One Tired Ottermom!

It's been a tiring day, although I haven't done a whole lot to be tired from.

I did manage to go to a church yard sale, I found a few books but nothing else.  I looked at a sale that is put on in a local storage place, they have one every few months and I don't usually go but I had time today.  It is located in the same shopping center as Otter's store, she was just getting to work when I was about to park so I stopped and gave her coke money.  She was pleasantly surprised.

I also met Bill up at the booth.  The owner of the booth thought that if he would come by and actually play one of the pachinko machines it might lead to a sale.  We've actually sold several lately, but from our website and not from the booth.  Although the machines were at the booth so we had to go get them!  Anyway, he spent about half an hour playing pachinko and did get some attention but I don't really think it will help sales.  Neither does Bill, but he didn't want to tell the owner of the store that because she really is trying hard to make a go of the store.

Maggie Moo is a happy beagle.  She wore one of her beds out and she got a new one yesterday.  It came from Otter's store.  Maggie has spent quite a bit of her time snoozing in her new bed, I think she likes it.  She's sprawled out across it at the moment, she moves every so often but only to change position.  She doesn't actually want to get up!

One good thing did happen today:  KN3 got married!  That's Froggy's daughter, she's the third of Froggy's three kids so that's why she's called K(id)N(umber)3 on here.  For a couple of reasons, it turned out that I wasn't able to go after all but we're very happy for them.

Froggy - you better send me lots of pictures!

Shopping Sunday

So named because a) it's Sunday and b) I went shopping with Otter.

We're going to a family wedding in a few weeks, when we went shopping right after Christmas Otter found her dress although we weren't even looking at that point and that left me needing something to wear.  I tried on a couple of dresses at Penney's last week but didn't like them enough to buy one.  We decided to go shopping today and see if we could find anything.  We looked at Sears, Dillards and Penney's and were actually about to walk out of Penney's to  head to another store when we walked past a couple of racks and I found a dress I liked.  I tried it on and it came home with me.  It's a not quite royal blue color, not quite aqua either.  It has a "ripple" pattern in the fabric and I think its very pretty.  Otter's dress came from Sears and it's a sort of midnight blue smooth satin-ish fabric with a black "smocked velvet" pattern all across it, the yoke area is a sheer black and it's sleeveless.  She has a black, beaded shawl that she'll wear with it and it will look very nice with the dress.  I have a turquoise crocheted shawl I made a couple of years ago which I will wear with my dress - the colors are different enough that they actually look good together.  We found her a small cocktail-style clutch purse (it has a removable strap) which is midnight blue satin sides and should look very well with her dress.  I will probably carry my black Coach purse.  We both need shoes still.  I have a pair of black shoes but I don't like them with the dress and Otter is probably going to look for a pair of high-heeled sandles to go with her dress.  I found a new purse today too, but it's just because I'd been looking for another good purse and not to match the dress for the wedding.  It was on sale at Dillards and mine is the Hunter Green color.

We also went to Michael's.  I have two crochet projects and of course it turned out that I didn't have the right yarn for either one.  I looked at Hobby Lobby and Walmart the other day but didn't find what I wanted for either one.  When we went to Michael's I had not even read their ad yet.  Turns out, all their yarn was on sale!  I found the right yarn for both projects and it's always a bonus when it's on sale.  We talked about a thrift store but never quite got there.

We finally got netflix.  I think we were just about the last people to actually get it.  We got a package that we could include Otter on as well.  Bill said he didn't really think he'd ever use it.  And since we got it yesterday, I think he's only been away from the tv just long enough to run to the bathroom a couple of times!  He's attempting to catch up on all the Star Wars: The Clone Wars animated series that he missed most of when it was on originally.

We're dealing with mountain cedar at the moment.  It's really hitting Bill bad.  It's a big trigger for me, but it's one of the few things he is allergic to.  Of course, that means that he is extremely allergic to it!  It's been very cold today so he's stayed indoors and is trying to treat the symptoms.  Otter and I stopped at Top That Pizza and got lunch to bring home to share with Bill, we got plenty of jalepenos on his.

I am going to keep blogging here, but maybe not that often.  So settle down, Froggy!

Been a Busy Few Days

The last real post was last week, on Monday.  The other posts since then have been quick.

We ran off to TEXAS last weekend.  Bill's sister got married and we made a fast trip to be there.  We headed down south at 4:45 last Friday morning.  We made really good time, considering that we had some major traffic issues on IH 35 in the vicinity of Austin.  We came back on Monday, we left San Antonio even earlier - at 3:45!  But we got home before noon, no traffic at all because it was a holiday.

There was some really bad weather last weekend, it's been all over the news and it's tragic.  I know a lot of the areas that are affected, Wimberly in particular.  We used to go to an outdoor flea market there.  It's not a big town.  We worry about tornados here, but people tend to forget how TEXAS reacts to a lot of water.  (Not well, obviously.)  Southern Oklahoma has also had a lot of flooding but a lot of the areas we saw were farmland and not built up too much.  Which doesn't make it easier for people affected to deal with, but there were a lot of deaths and some people are still missing in S. TEXAS.

Otter stayed at our house while we were gone, she beaglesat for us.  She reports that the futon is comfortable enough to sleep on, and she enjoyed getting to play with the beagle a lot.  She had already placed an order for things to eat.  I got her a frozen pizza, frozen chicken nuggets, cokes (TEXAN cokes, also known as Mountain Dew for Otter) and potato chips.

The wedding was a lot of fun, it was really special and we are very glad we were able to go.  Bill's youngest sister married a wonderful man and they did it their way:  on horseback.  It was great and it fit their personalities very well.  We had a really great time.

While there, Bill also acquired more pachinko machines.  7 to be exact.  Along with a lot of other stuff, he bought out a fellow pachinko fanatic's business that they owner wanted to sell.  It's the same person he got the 40+million machines from a couple of years ago.  (Otter would not have had a place to sit, she would have been strapped to the roof if she'd gone!)

Froggy and I were going to get together on Sunday, we had shopping plans.  But IH 35 was closed and so was 281, both highways that would have gotten her to San Antonio.  So we weren't able to see each other.  :(  That will be remedied soon!

I'm on day 2 of the first migraine of the year.  At least I didn't get it until late May, last year I think I had 9 or 10 total and they started early.  The flashers weren't too bad, the headache isn't horrible but it's just still there.

I'm wondering if the jalepeno and bell peppers are going to grow, or if they'll stay little and not produce fruit.  They have been planted for several weeks, but they are constantly being overwatered due to the rain.  I have been draining them often, they are healthy but they are not growing and have not had any sign of a bloom yet.  The peppermint is growing, but it isn't one that needs to bloom and produce fruit.

We could get yet more rain tonight and for the next couple of days.  We had a thunderstorm last night.  I'm beginning to think it's time to look up plans for an arc!

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!

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!

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.

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."

Monday Stuff. Warning: Politics

Monday.  Back to the real world today!

The real world being work.  Which was busy, I'm cleaning out a lot of old files and stuff that should have been thrown out/shredded/donated years ago.  I got a lot done, until the 95 year old teenager got there.  Then progress was slowed considerably, but that's ok.

We have a state election coming up this month.  There is a specific race that is a new state office, it's a new senatorial seat that covers the district we live in.  It's actually a district relocation, and there is no Democrat candidate.  All four are Republicans.  Seeing as how I'm the only person in my house actually registered with a party (Republican, not that anyone is surprised), I'm suddenly very popular with people I've never even met before!  Because Oklahoma is not an open election state, if you aren't registered with the party - you can't vote.  Which is basically taxation without representation, but that's another argument.  I'm also only registered with a particular party affiliation so that I can vote in the primaries.  I'm as conservative as it gets, but I prefer to make my own decisions about who I want to represent me.  The point is - anyone who has that R on their voter's registration is suddenly getting visits, mail, phone calls, etc. about the upcoming race.  It's a primary, but since there are only the R candidates, the winner takes all and wins the seat.  One of them came to the door a week or so ago, but I was having to wrangle a large & furry dog who was suddenly not sure he wanted anyone to talk to me - Frasier gets like that when it's me and Bill's not within sight.    Bill was home, but he was in the other room and Frasier was "on duty" as we call it.  So I only talked to the man for a moment.  Today, Otter and I were just getting home and were actually still in the driveway when the next candidate showed up.  I had time to talk to him, since the dogs were safely in their yard and we were in the driveway.  My first question, as always, is "are you pro-LIFE?"  If the answer is no (it never has been so far), then my next comment will be to say that there is nothing I have to say to them and to say goodbye.  Today's politician said exactly what I'd hoped - that he is pro-LIFE without any exceptions.  So far, I'm not sure who I'm voting for in that race.

I am also not sure at all about the Presidential race in November.  I can NOT under any circumstances, and will NOT under any circumstances, vote for the incumbent.  Probably not a surprise to anyone.

Problem is, I'm not sure I can vote for Romney either.  It's not just me, it's all three of us.  Bill probably said it best:  "There is no way I justify myself when I stand before Father God at the judgement day and explain that I voted for someone whom I consider to be godless."  Yes, that does mean that we don't consider the mormon religion to be Christian.  Which does not mean that we think mormons are bad people.  I've known several and they are generally nice, like most people and they are very pro-family.  But I've done a lot of research on their religion - and many others as well - and we don't believe that it's a true or Christian faith.  For a lot of things, and I'm not going into details about their belief system - but a good book to read is Under the Banner of Heaven by Jon Krakour and there are several others.

That was part of today's discussion at work.  It got a little heated for a while there, the 95 year old teenager believes almost everything he reads and he read some Romney campaign material.  Then we had a history discussion, which I was correct about, and it got kind of interesting to say the least!  Among other things, he told me that faith needs to stay out of politics and shouldn't have any basis on who we vote for or in how we live our lives.  ????  I told him that we are supposed to live our faith in all things and that does include politics.  He knew he was on shaky ground at that point and changed the subject.  (I was never rude, I was always respectful but I was also always firm.  And he shouldn't have been surprised!)

OK, politics over.  For the moment.  Soapbox has been safely stored, but it's ready to be deployed at a moment's notice.

Otter and I did some rearranging yesterday.  Her craft/fabric stash outgrew the corner of her room where it's been stored.  A while back, actually.  I made some room on my craft/stash shelves in the office closet and she relocated some of her stuff to it.  She still could use something else, maybe a small shelf unit, in her room to contain the rest of it.

On Friday, I am acquiring a new niece.  Scooter (Froggy's oldest) is getting married!  Because it's on a Friday, and the specific Friday it happens to be, we aren't going to be able to attend the wedding.  Froggy, I expect a full report - with pictures - as soon as possible!  Do you have any suggestions for Mrs. Scooter's blog name, or is Mrs. Scooter ok?  (Scooter is Froggy's oldest's nickname from when he was very young).

Allergies are making their way back today.  I've sneezed a lot, but I was also dealing with a lot of dust today.  Billyboy was noisy all night.  Otter reports that she's starting to feel the tightness in her lungs that usually means asthma is thinking about showing up.  We had a long-lived thunderstorm last night, most of the night in fact, and it's been sunny today.  That means that things are going to bloom on overload for the next few days.  Joy.

We also had a lot of wind, although we don't have any tree problems this time.  Probably because it's already been blown out of/off of the tree!  There seem to be a lot of other people who have had tree issues, just not us.  Not that I'm complaining!  I'm not happy that anybody else has problems, I'm just glad that we don't this time.

Silver Thoughts

Today is our 25th Anniversary. It's an occasion worth celebrating, especially when you consider how so few marriages seem to last these days. And especially considering the fact that we were briefly one of the statistics ourselves! But that is a story for another time.

These are some of our wedding pictures. I took pictures of the pictures in our album. The quality is not the best!

We got married in a small Baptist church. It's not a tiny church, but it's not a big one either. We did not want a big wedding, we just wanted our family and a few close friends and that is what we had. But it looks like the church is empty in some of the pictures, but it really wasn't. The pastor did not want any pictures taken during the ceremony itself, so most of the pictures were taken after the ceremony. This one, however, isn't! The photographer took pictures of everyone walking down the aisle, then he scooted upstairs to the balcony and snuck a few shots of the actual ceremony. And our first kiss!

This one is another one from the balcony. It's at a better angle, but because of the angle my 3rd bridesmaid is hidden. Sorry FutureJediMom, we know you were there! Froggy was my matron of honor (with a special guest - she had a bun in her oven!), Bill's sister Carolyn and FutureJediMom were my bridesmaids.

Sorry this is sideways, blogger was being uncooperative when I posted this picture. I didn't want a fancy, poofy dress but in the mid-80's I didn't have much choice. Unless I wanted the fluff overload. But I managed to find a dress I loved, the sleeves were a little puffier than I wanted but there wasn't much I could do about that. The sleeves could have been worn off the shoulder and I did think about it, but decided instead to wear them just barely on my shoulders. A train was a necessity, not a 14-foot one but a nice length train. As a redhead, it was suggested that I go with an off-white dress but I had always wanted a white wedding gown so that's what I had. If it clashed, then it clashed and I didn't worry about it! The bodice and sleeves had some light lace decoration. I had a fingertip length viel with beading on the top.

Again, the picture is sideways. My wedding colors were red (not bright, think red roses) and sky blue. The blue was the main color, the red was more of an accent color because I wanted roses. Silk ones, but still roses. The cake decor was blue flowers. The topper was hand made, blown glass. It didn't survive the packing up after the reception. I had it remade later and it still broke!

This is the car we affectionaly called the Klingon Battle Cruiser. It was police surplus and it was big. And heavy. And fast! We took it to Carlsbad Caverns for our honeymoon. When Bill finally sold it many years later, I really was sad to see it go. As soon as we left the reception, we went to the first gas station we found that had a car wash (and was open in late January on a Saturday night) and washed it all off.