2015 Review

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

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

Anyway:

January

Very cold month with some winter weather.

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

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

Froggy started planning her trip to see us.

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

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

February

We switched internet and email providers.

The stupid groundhog saw his shadow!

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

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

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

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

Snowy weather.

22 years since we moved from TEXAS.

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

March

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

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

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

We had more winter weather.

Otter was overjoyed when we discovered Green Apple gatorade!

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

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

We got several boxes of Girl Scout cookies.

The dry air caused me to have a few nosebleeds.

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

Otter turned 23!

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

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

We had to replace our insurance, thanks to NObamacare.

April

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

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

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

Otter officially became the owner of a 2002 Chevy Impala.

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

The hummingbirds showed up this month.

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

May

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

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

Stupid electric company kept at it!

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

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

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

Rain, Rain, Rain!

I had my one and only migraine of the year.

It was one of the better months of the year.

June

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

July

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

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

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

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

August

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

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

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

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

We put tires on my car, the 2008 impala.

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

We closed our booth at the antique store.

The Bluebell plants reopened!

September

Labor Day.

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

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

Then I came down with a cold.

I crocheted purple baby caps for a local charity.

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

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

October

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

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

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

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

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

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

Bill decided to get another booth for the pachinko machines.

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

It rained.  A lot.

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

November

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

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

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

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

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

Bill got a bad cold.

Then I got a bad cold.

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

We finally got our Bluebell ice cream!

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

The new booth store opened up.

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

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

December

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Just Catching Up

Last week when we were moving Otter, Bill was sneezing and coughing but we thought it was just the very strong wind we were dealing with.  However, it turned out that he actually had a cold coming on.  A cold which he then shared with me!  I've been fighting it since sometime on Saturday, it hit me when we were attempting to get the last of Otter's stuff moved.  Otter and I had made an attempt on Friday, but it was raining really hard so we put it off until Saturday and we invited Bill to help then.  She had to go to work on Saturday, so it was just Bill and myself.  Otter had discovered that there was an access point through the basement/laundry room which has a door through the firewall - so we could have moved everything on Wednesday without ever going outside in the wind and also she & I could have moved more on Friday when it was raining!  It meant more steps, but it would have been worth it!  Anyway, Bill and I made a few trips with the heavier boxes and qot quite a bit done but he was sick and I was coming down with it.

On Sunday morning, Otter picked up a friend of hers who had been unable to help on the actual moving day.  I met them at the old apartment (and was promptly lectured by both girls on not overdoing it) to finish up.  They let me vacuum both bedrooms and clean the fridge out, but they did not let me do much else.  In fact, they sent me home with instructions to get well!  I did give them lunch money.  They got everything finished and got the cleaning done.  Then Best Friend was able to stay overnight with Otter and they got a lot of her things unpacked.  Otter was called in to work a few extra hours on Sunday evening, also.

When I left, I brought Otter's car home with me because the temperature gauge was acting up again.  I was nearly home when the "low coolant" indicator came on.  Bill checked it and he thought that it had more air in it, which it did, but that the problem might be a loose radiator cap.  We drove it a little bit and it was fine, then he drove it to work yesterday (Monday) and today (Tuesday).  This morning, the low coolant light came on again and another light that we had checked before.  I'm going to take Otter's car back to her in the morning on my way to work and get my car back from her.  She is off the next two days and isn't planning on going anywhere, unless she has to get groceries or something.  On Saturday, Bill is going to take her car to the shop we've been using and have them check it.  Then we'll see what they say.

When Bill and I got home from her apartment on Saturday, I went straight to my pjs and parked on the couch.  I pretty much stayed then until Sunday morning when I got up to go back to her apartment.  After I got home on Sunday, I did the same thing.  And that's where I pretty much stayed.  I called in yesterday, I had hardly any voice left and have been coughing my head off.  I stayed home today, I am coughing less but my ribs still hurt from it.  It is a cold, but it has triggered my asthma.  Which is normal.  I'm going to attempt to go to work tomorrow, for one thing I need to go switch cars with Otter, but I'm not sure if I'll be able to stay all day or not.  Mostly, I've been parked on the couch with a blanket and a beagle for the last couple of days.  Although at the moment, the beagle in question is now laying on her back with all 4 feet in the air!

Kind of like this!

Dog House!

I think that Bill should just move right on out to the dog house in the back yard.  I mean, it's not like Maggie ever uses it and neither did Frasier.  I saw a squirrel hanging out in it one time, getting out of the rain.  But that's it.

But Bill needs to go out there.

He gave me the cold he caught at work!  I had the bug that was going around, then I got over it and got my flu shot.  I spent Saturday feeling cruddy from the shot reaction.  Bill was coming down with the cold sometime last week, I've kind of lost track of time/dates on that.  Sunday evening, I felt the first tickles in my throat and the beginning of a soreness.  Monday, I was pretty sure it was on the way.  I went to work on Tuesday and gave Younger Boss a very strong warning about staying away from me - which worked, because he was gone all day long!  Bill went in to work yesterday but he left around lunch time because he was feeling so bad.  Bill called in today.  I went in, but I knew it was very much a moment of RIF* but I had a couple of things I had to do.  I got them done, then I came home.  I stopped to get chicken soup fixins** on the way home.

Otter texted me that she was on the way over to do laundry just as I was getting the soup on the stove, she got here just before it was ready so she had lunch with us.  She made a point of staying as far away from us as possible, because she is smart and doesn't want to risk a cold or a cold-induced asthma spell.  We had a nice visit with her and Maggie was overjoyed, especially when she got to take a walk with Otter.

I'm going to work tomorrow and will try to stay, but I don't know if Bill will even attempt to go in or not.  He is better tonight, but he's still coughing a lot.

Dog house is waiting on him!  :)

*Resistance is Futile!

**It's a Texan Thing.  If you have to ask, you might not understand!

Warm Spell

The title refers to the fact that I woke up feeling cruddy and also had a slight fever.  I didn't feel too good over the weekend and I was thinking allergy but now I think it is probably a garden-variety bug.  I'm tired this evening but feeling better and I don't have fever anymore.  It wasn't much, just a degree more or less.  It has aggravated my asthma slightly.

I've been parked on the couch for the most part today, I did take the bratdog for a short walk this morning but that was partially self-defense so she would be calmed down and let me rest!  Bill took my car today.  Maggie Moo wanted to go back outside while ago, we went out in the back yard so she could visit the grass there and the mosquitos were out in full force.  I squashed two, one on each arm, and evaded a few more.  But I think that there may have been a few that I was unaware or - but they were aware of me!

I did get a loaf of banana bread made, the bread machine has a recipe for it but it's not really my favorite.  No secret that bananas are my favorite fruit and probably one of my top favorite foods in general.  I do like banana bread, but the recipe the bread machine makes just doesn't have enough banana taste or sweet flavor for me.

I started the 2nd half of Otter's poncho.  The first half is lavender and the 2nd half is light blue.  We bought all the yarn at the same time at Hobby Lobby, two skeins of each color.  We made sure that the labels matched and the yarn looked like they matched.  I made the first half and had almost enough yarn in one skein to finish but not quite.  So, I attached the 2nd lavender skein on and did 4 or 5 row sets until it was long enough.  I finished it up at work on my lunch hour one day.  And that's when I discovered under the stronger office lights that the two lavender skeins don't match!  They looked the same in the store and the labels matched.  But the yarns are not the same color.  When Otter was over here yesterday to do her laundry, she looked at the poncho half and I held it up to her like it will fit on her when it's assembled.  The part that is different will be in the back and it will probably look ok, but I'm still very annoyed about it.

I'm taking my car in to get new tires on it tomorrow.  It's due for an oil change, so that will be done at the same time.  I'm taking it to the place in the same shopping center that Otter works in, we've used this place for a few months now and they re the place that put the tires on Otter's car a few months back.  They said that it will only take a couple of hours, so I'm going to drop my car off with them and then walk across the parking lot and borrow Otter's car so I can get to work.  I'll bring her car back at lunch and pick my car with it's new shoes up.  I told Otter that I'd buy her lunch, so I'm going to leave her some lunch money for letting me borrow her car - she agreed to that!

Maggie Moo is now curled up at my feet.  Snoring loudly!

Never Ending Adventures of an Allergy Mom

I'm apparently still an Allergy Mom.

In this case, it's the beagle!!

The beagle had a bath last night, which was not her most favorite activity of the weekend.  But she kind of smelled and it had been a while, so a dunking in the tub was in order.  She has been scratching a lot.  A LOT.  There was one possible flea in the bath water, but mostly it was just dirt.  So, I don't think fleas are the problem.  No sign of ticks. She does have a few skin tags - dogs get them just like people do.  When she had the bladder infection, she was scratching at her belly in specific spots in what was probably an effort to get to the places that were painful.  But now, she's just scratching.  And scratching.  And scratching.  And scratching some more!

The vet's office called me today, to check up on her since she had the bladder infection.  I asked about the scratching, because I'm pretty sure it's allergies.  We know Maggie Moo has some, her eyes water in the spring and sometimes she gets a little itchy after being outside in the grass.  Now that we are walking more often, usually twice a day, she seems to be itchier.  The vet said I can give her claritan or zyrtech.  They told me which variety to give her and the dosage, I decided to go with zyrtech.  I may not be spelling it right.  Anyway, I went to wallyworld and had to ask the pharmacist if it was otc or behind the counter.  It's otc, she told me which aisle and then I still had to call the vet to be sure I got the right one.  I'm going to start her on it tonight.  I can give her a full pill, but I'm going to start with half.  When we used to have Misty, the really special dog I had when we moved to our current house 11 years ago, Misty would pull out all the hair she could reach in the spring because she was lab/chow and they both have very dense coats.  We used to give her benadryl.  It helped, she still yanked the fur out but not as bad - and she didn't look like she was horribly sick, either.

This is Misty, we referred to her as our little old lady.  She was an actual, 100 % real rescue, I literally took her off the street and never regretted it.  Her tongue was sticking out in this picture, the dark coloration is because she had a lot of chow in her ancestry.

We'll see how the allergy med goes with the Magginator.  Last night, the dog was coughing a little and I found myself telling her to calm down, relax and just breathe.  Exactly like I used to do with Otter when she was little and having an asthma flare!

Once a Mom, always a Mom!

Mother's Day 2015

Happy Mother's Day!

My day has been a lot of fun.  Otter and J came over for breakfast, we had Monkey Bread and assorted fresh fruit.  They stayed for a couple of hours and we had a nice visit.  Otter gave me kitchen towels, which I needed badly.

Bill gave me a set of craft blades, similar to X-Acto knives but they came from the store Otter works at.  It was also something I needed, I originally wanted another cactus but then I realized that I needed the craft blades so I changed my gift request to that.  I actually went and got that one myself, because I had to pick out the specific set I wanted.

Bill and I went to a couple of thrift stores today.  This is what I bought at the first one, it was a grab  bag (clear plastic bags, not a mystery bag) and it was $6.98.  For all of this:

It's on the couch with a blanket for background, but it was a very full bag.  The next picture is what I actually bought the bag for:

Yarn spools!  8 regular ones and one larger one.  And for what is a ridiculously low price, especially considering everything else that was in the bag.  I've seen these priced (and selling for) for upwards of $5.00 each, sometimes more since they have thread on them and the bigger one would probably sell for more than the entire bag.

The tag says it's a handmade purse, silk fabric maybe.  I'm not sure if it's a keeper for something craft related or it it's going to be sold or re-donated.  It's sort of evening bag size.  I didn't even see it in the bag when I bought it, it was in the middle of everything else but I grabbed the bag as soon as I saw the yarn spools.

These are small hats, hand crocheted obviously.  I'm not sure if they are for dolls such as an 18" doll, or if they might be dog hats.  Because also in the bag were three dog outfits.  (The hats are probably for dolls.)

The orange and pink/blue one are obviously hand crocheted.  The pink one is Martha Stewart brand, which I think is really funny.  I did try it on Maggie Moo so I could text a picture to Otter, but it's wool and I didn't even have to look at the tag to figure that out because I started reacting to it as soon as it came into contact with my skin.  The dog clothes are all in the donate pile.

The blue fabric has a tag from when it was purchased originally, I think it was somewhere around $4.00.  The cotton collar is probably not new, but I don't think it's been worn before.  It's very clean and still has that "stiff" feeling.  Not sure if it's etsy, donate, if Otter wants it, or what.

This might be hand-knitted or it might have been done on a knitting machine, but it is homemade and not professionally done.  It's a vest with a sash.  I thought it was an uncompleted cardigan style sweater but the sleeve openings are too big.  It might fit Otter, for a size comparison - I don't think it's anything she would want, but I might well put it on her and have her model it for an etsy picture if I decide to sell it.  The final yarn ends are still attached but they are tied off.  It has a button on the bottom.  It's clean and there is no smell that I can tell.

Froggy, got any idea what these are?  They are obviously holders for "tape" or ribbon of some type and I think they are sewing related.  Possibly etsy bound as well, but maybe not.

There were a few other things, a bag of small safety pins and some misc. stuff.

The next two pictures are from the 2nd thrift store.

2 square doilies which were marked 49 cents each but then they turned out to be half price so they were 25 cents each.  There is also a very long table-runner size doily, I think it was 79 cents.  It has a couple of spots I need to mend slightly and it also has a reddish stain but I think it will come out.  All three are bound for my doily curtain.  The reddish crochet thing is a hanging towel, it has a granny square front and a backing crochet piece.  Not sure if I'm going to copy the pattern or what, but it was somewhere around 70 cents or maybe less.

This is a clear ruler, used in sewing and also in things like crochet.  I'm not sure if it's an etsy item or if I'll keep it, as I frequently need something like this but I have a clear plastic ruler I use.

I keep talking about etsy, I think I'm finally going to start listing things in the store I set up a few years ago and then never used.  I have a few ideas for crochet pieces that are not scarves & hats, because the market is basically flooded with that sort of thing.

We also bought an old nut cracker that it mounted on a wooden board.  It was etsy bound at first, but now I'm thinking we may keep it.

After the 2nd thrift store, we decided to have lunch at Cici's pizza instead of cardboard pizza from wally.  We also went to a fabric store.

Speaking of flooding, we've had so much rain the last several days that there has been some street flooding in the area.  The ground is over-saturated.  We've had several instances of hard rains the last couple of days, yesterday afternoon (I got caught in it literally and got soaked) and this morning were very strong storms.  My back yard literally looked like a lake, the ground can not absorb any more water and it was beginning to stand - which is really saying a lot.  I've drained the potted plants a few times, Bill had to clean out one of the downspouts because it was clogged and the rain gutters overflowed.  The ground is so soft it's almost like walking in a swamp.  There is water standing in ditches and on the side of the road in places it never actually does, and we saw evidence of a few street areas that had obviously been under water at some point either yesterday or this morning.  Next week is supposed to be dry and warm, it's going to be very humid for a few days and then it will be mosquito season so I'm trying to get rid of any standing water I find.

I'm thinking that Maggie Moo might have another UTI or bladder infection.  She's "leaked" twice in the house in the last 3 days, I caught her at it in the hallway yesterday and she would not stop - even when I yelled at her.  I don't think she could really stop.  She's acting like she might not feel too good, she really acts like she did before when she had one.  She might also need to get her rear glands cleaned out, it's been 2 months since the last time and we did think that 2 months would be about right.  Or it could be both.  Either way, I'm calling the vet tomorrow to see if I can get her in there.  She's perky when I say the W or R words (Walk or Ride) but even when she actually gets to do either of those things (or both!), she's not acting like she's 100%.  I don't think she's moping around over Frasier not being here, she seemed to get over that and she acts like she doesn't feel too good.  She's finally sleeping on the pillow we bought to make her a bed out of, at least.

(I did give in the my asthma last Friday and stayed home.)

Time for ice cream now!

Talkies

(I may have used that title before, it seems like it.)

When Otter was very young, a few years after the diagnosis of asthma, we noticed something about her.  When she was dealing with a flare, she would frequently talk.  Like constantly!  Turns out, that when you aren't getting enough oxygen in your system your body will do what it takes to get it.  Including talking.  Because you need air to talk, and the air is oxygen.  She hasn't done what we call "the talking thing" in a long time, because she hasn't had a flare in what feels like forever.  Which we are very thankful for, by the way!  Anyway, there is a point to this.  I also do "the talking thing" when I'm starting a flare.

Guess what I've been doing today?

The Talking Thing!

I've been dealing with allergy tiredness today and it's been really bad this afternoon.  I don't have a lot of congestion, although my lungs are beginning to feel like I'm in the starting phase of a flare.  I've been outside more than normal for this time of year, but that can't really be helped.  Maggie Moo needs to be walked, she's a beagle and they are energetic little bratties.  Walks are good for her and they are also going to be good for me, I just wish that my across the street neighbor's magnolia tree would just die off!!!

It's probably not the only thing that is aggravating my allergies, but it's a pretty strong allergy and is probably the current worse issue.

Springtime!

Otter was over this afternoon.  She comes over about once a week to do laundry, and of course to see the aforementioned beaglebrat!  (She also just comes by to say hello sometimes.)  She accompanied me when Maggie got her trip around the neighborhood.  Talk about a happy dog!  She had a few hours of Otter's undivided attention, then she got a walk with Otter.

Otter's hand is doing well.  She saw the doctor yesterday for the 3-day follow up.  He said that he sees no signs of infection and that it looks like it's healing.  She goes back next Wednesday to get the stitches removed.  Until then, she is to continue the care procedures and she can now start leaving it uncovered if she's at home and not going to do anything that might aggravate it.  She said that it does still hurt, although not nearly as much.  The main thing she's noticed is that it is beginning to itch.  The doctor told her that's a good thing, since that means it's healing - which she already knew, by the way.

J graduates from college tomorrow!  He will have a Bachelor's Degree in English.  He's an honors graduate.  He has worked very hard to get to this point.  He took several classes at the community college that Otter went to - that's where they met, actually.  The community college told him very clearly that his credits would transfer.  But when he transferred to the university, it turned out that several classes would not transfer and he had to take them over again.  Which meant that he actually wound up graduating a year later than he originally would have.  But he's finally there.  J and his mother will pick Otter up tomorrow and they'll go to the ceremony.  He's been attending a local satellite location of the university, but the graduation ceremony is at the main campus which is in a not quite next door but still close by town.

Sunday is Mother's Day.  Otter and J are coming over for breakfast, I'm making my own breakfast but that is because I want to.  Monkey Bread!  Apparently, Otter has been telling J how good it is and she was going to make it for him, but she's willing to let me make it instead.  :)

But seriously, way to go J!

It's Been 20 Years

Otter was diagnosed with asthma the Christmas before her 4th birthday.  Today, it's 20 years later (short a few months but still 20 years.)  Today was her annual lung recheck at the allergist/asthma specialists office.  This is the 3rd doctor she's seen for it.  The first one diagnosed the asthma - although we already knew what it was and her then-pediatrician only sent us to the specialist to shut me up because he insisted that Otter was fine and there was no trace of asthma.  The specialist said she was on the verge of pneumonia and basically he said that a blind monkey could have seen that she had asthma - a fact I took great pleasure in telling the pediatrician!  Otter was really in a bad situation, her asthma was very bad and it took us a long time to get her to a stable place.

There were a few times when we thought it was possible that we would lose her.  We had many sleepless nights.

We had an insurance change and that meant a new doctor.  We were able to start using one of the better known specialists in Tulsa, he was a friend of The Teenager and we had originally wanted to use him but he wasn't on the insurance plan we had when she was diagnosed.  But the doctor that first diagnosed her was good and we were happy with him.  The 2nd specialist is the one who also pointed out how much her scoliosis was worsening (something else the idiot pediatrician refused to face and told me that it was not ever going to be anything to worry about!) and he's the reason she was referred to an orthopedic specialist.  She took a few years of gymnastics and had some specialize exercises, which strengthened her upper body muscles enough and the scoliosis progress was halted and it is not an issue now - although it would have been, and possibly it would have been very severe given how fast it was progressing when she was so young.  The 2nd asthma specialist suggested we consider allergy testing and we eventually did. She had about 4 years of allergy shots through his office and she responded very well to them.  Eventually, she was able to stop the daily nebulizer treatments.  A nebulizer essentially turns liquid medicines into a mist that can be inhaled.  She was having 3 or 4 treatments per day at one point.

Then specialist # 2 retired.  He referred her to the doctor she's seen for the last few years.  She had been improving but then the karate got to a really hard part in the lessons and we realized that her asthma had also become exercise induced.  She was able to get the first level Black Belt but she never could go any further because she literally could not breathe.  There was one specific class that resulted in her nearly needing to be run to the ER because she was taking in so little oxygen - grey lips and blue nail beds are not indications of good things!  At that point, she was seeing # 3 twice a year and on a couple of different inhalers.  Once she quit karate, she made a rapid improvement and was able to start seeing him once a year.  That's what it's been for the last few years.  She had a daily inhaler which she has been using for 3 or 4 years with nothing else needed unless she had a cold or bad allergies, and then just seeing her doctor in the spring to follow up.

But all that ended today.

Otter's asthma has improved to the point that she is as close to not having it as is it is possible to be.  

It's incurable, but it can go into remission and basically go to sleep.

Otter's asthma has done even better than going to sleep.  It's very nearly turned itself to OFF.

She is off all medication, she hasn't used her daily inhaler for the last few months because she basically forgot it.  Her peak flow readings were almost off the charts today.  He said that progress like hers is almost unheard of.  As in SHE IS DONE WITH IT.  It's still in her system and she might have the occasional issue with it, such as if she has a cold or gets the flu.  But even when she's had a cold or when she had the flu a couple of years ago, she had hardly any asthma at all.  That's probably what she can expect in the future.  Little to none.

Yes, we do believe in Miracles.  And we have had one.

Hard Week

Glad it's over.

I've spent too much time nesting on the couch because of my stupid cold.  I'm finally on the mend, although I'm still dealing with the residual effects of any cold or URI in my world:  asthma!  It's not bad, it's just "there" and I know it.

I went in to work this morning, but I really just wanted to go back to bed!  I didn't stay all day, I made it until about 11:30 before I gave in and came home.  I actually ran out of steam about 10:30, but I had a few things I needed to finish up.  Even with being off most of the week, I'm just about caught up at work.  It's not a particularly busy office.

This is still on my mind as well.  It's on a lot of people's minds still, ST fans tend to take anything connected with the show very personally.  Especially when we lose someone so important.

I am kind of tired of winter.  I'm kind of tired of snow and ice.  I'm really looking forward to spring finally showing up.  (Not SpringLikeStorms!)  Starting last Friday, we had snow and/or ice coming down 4 out of the last 7 days and it was still on the ground/streets most of the last 7 days.  We were iced in on Wednesday, I probably wouldn't have gone in to work anyway because I was sick.  Yesterday, I might have tried to go in for a while but we were still iced in and nobody wanted to brave the roads.  But then the sun came out yesterday afternoon and a mass melting occurred.  Otter came over yesterday afternoon with her laundry.  While her clothes were in the dryer, we got out so I could see how the streets were and they were pretty good by that point.  We went to the grocery store, but that was only because I absolutely had to and could not put that off any longer.

When Bill took his/Otter's car to get the tires replaced, they told him that it needs a front end alignment and some serious front-end work.  I have no doubt that it does, that was really the only complaint/issue/problem we had with that car - it was known for needing expensive front-end work but that seems to be a fairly common issue in that year/style Impala.  I'm going to take it to Chevy one day next week to get a 2nd opinion and a price quote, but I expect them to say basically the same thing the first place did.  If Chevy's quote is in the general price range of the first place, we might have them go ahead and fix the car while it's there for the estimate.

Frasier is doing very well.  He does seem to have a little less discomfort since he's been on the anti-inflammatory.  It does make him a little stoned, however! :)  The vet said that I might be able to discontinue it on a daily basis after a while.  I'm going to see how it goes, he's definitely showing signs of improvement so I'll see how he does after several days and then decide about stopping it daily.  When they called me to check on him today, the vet tech said that I can go to watching him and giving it to him when he needs it.  When I got home today, Maggie Moo came in happily.  Frasier still hasn't come in - he's happy out in their yard.  Last time I looked out there, he was snoozing in a sunny spot.  He was so still that I had to watch to be sure he was actually breathing!! He loves to stay outside, much more than any other dog I've ever seen.  I think it's probably the coyote heritage.  Maggie didn't miss out on the nap today, she's curled up on her blankets and I hear her snoring.

There's probably more but I don't remember!

LLAP

Up in Arms

I think I've sprained my left elbow.  I thought the pain, tenderness and muscular tightness was the tendinitis which has bothered me on occasion.  But then I realized that I remembered a door shutting quickly and smacking my left elbow a couple of days ago.  Which was about when it started hurting.  It's bothered me the last couple of days and it has also made it difficult to sleep at night because I sleep on my side.  I generally start out on my left side but sometimes I will wake up on my right side.  I've been trying to prop it up at night and start out on my right side, but I keep waking up because I'm on my left side and my arm hurts!  Usually because I'm actually sleeping on it.  I'll probably drag out the splint from Otter's broken arm many years ago and use it the next couple of days.

Having had my arm broken twice (the left one coincidentally) and having had sprains before, I can say firmly that sprains can hurt worse than breaks!  Probably because a break is generally immobilized in a cast or splint, which also makes it harder to forget and use the limb in a way it should be used.

And as if that weren't enough, the extreme cold and dry air of the last several days is also doing what it generally does:  I'm having an asthma flare.  Not bad, but any asthma is "not good."  I'm trying to stay indoors, which is what I've been doing for the last several days, but there are times when I have to go outside.  Like from the front door to the car, car to the office, etc.  I had to go to the post office today to renew the P.O. Box and I also had a trunkload of stuff to donate to Goodwill so I had to be out in the air a bit.  But Bill had already noticed the signs of an impending flare so he had a nice, warm fire going when I walked in the door.  The thing about asthma is that if it's a mild flare coming on, it's not always noticeable because I'm used to dealing with it so it is somewhat routine.  If it's a bad spell, that's different.  But sometimes it's slow and sneaky.  It won't be bad, I just don't like to deal with it.  But I've never had it as bad as Otter or Froggy's eldest son had to deal with.

Nice surprise!  I just changed the tv station after the M.A.S.H. reruns we usually watch in the evening.  When M.A.S.H. ended, I turned the tv to PBS.  It's the start of their spring pledge drive.  They are running a BeeGees concert!  I absolutely, love love love the BeeGees, pretty much from the earliest time I became aware of the existence of Music.  I can NOT stand disco, but I'll listen to anything and everything done by the BeeGees.  Otter frequently points something out to me:  the BeeGees are disco.  My answer?  NO, THEY ARE NOT.  That's my story and I'm sticking to it.  :)  Also, I think that I came in at the same point in this concert that I did when I saw it the first time.  Just after it started, so I'll get to see most of it.  Hope the dogsters don't mind me singing!  (Not even asthma can stop me if I want to sing and especially not singing along to BeeGees songs.)  

I don't think that there are actually words to express how important Music is to me.  I can also say that I don't know of too many other people who actually Lettered it in in high school!  I'll always be proud of that fact, although I was't too pleased with Mom when she gave my letter sweater away on accident!  (S. TEXAS, sweaters were more common than jackets seeing how we almost never actually had weather that required jackets).  Bill will probably be glad that Dr. Who was not on the schedule for tonight, because I am not changing the station.

Anybody needs me for the next couple hours, don't expect to reach me.  MUSIC TIME!

Changes Coming Tomorrow

We're changing internet providers officially tomorrow.  We will still keep the old carrier for a couple of days, to give us time to get everything switched over.  Email mostly, but Bill has some Pachinko Restorations stuff that he'll have to attend to.  Cox is coming out tomorrow, they say between 8:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m., and that it should only take 1 - 1 1/2 hours.  We'll see on both of those!

 

After it's all installed, up and running without any issues I'll call the current carrier and arrange to have the internet turned off with them.  We have decided to go ahead and turn off the satellite tv service like we were talking about.  We just never watch it anymore.  We watch PBS a couple of times a week for specific shows, there are the "big 3" networks but we really don't watch them that often.  We watch one of them (NBC usually) and switch between it and Fox for news coverage.  There are a lot of small local stations, we watch more of them than anything else.  The surround system we've had for several years is on it's way out anyway, we were going to take it out once it quit for good but it's not hooked up to the local only to the dish so Bill's going to take it out in the next few days.  That will leave two small shelves on the entertainment center that should hold the rest of the dvd/blu-rays we have.

 

I cleaned up the dog yard this afternoon, it needs to be cleaned out at least once a week but I don't always remember.  It was Otter's job when she lived here and I keep forgetting about it.  It was not too bad this time because it's only been a week since the last time I cleaned it - as opposed to 3 weeks between cleanings the last time!  The installers might have to trench the yard a bit to run the lines, the customer service rep said that she's pretty sure they can just attach to the old lines that were there (and buried) but we're pretty sure that our current carrier's installers cut those lines and dug part of them up when they did their installation.  So, the dog yard has been cleaned up a bit for them, although I'm sure the dogsters will still have time to leave a few "presents" for them!

 

I've also been doing some research on switching health insurance carriers, since the deadline of March 31 is bearing down on us.  I've talked to a few companies and gotten a lot of information, we think we know which company we are going with but we aren't actually switching yet.  Mostly likely, it will be the old one ending on March 31 and the new one taking over April 1.  I did confirm that the story about "no pre-existing conditions" is true, so Otter will be covered as far as her asthma care.  We'll still have a huge deductible that we will probably never meet, but at least her annual visit will go towards the deductible instead of going nowhere.  Also, Bill's skin cancer will be covered although it will also apply to the deductible.  But that is still better than it not being covered at all.  The premium is going to go up, that can't be avoided.  But I really didn't expect to find major medical coverage for 3 of us for under $500.00/month like we have now.

 

We got the pachinko machines moved out of the attic access in the garage last night.  Bill got up into the attic and checked the wiring he installed when the current carrier installed the service, at the time he ran cable himself to be able to have service in the rooms we wanted it in.  He wanted to make sure he got the right one marked to be sure the new installers hook up to the correct lines.  It would kind of be a problem if they hooked up the new service to the wrong lines!  The machines are staying out of the way for a while, Otter is going to go through the boxes that are stacked in the corner of her old room and see what she wants to store.  Some of them are her journals, some have some of her artwork in them and some of them just have "stuff."  She was in a packing frenzy as the moving day got closer and she thinks that some of the boxes were just filled with whatever she could grab to put in them so it would be out of the way.  She might take some of it back to her apartment, some of it may be donated.  But I think the majority of it going to be put up in the attic.  We pulled 4 boxes out of the stack yesterday after moving machines, they are in the center of her old room.  There are still about 4 boxes stacked.  She'll be here Thursday to do laundry and will go through at least the 4 in the floor.  She and I are going to take the huge pile of books to the used book store on Saturday, they are piled/stacked along the wall in the entrance way.  After we get back from that, we're going to go through whatever boxes are still stacked - I don't think she knows that yet! :)  The craft stuff in the garage on my shelf can wait, it's more important to get the garage-bound boxes taken care of first and out of the way.

 

Froggy, you'll have a place to sleep when you visit!  There may still be some boxed stuff, but not very much.  What you will actually be sleeping on, however, is still under discussion.

2014

It has been a busy year.

January:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Our 29th Anniversary happened.

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

February:

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

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

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

I finally finished my afghan!

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

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

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

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

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

March:

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

We had more winter weather!

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

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

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

Otter planted her crop - mostly jalepenos.

We had a hail storm.

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

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

April:

2 Hot Flashes in one day!  Talk about miserable.

We had a hail storm with a lot of rain.

2 baby blues came up in the whiskey barrel!

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

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

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

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

One of Bill's sisters came to visit.

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

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

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

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

May:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

It rained.  A lot.  A LOT.

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

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

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

June:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

July:

Vacation!  We stayed home.  Shopped a lot.

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

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

Found out just how sharp a Ulu knife is.

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

Otter started working on her cosplay outfit for TNT.

Bill got two or three wasps nests this month.

Brake replaced on the car.

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

Otter had an ear infection.

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

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

The lumberyard started stocking firewood.

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

August:

10 years since we moved into our current house.

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

Retro TV started running the original Dr. Who series!

I visited several fabric stores for Froggy.

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

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

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

Froggy's daughter graduated nursing school!

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

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

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

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

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

We got the chimney cleaned.

We had some limited water restrictions but not bad.

Otter and Roomie looked at several apartments.

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

September:

Bought a new camera.

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

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

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

2nd sinus infection of the year!

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

I finished Uncle Crazy's lap blanket.

Bill got a bunch of firewood.

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

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

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

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

October:

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

The TEXAS persecution was especially bad this year.

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

There was a lunar eclipse.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

I started a lap robe blanket for Otter.

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

Bill replaced the brakes on Roomie's car.

Halloween.

 

November:

 

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

We decided to have a low-key Thanksgiving.

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

Otter had a pretty bad migraine.

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

Snow!

Bill's other sister came to visit.

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

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

Thanksgiving.  We had our pizza.

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

 

December:

 

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

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

We had a spell of very foggy days.

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

Finally replaced our microwave.

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

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

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

Vacation!

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

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

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

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

 

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

I Feel Like Something Funny is Needed (Ramble Warning)

Because I feel cruddy otherwise.  I first noticed last Friday that I was feeling what could have been my asthmatic lungs letting me know that they were awake.  I spent most of the day Friday and all last weekend sneezing my head off - and wondering why, because all the allergy triggers have been frozen!  I heard a news report yesterday that the Tulsa Health Department has released.  There are a few assorted cold-like or flu-like bugs that are going around but they are not the flu - but apparently the emergency rooms are being filled up with people thinking they have the flu but what they have is one of the bugs.  Which don't respond to treatment and have to be worn out.  Yesterday, I started to feel pretty bad and was exhausted by the end of the day so I was pretty sure that I might have one of those bugs.  The cold-type, not the flu-type is my guess.  I didn't want to go to work today, but I had a couple of projects that I had to do and that had to be done today so I had no choice.  I got everything done that needed to be done and I was pretty tired by the end of the day. Also, I'm still sneezing my head off and tonight my throat is getting sore.

 

I am most likely going to be home tomorrow, but I'll decide for sure in the morning.

 

The extreme cold last night that hung around until this morning didn't help!  It was in the low teens last night and I like to froze just going from the house to the car this morning!  It was so cold that my car had difficulty getting warm enough to actually blow other-than-ice-cold-air when I needed the heater.  It won't be as cold tonight, but it will still be cold.

 

I picked Otter up at her apartment after work today - she made a point of keeping the neck of her hoodie over her face and not facing me!  I don't blame her, she doesn't want to be sick.  Anyway, she got the car tonight and will have it until Sunday.  She'll bring her laundry over then and might actually get to keep the car all next week as well because Bill's taking a few vacation days so he'll be off the entire week of Thanksgiving.  Although I'm probably going to take her car to Chevy to get the oil changed on Black Friday, and Bill will need it one day to replace a clogged valve.

 

Anyway, here's the funny stuff:

This one is especially funny, Dad always told a joke about how he grabbed Preparation H instead of his denture adhesive once!  I don't really think it happened, I have heard variations of that joke for years but it was funny anyway.

OK, so that's not funny.  But it is true and we always like Mike Rowe.  Dirty Jobs is no longer being produced, but we always wanted to see a show where he painted parking lots - preferably lots in S. TEXAS that had been baking in the incandescent sun all day!

This one isn't actually a joke, either.  It's true!

I like this one for a couple of reasons!  Not the least of which is that I'm married to an Engineer and most of the stories about them are true....