No! I'm Not Ready!

But it does look like Winter is on it's way again.  59 today.  60 or 65 Wednesday and Thursday.  29 on Friday!  Saturday and Sunday are low 30's.  The cold would be one thing, not fun but we can deal with it.  What's not fun is the "precipitation" chances we have.  When it is that cold, it ain't rain!  Otter works Friday from 10:00 to 3:00, that probably won't be an issue although I'll drive her if necessary.  Saturday morning, she goes in at 8:00 and gets off at 1:00.  I'm thinking it's a very good chance that one of us will be taking her Saturday as well.  That is, if we aren't iced in and unable to get out!

 

I went to the grocery store tonight, I was going to wait until Sunday or Monday to get my last minute Christmas Eve Picnic/Christmas Morning Bill Breakfast fixins.  But after looking at the forecast and realizing that means crazed shoppers preparing for Armageddon, and the fact that Christmas and the last few days leading up to it are crazy shopping days themselves (even in the grocery store) I decided that I'd better go today.  While I could still find a parking place, a basket, and hopefully the stuff that was on my small list.  I hadn't really planned on going to the Dollar Store, but the bread delivery truck was just getting there as I drove by.  I went inside, got a basket and then found a few things I wanted since I was already there.  I haunted the bread aisle, politely.  As soon as the delivery guy started filling the shelf, I asked him if I could grab the particular wheat bread I wanted from his trays since he wasn't stacking it yet and he said I could so I grabbed 4 loaves.  Then, it was right next door to Wallyworld.  The parking lot was getting filled up but I managed to snag a good spot and it was right next to a basket trap.  I was able to get in and out of the store without too much difficulty, but I could tell that people were beginning to stock up on Storm Supplies:  B-M-T time!  It's not really supposed to be days and days, like it was two weeks ago.  But it's best to be over prepared, given the track record of the local forecasters.  And, as I said, I wanted to get the food we like for Christmas Eve and for the annual Bill Breakfast on Christmas morning.

 

Froggy, I found Blue Bell's peppermint ice cream at Wally!  Bill doesn't care for it, but he does like a custard style ice cream that is made locally so I'm going to get him some on the way home tomorrow.

 

All I need to do now is to fill the car.  When Otter and I went to Wallyworld last night, she took us in the car she and Bill drive and we filled it then.  I'll get mine tanked up tomorrow, it will still be a couple of days in case we do get anything but we won't use all that much between now and then.

 

Bill's been cutting some of the longer pieces of firewood into smaller pieces, looks like we'll be using it this weekend.

 

No luck on Bill's hunting adventure, the traps have remained empty.  They have, however, been emptied of bait so we know that there are micies.  Probably at least two, the two traps in the bathroom are on the opposite side of the house from the trap in the dining room.  All three were emptied of bait, they are all refilled again and Bill adjusted them so that they are a little more sensitive.  I really don't like to kill things, but wild mice are not exactly sanitary.

 

One more thing I need to do ahead of any possible weather.  Reload the bird feeders!

Ready, All Done, Un-Treed

Ready for Christmas.

 

All done with the decorations.

 

Un-treed this year!

 

I went to Wallyworld at lunch today.  It was crazy, I stood in line for what felt like forever.  Then, Otter and I went to another Wallyworld this evening and stood in line for 20 minutes or so, but we are done done done with Christmas shopping.  I may want to get a little more misc. stuff for the stockings, it's not all candy - just mostly candy!  But if I don't, it's not a big deal.

 

The 4' Christmas tree stayed in it's box and has been taken back out to the garage.  The wreath is on the door and the Nativity is on top of the entertainment center.  The stockings are by the fireplace.

 

And Maggie Moo didn't get into trouble, although she was very interested in the box I was getting the Nativity set out of.

 

Otter's done with her shopping as well.

 

So, I guess all we have to do now is wait until the 25th.

Thinking About Trees

Specifically, about Christmas trees and if I really want to put ours up today.  Actually, I'm not even sure I really want to put it up at all.  We've had other years where we didn't put a tree up.  Sometimes, because we were going out of town for Christmas but we are staying here this year.  We actually try not to travel for Christmas because the winter weather can be so iffy.  I'm just not sure if I want to deal with a 4' tree because it's too big to put on top of the entertainment center and we really don't have a place to put it other than that.

 

However, I am really looking forward to the vacation time even if we aren't going anywhere.  Froggy asked me what we have planned.  The answer is to do as little as possible!  I'm sure we will find something to keep occupied, and probably a lot of shopping/thrifting will be involved.  But we aren't going anywhere.  I think Bill wants to spend a lot of his time working on getting pachinko machines ready to sell.  I'd like to get some crochet done.  Otter doesn't actually have vacation time, but she doesn't work every day so I'm sure she'll be willing to either go shopping with me.

 

I did get the wreath up and the stockings are hung by the fireplace.  They are empty, they stay that way until late Christmas Eve night or very early Christmas morning - they mostly have candy in them and I don't want it to melt!  I'm really leaning towards just putting the Nativity set up and stopping with that.  Bill doesn't care either way, I will ask Otter her opinion when she gets home later.

 

Otter's gone shopping with J.  She met him at the mall, he was willing to be her Beast of Burden and carry her packages for her.  She made him brownies last night for her gift to him, she took them with her when she left and I suggested she might think about buying him lunch for being a good sport and carrying things.  She texted me after she got to the mall, she said the traffic was "evil."  It usually is, this time of year.  It will only get worse for the next week and a half.  I still have a little bit of Christmas shopping to do, but I'll probably get it done on my lunch hour this week.  Mostly, it's for Otter anyway.  Billyboy is taken care of already, although he doesn't know that.  I still have to get the candy for the stockings, but that waits until the last second so it doesn't get eaten!  Otter did manage to find coal candy which she will put in Bill's stocking.  Which he deserves, by the way - the brownies were not safe in his presence!  Otter might make some more tonight which she'll take to work tomorrow.  I'm sure she'll have to fight Bill off from those as well.  :)

 

We went to church for the first time in 2 weeks today.  It was cancelled last week, due to the weather and the fact that the parking lot was a skating rink.  A week ago, there was snow and ice everywhere.  Today, it's like it never happened.  Except for the fact that any exposed dirt is now mud.  Also, the yard is very soft and the backyard is especially soft due to the moles and their trails.

 

No mouse traps tripped yet.  With the cold weather and the construction behind us, we probably shouldn't be surprised that we have had to deal with them.

 

I have help typing today.  A very large, furry, brown head keeps appearing at the side of my laptop.  Then he leans on it.  I think he likes the warmth it generates.  Coyote is spoiled, that's for sure!  Technically, he's either a dogote or a coydog.  Or a chupacabra!  But whatever term, he's 100% spoiled.  Just like the beaglebrat.  Speaking of Maggie, she just hunted out a very narrow but long spot where the sun is shining through the window onto the carpet.  Then she streeeeeeeeeeeeeeeetched out and more or less collapsed in it.

 

Now, I think I'm going to get into the box with the Nativity set and decide if I'm putting anything up beside it.  Which I probably won't do!

Ok, So Now That My Lizards Are Gone...

The mousies are back!  Bill saw one in the bathroom this afternoon, it ran behind the toilet on the side next to the cabinet and disappeared.  He thinks it went behind the cabinet, it looks like the cabinet is snug next to the wall but mice can squeeze into just about any opening.  Even one so tiny we can't see it, and that is probably what the latest furry visitor did.  He put three more traps out.  One is behind the toilet, one is inside the closet where the first one was found and the third one is back in the dining room underneath the china cabinet.  Bill thinks that he heard the dog door flap earlier and the dogs were in the living room at the time.  There have been several times that I've heard it myself, but we thought the wind was blowing in the outer flap which would make the inner flap also move because of the way the doors are placed.  But now I'm thinking that it wasn't always the wind!

 

It was supposed to be warmer today, I think in the 40's at least.  It wasn't!  It was in the low 30's, we didn't have a fire this morning because it was forecasted for warm.  However, when it didn't get there by this afternoon Bill started a fire.  Which brought Maggie Beagle running!

 

I did manage to get our Christmas cards done today.  I'm late, usually they are mailed early in the month and sometimes I work on them Thanksgiving weekend.  I still need a couple of addresses, but they will be mailed tomorrow if we get to the post office.  Otherwise, I'll take them Monday.

 

Really loving the enhanced Star Trek episodes!  Wish that today's technology had been available then, but at least someone had the presence of mind to update things now.  Otter was watching part of tonight's episode with me, it was a typical episode:  redshirt died within seconds of the opening and McCoy got in a few of his well-known lines.

 

Star Trek always makes a day good.  The Borg Queen is happy.  When She's happy, everyone is happy.  :)

All My Lizards Have Run Off!

But not before they overstayed their welcome.

 

55 Hours!

 

I hate migraines.  Especially when they stay and stay and stay...

 

We're watching the movie Christmas Vacation.  We watch it just about every year, and I always forget how funny it is.  Mom loved it, Bill says that Grandmother really loved it.  It is just very funny.  Bill's favorite scene is probably the one with the cat and the Christmas tree.  Otter likes the scene where the father sleds and I think the whole movie is just funny.  I love the character Cousin Eddie - maybe he reminds me of one of our cousins?  Froggy & Toadles, any of them spring to mind?  :)

 

I want a spinning wheel.  Not that I'm actually going to use it, the extreme wool allergy kind of would put a crimp in that.  But I still want one.  It would just be display, I'd probably attach yarn to make it look like it was being used.  It would just be acrylic!  I'm not seriously in the market for one, but maybe eventually I might be.  I just think it would be a fun display piece.

 

After tomorrow, I have 1 and 1/2 weeks of work.  Then I'm off for nearly two weeks.  Bill works next week, then he has two full weeks off.  Otter doesn't have vacation, but she does have various days off each week, so we'll probably plan a shopping excursion on one of the days she doesn't work.  Not sure where we'll go this time, we might actually stay in the Tulsa area since we haven't done that in a while.

 

Tonight is the first night in over a week that it's been too warm for a fire.  We were above freezing today and it was very sunny so most of the snow and ice is gone.  There are still patches in my yard in areas that don't get much sun.  The ground is starting to get soft & spongy from the melting snow.  We have a chance of rain in the morning and it might be freezing rain, but it is not expected to last long.  It will be too warm for it to stick around.  Friday night will be cold then Saturday morning has a chance of rain.  But then we have a spell of decent weather for several days, or at least that is the latest guess from the forecasters!

 

OK, back to the movie now.  Bill's favorite scene is coming up!  Meow!

Lizards

All things considered, I'd rather have a lizard.

 

My record is 72 hours.  I'm now at 33 hours, since it started at 10:00 ish yesterday (Monday) morning.

 

This one shows all signs of equaling my record.  I just hope it doesn't set a new one!

Mouse Tales (Updated)

Or, Tails to be precise.

 

We have another mousie in the housie.  This time, it's in the kitchen.  I was standing at the stove cooking dinner when I heard the dog flap.  Out of the corner of my eye, I saw something small & grey & furry come through the flap, run behind the dog door block and hope up inside the pantry door.  Yep, we got another one!  This time, I don't think it was after food.  I think it was fleeing for it's life, in an effort to get away from the Chupacabra who was in the garage at the time.  Frasier came in shortly afterwards, he was obviously looking for something but he wasn't frantic about it.  The mouse might not have actually gotten into the pantry itself, but probably is underneath the pantry because of the way the pantry bottom is constructed.  Bill put a trap in the pantry anyway, and also underneath the china cabinet.  They are loaded with cheese and peanut butter, so they are out of puppy reach.  Frasier started haunting the kitchen after that, but that was because I was cooking dinner and he was trying to bum some lettuce off of me.  He could have had fresh meat, but no - he wanted lettuce! That's my boy.

 

Our church cancelled services today, which we expected.  When Bill got Otter from work yesterday afternoon, he said that they main roads were ok for the most part but that the neighborhood was really bad.  Otter and I decided to attempt to get out today so we could get our Angel Tree gifts.  The way her schedule is for the week today was really the best day for us to shop.  So we left about 11:15 or so.  The neighborhood was icy but passable.  Most of the main streets were mixed between partially cleared and iffy but we were ok.  We went to Toy R Us, which wasn't the best parking lot.  We also went to the mall, Walgreen's (it was snowing slightly when we got there), Target, the Dollar Store and Wallyworld.  We did manage to get what we were after, but it was not easy.  Our Angel is an 8-year old girl who wanted Barbie clothes.  Which are harder to find than it sounds, mostly the stores have dolls and clothes sold together.  We did find a few sets of doll clothes, but we also got a few other things.  Crayons, coloring books, stickers, a jump rope, a scarf/glove/hat set and I think a couple of other things but I can't remember at the moment.  I also got what I'm giving Bill, aside from the hot water heater we bought last week as our "to each other" gift!  I got a few ideas for Otter's gift as well.  We also went to Big Lots, I almost forgot about that.

 

It never got up to 30 degrees, or at least I don't think it did.  We will be below freezing for the next couple of days and have a chance of flurries tomorrow.  We should be above freezing mid-week and "warmer" by Thursday to Friday.  Warmer is a relative term, it won't be what I would really consider to be warm.  But mid-40's is probably going to feel much better, after being below freezing and having ice on the ground for over a week.

(Update:  8:45.  The mouse problem has been solved.  At least, this one has been.  There will be another one at some point, there usually is.)

Never Forget Their Sacrifice

72 Years




Never Forget.

Cold. White. Fluffy.

It snowed overnight.  A lot.  A LOT.  Like several inches, although the official tally is somewhere around 3" but since it blows into drifts my back yard is actually several inches deep in the stuff.

 

It's taller than a beagle belly!  Maggie Moo actually swims when she goes outside, Frasier is tall enough to bound through it like he normally does but the poor beagle has no option but to risk frostbite belly!  Lets just say that she makes her necessity runs outside as quickly as she can.  :)

 

Bill was off today, the school district called it officially last night.  Otter's store was open and she had to go in at 8:00.  We started that way about 7:20, after a lot of work to de-ice and de-snow the car.  We got her there about 10 minutes to 8:00, it normally takes less than 10 minutes to get from home to her job.  Her boss wasn't even in yet, the (few who actually showed up) warehouse workers were unloading the delivery trucks (Friday is truck day) and she had to go in the back entrance because she was the first non-stock employee there.  Then we headed to my office, I am feeling a lot better but I'm still tired.  If I'd managed to get in earlier in the week I would have just called in today, but I had to process checks today (amazing how people like to get paid) so we braved the elements, frozen streets and dumb drivers.  I don't know what time it was when we got to my office but it was probably close to 9:00 or maybe a little before.  Younger boss came in, he signed the checks and then he left - he would probably not have come in if I hadn't.  We left shortly after that.  The streets were bad to start with but they were even worse when we left.

 

We went to the post office, the box was full since it hadn't been emptied since Monday and the parking lot didn't look like there had been more than a couple of cars in it.  That was shortly after 10:00..  We also went to the bank, but it was on the way home.  We got home around 11:00 I guess.  Bill got a fire started and I got lunch started.  I also refilled the two birdfeeders that were out and put out two more.  There have been many feathered visitors to our yard.  Doves, cardinals of both genders, chickadees and two varieties of sparrows.  At one point, a sparrow attacked a chickadee but the chickadee fought back and escaped.  People think that sparrows are nice birds, but they are actually pretty fierce predators and will kill any other bird that they feel like it - they have been known to gang up and kill birds as big as blue jays or mockingbirds.  Usually, they are calm but they have anger issues!  I guess that makes them Angry Birds?!

 

The dogsters were put out in the garage when we left this morning, I put their indoor water dish out with them since their outside water dish was probably frozen over.  We removed the block that kept them from the rest of the garage yesterday and will probably just leave it down.  Frasier could pretty much step over it if he wanted to and Maggie had finally realized that she could jump it.  Since it wasn't keeping them out, and it was a hazard for us to cross over, we just left it down.  Bill made sure that there is nothing that they can get to like rodent poison.  They still have their carpeted area, and I think that they probably spent most of their time curled up on it because they did not feel particularly cold when we got home and let them in.  They went out when I got the birdfeeders taken care of, which is when we realized that Maggie is too short for the snow!  They didn't stay out long, sometimes they have convenient hearing when we call them to come in but not today.  Frasier ran from the far corner of the yard to the back door in about 2 seconds, Maggie was a little bit slower to say the least but she did come swimming when I called them.  Then, they ran around in the living room for several minutes and had a good time.  After that, they collapsed on their blankets and have been snoozing since then.  Every so often, one of them will get up and move.  Maggie did briefly back up to the fireplace and park her behind against the warm rock.

 

Bill went to get Otter, she got off at 1:00 so he left at 12:30.  I think he got there shortly after she got off because she texted me about 1:05, looking for me/him/us.  They got back close to 1:30.  She said that they weren't very busy, which is not a surprise, and that quite a few employees had called in.  Her boss was supposed to be there at 7:00 but it took him until close to 8:30 to make it in.  She works tomorrow, same hours as today.  Bill will take her since the road conditions are expected to be very bad, I may go with him to pick her up but I don't think I'll go with him when he takes her.

 

The water heater seems to be working fine and there have been no signs of any leaks.  It was really nice to take a shower yesterday afternoon, since I was the only one who hadn't before we discovered the leak.  It might be set slightly higher than the old one, but it's at a good temperature.  There are a couple of things we bought in the second trip to Lowe's that we didn't need, I was going to take them back today but obviously that is going to wait.  Maybe Sunday, but that is to be determined later.

 

The snow continued most of the day, it finally stopped but I think we might get more tonight.  It has been well below freezing and not a lot of people have ventured out.  We wouldn't have today, other than to take Otter to work, if I'd managed to get in earlier in the week.  The traffic was heaviest this morning, but it wasn't really what I would call heavy.  Bill said that when he went to get Otter from work the roads were getting snow and ice packed and that they were much slicker than they had been earlier.  Road conditions are expected to be really bad tomorrow, especially in the morning.  I might suggest that Otter consider calling in, she hasn't missed any days yet and it would make her work hours short this week but safety needs to be the first concern.  I really think that her boss would understand, given the weather and the things he's said about how responsible/trustworthy she is.  We'll be below freezing for several days yet.  Tulsa issued an emergency conditions warning this morning, asking people to stay off the roads if they could.  Like I said, we would have stayed home if we could.  A lot of people did stay home, which means that the roads will probably be even worse tomorrow since there hasn't been traffic to help clear the ice.

 

Well, we have plenty of firewood.  And marshmallows!

When it Rains, it Pours

And it's done both today, literally.  The rain part was what preceded the sleet and was very light.  The pouring part?  Well, that was not good.  It also wasn't outside.

 

Bill got up early and he was just getting out of the shower when I got up.  He commented on how the hot water didn't seem to last, but it was very cold outside and he thought that maybe the water just didn't have that much time to warm up.  I went to let the dogs out at that point, it was about 5:15 a.m.  I opened the dog door flaps, then I happened to glance to the other side of the garage.  Which is when I noticed that there was a whole lot of water running from the inner end of the garage to the outside.  From the closet where the hot water heater is.  Sometime after I blocked the dogs in at about 9:15 last night and between 5:15 this morning, the water heater apparently developed a leak.

 

Bill immediately started clearing the area in front of the closet, which was filled up with pachinko machines.  The machines were ok, they were sitting on a board that kept them up off the floor but they did get a little wet on the bottom sides.  The water did get to the area where he had some boards stored, most of which are scrap pieces so he probably didn't lose too much of his cabinet frame wood although he might have some that is damaged.  I filled up a few containers of water in case he had to shut it off completely, then I started helping him move things out of the way.  We put the box fan in the garage and aimed it at the area that was the most wet, and I grabbed just about every towel we own to use.

 

The weather front was slowed down overnight, which is a Blessing.  We looked online at a few companies such as Home Depot, Lowe's and Sutherlands.  We found one that is a good brand, affordable and the right size.  The store in our small town did not have it in stock, but the neighboring small town store had 7 or 8.  The streets were still good because the ice storm hadn't made it yet, so we got in the El Camino and got there immediately.  We got the new water heater home and since it weighs 118 pounds, Bill got the dolly and brought it in the living room.  We figured out that we did need a couple of things, such as a 2" deep drain pan to sit it in in case of leaks and a couple of misc. things.  The weather front was on it's way but not here yet.  Bill's dad said he would come over and help, so we left Otter at home to wait for Grandpa and we went  back to Lowe's to get the stuff we needed.  We took Bill's impala for the second trip, and it was just barely raining.  We were only in Lowe's about 20 minutes but the rain was transitioning over to sleet when we came back out.  By the time we got home, it had gotten even colder.  Between Bill and Grandpa, they got the old heater out and the new one installed.  Bill got the gas line hooked up to it and the water, checked it multiple times for gas or water leaks (none) and then Grandpa left because he was trying to beat the weather front while the roads were still in decent shape.

 

I finally got to take my shower about 2:00 this afternoon!  I ran the dishwasher last night but didn't get it unloaded until after Bill got finished with the installation.  I have been able to do laundry since I use cold water for that, and Bill never had to turn the water off to the house itself just at the water heater.

 

Yes, I am still sick.  I was really feeling cruddy last night and had just a touch of fever so I was really afraid that it might actually be flu.  I woke up with a tremendous headache this morning but I felt a little better so I'm now thinking that it is "just" a bug and not flu after all.  I was going to call in anyway, but Bill had planned on going in to work.  Obviously, his plans where changed.

 

In spite of having to spend $400.00 we didn't anticipate this morning, we still consider it a Blessing.  For one thing, the weather held off long enough.  Grandpa was able to get here and home safely.  We were able to get the old heater removed and the new one installed without too much trouble.  We were home when it happened, not off on vacation or gone for several hours so we discovered it pretty quickly and didn't lose as much water as would could have.  And nobody got hurt.  So yes, it was a Blessing.

 

But I did overdo a bit, even though I tried not to and Bill tried not to let me.  But there were some things he needed me to help with.  But I didn't overdo it too much.  After I got out of the shower, Bill had a nice fire built and the living room is very warm and toasty.  He did get up in the attic while he had the machines out of the way, since the attic access was unable to be reached due to the pachinko machines stacked in the way.  He got one of the Christmas trees down and what I think are probably boxes with ornaments, stockings and the things I wanted.  He also got the wreath down.  I'm not in a hurry to get any of that stuff out of the boxes.  We were going to get it down this coming Sunday.  Bill's attempting to sort pachinko machines as he puts them back in place, Otter is now moved to her bed & blanket (she's hibernating today due to the weather) and I'm on the couch with two blankets and a beagle foot warmer.

 

We'll see how it is in the morning, we are getting less ice than was forecasted but we are getting some.  It's probably going to transition to snow.  It's very cold and will be well below freezing for a few days.  But I fought the Wallyworld crowd yesterday for the last minute things we needed and we already had everything else we need.  So we're fine.  One of Bill's buddies was short of firewood, so he came over yesterday and we gave him enough to get him through the next few days.  Now, I think I'm going to see what's on tv and rest for the rest of the afternoon/evening.  I am tired!  But I might get a little crochet in, I started a new hat for myself with the "chili" yarn I got last summer.  I made a scarf then, but I decided I wanted a hat as well.  It clashes with my red hair, but I am not really concerned as long as it's warm to wear it!

The Borg Queen Is a Little Distracted!

I'm normally about the most (over) prepared person when it comes to just about any eventuality.  I got milk & oj yesterday, along with birdseed (and microwave popcorn at Otter's request), and had planned to fill my car up on the way in this morning.  However, I still feel cruddy so I stayed home today.  I still needed to gas up the car so I did that about 9:30 or so.

 

Then I ran to Wallyworld because I discovered this morning that I was almost out of the "T" in B-M-T!  And that is not something you ever want to run out of.  :)

 

I grabbed a couple of other things while I was there, some tea that Otter wanted and 3 or 4 other things that I figured I had better get since I was already there.  They were very crowded, and most people seemed to be buying the B-M-T stuff.  Lots of people wait until the last moment, which is really not the best thing to do.  And I usually don't!  But I have an excuse, since I am still on the sick side.

Froggy, before you get on me - I would have sent Otter to the gas station and store for me but she's run off to her friend's house and we may not see her for hours.  She's taking advantage of the chance to get out of the house just in case we get housebound.  She works Friday morning from 8:00 to 1:00 and I will probably take her or Bill will, depending on the weather.  She and her friend were probably going to eat somewhere and then I'm sure they'll find something to distract themselves.  Such as shopping!  And we don't wait until the last minute if we can avoid it anyway, the store was crazy busy this morning and it will be even worse after people get off of work today.  Same thing for the gas station, it was crowded and I'm glad I went when I did.  But there was one lady at Wallyworld that had the right idea - she had her basket filled up alright.  WITH YARN! :)  I didn't stop to talk to her, I was about out of energy and just wanted to get home but it brightened my day.

 

We (ok, Otter mostly) filled up the birdfeeders in the back yard this morning.  The suet feeder still has a lot in the cage but it does get regular attacks by various birds and they have been busy today.  The dog's outside water dish has been cleaned out and refilled, they will be inside tomorrow but the birds also use their water dish.  I don't think the birds care if it's clean, but it was full of dirt and leaves so it got cleaned out.  We filled it about half-way full so that there is still room to pour hot/warm water over it in the morning because it might be frozen over.  It's a fairly big plastic dish pan.  We don't use metal because the dogs don't like having their tongues stuck to frozen metal and plastic is easy to replace if it gets broken.  Also, plastic keeps the water cooler in the summer.

I made a huge pot of chicken noodle soup last night, it was delicious.  I put several containers in the freezer for Billyboy's lunches but there is enough left over for dinner tonight.  For tomorrow night, since we'll in all likelihood be in front of the fireplace, I bought hot dogs to roast in the flames.

 

I never did get any crochet done yesterday like I had planned.  Mostly, I sat on the couch with the Beagle Magnet - also known as a blanket - and kept the couch from flying.  Which is pretty much what I'm doing now, except that I do intend to crochet.  I got back into my pj's when I got home and I think I'm probably going to spend just about all afternoon in the same spot on the couch.  The beagle hasn't figured out that the blanket has been deployed, but I can hear her snoring from the dog's blankets at the end of the couch so she's not missing anything!  Frasier is also having a nap, he's at the end of the coffee table and all I can see is his back half.  I think his front half is next to the beagle on their blankets.  Even when he's sprawled out on their blankets, he overflows.  He's a big dog.

This is from a while back, but here's King Frasier!

 

Well, I just emptied my cup of hot cocoa and my water glass is in need of a refill, so I think I will mosey in the general direction of the kitchen.  I think I'm going to eat lunch while I am in there, then it's back to my couch.  And I might even have a furry foot warmer by that point.  Then, crochet time!  Daytime tv is really bad, there isn't much of any interest on.

 

RIF, y'all!

I Believe in Santa Claus!

I'm not as inclined to think I'm fighting the flu, but it is a flu-like bug.  I called in today, Bill took my car because it was parked in back of his car.  Otter usually drives his Impala, but I took her to work today in case I did decide that this is the flu.  In case I decided I needed to go to the doctor, I really did not want to deal with the El Camino today.  Love to drive it, but not when I'm not feeling good.

 

After I dropped Otter off, I decided to run into the grocery store that is in the same shopping center as her store since we may well get pounded by Winter by Thursday and I've learned to always have plenty of milk, oj, etc. on hand.  And also not to wait until the last minute to get it!  The Salvation Army bell ringer was the same Santa Claus that was there the other day.  Since I was in Bill's car today, it has a TEXAS related plate on the front and Santa commented on how much he liked it.  I told him that I also had a Longhorn sticker on the back window but that I usually got dirty looks for that.  We both laughed about that, then I went in and got my storm supplies (B,M,T time, folks!).  As I came out, there was someone talking to Santa so I went on to the car.  I was almost to the car when I hear someone yell "HEY" as loud as I can.  I look back, and there is Santa waving at me - the LONGHORN WAVE!

 

So, yes, I do believe in Santa Claus.  And he's one of us!

 

I am feeling better, but not the best.  Like I mentioned, I don't really think that I'm dealing with the flu.  But I don't think it's really allergy, either.  I have been parked on the couch nearly all day, except for when I took Otter to work and that was less than an hour total.  I have my afghan and I'm parked on the couch with it.  Frequently, I have a beagle at me feet.  There is usually a BigDog not too far away, he's usually sleeping.  I'm drinking lots of fluids and taking it easy. Bill told me to get some butterscotch candy, but I do not like butterscotch.  I picked up a bag of Worther's, they are more caramel flavor than butterscotch.  Otter did offer me some of her cough drops last night, but they have Echinacea and I have a probably allergy to it.

 

 I'm going to make chicken noodle soup for dinner tonight.  Lots of it!

 

Otter is feeling much better, she wasn't feeling good at all last night.  But she felt just about back to normal this morning, which is another reason why I don't think we've been dealing with the flu.

 

Regarding the weather, the forecast has changed a bit.  It was supposed to start tomorrow night but now it's been changed to early Thursday morning.  We are in the projected path for snow and not ice, but that could still change so we really don't know what we'll get or when we'll get it.  We still have some milk and oj on hand, but I don't want to take any chances.  I also got another 20 lb. bag of birdseed.  I still have plenty of that left as well, but it usually goes fast so I grabbed another one.  Maggie Moo was very interested in it when I carried it in, I don't think she thought it was dog food but she was still very interested in the bag.  I will probably bring the feeders in tonight but not refill them until tomorrow and they'll be taken back out then.

 

Well, Frasier is awake!  He got up, stretched his long legs, then he moved to the other side of the living room.  And got back into nap position!  Silly dog.  But he might be on to something, a nap is beginning to sound really good about now.

Symptoms

Last January, I had the flu.  At the time, I really wasn't sure if that's what it was or not but I finally decided that yes, I did have the flu.  My first symptom was that I spent a lot of time cold and not able to get warm.  The next symptom was when I was talking to Bill and literally in the middle of a word, my voice just quit and my throat was suddenly very sore.

I've been cold for days.  Saturday and yesterday, I was unable to get warm.  Today wasn't much better, but at least I didn't have to sit with pile of blankets.

 

This afternoon, my voice got wonky fast and my throat got sore.  Fast.

 

At approximately the same time as my various symptoms, Otter had the same ones.

 

I sure hope that we aren't coming down with the flu.

Grey Day

It's grey and foggy.  It was foggy this morning but it burned off and then it was nicer.  Still cool, but we did see the sun a bit.  This afternoon/evening, it's back to being grey and it does look like it's getting foggy.

 

My quilt top which will be curtains is in the dryer.  After looking at it for a while, I decided to go ahead and wash it in the machine since it's cotton.  It did come out a little cleaner.  I think we'll get started on turning it in to curtains soon.  We have a neighbor behind us, so it's time to get better curtains up.  They have put mini-blinds in their windows at least.  They also have a dog, we think it's a dachshund.  I don't think that it stays out all the time, but Maggie and Frasier know that it's there and they go to the back fence every time they are let out in the back.

 

They spent a while out there this afternoon, after Otter cleaned up the dog yard we took the shovel and ruined a few gopher hills that suddenly appeared in the yard.  No sign of the gophers or their tunnels, but we did look.  We also did walnut patrol, but there weren't very many.  The tree looks like it still has a few walnuts yet to fall but not too many.

 

Otter and I also went to the local museum that has a Christmas tree/gingerbread house exhibit every December.  Some of the "trees" are interesting, to be polite about it!  The gingerbread houses are always fun, most of them are made by children, school, church or scout groups.

 

I finished (again) my turquoise scarf yesterday.  I put 5 more rows on it and the ruffle row.  It's much longer and fits much better.  I took it to church this morning.  I have another project, it's probably going to be a long-term one.  Bill suggested I make a robe for myself a while back and I did start one but then it decided it wanted to be a lap blanket for Bill instead.  I'm going to go ahead and make a robe, but I decided to use a softer yarn instead.  While Otter and I were out, we went to Michael's.  Their ad showed that they had the yarn I wanted to use on sale.  I bought 8 skeins, they are smaller skeins and I will probably have left over yarn.  I chose a pine green color for the robe.  Like I said, it's probably going to be a long-term project.  I don't really have any other projects waiting on me, I like to have something I can go back to between small projects or work on for hours if I chose to.

 

Hardly seems like it can be December 1st already!  I think we're going to get the Christmas stuff down from the attic next weekend, but not necessarily going to put the tree up yet.  I think it will probably be around the 15th or so before we put it all up.  Except for the wreath, it will go on the door as soon as we get it down from the attic.

Not Exactly Black Friday For Us

Except for Otter, and that's because she's working today.  I did have to wake her up this morning, so it's a good idea I had already planned on it.  What can I say, she sleeps soundly!  She had leftover pancakes and milk for breakfast then a Mountain Dew chaser.  Mountain Dew isn't her normal breakfast drink, but the caffeine was very much needed.  I took her to work after all, she was still kind of a cross-eyed zombie when it was time for her to leave.  We got there shortly before 5:00 and she was the first employee there - even before the boss.  I had planned on going back to bed when I got home, but Bill was up by then and the coffee was ready so I stayed up.

My version of  Black Friday shopping included going to the post office to clear the box and I ran into the grocery store.  But I don't think milk and orange juice count as Black Friday shopping.  The Salvation Army bell ringer was in a Santa suit and he had the right build to be Santa and, most importantly, he had the right beard and it was real.  There was an adorable little girl waking in the store with her dad and she was so cute.  Dad pointed "Santa" out to her and she was absolutely entranced with him.  Santa looked like he was really good at it, he was playing along with her and she was just precious.

 I went to the video store as well, but that is a normal Friday stop.  Bill's turn to pick the movie for tomorrow, he wanted Red 2 this weekend.  It sounds good, hopefully it will be.

 

(Later).  Otter got off about an hour early, she called me and I went to get her.  We had a couple of antique/junk stores we wanted to go to so we did that and found a few things.  For one thing, I found the quilt top I've been looking for.  $25.00 for a vintage quilt top that is probably about a double bed size.  It's mostly cotton, I have seen a few but they were polyester and I wanted cotton for this.  It's going to be the curtains for the bedroom.  I think I'm probably going to cut it down the middle across the wide part and then use the left over squares we have from the quilts Bill made to enlarge each half, they will probably be sewn around the outer edges.  I will probably back it with a sheet, it needs some type of backing but it won't have batting since it's going to be curtains.  It needs to be washed, it doesn't have any odor so I don't think it was ever exposed to cigarettes or anything but it is slightly dingy from age.  Otter also brought a piece of goldcrest Fenton to my attention, which I have been looking for.  It was $10.00 but on sale for 20% off so I got it for $8.00.  I don't buy a lot of Fenton anymore, just specific pieces or styles I want.  There are a couple of pieces I'm thinking about still.

 

Otter got off early because they were a little overstaffed and she also worked later one day this week, so her boss told her she could leave early, especially since she went in so early this morning.  She's not the head cashier, but she is the main one and her boss has repeatedly told her that she's the best one.  She's tired, but she did survive her first Black Friday working in retail day.

 

It's just after 3:00 now.  About 4:30, I'm going to head in the direction of a pizza place and get dinner to bring home.  Possibly Little Ceaser's.

Later In The Day

We're back from the feast we had with Grandpa & Sweetie.  Feast is the only word for it.  Lots of food and it was all delicious!  I did eat a bit too much - Thanksgiving rules say you have to, you know - but I didn't overdo it as much as I wanted to.  It was very hard to restrain myself, it was all so good.  We had a nice visit.  But now, I could use a nap.  It's after 4:30 so it's too late to take a nap, otherwise I would probably be in the middle of one.  Maybe I'll just go to be early instead.

 

I made the green bean casserole this morning, I used 2 small cans of mushrooms this time and I think I'll continue to add two cans to it in the future instead of just one like I normally do.  Otter's cake turned out great, it was baked last night then she assembled and decorated it this morning.  It was a poke cake, she used cranberry flavored jello to pour over it and it was really good.

 

Otter has to be in at 5:00 in the morning, the store actually opens at 7:00 but she is part of the early opening crew this time.  She was going to take herself, she really didn't want us to have to get up with her at that awful hour (4:15 a.m.!) but she is seriously afraid that she'll sleep through her alarm.  She has a loud one, but she sleeps soundly and has slept through it before.  One time, she even slept through the tornado siren and it was set up only one house away from us!  So I'm going to get up early with her and make sure she gets up, then I will probably go ahead and take her.  She gets off at 2:00 p.m., and if she's not totally exhausted we might go to a thrift store or an antique-ish store that probably won't be crowded.  I have a couple of errands tomorrow, such as the post office and the video store.  I will probably do them around the time I pick her up, then we'll see about the one or two stores.  After that, we'll most likely get pizza to bring home for Friday Night Dinner.  Bill's Friday plans consist of working on a pachinko machine, big surprise!!

 

Last night was pretty cold, we had a fire going and made 'smores.  Maggie Beagle figured out that it was warmer in the corner of the living room where the fireplace is, I guess she forgot about it since last winter.  After staring at the fireplace for a while, she picked her spot and parked her furry little behind.  Then, she scooted back until her backside was literally smooshed up against the rocks that make up the hearth.  Then, she went to sleep.  She's not a smart dog, but she does have her moments!  Froggy, the picture I texted you was of a metal toasting fork loaded with 2 marshmallows and about to get stuck in the flames.  Shortly after that, they got eaten.  And they were good!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thank you Heavently Father for the many blessings You have bestowed upon us.

I Think We Managed To Get There

Because the tv weatherman said it was 18 officially at the Tulsa airport.  It was mighty cold this morning!  I almost feel sorry for the unsmarts who are already camped out in front of the Best Buy in Tulsa.  We saw them on the news yesterday, they have apparently been there for a day or so already.  They have a tent and a tv in the tent - but even if they have a space heater, I'm sure they were plenty cold last night.  It ain't worth it, people!

 

The saline spray has really helped my dry sinus issues.  I used a q-tip to get it in the right place, which tickles a lot.  But it does feel better.  Although I think it made me sneezy - the saline, not just the q-tip.

 

I brought in my birdfeeders just now, they were emptied pretty fast.  I will probably put them out again in the morning.  The suet feeder is popular but it lasts longer than the seed feeders do.  The dogs prefer the seed feeders, they are more than willing to hoover up any seed the birds spill.

 

The phone guy came out this morning.  He switched us to another line at the phone junction box.  It sounds better, we just hope it stays that way.  But I won't be surprised if they have to come out again at some point.

 

It is going to be another cold night tonight, but not quite as cold.  At least it's dry.

19

We could have the coldest night of the year tonight.  The forecasted temperature is 19 degrees.  That is cold!  Tomorrow will be in the low 30's again and windy.  Very windy, but at least it's dry this time and no snow/ice/etc. is expected.

 

I took the car in to Chevy today.  When the previous shop, the ones we refer to as the "crooks" because they were, saw the car last (over 2 years ago) the mechanic said that he saw the beginnings of an oil leak and that it would be a couple of years before it showed up.  Because they did lie about so much, and charged for work not done or done wrong, we weren't too inclined to believe him.  Turns out, he was actually telling me the truth.  There is an oil leak.  But, this is the fun part - the mechanic at the bad place said we were looking at $2,000.00 - $2,500.00 to get it fixed.  Chevy said that it will most likely be around $800.00.  Chevy also said that it doesn't have to be fixed right away, I can probably wait months on it in fact but I might have to add oil to it periodically.  I'm more or less aiming for after the first of the year, it's a two-day job and right now we need all three cars to be running.  Also, with the fact that we do get winter weather we don't want to be stuck with the El Camino having to be driven as it's basically giant sled on ice!

 

I'm no longer feeling that I might be in "pre-sinus infection" mode.  I shouldn't be having allergy symptoms, but that's what it feels like.  Either that, or I might be on the way to a cold.  I bought some saline nasal spray and I'm going to see if that helps.  Because of the surgery I had when I was 16 to rebuild my septum/sinuses/nose, I can't really use any type of spray but I can use the saline but I can't actually spray it in my nose.  I will probably have to spray it on to a q-tip and then moisten the affected areas, but it's worth a try.  No nosebleeds the last couple of days, but I feel like a desert - dried up.  I changed out the filter in the humidifier this afternoon, it was dusty but not really moldy.  The humidifier does seem to help a little bit.

 

The phone repair guy is coming out tomorrow.  So of course the phones are working fine!  Just a hint of the noise we were hearing.  We're still going to have him come out, it seems to keep happening.  Bill will be here this time.  I don't think that the repair guys are at fault, they have fixed things each time they come out.  But something else keeps messing up and I really think that they should just go ahead and replace all the phone lines.  They probably don't want to, buried lines are a little harder and more expensive for them to replace.

 

I frogged out the ruffle row on my turquoise shawl and am going to add a few rows to it.  I put one on it today at lunch, I think it probably needs anywhere from 3 to 5 rows to be as long as I want it to be.  But I'm not sure exactly how many additional rows I'll put on it, I don't want to buy anymore of the specific yarn if I don't have to.  It's pretty but it is not fun to work with.  I think I have enough for at least a couple more rows plus the additional ruffle row.  The ruffle row uses a lot more yarn than a standard row.

 

I don't think I'm going to make any more of the rice bag/warmer bags.  The pattern worked and they turned out ok.  But they are small and not really practical.  I made one using the stitch the pattern called for and the right amount of rice, then I took out over half of the rice because it was just too fat.  I made a smaller one with a smaller/tighter stitch and it worked better and I didn't use nearly as much rice.  They just aren't really as practical as I hoped.  I will eventually get pictures on the craft blog.  If I think about it!

 

Guess that's it for now!

Too Tired to Think

So I'll blog instead.

 

We did get a touch of sleet overnight, just enough to show up on the car this morning.  The roads were fine, there were just a couple of spots where they looked wet but might have been a touch icy but they were minor.  Except for a couple of bridges that had to be shut down.  But mostly, it's just cold.  Very cold.

 

Bill needed his car today, so he took Otter to work and then I picked her up.  She was supposed to get off at 3:00, she was going to walk across the street to either McD's or Arby's and get something to eat.  Then I was going to pick her up and go to the grocery store, which is in the same shopping center as where she works.  But they asked her to stay until 4:00, so I went straight to the grocery store and she walked down there when she got off work.  It was starting to mist slightly when we got out of the store, it's not supposed to continue.  I hope that it doesn't, it's still below freezing and mist combined with below freezing temperatures do not make for a good driving experience!

 

I'm taking the car to Chevy tomorrow.  It's time for an oil change but I've also noticed what could well be and oil leak.  I talked to the Chevy guy tomorrow and I'll take it in first thing.  Hopefully, it's not a bad leak and is something fixable.  Easily fixable please!

 

I haven't talked about Star Trek lately.  Guess I'd better remedy that!  We've been watching it on the local channel that carries Me TV, they show an episode on Saturday night.  A couple of years back, the shows were re-mastered and they are very well done.  The colors are brighter, the special effects are in many cases totally re-done as well.  We've only seen about 5 or so of the episodes and they are well into Season 2.  The best episodes are in Season 1, I'll eventually get to see them but I may have to look the up online.  The absolute best episode, Balance of Terror, is the one I really want to see.  My second favorite is without question Space Seed, followed by The Devil in the Dark and then (of course!) The Trouble with Tribbles.    There is one other, which is probably really my 4th favorite, so Tribbles is actually 5th on my list.  The Doomsday Machine.  After all, it is my earliest memory!  It's 2nd season, so we got to see it a couple of weeks back.  The special effects were tremendous!  Absolutely spectacular.  The way they should have been done, and would have been if today's technology had been available in the early 1960's.  The show was state of the art at the time.  There are some misguided people who don't like the upgrades, because they are not "authentic" but I love them.  Especially on episodes that have a lot of special effects - such as The Doomsday Machine, and probably Balance of Terror as well.  One other comment on the special effects and upgrades - everybody has belly buttons again!

 

RIF, y'all.

Sunday Cats

If the cat is away, the mice will play.  Or, in this case:  If the Otter is away, the parents will go out to lunch!  Otter is at J's house this afternoon, so Bill & I went to El Chico for lunch.  We were going to Cici's Pizza, but it was close to 1:00 and they had a line out the door.  So, we went to the El Chico in the same shopping center and had what we call a "sit-down" meal - the one where you sit down and people wait on you.  It was good, we spent a little more than Cici's would have been but we ate less than we would have at the pizza buffet.  But I wish that I'd remembered to ask for the cilantro to be left off!  I'm somewhere between strongly sensitive to it and mildly allergic.  And I just plain don't like it anyway.  I think I got most of it off, but I'm sure I probably ate a little bit of it.

 

I feel like I may be in what Otter calls "pre sinus infection" mode.  Several times lately, I've felt like I was on the verge of one.  Then it would go away.  I've had three nosebleeds in two days, due to the dry air and they were not bad but they sometimes presage infections.  I woke up with a lot of sinus pressure but not actual pain this morning.  It's better this afternoon, but I still feel it.  I could go to the doctor now, but I know from experience that they'll just tell me that it's an allergy when I know what is actually is based on my history.  I have learned over the years to wait until the symptoms get to a certain point, otherwise I get treated like I don't know what I'm talking about and sent out the door.  Without any relief.  So, I'll watch it for a couple of days and see what happens.  Been there, done that enough times to know what to do and when to do it as far as medical treatment is concerned.  But it might be improving this afternoon, so I'll just have to wait and see what happened.

 

Froggy, my I finished the prototype rice bag/warmer.  I think it's a little bit big and I also think that the pattern called for too much rice.  I took out about half of the rice it called for and it works better, but I think that I'll make them smaller than the first one.  They would work great for hand warmers in pockets, Otter has already requested a matching pair.

 

Otter has to work on Black Friday.  She's not surprised, but she was really hoping not to have to be in the first shift.  She has to be in at 5:00 a.m., the store opens at 6:00.  She will probably leave the house about 4:30, so she'll be getting up at 4:00.  I'm very glad that I'm not in her shoes.  She does have more hours scheduled this week, which she expected and she is glad about that.

 

Bill is off this week, he's taking vacation days Monday through Wednesday.  We've been having problems with our home phone and the soonest someone could get out here is Wednesday morning anyway, so it works out well for him to be here.  It used to be that the phone would go out completely, every time it rained.  They came out a few times and replaced a few things and it got better.  But sometime over the last couple of weeks, something apparently went wrong with the phone lines and now we can hardly hear anyone because of the horribly loud buzzing sound.  We all have cell phones so we aren't out of reach, but it's still kind of frustrating.  It's a smaller phone company and the only one that is available out here, unless we wanted to go with Cox Cable company and that is the last thing we want to do.  So, if anybody needs us it's still best to use the cell phones until Wednesday at least.

 

Bill built a fire in the fireplace while ago, he's back in the office.  He is working on his computer but I'm in the livingroom so he made me a fire.  We have gotten a lot of use out of the fireplace already, Friday night and then just about all day yesterday.  We haven't gotten the possible snow yet but it has been very cold.  We might have gotten above freezing yesterday, but I'm not sure.  I refilled my birdfeeders Friday and switched to bigger ones.  I also put out a suet feeder.  The seed feeders needed to be refilled this morning, the suet feeder is still there and intact but it's considerable smaller now.  We've had mostly sparrows, two varieties in fact but we also saw a female cardinal.  I think that there might have been a couple of starlings.  No sign of woodpeckers yet, but they will probably show up sooner or later.  I have three large popcorn tins full of birdseed, I've used about 2/3 of one.  The dog's water dish was frozen over this morning, Otter went out to pour warm water over it and she said that there were a lot of birds.  Birds need water in the winter but not everybody realizes that.  So even when the (stinky!) dogs are inside, we keep their water dish as full and as non-frozen as we can.

 

The dogs don't seem to mind sharing their water with birds.  Besides, they spend most of their time snoozing, either on their blankets or in front of the fireplace!  Which actually sounds pretty smart to me.

Ready!

Froggy, don't worry.  I got the chocolate!  We bought marshmallows already and I checked the graham crackers.  We're prepared.  Of course, Bill brought in firewood already.  Because I need to make 'smores.  (That's the most important reason for the firewood!)

 

But you are right Froggy - chocolate is good anytime.

 

I don't think we're going to have anything bad, just really, really cold.  But I filled up the car tonight anyway - I try to not let it get below half a tank when there is the possibility of either spring-like storms or for most of the winter.  Just common sense to be prepared.

 

I also brought in the birdfeeders that I put out several days ago.  I bought 4 more plastic birdfeeders at Atwood's the other day that were in their clearance section.  They are kind of cheaply made but they were a buck apiece so I grabbed them.  I'll fill up at least a couple tomorrow morning and put them out - it I remember.  If I forget, I'll get them out Saturday morning.

 

Otter got good news at work yesterday.  Her boss wants to increase her hours and very soon she'll be getting trained on "back of the store management" soon.  It's not actual management, but it is more responsibility.  I think she's really enjoying a job where a) she's not taken advantage of and b) is recognized for being a dependable, hard worker.  And also the fact that the manager knows what he's doing.  And then there is also the fact of the lack of late nights!

 

There was probably more I wanted to talk about, but I'm tired.  It's been a long day and I think I'm going to spend a little while keeping the couch from flying up to the ceiling and the tv from getting lonely.

92!

Otter and I planted 92 tulip bulbs this afternoon.  She put some of the colors in patterns and some are just planted.  There are several rows, either 5 or 6 in each row.  We treated the bed a couple of times, stirred the dirt around a few times and got all the bulbs planted today.  We both have sore backs, but it's done and we don't have to do anything else now.  We found several earth worms and the dirt looked good, nice & rich.

 

It might be winter this weekend.  At least, it will be cold and possibly wet.  The type of wetness will be determined by how cold it actually gets, we have a chance of wintery precipitation - in other words, we have a chance of flurries.  But since the forecasters can't predict a hole if they dig it themselves, we are prepared for all contingencies.  Even if we don't get anything!  Bill's been cutting some of the firewood to size to fit the fireplace.  We hope to be able to use it Saturday.  Guess I'd better get more chocolate tomorrow, you can't make 'smores without it!

Just a Few Random Thoughts

I've been cutting up habeneros to put in the freezer, so my allergy symptoms are temporarily gone!  I used latex gloves, cut carefully, removed the gloves carefully and then scrubbed my hands with soap and hot water.  I've learned from watching Bill that there are never enough or too many safeguards with habeneros!

 

I've been having allergy symptoms today, and I think it's the wonderful mountain cedar making it's presence known.  Hate the stuff.  Almost as bad is the sneaky cinnamon scented pine cones that most stores seem to stock and seem to put by the register and/or entrance so that I can't escape them.

 

Looks like winter is going to show up towards the end of the week.  Possibly as soon as Thursday but maybe not until Friday evening.  We probably won't get anything bad, but it's going to depend on the temperature when the rain starts.  Bill brought in a bunch of firewood while ago, we'll probably have the fireplace going most of Saturday.  Which means that the dogs will be overjoyed, they stake out their nap spots pretty much immediately upon Bill starting a fire.

 

The 50th Anniversary of the JFK assassination is coming up this week.  Obviously, it's been in the news and will be for a few more days.  I think the actual day is Friday.  I was around when it happened, but I wasn't quite two years old yet and so I have no memory of the event.  But it was sort of the background to the childhood of everyone who was young at the time, we all just sort of grew up knowing about it.  No matter a person's opinion of a particular President, murder is never the answer.  There are a lot of conspiracy theories out there, and some of them are pretty wild.  I personally have never felt that the "lone gunman" theory works or that Oswald was the actual killer - although I do think he thought he was and he did fire his gun.  My money would be on organized c r i m e, but that's just my opinion - and Bill's, by the way.  But the point is that it was still a life taken.  I think that people tend to forget that fact, among all the mania that accompanies anything connected with him.  I may have more to discuss on this subject at a later date.  (The spacing on c r i m e is so that it's not searchable, some things always show up on a search no matter how many safeguards are in place and I want to be private.)

 

Along with allergy issues, I've been fighting a case of RedHead Anemia.  I'm increasing my protein and iron.  We had homemade sloppy joes tonight, I made it with ground beef.  I changed it up slightly, I added chopped celery and cut up a banana pepper to add to it, then we also topped it off with parmesan cheese.  It was pretty good, although I'm not sure I used enough chili powder in it.  Not that Bill objected!  It's one of his favorite "easy meals."

 

Is it Friday yet?  It's only Tuesday!  This has been a long week and it's still not even half-way over.

Not Sure Which Season it Really is...

but it might be Spring again.  Judging by the amount of wind we've had the last couple of days, and also by the amount of allergy symptoms I've had.  I'm really thinking that it's April again!

 

I did a little thrift/antique shopping today.  Didn't find anything I wanted to buy, but I was feeling a little housebound and it was nice to get out of the house for a couple of hours.  Otter is gone to her D & D game, she'll be home sometime in the next hour-ish.  Bill spent the day working on assorted projects, including using the chain saw blade sharpener.  Which worked, by the way, and there was no blood spilled!  We got into the shed a bit this afternoon, he pulled two machines out of the never-ending-pachinko stash and he's going to start working on them this week.  But he's still got more pachinko machines than should be legal!

 

I have a "little old man" in the form of a large furry dog at my feet.  He parked himself there a little while ago and I think he's dozing off.  The beaglebrat was already snoozing, on their blankets at the end of the couch.  Lazies!

 

Froggy, I texted you the pictures of the shawl already but I've put the ruffle row on it since then.  I will get it sent to you sometime this week, possibly tomorrow (Monday.)  I'll let you know for sure when it's on the way.

 

Since I finished up Froggy's shawl, I don't really have any more UFO's.  I have temporarily put off finishing the yarn wreath until I've gotten a few planned Christmas gift projects out of the way, so I'm don't consider the wreath a UFO.  I have managed to get quite a few things finished up this year, the afghan being one of them.  Froggy, your shawl was not intended as a de-stash project, but it certainly was a good one.  I still have quite a bit of that particular yarn left, it's the same yarn as the afghan was made from and I bought a lot since I wasn't sure how much the afghan would take.  I'm sure I'll have a use for it at some point, it's really good yarn and I really like it.  But not for a while, my arms are just a bit sore after I spent most of yesterday crocheting!

Dog Days

The dogsters went to the vet today.  Frasier was (over)due for his rabies shot and Maggie Moo was ready for a rear end alignment (anal glands cleaned out) as well as a tire retread (claws trimmed).  Both things were accomplished with a minimum of fuss, Maggie was even glad to get to the vet's today.  Frasier does have cataracts, I thought I could see a hint of opaqueness in his eyes at the right angle and the vet noticed it as well.  Not bad and not anything to worry about, but we are aware of it "officially" now.  Frasier has also had a really severe issue with bad breath, off & on.  The vet thinks it's "dental disease" the same way that a person with bad teeth gets.  He's not willing to do anything to the dog's mouth and neither am I, but he did give me an antibiotic to give Frasier for several days.  It might be something I'll have to give him every several months, depending on how often/strong/if the infection comes back.  Maggie Moo is 28 pounds and Frasier is 69 pounds.  Both are healthy, Frasier is just old but pretty good for an 84-year-old man!  (Approximately 12 years x 7 dog years.)

 

Frasier's shot was due in late August/early September, but we were kind of busy with Billyboy's skin cancer issues and I forgot about it after all the fun with him was over.  But it's not a problem, the dog doesn't really go anywhere where he's exposed to other dogs and the vet wasn't concerned with it being late.

 

Otter is gone to see the new Thor movie.  Or at least that was the plan when she left with one of her friends at 8:30-ish this morning.  She'll eventually be home and then she is forbidden to tell me much about the movie.  Which is guaranteed to drive her nuts.  :)

 

Nearly Friday!

Somewhat Ready for Winter

I added a few things to our "Housebound/Stuckathome/Icestorm" supplies.  I think we're pretty much ready for the possibility of being caught at home this winter, we have plenty of firewood and enough canned/dried food for several days.  Not that I expect it, but we didn't expect Snowmagedden 2011 either!  Our supplies consist of:  canned chili, canned stew, canned Vienna sausage (for Bill, I personally can't stand the stuff), canned tuna, crackers, ritz crackers, instant coffee (the most important!), tea bags, dried pasta, peanut butter (creamy, because that's the kind I like and I was the one at the store), canned orange juice, canned dog food (can't forget the pupsters!), canned beans (also for Bill), bottled water, and a few other things.  I will probably get a small bag of dried dog food, but I think we're pretty much ready.  I might also get a few cans of soup.  We always have things like batteries, candles, first aid supplies on hand.  It's a Borg Queen thing, I have to be prepared for all contingencies.  More than once, it's been a good thing.  Not just in Feb. 2011, but enough times that prove it's warranted.

 

I figure I've always got enough yarn on hand!  And plenty of projects that need it. :)

 

It was very cold last night and this morning, we hit the predicted 21 degrees.  It got into the low 50's this afternoon.  It wasn't breezy, so it actually felt better than yesterday - even this morning.  Although Otter might disagree, she got the joy of scraping off a frosted car before she could go to work!  I did help her, after I'd finished my car.  It was just frost and not really ice, but it was still a cold job.

 

Bill has a new toy.  It's a sharpener for a chainsaw blade.  He need it badly, the chainsaw was getting pretty dull.  I know, it's a tool to make a dangerous item even more dangerous!  But a dull saw is dangerous as well, especially when it's a saw with an engine.

 

Otter's going to see the new Thor movie tomorrow.  She promises not to spoil it for me.  Which will be fun to watch, especially if it's a good movie and she can't tell me!  It's her turn to rent the movie for Saturday, since she's actually off this Saturday, and she's chosen the new Superman movie.  Which I actually want to see - possibly a sign of the end of the world that I want to see a Superman movie!

BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We had the first hard freeze of the season last night.  It was 28 degrees when we got up this morning.  28!  Talk about cold.  The car Otter drives was just about out of gas, so I ran it up to the gas station about 6:30 a.m. and filled it up for her.  I thought my leather jacket and a cap would be enough.  I was wrong!  I came back home and was home just long enough to warm up before it was time for me to head back out the door.  I did manage to get a scarf this time, as well as putting the lining that wasn't originally in my leather jacket in it this time.  After I got outside, I realized that I should have worn my heavy coat but I didn't quite have enough time to go back inside after it.

 

It never really got much warmer.  The temperature was somewhere in the 40's ish I think, maybe a little warmer.  But the wind chill kept the "feels like" temperature about where it was when we got up.  Otter didn't have to be at work until 11:00, she said it was still pretty cold when she left and she just got home (6:45 p.m.) and said it's colder.  When I got home, I got out in the back yard and picked up the few remaining walnuts from the yard.  It was still cold!  Bill brought in a load of firewood and we are now enjoying the first fire of the season.  I made extremely hot chili for dinner tonight.  It's a good day for it.

 

It's supposed to be even colder tonight.  Like the low 20's.  Well, we have plenty of blankets!

Eleven Eleven Eleven

With our grateful Thanks.  May we never forget.

(I miss you, Dad.)

Still Here! (Froggy will get on me if I don't blog regularly)

Froggy, I put 2 more rows on the shawl today, that is on top of the 4 or so I put on it this week.

 

I may be in the market for a new microwave soon.  I think mine is going out.  Well, it is 20 years old so I guess I shouldn't be surprised.  Except for being surprised at how long it has lasted.

 

I'm really thinking that Fraiser's teeth need some vet attention.  He has tartar build up and it's gotten bad.  His breath stinks, and so does anything he licks - which means their blankets, the carpet, himself, Maggie Moo!  The problem is that the vet will want to put him under and then we are back to the same problem we had a year ago when the tumor was removed:  an old dog who might not tolerate it.

 

My laptop is covered with dog hair.  Frasier likes to lay his head on the side of the keyboard and get my attention.  No, the laptop doesn't smell!  But it does have a little furriness to it this evening.

 

Thanksgiving is in two weeks.  Christmas is in 6 weeks.  More or less.  I think I might be getting a new microwave from Santa!  Santa Mom, anyway.

 

My allergies were a little better after the freeze, but then they got bad again.  It's been windy and that makes them worse.  Today was cool but at least it wasn't too breezy.  The humidifier is helping.

 

OK, Froggy.  I blogged.

We Got There..

It was 31 degrees when we left the house this morning.  Maybe that means that my Fall allergies will be a little better?  It won't knock them all out until we have a good, hard freeze.  That may be a little while.  But I'm hoping that at least some of the crud has been killed.

 

I also had my first official nosebleed of the season.  Dry air always causes them.  It wasn't bad, it was just unexpected.  But, being a redhead...  Anyway, I put the humidifier in the bedroom a couple of nights ago, on my side of the bed and close to the head of the bed.  It has helped some, I've slept better and when I wake up I'm less stuffy.

 

Not cold enough for a fire yet, though.  We still need to get the chimney cleaned anyway, which we are going to try to schedule for Thanksgiving week since Bill's taking vacation days that week.  If, that is, I can ever remember which company we used in 2009 when we had the chimney rebuilt!

 

The dogs seem to be enjoying the colder weather as well.  When I got home, Otter and I let the dogsters out in the back yard while we did "walnut patrol."  They were very playful.  Frasier particularly.  He ran and ran and ran and ran and ran...To Infinity and Beyond.  He ran over Maggie Moo several times, she finally figured it out and she tried to trip him several times.  She was on the losing end of his craziness quite a bit but she seemed to have as good a time as he did.  He was so funny, I have never seen him run quite so much and he was smiling.  If the grey on his muzzle wasn't so evident, I'd say he was a young puppy.

 

Walnut Patrol consists of picking up black walnuts which fall from the tree in the (nice) neighbor's back yard.  The tree in question was originally outside of his yard, but then fence the builders put up many years ago enclosed the tree into his yard.  The builder is going to move the fence, but the neighbor is contesting it so it's still in his yard.  The builder will probably eventually win the this one.  When that happens, the builder will take out the tree which is not in good shape anyway.  It never really recovered from the ice storm in 2007.  It's a Black Walnut tree and we've literally picked up hundreds of the things.  It has always dropped them in our yard, but never as bad as this year.  They are poisonous if the dogs eat them, or at least can make them sick.  Of course, that means that the dogs love them!  The neighbor may take the tree down himself, he said it would work great to use with his smoker.  Whichever way, either the builder or the neighbor, I hope it is taken out soon.  It won't take much, another ice storm or a bad wind storm like we had last summer and the tree may not still be standing.  The problem is that it might not be standing because it fell over in my yard, on my shed, on my fence or on someone or someone's pets.

 

TGIF tomorrow!

Dirty Jobs

Or job singular, to be exact.  Otter and I got out to the tulip bed and basically stirred the dirt.  There is some evidence of a mole trail, after we treated it.  We're probably going to plant the tulip bulbs next week and we will treat it then.  Then, we'll leave it to sit and hopefully we'll see tulips next spring.

 

I also came across my bluebonnet seeds, the ones I harvested from this year's crop.  I'm going to see about planting a few of them in the whiskey barrel - although I have a baby blue already sprouting.

 

The humming bird feeders came in yesterday and I washed them this morning.  They are now put away until next spring.  I need to get my seed feeders ready, I don't think I need to replace any of them this year.

 

We have a good chance of rain, it's expected to start after midnight.  It could continue through Thursday morning.

 

Real exciting, huh!?

Mousketeers

It took three tries, but we got the mouse!  The first night, Bill baited the trap with peanut butter and birdseed.  I checked the trap the next morning.  It was still there, unsprung and also unbaited.  It's just one of those stories that mice like cheese, they really don't care for it, but Bill used it when he re-baited the trap because it would at least stay on the trap and not be as easy to take off without springing the trap.  Mice will eat it if they are hungry enough or if it's the only thing available, but the mousie was apparently not hungry the second night.  Last night, Bill left the cheese on the trap and spread a tiny bit of peanut butter on the cheese.  This morning, the trap was not where he left it.  Because when it sprung, it flipped off the shelf and took the dead mouse with it.  It was a male mouse, by the way.  Which is the best one to find, a female might well mean that there is a family of mice somewhere.  Mice are social animals and one might mean another is close by, but since it was a male mouse there is less chance of a lot of them.  Bill's probably going to place another trap on the shelf and we'll see if we get any more.  We haven't had them for a couple of years, but with the construction behind us and the fact that it's getting cooler I won't be surprised if we do have/get more.

 

We went to Ace Hardware earlier, Bill got pachinko machine repair supplies and I got more mouse traps!

 

Movie Review:  Monsters University.  We rented it yesterday.  Otter saw it when it was in the theaters but we never got there.  It was ok, better than I expected, but not great.  It was a lot longer than I expected and fairly predictable.  But it wasn't bad.  It also didn't have the Agenda we thought it might.  I'm waiting until the sequel to Despicable Me comes out.  Hopefully, it's as good as we've heard.

 

Froggy, I've gotten several rows done on your shawl.  I put three or four on it yesterday and two today.  It is a pattern that works up fast, it's just been a matter of actually finding the time to work on it.  I also have another pattern that I think I'm going to try, it's made with cotton yarn and is a heating pad.  Basically, it's a knee-high nylon hose stuffed with rice and the outer cover is crocheted.  I'm going to make one and see how it works, Otter is usually a willing guinea pig for my projects and I'm thinking she'll like this one.  Who knows, I might actually make a few and put them on my etsy shop!  The one I've had for over a year now and have never actually used.