Some Tuesday Stuff to Think About

I have come to the conclusion that there is not a vacuum in the world that can keep up with furry Frasier! I just ran the vacuum through the entire house. I emptied the cannister before I started. And then I realized that the entire house meant the cannister was filled up again when I was finished. And there are a few places I didn't get completely, such as the office and under the beds. Most of it was dog fur, brown in color and long. No wonder the old vacuum croaked! Well, it was old and had been used heavily before we got Frasier but I'm sure that all that dog hair didn't help. Oh well, at least the vacuuming is done for the day. It won't be done again until Thursday or Friday.

Maggie was my helper with the vacuum cleaning. She stayed right beside me the entire time, she would sit or lie down a few feet away from me and she stayed with me in each room. She wasn't wanting to play with the vacuum, and she's never been afraid of it. She just seems to like to watch it. Frasier, on the other hand, was outside and as far as he could get from it! I think he's back inside now, he sometimes will stay in the kitchen until we get through in the living room but today he went outside.

Back to school for Otter today, but Bill is still off through tomorrow. He had Monday as a holiday and he took two vacation days for today and tomorrow. He is still helping his dad at the rent house, although I think they should be winding down pretty soon.

I finally found a shade for my new lamp, the one with the glass piece. The shade is new, Walmart was about the cheapest and also seemed to have the biggest selection. The lamp is in the middle of the sofa table, but I think I'm going to move it to one end.

No photograph of Otter in her dress yet, we didn't have time yesterday and haven't gotten around to it today. Eventually! It's a really nice dress and the perfect color for her red hair.

Also, I don't know if I mentioned this or not but Otter has decided not to go to camp this year. She has been for 4 years, two at one camp the Methodist church sponsors and the last two at the camp the Baptist church sponsors. She's enjoyed it, but she said that she thinks she's done everything she wanted to do and she is getting to the age where most kids stop going. It is up to her, if she wanted to go then she certainly could. But she really wants to get a job next summer.

It's been warm the last couple of days. Warm for January in NE OK, that is. But it could be pretty cold by the weekend. Saturday might find up camped out in front of the fireplace all day. But the nicer weather the last couple of days has got me to thinking about spring. And spring storms. I'm not in a hurry for them, last year was bad enough and I don't want to go through that again (or anything worse).

Bill thinks he's changing the name of the El Camino. Stay tuned for updates, he's got a couple of ideas but nothing is decided yet. But the nose art won't involve an ice cube! (Although it will still most likely involve a nekkid lady).

Futurejedimom, enjoy Disney! I'm sure your critters will make sure you have a good time. And also that you get plenty of excercise. :)

Very Busy Saturday!

But it was a fun one.

First, Friday's report: Froggy's plane was on time, we went straight to Braum's for lunch. Then we went shopping! There is a store here that she liked last year, Atwood's Farm & Ranch, which is more like a variety store/farm store combination. After that, we went to what Mom would have called a junk store. It's an antique/consignment/junk store. I found a Fenton vase for $3.00. Then we went by WalMart for a couple of things. Then it was home to the pool.

Maggie was very happy to see her, and Frasier was too but not quite as happy as Maggie was!

Today was pretty busy. We went to the Tulsa Flea Market at the fair grounds and had a great time. We both bought several things, but it was pretty reasonable. We spent about 3 hours there, then we went to Subway for lunch. We went to a small gift shop, then we thought we still had about 1 1/2 hours until Otter was supposed to arrive but they got in very early. So we went to get her, she was extremely glad to see us. Then since she wasn't totally exhausted and we were still in shopping mode, we went back to the antique/junk store from yesterday because I'd seen a few things that I knew Otter would want. (More ponies to rehab!) I also bought a neat plant stand there, it's like a staircase. Then, as if that's not enough, we went to a new consignment/craft/antique store and I found something I've been looking for, a picnic basket. I wanted one that was big enough to use to store my yarn and crochet supplies, but I didn't want to pay over $5.00 for one. I saw a few at the flea market that were in my price range but they were smaller than I wanted. I found one at the consignment store for $3.50. It works perfectly, it holds everything I wanted to put in it.

Then, since we're crazy, we decided to hit a thrift store. So we went to a Goodwill store. And I made my find of the day. Or maybe my find of the year. For $3.00, I found a FENTON basket - signed by the artist, in perfect condition, one of the painted ones they have at times and easily worth $85.00 OR MORE at a Fenton store. I absolutely could not believe it, it was just out with the regular stuff instead of behind the glass counters with the really good stuff. It was actually on one of the wheeled shelving units that they use to bring stuff out to put on the shelves, and they leave the wheeled shelves out so people can take stuff off of them to buy when they shelves are full. Needless to say, I grabbed it immediately. Otter was pretty excited about it as well. I have noticed that frequently the stuff in the locked glass cabinets isn't really worth much, but because it's pretty it's assumed that it's worth a lot. Generally when that happens, the "real" stuff is just out on a shelf somewhere. Also, Otter found the armadillo beanie baby I wanted for my Texas related collection at this same Goodwill. For 25 cents. All in all, it was a pretty darn good shopping day.

We made pizza tonight and discussed peppermint ice cream. But we all ate too much pizza, so the ice cream is on tomorrow evening's menu.

We are going to church in the morning, then coming home and changing clothes. Then I think Froggy wants to go to a flea market and possibly we might hit a few more thrift stores.

Notice a theme? Shopping! And lots of it.

We are actually getting a lot of visiting time in, it's not all shopping. We are having a great visit.

Otter had a really good week at camp. She has a slight sunburn on her nose, and she was more than ready for bed tonight. But she really enjoyed herself. The kids are all going to wear their camp t-shirts to church tomorrow. She said that she swam a few times, the food was pretty good, there were quite a few games and that she wants to go back next year. I'll probably post more detail about her camp experience, or she will on her blog, in the next few days. The dogs were very excited to see her, I'm not quite sure how Maggie managed to remain upright because her tail was wagging so hard when she saw her Otter coming to the door!

Too Quiet!

It's too quiet at home, we're Otterless this week. I dropped her off at church on Monday morning at 7:30 and I will pick her up on Saturday at about 3:00 in the afternoon. I'm sure she's having a good time. But it will be good to have her back home as well.

Monday morning was pretty easy, Otter's alarm clock went off at 5:30 and I'd say she was dressed and ready to go about 5:33. Of course, if it had been a school day... It was slightly rainy but that ended early. The weather has been warm and dry but we have a chance of rain tomorrow evening into Thursday. Then back to warm and dry.

Otter told me Sunday evening that Maggie might get lonely, and she suggested that I sleep in her bed a couple of nights. But Maggie's been sleeping by herself! And it doesn't seem to have bothered her a bit.

Bill went to an auction yesterday. It was an Army surplus store, the owners were retiring due to health issues and instead of selling the store they decided to just close it. It's been there for many years. Bill called me shortly before I got off work and said that he needed my help, oh and could I get him lunch while I was at it? I think he was mostly just hungry! So I stopped and got him something to eat, then went over there. He bought about 15 pair of the wool socks he likes, which are nearly impossible to find. I now have a good pair of gloves, there are several that will fit Otter and hopefully we'll manage to get through next winter with at least one of the pairs still intact! He also got a boatload of shirts, some to keep and quite a few to resell in the fall since they are flannel and other long-sleeve, colder weather type stuff. He now has a good coat, he needed one. He filled up the van with all the stuff he bought, but I don't think we'll have a problem at all when it comes time to list them on eBay.

I have been able to see 2 baby doves in the nest on the porch post. We thought that there might be one, but I could clearly see two babies today. This is the second nest we've had there this year.

I re-hung my hummingbird feeder that was by the dining room window. I saw a hummer on it yesterday. I took down one of the other ones, it had been hanging for several weeks with no visitors and I figured that the food was probably rancid. There is still one more hanging, I need to get it down also. I'm not sure if I'll put either one of those back up, I may just leave the one by the dining room window up. We've also had a bunch of honeybees and bumblebees on the hyacinth plant and I noticed a fat bumblebee on the bluebonnets yesterday.

Only two more work days this week for me! Then I have a 10-day weekend. And Froggy will be here! Froggy, I hope you are up to some walking because we are gonna be busy! Hurry Friday.

Another Post for Sunday!

But no Maggie pictures this time. Maggie has been funny today, she just hasn't been photographed. Frasier has been kind of weird. He kept bumping me with his nose, I was sitting in the floor playing with the two of them and he kept almost ramming me with his nose. He was being playful, I don't know what he was thinking though. He likes to be hugged, some dogs don't but he loves it. It's possible he was trying to get me to hug him again, since I just had. Who knows!

Otter is ready for camp. As soon as we got home from church, she got her duffle bags out and her list of needed items. Then we got everything together and made our list of stuff we didn't have, which meant a trip to Wallyworld. When we got home, she got everything packed and it's all stacked in the corner of her room. She has two duffle bags full of clothing and supplies, an Army surplus laundry bag that is currently holding her pillow and towels, her sleeping bag and a backpack that she'll take with her in whatever vehicle she'll be riding in. The backpack has snacks & a book. It's amazing, how much stuff it takes for one kid for one week at camp. She's excited about it, this will be the 2nd year at this particular camp and she had a great time there last year. It will be very quiet around my house for a few days.

But I'll manage to stay busy, I have plenty of projects to take care of. Among other things, Froggy will be here on Friday. !!! There is an auction at an Army surplus place tomorrow and Tuesday, the owners are retiring and they've decided to just close instead of selling their business. It's a big store, and the sale will take 2 days. Bill's off Monday and Tuesday, he'll go at least tomorrow (Monday). If he needs me, he'll call me and I'll head over there after work. If not, I'll go to the driving school and get Otter's enrollment finalized and if he does need me then I'll go to the driving school on Tuesday. I have a few craft projects I'm going to try to get finished up and several books I want to read. We still have some things to list on eBay for our friend's widow. Then I'm off on Friday, the start of my vacation. I'll hit the grocery store that morning and then go pick up Froggy at the airport.

We didn't have time to go for a swim today, but we have been enjoying the pool. We spent a few hours in it yesterday, it was very nice. But it's in full sun this year, so I have to be careful about how long I'm out there. Froggy, bring your suit!

Prayer Request: Pastor David will have surgery this coming Friday, the 27th. The doctor wants to take between 50 and 60 lymph nodes, that way he can get plenty out to test. If the tests are negative, then David will be cancer-free. Any prayers will help. His doctor was very positive, and David has a good feeling about it. But prayers are never wasted! So please add him to your prayers.

Frustrating Friday!

At least it is Friday. I had the office to myself today, so I thought I could get a few things accomplished that I normally can't do with "the boys" there. I got exactly one thing accomplished: I ran the vacuum! The rest of the day was spent giving myself a serious case of eyestrain, trying to read the older boy's handwriting on something he wants me to type. He writes like a 91 year old! Well, he IS one so I guess it's ok. I have had a headache for most of the afternoon.

Then I went to the grocery store, Food Pyramid which took over most of the Albertson's here. It was supposed to be a run-in/run-out trip. But after spending about 20 minutes looking for picante sauce, I kind of gave up on the quick trip idea. They have a small area with organic salsas. They have a very small Mexican food aisle, which has a (very) few different kinds - all in small bottles and none that I really wanted to try as they were all different brands and we don't like most off brands. They have a (very) small display with the chips, it was the dip brands and tiny sizes. Finally, I grabbed the biggest of the off brands in desperation. At this store, the employees will help you unload your basket and I asked the lady if they carried Pace (the only kind there is, really), in any other size besides the dip size. She asked me what size and strength, and she went to get it. THEY KEEP IT ON THE SCHOOL SUPPLY AISLE. I guess if I hold my breath long enough and squint my eyes, that might begin to make sense! By the way, the size I buy is the biggest that I can get and medium strength. I like the heat, but I also like to still be able to taste food so I don't usually get the hottest one. And it has to be Pace, remember the old "made in San Antonio" commercials for Pace? We still feel that way. ("New York City!!")

I see that Otter is finally back to blogging. She had a case of writer's block, I guess that would be called blogger's block. Anyway, she changed her whole direction on her blog and the name also. She has a collection of My Little Pony toys that she's had forever, and she's currently re-creating them. It's a popular past time with teenagers in this area, rehabbing MLP's. So she dug hers out of storage and she finds the occasional one at a yard sale or flea market. Then she gets busy and they look totally different when she gets through. She's painted some, dyed some and detail painted others. She's also learning to re-hair them and she's been making attachments out of her polymer clay. She's very creative.

Froggy will be here this time next week! It's very hard to wait. And Otter goes off to camp on Monday. Looks like next week will be a verrrrrrrrrrry loooooooooong week! And quiet, too, around my house.

I also discovered today that I do indeed still have Texas hair. (also known as Big Hair). I curled it this morning and it looked great. Then I went on to work and when I got out of the car at the post office on the way in, it promptly started raining. There went the hairspray! Of course, it quit raining once I got to work and was safely inside. My hair still looks pretty good, just not quite like I started out with. Well, there was nobody at work besides me (and the resident cat), so I wasn't too upset. I wouldn't have been upset anyway. But it was probably an omen for how the rest of the day was going to go. And the cat gifted me with not one, but two dead birds today. Thoughtful, wasn't she?!

I'm Younger Now!

At least, I am younger than my husband. For the next 6 months, that it. Then we'll be the same age for 6 months. Bill turned 47 today. I took him to lunch, and I'm going to make some steaks for his birthday dinner. He chose rice & gravy to go with the steaks, can't tell he's a Texan at all! :)

I also went to three, yes three, Braum's stores this morning on the way to work. During a thunderstorm. For a fruitless search for a strawberry cheesecake ice cream pie. I got a different story at each store as to why they didn't have any ice cream pies at all in stock. Then I went to the grocery store and bought a 1/2 gallon of Blue Bell Strawberry Cheesecake ice cream. So he won't get the exact dessert Otter and I had planned, but he'll get the next best thing.

Otter heads to camp on Monday. For any family who want to send her a card, here's the address:

(address removed)

She'll be there from Monday, 6/23 until Friday, 6/27. They will be heading home on Saturday the 28th, so any cards or mail really should be there by about Thursday to gaurantee that she'll get them. She really loved getting mail there last year.

If anybody is in the market for older electronic vacuum tubes (such as for vintage radios), check out our eBay page. We are selling them for our friend Larry's widow, and there are a bunch of them on there. We still have a lot more to list, but they do seem to be selling. Several of them have been sold to people in other countries.

I bought some flowering plants to put in the whiskey barrel planter that previously held bluebonnets. The new ones are only for summer color, it will be back to bonnets next spring. We clipped all the seed pods off of the bonnets, then discovered yesterday morning that the bag had moisture in it and they were all covered with mold. So it got tossed, much to my disgust. This morning, I discovered something very interesting. I have more bluebonnets growing out there & they are blooming! Bluebonnets in mid-June, unheard of. And a very nice surprise. I might plant my new flowers in pots instead, I don't want to disturb the bonnets. I will check later on, I might still be able to plant the flowers in the barrel, it just depends on how big the bluebonnet plant actually is. I noticed it this morning when I was backing the car out of the driveway and I haven't had a chance to go look at it yet. I probably should do that now.

Just Rambling Thoughts Today

That's the kind of mood I'm in today, rambling. It's been a busy week and this weekend is Father's Day. Also, Sunday is June 15th and the 4th anniversary of when we lost Dad. He's been on my mind a lot lately. I'm going to stop at the store tomorrow to get peanut M&M's, which we will eat in his memory/honor on Sunday.

Other things: The dogs are crazy tonight. They've been playing what we call "War" off and on this evening. The latest thing is that as Magginator is running around like a headless chicken, instead of actually stopping to change direction she aims for the closest piece of furniture and bounces off of it. Which is usually the couch - and frequently us! In between fits of insane running & jumping/barking at each other, they will stop for recharge periods which include grooming each other. And if I'm in the way, Frasier will try to groom me - he just barely nibbles on my arm if he can reach me. Then they start another round and run until they are exhausted. At which point, Magginator will slither off to Otter's bed and Frasier will either find his blanket or plop down in the middle of the living room floor - usually the most inconvenient spot.

Otter washed my car yesterday, then she vacuumed it out for me today. And when Bill got home, she washed his van. Well, she just aimed the hose at the top of the van since she can't quite reach it. But the rest of it is clean! Now if I could just get Bill to clean out the inside...

Otter goes to camp on June 23, I'll post the address if anyone wants to send her a card on tomorrow's entry (if I blog tomorrow), or as soon as I can. She really enjoyed getting mail last year.

Father's Day will be at our house this year, it's a rerun of the Mother's Day meal. We'll grill burgers & dogs and Otter will probably spend a lot of the day in the pool. It's supposed to be nice weather.

Next Wednesday, the 18th, Bill turns 21 with 26 years of experience. (47 for normal people). But then we all know, he's not normal!

There was more, but I think I'm going to follow Frasier's example and go to bed! He's actually sleeping in the floor beside me, but I prefer my nice, soft bed! Frasier will move into our room sometime in the night. He's been starting out on his blanket in the living room but lately he's been migrating in the middle of the night. I hear him come into our room sometimes, and I frequently hear Bill tripping over him! I also was awakened in the early morning hours a couple of days ago by the sound of a very large dog sneezing!

Playing Doctor

Now get your mind out of the gutter!

Bill's doing pretty good, he stayed home today and spent most of the day in front of his computer. That way, he stayed off of his foot. He was instructed to stay off of it, not necessarily to prop it up so he was ok. He did pretty good last night, he was awake a couple of times during the night but he did manage to get some sleep. We just got through redoing the dressings on the sites, which is what the title refers to. They look pretty good, not pretty but good, considering. Tomorrow will be a rerun of today for him. He is threatening to mow the lawn on Sunday, but I'm not going to let him. It's not my favorite chore, but I will do it. And Otter will help me - she doesn't know that yet and won't be amused. Bill's not sure about church on Sunday either - he can't really shave yet because of the two spots on his face.

Otter's Texas trip is set, she will be there for 10 days in July. She's so excited that she can hardly wait. She's going to have a busy summer, camp in late June then Froggy's visit the first week of July, followed by her trip to Texas later on in the month. She won't actually be home all that much this summer! But she'll be back in time for the now-annual sales tax holiday the first weekend in August, so we can get school clothes.

We had three baby doves in the nest under the front porch roof. For the last couple of days, we haven't seen any sign of mama dove and we were beginning to get concerned. But today there was only one dovelet there and it looked fine. No sign of deceased baby doves, so we think that the babies have already fledged - they will frequently come back to their nest until they figure out that they can be on their own. We think that is what has happened, since the numbers of babies visible keeps changing.

Maggie seems to have recovered from her run-in with the neighbor dog. She is her usual silly self. Frasier is his normal laid-back self. I haven't heard the neighbor dogs the last day or so, when I've been outside. I also haven't seen the neighbors so nothing has been said to them. Jan, I like your suggestion!

Froggy, you asked me how to find Hominy, OK on your map. Did you find it yet? It's not very big so it's easy to miss. But I know the way there and back, so you don't have to navigate. Now if Toadly were driving...