Sunday Oct. 23, 2016

If I can't think of a title, I'll just use the day and date.  Today, obviously, I can't think of a title!

I also can't think of a whole lot to say, but Froggy will get after me if I don't at least post something.  Can't upset Froggy, now, can we?  :)

It has been very nice weather lately, cool at night and in the early morning then nice during the day.  We have had 40's overnight a few times, which is actually late.  It will eventually be winter, but it's been a warm fall so far.

We normally have already gotten firewood by this time but we aren't getting any this year.  Yet.  We have quite a bit left from last year, since the winter was so mild.  We may not actually need to by any at all for the coming winter.  We will if we need to, but we have a lot still.

I've been busy with crochet the last several days.  I'm working on scarf/hat combos for specific people and I also made a bunch of cotton wash cloths.  I finished the blanket for J that I started a while back, Otter has ordered another scarf for him (which meant that we had to go shopping for yarn!) and then I am thinking I might make a poncho or another shawl for myself.

Maggie Moo seems to have lost a little weight.  We stopped using the feeder system we had and went back to a regular dog food bowl and a regular amount for her.  She's also been getting a few less treats and more exercise.  I had to tighten her harness a little bit, and she seems more energetic.  We also stopped using the watering system because there is a specific bacteria that can cause uti and bladder infections in dogs; it grows in water that is left to sit for days.  Like the watering system.  So, she has a good sized plastic bowl for her water and I wash it often.  It's large enough that it lasts her a day and usually the night, then it gets washed and refilled the next day.  She is still supplementing her diet with grubs that she finds in the yard!  But she's a little less rounded - just a little bit!

It's been a nice weekend, I did a little thrift shopping yesterday (didn't find anything), saw Otter for a little while and then today I have cooked several things for the freezer and I've crocheted a lot both days.  But it's back to work tomorrow, Monday's on it's way!

Yes

I am still here.  Just busy lately.  Normal busy.  Not anything spectacular or blog-worthy.

I have one more week of work left, then I'm on vacation for a week.  We aren't planning on going anywhere this year, but it will still be a week where I don't have to get up and go to work for 5 days.  Possibly I may suggest we go to the zoo for my Mother's Day trip, but I'm thinking that will probably be put off until Fall since Summer is here with a vengance.

I saw Otter for a few minutes today.  I had to take some stuff to her, since she was at work I put it in her car and then I stopped in the grocery store in the same shopping center she works in.  She came down to the grocery store to see me when she got off work.  It was a short visit, but it was nice.

Yesterday, I went to the flea market at the fairgrounds in Tulsa.  Bill went with me this time.  It was crowded, unlike the last time we went.  I bought two fabric bags to bake potatos in the microwave, the crochet lady sells those and I meant to get some last time but I forgot.  We tried them yesterday, they worked very well. Washable, reusable and microwavable.

Bill got the grill out this afternoon and drilled enough for several days.  4 hamburgers (we each had one tonight), hot dogs, brats (sausage links) and chicken breast.  I won't have to do much in the way of cooking for several days!

Maggie Moo is snoozing at my feet at the moment.  She seems to be lazier than normal when the weather is hot, but she's so good natured and fun.  She's been extra goofy lately.

OK, Froggy - I don't want to hear one word about me not blogging lately!   :)

Just A Nice Sunday

Today I have really noticed the lack of the crushing stress we've been dealing with for the last 2+ years.  Sunday evenings are usually when I would start thinking about what I was sending in Bill's lunches for the coming week and also I made sure that his shirts were ironed along with making sure he had clean jeans for the week.  I did iron his shirts, because there may be times when he wants a nice golf shirt to wear and they are hanging in the closet where they usually do.  But they will probably be hanging there for a while as opposed to needing to be washed, ironed and hung up again for the work week.

I still need to do meal planning, but that's the normal "what are we eating for dinner this week" thing that always happens!

We had a nice Easter dinner.  Otter had to work until 5:00 today, so she came over when she got off work.  We had ham, rice, brown gravy, rolls and green bean casserole.  And Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream pie that I picked up at Braums on Friday - Froggy, you didn't get on me about it when we were talking on the phone!  You must be slipping.  :)

Maggie Moo has had a nice day herself - she's spent most of the last few hours snoozing.  I did try to get her out in the back yard earlier, but she wouldn't even move off the deck.  She was very happy when Otter got here.  That is about the only time the little fluffbutt actually got out of her bed!

Now that things are so much calmer around here, I am thinking I'll probably be blogging more.  There was just so much stress to deal with.  It was constant and never seemed to get any better.  Until suddenly, without warning, it went away.

And it's really nice.

Questions and Answers and Sunday Stuff

Froggy asked me about the limb in the tree.  I don't think we can get it out easily because of where it is in the tree.  At this point, we just hope that when it comes down it doesn't blow to the north because the house is on the north side of the tree.

Yes, Froggy - that is Maggie Moo under the futon!  She likes to sleep underneath it for some reason.  

Here's a close up:

She also sleeps like this, with just her head underneath.

Otter came over to do laundry today.  I was out in the back yard with Maggie at the time, I heard her car as we were heading to the door to come inside.  Maggie being Maggie, it took a few minutes to get to the door and inside, then she heard Otter at the front door and basically just levitated herself from the back door to the front door.  She was overjoyed to see her Otter.  She was even happier later on when Otter took her on a walk.

We had planned on making Mini Pizzas for lunch so Otter helped me assemble them.  Obviously, she had lunch with us today.  :)  They were pretty good and we have leftovers for dinner.  Maggie spent the entire time we were in the kitchen at our feet, hoping for somebody to drop something.  She got a couple of cheese shreds, and that seemed to be what she wanted.  Goofy little beagle!

Just thought I'd put this out there, no other reason than it's funny (and true):

I saw it online the other day.  It's not an exaggeration!

Wondering

Wondering if I want to continue this blog or not.

I still want to keep the craft blog going, although I have not really had a lot of time lately (most of 2015 actually) to post or even to crochet/craft/etc. things to put on that blog.  Same thing for the cooking blog.

It's just this one I'm not sure about.

Happy Thanksgiving! And More. (EDITED)

Hopefully everyone is having a safe and Happy Thanksgiving.

Just because Maggie Moo wants to say hi:

This picture is from a few days ago.  I came across this bandana in my craft stuff and Maggie looked kind of happy when she saw it.  So I tied it around her neck and she was very happy.  I left it on her for a long time and she seemed quite content.  She was eager to go out in the back yard when I took this picture, that's what the look on her furry face is about.  "Hurry UP!  I gots stuff to do!"

She attempted to get a squirrel this morning.  I let her out in the back yard and she was about half-way across the deck when she spotted a squirrel all the way across the yard, in the shady corner behind the shelf.  She went from slooooow mid-step to full warp speed the second she spotted it, and evidently she thought she could actually catch it.  But it was already too late, the squirrel saw her before she saw it and it was up on the fence and running down the top to safety before she was even off the deck!  Silly doggie. :)  By the time I was able to call her name, she was already half-way across the yard.  She is fast when she wants to be.  She was not happy that I wouldn't let her go after the squirrel, but he was long gone by that point.  Not that I would have let her get it, but she is a beagle and that is the instinct.

Otter's internet was not transferred after all yesterday.  The company had both her cell phone and J's, they also (obviously!) knew which apartment they were transferring from and which apartment they were transferring to.  The guy called her (she was at work) about 20 minutes after 5:00 and she told him that someone was at the apartment they were transferring from.  Then that was the last she heard of him.  At about 8:20, she called me so I could look up the office number for her and I gave it to her but I also told her to call him back at the number he called her from.  He said that he'd gone to the apartment but nobody was there so he left.  IF he even went at all, he went to the one that they are transferring TO and never to the one that they are transferring service FROM.  He never called either one of the phone numbers to say he was there or to ask where anybody was who might be waiting on him - both things he was supposed to do if he got there before J was at the old apartment.  I told her she should call him back again and remind him of all that, and demand that he get back and do what he was supposed to but she didn't have enough time on her break and is going to call the office Friday.  She's going to give them an earful, and it's going to be her version of *RHTW.  She is going to tell them that they need to get out there tomorrow afternoon, but who knows if they'll do that or not.  They will get it switched, it's just a question of when and if they will do what they are supposed to.

Because we originally thought we would still be moving furniture today, at least that was the probable plan if it had rained like it was supposed to do, we didn't really have anything in the way of Thanksgiving planned.  So J and Otter have gone with J's dad to visit his family outside of Tulsa.  Otter texted me earlier, they were giving her a tour of haunted sites in the county that they are visiting.  I think she was really enjoying it.  I have a frozen lasagne in the freezer and some garlic toast, Bill and I are going to have that tonight as our Thanksgiving feast.  I did get to Braums and managed to snag one of the two strawberry cheesecake ice cream pies they had left, so we even have dessert.  We have already gotten into the pie, we had a very light lunch and decided we needed dessert. :)

When she moved out of our house, she left her stackable shoe shelves and I used them with my craft stuff.  Bill bought a tall plastic shelf unit, like the ones we have already.  He put it in the office/pachinko/junk room.  He claims he's going to get a little more organized in there, but I'll believe it when I see it!  Anyway, I decided to get one for my craft stuff.  I put it together and put it in the room, but I haven't had time to really get it organized yet.  My stuff WILL be organized!  I'm also going to be able to get the sewing machines out of the closet and sit them on it and possibly some (or maybe all) of the fabric/sewing stuff - although quite a bit of the sewing and fabric related stuff is Otters and it may be going to her apartment at some point.  She said she wanted the shoe shelves since I'm not using them anymore, so I took them over to her new apartment this morning.  Nobody was up yet, so I left them in her living room.  Along with a hammer that Bill is loaning her and some wood.

When we were moving her furniture yesterday, Bill was moving her bookshelf and it kind of had an accident.  It's wooden and very heavy, about 6' tall and we bought it out of surplus and a local school district when we first moved into our old house when Otter was 2.  It has always been in her room to hold things and she's been using it lately as an actual book shelf.  It's huge and she also has more books than it can hold, which actually is a Good Thing.  Anyway, Bill got it (with the dolly) out of her old apartment, down the stairs and across the sidewalk to the door to the other side of the building without a problem.  But then he stopped to rest a minute and check his cellphone to see what time it was.  It was windy and cool, and as soon as he stopped and took his hand off of the bookshelf there was a very strong gust of wind and the bookshelf went right over.  It landed flat on the front and it landed hard.  It wasn't broken, probably due to the sturdy construction and solid wood, but there are a couple of places where it looks like part of it tried to separate at the top corner and bottom where the feet are.  It can be hammered back into place, but she only has a small hammer so Bill loaned her one of his (many, too many) hammers and also a few pieces of wood to use as hammering blocks.  She may also wind up using them as shims to secure it because when she and Bill put it in place, it looked like it was leaning to the front.  They moved it to another corner and it wasn't leaning.  She asked the apartment office about that, and they said what we thought - it's an old building and it's quite possible that there may be some settling.  Not enough to even be worried and the building is structurally sound.  But the bookcase may need a little support under the front if she decides to put it where she originally wanted it.

The plan at this point is that I'm going to the grocery store in the morning and Bill is going to take the El Camino to get the oil changed and also to get something checked on it.  If his car is going to be there for a while, I'll bring him back home.  If it's a quick thing, he'll either wait at the mechanic or walk around the grocery store with me - they are in the same shopping center and so is Otter's store.  She has to work the Black Friday opening and when she gets off work, I'm going to meet her at the old apartment so we can see about getting what is left moved.  I could tell that she and J did manage to get quite a bit moved after we left yesterday, but there is still more there.  When I talked to her about 8:30, I woke her up when I called her and she said she wasn't awake enough to think, much less converse with any sense!  I told her to go back to sleep, she worked her behind off yesterday with moving and then she had to work until midnight last night, getting the store ready for Black Friday so I think she deserved to sleep in a little bit today.  She couldn't remember how much was still at the old place but she thinks we may be able to get the rest of it moved in one afternoon, it's boxes and probably trash bags with stuff but all the furniture is moved already.  We hopefully will be able to get the cleaning done tomorrow afternoon as well, but she doesn't have to work on Sunday so that is our second plan of attack if tomorrow doesn't work out.  A lot of it depends on the weather, the rain that was supposed to start yesterday finally arrived this morning.  It may be strong rain but it might not be steady.  It could be off and on, and it could be heavy at times.  Sunday is supposed to be dry I think, but we want to get it done as quick as we can.  The apartment office said that they won't change the lock until Monday so she can have all weekend, but we don't want to wait until the last minute if we don't have to.  Also, we want to go to a local museum that has a really fun Christmas tree exhibit.  We haven't missed too many years of the museum exhibit and it's only there for a very short time, so Sunday is probably our only chance this year.  J has to work, otherwise he would go with us.

Hopefully, the El Camino is a minor issue.  The engine temperature light came on yesterday when Bill was on the way to Otter's.  He checked and there was plenty of antifreeze, the radiator was not leaking and the system seemed to be working.  The car had plenty of time to cool down but he said it came on again when he was on the way home (we took separate cars since I went earlier than he did) so he's going to ask them to check it when he gets the oil changed tomorrow.  It is very probably the sensor itself going bad, the car is a 1976 model after all and it is probably the original part.  But it is still odd/funny that out of three cars "we" have, two of them have similar issues!  My car had better not decide to join the party the other two are having!

**EDIT:  I turned the oven on about 4:30 for the lasagna, and I turned it off about 5 minutes later when the electricity went out!  We looked out the front door and it looked like it was at least our neighborhood, so I called the electric company.  I was the first person calling, so they couldn't tell me what/why/how long.  I opened the freezer long enough to toss the lasagna back in.  We waited a little while, then we decided to go in search of a restaurant that was actually open and had power.  The police department already had an officer out to direct traffic at the intersection closest to us, but there were lights on a little farther than that so we knew it wasn't very widespread.  We wound up at a Taco Bell, because they were open and had power.  Most of the actual restaurants and fast food places that were in the area with power were closed.  But it was still good and kind of fun, even if it wasn't what we expected to be doing on a rainy Thanksgiving night.  We were gone about an hour and when we got back the power was back on.  I looked on the news station website and I think it was a squirrel that caused the outage.  Maybe Maggie Moo had the right idea this morning?!!!!

Cars and Shower Curtains and Brownies and Pachinko Machines and Otters...

I made brownies on Thursday evening, and I made sure to double the batch.  Because otherwise, they would not be safe from Willie!  I frosted them this time, which I don't always do.  But I made them for J and his mom, to thank them for watching over Otter until we were able to get to her the night she had car trouble.

Otter saw a sign for a craft show and it was the same one I was going to yesterday, so we decided to go together.  Bill had the car loaded up with pachinko machines to take to the new booth and he dropped me off at her apartment and she was my chauffer.  For a while, anyway.  We went to the craft show and had a good time although we didn't buy much.  Then we went to Target in search of a new shower curtain for Otter.  Well, that was the plan anyway!  When we were pulling into the parking lot, the car light "low coolant level" came on.  So we called Bill, then we headed back to our house (I was driving the car then at Otter's request) and we watched the engine heat the entire way home.  It never really got very warm, it stayed in the normal range so we weren't worried about overheating.  Bill checked the car, it really didn't seem to need much anti-freeze but he added a little anyway and that's when he realized that the overflow tank was slightly bubbly.  There was apparently still a little air in the radiator and it was basically exhaling into the overflow tank.  He watched it for a while and let it run, he checked a few things and it seemed to be fine.  Otter and I went back to Target, Bill said it would be a good idea to drive her car and let it work any remaining air out of the radiator so we took it.  She wanted me to drive it, so I did.  She really doesn't have to drive very far to work, and our trip was the most distance the car had been driven and for the longest time since it was seen at the repair shop.

She found a shower curtain she liked, it's got bright colored stripes and it's very pretty.  She also found a matching bath mat but Target didn't have anything else that she liked so we went down the street to Walmart and she found a trash can that was not even made by the same company but it almost matched so we got it.  We also got her a can opener since she didn't have one, other than a hand-operated metal one that she said is almost impossible to operate.  When Roomie moved out,she left the shower curtain and bath set there which her mother bought when they moved into the first apartment.  It was never Otter's favorite, it's a nice blue but let's face it:  it's not exactly what 20-year old girls would have picked out for themselves! :)

Otter was going out to the not-quite-next-door small town that J lives in, she was still a little apprehensive about more car trouble so she asked me to take her.  I did, and drove her car.  It is probably all burped now, but she wants Bill to drive it this week and make sure.  I'll go back out there and get her in a few days.  Sometime between now and then, I'm going to go put her new bathroom stuff in place in her apartment and she also wants me to water her plants.    Otter is still moving in a couple of weeks, but she really does not want that blue shower curtain anymore - it's about the last thing that was Roomie's that is left in the apartment.  She's going to donate it to Goodwill or Salvation Army, but I'm going to wash the curtain and bath mat first. The apartment office changed the locks for her and Roomie did give us her keys when she moved out, but we didn't know for sure if she had given a key to her parents so I checked things a couple of times when Otter was gone last week/end.  Even though the lock isn't the same, Otter still wants me to go over there and check it a couple of times.

We went to the booth yesterday afternoon and took a couple of machines.  Bill realized that one of the walls was not strong enough for the weight of the pachinko machines and cabinets, so he talked to the owner and her husband stabilized/strengthened the wall last night.  We went back there this morning and Bill was satisfied, so he re-hung the machines on the wall.  We also put a fabric covered bulletin board on one of the side walls and it has a series of photographs, before restoration to after restoration of a pachinko machine.  The one Bill used is the Kanji-print fabric board that Otter made, she gave it to him when she moved into her apartment.  He also has a shelf which will hold pachinko balls, business cars and flyers.  The shop is opening for business on Friday, so we'll be back over there Thursday evening with the pachinko balls and also some how-to restoration dvd's.  We looked around the store a little bit, it's got a really good layout with good sized aisles and we hope that it succeeds.  Not just for us, she's a really nice person and she has a lot riding on this store.

Mags is very happy lately, I think she likes the cooler weather.  She's been pretty bouncy lately and is very playful.  As I type this, she is on her back and is attempting to catch her tail.  I guess it's easier to catch it that way? :)

Fall Means...

Allergies!

I have them for each season, but Fall is pretty bad.  It used to be Otter's worst season, then her worst season switched to Spring but Fall was still a rough one for her.  Over the years, her allergies have gotten a lot better but mine seem to be getting worse.

I have not slept too well the last few nights, mostly due to allergy issues.  I gave in to them today and called in.  I did take the Magster for a walk, that's kind of a non-negotiable thing with her.  But that's about it.  I pretty much spent the day parked on the couch.  With crochet in hand frequently!

Since I was home, I made a pot of pinto beans this morning.  I made rice as well, combined with the beans and a little cut-up sausage turned it into a pretty good meal. And very filling.

Bill got a load of firewood.  The place he gets it from has raised their prices and although it was still a good price, it wasn't all that much cheaper than if we had it delivered.  So, if we get more (which will probably will) I'm thinking we'll just call someone that delivers and order it.  But we do at least have a good start, in case that early & wet winter that we're forecast for gets here.  I still need to get the new box of filters for the humidifiers cut.  Eventually.  When I get around to it!

Froggy - in case the email still doesn't include the picture:

It's an American Dagger Moth caterpillar.  The caterpillar was crawling around outside my house the other day.  This is what it will eventually turn into:

We were kind of thinking that last summer's visitor, the raccoon, had moved on.  But when I took Maggie out in the back yard while ago I saw a few new footprints in the dirt.  I guess he's still there, or at least there has been one out there since it rained the other day.  She's been showing more interest in the shed again the last couple of days, so I guess I'm not surprised.  I was hoping it had moved on, but since Frasier went to the Rainbow Bridge we've noticed more squirrels and cats in the back yard.  Guess they have figured out that they are safe back there, because the beagle is hardly ever out there alone.  We don't trust her not to get under the shed, so we take her out instead of just letting her out.

No tulips were planted this year.  They were Otter's and she has an apartment now; I wasn't inclined to clear the weeds, prep the tulip bed two times, buy bulbs and then get busy with the shovel.  I'll probably have them again but not right away. We've also discussed extending the back yard fence a little bit and that would mean that the tulip bed won't be getting enough light.  I'm not sure exactly where it will be moved to, I probably won't figure that out until we're done with the rock garden relocation.

I've also put off the rock garden relocation until next Spring.  I'm pretty sure what I want to do but I want to be absolutely sure before we start a chore that involves heavy lifting and physical labor!  It will be moved from the back yard by the deck to the front yard along the front of the house.

Now, I'm going in search of chocolate.

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!

Sunday Grilling

It's Sunday.  Bill grilled.  So, it's an appropriate title.

Occasionally, Bill will grill several days worth of meats and that was the plan for today.  Hamburger patties, hot dogs, chicken breast and steaks.  He grilled the hot dogs first, then the patties.  The chicken breast was next, and Maggie was very pleased when we finally got to that.  She stayed out on the deck with us most of the time, she was very interested in the all the lovely smells.  But when Bill put the chicken on, she was just about glued to his side.  He broke off a small piece of one end when it was cooked through and tossed it down to her - she was overjoyed!  It took her a few attempts to actually eat it because it was hot, she was funny and kept grabbing it and tossing it around until it was cool enough - almost like a predator and prey that needs to be killed before it can be eaten.  After it cooled down enough and she finished it, she spent the next several minutes licking the deck everywhere she had tossed her bite.  Bill gave her another one and she was a little smarter this time - she waited until it had cooled enough but she stared at it the entire time.  Then, she pounced on it.

Of course, the propane ran out when he was getting ready to put the last meats on the grill - the steaks for dinner tonight!  They wound up being broiled in the oven, they were still good but it took a little longer because we had to wait for the broiler to heat up enough.  We will probably both have steak leftovers for lunch tomorrow.  Then I won't have to cook much this week, since there are enough chicken breast for 2 or 3 meals in addition to the burgers and dogs.

Looks like I get to exchange the empty tank for a new on this week!  As Bill said, we still have several good grilling weekends before winter.  We don't grill every weekend, but we do grill enough that it's worth it to get a refill even this close to winter.

I am feeling better.  Still feeling a little tired, but not as bad as I was this time last weekend.  I took a short nap this afternoon and that helped.  At this point, I am still planning on getting my flu shot next Friday after work.  So is Otter, I'll go get her after work or meet her at Walgreen's and we'll get that taken care of then.  Yes, I will buy her some ice cream!  And probably dinner as well, since I'm thinking it's going to be Subway to take home.

I went to the office for a few minutes about mid-morning today.  I wanted to get the trash and recycling stuff out for pickup tomorrow and I also cleared two or three days worth of mail out of the mailbox and took it in.

I did not get any crochet done today, but I did get some done yesterday.  We also got the pachinko machines that we had at the antique mall, we are now finished with the booth.  We may get another one later, the owner of the booth mall is opening another one in a couple of months in a better spot and we told her we would let her know.  It took us three trips.  I drove, Bill did all the lifting and loading into my car, then the unloading and lifting them into the house when we got home.  We didn't use Otter's car after all.  After we got the last machine, we went to a local barbeque-ish place for lunch.  It was pretty good.  Bill had three or four glasses of iced tea - he was thirsty! - and then when we got home, he still had to take a nap (after all the heavy lifting) and he slept for about an hour or so.  He was joking that maybe the tea was decaf, but really it was because he was up late Friday night working on his website and then up early on Saturday followed by all the heavy stuff.

Bill is probably going to get a load of firewood this week.  He was going to get one last week, but then he had a slight case of the bug I've been dealing with so he put that off.  I need to check on my bird seed supply, I might need to get more and a lot of places have it on sale this time of year.  I know I need to get suet cakes for the birds, I used my last one during the last snow storm we had this past winter.

Maggie Moo has been snoozing in her bed for the last couple of hours.  She was very happy, she got a treat from the grill then I brushed her (which she loves) and I guess that tired her out, because she is O.U.T.

Rerun

I thought I'd make it to work today.  But then I walked the Magginator and realized shortly after we started out just how tired I was.  So I called in.  We finished the walk - she really needs a walk on a daily basis if possible, she's like a kid and doesn't care if Mom isn't feeling quite up to par, then we came back home and I have been parked on the couch for most of the day.

With company, too.  It's Bill's turn!  He was home today and might be tomorrow as well.  I'm going in tomorrow and I'll just see how I do, I'd like to make the day but I'm not going to  worry about that right now.  Younger Boss said he really didn't know of anything that I absolutely had to be there for, and not to come in until I felt like it.  But I have to do paychecks sometime between now and Monday, so I'm thinking I'm at least going to be there long enough to do the checks.  After that, we'll just see.

Since Bill was home with me today, I actually made lunch.  It's mostly just been whatever I could find in the fridge this week.  I had a package of minestrone soup mix in the pantry, I keep it on hand for times when I don't want to cook, and we had that for lunch today.  It was pretty good, not very spicy but it has a good tomato-y flavor.  Bear Creek brand, Big Lots carries a lot of their items and they generally have better prices on most of their mixes.

Today is National Dog Day.  Maggie Moo celebrated by pouncing into her bed, scooting around until she'd kicked her pillow out, then jumping out of the bed and scooting herself until she was underneath the pillow.  Then she went to sleep!

This is from a few years back, one day Maggie Moo decided she needed a nap and she got up into Otter's bed.  This is how we found her, she got into this spot/position on her own:

And because I will never forget my special boy, King Frasier!:

I really miss him, but I know we did the right thing.  He was just a very special dog and there will never be another one like him.

Bill saw a commercial earlier in the week.  Tomorrow is 50 cent corndog day at Sonic.  Guess I'm not cooking dinner tomorrow night!

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!

Weekend Shopping

The sales-tax-free weekend in Oklahoma is this weekend.  It started on Friday and ends at midnight tonight.  We don't have to buy a lot anymore, since we don't need school clothes.  But Bill needed jeans, shirts for work and socks.  Otter need jeans and she also got a pair of shoes.  I found a few t-shirts at Walmart.  We saved a whole $12.36!  (I'm being a little sarcastic here.)  Not a fortune, but it all helps.  Otter wanted to get her glasses adjusted so we went to the mall for that but didn't actually buy anything there.  We got most of the clothing items at WalMart and one of Bill's shirts at Sears.  But the mall was still fun.  We also went to a Goodwill, where I made another Fenton find:

These are stock photos, but I found one of them.  $1.50!  I'm not really into the bells that much, but Fenton at $1.50?  Yes, it will come home with me!  This one did.  I had just remarked to Otter that I didn't think I was going to find anything at the store today, and it was on the next shelf.  It doesn't have the sticker that the last picture shows, but it's the Daisy and Button pattern and it is in perfect condition.  It's a little more iridescent than the pictures show.  The clapper is intact, which is usually the first thing to be broken off and lost.

I did get my closet rearranging done yesterday, like I planned.  It wasn't difficult.  I mostly had to move a few boxes around and then shift the longer clothes to the center of the closet rod.  And then I had to hold my left foot over the sink while Bill poured peroxide over it, after I dropped a small wooden box on it!  It wasn't a long drop, more of a slide out of my hands than an actual drop.  But it landed on the top of my foot and caused a small cut.  No damage, it wasn't hard enough of an impact to worry about broken bones or anything, but I'm probably going to have a bruise!

We got Maggie Moo another bed yesterday.  She was so funny.  She was a little on the confused side, but then she generally is, when she couldn't find her bed.  We kept the pillow out of the old bed, but the bed itself was thrown out last week.  It developed a hole in the bottom of the bed when I washed it one time and it slowly grew larger each time the bed was washed or the dog rearranged herself or the pillow.  Since they are somewhere around $7.00, we figured we would just go get her another one.  Yesterday, we ran a couple of errands and then went to Otter's store since that's where the first bed came from.  I brought it inside, cut the tags off and put it in the place by the couch where the first bed had been.  The Magginator was outside at the time, when she came in and saw the bed - she squealed like an excited toddler!  Then she literally bounced into the new bed, curled up and went to sleep.  Silly baby!  She made a few new puppy friends on our walk this morning, so she has had a good day.  She's snoozing on her blankets at the moment.  She was napping under the futon when I left to get Otter and she's been rearranging the pillow in her bed today too.

I also got the soup made yesterday, but I put off making the pinto beans.  Possibly one evening this week.

Bill's assorted frozen spots are fine, they are still a little sensitive but not actually painful.  He slept on the couch Friday night, we figured out that he would be more likely to stay on his right side and not his left (the wart was on the left side of his nose) so we made him a bed on the couch.  I went to bed before he did, but sometime after he got into his nest, he realized that he was laying on his right side and that was the arm that had the frozen spots!  So, he switched to his back.  Which means that he didn't sleep too well.  Last night, he decided he'd better stay on the couch and we fixed his pillows up a little so he'd be propped up more which would help him sleep a little.  I'm not sure where he's sleeping tonight, but he may decide to stay on the couch again.  I'm just glad it wasn't actually a skin cancer on his nose after all.

Sun Tea is happily being made on the back deck!  I forgot to put it out yesterday, but I remembered this morning.  When I picked Otter up for our shopping trip, I noticed that her jar was out on her patio today, too.

I think it's time to go check on the load of jeans I have in the dryer now.  Then I think maybe I'll answer the call of the chocolate that I can hear calling me all the way from the freezer!

'Splain Me...

Why people act so surprised that it's hot?

IT'S AUGUST, PEOPLE!!!!!

It's supposed to be hot in this part of the world in August.  Summer?  Last time I checked, Summer does not mean snow and ice!

Geesh.

OK, rant over.  That one, anyway.

Billyboy saw the dermatologist today.  The spot on his nose is not a skin cancer, although it did look like one and is in the same spot as he's had them before.  It's actually a wart, but it was growing so the doctor froze it.  Bill did have a place coming up on his right hand (that he had NOT told me about) that he had the doctor look at and it was a skin cancer, but very small still. There was also a "wanna be" on the same hand and on his right arm, so all three of those were frozen as well.  The doctor gave him a pretty good once-over and didn't see anything else to be concerned about, so unless Bill has something pop up between now and next August he is good to go.  We really like this doctor, he's very thorough and he's also very familiar with the care of Redheads.  He told Bill that he has to go to work next week, but that he doesn't have to do dishes or vacuum for the next two weeks.  :)  However, he may still sleep on the couch tonight so that he can keep from rolling over on his left side.  If he sleeps on his left side in our bed, that means that he's snoring in my ear!

Today is the first day of the Sales-Tax-Free Weekend.  I went to Wallyworld this afternoon.  I found 2 golf shirts for Bill (for work), a package of socks for Bill, a pair of jeans for Bill and 3 t-shirts for myself.  He really needs at least one more pair of jeans, I may go to a different Walmart tomorrow or Sunday, when Otter and I go shopping.  So far, I've saved a whole $3.57!  It's not like when Otter was little and we bought school clothes, but it's still fun to go.

Since Bill does not have any restrictions other than being careful not to bump the spots he had frozen today, I don't need to stay home and be nursemaid.  I'm still going to make soup and possibly a pot of beans tomorrow, since we want them too.

Maggie Moo might also get a shopping trip tomorrow.  Her bed got a little tear in the washing machine and it finally tore enough that we just decided to toss it and get her another one.  It cost less than $8.00 at a certain tool store we frequent.  Dogs are allowed and since her Otter works there, she loves to go in there anytime I take her.  The pillow from her bed is ok, it got washed this morning along with her blankets and regular pillow, she likes the pillow from her bed but I think she'd prefer her bed to the pillow.  At the moment, she's snoozing underneath the futon!

Such a hard life that dog leads...

Still?

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

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

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

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

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

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

Is it Friday yet?

Day 9

Last day of my 9 day weekend.  Back to work tomorrow.

Bill and the mechanic neighbor looked at the car seat and determined that the part that broke is not the seat itself, but it is the frame that holds the seat in place.  Bill made a few calls on Friday but apparently a lot of places were also closed on Friday.  So he's going to check on it tomorrow.  Chevy was open but it was somewhere close to $700.00 just for the part (no labor!) from them and we are NOT doing that unless we absolutely have to.  Bill did consider getting a replacement from a salvage yard, but since it is a fairly important structural piece he's decided against that option.  I'll ride with him in the morning, he has to be in at 7:00 but leaves the house earlier to beat the traffic.  I'll get myself to work in the El Camino and then I'll pick him up after work.  Hopefully, we can go pick up the part right then and get home in time for him to install it.  The seat should just come out and go right back in.  We are probably getting rain mid week, starting Tuesday, so Bill's kind of in a hurry.  Me too!

Otter came over Friday morning.  She got her laundry done and then we went shopping.  We hit a few yard sales, drove past a few more and went to a few stores.  We got lunch at Long John Silver's to bring home and share with William.  Then we went to the booth store and another similar store.  We had a good time but didn't really buy much.  We did get to Big Lots, which is probably the only place I really bought anything at and that was mostly household stuff.  I bought her a little gasoline to replace what we used.  She and Roomie are still discussing their options but I think that they are leaning towards a 2-bedroom unit.

We had a fairly quiet 4th.  We went to Taco Bell for lunch and then to Hobby Lobby to get some sinew-type thread/string to repair Bill's houseshoes with.  While there, I did cruise the yarn aisles.  The summer colors are out and are everywhere, but the fall colors are beginning to be stocked.  I saw a few I really liked but I didn't buy any.  Yet!  Bill actually had the "unsmartness" to tell me that I have too much yarn - which is when I asked him to tell me again exactly how many pachinko machines he has!?  I also reminded just how much room his machines take up vs the corner of the craft/guest/YARN room that holds my stash.  He stammered out that he meant I had a lot of $$ invested in yarn and then I reminded him how much a skein of yarn is vs the $30 - $several hundred he's spent on machines.  At that point, he saw the light and shut up. :)  Which is good, because I was going to take no prisoners on that one!

Speaking of yarn, I finished the mink scarf yesterday.  I had it about where I wanted it when I realized that I'd made a mistake several rows back and had to frog out several inches.  It wasn't a mistake I could leave in and ignore, it changed the stitch per row count and the shape.  Mink yarn is harder to frog than regular yarn, I'm thinking it might felt very easily.  I used less than one ball of yarn so I still have plenty left.  I'm not sure what I'm going to use it for, it is fairly expensive ($33. per skein 2 years ago) but I'm sure I'll find something.  (No, Bill.  It's still cheaper than your machine stash!)  I started a new scarf for Otter, we got the yarn for it a while back but I hadn't gotten a chance to work on it it yet.  I started it and did a few rows because I wanted to see if she likes the pattern I made the mink scarf it - which she does.  I will get back to it soon, I just wanted to get it started so I could show it to her.  She had two sets ordered from different yarns.  I had one scarf made already and made the matching hat this morning but I have to wait for her to come over again so I can check the size before I call tie it off and call it done.  But I'm going to get back on her poncho soon so her 2nd scarf/hat combination may wait a while - but they go fast.

I have some sort-of TEXAS flag printed wall border, the kind that a teacher would have used years ago over the blackboard.  I got it at a thrift store for about a buck many years ago and it's just been stuck in the closet.  I took two pieces of it, it's long, and taped them together.  Then I took one of my many yard sticks and marked it off in 1" increments with smaller marks at the half inch marks.  No, I would not have done that if it was actually the TEXAS flag!  It's now hanging on the wall, attached with pushpins at the top and bottom.  Now, when I'm making a scarf or one of many other projects that need to be measured I don't have to drag out the measuring tape or yard sticks, and then fight to get it flattened out on the floor.

We had homemade cheeseburgers for our July 4th meal.  We were going to grill steaks but it as supposed to rain so we decided against that.  Of course, it didn't rain.  There were quite a few neighbors that had fireworks, including some of the really big ones, so we stood outside and watched the show for a while last night.  There were several lightning bugs, I always wonder if they get confused on July 4th?  The mosquitos eventually showed up, so we came inside but it was fun.  Otter took her sparklers left from last year when she came over on Friday.

I have a prayer request:  The Teenager was hospitalized Friday for low potassium and general weakness.  He's a tough old bird, but the key word is old - he is 98, after all.

Middle of Vacation at Home Week

I don't like the word "staycation" so I don't use it.  I'm just having a vacation at home this week.  Mostly by myself, Bill had had to work.  He is off today, but that's because he wasn't feeling too good this morning and he's been pretty much doing nothing today - kind of like me! :)  Except that I'm goofing off by choice and he's just not 100%.

Anyway, I'm glad that he was home today (although I wish he hadn't been feeling icky.)  Because the electric company showed up unannounced this afternoon.  They figured out that last Friday's problem was caused by a line in my yard (they're buried where we live) and that it might need to be replaced.  They brought their backhoe and got right to work digging a fairly deep hole.  Pretty close to one of the maple trees and they did have to break through roots to get to the line.  The line did have some issues, it was probably nibbled on by voles and they'd eaten into the insulation which exposed the actual line to the dirt.  They had to turn our power off for about 10 minutes while they replaced the line.  They did that, put all the dirt back in the hole and took the cable that they'd laid all over my yard last week.  I think that we are finally done with the problems.  Although I won't be surprised if there are other problems with the lines, considering how many underground rodents we have to deal with!

Yesterday, I went to a fabric shop to get something for Froggy.  I also went to 2 antique-ish stores I had been meaning to get to but just never quite did.  They are both booth-type stores and are in a neighboring town.  I wasn't impressed with either of them, but it was still fun.  I also went to the library and to our old booth store looking for something specific and then Bill came home early because he wasn't feeling too good.  I went to the post office, also.  Big exciting day!  Actually, except for the part about Bill not feeling too good, it was an enjoyable day.

Today I went to another fabric store for Froggy, but I will be going back there for something else she needed but I'm not sure when because I think Otter wants to go with me.  I had a couple of other stops, I went to Atwood's because they had coffee on sale and then I went to Wallyworld for misc. grocery items.  But I've spent more time at home today than I spent out, I did some crochet and had time to just sit and read.

I'm enjoying the stay at home vacation.  Yesterday, after Bill left for work, I went back to bed for about an hour.  Actually, I curled up on the futon and snoozed, and Maggie Moo went underneath it for her nap.  It was pretty comfortable, although the beagle snores!  Maggie Moo has enjoyed being able to stay in the house and not get put out into the garage, but she's slept just as much inside as she probably does in the garage!  She has access to the outside when she goes to the garage, but she doesn't seem to like being outside nearly as much as Frasier did.  Her water dish always goes out with her and she has two padded places in the garage which she snoozes on.  And she gets to visit her treat can...

I'm not sure about tomorrow, I'm thinking I'll probably just hang around the house and read, craft, crochet and possibly take a nap.  I might also make a loaf of bread, the one I made on Monday is just about gone.  On Friday, Bill will be off and he'll be at home working on pachinko machines but Otter and I have a shopping day scheduled.  Destinations depend on the weather, we could get rain.  Until then, it's just hot and humid!  But it might affect fireworks displays Friday and Saturday evening.  Bill wanted to grill steaks on Saturday, but they might be broiled in the oven instead of grilled.

Maggie Moo went out to the back yard with me this morning.  And she went straight to the shed.  She did not want to listen to me when I told her no, so she came back inside.  She was funny when we took our early-morning walk today - there was a lady who was walking 3 dogs (and carrying a 4th) one and at least one of those dogs is not friendly to other dogs - which Maggie apparently knew, because it started barking at her at pretty much the same time she was angry barking at it, with a beagle baroo thrown in for good measure!  We haven't walked the last few evenings, the humidity has been too bad for me to be able to breathe.  But I don't think she particularly has wanted to, I don't know if the heat is why or if she's just lazy!  Probably both.

There is a mockingbird that is building a nest inside the trellis on the back deck.  I saw it several times but I haven't seen it since we were outside with the electric company.  It's possible that mama bird decided that there was too much traffic and went elsewhere, but I'm not sure yet.  I did finally get my hummingbird feeders refilled this week, after they were empty for a while.  At least one hummer was on one of the feeders this afternoon.  We also have had two very large squirrels playing chase across the top of the fence.  Not sure if it was a boy chasing a girl, if they were just playing or if one was annoyed with the other one.  But I've seen more squirrels since we lost Frasier, I think they know he's gone and maybe they feel safer now.

Since I was home and had time, I made a pecan pie this morning.  I found a frozen pie shell in the deep freeze when I moved everything from it to the kitchen freezer.  I figured that was a sign that I needed to make pie!  We're having mini pizza for dinner tonight, I think pecan pie will go very well!

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!

Easter Sunday 2015

Happy Easter!  It's been a wet one for us.  Church was enjoyable, it was a really nice change to have a sermon that actually dealt with the specific holiday and didn't feel like just another not very important day.  We really enjoyed it.

We went to Church at 8:00 a.m. and got a little wet, it was raining pretty good when we got up and it rained until early afternoon.  Just in time for Bill to get the grill out and get started on the steaks we had tonight.  He also grilled lemon spiced chicken, fajita chicken and barbequed chicken.  Along with 6 beef hamburger patties.  I won't have to do a lot of cooking this week, that's for sure.  :)

Last Friday's blog entry was done on my lunch hour and I hadn't heard back from the insurance company yet.  I finally called them about 2:15 and eventually managed to get connected to an actual person.  And she spent the next 40 minutes telling me that my account had been "credited" and pretending that she couldn't understand when I asked her exactly what "credited" meant (although I knew, but I wanted her to tell me) and then she acted like she just couldn't understand what I meant when I told her that I wanted the money returned to me ASAP.  I absolutely hate people who pretend ignorance and she knows that now.  Let's just say it was a M.A.J.O.R. *RHTW moment!  In fact, *RHTW was out of the fence and did all the talking.  The upshot is that they wanted to keep the 2nd payment and apply it to May, which is what "credited" meant and I basically told them that this was there one and only strike, that the next screw up on their part might well mean that we'd no longer be there customers.  I told her flat-out that I had cancelled the automatic withdraw for payments because I didn't trust them to a) do their job and b) do it right.  After putting me on hold for a very long time, and obviously sounding like she did it on purpose in hopes that I would hang up based on how she came back to the phone, she finally admitted that the money would be returned to me - but it took me telling her (not threatening them or bluffing them, because I would have done it) that if it was not back in my hands by the 15th I would tell the IRS to call them and ask them where the income tax money went since that is what was in the savings account.  They claim that they can not refund the money back to my account except by check - and she told me that it was going out right then, to expect it by 7 business days.  It was well after 3:00 when I got off the phone.  I had a couple of errands after work and I was just about to walk out of the post office when the person I spoke to Thursday evening called me back - she was not who I spoke to Friday afternoon, and I told her that I appreciated her calling me back and also what I'd been told by the other c/s rep that afternoon.  And I told her also that I'd tell the IRS to call them if I don't have the premium returned to me by the promised date.  I know the IRS wouldn't really care, they would still expect me to pay them but I wanted to let the insurance company know how serious we are about this.

The cable company got a touch of *RHTW as well.  The line burying crew still hadn't shown up and I called them in the afternoon - they were running behind, which is what I was told.  But they called me when I was in the grocery store after the post office and wanted to know if it was ok if they didn't come out until Saturday - NO.  I told their rep that Bill had taken the day off from work and had been home waiting all day, that there was no excuse accepable.  I gave her Bill's cell phone number and she said she would make sure the crew got there right away.  I got home about 5:00 and the crew consisting of exactly ONE person was just getting there.  He got a lot done but he ran out of time and asked if he could come back Saturday morning to finish, which was ok with us.  He did exactly what he said, came back on Saturday and finished up.

Otter came over after work today and brought her laundry.  She came for Easter dinner, but the laundry basket generally comes to visit my washing machine once a week anyway.  :)  Her laundry wasn't quite dry but she was tired, she had one of those exhausting days today, so I took her home when she was ready (Bill's going to keep her car and see about a few things on it tomorrow) and I'll take her laundry to her tomorrow when I get her to take her to the allergist for her annual lung/asthma recheck.  She wants me to go with her and we're also going to see about getting her eyes examined and then she'll probably need new glasses.  She wants new ones anyway, not Oakley brand this time because their earpieces are basically straight and slide right off.  She will probably decide not to have her eyes dilated since they can take the retina photographs now.  We are going to have lunch at a specific steak house that we don't get to very often and we might go to our favorite garden store to see about a few pepper plants.

*RHTW:  Whatever you do, do not make Her mad!  She will make you regret it.