statement came today, it has the last of the old account and the start of the new one. It also has the checks that did not clear - including the one I got the collection letter on (shown as not clearing, showing as stopped and showing the forged amount) - AND ONE OTHER ONE THAT WAS STOLEN BUT DID NOT CLEAR - FOR OVER $1600.00. It's the correct number as one of the stolen checks, the bank did not clear it but it still shows the amount it was forged for on the statement. I'm guessing that it might also be WalMart, but I haven't heard anything from anybody else in terms of collection agencies. There were 5 checks in all, two of them got to their destination but were returned to me since I'd already called the places, the $1800+ that was forged at WalMart, the $1600+ that showed up as stopped and was forged on today's bank statement and that left one. Which apparently DID get to it's destination, and they tried to send it through but the bank denied it as I'd stopped it already. I've already replaced that one with a check from the new account, so there should not be any NSF charges on it being run through (which I wouldn't pay anyway since I called them the day the theft happened!). But now we at least don't think that the checks were copied, since the check numbers match up with the stolen ones. They were "just" forged.
When I sent the paperwork to the collection agency, I attached a list with the check numbers, original payees, dates written and original amounts since the letter did not say which specific check number it was for. If the second one was also written to WalMart, hopefully they will be able to look up the file they now have on me and I won't get another letter! If I do, I'll send them copies of what I sent them today. If there is another letter from another collection agency, they will also get copies.
The staph infection that has been in the news has now hit the Tulsa area. It's in several schools, including our district. Otter brought home a letter from the school district about it, and we also got an automated call from the principal about it. I'm not too worried about it, it can be contagious but it isn't automatically horrible, fatal or even serious! Yes, there are cases that are serious. But the majority of the cases are resolved, although it might take a while since it's resistant to a lot of antibiotics. I was already familiar with it, since Mom had a case of it towards the end of her life and Froggy and I researched it then. Wash your hands with plenty of soap and water, and don't share things with other people like make up, drinking glasses, etc. In short, use common sense. And don't panic when the news media makes it sound like something out of a Stephen King novel!
It did not quite get to freezing last night. But it was still plenty cold! It is supposed to get well below freezing tonight. I hope it does, I've sneezed a lot today and I'm getting kind of tired of it! It's been breezy all day and pretty cool, the wind made it feel colder than it actually was. We do have some Fall color, although I was beginning to think that the trees would skip that stage and just go to bare naked!
Monday, November 05, 2007
Monday and We Have Our First Freeze Warning!
It might get into the 30's tonight. Well, it will get to the thirties. The question is, how low? We could possibly get our first freeze tonight. Tomorrow night it is supposed to be a hard freeze, which means the twenties! I can hardly wait, I've been fighting allergies all day because of the wind and a good freeze will kill off everything. Especially ragweed. Hate the stuff! I tried to have a nosebleed this afternoon, and I've had a lot of sinus congestion today. I sneezed a lot yesterday.
We re-covered a few iris bulbs this morning, which the dogs thoughtfully arranged for us to need to do. I also watered them well and then again this evening. We brought in the last 3 jalepeno plants and the parsely plant. I don't expect the jalepenos to do much, they have already produced but they still have a few blooms on them so we'll see what happens. The parsely will probably continue to grow, it survived a few swallowtail larvae attacks but it's a tough plant. We also leveled the dirt on the tulip bed and put the first (possibly only) treatment on it. I'm not sure if it will get another treatment or not, I'm hoping to plant it this coming Sunday. Otter has a bunch of tulip bulbs.
And Frasier does have another ear infection, I'd suspected it but now I am pretty sure. He was digging at both ears last night, I used the saline rinse on both of them and he tolerated it but he didn't like it. Bill thinks that the dog has figured out that as unpleasant as it must be to get his ears rinsed out, he has apparently made the connection that it makes him feel better. But it was a battle this morning with the medicated drops! I have to hit his ears again with the rinse tonight and the drops again in the morning - possibly the drops again before bedtime - and then I'm going to continue for a few days. Especially if the weather is about to turn. They are inside when we are home and at night, but they are outside during the day. And even though they have a nice warm, carpeted spot in the garage sometimes Frasier will stay outside.
I talked to the Talequah Police Department this afternoon. The detective was very nice, but he suggested I hold off on filing a report with them. He had a few good points. For one thing, WalMart only keeps their surveillance tapes for 7 days and it was over 7 days later before I got the letter from Telecheck. Also, the tapes don't usually show much beyond the top of people's heads. They are not set up for online or phone reports, I would have to do it in person and it would probably cost me $40 or $50 in gasoline alone, and I'd probably have to take off a day from work to go. With just about zero chance of even developing a suspect. So I'm going to hold off and see what else happens. If one of the other two checks out there shows up, then I will consider going to Talequah. I'm faxing all the paperwork back to Telecheck tomorrow, along with the report number from the Tulsa Police Department. And then I hope that I don't have to deal with this anymore, but I won't be surprised if it's not that easy.
We re-covered a few iris bulbs this morning, which the dogs thoughtfully arranged for us to need to do. I also watered them well and then again this evening. We brought in the last 3 jalepeno plants and the parsely plant. I don't expect the jalepenos to do much, they have already produced but they still have a few blooms on them so we'll see what happens. The parsely will probably continue to grow, it survived a few swallowtail larvae attacks but it's a tough plant. We also leveled the dirt on the tulip bed and put the first (possibly only) treatment on it. I'm not sure if it will get another treatment or not, I'm hoping to plant it this coming Sunday. Otter has a bunch of tulip bulbs.
And Frasier does have another ear infection, I'd suspected it but now I am pretty sure. He was digging at both ears last night, I used the saline rinse on both of them and he tolerated it but he didn't like it. Bill thinks that the dog has figured out that as unpleasant as it must be to get his ears rinsed out, he has apparently made the connection that it makes him feel better. But it was a battle this morning with the medicated drops! I have to hit his ears again with the rinse tonight and the drops again in the morning - possibly the drops again before bedtime - and then I'm going to continue for a few days. Especially if the weather is about to turn. They are inside when we are home and at night, but they are outside during the day. And even though they have a nice warm, carpeted spot in the garage sometimes Frasier will stay outside.
I talked to the Talequah Police Department this afternoon. The detective was very nice, but he suggested I hold off on filing a report with them. He had a few good points. For one thing, WalMart only keeps their surveillance tapes for 7 days and it was over 7 days later before I got the letter from Telecheck. Also, the tapes don't usually show much beyond the top of people's heads. They are not set up for online or phone reports, I would have to do it in person and it would probably cost me $40 or $50 in gasoline alone, and I'd probably have to take off a day from work to go. With just about zero chance of even developing a suspect. So I'm going to hold off and see what else happens. If one of the other two checks out there shows up, then I will consider going to Talequah. I'm faxing all the paperwork back to Telecheck tomorrow, along with the report number from the Tulsa Police Department. And then I hope that I don't have to deal with this anymore, but I won't be surprised if it's not that easy.
Sunday, November 04, 2007
It's been a confusing day!
Because of the time change, anyway. The doggies haven't quite figured out yet that just because they think it's time for breakfast, the clock doesn't agree! We'll have to slowly change their breakfast time until they are back to 5:30 like before the time change.
It was nice to get an extra hour of sleep this morning, Otter especially liked it. I think Bill still got up early, he got up before I did and went on a styrofoam packing material hunt. I think he got up about 5:30 old clock, or 6:30 new clock. I managed to make myself stay in bed for about 15 minutes after that, then I gave up and got up because I could not go back to sleep. By this time, the poochies were through with breakfast and wanted my attention anyway.
We visited a different church today, this is the 3rd one I think. We really liked this church and will attend there for a few more Sundays. Then we'll decide if we still want to look around or not, but I'll be surprised if we still look around. It was a very good sermon, very friendly people and the message was wonderful. It's a smaller church than the one we actually belong to, still Southern Baptist and not too far from home. But it's way too early to make a decision about it. However, we all left with the same opinion - that this is one we need to seriously consider.
I pulled all the weeds in Otter's tulip bed. There were plenty! Also it had been taken over by what I think is called monkey grass, which was planted there a couple of years before we bought this house and I've dealt with it each year. It took me a while and I had to go inside and take an advil afterwards, my hands & wrists were sore and my lower back is twinging a little bit. Otter was busy inside, I had her doing housecleaning chores, otherwise she'd have been out there with me. I also turned the dirt over with the shovel. We were going to treat the dirt tonight, but I think that will wait until tomorrow. The treatment involves water, mineral oil and dish soap. Moles & gophers hate it. The ground can be treated more than once, a week or so between treatments and we'll probably do two treatments this year since we've had so many more moles to deal with. The tulip bulbs probably won't be planted for a couple of weeks, I was hoping to get them in pretty quick but I think that the ground is still a little bit warm and I don't want them to start sprouting!
Otter and I went to two thrift stores this afternoon. We had a lot of fun and found a few things. 3 or 4 books and several other things. Nothing spectacular, but we still enjoyed our shopping trip.
I've had a couple of people suggest I call the District Manager of WalMart and I think I'm going to do that. I'm also going to see if there is anything else I need to do, as far as protecting our credit and reporting the theft/forgery/fraud of our checks. I'm faxing the info to the credit agency tomorrow and I hope that I don't have any more problems with them on this. I'm also going to call the Talequah police department again tomorrow, as I've never heard back from them.
I made a pecan pie yesterday, not healthy in the slightest! But very good. I think I'm going to go have some now. I did buy fat-free vanilla ice cream to have with it, which Otter thinks is just the funniest thing she's ever heard. Not that the ice cream is fat-free, it's the idea that it's to be eaten with the pie! I see her point, by the way. :)
It was nice to get an extra hour of sleep this morning, Otter especially liked it. I think Bill still got up early, he got up before I did and went on a styrofoam packing material hunt. I think he got up about 5:30 old clock, or 6:30 new clock. I managed to make myself stay in bed for about 15 minutes after that, then I gave up and got up because I could not go back to sleep. By this time, the poochies were through with breakfast and wanted my attention anyway.
We visited a different church today, this is the 3rd one I think. We really liked this church and will attend there for a few more Sundays. Then we'll decide if we still want to look around or not, but I'll be surprised if we still look around. It was a very good sermon, very friendly people and the message was wonderful. It's a smaller church than the one we actually belong to, still Southern Baptist and not too far from home. But it's way too early to make a decision about it. However, we all left with the same opinion - that this is one we need to seriously consider.
I pulled all the weeds in Otter's tulip bed. There were plenty! Also it had been taken over by what I think is called monkey grass, which was planted there a couple of years before we bought this house and I've dealt with it each year. It took me a while and I had to go inside and take an advil afterwards, my hands & wrists were sore and my lower back is twinging a little bit. Otter was busy inside, I had her doing housecleaning chores, otherwise she'd have been out there with me. I also turned the dirt over with the shovel. We were going to treat the dirt tonight, but I think that will wait until tomorrow. The treatment involves water, mineral oil and dish soap. Moles & gophers hate it. The ground can be treated more than once, a week or so between treatments and we'll probably do two treatments this year since we've had so many more moles to deal with. The tulip bulbs probably won't be planted for a couple of weeks, I was hoping to get them in pretty quick but I think that the ground is still a little bit warm and I don't want them to start sprouting!
Otter and I went to two thrift stores this afternoon. We had a lot of fun and found a few things. 3 or 4 books and several other things. Nothing spectacular, but we still enjoyed our shopping trip.
I've had a couple of people suggest I call the District Manager of WalMart and I think I'm going to do that. I'm also going to see if there is anything else I need to do, as far as protecting our credit and reporting the theft/forgery/fraud of our checks. I'm faxing the info to the credit agency tomorrow and I hope that I don't have any more problems with them on this. I'm also going to call the Talequah police department again tomorrow, as I've never heard back from them.
I made a pecan pie yesterday, not healthy in the slightest! But very good. I think I'm going to go have some now. I did buy fat-free vanilla ice cream to have with it, which Otter thinks is just the funniest thing she's ever heard. Not that the ice cream is fat-free, it's the idea that it's to be eaten with the pie! I see her point, by the way. :)
Saturday, November 03, 2007
Good Boy, Frasier!
When we got home Friday and let the dogs in, Frasier brought something in with him. We think he intended it to be a snack, but it's also possible he brought it in to show us because he dropped it at my feet. It was a dead mole. Needless to say, he got praised to the skies and then stuffed with treats. Since Maggie probably helped, she was just as dirty as he was from digging the mole trail out, she got filled up with treats as well. Then Frasier ran back outside and started looking for another one. No luck, but he's obviously made the connection between dead moles and getting treats!
A while back, like several months back, I posted about Chupacabras and the woman who claimed she'd hit one with her car. I said at the time it was most likely a coyote. Froggy emailed me about the dna report on the animal, and it was exactly what I said - a mangy coyote. But Chupas are still a fun story! I think it's just based on mangy coyotes.
This is the supposed chupacabra in South Texas.
This is a coyote footprint. We see them occasionally out in the area behind our house.
This is what moles can do to a yard. This is not my yard, by the way! But they can do tremendous damage, as can gophers & voles.
This is what a mole looks like, this is not one from my yard either. They are not very big, they would fit in the palm of your hand.
I talked to the manager at the Talequah WalMart. She was not helpful. I told her I had a question about their policy on taking checks. She explained about the automated system and I asked her if that would tell them right then if a check was good, she said yes. Then I asked her if a check was not approved, what would happen? She said that the customer would be told it wasn't approved and would not get their merchandise. And then I told her why I wanted to know! She started getting very vague and her story started changing - fast. At which time, I went Texan Woman on her and frankly, I enjoyed it. I didn't get anywhere with her, she tried to tell me that it was 1) my bank's fault, then 2) Telecheck's fault, then 3) my fault. That's when the horns got her. Big time. I didn't hang up on her, although I wanted to, but I did tell her that I have always been a loyal and very good customer but that I might not be one anymore. She just kind of stammered, then I said goodbye and hung up.
I got the email from the Tulsa Police Department with the case number. I'm going to fax the info to the Telecheck collection department on Monday and then see what the next stage is. I still have not heard from the Talequah Police Department about the message I left them on Friday, I'll call them again on Monday.
I am not going to completely rule out shopping at WalMart in the future, but it's going to be limited and probably not for a while. There is actually a grocery store chain in the Tulsa/Broken Arrow area that I like more but WalMart is slightly cheaper so I've been buying our groceries there. But I am going to start using the other chain for the majority of my groceries now.
A while back, like several months back, I posted about Chupacabras and the woman who claimed she'd hit one with her car. I said at the time it was most likely a coyote. Froggy emailed me about the dna report on the animal, and it was exactly what I said - a mangy coyote. But Chupas are still a fun story! I think it's just based on mangy coyotes.This is the supposed chupacabra in South Texas.This is a coyote. Notice the resemblance? Look at the shape of the head, the ears and the mouth.
This is a coyote footprint. We see them occasionally out in the area behind our house.I also saw a story last week about someone claiming to have new video footage of a young sasquatch (yeti), however all the experts have identified it as a mangy bear. Except for the "official" sasquatch agency, which automatically said that it's a sasquatch. People, get real! It's a bear! A hairless one, but still a bear! I really think that if these assorted mystical animals were real, they would have been found by now! Geesh.
Thursday, November 01, 2007
I AM DONE WITH WAL-MART FOREVER.
And I mean it.
I got a collection letter today. From the agency WalMart uses. I got two the other day, because the bank stopped two of the checks that they were supposed to let through. The bank paid the NSF fees and I took care of it with the agency. Today's letter is for $1,821.14 plus $50.00 NSF fee. FOR A CHECK I DID NOT WRITE. It was at the WalMart in Talequah, which is a small town east of Tulsa.
I talked to the store in question just now. They have the automated system where the checks are run through the bank right then and if there is not enough money, the account is closed, check is stopped, etc., then it is rejected immediately. The assistant manager said that he doesn't know what to tell me, he can't explain why the check was allowed through on a) a stopped check, b) a closed account or c) more money than the account had even before I closed it! He told me to call the accounting department tomorrow, which I will do as soon as they open at 7:00 a.m. And they'd better have a good answer for me. I am going to ask him, on Bill's request, if those things have to be personally approved before they accept them because if that's the case then he's got an employee problem!
I talked to the police department today, I have to go to the bank and pick up a form called an Affidavit of Forgery. Then I have to take it to the police department, and they will start the report process for fraud. The officer I spoke with today also told me that the officer who originally responded to the theft SHOULD HAVE TAKEN A REPORT - which the first officer told me he couldn't do since we didn't even have a suspect or a description. I have his name, and I am going to mention it when I file my report tomorrow. After I get my report filed, then I can fax it and the bank's affadavit to the collection agency.
I don't think that the bank goofed up this time, because the check would have gone through and it didn't.
I also called and had a fraud alert placed on our credit reports. I strongly suggest everyone call Transunion at 1-800-680-7289 and request an alert be put on your credit file where you will be contacted if there is any request for credit in your name or with your SS numbers. It can be done even if you haven't had a theft or fraud.
But I really am done with Walmart now. I'll pay more for groceries, I don't mind. That is not the point of it anymore anyway.
I got a collection letter today. From the agency WalMart uses. I got two the other day, because the bank stopped two of the checks that they were supposed to let through. The bank paid the NSF fees and I took care of it with the agency. Today's letter is for $1,821.14 plus $50.00 NSF fee. FOR A CHECK I DID NOT WRITE. It was at the WalMart in Talequah, which is a small town east of Tulsa.
I talked to the store in question just now. They have the automated system where the checks are run through the bank right then and if there is not enough money, the account is closed, check is stopped, etc., then it is rejected immediately. The assistant manager said that he doesn't know what to tell me, he can't explain why the check was allowed through on a) a stopped check, b) a closed account or c) more money than the account had even before I closed it! He told me to call the accounting department tomorrow, which I will do as soon as they open at 7:00 a.m. And they'd better have a good answer for me. I am going to ask him, on Bill's request, if those things have to be personally approved before they accept them because if that's the case then he's got an employee problem!
I talked to the police department today, I have to go to the bank and pick up a form called an Affidavit of Forgery. Then I have to take it to the police department, and they will start the report process for fraud. The officer I spoke with today also told me that the officer who originally responded to the theft SHOULD HAVE TAKEN A REPORT - which the first officer told me he couldn't do since we didn't even have a suspect or a description. I have his name, and I am going to mention it when I file my report tomorrow. After I get my report filed, then I can fax it and the bank's affadavit to the collection agency.
I don't think that the bank goofed up this time, because the check would have gone through and it didn't.
I also called and had a fraud alert placed on our credit reports. I strongly suggest everyone call Transunion at 1-800-680-7289 and request an alert be put on your credit file where you will be contacted if there is any request for credit in your name or with your SS numbers. It can be done even if you haven't had a theft or fraud.
But I really am done with Walmart now. I'll pay more for groceries, I don't mind. That is not the point of it anymore anyway.
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