One Down, Two to Go

To be ready for Winter.  Well, what the Borg Queen considers ready although the non-assimilated would probably consider it being over-prepared!

Actually, I just went to wallyworld and bought 40 pounds of birdseed plus an 8-pack box of suet cakes.  Big, exciting trip, huh?!

(The other 2 things are more filters for the humidifiers and firewood, in case you are wondering.)  :)

Remember these?:

This picture is from this past Spring.  It's the whiskey barrel planter that my mailbox post is in.  After all the blooms died and went to seed, I harvested the seeds and they are waiting in a bag in the kitchen until I find an appropriate place to plant them.  But apparently, the seed pods had already started dropping seeds - I was pretty sure they had.  I was right.  At last count, there are over 30 baby blues springing up!  I'm going to attempt to transplant some of them when they get just a little bigger.  The Teenager was very much a TEXAN and he loved them as much as the rest of Us did/do.  He was overjoyed when I told him I'd share my bluebonnet seeds with the hope that they would grow next Spring.  I kind of knew then that he would no longer be with us, just one of what we call "my feelings" and I was right.  But I still intend to have bluebonnets at the office, even if it's in his memory.  I told Younger Boss about my baby blues and he really wants them as well - so I'm going to transplant some of the current crop and see if they survive.  I have grown them in pots before, they get tall and not wide like they should but they still smell heavenly.  I'm probably going to plant seeds as well.  I'm still just astounded at the number of them that have come up.  I've had them come up at odd times of the year, but never this many!

In case I don't blog tomorrow:

Still?

It seems like this year should be over by now.  But it's still only early August.

It's been a busy year, I guess.  And a very stressful one.

Anyway, I checked in with Miss Dorothy today.  I am going to visit her each Wednesday morning.  She is doing very well.  She obviously has emotional moments, but she has gotten to the point where she can remember the Teenager and the fun they had over the years.  She is such a precious person, and very special.

Otter came over today.  She had laundry to do and also Bill wanted to check on her car.  The car seems to be running fine.  She said that it seems to be running "not as hot" as it was before, it wasn't overheating but in hindsight the radiator might have been losing efficiency or maybe actually leaking slowly for a while.

The Sales-Tax-Free weekend in Oklahoma is this coming weekend.  I think TEXAS has it the same weekend.  We don't need to buy school clothes anymore, but it's a good time to get things we need.  Otter said she could use a couple of pairs of jeans and I know Bill needs a couple, so we'll do a little shopping.  Otter has to work Saturday but she's off Sunday.  Bill isn't into clothes shopping, but I can get him jeans without his presence.  However, Otter's presence is required for buying clothes for her.  I told her I'd spring for lunch, and she also wants to get her glasses adjusted while we are out and about.

Bill doesn't know what his Saturday plans will be, it depends on what the dermatologist does on Friday so he may be home on the couch for the weekend.  I have a few things I want to do around the house, which I'll do on Saturday since I want to be close in case Bill needs anything.  Obviously, we don't know if there will be anything but the last time Bill had a skin cancer removed from his face he was unable to bend or do much of anything for something like 72 hours (or maybe more) but that was a big one and it required a very intensive removal process.  So, we're planning on similar to the last time in the hopes that it won't be that bad.  I've been trying to find the time to make my specialty crock-pot beef-vegetable soup but I haven't had a chance to stay home all day, so I have soup plans for Saturday.  I'm going to rearrange my closet, for one thing.  I have a few boxes and misc. stuf stored in the closet but it needs to be arranged better (I'm gong to channel the Borg Queen!)  My dresses and longer skirts are crammed into one end of the closet and keep getting wrinkled just hanging in it, so I'm going to move the boxes to the end and my dresses/skirts will be hanging in the middle where they can actually hang and not fold at the bottom.  Also, Bill's suits and dress pants are in the same position at the other end of the closet.  I may also clean out some of the clothes that we haven't worn in a long while.

Is it Friday yet?

Tuesday?

I think it's Tuesday.

 

At any rate, it is cold and getting colder.  Our high was 32 degrees and we got there about 6:00.  A.M.!!  The next cold front is probably here, it was cold all day but when I was walking out of Wallyworld it felt like the temp was dropping and dropping fast.

 

Bill got up before I did this morning, then when I did manage to get up there was a nice, warm fire going.  And a beagle who moved around on her blankets several time - but never, ever took her rear parts off of the rocks around the fireplace!

 

A while back, I started a yarn wreath.  I put it aside for a while, since I didn't really have a place to put it.  But I knew I'd eventually have a guest/craft/sewing/YARN room since I started it after Otter started making her plans to move out.  Today, I finished it.  I took pictures, but blogger is having issues and not letting me post pictures at the moment.  I hope to eventually get it on the craft blog.  Blogger's issue is probably with the last (unwanted) update, because that is when a bunch of problems started.  Anyway, the yarn wreath is finished and it is now hanging on the door to the guest/craft/sewing/YARN room and I'm pleased with it.

 

Bill needed to visit the tool store today.  Otter was off work, so he didn't get to be waited on by his favorite cashier.  But he did get another tool, actually he got a special type of mask to use when sanding so that he can still breathe while operating the sand blaster.

 

I also went to Hobby Lobby, for fabric for another project.  I am making a shadow box.  I actually have one that Mom made.  It has things that belonged to a special aunt of ours, referred to here as AJ.  It has her watch (her wrist was impossibly tiny), a thimble, ring (no stone, just the ring part itself) and a few crochet hooks that she used when making doilies - as in thread crochet, and a small doily she made.  The glass came off of the frame a while back.  I decided to redo it, but this time I'm going to include a couple of things that were Mom's - a crochet piece that she started but never finished (it's a cover for a clothes hanger), a fabric strip that was her size marker for the clothes hanger covers and the plastic bag that both items were in (because she wrote on the outside of the bag what it was) and also a fabric scissor holder that I helped her make.  I bought a clear plastic box frame and today at Hobby I found some really pretty quilt-ish patterned fabric to line the back of the frame with.  Also will eventually be put on the craft blog, assuming that blogger and my fembot computer start talking nicely to each other!

 

While I was making the yarn wreath, I discovered something else:  I have no glue sticks for my glue gun!  I have a sneaking feeling that they might have run off to a certain apartment I know of.  :)  I had to go get lettuce anyway, so I went to wally and got glue sticks.  I paid for the lettuce, but it didn't get home with me.  Everything else did that I paid for, so I get to go back to Wally in the morning and get my missing lettuce!

 

Bill cleaned the hallway carpet yesterday.  When we (ok, he mostly!) cleaned the living room carpet recently, he stopped at the hall.  And it was obvious a) exactly where he stopped and b) just how dirty the carpet really was!  Now the hallway carpet is clean and the last of the dog-ish smell seems to be gone.  I hope that we can keep it that way.

 

Otter came over yesterday.  We took her the car Monday afternoon, we met her at an arcade she was at with J and a couple of their friends.  She went home and went to bed about 7:00 p.m, then got up at 1:00 a.m. to get to work at 2:00 a.m.  She worked until about 9:30 a.m., then she came over here and we had Christmas with her.  I wanted to go to Michaels and she wanted to go with me.  We hit a couple of other places and then stopped at Dairy Queen to get lunch to bring home.  I think it was around 2:30 or 3:00 when she left go to home.  She was pretty tired by that point, which was understandable considering how long she'd been up!  Anyway, she gave Bill a collection of sci-fi movies and some of them are pretty "bad" - exactly what he likes!  She got me something fun for Christmas:

Seems she's heard me (and many, many, many others - we are legion) talk about how all those cell phones (and a lot of other things we enjoy/use today) wouldn't even exist if a brilliant man had never imagined Star Trek.  So she got me my very own communicator!  Bill's had as much fun with it as I have, it makes assorted (correct) noises and has various ST voices with various ST phrases.

 

**But she got me something even more special for my birthday:

Meet Gerrold!  Actually, "his" name is Gerrold Irving Kahless.  I named "him" but "his" nickname is Fred.  (Because the Irving Feinberg was incorrectly referred to as Fred in something I read about Star Trek many years ago.)

For all 2 of you who don't know what Gerrold/Fred is:  Tribbles!  "His" name should be self-explanatory after you read the article, also you can probably figure out why "he" is in quotations and also why "his" last name is Klingon!

**I raised that girl right.  Birthdays are separate from the holiday they might happen to fall on/by.

The Borg Queen is pleased!

(Not) Blind(ed) By The Light

We are now nearly curtainless.  Bill put the miniblind in the living room window on Friday, then he got the office/pachinko room and bedroom taken care of today.  Otter's room will wait, possibly until she's moved out and it's my "craft/guest/yarn" room!  She's got quite a bit of stuff in her room, nobody wants to have to unload everything from there anytime soon.  Not having curtains makes the rooms look bigger, and there is certainly more light coming in the windows.  Also, the miniblinds make it harder to see inside from the outside when they are closed.  The office/pachinko room will be open when Bill's working in there because there is not enough light in that room, but closed all other times.

 

Otter had a good time at TNT this weekend.  They thought they would be staying all day today, but as she said they'd seen it all and done it all by this morning so they went for a couple of hours and then all three girls decided that they were tired and it was time to come home.  J was able to go for a couple of hours this morning as well, so he hung around with them and he was with them all day yesterday.  Otter texted me a picture of her and J in costume, but I haven't transferred it to the computer yet - not for lack of trying, the computer wouldn't read the files from my phone.  But they were very popular, there were a couple of other girls dressed as the same character she was but only one other guy as the male character that goes with hers and she thinks the fact that they were there as a pair is why they got photographed so much - including by some of the press that attended.  She had a great time and she spent nearly every cent she had saved for it, so she says it was a success.  She's more or less collapsed on her bed at the moment, although she might drag herself to the shower at some point.  She has to be in at 5:30 tomorrow morning, she would probably go to bed early anyway since she's exhausted but she definitely will tonight.

 

Yes, she did see the Borg.  She was already out of her cosplay costume, they changed back into t-shirts and jeans about halfway through the day yesterday and they found the Borg after that so I won't be posting a picture of the BorgPrincess (yes, Otter I do mean you.  Yes, you are!) with my drones on here.

 

Maggie Moo was so overjoyed when Otter got home.  Otter texted me when they were nearly here, I opened the front door and Maggie Moo zoomed right to it.  Where she immediately started wiggling and making noises.  LOUDLY.  When Otter's friend pulled the car into the driveway, the dog just about wiggled out of her skin!  I opened the door and Maggie Moo immediately slinkywalked to Otter, greeted her with lots and lots of puppy kisses and then turned around and walked right back to the door for me to put her in - took her a looooooooooooooooooooooooong time but she finally learned that she has to go back to the door and go back inside after she gets to go out on the front porch.  Frasier is not allowed out there unless he's leashed or I'm holding on to his collar.  He knows the rules, he just chooses not to follow them - dog is too smart for his own good!

 

Bill and I went to the Hog Trough (Golden Corral) for breakfast this morning.  It wasn't very good, we were disappointed in it.  It used to be so good, but it wasn't all that spectacular today.  But we made up for it - he met someone at Dairy Queen to deliver a pachinko machine he restored and I rode along with him.  Since we were there already, we had to get Blizzards!  And they were very good, too.  Sorry, Froggy - no Braums today!

 

But I might eat lunch there one day this week.  Just in case you wanted to know, Froggy.

The Countdown Has Ended!!!

As of 3:30 p.m. last Friday, I'm officially on vacation.  And I'm going to enjoy it.

 

Even if my main focus is working on getting the Pachinko room/office conversion done.  I've cleared out all my stuff from the office, including everything that was in the closet.  I vacuumed behind/underneath my desk and also in the closet.  Bill moved a specific, very tall pachinko machine into the closet and my desk will maybe be moved to where it was at.  He'll be rearranging all the furniture in there, I'll vacuum as he does so.  He may have to do a little re-wiring in there, I'm not sure.  The 5 machines that are currently all over the living room will be moved, but one of them is actually being restored now and he's going to finish that one before he moves the rest of them.  It's in various pieces and it would be difficult to move it as it is, for fear of losing pieces and it's a restoration job for someone else.  Of the remaining 4, I think one is his that he bought last week and the other three are restoration/cleaning jobs but they won't be started until he's finished with the current one and NOT in the living room.

 

Otter and I went by her store earlier today and got the tarp he wanted, he's going to move his desk to where mine currently sits.  His desk will be beside the wooden filing cabinet, the tarp will cover both and that will be his new work bench.  We have a really interesting shelf-ish contraption made out of old plastic milk crates with a plywood top, it's used to store envelopes and misc. office supplies.  It might be moved to where the tall pachinko was, instead of my desk and it will hold the printer and scanner.  My desk will, if not moved to where the tall machine was, be moved to where his desk currently sits and that is the one he'll use for his computer and actual office/website work no matter where it lands.  He will have quite a bit of room to actually work, and the desk/filing cabinet will give him a larger workspace than he currently has in the living room on top of the sofa table.  His desk is pretty big.  There is also a shelf on the wall behind where my desk is now, his small plastic 3-drawer units that he uses for small pieces like screws, pins, etc., are on the shelf now.  He had 4 and he needed 6 more.  Otter and I went shopping this morning and found those for him.  He's got them all filled and labeled.

 

He has two tall plastic drawer units like I have my yarn in, I think I've shows pictures of the yarn stash before.  They are currently beside the sofa table in the living room, they will be moved to the office as soon as he gets through with the current restoration job.  They have things like larger tools, paintbrushes, glue, etc. as well as pachinko machine parts.

 

I'm not sure exactly what my next step in there is, I may have to wait until the rest of the furniture is actually moved before I can do anything else.  Mostly, I am running the vacuum in there and dusting as needed.  After all the junk, crud, pachinko stuff is moved out of the living room, I'm moving all three of my yarn drawers into the spot where his currently sit.  The sofa table will be moved a couple of feet, but all three of my drawers will fit where he has two sitting at the moment.  I am going to see what I can do about reorganizing my stash, it was organized but it was almost impossible to get to it when I needed yarn while it was in the closet.  So, I've been stuffing yarn in whatever drawer I could actually get to and open without having to move Bill's shipping supplies out of the way.  I need to get it back in order, it's really bugging the Borg Queen not to be organized!  I'm also thinking I might clean out a little, I have some yarn in particular that I don't think I'll ever use and I'll probably donate it.  I have a lot of really nice yarn that I bought in TEXAS recently, as well as yarn I bought in the last few months.  I am still going to use "regular" yarn for many projects, but I'm starting to use "better" yarns more often.  I have my "regular" yarn sorted into several drawers, my "slightly better" yarn and then my "really good and expensive" yarns together.  I also have several tote bags and some of them have yarn in them.  Some of them are just spare tote bags because I always need one for something, or Otter does.  I have some sewing supplies in with my stuff, some of it is Otter's (OK, a lot of it is Otter's) and I also have a collection of hooks.  I use most of them, they aren't very big and are in a metal "lunchbox" style container that I got in TEXAS a few years back.  But none of that is nearly as big as the pile of stuff Bill has in the living room, and of course the Borg Queen is always organized-to-the-point-of-obsession!

 

Bill mowed the yard first thing this morning, I got busy with my tree trimming tool and tackled the two trees in the front yard that were beginning to resemble bushes due to the limblets growing up from the bases.  We discovered that there are two evildenizensofhell attempting to start a nest on the front porch overhang, just outside the front door.  They will be dealt with tonight.

 

This is the last Sunday of the month, we usually do something fun as a family.  Sometimes we just go eat somewhere, which is what we decided to do this time.  We went to Goldie's.  Last month, we had intended to go to Goldie's and we completely forgot!  So, we made sure we remembered today.  We never actually had breakfast, Bill and I split a bagel and Otter had a roll.  So, we were pretty hungry by the time Goldie's opened at 11:00.  They had a huge group just ahead of us, 35 people - however, their grill only holds 30 items at a time so it took a while to get them served and then to get out food cooked.  It was pretty good, though.  We don't eat a lot of greasy food like that often, and it's going to be a while until we have it again.

 

As far as plans for the week, the main focus is going to be getting all the Pachinko stuff moved and not much else.  Bill's going to finish up the machine he's working on now and after he gets everything moved, because I won't let him start another one until then and won't let him stall despite his best attempts, he'll see about starting on the next machine in line.  Otter and I are thinking that we might actually get to go to the zoo, which we've been trying to do for ages, and J is going with us.  Possibly, we might run off and do a little shopping/antiquing/thrifting at various times.  But we aren't planning anything much other than that.  We might make pizza one day this week, possibly Friday.

 

Also, Otter has given me extremely strict instructions:  On Friday evening, even if she is deathly ill, I am to find something to lean her against in the back yard and duct tape her hand around a sparkler or two.  Then after I've lit the sparkler and it's run out, I can toss her back in her bed.  (This is a joke, she has a history of being sick on holidays for some reason and she had a major-league migraine hit her last July 4th so her fireworks never got used and we kept them for this year).  Although Bill did say that he's willing to pick her up and toss her over his shoulder, if she wants him to carry her anywhere!

Busy Little Bees

Or at least busy family!  Otter's had a few later shifts lately, which is part of her new position.  She isn't complaining, it's still miles ahead of her previous job.  And it's not every night, she just has 3 this week which is unusual.  She was supposed to get off at 10:00 last night, but the floor cleaning crew got there late so she volunteered to stay a little longer.  Her boss was also there, she wasn't the only one.  But she didn't get off until nearly 11:00.  However, the previous job was often a case of the shift supposed to end at 9:00 and they didn't get out until 10:30 (one time it was actually 11:30 before they got out) because of bad management!  Also, we usually were her transportation when she had nights the old job because it was very isolated and not the best area when the sun went down.

 

I've been trying to catch up on a few UFO's and get them finished.  I really only had a few this time, Froggy - the pictures I texted you of the dogsters helping me is one of the UFO's I've had for a while.  I think I'm just about caught up now, with the exception of the scrap yarn lap robe/blanket but that's because I have used up all my scrap pieces.  Guess I'd better get a few more projects lined up so I have left over pieces of yarn!  I'm currently working on my scarf/cowl with the mink yarn, but that's an ongoing project and not a UFO.  Otter has a poncho order placed with me, and I'm going to make her a lap robe/blanket with some purple yarn I have.  It's a pretty shade of purple with flecks of other colors and she wants to get lavender for a 2nd color for it.  I have the yarn for a new scarf/hat set for myself, it's a very pretty green color.  That might be all, I'm not sure!

 

We're going to rearrange Bill's work area.  He's been using the sofa table and was supposed to contain the chaos to it.  But pachinko machines tend to spread out and take over, so he's now got about 1/2 the living room.  I have finally had enough of the disaster area, and I more-or-less bullied him into agreeing to move the entire mess out of the living room.  How?  By giving him "my half" of the office.  He can even have my desk, I don't care.  He can also have my shelf unit in the closet of the office.  I have 2 yarn drawers in the closet in there and one drawer set that is 3/4 yarn and 1/4 office supplies, they'll come out of there and I'll probably put them in the living room where his mess is, but my stuff is neat and contained.  He might take the sofa table back there, but he doesn't think so at this point.  My stash will not stay in the living room forever, eventually Otter will be out on her own and what is now her room will be the guest/craft/yarn room but as I mentioned before:  my stash is neat and not like Bill's!  The Borg Queen does not like clutter!  Therefore, she has none.  Bill might not want my desk, but he'll probably use it for a while at least.  It's eventually going to be part of the guest/craft/yarn room and will hold the sewing machines.  We're going to evict the pachinko machines from the living room when we are on vacation the first week of July.

 

Until then, I'll just put up with the creeping clutter.  Although it drives me nuts!  But it's only temporary.

Just a Few Thoughs on a MondayTuesday

I don't like MondayTuesday's.  I like Monday days off, I just don't like Monday being squished into Tuesday at work!  But at least tomorrow is Wednesday and that means that the work week is halfway over.

 

We have had a lot of rain the last couple of days.  A LOT.  1 1/2" just yesterday afternoon, and it has rained more since then.  Our rain gutters overflowed not too long after the deluge opened.  Bill thinks that it's a combination of them being clogged by the maple tree helicopters (seeds) and the fact that both rain barrels are now full to the point of overflow.  Well, we try to get the water level down in the rain barrels, but each time we start to get them down enough to not overflow it rains again.

 

We do need the rain, so I'm not really complaining.

 

We thought the deep freeze might be going out yesterday.  Bill went out into the garage to get something or other he was soaking to remove rust and there was a little water running out from under the freezer.  He checked inside and there was a little ice melt.  It felt hot on the outside, as if the compressor had been running too long.  We brought everything in from the deep freeze and put it in the freezer (refrigerator top) - which barely fit, talk about crammed full!  Bill thought that maybe he hadn't shut the deep freeze completely when he got the buffalo patties out for me yesterday morning.  We shut the deep freeze and left it alone until this morning.  It had quit melting and there was no more water running anywhere, what little was still in there (ice trays, mostly) was frozen and the outside felt normal.  So we ferried everything back out and I rearranged the fridge/freezer again.

 

I went by the booth this afternoon.  Nothing else has sold as far as I can tell, but the person sharing part of it has moved more of his stuff out and it looks less cramped.  He'll be out on/by Saturday and we'll head back up there on Sunday to rearrange.  We had discussed switching to a slightly larger and deeper booth, but I think we're going to hold off on that.  At least for now.

 

After the booth, I fought traffic caused by rain to Wallyworld.  It was apparently "take your screaming children to Walmart" day.  Walmart was out of eggs.  As in nonenonenone.  Except for a few, "organic" eggs that were about $4.00+/dozen.  Needless to say, I did not buy eggs at Wallyworld today!  I didn't really need them yet, it's just that eggs are like milk:  buy them whenever I'm at the store because we tend to run out of them on a fairly fast basis.  Which seems odd to me, because Saturday morning is about the only time we actually eat them.  Milk runs out fast because we drink a lot of it, so that I can understand.

 

While I was buying groceries, Otter called to let me know of an accident between there and home that was causing quite a big traffic tie up.  This one was probably due to the weather and possibly driver inattention and maybe speeding.  Something about Tulsa rain causes drivers to lose their minds.  We don't live in Tulsa, but we used to.  And it was always the same thing.  The accident today is in a kind of an iffy spot.  Looked like both cars involved had hit trees and one of them was halfway in the ditch/creek.

 

The doggies go to the vet on Thursday.  Mags gets a buttsquash, and they both get shots.  Frasier needs the distemper and maybe parvo shots, Maggie gets those and also her rabies shot.  We're also getting her claws trimmed, it's worth paying the vet to do it.  Although I'm not sure that Maggie Moo agrees!

 

Otter and one of her friends looked at a duplex for rent yesterday.  It was 2-bedroom, and their may be three counting Otter.  It's still workable, but I think they are going to keep looking and will probably wind up in an apartment.  I don't think it will be right away, but they are working towards it.

 

My eventual guest room/craft/yarn room is still going to be a Pachinko Free Zone!  No matter what Bill thinks, he is NOT going to talk me into changing my mind on that.  My two machines might be put in there on the wall as playable décor, but none of his restoration work will be allowed!!  The Borg Queen has spoken.

Nearly

Nearly there.  I almost feel human again.  Or Borg, I should probably say!

 

Mostly, I've rested today.  I did take Otter to work so I could go to the post office, I had to renew the P.O. Box we have so I had to do that one myself.  I also stopped at Wallyworld, but that was because we were down to the last box of Kleenex and we seem to be going through them at an alarming rate!

 

After Bill left for work, I stretched out on the cough and dozed for a while.  Then I got up and took a shower, and for some reason I started sneezing then and have been sneezing a lot today.  I thought maybe Bill had sprayed the shower with the anti-mold spray after his shower, but he said he hadn't.  I took Otter to work and went to wally, but mostly I've been parked on the couch and relaxing.  Usually with one dog or the other nearby.

 

It was cold this morning, I think it was in the 20's and it got a little warmer today.  Today should be warmer, then it will be pretty cold tomorrow night.  We had a fire last night but it's too warm tonight.  However, Bill brought in firewood and we'll have a fire Saturday morning at least.  Sunday has a good chance of winter weather and low temps, and the forecast could include ice.  We aren't even going to attempt Church on Sunday, for one thing I'm still coughing and Bill has the occasional spell.  Throw in the weather and the fact that the temperatures will be so cold; we're not going anywhere!  At least not in the morning, and maybe not all day.  So, I'm planning on making pancakes for breakfast Sunday morning.

 

I'm going to work tomorrow.  I hope to stay all day, but we'll see.  As I mentioned, I've been sneezing a lot today.  The mountain cedar is high, so that may have a lot to do with it.

 

Mountain Cedar and groundhogs.  Two things I can do without!

Not Yet

Recovered, that is.

 

Bill went to work and managed to stay the day.  He sounded pretty tired when he called me while ago.  He gets off in about 15 minutes (at 4:00) and I'm sure he'll be exhausted when he gets home.  I went in and lasted until shortly before 11:00 before I called it a day.  I got all the paychecks done and paid all the bills I needed to, organized a bunch of stuff and I am now pretty much caught up again.  It's not a busy office and being the Borg Queen means that I'm about as organized as it gets so I got caught up fast.  I realized that I was almost out of motrin, so I came home and got Otter and she made sure we got to Wallyworld.  Also the post office, I had a bunch of stuff to mail for work and nobody had been to check our box since Sunday I think.  Anyway, we were leaving Wallyworld when the car suddenly announced that it was low on fuel so we stopped at the gas station on the way home.  It was probably on fumes at that point!  Otter took care of getting the car gassed up - I still had to pay for it, but she did the actual work.  It was cold today, it never got past the mid-30's and it was breezy so I'm thankful she was willing to stand outside the car for me.

 

I didn't sleep too well last night, I have had several asthma-ish issues related to this bug and last night was the worst I've had in a while.  I am still coughing, but it's better this afternoon.  Last night, I was about to drop and the most I did was to make pizza.  I have had a headache off & on and a sore throat but that seems to be mostly when I've been coughing a lot.  Tonight will be easier, last night wasn't hard but all I have to do tonight is to point Bill and Otter in the direction of the microwave!  Part of the reason I decided on pizza yesterday is because it makes enough to have 2 days worth of meals.  We did try to cut the recipe down one time, but it didn't work as well so we make the full recipe and have multiple meals.

 

As far as tomorrow, I'll decide in the morning but at this point I'm not inclined to go in.  I got everything done today that I needed to, just in case.  Otter works tomorrow morning, I'm thinking that I'll probably take her and pick her up.  Originally, if I was home she was going to take my car but then I remembered that I have to get to the post office myself since the box has to be renewed by Friday.  I didn't think about it today until after we'd left and I really didn't want to go back there.  Bill might decide to drive the El Camino tomorrow, in which case she can take his car but I'm thinking he'll probably prefer to drive his Impala.  I think tomorrow will be warmer than today, but Friday will be in the 60's and then Saturday is back to C.O.L.D.  Sunday could well be "winter mix" weather.  We all know what that means!  Oh year, I saw snow flakes this morning.

 

Gonna skin that groundhog, if I ever catch him!

Nearly Wordless Wednesday!

Wordless Wednesday is something I've seen on a few blogs.  There is a picture (or several) and no or very little words.

 

My Nearly Wordless Wednesday is because I couldn't think of anything to talk about on here tonight!

 

But, since Froggy will get on my if I don't blog...

The Borg Queen is never Wordless!

 

But at least she's not freezing anymore, it was finally above freezing and will be close to 70 by Saturday-ish.

 

Froggy!  I know what to do with the groundhog!  I'm going to assimilate it!  (it's a Trek joke, for all 12 of you that are non-Trek fanatics.)

 

Just what the universe needs, borg groundhogs.  Well, if Resistance is Futile...  Maybe we'll just skip winter altogether. :)

Groundhog Jerky

I wonder if the groundhog would make good jerky?  Otter wants to just make stew out of him but I'm thinking jerky.

 

It was probably not over freezing today, it never got above 32 yesterday either.  Tomorrow is another day of the same - although we might get snow late tomorrow night into Tuesday.  Tonight's forecast included pogonip - also known as freezing fog.  Oh, Joy.

 

It was sleeting slightly when we left for church this morning but it quit by the time we got out.  We had a few errands we wanted to run and we also went to Cici's for lunch.  The plan was to drop Otter off at work at 1:00, but we got through earlier than we thought so we came home to drop Bill off.  But then Bill decided he wanted to go with me to take her to work and we could go to the booth at the same time.

 

We haven't had anything else sell at the booth, but we weren't surprised.  I took several pieces of Fenton (yes, Fenton!) that I had been thinking of cleaning out and Bill had several craft & how-to books that we put in the booth as well.  I know I have posted that I sold some of my Fenton a few years back and then regretted it, but I have been thinking about "thinning the herd" a bit and the pieces I put in the booth are a few pieces that aren't really usable to me and aren't really decorative either.  If they don't sell, I'll probably put them back in the china cabinet and maybe eBay or craigslist them later on.

I thought this was appropriate, since Valentine's Day is Friday.  And I am the Borg Queen, after all!

 

Speaking of Star Trek (which I frequently am) Otter has given me her solemn promise that she'll get a "Hi Mom" picture with my drones at TNT this summer.  I'm thinking that it's time she tell them that their Queen is here now, but she'll have to make sure they don't follow her home.  I have quite enough to deal with now, with the other drone I deal with on a daily basis!  (Yes, Bill.  I mean you.)

These are the drones that were at TNT last summer.  They are always very popular.

RIF, Y'all!

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

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

The Borg Queen Is a Little Distracted!

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

 

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

 

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

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

 

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

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

 

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

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

 

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

 

RIF, y'all!

Somewhat Ready for Winter

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

August 19

We bow at the feet of the Great Bird of the Galaxy in neverending Thanks!

Alright, Already!

OK, Froggy.  You nagged me.  I'm blogging.  Happy?

Of course, the reason I wasn't blogging was because I was too busy.  I was working on something crochet, and it was for you.  But if you'd rather I blog instead of working on your stuff...

Ok, on to other things now that I've ragged Froggy!  (She deserves it, by the way.)

 

Last weekend was the Sales Tax Holiday.  Well, I found pretty much everything I was looking for.  I went to the Wallyworld by the mall and the mall parking lot looked like it was overflowing.  Wally was pretty crowded, but I was able to find nearly everything on my list there.  Bill wanted 3 pairs of jeans, I found two there so I decided to hit the Wallyworld by home.  I still needed to get stuff like milk, things that I didn't want to curdle by the time I fought traffic and got home (it was pretty warm) so I went on to the closer store and I found the rest of what I wanted there:  another pair of jeans for Bill and some socks for Otter.  I think we probably saved about $8.00 ish in sales tax, give or take, but I'm not complaining.  It's a couple of gallons of milk or a 3-lb. package of ground turkey, but it's still nothing to gripe about.  I used to save a lot more, but that was when I had a school kid and had to get back-to-school clothes.  Most of what I actually bought at the closer store was grocery related anyway.  I had to stop at the liquor store after that, but they weren't participating!

 

The liquor store was interesting - there is a type of tequila that has a REAL scorpion in the bottle.  I don't think that they sell much of it, but it was a good conversation piece.  The clerk and I talked about it and then another customer joined it, none of us would drink the stuff but also none of us would be afraid of a live one.  Although I'm not a fan of them, but that comes from having one run underneath my bare foot one time.  It didn't sting me, but I was in the process of putting my foot on the ground and I'm not sure how I managed to avoid squashing the critter and getting stung in the process.  The other part of the story is that I'm allergic to something in cheap tequila, so when I do drink it (which is rare) I have to get the good stuff!  Yes, I know - there's a redneck joke or a country & western song in that.

 

There is another part to the liquor store story.  Bill wanted a case of beer.  Being from TEXAS, he's never been satisfied with the low-point beer that is sold in backOklahomawards.  So, on the rare occasions he drinks beer it's usually bought at the liquor store so he can get the "real stuff."  I carried a case of it out of the store with my left arm, then I got it out of the trunk of the car with my left arm and carried it into the house with my left arm.  And pulled a muscle in my left side!  I'm finally beyond the pain caused by just breathing, but it wasn't fun.  It's probably also a redneck joke or song fodder.

 

Otter went to Tokyo in Tulsa, also known as TNT, over the weekend.  I was going to post pictures of her in cosplay here, but it turned out that her face was too identifiable.  But she had a good time and saw a lot of her friends.  She and 3 of her girlfriends rented a room at a hotel that was part of it and was offering special rates and she ran into several other friends of hers.  Including her boyfriend, he was out of town but got back in time to go for a little while on Sunday.  She left the house Friday morning and we didn't see her again until Sunday evening.  She was tired!  But she had a great time and she's already planning next year's costumes.  She did find the Borg drone hive, they were wandering around and she did tell them that her mom is a big fan - they said she should have a "Hi Mom" picture taken but they got sidetracked.  Besides, they'd have just followed her home if she told them the truth - that I'm not just a fan.  I'm their Queen!  And Otter is very much a Borg Queen in training - something she's finally decided to accept.  She's embracing her Borg-ness and she's obviously strong enough to carry the mantle.

Resistance is Futile, after all.  (Y'all, since the Borg Queen is a TEXAN,)

Sunday Assimilation

We're here!

Let the Assimilation begin.

RIF, after all.  (Yes, I mean RIF, Y'all!)

Otter went to an anime convention in Tulsa yesterday.  Among other things, she found her/my relatives the Borg.  Actually, they would be our many-generation-descendants.  Not sure how many, math is not my strong suit.  I leave that to my drones!  She didn't tell them that their Queen was already here, they would have followed her home and I already have enough drones to deal with at the moment! :)

We got rain Thursday evening.  Not sure how much, but it started late in the afternoon and continued for several hours.  We needed it badly.  There was also quite a bit of thunder and lightning, and a lot of wind.  Surprisingly, we didn't have any tree limbs down.  But a lot of other people did and at least one chimney was blown over in the general area.

I finished the crochet part of the Autmn red scarf for Otter yesterday.  The fringe still needs to be done, she was at the con when I got through so I had to wait to find out which way she wants me to fringe it.  I haven't started the hat for the same reason, she wasn't home and she'll need to be within easy reach so I can try the hat on her during construction.  I might have to make a few changes to the construction, since the pattern was written for larger gauge yarn.  It will still work, it just might take some tinkering.  For one thing, I'm going to need to use the larger hook that I originally used with this pattern.  I also expect it to need a few more rows since the yarn is smaller.  It's workable.

A couple of years ago, when Froggy came to see me, we went to one of the many small towns in the area and found this baby (the gorilla, not the alligator).  At the time, we didn't think about taking a picture of him.  Otter and I were in the same area several months back and intended to take the camera, but realized when we got there that it was still at home.  When we were on vacation earlier in July, we went back to the small town to shop.  And this time, we remembered the camera!  Toadles, this is for you.

Quick Thursday Thoughts

We're still allergic!  Otter's better than yesterday, although she says that she's tired of sneezing.  I've sneezed more today, but have had less throat tickles.  Bill's still sneezy, and they are hard sneezes but maybe not as often.

On a totally unrelated note, I just realized that I put ear plugs in my ears last night because Billyboy was noisy in his sleep (due to his allergies) and I have no idea where they went.  They were not in my ears when I got up this morning.  Which means that either a) I'll find them by rolling over on one in the night because they are somewhere in the bed or b) they are on the floor somewhere and I'll find one by stepping on it.  They're foam and squishy, it's kind of surprising to step on one.  But at least it's not as bad as the time I stepped on a slug at the old house!

When Otter was little and having bad asthma spells, we would have what we called "living room slumber parties" when she was really having a bad one and we'd sleep on the couch.  That way, I could hear her and she was close enough to me so I could get to her fast if she needed me.  Which happened a few times.  Or if she needed a breathing treatment in the night, because they had to be given on a regular schedule as well as occasionally she just needed one.  One night, I found a slug.  With my foot.  It was on the edge of the metal register over the air conditioner (floor) vent, so it was super cold.  And squishy!  Really gross.  We had lots of slugs at that house, for some reason.  They were possibly coming up from the a/c floor vents, so at one point I actually had salt sprinkled around the vents.  Salt makes them dissolve.  And then they are even grosser!  As I found out when I was vacuuming one day, and found what was left of one after it crossed the salt line.  I'm not afraid of them, I just don't like stepping on them.

Otter and I made our weekly trip to the library this afternoon.  She didn't get quite as many books as normal, but she did get an armload.  I found several and I might actually have time to read this weekend.  Well, that's the plan anyway.

We're going to see the Avengers movie Sunday.  My choice for Mother's Day.  It sounds like it's really good and we can't wait.  I'm probably going to go by the theater tomorrow and get advance tickets, although it's been out for a little while now and maybe won't be sold out.

Then Otter is going to make me brownies.  I told her I wanted her to bake something this year, and she chose brownies.  It took me about 10 months to teach her to crochet (last year's request for Mother's Day) because every time either one of us mentioned it - she'd get sick.  So I kind of forgot about it.  Then I realized that it was nearly Mother's Day again, so I grabbed yarn and a hook one day and announced "today's the day."  At least she didn't get sick!  Actually, she liked it.  She seems to be a natural at it, although she hasn't done much of it because she's been working on some of her other crafts.

But that's ok.  I've created another yarn addict, so I'm happy.

RIF, y'all!

Happy Star Wars Day!

May the Fourth (be with you).

I realize the irony of the Borg Queen posting that, but it's funny.  I do like Star Wars, it's just not my first choice for sci-fi.  Because, as well all know, Star Trek Rules and the rest of it is just entertainment...

RIF, Y'all.

(Doctor Who is actually my second choice, in case anybody is interested).

OK, enough of that.

Froggy sent me this picture and I just had to post it.  It's so perfect.  And, it's so true:

I have a T-shirt with a similar saying on it, I think it's also says something like "It's A Texas Thing."  Because it is a Texas thing!  We might call 911 - but that would be so that an ambulance could be sent out for the bad guy.  Because he would need it.

I love being a Texan!  Especially when it also involves *RHTW, but that's a seperate issue altogether.

The robins in front have flow off, we haven't seen them at all today.  But there is evidence that another nest is being built in the planter on the front porch, the same one that had a wren family in it last year.  We're seeing a lot of doves suddenly, as well as boatloads of mockingbirds.

I'm really glad that it's Friday.  It's been a looooooooooooooooooooooooooong week.  Bill had to work late and didn't get home until 10:30 last night, and since Otter was running around shopping with one of her girlfriends I was on my own for a while so I went to the grocery store - which was exhausting.  It was also Otter's last week of her freshman year at college and her last finals.  Work was crazy.  But the week is over and I'm glad about that.

We're having steaks tonight.  Which might or might not have something to do with the Texas thing.  Then I'm going to have a glass of wine and put my feet up.  I might not move from the couch until Monday morning!

*RHTW:  RedHeadTexasWoman.  She can be an unwise person's worst nightmare.  Right now, she's itching to come out and play but nobody has given me any reason to let her out of the fence!

We Made it to Friday, Finally!

Urg, what a week it's been.

At least it's finally Friday.  I don't have to do anything tomorrow.  That's a good thing.

(Just because I thought it was cute!)  (RIF, Y'all!)

Otter's just about through with her freshman year at college.  I was thinking that she would have to go most of next week, but it turns out that Tuesday will be her last day.  It's also the day she's going to see what books she can sell back.  Then I'm going to pick her up for our Girls Lunch (Cici's Pizza!) and then she'll spend the afternoon at the library.  Then she has about a month off before the summer term where she'll get the first part of the math requirements out of the way.

I managed to get her an appointment with the dentist in the middle of May.  While I'd love the dentist to say that the last two wisdom teeth are ready now and that she can get it scheduled for the next week, I really don't expect that.  Mid-May or sometime after the Fall semester starts, since her summer is booked up, are the two windows for the next oral surgery.

I'm just really, really, really glad that it's Friday!