Cold Stuff!

Officially, I think we got something like 6" of snow. But it blew so much that it's drifted much higher. Over a foot of snow is all over the yard.

We (we being Bill mostly) shoveled off the front porch, sidewalk and an area in the driveway. Grandpa & Sweetie were unable to make it over here this morning, so we put off our Christmas with them until tomorrow. We had waffles for breakfast this morning, then opened presents with Otter. It was a nice, quiet Christmas morning. And we still have tomorrow to look forward to, which is a good thing.

Anyway, now that the driveway, etc. are semi-clear of snow & ice it will be a little safer for them tomorrow. The streets are not clear, but I don't have any idea of the non-nieghborhood streets. I know that the turnpikes were closed earlier, which almost never happens. But the news at noon made it look like some progress has happened as far as clearing roadways.

Otter went outside in the back yard to play in the snow for a while. She took both dogs out with her. The snow was drifted pretty high on the back deck, which Maggie discovered when she ran out with her usual speed. And right into a snow drift! She tried to swim the rest of the way off the deck, then gave up and just started bouncing over the snow. She went down all the way at the end of each bounce, it was so funny. Magsters made it out to the back yard, ran more or less in a circle and then bounded right back up to the deck and right in the back door. And she absolutely would NOT go back outside for anything! I think that maybe the beagle doesn't like snow. Frasier, on the other hand, loves it. He stayed out until Otter came in, then he came in with her and parked his furry behind on his blanket.

I tried to get pictures of Maggie in the snow, but the camera is not working. I have a suspicion that it's broken or trying to break. It's been acting up lately, and it keeps telling me that it needs new batteries as well as simply not taking clean pictures.

We had chili for lunch, after the de-icing of the driveway we were really cold and it was a good meal to come in for.

And now, I'm going to go get my crochet and keep the couch company.

Act One

How we celebrate.

What we celebrate.

The Reason we celebrate.

Merry Christmas, everyone. May we all be warm in the Light of God's love for us, Jesus Christ.

Looks Like a White Christmas!

Ice or snow, too early to tell, but both are white and it's Christmas tomorrow.

It was rainy until about 11:00 this morning, then there was some sleet mixed in. Otter went to work with me today, we left for lunch about 11:30 and there was more sleet and less rain. By about 1:15, 45 minutes after we got back from lunch, the car was already starting to get covered. We left the office then and it was nearly all sleet with very little rain. By the time we got home, there were definite snow flakes showing up. The sleet may be transitioning to snow, which was the forecast, but there is still quite a bit of sleet coming down. However, it's starting to be visible on the ground. Bill had a nice, warm fire going when we got home and Otter has already staked out her spot. I'm going to join her in a bit, and we'll probably roast marshmallows.

Here's the tree! Sorry the picture is blurry, the batteries were going out in my camera and I didn't have enough of the right size. Otter is in the process of decorating it here. I've decided that the tree isn't so bad after all. But the ornaments are too big for it, which is why I think it looks odd. We just grabbed assorted ornaments when we were getting the stuff down, we have smaller ones but they are going to stay in the attic until next year - if we use this particular tree then.

I probably won't post again today, so I want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and if you are in my neck of the woods or anywhere where you have to deal with winter weather - be careful!

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas!

Or at least a little like it, around my house.

Otter got the tree decorated today. I was going to take picture but my camera batteries are weak and we seem to have all sorts of other size batteries except the ones I need. So maybe tomorrow, if I remember!

Anyway, this is the first time we've used this particular fiber optic tree. And it might be the last. It's ugly! The tree itself, not Otter's decoration. It's kind of skinny and taller than I would prefer, considering that it's on the sofa table. But, at least we finally have it up. I was about at the point where I was going to say skip it!

Busy at work, which I knew it would be. Tomorrow will be busy, but then it should be calmer for the remaining two days. Should be and Actually are frequently not the same thing, at least where I work.

Bill steam cleaned the living room carpet today. It was pretty dirty, from what he and Otter said regarding the water that came out of the steam cleaner. But we've only cleaned it once in the 5 years we've been here, and I don't think we cleaned it all then. While he was at it, he also cleaned the ceiling fans in two rooms and then he dusted the mantle and rocks above it. Tomorrow, I think he's going to play with his power tools. Not a comforting thought!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, NANA!

Sunday Pickles & Congratulations!

First things first. CONGRATULATIONS PAUL! You have worked really hard over the last few years and as your Aunt, I am very proud of the young man you have become. Even though you went to the wrong Texas school..... :)

On to other things. Pickles! I still am not out of condiment ideas to use in place of ketchup. I happen to love pickles. Dill ones, not sweet ones.

Bill got his Christmas present from me today. He originally wanted a guide book for restoring the pachinko machines, then he found a bunch of information online so he went with Plan B. More pachinkno machines! We went to a small town north of us, Ramona to be exact and it is tiny! He saw some for sale on Craigslist, and they were what he wanted: good shape, don't need too much work and a good price. So he's happy.

We just came down from the attic. We brought in one of the Christmas trees (we have at least 3) and some of the ornaments. Also the stockings and the wreath holder. Otter & Bill are both off the next two weeks, so their plans for tomorrow include steam-cleaning the carpet in the living room and then she will decorate the tree. Actually, we have more than three. We have the 6' tall one that is the one we bought shortly after we got married and have used several times. Then there are two fiber-optic trees that Bill bought one year - one of which we're using this year. Then there is a small tree that I used in an apartment the year that we were seperated (way, way, way long time ago) and then it became Otter's tree. There is a tiny one that she also used in her room at the old house. And I have 3, or maybe 4, ceramic trees. We didn't set out to collect them, but apparently that's what we did.

Only 4 days of work this week! Then I'm off until Monday, January 4, 2010. Bill & Otter are off this week as well, so they get two weeks off. Bill keeps trying to tease me about being off work longer than I am, but he's failing miserably. For one thing, I won't have to help clean the carpet! But Frasier will probably not forgive him for a long time, it just won't smell the same. Kind of like when we wash the dog blankets, but worse. Poor pup!

Movie Review: Night at the Museum 2. It was ok, it was cute and we enjoyed it. But I think we would have been disappointed if we'd paid theater prices instead of renting it. It was predictable. But it was fun.

If I think of anything else, I'll add it later or put it in the next post.

Can't Resist This One!

I know it's probably not polite. OK, it's definetely not polit. But it's cute. See my comments at the end!

CHRISTMAS CAROLS FOR THE DISTURBED
* 1. Schizophrenia --- Do You Hear What I Hear?
* 2. Multiple Personality Disorder --- We Three Kings Disoriented Are
* 3. Dementia --- I Think I'll be Home for Christmas
* 4. Narcissistic --- Hark the Herald Angels Sing About Me

* 5. Manic --- Deck the Halls and Walls and House and Lawn and Streets and Stores and Office and Town and Cars and Buses and Trucks and Trees and.....

* 6. Paranoid --- Santa Claus is Coming to Town to Get Me
* 7. Borderline Personality Disorder --- Thoughts of Roasting on an Open Fire

* 8. Personality Disorder --- You Better Watch Out, I'm Gonna Cry, I'm Gonna Pout, Maybe I'll Tell You Why

* 9. Attention Deficit Disorder --- Silent night, Holy... oooh look at the Froggy - can I have a chocolate?... why is Japan so far away?

* 10. Obsessive Compulsive Disorder --- Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle,Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle ! Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells,

I'm definetely # 5. Even Otter agrees to that one! She's # 9, by the way. And we think that # 7 probably fits Billyboy.

What A Wonderful Day!

Can you guess what today is?




It involves chocolate.

And covering things with it.


Today is National Anything Covered in Chocolate Day!

So if I eat a Hershey's bar with almonds, I am still participating because it is technically almonds covered in chocolate, right?

We had chocolate bite sized candies that are like Crackle. Which is rice krispie type pieces covered in chocolate. I think that counts.

Weather Forecast

This morning, it was 19 degrees at 7:00 a.m. The windchill was 3. It got into the 30's, but it was breezy.

Tonight, my attitude is LET IT SNOW!

I don't care how cold it gets, I have a working fireplace!

Now, I'm going to go join the coyote dog parked in front of it. It's warm there.

It's Maggie Moooooo!!!!!

Hi! Hi! Hi!

I haven't talkked to youu in a loooong tiime. Wee been bezy.

My mommm really luffs me. Shee gave mee some really gooood fud today. I don't know what it was, but mommm said it was from a piggie. I like piggies. They taste goooood.

The little fence is still in the big den, I don't like it. I can't go into mommm's mommm's night time den anymore. I neeeed to go in there. I have to keep badd monsters from getting under der bedd. But they won't let mee! I can't protect mommm's mommm and daddd if I can't go in der anymore. I wonder if they are ascared since I'm not der to protect dem.

Daddd was home all day but me and big brother Frasierr were outside. We wanted to be in the big den with daddd, but we couldn't get in our doorrr. There were these other peoples today, they were here the otther day and we barkked at them to make them go away. But they didn't go away fast. Daddd said we had to stay outside today and I don't think that was gooood. We're gooood doggies.

Mommm gave us piggie in our foood bowls tonight, so she must seee that weee are gooood doggies. I'm a goooooder doggie than big brother Frasierr.

Sunday Mayonnaise

(Still not a huge ketchup fan!)

Otter suggested today's title, by the way.

Otter is over her brief asthma spell. She went back to school on Friday, she felt almost back to normal and she's fine now. Yesterday was Saturday, so we took it easy and I think that helped her.

I'm currently experiencing crochet frustration. Kid#3 wants a hat to match the scarf I made her. I found a pattern that looked right, the picture was perfect and I always enjoy new things. I spent quite a while yesterday working on it. And then discovered that the pattern made a tire cover, or at least that's about what size it was. And no, it was NOT pilot error. I thought at first that the pattern was incorrect, but now that I've gone back over the pattern I've realized that it was a hat pattern alright. But the hat style is the type that reminds me of a morterboard - graduation cap. I haven't given up yet, Kid#3! I have another crochet project to finish, along with the hat, and then I think I'm finally going to be able to get to my throw pillow covers that I want to make. Along with a hat for myself, once I find the right pattern. :)

Bill has been asking me what I want for Christmas and my birthday. I haven't had a clue. I finally decided. I told him I wanted a can opener. We've been using hand-held openers and I really like them, but when my skin does it's super-sensitive thing, which is pretty much every fall and winter (or about 9 months of the year!), it's absolute agony to open a can. So I finally admitted defeat and told him I needed an electric one. That left my birthday. That one was actually easier. The last time I used my crockpot to make soup, about 3 weeks ago, the lid came apart. I had been thinking that it wasn't heating as well as it should be, so it was probably going to be replaced soon anyway. The crockpot is one of the most often used appliances I have. I was going to make soup this weekend, then I remembered the lid. And there was no way I could use it, so I told Bill I knew what I wanted for my birthday. I don't normally like to go pick out my own gifts, but this time I didn't mind. He went with me at least - and he even behaved! In Walmart! I now have an electric can opener and a new crockpot. A larger crockpot, 7 quarts this time. It's pretty big, but I won't have any problem at all with that. When I make soup, I make a lot of soup! I use it for other things besides soup.

We are pretty much done with our Christmas shopping. We didn't have much to do, since we're out of the gift-giving loop. It doesn't look like Christmas at my house yet anyway, we'll get our decorations out this week. We were waiting until the chimney repair was finished, which would have been last Tuesday but the weather caught up with them. The chimney crew is supposed to be back tomorrow, so probably tomorrow evening is when Otter and I will get the decorating done. Although it no longer feels like Christmas, since it was in the 60's today!

Come Play With Us!!

On second thought, don't. The game we are playing is the Asthma Game. Otter has been playing it since last night, and she was obviously on the losing end this morning. She went to school, but only because she had a project due. Then her group didn't get to present their project, so she could have stayed home. She called me after the class period ended and I went to get her. She's on the couch with her pillow and a couple of blankets, and a beagle for good measure. She's had a sore throat off & on the last couple of days, not bad but just there. But her lungs are now involved, so that changes things. We'll just play it by ear as far as tomorrow goes. The cold aggravates the asthma, and it's certainly cold!

We decided to see how the hamsters would get along, after a couple of days as singletons. They were fine as long as we were holding them, they groomed each other and got along. So we put them both in the same cage to see what happened. And immediately had to take the little one back out and put her in her own cage! Then they went back to being happy, alone girls.

Frasier just collapsed in a heap on the floor, then he stretched out and yawned. Now I think he's going to sleep. Smart dog! They didn't particularly want to go outside when we left this morning, but we filled them full of treats and I poured hot water over their frozen water dish. When we got home and let them in, they were warm and happy so I think they'd been cuddled up in the garage on their carpet, snoozing most likely.

I did manage to get two birdfeeders out this morning. I might head out there later and hang a couple more. I should have put them out days ago, but with the roofers & chimney people here there were a lot of things like shingles flying off the roof and I didn't think the birds would even come to the feeders.

OK, I'm off to start a load of laundry, unload the dishwasher, wash the dishes in the sink, pet a dog or two, feed my Otter and then I might possibly get some crochet started. Like a hat for Kid # 3!

Updates

This is a pachinko machine, which is what Bill's current project involves. This is not one of his, I'll get pictures when he gets through cleaning & restoring them. See all the little dots in curved shapes on the face of the machine? They aren't dots. They are metal spikes, a couple of inches long. The machine in the picture doesn't have all that many. The machines that are currently sitting in my living room (2) and garage (1) have a whole bunch of little spikes. They are all somewhat dirty. Each one has to be cleaned individually with a q-tip. It's very time-consuming. Bill's been cleaning spikes for days now...

Anyway, he's having fun. And no power tools have been used! So I'm not complaining.

The roofers came back today and finished up. We had them install attic vents, there were a couple already and now there are more. They also cleaned up anything they missed yesterday and took the rest of the unused shingles. The roof looks wonderful. I'm just glad we were able to get it done this year, because we really didn't think it would happen since it's so close to the end of the year. But we simply did not have time when we realized that there was an issue with the old roof because that's when the rent house became vacant and most of our time was spent in getting it ready to sell. Now, we're just waiting on Monday for the final chimney work to be done.

We sure could use that chimney tonight! It was 18 degrees this morning, I think it got to the mid-20's this afternoon. Very cold. Looking out the window, it looked like a nice day - blue skies, just beautiful. However, looks can be deceiving. And they were! Tonight will get to 12 degrees. Just thinking about it makes me feel cold. There was a little breeze, just enough to make the cold feel worse. Especially to my asthmatic lungs! The dry, cold air is also affecting another problem. I keep trying to have nosebleeds. They are a normal occurance for me, not frequent but they do happen from time to time. I don't like them!

The hamsters seem to be doing just fine, now that they are on their own. Both are still friendly, both wheels are being used and they are active and seem happy. They just live alone now. When Otter had pet mice, they usually got along great. One one time was there a problem. Usually, when introducing a new mouse to the existing cage we would have to watch them and occasionally there would be a spat or two while they adjusted. But it only took a little while, then they got along great. One time, the dominant mouse killed a new one. But that was the only problem. With hamsters, they almost never accept a new cage mate although if they are raised together, certain breeds will generally be fine together. Usually, that is. Otter's are not the same species, although they are both dwarf types (small) and both of their species are supposed to get along with cage mates provided that they are raised together. But Helena and Nadine seem to be much happier as singles. We heard lots of chirping from Nadine this morning. She was happy, and I think she was singing. Happy little furry.

Banging Over My Head!

We have a roof! They came out yesterday and got started immediately, and then today was icy this morning then rainy so we didn't think they would be able to work. But by early afternoon, it was warm and dry enough for them. The final part of the roof was done this afternoon, it was a little misty but not enough to be a problem. There are still a few finishing touches, but the roof is essentially finished. I really only had to listen to a couple of hours of hammering, poor Bill had all day yesterday to deal with!

The chimney people didn't even try, Bill talked to them this morning and they have scheduled the completion for Monday. Because it will take several hours, they didn't want to start in the afternoon. So, no fireplace use yet. Which is a shame, because it is COLD and getting COLDER! But we'll be patient. It's going to be mid-week next week, probably about Wednesday, before we can use the fireplace. Frasier and I have our spots already staked out, all I have to do is show up with a blanket and head in the general direction of the fireplace and that dog is right there with me.

Bill's got a new project. Several years ago, probably shortly after we got married which means nearly 25 years ago, he bought a pachinko machine. Go look it up on google if you don't know what one is, but it's similar to pinball. He built a cabinet for it, and it's basically lived in the garage ever since. He has discussed selling it at times, I think he even put it out in our last garage sale but nobody bought it. He's decided that it's time to start playing it, he's going to build a different type of cabinet and it will eventually be brought into the office. He's going to put it where the remaining former e-Bay shelf sits. And it's going to have company. He's bought two more this week, they all need various degrees of work but it's all stuff he can do. Pachinko machines are not rare, but they are not made anymore or at least not too many are. He's having a lot of fun with this, he had been looking for a new project and now he's found it.

At least this project won't involve power tools!

Hamster Tales and Other Stuff

Hamster tail, get it? Yeah, I know. It's a bad pun. But I think it's a cute one. This is not one of Otter's hamsters, by the way!

Lots of stuff going on around here.

To start with, the title Hamster Tales refers to the fact that Otter's hamsters have now decided not to get along. It happens sometimes, they have been raised together which usually will work out. But hamsters are by nature solitary animals and sometimes they will simply stop getting along and once that starts, they seldom go back to being peaceful occupants of the same cage. Otter's two girls have been fine, just the occasional spat, since she got them. However, as of last night, it's all changed. The smaller one has always been the more submissive of the two. But last night she apparently decided that a change of command was in order. She kept attacking the larger one, and it wasn't just a spat. They were seriously fighting. We kept separating them and every time they got back into the cage, the smaller one (Helena) would attack the bigger one (Nadine). We finally realized that they were going to have to be in different cages if we wanted them both to stay alive. A few months back, Otter bought a smaller cage which was attached to the larger cage with plastic climbing tubes. We took them apart and blocked the openings, she had a second water bottle and a second, smaller food dish that came with the smaller cage. This morning, we tried to put them back into the same cage and Helena started another fight so we put her back into the smaller cage. This afternoon, we went to Petsmart and bought another wheel as well as a larger food dish for the second cage. The cages are now seperate and both have wheels, good sized food dishes so they don't have to be refilled every day and water bottles. The larger cage had a climbing tube set up that went to a smaller room and a second climbing tube to an area that can be accessed via a lid on the top. We moved the climbing tube set up with the smaller room to the smaller cage, since Helena was pretty much the only hamster that used it. Nadine has always climbed up to the access area so she's still got it and Helena has the one she always used. Among other things, they are not the same type of hamster although they were sold as the same. But that's not a major deal.

The chimney repair started today. It's a 2-day job. The roofer called Friday evening, he had an opening in his schedule so he was going to start today as well. Billyboy was off work today and also tomorrow, for the chimney work so he told the roofer to come on. The chimney crew left around 5:00ish, they said that they hope to be able to finish up tomorrow but honestly, it might not happen. Because we might get winter weather. The roofers did the back of the house and the side/garage area, they stripped the previous roofing material off and put the felt/membrane down, then the shingles. They did not get to the front of the house yet. They did it in stages in case they weren't able to finish it all because of the afore-mentioned winter weather possiblity. Both of them are planning on being back tomorrow, if it's at all possible. Otherwise, it will be sometime later on in the week or possibly Monday for the chimney and I'm not sure about the roof schedule, but it's similar. The way that the roofers did their job today actually worked out very well, in case we do get bad or wet weather. But we can't use the fireplace yet, it will be 24 hours after they are all done anyway. I just hope that the winter weather holds off enough or is mild enough so that the chimney at least can be finished up tomorrow. The roof can wait a few days if it has to, I'd prefer not to have to wait but it's ok if it can't be finished up tomorrow. I hope that they finish soon, there is a very large truck parked in my driveway and piles of roofing shingles & supplies stacked in the front yard!

I spoke with Virginia tonight. She is doing pretty good, she said that she's been so busy with the kids & moving into her mother's house that she hasn't really had time to process everything. But she's finished up with moving, and now she's trying to get the kids back into a routine. She hasn't been sleeping too well, which is probably normal. She said that she knows it hasn't really hit her yet, but she is coping as much as she can at this point. She misses her husband badly, but she knows that he is with their daughter and that they will all be reunited some day. She wanted me to tell everyone again how much the prayers mean to her.

I have another prayer request, along with continued prayers for Virginia. Miss Dorothy, who I had requested prayers for in the spring when she broke her hip. She has come down with pneumonia and is hospitalized. She's doing very well, I talked to her today, but she is 93 and that makes her more fragile. She'll probably go home tomorrow, but I would still like to ask for prayers for her. Her husband, the young old boss EL, had it a few weeks back. He's doing great now.

Goodnight!

REMEMBER

Because they can't forget.

More Whining on Wednesday!

Mostly because it's cold. Our high was 43 today. We hit it at midnight (last night) and it went down hill from there. We have been in the low 40's to mid 30's all day and are going to get our first hard freeze tonight. The chimney people were originally going to start today but not all the parts came in, so we've been put off until Monday. So, no fire tonight! It's a 2-day job, I sure hope that they get the parts in and can get out here and do the job on time. Because I want to be able to use the fireplace!

We're kind of late in getting the start of winter weather. Which might mean that it will be a bad one, or might not.

Whatever, today alone has made me almost rethink my decision to not wear pants. I'm not changing my mind, I just was longing for my slacks today is all. I still have a pair of jeans, I do wear them sometimes like on the weekend. I will occasionally wear the jeans to work, if I'm going to be doing something such as helping EL in the garden or something like that. But it's skirts & dresses 90% of the time and always to church. I don't even have any slacks anymore, they have been gone for over a year now and I don't really miss them. Except when it's really cold! I had not intended to quit wearing shorts around the house in the summer, but my shorts outgrew me and I just never got around to getting any this last summer. Since then, I've decided that I don't want to wear them anyway. I was going to get rid of the jeans and go strictly skirts & dresses, but Bill suggested I at least keep a pair of jeans because we do a lot of outside work and stuff in the yard. I thought he made sense, especially since he mentioned it while we were hauling in firewood! Also, there is my bike riding to consider. So I'll hang on to my jeans, I just won't wear them too much. I hardly ever change out of my skirts when I get home, I usually stay dressed until bedtime - unless I have a bike ride or yard chore to do. I probably need a new pair of jeans anyway, the ones I have are really showing their wear.

Otter and I are rethinking her bathroom. We have been wanting to change it around for a long time, we just never quite made up our minds on how. We talked about different things, then we put some amber colored glass & birds in there as a test and liked it. Then the rent house came up and we just got too busy. Now, we have time! And have decided that we probably still don't know what we want to do in there. The amber glass & birds might stay, but they might not. She really likes some Japanese and Oriental decor, so that might be the direction we go in. At least, it's today's discussion. Stay tuned for updates & pictures, but be warned: it might be a while!

Shoes, Books, Other Stuff

The shoe shelf! As you can see, it's in Otter's closet. The closet is kind of messy, so ignore that part. The point is, she has room for more shoes. The combat boots Grandpa gave her are not in this picture, it was taken before we saw him last week. But there is still room for more, so she's happy. And yes, she really does wear all of them.

I did not forget about the November book list! Here 'tis:

1. Halfway to Heaven, my white-knucked & bullheaded quest for the Rocky Mountain High by Mark Obmascik. Interesting book about his experiences climbing all the 14ers in Colorado.

2. Gianna - Aborted & Lived To Tell About It by Jessica Shaver. I have read this before, but it's been many years. 

3. I'll Scream Later by Marlee Maitlin. This one was very surprising. Surprising because it completely changed my opinion about her. Let's just say that she is NOT someone I would ever want to meet, NOT someone I am at all impressed by and if this book is true - which it probably is as it's an autobiography, she's a pretty disgusting example of a human being.

4. Batman Year One. Rerun. 5. Batman Fugitive.

6. You Lucky Dog - more than 30 craft projects to unlease your pup's personality by Valerie Van Arsdale Shrader. This one was fun, Otter liked a few of the ideas.

7. Family Circle Easy Wreaths, 50 ideas for every season. Not worth the time it took to check it out of the library!

8. Super Finishing Techniques for Crocheters by Betty Barnden. I might just have to buy this one.

9. Bag Style, 20 inspirational handbags, totes & carry-alls to knit and crochet by Pann Allen & Ann Budd. Didn't find anything in this one.

10. The Crochet Handbook & stitch guide - essential techniques & stitch patterns to improve your skills by Ruth Patrick. I've noticed something. The more words in the title, the more uselss the book is!

11. Junk Beautiful Outdoor Edition by Sue Whitney. Froggy recommended the original version, the non-outdoor book, and it's on my December list. This one was fun, but not at all practical.

12. The Glass Lake by Maeve Binchy. Rerun x infinity. 13. Garfield, 30 Years of Laughts & Lasagne by Jim Davis. Funny!

14. Betty Crocker Cookies, 100 recipes for the way you really cook. OK, if the way you really cook is to use cake mix for everything! Not the way I cook anyway.

15. Batman Gotham after midnight by Seve Niles & Kelly Jones. Otter and I are making a valiant attempt to read all the Batman books in the library.

16. Batman and the outsiders: the snare. 17. Batman: Harley & Ivy.

18. Tornado Hunter, getting inside the most violent storms on earth by Stefan Bechtel with Tim Samaras. This one was very interesting, despite having too many words in the title! Living in Tornado Alley, I like to know as much as I can.

19. Easy home improvements, the essential guide to home decoration by Julian Cassell & Peter Parham. This is one that Bill has on his shelf, it's actually very interesting.

20. Batman Strange Apparitions. 21. The Strange Deaths of Batman. See comment on # 15! And now I think I'll go see what Billyboy is up to. He's out in the garage. I hear a suspicious sound. I think it's a power tool.

Sunday A1 Steak Sauce

Because I still don't really care for ketchup! Well, I do like it a little. Just not as much as Otter.

It's been a long week, and it's been stressful. I have been extremely worried about Virginia all week, I've talked to her several times and also to her 6-year old granddaughter. It's really hard that I wasn't able to be there for her, Froggy I can not thank you enough for taking over for me and going to the visitation today. Virginia is my dearest friend, in fact we are more like sisters than friends and have been for years. She's had so much happen in her life, she's dealt with more tragedy than most people.

OK, I'm going to change the subject now. They still need prayers, but I'm trying not to get depressed!

Well, let's see. What else has been going on this week? Well, I got my new glasses on Monday and they seem to be right. I had to go back and get them tightened up on Tuesday, I have had a sore area on the bridge of my nose and behind one ear from the frames fitting differently than the old ones, but not anything really bad.

Thanksgiving was Thursday, we had a really nice time at Grandpa & Sweeties. Lots of food and family, and Otter got to play Wii for a while - all the adults were so overfed by this point that nobody had the energy to play with her! We had a great time, we haven't seen them in several weeks.

Bill's got a new toy. He bought a planer. You know, to plane wood smooth - not a planner! Yes, it has a blade. I try to keep him away from that type of thing but sometimes ... He needed this particular piece of sharp object. He was making shoe shelves for Otter, but he decided that the ones he was making weren't what he wanted them to be. So he bought her 2 more 2-row shoe shelves which stack on the top of the one she had. The ones he was making will become a plant stand for me. The planer will come in handy for the shoe rack turned planter, and also on some other projects he has in the works.

It's raining. It has been pretty cool most of the day, and it started raining late morning. Not a hard rain, just a nice slow rain. The kind that we need to go on for days.

Otter's allergies are back in full force. She's been alternating between sneezing, stuffy nosed, hoarse and runny nosed. She took benadryl at bedtime last night and it helped quite a bit. She has a day off from school tomorrow, so she's going to stay home and enjoy a relaxed day. And she'll probably sneeze quite a bit! Maggie Moo will be happy that her mom is home with her. She'll probably show her happiness by snoozing all day.

Fraiser is acting strangely at the moment. His blanket is in the dryer. He doesn't like it when it's not where it belongs! He followed me to the laundry room and stared at me, very intently, when I was putting the blanket in the washing machine. Then he turned around, flipped his tail at me, and booked it back to the living room. He's made several trips to the laundry room, just to look in the door. When the blanket comes out of the dryer, he'll probably sniff it a few times and then possibly ignore it for a while. It won't smell the same. But that's the point!

Bill fixed the brakes on my bike. They were sticking slightly. I took it on a test ride Friday afternoon, it rides wonderfully but the brakes were sticking and also squeaky. Now they don't stick, but I think they still squeak. I haven't been able to ride it since then, it's been too cool and now rainy. But I think I'm going to be very happy with it.

I spent several hours yesterday, with a crochet hook in one hand and yarn in the other. Froggy, the scarf for your friend is finished. I'm going to work on Kid#3's next and then her hat. I think that's her name! Anyway, I am also finished with the jewelry roll pouch for your friend, I just have to attach a button so it will close and then after I get Kid#3's scarf & hat done, I'll get it all in the mail to you. I'll let you know.

Looks like Otter's tulip bed won't have tulips next spring. We kind of forgot about getting bulbs, then when we realized it (Friday), we discovered that nobody has any bulbs in stock anymore. So she's decided that she'll just plant something pretty in it next spring and then we'll make sure we get bulbs early next fall.

I gotta go see what Billyboy is up to, he's baking cookies. I spent quite a bit of time this morning cleaning up after his cookie baking yesterday, and now he's probably undone all my hard work!

Updated Prayer Request

David passed away about 11:30 Friday morning. I would like to ask that you continue to pray for Virginia and their family.

Prayer Request

I spoke with Virginia yesterday, and the final test confirmed that David is brain dead. She has made the difficult decision to turn off the machines today. She said that it would most likely be this morning, based on the doctor's schedule. I ask that she and her family be lifted up in prayer. She knows that she is making the right decision and it is the one that David would have wanted her to make, but that does not make it easy on her. So if you have a few minutes today, would you please stop and say a prayer for her?

Thanksgiving

I had something up already, but I realized that it came across as being sarcastic. Which was not my intent. But it's hard at times to be thankful, especially after I heard more pain in my friend's voice this morning than I can even imagine. So I deleted what I'd written earlier.

We have a great deal to be thankful for. And we are. I'm just not in a mood to go into much right now.

But we have had a good day with Grandpa & Sweetie. We haven't seen them in a few weeks and it was just really nice today to visit and not have to be rushed. We tried hard not to eat too much, but that's nearly impossible when it's Thanksgiving.

I hope that everyone else has had a good Thanksgiving.

Just Stuff

I am not exactly in a blogging mood tonight, but I thought I'd better surface and at least update some stuff.

I talked to Virginia yesterday afternoon, their is virtually no chance of David coming out of this. The doctor said what they expected. She is spending every second at the hospital at David's side, and their families have been going at different times. She's going to spend Thanksgiving doing the same thing, and then on Friday the machines will be turned off. In all probability, David's heart will stop beating immediately or within a few minutes. Their priest came by and gave David the Last Rites, she said that his expression was very peaceful and calm afterwards and she was comforted by that. She is also able to take some comfort in the fact that David will be reunited with Sara, their beloved daughter. That doesn't make it easy, but it makes it easier for her.

It's been a difficult week for me, I want so much to be able to be there with her. Since I can't do that, I did something else. I called a friend of hers from the place where we both used to work. Her friend said that Virginia had told them earlier in the week that David was sick but hadn't been back in contact with her since then so she didn't know the extent. I told her as much as I knew and she was going to contact her. Virginia is going to need her friends and family very much right now.

OK, other stuff because I'm getting depressed.

I was able to get my new glasses on Monday, they are right this time and I'm happy with them. I went back and got them adjusted yesterday, they were a little loose. But it's nice to be able to see, the old ones were beginning to be very hard to function with. The new ones fit in a slightly different spot on the bridge of my nose and that is where it's sore. I've usually had sore spots behind my ears when I get new glasses, but not this time. It's getting better, it just takes time.

Otter went to work with me today, we're probably getting to the end of that happening and I want to enjoy it as long as I can. We went to a bookstore at lunch, she found a couple of books and then we went around the corner to the library and we both found things there.

Otter now has a shoe rack with enough shelves for all her shoes! And it even has room for a few more. She was very happy about that. I'll post a picture later on, I haven't uploaded pictures from the camera yet.

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving, we'll be at Grandpa & Sweetie's and I'm sure we'll all eat too much. Sweetie is making her famous potatos, Bill and Grandpa will deep-fry the bird, I'm making bread & green bean casserole and Otter is making dessert. Poke Cake! Froggy, remember the poke cakes mom used to make? Yummy.

Prayer Request Update

I spoke with Virginia this afternoon. It does not look like there will be a miracle here, in all probability David is brain dead. The neurologist was supposed to meet with her & her son this afternoon to give them the results of the latest tests, but they have been told to prepare themselves. She said that she and her son, David Jr., spent the morning at his bedside and were able to tell him the things they needed to such as how much they love him and how if he needs to go on, they will be ok. She said that after they talked to him, his seizures stopped. Virginia said that if the doctor tells them what they expect, they will stop the life-support measures and let David go. She knows it will not be easy, but she also feels like it's the only thing she can do and would be the right decision. I have to say that I agree with her, if he is brain dead then he is gone and no amount of machinery will ever be able to bring him back. The family is still in need of prayers, I can't even begin to imagine how hard this is on them.

EXTREMELY URGENT PRAYER REQUEST

I have an urgent prayer request. My dearest friend Virginia just called me. This is the lady who lost her daughter almost 2 years ago.

Virginia's husband, David, has had what is most likely a heart attack and is not doing well. He was revived, but he was without oxygen for a considerable amount of time and is unable to breathe on his own. At this point, nobody knows anything but the least she can expect is that he will have brain damage. But it will very possibly be much worse than that. He has had several seizures.

Please, please pray for them. They are already dealing with the loss of their daughter and having to raise her children, I don't think Virginia can handle this.

See No Evil

Or much of anything else.

Froggy, I got your text. I was getting my eyes examined and was in the process of getting fitted for new glasses. Which I still don’t have!

Warning: Long Story Ahead.

I don't have the new glasses because when the tech measured my eyes and marked where the bifocal line should be, it was too high. Way too high. I told her that, she marked all over the lenses and promised me that the tech who actually made the real lenses would see her notes. Well, either he didn’t see them or she didn’t make the notes – or they just did their own thing. Because when we went back 2 hours later, they were even worse than the glasses I have now. After we finally figured out what the problem was, their attitude was “so what” and I told them that it was not acceptable. And that I wanted my money back. The clerk was helpful, he was new on the job but he was trying – the arrogant tech was the problem. The new guy suggested that they re-examine my eyes (free this time) and see if the prescription was written incorrectly. So I agreed, because I realized that I would have probably had the same problem elsewhere if the prescription was wrong.

And it’s a good thing I did, because it was wrong. I asked the exam tech about that, he tried to tell me that my answers to what I could see with etc. were different, but I know they weren’t and so did Otter since she was in there with me. I told him that but he didn't answer.

So then we go back out to get the measurements for the bifocal line, etc., and that’s when I really figured out just how bad the lenses were made. Basically, I would have had to spend my life with my head down so I could see out of the tiny, almost not there small area at the top of the lenses if I wanted to see anything. It was a different tech to measure the glasses this time, and the bifocal line is much lower. About where it is on my current glasses. I made sure that everything was marked to where it should be, but by this time it was nearly 5:00 and they closed at 6:00. So they are going to make the glasses in the morning and I’ll go get them when I get off work. And if they are not right, I will get a refund and go elsewhere. I got the new prescription written down for me, in case I do have to go elsewhere. Let’s hope I don’t. Because Texas Woman will come out to play, she nearly did today. And we all know what that means!

In short, it was a wasted day. Well, not totally. Otter had been wanting to go to the mall, so while we were waiting for the lenses to be made (the first time), we walked across the parking lot to the mall and looked around. Didn't buy anything beyond lunch at Sonic, but we still had fun.

I have a Bill story. He had planned on trimming a couple of small limbs off of two trees that were brushing the roof. This needed to be done before the roof replacement. So this morning, he got out his new toy (extension ladder) and his saw and headed out to the tree by the garage. He got his limbs cut down and then he promised me that he wouldn't go anywhere near the tree in the back yard until we got home. Because Bill by himself with a bladed object is not safe! But when we got home, Bill told me that we have termites. These are a special breed of termite, very rare. They are called SAWTOOTH TERMITES. And they just happened to be in the tree in the back yard, and they just happened to eat the wood of the tree in just the exact spot where he would have sawed the limb off. And they are called SAWTOOTH TERMITES because it looks just exactly like a saw blade was used to take the limb off.

He also informed me that Frasier got a rodent of some type this afternoon. The dogs were out there helping Bill when he stacked the wood that the helpful sawtooth termites cut off, and he said that Frasier suddenly came alive and started unstacking wood. Then he jumped on something and caught it, Bill thinks it was a rat but since Frasier ate it he's not positive. Frasier brings things to me when he kills them, but apparently Bill isn't deserving of gifts. Of course, I give the dogs a treat when they bring me something! But Bill always says he doesn't like the dogs. Yeah, right. For someone who doesn't like the dogs, he sure makes a lot of trips to their treat container and then usually puts peanut butter on the treats for them. And for someone who doesn't like the dogs, he sure plays with them a lot. I guess that's how he shows his dislike, by spoiling them even more rotten than they already are!

Oh, one more thing. We also have another variety of termite besides the Sawtooth ones. This type are called Chainsaw Termites. They just came to our house about 30 minutes ago. (Yeah, I know - Bill and power tools are not a good mix!)

Movie Review

Definetely broke the curse!

I realize that I am probably the LAST person in the world to see the new Star Trek movie. It wasn't on purpose, it just happened. We had planned on seeing it in the theater. But things kept coming up over the summer and we just never got there. The movie came out on dvd Tuesday. On Wednesday, we rented it. Today, we sat down and watched it.

It was pretty obvious within the first few seconds that this is one we should have dropped everything and made time for, and I can see without a shadow of a doubt that TREK IS BACK! It's not perfect, there are a few things that we felt were rushed or maybe should have been expanded on. But the curse has been blown to bits, now let's hope that it's not switched around.

And Otter is now, officially, completely, irrevocably, 100% her mother's daughter. Well, she already was. But now, she's part of the Trek universe and that doesn't change.

Mid Week Ramblings

It's only Wednesday, but it should be at least Thursday by now! It's been quite a week already.

I can't believe it's nearly Thanksgiving! Where did the summer go? Oh yeah, it went to the rent house and a lot of company. And a rock garden, even though that was actually a fall project. The next Fall project is actually two: move more irises! And Otter's tulip bed. We have to get the bulbs pretty soon, then we can start getting the bed itself ready. Getting it ready entails weeding, and it's got plenty. Then, we have to "stir" the dirt up a little and treat it with mineral oil, liquid soap and water so that gophers and moles will leave it alone - moles disturb the dirt in their search for grubs to eat and gophers eat bulbs! We usually treat it once or twice, about a week apart, then about a week after the second treatment is when we plant the bulbs. Since I have seen evidence of mole activity in that part of the yard, we might even treat it 3 times.

The rent house was an interesting experience. The selling of it, I mean. We got it listed and got an offer within 4 days. That was good, and faster than we expected. The stress came from the fact that it took 2 months to close because the buyer's mortgage company kept dropping the ball. They lost part of his paperwork, then they had to re-do some other paperwork and there was a waiting period after he signed it, stuff like that. The process of getting it ready to sell was somewhat stressful, but it was more that it was harder work than just getting it ready to rent. Since we wanted to sell it, there were things that we did that we might not have done otherwise. Such as replacing the front screen door, there was some work Bill did to the bathroom floor and that sort of thing. But the hard work paid off, so I'm not complaining.

Now we get to concentrate on stuff around the house. The chimney repair is the first week of December, it should take a couple of days. I'm not sure if repair is the right word, it's not that the chimney is broken - it's more that it wasn't constructed quite right and we're going to get that fixed. The roof is next after the chimney, but we might not be able to get it done this year. The chimney has to be done first because we really don't want people climbing around to fix it, on new roof slats! Or tiles, whatever they're called. We're just running out of daylight, as far as the roof repair is concerned.

Now, I think I'll go surf the 'net for a while and then go watch tv. We've been watching a very well done mini-series on The History Channel. WWII in HD. It's very good, color footage of WWII that has not been shown before and it's in chronological order. Otter is really enjoying it, she said that it's making a lot of things fall into place for her because she wasn't sure of some of the timeline. There wasn't too much on D-Day in this series. I always look for Dad in anything that deals with D-Day. I've seen him once, it was while he was still with us and he was surprised that he was shown but I think he was glad about it. I can't remember the exact name, but it was a major mini-series and I'll eventually think of it.

Today Is

National Homemade Bread Day.

I think I'm going to make some when I get home this afternoon, love my bread machine! Thanks, Froggy for bringing this one to my attention.

Rent House Update

We sold it! The closing was this afternoon, it's officially no longer ours. We wish the new owner all the best and hope he will be happy in his new home.

Rainy Fall Sunday

But busy!

Bill bought a new toy last week, it's a compressor. It's about as tall as he is and very heavy. There are a lot of times when he needs one, so he finally just decided to buy one. He found it on Craigslist. It needed a couple of parts replaced, but it was a very good deal so it was worth putting a little $$ into. The problem was, where to put it? Between our work benches was a plastic shelf unit, and that's where the compressor found a home. The shelf unit has been taken apart and moved to another place in the garage, where Bill did need storage. While we were at it, he cleaned off a wooden 5-shelf unit that we've had for many years. The wooden unit was in Otter's room at one point, then when we moved it joined the clutter, I mean Bill's supplies, out in the garage.

But Otter needed a place to put her many books and magazines, so guess what? The wooden shelf is now back in her room. So she's spent a couple of hours reorganizing her books and magazines, and now there are no more stacks in corners! And the shelf still has some room, which is a good thing because she is her mother's daughter, after all, and books play a major part in our lives. She did comment that the last time she had that shelf in her room, she was unable to reach the top of it. Now she's able to see the top!

I have a Craiglist find myself. I just bought a bicycle! I bought a new one a couple of years ago and did ride it but it was not really big enough. I have long legs, and we thought it would work when we got it but even with the seat raised up all the way it was just barely too short for me to ride comfortably. Otter outgrew her bike, so I gave her my newer one and went back to my old 10-speed yard sale cheapie. That's the one that had the blowout a while back. That particular bike was fine for a long time, but it was a more expensive brand/model and that meant that I couldn't just go buy standard parts when it needed work (which might have been why it was practically free!). It was kind of a pain to have to go to specialty shops for it, and I didn't want to deal with it anymore. The brakes were acting up on it, the chain kept slipping off and the shifter just plain wouldn't work but I was coping with it until the blowout. That was the final straw and I decided to go ahead and replace it. I never had time to deal with it this last summer, we had so much going on between company (which we loved!), summer school and then the rent house so I figured I'd just wait until next spring/summer and get one then. But Bill's been checking Craigslist for me on a regular basis and a likely one showed up Friday. We went to check it out today and it came home with me. It's in decent shape, it's sturdy and the seat is new (and soft), the brakes need a little adjusting but they work - unlike my last one! And the tires are good. Of course, it's raining and probably will be for days. But as soon as the weather is good, I'm going to start riding again and I think it will help my knees a lot. They were better when I was riding on a regular basis. And they have been really bad lately.

I have two lazy dogs on the floor beside me at the moment. One of them is a very clean beagle, she got a bath Friday afternoon. She was not amused! But she was crazed afterwards, she ran all over the house several times and zoomed up and down the hall 7 or 8 times. She really seemed to enjoy the drying process, and she doesn't stink anymore. Frasier needs one, but he's a harder target to catch! He always seems to know when he's about to get a bath, even if I just think about it! He was sleeping so soundly while ago that I actually had to check to see if he was breathing!

Some Stuff of Varying Degrees of Importance

I watched the Fenton episode of Dirty Jobs on Tuesday and really enjoyed it. I don't think that manly people realize just how hard it is to make things with glass. I already knew most of the process, but the show was enjoyable. Dirty Jobs is always an enjoyable show, and Fenton just made it more so.

Frasier is snoozing. He's on the floor beside me, every so often he'll rearrange and I just heard a deep sigh. I've had to treat his ears a couple of times lately, he doesn't like it but he does tolerate it reasonably well. Except that the last time, I didn't get the towel over his ear fast enough and he shook his head. All over me, the floor, the couch, etc. He has now started snoring. Loudly. He might be talking in his sleep and dreaming soon, we think he chases cats in his sleep sometimes.

Otter and I are working up another list of words we'd prefer not to hear. It will be posted in the near future. In the meantime, anybody got any suggestions? Email me or leave it as a comment, but if you leave it as a comment it might not be posted because I want to do one big list. We have a few on our list already.

There was something else, but I've forgotten! Oh well, maybe I'll think of it later. At least it's nearly Friday.

The Eleventh Hour of the Eleventh Day of the Eleventh Month

The picture is actually D-Day, but it's still one of the best.

Yesterday at the post office, the clerk was complaining that she hadn't heard any patriotic songs and she thought that she should have, because wasn't there some type of patriotic holiday coming up sometime soon? I didn't get the chance to educate her, because the man in line before me beat me to it. And he gave her a very good history lesson, explained what & why we commemorate on November 11th. She was around my age, and so was the gentlemen who spoke, and I was amazed that she was so IGNORANT.

Veteran's Day is too important for us not to observe it! We simply can not forget it and what it means. I don't think it's just because I am the daughter of a WWII vet (specifically, a D-Day Omaha Beach Vet), but it does seem like too many people either don't know what today is or maybe they just don't care. And I'm not going to accept that.

Words from Otter:

THANKS, GRANDPA!

Don't Bother to Call

me between 8:00 - 9:00 p.m. tonight, Central Standard Time. I'll be busy.


Watching this:

About this:

Our Day

We finally made it to the zoo! We've been planning a trip for weeks, but there has been something come up every time. Things like a rock garden rebuild, weather, etc. But we finally got there today.

Everytime we tried to take a picture of the heffalumps, they would turn away from us. When the camera wasn't aimed their way, they would at least look in our direction. Even when the camera was off, if it was aimed their direction they would present their faces. But as soon as it was turned on, they moved or mooned us.

Froggy, this one is especially for you! Isn't it lovely?




One very tall giraffe! He's been alone for a while, the female died several months back and he's been lonely. Apparently, giraffes are very social creatures. Well, his days of enforced bachelorhood are coming to an end. We've got girls! There were two females available, and Tulsa Zoo got them. One has already arrived and the second one should be here sometime this month. Then maybe there will be a population explosion, that is the hope once his harem is in place. Bill thinks that this is one very lucky guy!



It's been a busy year at the zoo, lots of babies! This was the first time we got to see the two new lions. They were born this year. They are about 6 months old, I guess. And bigger than Frasier! Just as lazy as their parents, by the looks of things. When we saw them again, a few minutes after this picture, they were both snoozing.


I don't think we've ever actuall seen the tigers doing anything else besides sleep. They seem to like their platform for naps.

The prairie dogs were busy, well one of them was! The last time we were there, the exhibit was closed. All the dirt had been removed because there had been an invasion of rats and they were trying to get rid of them. I guess they did, since the dogs are back in place.

The otters were not anywhere to be seen, we think that they were probably inside their den. But my otter was visible!

This little guy was snoozing, I don't know why but something about him just reminded me of Toadles.

Another one for Froggy!

When I was a kid, Mom would take us to the zoo frequently. And one of the main stops was the reptile house. Her instructions were to get a good look, so we would know what to look for and avoid since we lived in S. Texas. So I did the same thing with Otter. Now, we get into the building where the snakes are and she can hardly wait to go see the rattlers. Just because she likes them. Today, she got a Clara Lesson - what to listen for. I don't know what had this guy so riled up, but he was not happy! And you could hear his displeasure all over the building. He was in striking position, and he stayed that way for a long time. The picture is a little blurry, he wasn't still. But he was beautiful!

Bill always tells me that prickly pears won't grow in NE OK. This one's been there for years, and it seems to be doing fine. It might not show up in the picture, but it was blooming. I would love to plant mine outside, but I have another problem besides the freezing temperatures we get - dogs! I just don't think that they would be able to stay away from it, at least not one super curious beagle I know of. So I think that maybe my pear will stay in the planter I have it in.

And So It Begins

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33748707/ns/politics-health_care_reform

If The Shoe Fits...

Buy it!

At least, that's what it says on a pair of socks I bought for Otter a while back. Which she absolutely loved.

When it comes to shoes, she is very much her mother's daughter. Here's the proof:

This is the latest addition to her shoe addiciton, I mean collection. These are the type of boots I would have worn at her age, and in fact still would if I hadn't tried to kick the couch into orbit a few years back and messed up my ability of ever wearing cool shoes again. :(

She wore them to school one day this week. She said her feet were killing her by the end of the day, but that the pain was so worth it. I have to say, I know exactly where she is coming from on that one!

However, we are still Cherokee and prefer to go barefoot. It works, having a shoe fetish and also Cherokee feet but it takes some adjusting!

And for the record: Otter did clean out the shoe pile. This is the shoe pile before the clean out, although I don't think that they were all there:

She donated 5 or 6 pair to Goodwill and there were about 3 pair that were thrown away because they were beyond donating. But she's still got over 20 pair, probably closer to 30 if I have to guess. Bill's making her a new shoe rack. It will be about 2' long. It will have 4 levels. Something tells me it will be filled up in a matter of moments!

Rocking Out!

The rock garden is done! Here's the proof:

This is not all the rocks. This is probably 3/4 of them, maybe closer to 2/3. They are on a tarp on the back deck in this shot. Where we'd been placing them over several days because we had to keep stopping because of rain. This is a fairly large tarp. And this does not include what I call decorative rocks - fossils, rocks from Mom, limstone, etc. We bought these when we originally built the rock garden, which was 5 years ago and I don't remember the weight but there were quite a few pounds! Think in multiples of 10 or 20 pounds.



This is the base after we'd finished removing everything. This is before we started enlarging it.


This is also before the enlargement, just a better shot. And my shadow! The fountain bowl is off to the side.

After the enlarging, the sandstone edge was back in place but the dirt wasn't finished being leveled in this shot.

First layer of plastic and some of the metal fence/chicken wire layer. The fence is actually a smaller mesh than a standard chain link fence, I can't remember what it's specifically called.

Fence parts down and the fountain is back in place. Which was a chore, sucker is heavy. The sandstone edge is in place here, as it is in the previous picture. We had to dig down (we being Bill) and place all the sandstone, then pack dirt around them on both sides and pack it down as firmly as we could so they wouldn't shift.

Gotta have a shot of Bill's Nekkid Lady!




It took several wheelbarrow loads to get all the rocks back in place - just as many as it took to get them moved! Although this was much easier than removing them. For one thing, all I had to do was level them out with the rake when Bill piled them up. Removing them entailed shaking them in a shaker box over a bucket to remove all the dirt and was hard work.

Finished with all the rocks and decorative rocks, and if you look closely you can see a certain state shape in front of the fountain. St. Francis and the cat are in place by this point.

The final, finished product! Otter placed her animals around. Some of them, anyway. She has a lot and they will be alternated out.

It's bigger than it looks. It was hard work, but I enjoy hard work and I really enjoyed this particular project. We should not have to do anything to it again, it's got several layers of plastic and the wire fencing should discourage any puppy paws that have an urge to dig here.

I'm so glad to be done!

Prayer Request **UPDATED**

I have another prayer request. This time, it's for my 93 year young boss. He has been hospitalized with hemoraging, probably from his lungs and maybe related to one of many things. It's not extremely severe, but it's bad enough that the doctor admitted him Saturday morning and he's been running tests all weekend. I spoke to him just now, he sounds great but he said that they still aren't sure what it is. He's going to undergo a test tomorrow that he has to be sedated for, and he isn't looking forward to that. I don't blame him!

Anyway, any prayers will be appreciated. His name is EL and he's a very unique individual. His wife, Dorothy, is the lady who had the broken hip earlier in the year. She's doing great, now we want to get EL well.

**UPDATE**

It looks like EL has a slight case of pneumonia, which caused both the heavy cough he developed Friday evening and the bleeding. The bleeding was originally thought to be a result of the cough, which it could be, but it could also be a side effect of the lung infection pneumonia. He is doing well, now that they've identified the problem it can be treated. He might be in the hospital a day or two longer, the doctor wasn't sure about the test tomorrow being necessary. He is bored stiff, he called me several times today and he obviously wants to go home. I know how he feels! But he's doing pretty well, all things considered.

November? Also October Books

It's 75 degrees today, no way is it November! Well, I guess it is but it sure doesn't feel like it.

The rock garden is done! We still need to arrange Otter's concrete animals, but everything else is done. We decided to skip church today so we could get out there and get it done while it was still pretty cool. It was 49 degrees, but it is heavy work so we really didn't feel that cold. We finished sifting all the rocks out of the dirt, then Bill moved the fountain which is very heavy. He marked off the new edges and then shoveled out the grass. Then we raked & leveled the dirt, walked across it a few times to pack it down and then leveled again. The next step was to cut the plastic liner, which is over the dirt to keep weeds & grass from growing up in the rocks. Then Bill placed pieces of chicken wire and some other metal fencing he had on top of the plastic. Because we were using the pad from the pool, we still had quite a bit of plastic left so Bill put down another layer. There was still some left, so you guessed it - another layer! There are actually about 4 layers of thick plastic now so I'll be surprised if there are ever any weeds. Then we placed the sandstones that are the edge.

The next step was to put the fountain back, and then we started moving rocks. Bill got the business end of the shovel and started shoveling rocks from the pile on the deck into the wheel barrow. Then I got busy with the rake and leveled the rocks as he put them back in the garden.

At that point, we decided it was time for a break so we went inside and had left over pizza. Otter and I had a couple of errands, so we got our running out of the way and when we got back, I got busy with the rock garden again. I had to place my TEXAS shape, which involved moving rocks out of the way for it. Then I put a few things back, my St. Francis and concrete cat, as well as the decorative rocks, fossils, limestone, etc. Since there was still some dirt, and it's not supposed to rain for days, I filled the watering can from the rain barrel several times and "rained" it over the rocks. The rest of it, Otter's concrete animals, will wait. We are too tired to even think about that part of it today.

I'll get pictures posted soon, I took some "in progress" shots but I want to wait until we're finished with Otter's animals and then I'll post all the pictures.

OK, here's the books:

1. The View From the Bridge, Memories of Star Trek & a Life in Hollywood by Nicholas Meyer. He's a good director, but he's a bad author. I didn't finish this one. Waste of time!

2. Rocket Men, The Epic Story of the First Men on the Moon by Craig Nelson. I honestly don't even remember this one, I know I read it...

3. Power of the Dog, Things Your Dog Can Do That You Can't by Les Krantz. Again, not very memorable or well written.

4. Apollo Through the Eyes of the Astronauts, by Robert Jacobs, et all. History and very interesting.

5. A Memoir, Shattered Dreams - My Life as a Polygamist's Wife by Irene Spencer. Interesting, it shines a light on a very sad situation.

6. Made in the USA by Billie Letts. Not as good as her earlier books, but entertaining.

7. The Missing by Beverly Lewis. Sequel to a book on last month's list. There will be at least one more book in this series, I don't know when it will be out.

8. Under the Banner of Heaven by Jon Krakour. I've read this one before, but it was still interesting and very well-written.

9. The Coalwood Way by Homer Hickam. There was a movie a few years ago, October Sky. It is a true story and based on a book by Homer Hickam. This is the sequel and I have also read it before. It's still a good read.

10. Batman Death & the City by Paul Dint. Otter checked this one out actually.

11. Batman Going Sane by J. M. DeMatteis, et al.

12. A Little Bit Wicken by Kristin Chenowith. She's a local celebrity. It was an interesting book, but I don't think I would like her as a person. This is her autobiography. Can we say "Hypocrite"?

13. Facing Down Evil, Life on the Edge as an FBI Hostage Negotiator by Clint Van Zandt. Very good book.

14. Batman Gotham Underground. It's Batman, what's not to like?

OK, now that my back - shoulders - arms - legs - knees, etc. are sore and screaming at me I think it's time to go take a motrin and chill out for a while. We did remember to set the clocks back last night, but it always takes me a few days to adjust to the time change.

Boo! To You

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

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

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

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

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

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

Prayer Request

Froggy brought this to my attention, but there is a prayer request I'l like to post. It's for a lady named Louise.

In San Antonio, she's known as Elf Louise. Here's her website, it should be self-explanatory but her organization is absolutely wonderful. I was involved with it several years myself.

http://www.elflouise.com/main.php

Froggy mentioned that Louise has been diagnosed with cancer, I think it's breast cancer but I'm not positive on that.

Any prayers would be helpful.