Spring has Sprung!

I'm happy that it's officially Spring. It was a cold winter, we had more than enough ice & snow and I'm glad it's done. Of course, we could still get a freak snow storm. That has been known to happen. But I'm hoping that we don't.

Especially because I got my bluebonnets last week and they are starting to bloom! They are in the whiskey barrel that the mailbox is in, I usually put them there. The neighbors probably think we're crazy, because the first thing we do when we get home is go stick our faces in the bluebonnets! They have such a delightful scent. Makes me homesick!

Also the tulips are up and one has started to bloom. Several of them have buds and will be blooming in the next few days. The daffodils look great, too. And I have several things in pots out on the deck, including 6 strawberry plants. I had them last year, too. It was so nice to be able to go pick a couple of fresh berries when we wanted them.

Dental visit today, Otter's teeth look great and the dentist sees no problems with my dentures. Back in 6 months.

Prayer request: Our friend Larry has been diagnosed with lung cancer, and he had surgery last week. When he had the biopsy, his lung collapsed and he was hospitalized for several days. This surgery was to remove the cancer and to do that the doctor had to take a good portion of the lung in question. I think that the cancer was pretty advanced when it was discovered. Any prayers would help, Larry and his wife Lin are really nice people and I think they have "adopted" Bill as one of theirs.

And before I forget - I have a message for a certain sister of mine: YOU HAD BETTER NOT BACK OUT ON COMING TO SEE ME THIS SUMMER!!

Puppy Dog Tails and other stuff

Yesterday was very interesting. I got to get into full Texan Woman mode and the electric company was the lucky party that got the full treatment. There is a power line that has been laying on the ground since it was installed - over 5 years ago - behind my house. It's outside of my fence except for a very small corner area, it runs from the next door neighbor's one one side to the next door neighbor's on the other side. We've called numerous times about it, finally yesterday they decided that yes, they really should have buried the line when they originally put it in. So they turned in the order and the technician called me to get the details. He called on my cell, so he has no excuse for his later failure to contact me. I gave him directions and very specific instructions regarding my yard, my dogs and the gates. I picked Otter up at school and we ran errands, then got home to an open front gate and no beagle. We immediately started looking outside for her, the neighbors across the street were about to take a walk and I asked them but they hadn't seen her. However, they said they would keep an eye out for her on their walk. I went the opposite direction from them, and since we live pretty close to a very busy street I told Otter that she needed to stay home. I was seriously afraid that I would find a run over dog and did not want her to see it. I asked a couple of people in the neighborhood, but nobody had seen the dog. I was about to the busy street when Bill called me because the neighbors from across the street found a sign on the next street: "Found Beagle". I called the phone number, and it was our Maggie. She was on the next street over from ours, the lady who lives there was not at home but she'd left the dog in her garage since her dogs don't like other dogs. When she got home, she called me and I don't think I've ever seen anyone run quite as fast as Otter did on her way over to get her dog.

After I called the phone number on the sign, I went in and called PSO - the local electric company. I politely said that I was wondering if the service guy had actually come out regarding my service call and when the customer service rep said that he had, I then told her that I wanted his name, his supervisor's name, and the reason. She couldn't give me his name, but she was almost as furious as I was. She emailed him and his supervisor. She asked me how I wanted this to be resolved - Bill and Otter both wanted the guy fired, but I didn't think that would be fair to his family if he's got one to feed, so I said I wanted his employee file to be noted, I wanted him counselled about following through and about doing his job correctly, and that I wanted an iron-clad guarantee that this would never happen again. Then we went to PetsMart for new name tags for them, since Maggie's fell off sometime prior to her adventure. We didn't know that they were missing or we would have already gotten her new ones. Now both dogs have 2 tags with their names & ours, our address & phone number. No sign of Magginator's old tags in the yard, so I will probably have to get a new city license tag and rabies tag for her.

I must have put the fear of Mom into PSO, because they called me about 4 times today just to make sure that I was aware that they had to send someone else out today to check the logistics of actually burying the line and that the work will actually be done Tuesday morning. The service guy (a different one, smart on their part), called me after he'd been out today to let me know that he did not have to get into the yard and gave me the name of the person who will be in charge on Tuesday. Bill will be home on Tuesday, and he and probably Otter as well will be out there watching them. I went to Wallyworld at 6:00 this morning for padlocks. My gates will not be opened anymore unless we do it! And PSO is well aware of that! I definitely put the Fear of Mom into them.

Oh, and the gate in question - there is absolutely no way it could have been opened accidentally. There are about 4 steps to open it, and it is extremely obvious to anyone at all - except yesterday's sorry excuse for a service tech - that there is no way AT ALL that it can be shut from the outside.

Otter's cell phone has been replaced. Same number as before.

Otter's doctor visit was today, she's extremely healthy and has grown 4 1/2" in a year. Which I already knew, because I am the one who buys her clothes! She's all leg. She got a tetnus shot since it's been several years and also the doctor gave her the menningitis shot she would eventually be required to have. Then Otter demanded ice cream, so we had to go to Braums and they had double dip cones on sale so I bought her a double vanilla cone. And a strawberry cheesecake ice cream pie for us!

Happy St. Patrick's Day! I'm curious though. Why did what was originally a religous day turn into an excuse to drink yourself stupid? And not just Irish, either!

Darkthirty

I don't like the time change! It's still dark when I leave for work around 7:00. When Otter gets the school bus, it's before 7:00 and she can hardly see to get to the bus stop. Hope the driver has good vision and doesn't leave the kids there because she can't see them waiting!

Otter's phone will be operational in the next day or so. We bought her a replacement 0n eBay (where else?!) and it's gone to be programmed now. It should be the same number. I'll let everyone know when it's been turned on.

And because Otter is related to me, she's now taken over my role as nosebleed queen. We had to run her to the ER Friday evening when she started gushing and we couldn't get it stopped - they cauterized. Then she had a small one yesterday morning and another one this morning. I had a "talk" with the school nurse today about the fact that she didn't call me yesterday, even though she was supposed to - and Otter did tell her about Friday's experience. She sees her pediatrician for her annual check-up on Friday, I'm going to make sure the doctor is aware of this. No karate this week, she can't take any chances of her nose being bumped.

I'm taking an eBay break since anything I post this week will be ending during Spring Break. But I'll be posting again next Wednesday. Which will still be ending during Spring Break since nobody has it the same week, but I don't want to stay off too long.

Welcome to the world & the family, Madelyn! Congratulations, Les & Jacque. The adventure is just beginning for you.

March 12

I'm sure we all wish we could have some peach cobbler today, made by the master cook.

Rocks In My Head

I recall Mom using that expression. Along with having lost her marbles! Although Kimberly knew were they were...

Mom's been on my mind a lot, I know because of her birthday tomorrow. So today I decided to work on my rock garden in her memory. We moved the fountain back a bit, and then we moved all the little rocks from the small area that was originally Otter's rock garden, it took 3 wheelbarrow loads but now the rocks have a new home in the big rock garden. Otter decided her rock garden wasn't big enough, which is wasn't, so we combined it with mine and now we share it. Otter can not pass a rock up, she either has to touch it, pick it up, or talk about it if it's too big. She comes by it honestly! Remember Mom moving her rocks?

Speaking of Mom's rocks, when is it going to be my turn for the ones we share custody of? :)

Rental House Odysey Update and other stuff

The tenant called me this afternoon. He wanted to ask if he could stay another month, since he'd already told us he would be out by the end of March or maybe by the 15th. He went back to NY last week to drive one of his cars back and he was surprised it was so cold! I think he got up there and realized that maybe it wasn't so bad in OK after all. I told him that was fine with us, since he was still under the lease terms for a while anyway. As long as the rent is paid, we don't have any reason - or even any desire - to ask him to leave. He's going to look for a job here, he came here for a job that then turned out to not be what he was told when he was hired. Which I can understand as a reason to be unhappy, but he quit by choice. He said that he's still not sure if he wants to stay here or go back, so there is still a possibility that he will move out. But at least he'll be there through April. We may still put it on the market, that will be determined later after we talk about it.

Otter will have a new cell phone in a few days. We bought her a new one - on eBay, of course! It should be delivered sometime next week and I will let everyone know. I think it will be the same number but I don't know for sure. Since there is a possibility that her phone will be changing to our cell phone provider & plan towards the end of the year, we did not want to buy an expensive phone and then be told by Sprint that it's not compatible and that we would have to buy her a new one. They might tell us that, but we won't be out a huge amount of $$ on the phone we just bought. Sometimes I think we shop on eBay as much as we sell there...

It's been on my mind that this coming Monday is the 12th, Mom's birthday. She's been on my mind quite a bit lately, more so this year than last year leading up to her birthday. Otter's beagle, Maggie the Spoiled, came to us shortly before Mom's birthday last year and since we don't know her exact birthdate, Otter decided that Maggie's birthday should be March 12th in honor & memory of her grandmother. So the Magginator officially will turn 3 on Monday. No, we aren't going to have a party for a dog!!!!! But the Otter turns 15 on the 31st and she will have a party this year. As soon as she decides where, she's got 3 or 4 choices and she's having a hard time deciding.

Moonies!

At the moment their is a lunar eclipse occuring. Otter is out on the back deck with the telescope, I get cold so I only go out there for a few minutes. The dogs usually go out with me but they don't have any interest in staying out there in the dark. Smart puppies!

I've been having difficulties with my cell phone the last few days. Friday it decided that I did not need to talk to anyone. I could hear them but they could not hear me. I went to the Sprint store and they sent me to the store down the street where the repair techs are at. The phone had a mechanical failure of some sort and I had to get a new one. I had to BUY a new one, because when I replaced my previous phone they told me there was an insurance policy for $4.00/month and I told them I wanted it. But they never added it on to my plan, so I wound up spending $60.00 to get a new phone! Because I'm an existing customer, it was a lot less than if I was just walking in the door to get service. But I was still pretty pissed, but there was nothing I could do. My number is the same, I just have a slightly upgraded cell phone. However, the first one they sold me failed as they were turning it on and they had to void that sale and go get another one! Frustrating! I had stress fairies visiting me all week, but yesterday with the phone was the worst.

We are about to lose the tenant in our rent house. He's moving back to New York, the job was not what he was told when he moved here and he said he's had enough. I don't blame him, after I talked to him I would probably do the same in his position regarding quitting the job. We do appreciate his calling us to tell us instead of just moving out. However, he is still breaking the lease. He's taken care of the house and we won't have to do much to get it ready again. Except that we might be getting it ready for sale instead of for rent. To be decided later!

One other thing - my boss and his wife both turned 90 years old last year. A week ago they celebrated their 70th Anniversary! And they are still very obviously very much in love. Great people, and a cute couple.

Time Flies When You're Having Fun!

Tomorrow, 2/28/07, will be 14 years since we moved to Oklahoma. It was a good move for us, although it was difficult at first. I remember being extremely homesick for a few days, then I got busy with unpacking and trying to keep track of a one-year old redheaded girl who gave the Energizer Bunny a run for the money!

Some of the difficult things: I was sick with a sinus infection at the time. Having to find a pediatrician in a hurry because kiddo got sick immediately (we now know it was probably her cat allergy). Learning my way around Tulsa (not that hard actually). The U-Haul truck having problems near Dallas and having to get someone to come out and attempt to repair it - we wound up not being able to turn it off or it wouldn't start again which made for a fun experience when we had to stop for gas, and potty stops had to be done with one of us staying in the truck while waiting anxiously for the other one to hurry! Spring weather! (We learned fast what that siren meant). State income tax. Discovering that there really weren't all that many Tex-Mex places to eat and we STILL CAN'T FIND BREAKFAST TACOS! (but there are more places to eat now). The first weekend in October, Texas/OU game - only bad when we lose. Hardest of all, leaving our family and friends and all that was familiar!

Good things: Much smaller city than SA so the traffic is a lot better and I could be across town in 30 minutes or less, even with traffic! We actually get to see seasons change, Autumn was a new one for us and we like winter weather - when we get it in small doses far apart. The cost of living is less. First weekend in October when we win! (Which we have done the last 2 years in a row). We are in a really good school district. We like our church.

There have been some hard times when it was difficult to be so far away from family, 3 deaths to deal with (Wyona, Clara, Jim). And it can be hard to ride 10 hours in a car to get to see everyone. But we are very happy here and all in all, we are glad we took the chance.

Has the tomb of Jesus been found?

Come on, get real. This guy is saying he hopes to find the bones of Jesus. Only one problem with that - the bones were resurrected! Then Jesus ascended into heaven, he was not reburied. When are "they" going to realize that God is not something that can be minimized, rationalized or explained away!!!!! Geesh.

Major, major wind came through on Saturday. We managed to not get any of the bad spring-like weather that was forecast. But it was extremely windy and the patio furniture got rearranged twice by the wind. We were almost afraid that the Magginator would take flight, those long ears of hers...

And for Froggy, Maggie is not the sharpest crayon in the box, we all know that. But at least it didn't take her 2 years to learn her name! Hee, hee. I know who you are! :)

Moo!

I think that Beagles must be seriously brain damaged. Or at least ours is! This dog is so brave, when we took our walk and saw cows in the field behind the house she barked once, then ran behind me and barked her little head off - all the while the only part of her that can be seen is her nose sticking through my legs at about ankle height! Stupid dog! Frasier was unconcerned, he looked at the cows and then start sniffing around and looking bored. The cows were curious, they seemed to want to be where Otter was standing so they went down the fence line to where they could see her. Her own dog didn't even "defend" her! It was really funny watching the dumb mutt. Well, I guess she's not a mutt since she's a full blooded beagle. But she's not a very brave one! Goosey, as Aunt Jessie used to say.

Very windy today, not too cold but the wind made it feel colder. I think it was in the mid-40's but it was a nice day.

Been a while!

Since the last time I updated this. Otter is well, she's back at school but is still having some asthma. But she's over the bug and we are happy about that. She hasn't been to karate in over a week, and I'm not sure yet about Thursday.

Vacation plans: We are probably not going to be taking any trips this year. We enjoy seeing everyone, but we have decided to have home vacations this year. We haven't gotten to do that in quite a while, and we feel the need this year. However, anyone who wants to come see us is welcome - the road does run both ways, you know! :) Just give us a phone call - especially Toadly so I can fill the fridge!!!

It's very cold still. 30's daytimes, mid teens at night. We had snow flurries this morning and bitterly cold winds. Tomorrow should be the same, but it might be up into the low 50's for a few days after that. I think the groundhog missed it this year - maybe they used the wrong groundhog? Or maybe he was looking the wrong direction! Whatever, I'm ready for spring! But not for spring storms.

Ever try going several days without blowing your nose? It's not easy, let me tell you! For those of you I didn't email, I had a major nosebleed Monday and had to go to an emergency clinic because it would not stop. That's the 3rd one in about a week, but the other two were not nearly as bad. This one was very bad. Basically, the doctor froze my nose! The bleeding was up pretty high into my nasal passages. He told me not to blow my nose for several days. WHICH IS ABOUT THE HARDEST THING THERE IS TO NOT DO! I also have some bruising around the edge of my right nostril, I've been told I look frostbitten but I think I prefer to say that I've been in a fight. It sounds better than the real story. I've also had a severe sinus headache as a result. The doctor said that if I get another one like that, to go straight to the ER and this time not to drive myself. Sneezing is absolute torture right now.

Frasier has a new trick. Maggie makes a sound like a cat purring when she's happy, especially if she's getting petted or a belly rub. Tonight Frasier started doing the same thing while I was scratching his ears. My dogs are turning into kitties!

Sick Kid Blues!

Otter has been sick since Monday evening, when she started coughing and slight asthma. Yesterday she woke up feeling bad and coughing a lot, so Bill stayed home with her. Then she coughed quite a bit last night and woke up with 100 degree temp this morning. I kept her home today, and her asthma has gotten a lot worse. She also had a bad headache and a sore throat with a lot of hoarseness. This is how she started when she had the flu last year, so I called the doctor and they said to bring her in. It is not the flu, nor strep. It's a virus and should only last a couple more days. She has to keep using the inhaler, tylenol as needed and robitussin if necesary. Bill will stay home with her tomorrow and I will take Friday if she's still sick. She's back in bed now, and Maggie Beagle has hardly left her side all day! That dog is very devoted.

On the plus side, since I was home today I got all my laundry & housework done! And I also listed everything on eBay this morning that I had to sell. So I guess I can just goof off the rest of the evening! :)

What was Perry thinking? Or was he even thinking at all?

I don't think he had his brain turned on. This is one time that I am glad we don't live in Texas. For him to say that the STD the shot is for is just like a polio innoculation is just LUDICRIS! For one thing, the shot is for an STD. For another thing, polio and other illnesses are AIRBORNE or in some cases by physical contact - and not contracted by sexual contact.

Ok, off the soapbox for now. But only for now.

Email Issues

Ok, my email is fixed! Toadles, I still have the brick picture. It was on the old email system and Bill was able to retrieve that. However, I don't have anything sent to me in the last couple of months, but I think I had already answered everything anyway.

Gonna be another cold day but no more snow is forecast. Just very cold.

Email difficulties

I'm temporarily unable to email. Bill installed the trial version that Microsoft had for people to try out a couple of months ago. I did not like it! Anyway, the trial version ended today and I didn't want to install it and continue with it so we took it off. And in doing so it took out my entire email!!!! He's going to work on it later on, but in the meantime I am not able to receive or send email. Toadly, if you still have the brick pictures I'd be happy if you would send them to me again - but wait until I've emailed you to let you know it's up and running!

What happened to Global Warming?

I think it's a lie! Still cold here! It started snowing at 8:30 this morning. I had already called and ordered more firewood, and was going to meet Bubba & Bubba after work. But they called me early and said that it was snowing pretty hard, so they wanted to deliver early. So I left for lunch about 11:30 and drove past more than one accident due to slick roads, but the wood got delivered & stacked. We were completely out, we had already used the entire rick (1/2 of a cord) that we bought in the fall and what we had left from last winter! But now we have plenty more. I called my boss to tell him I was about to head back, but he told me to not come back since the weather had gotten bad. Fine with me! I was also going to get groceries after work today out of necessity, so I went to Wallyworld and then decided to get the Otter from school early. Then we slid most of the way home!

It is very cold and I am ready for spring. Except that then we'll have the other storm possibility that this area is known for.

Anybody watching Heroes? We love it. Really fun show.

Still cold but the ice is gone!

Well, mostly gone anyway. There are still small patches here and there. But it's still pretty cold. We did have a couple of days about freezing and it has been sunny, but it's back to being winter again. Not that it ever really wasn't! We have another cold front on the way in but it is not supposed to be anything other than cold. However, since the forecasters never quite get it right.....

Interesting news article. Here's the link: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16891832/
My only comment is that if this does become law, it will be one that we will NOT comply with.

If anyone has tried to email the Otter for the last few days, it might not have gone through. Her computer crashed last Friday and it's now up and running again but she lost nearly everything. Her email is not working at all right now, she is getting some emails but she is unable to send any out at all. So if you sent her an email, don't take it personally if you didn't get a response! Bill's working on it but it might be a while.

I'm watching Huckabee, whose first name I forget, as a potential Republican candidate. He seems to be very conservative, absolutely pro-life which is extremely important to us, and looks good on a few other areas as well. But it's early still and who knows what will happen between now and the election!

I have a prayer request, one of our very good friends (Larry) has a biopsy scheduled this week because of a suspicious spot on his lung. It does not sound good. So I would like to ask for prayers for him.

And I get to make another sock monkey! That makes two I need to work on since both sides of the family are expanding - my brother is going to be a grandfather again! Les & Jacque and Kim & Kenneth. No promises that either monkey will be ready by the time the babies arrive, however! I'm just glad that sock monkeys will be needed.

Rain!

We got rain instead of snow today, which is a good thing. The storm stalled out way west of us and is heading north so this is probably it for us. I'm not complaining! The streets will be icy & messy in the morning since we'll be below freezing tonight but they will improve after a few hours and a little traffic. There are still several inches of ice on the ground, but it's melting off the trees and things that are off the ground.

I just read that a certain Democratic senator is forming an exploratory committee. We all know what that means, that she is going to run. I WILL DO EVERYTHING IN MY POWER TO CAMPAIGN AGAINST HER. Just letting everyone know my opinion at the start, so that we don't have any misunderstandings later on!

Is it going to be spring soon?

We are still frozen over. The schools are still closed and will be again tomorrow, probably Friday as well. The main roads are clear in some spots and not touched in others, the neighborhoods have not been touched at all and it is really treacherous out there. I was going to work yesterday and taking the Otter with me, but at breakfast the Otter had a sudden onset of what we thought were flu symptoms so she went to bed and I stayed home with her. It was just a bug, she was fine by the evening. She went to work with me today. And as bad as the roads are today, I think I'm glad I didn't even attempt it yesterday!

We had a small snowfall today. We have another shot at winter weather this weekend, so I am going to the grocery store tomorrow after work and not take any chances! I need to go anyway, but I was going on Friday however I have decided not to wait.

The dogs are funny, they are very playful when they get outside and Maggie bowled Frasier over yesterday. She was running at him like she does when they play except that she didn't realize that she wasn't going to be able to stop - and she slid right into him, they both fell in a heap! It's also funny when the Magginator decides she needs to run for whatever reason, it's like watching a cartoon where the character's feet are in a blur!

BRRRRRRR!!!!!

It's cold! We were supposed to get an ice storm that was to hit about 6:00 p.m. The forecasters seldom get it right, this time they were right about the storm but way off on the time. It started sleeting about 11:30 this morning, I left work at noon and drove to school to get Otter. I got there about 1:00, the roads were ok in places and bad in places. Lots of parents were getting kids early. The ice wasn't too bad at home, but the storm is big and it is heading our way. For about the last hour I've been hearing sleet on the window and the yard now has white spots. The street looks wet, Bill just got home and he said that it's really getting bad now. Lots of accidents and traffic is terrible.

I already had been to the grocery store but decided I needed more milk so I went to Wallyworld on the way to work this morning. So did a lot of people! They were nearly out of milk, I noticed that eggs were in short supply and I saw a lot of people buying bottled water & also things like toilet paper. 3 very important things: bread, milk, toilet paper. You don't want to run out of any of them! I'm glad I went this morning, for one thing I would not want to be driving at the moment and for another thing, I might have been out of luck if I'd waited!

We should be well below freezing until at least Tuesday. With the fact that this storm is mostly ice, there are probably going to be power outages. Our lines are buried, but Tulsa - where the power comes from - are not buried. We brought in a huge amount of firewood yesterday, so if we do lose power we are all going to sleep in the living room because the fireplace really does warm it up in there. I noticed that the dogs are not at all interested in going outside! They'd rather stay inside and sleep, for some reason. Very spoiled.

We've see a lot of birds, the back yard feeders had sparrows earlier and there was a large number of cardinals in the front yard. Otter's parakeet is talking to them, they apparently hear him chirping because they seem to be answering him.