2015 Review

2015 is just about over.  And I am glad.  It's been a hard year, although I haven't (and won't) posted about most of the issues we have had to deal with.  Very possibly, 2016 (for reasons not being mentioned) could well be a continuation.

There have been some good things, it hasn't been all bad.  I really don't mean to gripe.  But I guess I am!

Anyway:

January

Very cold month with some winter weather.

It was very stressful for Otter because Roomie lost her job right before Christmas 2014 and January was the first of over 3 months that Roomie was without a job - and not looking very much, either.

Michael's had yarn on sale and I added to the stash!  (Always good.)

Froggy started planning her trip to see us.

The Teenager's health suddenly took a turn for the worse, he was weakened by a bug and while he did recover from the illness, he never got his strength back and although we didn't realize it at the time, it was the beginning of the downhill turn for him.

We celebrated our 30th Wedding Anniversary, this year we had pizza!

February

We switched internet and email providers.

The stupid groundhog saw his shadow!

I had what I first thought might be the flu, but then realized it was "just" a cold.

This month saw the first issues with Frasier; he fell in the kitchen and couldn't get up.  We had to help him up but he was sore and stiff for days.  The vet thought he might have age-related issues, probably arthritis in the mix as well.  But he was always a happy dog when J came over!

Otter was really getting concerned about Roomie and the lack of a job.

The Teenager and his lovely bride celebrated their 78th Wedding Anniversary and were one of the featured couples on the Today Show!

Snowy weather.

22 years since we moved from TEXAS.

On February 27, the world lost one of it's shining lights in the form of Leonard Nimoy.  We're still mourning this one.  LLAP!

March

The month started with having to replace tires on the car that Otter was driving, as well as a front-end alignment.  $1200.00 was Chevy's estimate and it was also the last time we actually used that particular dealership - and they are under NO illusions as to why.  It was a M.A.J.O.R. moment for *RHTW.  We had the work done at a local shop for about $500 less than Chevy's estimater.

The vet suggested we start Frasiser on pain pills, which did seem to help but he didn't need them all the time.

I came down with another cold!  I literally sneezed all the way to work one morning and by about 8:15, I was feeling miserable.

We had more winter weather.

Otter was overjoyed when we discovered Green Apple gatorade!

I started crocheting a poncho for Otter, which took me a while to finish.  I had a lot of interruptions!

The dogs had their "beffday" and we spoiled them with plenty of treats - in hindsight, I'm glad we gave them so many extra treats.

We got several boxes of Girl Scout cookies.

The dry air caused me to have a few nosebleeds.

We decided it was time to talk to the minister at the church we'd been attending, we had to reschedule the appointment we had so we didn't actually talk to them this month.

Otter turned 23!

There was a tornado that struck a very nearby, next-door to Tulsa town.  It was bad.

My glasses broke in 2!  Bill had to glue and tape them back together so I could at least go get them replaced the next day.

We had to replace our insurance, thanks to NObamacare.

April

Our new insurance company took 2 premiums and *RHTW had a few "fun" phone calls with them.

One of the bright spots of this year happened.  Otter had her annual lung recheck and we feel like we have received a miracle - it's gone!  It never really goes away, but hers is as close to not being there as it can possibly be.  It is a true Blessing and we are so beyond thankful for this.

Otter gave Roomie a "no job, move out" date.  Amazing how motivated she got when that happened and she suddenly found a job.

Otter officially became the owner of a 2002 Chevy Impala.

The electric company messed up our yard and also cut the phone lines.

The hummingbirds showed up this month.

My precious dog, Frasier, one of the most special pets I've ever had, left us on the 23rd.  He was one of those rare, once in a lifetime dogs.

May

Otter proved that yes, she is very much her Father's Daughter.  She the cut palm of her left hand and had to get stitches!  I think she got 4.  She was a typical Redhead and bled a lot.

Maggie Moo was sick, the vet thought she had another UTI and the medication helped her pretty quickly.

Stupid electric company kept at it!

Bill was rear-ended in his work van - it was not his fault in any way, he wasn't hurt.

Maggie Moo was scratching herself silly - and driving us nuts!  The vet said she has allergies and put her on zyrtec - which didn't work too well but then we tried it later and it worked fine.

Bill's sister got married!  We went to TEXAS over Memorial Day weekend for the wedding and it was really nice.

Rain, Rain, Rain!

I had my one and only migraine of the year.

It was one of the better months of the year.

June

Otter went to Dallas with J, his mom and some of their friends.  They went to a convention and debuted their "Joker and Harley" gender switched costumes.  Which were very well-received.

We decided to get rid of the landline phone, since it was out more than it was working.

We decided to try an automatic feeder for the Magginator, it works very well.

Maggie met two other beagles when we went to get her annual shots.  Then she met a wolf!  Luna the wolf lives in our neighborhood and she is absolutely gorgeous.

The electric company was still being stupid!  I made a pest of myself, or actually I let *RHTW deal with them - and they finally decided to send out a repair crew, which was a company they contracted with and the repair crew foreman was appalled at how bad the damage to our yard was and how tacky the electric company was being about fixing it.

After they fixed it, we realized that our house was not getting the electric current it was supposed to and I had to place an emergency call to them.  I started the call but *RHTW finished it.

Froggy and her daughter came to see us, which was a bright spot.

Bill's birthday!  For 6 months, he was older than me.  He got bacon for his birthday meal, which made him happy.

My vacation started and the first thing was Maggie the Wonder Beagle getting stuck under the shed.  That should have been our first clue that it was not going to be a good week.

The Teenager was pretty sick in June.  The last time I actually saw him was right before I went on vacation at the end of the month, he was weak but he was very mentally clear and it was actually a fun day with him.  But in hindsight, I think he knew something was coming and from what he said and how he said it - I think he was telling me goodbye.  When I was on vacation, he had to be hospitalized for pneumonia and he was recovering from that when he had what was probably a stroke.  That was actually in July.

July

The frame holding the driver's seat in my car (the 2008 impala) broke and we had to buy a replacement seat at a salvage yard, then put the seat from my car on the frame of the salvage seat.

The next day, the brakes on the El Camino basically failed and Bill had to replace them.

Otter and Roomie decided to move to a 2-bedroom unit.  Otter was cautiously optimistic about it, since Roomie was working again and she hoped that it would work out but she was also pretty sure that when that lease was up she would suggest that Roomie find her own place.  They moved on the 31st.

On July 8, the Teenager had the probable stroke.  It was overnight and he was most likely asleep; he never really woke up from that and that is actually a blessing.  On the 12th, he left this life behind.  He was 98 years, 9 months.  This was one of the worst things that happened this year, at least from our perspective.  But we know exactly where he is and that we will see him again.  Until then, we'll all miss him terribly.

August

This month literally started with Otter's car having issues.  The radiator ruptured and we had to replace it.  It was just the beginning of trouble with that car.  It spent more time at my house than it did at hers!

But she did get a pretty good raise at work so she was happy!

Bill saw the dermatologist for his annual visit, the spot we thought might be a skin cancer on his nose turned out not to be but there were a couple of very small ones on his hand that the doctor froze off.

We finally met with the pastor at the church we'd been visiting.  And we knew almost immediately that it is not the place for us.  That was very disappointing.

We put tires on my car, the 2008 impala.

I was sick, it was a bug that was going around but it took me a few weeks to really recover from it.

We closed our booth at the antique store.

The Bluebell plants reopened!

September

Labor Day.

Bill came down with the mega-bug I'd had.

Otter and I got our flu shots and I spent most of Labor Day weekend dealing with my reaction.  Which wasn't as bad as some years have been.  But the reaction hit me within 2 minutes of getting the shot, I got my shot at 5:30 and at 5:32 I was suddenly freezing cold.

Then I came down with a cold.

I crocheted purple baby caps for a local charity.

There was a lunar eclipse, we could see it from the back yard and it was very pretty.

It was pretty obvious that Otter was under some stress, she was having problems with Roomie and was very upset over the situation.  She wasn't sure what she could do, as Roomie was on the lease but she really regretted moving to the 2-bedroom unit, although at the time it was a good decision.  But she knew that she would not renew the lease (or any lease) with Roomie when it was up.

October

We went to the State Fair in Tulsa, we took J along with us and we had a fun time.  We were tired but it was an enjoyable day.  I discovered that I am a sheep magnet - they are evil!  They know I'm beyond extremely allergic to them.

We had a lot of the typical "persecution" because of the TEXAS/ou game the first weekend of the month.  Then TEXAS won!

Roomie lost her job.  Or at least she admitted to Otter that she'd lost it, the actual time that happened might have been in September.  But it was a major retailer and she was fired, she would not say why but this particular store does not fire employees unless they have very good reason.  She claimed to have gotten another job at a fast-food place and probably did, but we're not totally convinced that she kept it longer than a couple of weeks.  When she told Otter that she'd lost the job and got the new one, Otter told her then that Roomie was going to have to find her own place a) when the lease was up or b) immediately if she lost the fast-food job.

Because Otter was expecting to have to move when the lease was up, she did a little looking for other complexes that might be a little cheaper but nobody expected Roomie to do what she did:  move out and attempt to do it without giving Otter any warning at all - but Otter caught her packing.  It was a very ugly, nasty situation and I'm not going to detail it here because it was already detailed.  But it was bad, however it could have been much worse.  There was very heavy *RHTW involvement.

The Teenager would have been 99.  We had cupcakes at work to celebrate and remember him.

The 32nd anniversary of when we met was on the 14th.

Bill decided to get another booth for the pachinko machines.

We put Maggie Moo back on the zyrtec, she was scratching again and had caused a little bald spot above her tail from it.  She had a slight case of Bald Bobo!  But the zyrtec helped her a lot more this time.

It rained.  A lot.

One morning was really strange:  The sunrise was brilliant in the east, it was dark and cloudy in the middle area and then there was a huge rainbow in the west.  All at the same time!

November

Our "lovely" insurance carrier sent us a letter with a $400+ increase in our monthly premium.  We made a lot of changes that took weeks.

Otter went to a Dias De Los Muertos (Day of the Dead) festival with J and his mom in his not quite next door to Tulsa neighboring town.  She left rememberances for the Teenager and my aunt we refer to as AJ (who Otter was named for).

That night on her way home, her car acted like it was overheating and we had to go get her.  About 9:30 at night, in almost the middle of nowhere, dark and very isolated - but J and his mom came to wait with her until we got there.  Bill drove her car home, although he had to stop a couple of times, I brought her home in my car and then she took my car on home with her.

For the next few weeks, we dealt with her car acting up and she had my car quite a bit.

In the midst of all the car issues, Otter moved to a one-bedroom unit in the same complex.

Bill got a bad cold.

Then I got a bad cold.

Thanksgiving was a little different, we wound up at Taco Bell because it was the only place we could find open when the power went out!  That was the first of several times we got a senior discount!

We finally got our Bluebell ice cream!

There was a hard rain storm and then we saw a double rainbow.

The new booth store opened up.

The El Camino developed a problem with what is probably the thermostat but the specific part is pretty much unavailable.  It is a 1976 vehicle, after all!  It's going to spend the next few months in the driveway anyway, like it usually does in the winter.

We started discussing Bill buying a 2nd hand car to drive in the winter, since Otter had the 02 impala he used to drive.

December

We realized that Otter's car was becoming a serious concern and it was not a car we were comfortable with her driving any longer.  We bought a new car for me, a 2015 impala.  Then we traded the 2008 to her and she gave Bill the 2002.  The 2002 is still acting up, it is probably a series of cascading problems that keep causing other things to act up and it may well be that the car is just worn out.  But in the meantime, Bill will drive it and she has a car that she can trust.  New tires and in very good shape, she should be able to drive it for several years.  I am very happy with the new car, but we really did not want a car payment yet.  However, it was a good decision.

Otter and I went to the mall to Christmas shop one evening and had a very interesting encounter - I didn't mentioned details when I blogged about it, but we almost literally ran into her first boyfriend - and his girlfriend - and their two very young children!  He was a real jerk when he and Otter broke up and at one point we had to tell his dad to reign his son in or we would call the police - which explains why the former boyfriend would not even look me in the eye when we saw him.  Otter said that she's extremely glad that she dodged that particular situation, and she hopes that the idiot boy treats his baby mama better than he treated her and also that he's finally learned to be faithful.

We decided to put up a Christmas tree so I went to Hobby Lobby and bought another artificial tree.

We still had to deal with the cold bug we got in late November.  Even up until right before Christmas.

Then Bill came down with another cold which I thought was the flu at first.

We finally got actual winter weather, much later than usual.

There was a lot that happened, it wasn't all bad and most of the really cruddy stuff is not being mentioned.  But this has been a fairly bad year.  We do realize that it could have been worse, and there have been some good things.  But the main thing that defines this year is the loss of a man who was like a father to me and that Otter considered to be another one of her grandfathers.

Here's to 2016 and hopes that it will be a good year for everyone!

30 Years!

This is our 30th anniversary.  We had a take-home pizza from Little Ceasar's, followed by a slice of the pineapple upside down cake I made last night.

 

Then we moved pachinko machines around in the garage to get the out of the way of the attic access ladder!

 

Still, it beats the one year where we were putting in a new sewer line and we spent out anniversary on the business end of shovels digging a very long & very deep trench!

Gusty Sunday

It's windy.  Very windy.  Like I needed an anchor when I was outside earlier!  I have to get out again in a couple of hours, I'm Otter's transportation home from work today since Bill needs the car tomorrow.  Otter had the car most of last week and drove it to work today, then I dropped Bill off there when I was running an errand and he got the car.  But since it sounds "howly" outside the window, I don't think the wind has died down at all.

 

Froggy, I started on KN#3's blanket earlier today.  I texted you (and her) a picture of the first row.  I have a couple more rows on it now.  I have several projects going, which is how I like to be.  Bill has a pachinko machine on the way to get restoration work and pin polishing is part of the work it needs.  I'm the "official pin polisher" so I'm trying to get as much crochet done as I can while I still can - pin polishing kills my arm muscles for crochet for a few days.

 

I'm really enjoying having a craft space.  I am working on a recipe box for Otter, she knows about it - she picked out the box.  But she doesn't know exactly how it's going to be "decorated" and won't know until I get it finished.  I'm also going to have two other craft projects soon.  One is the clock I think I've mentioned before - I'm going to make a clock with a wooden tray; I'm going to attach a crocheted doily to the inside front of the tray and the clock parts will be put on it.  I'm also going to be making a shadow box, which I might have mentioned before as well.  I had a small shadow box that Mom made, it had specific items belonging to AJ but the frame fell out of it and I decided it was a little too small so I didn't repair it.  I have some items that were Mom's and I'm going to put all the stuff together in a larger box.  I bought some fabric that will be the backing.  I bought a clear plastic box-style picture frame but it wasn't big enough either so I took it back to Michaels and found a bigger one.  What I bought isn't actually a shadow box, it's a box with a plexiglass lid but it will work fine.  I priced actual shadow box frames and they are outrageous - like $90+ for the size I wanted.  The box I bought was somewhere in the $10.00 range and it will actually work better.  The lid looks like a picture frame, but it doesn't latch shut.  Bill looked at it and he thinks he can attach a magnetic closure like he uses on some of the pachinko machine wall-mounted cabinets he makes.

 

We are possibly going to change internet providers.  We had a bad time with Cox a few years ago and finally switched to the phone company we use - it's not Bell/AT&T or whatever they are called.  The only one available where we live is a smaller carrier and it was fine at first.  But there are so many houses out here now and only so much bandwith available.  The internet literally spends more time down than it does up.  After the fiasco with someone cutting the lines a few months back, it's gotten worse.  The wires being cut was not the companies' fault, the problem was their reaction to it and the lies they kept telling me about how it was fixed when they hadn't even sent out a repair crew.  We may well be going back to Cox.  A lot of the problem we had with them was similar - the lines were being cut on a regular basis by construction crews and they were not sympathetic to their customers.  But the houses are pretty much all built now.  Their service was good, that was never the problem.  The current service is becoming a serious problem.  Bill's going to talk to Cox and see what it would take to get service with them again - mostly the monthly fee.  Otter's internet service is through them and she told me what she pays, it should probably be similar.  We'll let everyone know when we make the switch, as the email addresses will be changed.

 

And at the same time, we are probably going to do away with the satellite service.  We both realized at about the same time that we hardly ever watch it.  We have a boatload of local stations and we generally watch them.  When Otter was younger, she watched more of the satellite than we did.  If Cox's service is higher than what we pay now for internet, and it might be because we may have a bundled package discount, we will still be seeing a cheaper cost because the satellite is a big chunk of what we pay each month.  We are not going to change the phone service, at least not yet.  We have a lot of issues with it, like every time it rains!  Although that is better, because we've been able to address each leaky spot in the buried lines when we have rain issues.  They are still there, just less problems.  Also, we want a landline.  There have been a few times when we've had weather related issues where the power might be out for a few days and that includes cell towers!  We have pretty good cell service, but the towers only have a certain amount of battery power and eventually they run out.

 

Tomorrow is our 30th Anniversary.  We're celebrating big:  I'm picking up pizza from Little Ceasar's on the way home!

2014

It has been a busy year.

January:

Otter started the year off with a bang:  she woke up puking her guts out!  It was allergy, but still not fun.

The next day, it was my turn!  But I didn't get "it" as bad as she did.

We had some snow.  On the 6th, it was so cold that I literally could not breathe outside and that is never good.

We decided to get a booth at a local antique mall. We started out with pachinko machines but then added a few smaller items.  I cleaned out a lot of things!

We had mice in the house, but that's a somewhat normal happening in the winter.

Bill ran out of gas - less than 1/2 a mile from home!

The first of many issues with my computer - caused by stupid windows updates!

Bill replaced the fuel gauge sensor in his/Otter's impala.

Our 29th Anniversary happened.

I started planning a trip to visit Froggy, probably in May.

February:

The groundhog saw his shadow.  And there were people wanting him skinned & turned into houseshoes all over the place!!

We had a lot of snow & cold weather this month.

Otter woke up with a bad headache one day, turned out she had the 2nd sinus infection she's ever had.  Fortunately, she does not have my sinuses.

I finally finished my afghan!

Bill came down with bronchitis, an upper respiratory infection and he also had a sinus infection.

The next day, I came down with it.  I didn't have the bronchitis, but I did have the URI.  And coincidentally a sinus infection.

We spent about the last 2 weeks of February dealing with the bugs and missed a lot of work.  We spent most of that time parked on the couch with blankets and didn't do a whole lot besides that.  Bill was worse than I was due to the bronchitis and had a lot of really bad pain from sore muscles/coughing.  But I have asthma which he doesn't, so I still had to deal with almost as much coughing and muscle pain just not the actual bronchitis.

Bill decided to get a UPS box for the pachinko business.

Booked my flights for my May trip to see Froggy, except that I had a strong feeling I needed to change it to June so I did.

March:

We were still dealing with the end of the illnesses for the first part of the month.

We had more winter weather!

We extended our booth into the booth space next to it, I sold quite a bit of stuff there.

Bill cleaned out a lot of the "useless collection" a/k/a his shot glasses.  He kept several, but he got rid of a whole lot of them.

Found a dead gopher in the back yard - very close to the back fence. Found a dead cardinal a couple of days later - in almost the exact same spot.  As if they had been tossed over the back fence out of someone else's yard and into ours.

Otter planted her crop - mostly jalepenos.

We had a hail storm.

Discovered (the hard way!) that I am allergic to something in the green tea Arby's sells.  I think it's the additive that turned it actual green - green tea is not named that because of the color!

Otter turned 22!  She picked a chinese buffet for her birthday dinner.

April:

2 Hot Flashes in one day!  Talk about miserable.

We had a hail storm with a lot of rain.

2 baby blues came up in the whiskey barrel!

I found honeysuckle at a local nursery, we planted several of them.

I had to replace our coffee maker.  We wore the last one out!

Dead frog mysteriously showed up in the same place as the dead birds in March.  At this point, we started walking along the back fence and talking loudly about all the dead animals we were finding - anytime that we saw the back neighbors out in their yard,  Amazingly, the dead animals stopped showing up.

Snow!  Not extremely common this late, but not unusual either.

One of Bill's sisters came to visit.

I'd been expecting a jury duty notice for a while, no reason for it but I expected it.  And it was in the mail this month - for the dates I originally planned to go see Froggy!

I came down with a cold.  I think I caught it from Otter.  I shared it with Bill.

We thought we were going to have another bad year for wasps, but they weren't as bad as we feared.

Otter's annual lung check at the allergiests - he is very impressed with her asthma status.

May:

RHTW had a nice long talk with PayPal!  They got the message.  I don't think that they liked it, though!

Bill's compressor broke.  Again!  This time, it was out of warranty.

I decided not to turn the old quilt top I bought into window curtains.  It was intended to be a quilt by whomever made it, and they put a lot of work into it.  It needs to stay a quilt, so I bought batting and backing fabric for it.

It was a fun Mother's Day, we saw Captain America 2 and went to Cici's pizza.

Jury Duty.  Which wasn't that bad, but it was pretty boring!

Froggy's cat, Chester, went to the Rainbow Bridge.  He was a good kitty, very fluffy and spoiled.  Just the way a cat should be.

J made a million and one brownie points with Otter - he got her Brent Spiner's autograph!

It rained.  A lot.  A LOT.

Otter and her friend (Roomie) started seriously thinking about getting an apartment.

We thought the deep freeze was going out, it turned out that Bill hadn't quite shut the door all the way and the water we saw was from that and not because the entire thing was thawing.

We decided to close down the 2nd half of the booth and just keep the original size.

June:

I got a lot of work done on a lap blanket I started in May for Froggy.  I took it to her!

My 20th anniversary at work.  I got a cake, a gift card for a local Mexican restaurant and a pretty good bonus.  Very good, in fact.  I was very surprised.

I went to see Froggy!  Among other things, we hit a lot of thrift stores and went to San Antonio.  And she took me to a COACH outlet!  Of course, I bought a purse.  The flight back from Austin was rough.  I spent several hours in the Houston airport on a weather delay - it's not my favorite place, to say the least.  But I did enjoy the visit and got to see Toadles.

Saw the first hummingbird of the year.  I think they were here already, but I just hadn't seen any.

Moved my yarn stash out of the closet in the office, they were put in the bedroom for a while then into the living room until I had a place for them because we knew by this time roughly when Otter would be moving out.

Bill's birthday!  I made him a pineapple upside down cake.  And we had bacon!

I got the work done on the car that it had been needing, but we never really had time to get done.  We still didn't have time, but we didn't want to wait any longer.  And it was determined that the previous (crooks) place didn't exactly do what they said they did as far as the power steering leak that was repaired - sort of.

July:

Vacation!  We stayed home.  Shopped a lot.

Bill started changing the office to his pachinko workroom.  That means that the machines have left the living room!

I went to the Coach store for cleaner and left with another purse.

Found out just how sharp a Ulu knife is.

We saw fireworks on the 4th.  Otter used her sparklers that we bought last year and she got sick before she used.

Otter started working on her cosplay outfit for TNT.

Bill got two or three wasps nests this month.

Brake replaced on the car.

Bill's sewing machine broke - just as Otter was getting to the end of a sewing project for her TNT cosplay.  I finished it by hand for her.

Otter had an ear infection.

Toadles' daughter went through Tulsa on her way to somewhere else, we met her and her kids at the Hog Trough (Golden Corral).

Otter got a raise - the 2nd on e this year and she also got a promotion but I think that was with the first raise.

The lumberyard started stocking firewood.

Bill broke in a new dermatologist.  He had a skin cancer removed from the back of his left hand.  Best of all, the doctor already knew all about Redheads and how to take care of us!

August:

10 years since we moved into our current house.

Otter's purse was nearly nabbed in Goodwill, I posted the details already.

Retro TV started running the original Dr. Who series!

I visited several fabric stores for Froggy.

Otter and I got our flu shots.  I had my usual reaction, it was a little worse than usual actually.

The world lost a major supernova and we are all so much poorer for it.

The doctor took 7 stitches out of Bill's hand but left a few in place.

Froggy's daughter graduated nursing school!

Bill's sister came to visit again, we had a really nice visit with her.

Bill cleaned out the first rain barrel and replaced the broken spout/spigot.

We had a lot of internet issues.  Our provider got more than a hint of RHTW in full flow.  They are now afraid of me, which is not necessarily a bad thing!

I took the rest of the stitches out of Bill's hand.

Bill bought a log splitter.  And had a lot of fun with it.

We got the chimney cleaned.

We had some limited water restrictions but not bad.

Otter and Roomie looked at several apartments.

I found the "holy grail" of purses  - at least, it was my "holy grail."  A Brahmin!

September:

Bought a new camera.

Otter and Roomie applied for an apartment, put a deposit down and were approved.

We'd been collecting stuff for her for a while but now it was all moved to the living room and piled in front of the fireplace until she actually moved.

Froggy's cat, Callie, vanished.  She never turned up and they never figured out how she managed to get out.

2nd sinus infection of the year!

We got the notice that our insurance company is leaving the state next March.  Nobama care is the reason.

I finished Uncle Crazy's lap blanket.

Bill got a bunch of firewood.

Otter requested a bunch of comfort foods leading up to her move.

We got 10 crepe myrtle plants and they are planted along the back fence.

The passenger window fell down in the door frame on Bill's/Otter's impala.

The Chevy dealership we use for repairs was introduced to RHTW.  And RHTW won that round, but then She usually does.

October:

This was a big, very busy month.  At least at first it was, it got calmer towards the end of the month.  Especially on the first, when our nest because officially empty!

The TEXAS persecution was especially bad this year.

We decided it was time to get serious about finding a new church, we've been unhappy with our current one for a very long time.  We still haven't found the right one.

There was a lunar eclipse.

Bill fixed the oxygen sensor on his/Otter's car and replaced the windshield wiper blades.

This month is when we realized that Maggie was leaky and having lot of problems.

The vet thought that she mad a UTI, she was on medication for a while and it did seem to help a lot.

Bill went over to Otter's apartment one day and showed Roomie all the basic car maintenance things - she'd never been taught any of it, not even how to check her oil OR how important all those things are.  We officially refer to her as out Other Daughter and that's how we feel about her.

Otter had a tummy bug.  And she shared it with me!

My email quit working - thanks to another unwanted, unneeded update!

Otter had what she thought might be a cavity starting.  Turned out, she needed a root canal.

I started a lap robe blanket for Otter.

Major migraine - I have had several this year, but this one was the worst of the year.

Bill replaced the brakes on Roomie's car.

Halloween.

 

November:

 

Otter's root canal actually took place this month.  She had her typical Redhead reaction to the laughing gas.

We decided to have a low-key Thanksgiving.

Which almost didn't happen as we planned, the heating element on the stove went out.  The part came in a couple of days before, so we had the pizza we wanted.  And that Otter could eat!

Otter had a pretty bad migraine.

After running around all day, I finally found towels and stuff to redecorate the guest bathroom.

Snow!

Bill's other sister came to visit.

I had what I first thought was the flu, but it turned out to be "just" a bug and not the actual flu.

Froggy - this is when KN#3 contacted me about the towels you liked but couldn't find locally.  I got them and shipped them to her around Thanksgiving.  And you were very surprised with them on Chrismtas!

Thanksgiving.  We had our pizza.

We cleaned the living room carpet.  And realized that Maggie Moo had been leaking for longer than we realized.

 

December:

 

We decided to close out our booth.  We actually were thinking we'd probably get a new one in a few months, but a new antique mall opened and we were able to get a good deal on a slightly larger booth so we emptied the old booth and took the pachinko machines directly to the new booth.

Bill replaced the lights in the kitchen.  And I saw just how dirty my kitchen really was!

We had a spell of very foggy days.

Retro TV finally got to the episodes with the real Dr. Who, # 4!

Finally replaced our microwave.

I got Bill a leather wallet for Christmas, he got me a calendar - after I finally decided that was what I wanted.

Microsoft did it again, and this time I found the settings on the laptop to where I have to approve all updates before they are installed.

I had the 9th migraine of the year.  I haven't had that many in more years than I can count.

Vacation!

I got My/the Guest/Craft/Sewing/Front/YARN room mostly organized.

Otter went to Oklahoma City for Christmas with J and his mom.  She "met the family" finally.

We had a quiet Christmas.  It was nice, we had steaks & baked potatos and enjoyed it.  It was different, but it was nice.

I got snow on my birthday!  And went to a local flea market.

 

2014 has been a busy year.  It hasn't been a bad year, but there has been a lot that happened.  But at the same time, it's kind of hard to realize that it's already about to be 2015.

Today is a Fun Day

It's International Dog Day!

And my two heartily approve! 

Thursday is another fun day, but it's more for Billyboy than for the dogsters.

50-cent corndogs!  Bill saw the Sonic commercial and immediately announced that he knows what dinner is on Thursday.  Guess I'd better plan a stop at Sonic on the way home!

 

We nearly had another water outage in my small town.  Saturday, it was announced that we were being asked to restrict water usage due to an algae bloom in the city's water plant that was clogging the filters - the new filters that they put in last year after the water outage we had.  That one actually involved other issues, but the filters were bad and so they were replaced then as well.  The new filters are supposed to be better than the old ones.  Anyway, we were not supposed to use outdoor sprinklers, wash cars, fill pools, etc., and that was supposed to be through Monday morning.  Monday morning comes along and the city does not make any announcements, but apparently they thought that we were just all going to still restrict usage.  Gotta tell people that, folks!  So, Monday's water usage was more than normal because people were making up for last time as far as the amount of water they used.  But the algae wasn't cleared yet and was actually making the filters work ever worse.  So, they announced yesterday that we were still to follow the restrictions and that it would be fixed by today.  Today comes along and guess what!  The filters are still not cleared.  By today, the city had already had to switch to the reserves in the water towers and the level was dropping pretty quickly.  We were told that if they didn't get the filters cleared, we were on the verge of having the water restricted like last year when we were told not to use it at all.  Otter ran the dishwasher for me this morning before she ran off with a friend, she filled the dog's water dish to the brim and filled up a couple of pitchers.  When I got home, I went ahead and ran a load of laundry - a big load.  I also got the coffee pot ready for tomorrow morning and refilled the britta pitcher Otter keeps in the fridge.  I also planned on getting a shower the minute we finished dinner.  But shortly before we got through with dinner (we were listening to the news on tv), the city announced that the filters were cleared and that the restrictions would be lifted in the morning to give them time to get the towers filled.  I went ahead and took a shower, just in case they change their minds and we don't get the ok for full usage - not beyond the realm of possibility.  I hope the water usage restrictions are lifted, Otter works the truck in the morning (unloading and stocking) and she usually runs to the shower the second she gets home after truck day!

 

Also, I think that today might be the anniversary of when Bill and I got remarried.  Either today or it was Sunday.  It's not a day we really celebrate, January 26th is the original anniversary and that's the one we acknowledge.  But every so often I remember the day in August.

 

Labor Day is next Monday.  Already.  I don't think we're going to do anything much, Bill might grill some steaks or we might not even do that much.  He's probably going to work on pachinko machines, but that's a no-brainer!  I might get some crochet done.  Also a no-brainer!  I started the poncho that Otter wants on Saturday, it's a new stitch pattern that I've never done and it took me a few tries to get it right.  I frogged it out yet again yesterday and re-did it, I think I finally got it figured out and it looks right.  I worked on it while I was waiting for Chevy to change the oil in my car this morning and it really looks good.  It's going to be a fast project, if I have the time to actually work on it, because it's a fast stitch and stitch pattern.  Froggy, I am going to get back on Uncle Crazy's lap blanket but not until it's a little cooler.  A yarn blanket is not exactly what I call easy to work on when it's 100+ degrees!

 

It's officially Ragweed Season.  I've known it for days, but the weather forecast includes the allergy/pollen count and it's officially showing up today.  I could have told them that!

Wednesday?

I know what day it is, but I have had to be reminded all day.  I don't know why, but I have been off on what day is actually is all week long!

 

Yesterday was Froggy's birthday.  I did get a card in the mail to her and I texted her birthday wishes.  But that's about the only thing I know for sure this week!

 

I spoke with Toadles yesterday.  He reminded me about something today, which I knew of but hadn't done the math for yet:  Dad earned his Purple Heart 70 years ago,

 

Rain today!  Lots of it, at 3:30 when I left work the radio news was on and they were reporting that Tulsa had received at least one inch of rain.  Just since mid-morning.  It came down all day and some of the rain was heavy.  It's quit now, but there is probably still more on the way for tonight and tomorrow.

 

Bill got the first truckload of firewood yesterday.  He went to the lumberyard and loaded up the back of the White Lightning, but when he went to pay for it - they told him he could just have it for free this time.  We've made a good start on the wood we need for this winter, but we want to get more.  Anywhere from 2 to 4 more truckloads.  He was going to get another load today, a little rain wouldn't have been a problem but it was too much rain today so it'll be next week sometime.

 

The "sometime" is subject to change.  I'm getting Billyboy to the doctor tomorrow, he has a spot on his left hand that is in all probability the next skin cancer to be removed.  It's actually been coming up for a while, but there were some changes where Bill works and they were unable to take any time off at all before July 1st.  But since the dermatologist couldn't get him in until tomorrow, it doesn't really matter I guess!  He's not seeing the same doctor he saw last summer.  For good reason, that dermatologist turned out to be the one I went toe-to-toe with when Otter was little and she got sub-standard care.  Sub-standard would actually have been better than this guy!  But we didn't realize that until Bill saw him the first time last summer and we decided we didn't want to change doctors in the middle of treatment.  However, we knew that when it was time for the next skin cancer removal (there are always more!) that we'd be finding a different doctor.  The one that Bill really liked retired a few years back, but we are going to the same office he was out of and Bill will be treated by another doctor in that practice.  Keep your fingers crossed that he's a good doctor and that Bill likes him!

 

I'm taking tomorrow off, Bill is off both tomorrow and Friday.  The doctor may say that he wants to just do a biopsy and then have Bill come back later for the removal, but Bill will not go for that.  He'll need to get it all out at once, or at least give it a good try.  So, I took tomorrow off and Otter is off on Friday if Billyboy needs home nursing - which he might, but I don't think it will be like last year's skin cancer removal from the bridge of his nose.

 

I'm tired.  Otter had to be in to work at 5:30 this morning, so she got up about 4:00.  Bill woke up somewhere around that time, they both tried not to wake me up but I think the lights on in the office/pachinko workroom and Otter's bedroom were just enough that I was aware of them.  I tried to go back to sleep for a while, but it was hopeless so I got up about 4:30.

 

Friday is the 10th Anniversary of when we moved into our current home.  Our tradition is that we get pizza, since it was the first meal we had here.  When we moved out of the old house, we had McDonald's because that was the first real meal we had there - it was actually before we moved in, but the house was ours at that point because we had closed on it that afternoon.  We decided to continue that tradition here.  If we ever move (I'm not planning on it!), our final meal here will be pizza as well.  We have pepperoni pizza every August 1st or as close to it as we can.

 

Pizza Pizza!

BEEF!

It's what's (was) for dinner.

 

I don't think that is strictly a TEXAS thing, but it might be.

 

Anyway.  Today is our 29th Wedding Anniversary.  I stopped at a local butcher store the other day and got ribeyes.  Bill got out the grill this afternoon and they were, in the words of Otter, "cooked the right way, over an open flame."  And they were delicious!  The potatoes were baked in the microwave, but the way we do it they are good and not all squashy.  There were 4 steaks, so Bill will get steak for lunch tomorrow.  The dogs were so funny, they stayed outside next to Bill (and the grill) and sniffed the entire time he was cooking the steaks.  They got a tiny amount as a treat tonight and we kept back a tiny bit for them to have treats the next couple of nights.  Maggie Moo enjoyed hers so much that she kept licking her bowl and it slid nearly half of the length of the kitchen because she was so dedicated to getting the last drop!

 

We ate too much.  Not that anybody is complaining!  But the pie will have to wait, maybe until tomorrow afternoon.  Same thing for the ice cream to be served on top of the pie.

 

Otter recovered from the bug, it doesn't seem to last too long.  But that doesn't mean it was fun for her, it's a very intense bug but then it's gone quickly.  She did have a little fever Friday afternoon/evening, but not high and no other symptoms such as achiness or anything that could be flu.  I had a touch of it, but mine was lighter than hers.  We both woke up feeling pretty good yesterday, so we went ahead with our plan which was to go to the Tulsa Flea Market.  We have an occasional "excursion" on Saturday and we'd been planning this one for the first chance we got when she didn't have to work.  It was a fun trip, very crowded at the fairgrounds because (as usual) there is always something going on out there.  The flea market opens at 8:00 but we didn't get there until about 10:30 and that meant that it took us a while to find a parking space - which was in the Back 40!  But we still had fun.  Otter didn't buy anything, I found a specific Fenton piece that I'd been looking for.  It's a rose-bowl style vase, pink cased glass (white glass over a pink glass inside) in the silvercrest pattern.  I thought about a few other things but then decided against them, but I did enjoy talking crochet with an older lady who was selling her stuff and that's always fun.  I bought a couple of things from her.  We were only gone a couple of hours total, so we still got home in time to have an afternoon nap!

 

However, Bill decided to share in the fun and he started feeling icky last night.  I woke up a few times because he was so stuffy he snored loud enough to be heard in the next county.  At one point, I could hear him talking about being cold so I got him two blankets and went back to sleep.  When I got up this morning (before he did), I discovered that he already had a larger blanket folded over two or three times so he was well layered before he started feeing cold.  He slept in this morning but he felt much better by late morning so we went ahead with our day.

 

Today, we went to a nearby town for our semi-regular "last Sunday of the Month" fun day.  We actually went to an antique store that we like (Froggy, the one with the train caboose and next to the concrete place) but we don't get there very often.  About once a year, it seems like.  I found another Fenton piece, Froggy remember the rose colored small vase you got me at the Tulsa Flea Market a few years back?  This one is the same size but the top ruffle is slightly different and it's blue opalescent.  After that, we stopped by the store where our booth is and I finally gave in and bought a small pink hobnail Fenton vase that I've been lusting after for what feels like forever.  I finally decided that I'd better get it now, because eventually someone else would have realized what it was and it would be gone.  That's 3 pieces this weekend, but they are all fairly rare pieces and were good finds.

 

I got some crochet done yesterday and today on your "whatevers", Froggy.  I'm still not telling.  :)

 

Now, I think I'm going to sit on the couch with a glass of wine and enjoy my evening.  And the memory of the great meal we just had!

Carrier Monkeys

I like that phrase.  It's funny.

 

It's also appropriate.  Bill is home today, he still had tummy issues this morning so he stayed at home.  Otter was already off today, but her boss had asked her to call him this morning about extra hours today.  However, she woke up with really bad "allergy" symptoms this morning, so she was hoping that she wouldn't be needed.  Her boss wasn't in when she called, he is apparently still sick himself.  Otter isn't well, she is afraid that she might have the flu but she doesn't have the right symptoms.  She has something, but I don't think it's the flu and it's probably not "just" allergies either.  They didn't need her to go in, which is what she wanted, but she probably would have if she'd been asked.

 

And so do I!  I have had allergy issues for a while, but more the last couple of days.  I went to work this morning then realized that I had a sore throat - and had for a while.  I left shortly before noon, I did have a few errands and I decided to go ahead and get them done while I was still feeling decent enough.  I added in a stop at Sam's, and I bot several large cans of chicken broth because it is a chicken noodle soup day if there ever was one.  I went to the post office and to put a couple more things in the booth (didn't look like anything had been sold) and I stopped at the butcher shop for rib eye steaks for Sunday.

 

Otter and I were going to the flea market tomorrow, but we're thinking we will probably have to put that off until later.  We're still going to make monkey bread in the morning (appropriate now, don't you think?) but that was the planned breakfast for tomorrow before the comment about Carrier Monkeys.  We just won't head out the door after breakfast, but I won't be surprised if Otter goes back to bed and Bill takes a nap.  The dogs will probably nap as well, but that's a normal activity for them.

 

I had to go find Frasier just now.  Maggie Moo was happy to see me when I got home, but Frasier was nowhere to be seen.  After a couple of hours, I realized that I hadn't seen him at all.  Which got me concerned, he is an old dog and it is pretty cold.  He was ok, he was out in their yard - snoozing in a sunny spot.  He was quite happy to see me, he came inside and then he turned right back around and went back to his sunny spot!  He'll be in later, when he gets tired of napping in the sunshine.  Then he'll probably nap on their blankets.

 

Weather is the next subject.  It's cold.  It was 8 degrees when we got up this morning.  Eight!  Mighty cold.  But at least we don't have the ice & snow that Froggy has in the Austin area and that the San Antonio area has.  The news this morning showed reports from SA, people were abandoning their cars on the freeways because they were icy.  Texans ain't wimps, but we do know when it's smart not to do something.  But we are stubborn and sometimes it takes us a little bit to realize that maybe we shouldn't be attempting whatever it is!

 

Now, I'm going back to my migraine.  First one of the year.  I'd have preferred not to have to deal with it but it's not horrible.  I got Tylenol, aspirin and caffeine down as soon as the flashers started.  They didn't last long.  I have a bit of a headache but it's not that bad, considering that it is a migraine.

It's a Cold One

It's actually been cold since yesterday.  Or maybe the day before!  After a while, the days are all running together and all I know is that it is cold.  C.O.L.D.  And windy.

 

I read something on a Texas-related blog recently.  It's entirely correct.  The poster basically said that he'd take the normal (for us) 200+ degree summers, but "you" can keep the cold!  It's one of those Texan Rules (we have quite a few) that we can (and do) complain all we want about cold weather.  So, we do!  LOTS.

 

After all, incandescently high temperatures are our natural environment.  :)  And we like it that way.

 

Of course as I type this, Froggy (near Austin, TEXAS) has snow.  She reports that it's just a dusting, but it still counts.

 

Otter was sick yesterday, we thought she had allergies but apparently what she had was a short-term bug that she probably got from someone she works with.  Her boss offered her an extra few hours today, so she worked 5 hours that weren't on her schedule originally.  Apparently, a lot of people she works with have or had this bug and the boss said that they seem to have a carrier monkey among their employees.  Carrier Monkey.  I like that phrase, I'm going to use it whenever I can.  She also said that her boss was coming down with it today, in fact he even felt so bad that he was heading to the emergency room.  I think he was afraid of flu, but that is not what the bug is as far as we can tell.  He might have had something else, or maybe he really did have the flu.

 

Unfortunately, Otter carried it home with her and Bill came home from work about 12:30 with "tummy troubles" which is part of it.

 

Since Bill got home so early, and it is so cold, he got the fireplace going the minute he got home.  It was nice to walk into a toasty house when I got home - especially since it was probably in the teens!

 

I went to the booth yesterday after work.  No machines sold yet, but some of the smaller things have been sold.  I will probably go by tomorrow after work, I have a couple of small things to take but if I don't make it until Sunday it's ok.

 

Sunday is our 29th Wedding Anniversary.  We're going to start celebrating on Saturday.  I'm making monkey bread for breakfast!  We're going to have steaks on Sunday and we're going to go to a local antique-ish store on Sunday.  Considering that one Anniversary was spent steam cleaning the carpet and another one was spent replacing a sewer line at our old house, I think this one is going to be 100% better spent.

Roller Coaster Week!

This week is what the forecasters refer to as a Roller Coaster.  Warm Monday.  Cold Tuesday.  Warm Wednesday.  Cold Thursday.  Warm Friday.

 

Today is Tuesday, so we're on the downward slide of the roller coaster and it's cold.  COLD!

 

However, it's still upswing as far as allergies are concerned!  Lovely Mountain Cedar, I'd like to burn it all up.

 

Sunday is our 29th Wedding Anniversary.  We don't have any big plans, it's the last Sunday of the month and we try to do something fun as a family on the last Sunday.  This time, we're probably going to hit a couple of antique stores in our small town or possibly in one of the close small towns.  For our Anniversary, we're having our "standard default meal" of steak and baked potatoes.  I already knew what the other two carnivores would want, but I asked them anyway - just to be nice.  Steak got all three votes, but nobody is surprised about that!  Bill's going to get out the grill for the steaks this time.  I'm going to the butcher shop on Friday and get them, Bill keeps reminding me that he wants 1" thick steaks (at least.)

 

Otter and I went to Hobby Lobby this afternoon.  Froggy - you already saw a picture of the yarn I bought for the "whatever" I'm making for you.  We noticed that the Easter stuff is out already.  It's still January and Easter is not until April 20!  Geesh.  Obviously, Easter is an important day to be observed.  The most important one, actually.  But the stuff that is on sale is all "fluff" for lack of a better word.

 

I'm going to go by the booth tomorrow after work.  I don't really expect anything to have been sold, although I hope that something has.  Mostly, pachinko machines!  But it's been a couple of days so I am going to go by and reorganize anything that might have been rearranged.  I might make a few more things for the booth, but I'm not inclined to at the moment.  Bill's probably got two more machines he's going to put in it.  I have been cleaning out misc. stuff but haven't come across anything else that I want to put in it.

 

Otter's been tossing a few ideas around for her next cosplay adventure.  She's going to the comic convention in Tulsa this summer, she will probably do what she did last summer and get a group of her girlfriends together.  They'll rent a room at the hotel that hosts the convention, and they'll spend the entire weekend there.  She thinks she's narrowed down her costume for the main one, which she'll wear on the Saturday.  She will probably have a less detailed costume for the Friday night but she's not sure if she'll plan anything for Sunday since it's mostly just in the morning and a lot of vendors/activities are done and gone by Sunday morning.  It's a pretty well-known con (con is short for convention) and it is attended by a lot of people who come from surrounding states.  But there is an even bigger one in the Fall.  She's definitely going to that one - and I don't blame her.  Stan Lee will be there!  No way she can skip out on that one.  Stan Lee!  Talk about the Big Dog.  He's about the biggest.  She'll probably rerun her main costume from the summer con for the Fall con.

 

No more mice lately, but we haven't replaced most of the traps yet.  The remaining one in our bathroom, behind the toilet, has no bait left so there is still at least one rodent.  Probably more.

 

Froggy, I'm still not telling.  No more details, but you might get a sneak peak later on.  Other than the one you got today, of three skeins of yarn in my basket at Hobby Lobby!

30's

No, not temperature!  It's in the low 60's or possibly a touch lower.  It's been rainy all day long, it was supposed to be high 60's with rain not expected until tonight.  Nobody bothered with a jacket, of course that means that it rained and was cold.  Not sure .why we were surprised.  The rain gauge had 1 1/2" this afternoon.

 

Anyway.  The title refers to the fact that Froggy & Uncle Crazy celebrated their 30th Wedding Anniversary last Monday and today is the 30th Anniversary of when Billyboy and I met.  We celebrated by getting pizza to bring home for dinner.

 

Today is also what the rest of the country observes as a holiday.  We refer to it as something else, Genocide Day.  Comes from being raised by a Cherokee mother who taught me about columbus as the Natives see/saw him.  Otter did the math, I think she said 611 years of culture destruction.

 

My stupidrightknee is bothering me but not as much as it was yesterday.  Usually, it's the stupidleftknee but the right one has been the problem lately.  I'm not sure if the weather bothers it or not, but my weathertoes have been active lately.  Otter also might be developing a weather ache, the left arm she broke 9 years ago sometimes hurts before a weather change.

 

Bill is going to see about more firewood from the lumber yard.  One of the guys he works with is going to take his trailer over there, possibly tomorrow, and see if he can get two more for us and then however much he wants for himself.  Bill said that they had quite a bit on hand when he got the load he brought home last week.  We kind of feel in a hurry to get prepared for Winter, for some reason.

Limber

We had plans on getting the rest of the limb pile transferred to the front yard today, we were going to do that when we got home.  But the City beat us to it, so there are no limbs in my front yard anymore.   I'm not complaining, by the way.  I wasn't really looking forward to hauling limbs around.  There are still some, but the bulk of what we had was already piled in the yard.  The City will pick up small amounts of limbs in the regular trash pick up, they have to be in 4' bundles and tied up but that's not a problem.  I'll probably get out to the limb pile on Sunday and get some of them ready to go for next Tuesday's trash pick up.

 

There was another hornet in the office today.  Same place as the last one, I got it out the same way but it was bigger.  And I could tell it was definitely a hornet and not a wasp.  We can't find any sign of a nest anywhere.  We think that they might be getting in when the garage door is opened and them coming in through the door from the garage when it gets opened.  We're going to look again tomorrow, but I don't think that they are nesting at the office itself.  Hope not, anyway!

 

Tomorrow is 9 years since we moved into this house.  We usually have a pizza, since that was our first meal here but I think we're going to skip it this time.  Otter's going to her anime convention this weekend, she'll be gone from Friday to Sunday.  Bill and I already have pizza plans for Friday evening.  And we'll probably make chocolate ice cream on Saturday.

 

Froggy, I'm still working on your crocheted "something."  I keep adding more things to the list of stuff to make for you, that's what is taking so long.  I am thinking that one particular item is going to be frogged out partially and redone, since I decided that I'm not happy with the way it turned out.  I know your birthday was Monday, but look at it this way:  you'll have longer to celebrate!

OK Froggy. I Blogged. Are You Happy Now?

(Sorry Froggy!  Couldn't resist.)  (Ducking for cover now.)

I originally was going to title this "Sunday Discoveries" but I've already used that title before.  Also, I'm kind of getting away from just a "Sunday" post and just posting whatever whenever.  But I did make a discovery today and it is Sunday, so I probably could have re-used that title.

But I like the one I used better!!! :)

Anyway.  My discovery today.  It's a new allergy.  Or, more correctly, it's one I didn't know I have because I've never been exposed to the allergen until today.  Acai berry.  Otter and I went to the mall for a little while and we stopped at Teavana.  Which might be a required stop, at least if you ask Otter.  We like to sample the different teas they have and they are usually good.  The people that work there are more than willing to go read the labels if I ask about specific ingredients and they don't know, usually lavender is the big one that I'm liable** to come across there.  Kiwi is one of my other big triggers, but it's not in too many things that Teavana would have.  I tried a new tea sample today and it was very good.  She read me the list of ingredients prior to tasting it, and it didn't have anything I really needed to worry about.  At least, that I knew about.  The only thing it had in it that was new was Acai.  About 10 or 15 minutes later, I realized that I was itchy.  And had been for about 5 or 10 minutes.  After about 10 more minutes, I remembered the tea sample and that it had acai berry in it.  When my allergic reaction is a skin reaction, it can last an hour or several hours - depending on how much of the offending substance I've had.  I don't think that I had much at all, but it lasted about an hour and a half.  So it's a fairly strong allergy.  I did some research, and apparently the main allergic reaction is hives - which is the more correct term for the reaction I had.  It has a pattern to follow, as it works it's way through my system.  I'm mostly not itchy now, but there is still some residual itchiness.  I'm just past the point of wanting to scratch all my skin off!  Guess that's one more thing I'll need to watch for.  Acai is promoted as a superfood, but it really doesn't do anything like it's marketed to do anyway.

We also went to an estate sale while we were out but we didn't find anything.

I've been working on UFO's, which I think I've mentioned a few times.  Yesterday, I kind of finished one.  I say "kind of" because it's the scrap yarn pillow cover and I've used all the scrap pieces I have as of now.  The pillow cover isn't quite finished, but I'm out of small pieces so I have to wait until I have more to be able to actually finish it.  But I did at least cross it off my list, for the moment.  Otter, my Chief Enabler, did attempt to get me to buy more yarn in Wallyworld earlier.  It's a  beautiful variegated color, purples and greens mostly.  She tried really hard, but I resisted.  She thinks it will make a wonderful something for a relative (no, Froggy I don't mean you.  For once!  But let me know if you want something.) but until I have an actual project, I'm not going to get it.  I was in my yarn drawers yesterday and at least two of them are filled to probably beyond capacity.  But it's a spring yarn, it's new in the store and it will be there for a long while.  So if I do come up with a project, I shouldn't have any problem getting it.  But I really, really need to de-stash a little (OK, a lot) before I go buy anymore yarn.  I was thinking about Chemo Caps, but they need to be a soft yarn since they are designed to be worn by women with hair loss due to chemo.  I have quite a bit of soft yarn, but it's smaller amounts and not necessarily enough to make a cap out of any one particular color.  Except for one full skein in lavender which I will probably use for it, but the colors I have don't necessarily lend themselves to being put together.  I might see what I can do about making multi-colored hats, but I'm really not sure if any of the yarns I have will work together and it's not just because of my color match inability.

Yesterday was our 28th Wedding Anniversary.  We made pizza, which was a lot of fun and also very good.  I made a pecan pie Friday evening so we could have it yesterday - it's like molten lava when it first comes out of the oven and it stays that way for hours so I make it the night before I want to have it.

Bill's sniffly.  He's probably having allergies but he wasn't feeling too good this morning so we didn't attempt church.  We didn't go the last 2 weeks because I was sick and we didn't go today - Pastor Dave probably thinks we've gone back to TEXAS!  The trees are starting to bud out and I've seen bugs, and that is always a good indication of things blooming.  Which means allergy season is starting early - not that it ever really ended from last year.

**Liable.  In the TEXAN language, it means likely to.  Also, the "i" is just barely pronounced and the "a" is emphasized slightly and more like "ah" than "aye."

27 Years and Ice Cream Therapy

Today is our 27th wedding anniversary.  We had originally planned to have steaks but have them  tomorrow because we like to have something fun on Fridays, as a way to wind down and start Sabbath.  We're still having the steaks then, but we decided that we wanted to have something tonight as well.  So we made french Bread Pizza (france never, ever gets a capital letter in this house unless it happened to be a person's name).  We stuffed ourselves, but it was very good.  It's always fun to make.  Otter's pizza had pepperoni (lots!) and bell pepper.  Bill's and mine had those toppings, along with a few others.  Onions, black olives, mushrooms and his had jalepenos.

We're also having Ice Cream Therapy.  Last week, I picked Otter up at school one day and took her to lunch.  Braum's is where we decided to go.  We decided that we needed two things:  she wanted french fries and I wanted something with gravy, such as their chicken strip meal.  I forget why, but we started calling it Therapy.  Froggy asked me if we'd had ice cream therapy as well, but we didn't have it that day.  Today, since it's our anniversary, we were hoping we could find a rare and elusive strawberry cheesecake ice cream pie.  We were in luck, it was the last one Braum's had.  It's still in the freezer, we're a little stuffed from the pizza.  Today, along with it being a treat for our anniversary, we've decided that we're having Ice Cream Therapy.  The other reason for needing Ice Cream Therapy is because it's not Friday yet.  Hey, it works!  Like we actually need a reason...

Today is also International Spouse Day.  Not sure exactly what that means, but that's what Froggy told me this morning.  A couple of days ago, it was International Peanut Butter Day.  Peanut butter has always been one of my favorite foods, and it was also one that Mom really loved.  Sometimes she'd make sandwiches, but mostly I remember her grabbing a long handled tea spoon and eating her peanut butter straight from the jar.  She didn't gorge on it, just the occasional spoonful when she wanted a snack.  Froggy, do you remember if Mom liked chunky or creamy?  I think she liked creamy, but I'm not really sure.  Tomorrow is International Chocolate Day, so it's going to be a good day!  Of course, chocolate and peanut butter go very well together.  If we're looking for a sweet snack, it frequently involves a bite of chocolate with peanut butter on it.

My arm is much better.  My elbow is still a little painful but not nearly as much as it was.  It still gets stiff, though.  Mostly, what I'm dealing with at the moment is a very tight muscle.  When I took my shower last night, I turned the water temperature up much higher than I normally like and held my arm underneath it.  It helped quite a bit.  But then Otter and I had a shoe shine party, which undid a lot of the benefit of the warmth.  I probably should have thought about that before I started polishing my boots!  I also did Bill's leather tennis shoes and Otter took care of the combat boots that Granpda gave her a while back.  She wears them as often as she can, by the way.

OK, I think maybe I have room for that pie now.