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?!!!!

EsCuuuuuuuuuuse Me!

(Anybody remember Steve Martin's tagline?  ExCuuuuuuuuuse ME!)

Bill talked to our neighbor the mechanic Monday evening and we also called the repair place we've been using.  All agreed that it sounded like the thermostat might be the problem with Otter's car.  Like maybe it was going out but hadn't gone out completely, because Bill drove it Monday and it was fine.  I took it to the repair shop on Tuesday morning and was expecting to have to get the thermostat replaced.  It turns out that it was a much simpler repair - in fact, it didn't actually need anything repaired.  When Bill replaced the radiator, 3 months ago, he did not get all the air out and the car basically just needed to be burped!  Once they got the last of the air out, they topped it off with more antifreeze and sent me on my way - at no charge.  I went on to work Tuesday and wound up keeping her car through today, because of the hours she worked and the fact that we had to go finish building the booth at the antique mall after work yesterday and I didn't have time to meet her to switch cars.  I watched the temperature gauge and it's been consistently fine.  Bill checked the belt and it's in good shape and he also checked the oil, since we had the car through this evening and he just wanted to make sure everything is ok.

Younger Boss filled the tank yesterday for her, which was nice of him to do.  I took the car back to her this evening, along with a few boxes for her.  She's gotten quite a bit of packing done already but she still has more to do.  I also got her laundry, I told her I'll do it this time for her so she can get as much packing done as she can.  She wants to go with me to a craft fair on Saturday, so I'll take her laundry back to her then.

We are back in the market for insurance again.  We got the renewal notice in the mail and they are raising the premium over $400 per month!  I am not about to pay more than $1,100.00 for insurance.  No blooming way.  Especially with as little as we actually use it.  We have a few options and most of them are a lot better than the "blue" company wants to charge us, I'm finding more than I did last year at this time when we were having to replace the insurance we had at that point.  There is absolutely NO EXCUSE for insurance to cost that much - that's even higher than my mortgage payment.  Way higher!

However, one Good Thing did happen today:

BLUEBELL IS BACK!!  

I have one of these in my freezer now.  It hit store shelves on Monday, I was going to get some then but with the car issue and the fact that there was a possibility I would have had to go get Bill if Otter's car had acted up, it wasn't possible.  I didn't get it yesterday because I had to take the car to the shop in the morning and then I had to run home as soon as I could after work so we could get to the booth place to finish assembling the booth.  As soon as I left Otter's, I went straight to the grocery store and my first stop was the ice cream freezer.  It looked like it was selling pretty fast, but I grabbed one before it was all gone.  The second I got it home and to the kitchen, we had the lid off the carton and the spoons out!  We just had a spoonful (ok, I had two!) and then put it in the freezer.  We each had a bowl after dinner, it was so good!  I had forgotten just how spectacularly good Bluebell ice cream is.  It tasted a lot sweeter than I remember, in fact.

Happy Happy Texans around my house!

Anybody Want to Help Catch a Groundhog?

We are sitting in front of the fireplace, which has a roaring fire going.  Outside, it's cold.  Like brutal cold.  It was pretty cool this morning.  It started getting colder late morning, which was predicted.  By the time Otter got over here, she got off at 4:00, it was really cold and windy.  She was here about 30 or 40 minutes.  When she left, it was extremely windy and the wind was C.O.L.D.  And it was misting.  Some of the mist was hard, frozen droplets.

 

I made chili for dinner tonight.  Wonder what it would taste like if made with groundhog?

 

Anyway.  Bill was pretty congested last weekend and on Monday he went to work but didn't feel too good  He came back home after a couple of hours and he's been home since.  He is much better, it was a "cold type" and not a "flu type" bug.  He's going in tomorrow and hopes to stay all day but we'll see what happens tomorrow.  However, I've also been fighting it and was pretty sure yesterday that I was losing the battle.  I didn't feel to good this morning but I went in anyway, and left about 10:00.  Only because I absolutely had to, I went to the grocery store on the way home.  It wasn't too cold then, but the temperature was beginning to drop.  I've been home and inside since then, except for when Otter left - I helped her carry something out to the car.

 

Otter went through the rest of her boxes today.  She took one of them with her, and a few things out of one or two of the other boxes.  She took her gumball machine and she also took her traffic cone.  Yes, she has a traffic cone - and it's a real one.  Grandpa gave it to her a few years ago (which thrilled her) and she left it here until she had time to get organized and  figured out where she wanted to put it in her apartment.  It has been decorated in various ways over the years, it had a batman cape on it at one point and it may well be her Christmas tree next December.  She'll be back on Sunday to do laundry, and we're going to get the boxes moved to the attic then.  Otter wants to look in a couple of boxes of hers that have been in the attic for a couple of years, so she's going to go up there with Billyboy instead of having him bring the boxes back down, then take them back up again.  She wants to borrow my vacuum, if Roomie forgets to borrow her mother's.

 

Otter's birthday is at the end of March.  She already knows what she's getting from us.  This is going to sound strange, but keep in mind that she is very much her parent's daughter.  We're giving her a workbench!  She's going to keep it in her dining room - they weren't using the table as an actual table, so it's taken apart and stored in the closet.  The workbench will fit against the wall in their dining room.  The one she wants has a pegboard back and 2 or 3 drawers in the front.  It also has plug-in outlets on each side.  It comes from the tool store she works at.  She knows about it, we had to tell her early because she was talking about buying one soon.  She will probably get it early, I'm just not sure exactly when.  For one thing, Billyboy and the truck will have to go get it and then it will need to be carried up 3 flights of stairs!  She might need him to help her put it together, but she's pretty handy herself so he might just be in an advisory capacity.  She wants to get the vacuum before the work bench is delivered and put together.  She really needs to get her own vacuum, it was on her list when she moved but cooking utensils and kitchen stuff were a little more important at that point.

 

OK, that's it for tonight.  I'm really tired.  Bill's sitting on the other end of the couch and he's dozing off.  Which means that he's snoring!

Warm Feet

I have warm feet.  In other words, I have my afghan over my legs and a beagle at my feet.  Usually, she is UNDER the afghan and ON my feet but this afternoon she is on top of the afghan and next to my feet.  My left foot, to be precise.  And she's close enough that her body heat is radiating to my left foot.  It's very warm.  She stretches her beagle self every so often, but she never really moves away.  Frasier is parked in front of the coffee table, nap # 4958477 of the day is in progress for him.

 

I'm home today.  I do feel better, but not well yet.  However, I am now back to thinking that this is the flu-ish bug but not the actual flu.  Whatever, I'm still treating the symptoms and taking it easy.

 

I did have to go to the post office.  Bill had something that needed to be mailed but got left at home, so I ran it up there for him.  He has my car today, so I got to drive the Big Car.  With the blocks holding the driver's side window in place, so I couldn't roll the window down.  It's cool and misty, it was raining earlier so I didn't really need to window to be down.  But the weather stripping that goes around the window is also messed up, it falls out of it's track every time the door is opened.  Anyway, I stopped at Wallyworld because I ran out of Kleenex and thought I'd better get more.  Walmart was in the middle of being re-stocked, which is almost never seen by customers.  I guess that Friday mid-morning is not normally a busy time for them, but I'm not usually in there at that time so I'm just guessing.

 

I haven't gotten any crochet done today, I mostly have been parked on the couch reminding myself why I dislike daytime tv!  I finished my Stephen King book last night, Cell I think is the name but it might be Pulse.  I don't think I'm actually going to collect all his works, I don't think I have enough room for what could fill a large library!  But I am going to add to my collection a bit.  I still have several that I haven't read, they were part of Otter's horde originally.  I'm not sure which one will be next.

 

Anyway, it is at least Friday.

In Through The Out Door

Alternate Title:  In One Door and Out the Other!

 

There seems to be something about Bill and car doors.  Actually, it's car door & windows!  The El Camino driver's side window has been out of commission for months, the part needed to fix it does not exist anymore.  A while back, maybe a couple of years, the driver's side window glass on the 02 Impala slipped out of it's frame and slid down into the door - which is what the El Camino did, just several months later.  Bill was able to order the part for the Impala and the window was fixed.  This morning, Bill leaves for work and I head for the shower - just as I was getting into the shower I had one of what we refer to as one of my "feelings" and the thought that popped into my head was about Bill needed to come back inside because something was wrong.  I had just gotten into the shower when Bill came back inside because something was wrong:  the passenger side window on the 02 Impala popped out of it's frame and slid down inside the door!  He couldn't drive it to work like that, he didn't want to leave the car parked at work all day without being able to securely lock it and he didn't want to take the El Camino today and have to leave the Impala in the driveway unsecured.  So he called in and took a personal business day.  He was able to get the window blocked into place and he ordered the part it needs.  He said that there is a newly-listed part on Rock Auto that might, just might be what he needs to fix the El Camino window so he ordered that as well.

 

Otter's plans are moving forward.  Roomie went by and signed the lease today, then she and Otter went to lunch as well as started making arrangements for Roomie's moving.  I think they also may have gone to Wallyworld and they figured out who is buying what as far as some of the things that they didn't already have will go.  After I got home, I took Otter back up to Wallyworld and she acquired a few more things.  She was off work today and she did quite a bit of packing and some cleaning out.  She's still got more to pack and this Sunday we are going to tackle her closet.  A lot of the things in her closet have been outgrown and will be donated if possible.

 

I was able to get the table from J's mom in my car last night.  It's 3' x 3' square and the legs are removable.  It's very good quality, solid wood and will work perfectly for them.  I told Otter that I would get a tablecloth for it but the size is not one that's made often apparently.  I'll find one eventually.

 

I realized that I can have rosebushes soon.  Otter is extremely, extremely, extremely allergic to roses.  It's one of the worse ones her allergist had ever seen.  But now I will be able to plant a rosebush or two.  Her allergy has actually gotten better over the years, she'll be able to come visit us without it being an issue for her if she's not actually standing over the plant inhaling the scent!  She suggested I plant one, actually.

 

OK, I'm finally hungry.  It's 8:15 and I'm just now ready to eat.  I had a sandwich for lunch today and orange juice, but I just wasn't hungry until now.

Hot & Tired & Sweaty

It's warm today, and the fact that we had to drive somewhere in the White Lightning just makes it hotter.  No a/c in the El Camino!

 

Bill needed a new compressor, the one he had died a few months back.  He bought it used, through Craigslist I think, and it worked for a very short time then it more or less came apart.  He got it cheap enough that it was worth buying the parts to fix it, so he did that.  One year warranty on the parts.  Literally just before the warranty ran out, like 3 or 4 days before, it did it again.  But the parts were covered by the warranty so the manufacturer sent replacement parts and it worked quite well.  Until it did it again, but this time it was well out of the warranty period.  Bill was able to borrow a small compressor so he's been able to get some of the stuff done he needed it for but the small one was not big enough to run the sandblaster.  He's been looking into different compressors, the first one came from Sears and while Craftsman used to be a good brand it was pretty obvious that it's lost a lot of it's quality so he knew he wasn't going to get one of those again.  He found one in the Atwood's ad, it was big enough and was also a little cheaper than he thought it would be.  $499.00 which is actually a very good price for the size he needed.  We went up there today and it took 3 of their employees to get it loaded in the back of the White Lightning.  Remember the wood guys we referred to as Bubba and Bubba?  Well, Bubba and Bubba made these guys look like Rhodes Scholars!

 

It had to be upright, so it took some time for Bill to get it tied down securely.  We had a back roads was to get home, it took a while but it was fairly uneventful.  Just very warm, which was not helped by the fact that the driver's side window is still out of commission because the tiny little part needed to fix it does not exist any longer.

 

Bill was able to get the 250# compressor unloaded, he scooted it back and then used some large wooden blocks to rest it on until he could get it scooted down to the driveway.  It's in the garage and it's going to stay there until tomorrow, he is too tired and hot to mess with it.

 

It's the last Sunday of the month, so we had our traditional Family Outing.  We went to Cici's pizza for lunch.  They've gone downhill.  I eat lunch there about once a month or so, but today we discovered that they have made changes.  For one thing, you don't get plates anymore.  They hand the customers a metal tray, like the kind a small pizza is made on, and point in the general direction of wax paper which is to be put on the metal pan then tossed after the first helping, the wax paper is replaced the next time you go up to the buffet.  They no longer have metal cutlery, it's now plastic and they no longer have reusable glass/heavy plastic drink ware - it's the cheap waxed paper-ish stuff.  The crushed red pepper and parmesan shakers were also no where in sight.  I'm kind of thinking that maybe the Cici's company has had a financial downturn, but really - how expensive can it be to wash dishes?!  We also went to a store that Otter wanted to check out something she saw in their ad, a thrift store and an antique store.  Otter had to work this afternoon, so we made sure to get home in plenty of time for her to not be late and then Bill and I made our trip to buy the compressor.

 

I'm on my second load of laundry, but I don't necessarily think I'm going to get it all done.  The laundry basket has overflowed to the point of bursting, but I'm off tomorrow so I'll probably get it finished up then.

 

Mostly, I'm just sitting in front of a fan and the a/c is turned down!  Later on, after Otter gets home, Maggie Moo is getting a bath.  I'll handle the tossing the dog into the tub and torturing her by washing her, Otter gets to handle the drying of the beagle part of the fun.  Maggie Moo love the drying process, she thinks it's fun.  The bath part, not so much!

 

If I'm feeling especially brave tomorrow, it will be Frasier's turn.  But that might be more trouble than it's worth.  The chupacabra does not see any reason that he should ever have to be subjected to a bath.  He thinks he smells just fine.  But he's the only one who does!

Ghosts of Car Repairs Past

I talked to Chevy today.  The car is not ready, but I'm not really surprised.  It should be ready tomorrow.  The service manager told me something interesting that the mechanic discovered:  a leak in the rack, which is part of the power steering system.  He specifically asked me if I'd ever had that part repaired or replaced, which tells me that he suspected something.  I know what he suspected.  That the work was "done" before on that part.  "Done" but not actually done, possibly.

Remember the previous shop we used?  The one that we felt like they were a) manufacturing issues as well as b) possibly not actually repairing work that they were paid for.  Well, I'm strongly thinking that b) might apply here.  I dug out the receipts and in 2011, the entire rack & pinion system was replaced.  Prior to that, there are estimates that state it was leaking and needed replacing.  It looks like the work was "done" and the warranty covered at least part of it.  But we still spent $1,200.00+ on that visit.  Some of it was tires, which were around $600-ish.  But the rest of it was mainly the rack & pinion replacement.  I told the chevy service manager that I'd look through my paperwork and see what was done in the past, that I was pretty sure the previous repair shop crooks had done a replacement and I'm going to see if I can fax him the paperwork tomorrow.

It's a slow leak and doesn't have to be addressed right away, we can watch the power steering fluid level and add as needed.  He thinks it can be done for around $600.  I don't think we are going to get it done right away, we're about to spend just under $900.00 on the car (the cost of the current repair, which includes the oil pan leak and another leak in the sending unit and I'm pretty sure that they are not charging me as much as they should/could) tomorrow.

We've been discussing buying another car, Otter needs Bill's impala more and more so he's been driving the White Lightning.  Which is not ideal, it is a project car but not a quick project.  Also, some of the parts are simply not available for a 1976 Chevy El Camino.  And then there is also the fact that it's a gasoline hog!  We were hoping to wait until December, when Enterprise rentals switches out their models.  That's how we've purchased the last two cars.  I'd still like to wait, but we might not.  I like the new Impalas, but I don't see too many of them on the road which is not a good sign.  The new malibus are really nice, but they are smaller.  However, I really like them and I see a lot of them so they are popular which generally means that people are happy with them.  Otter is in all probability going to get Bill's impala as her own car, it's a good starter car.  It does have issues, but we know what they are which would probably not happen if she were to buy a car elsewhere - she won't be able to afford a new car for a while anyway.  She and Bill worked out a deal, heavy negotiation around my house!  But it isn't planned to happen for a while, she's still saving her pennies.  She's getting a good deal, she just isn't quite there yet.  But Bill is going to need something other than the El Camino to drive on a daily basis, the usual thing we do is I get a new car and he gets my old one.  I drove his/her impala today, but I'm going to catch a ride in with Bill to work tomorrow.  He leaves at 6:00 a.m.!  But since my car should be ready tomorrow, it'll be ok with me to get to work about 6:30.  Otter does work tomorrow, but not until the late afternoon.  Since my car should be ready tomorrow, I don't want to take his/her impala and I think her shift starts shortly before anybody else gets home anyway.

No toad in the dog's outside water this morning.  I'm sure he'll be back, he's a regular visitor.  But there is a skeeter inside the house this evening.  I've been seeing it and have tried to slap/smash/kill it several times but it keeps getting away from me.

 

But Maggie Moo is obviously not bothered by the skeeter.  She's snoozing at my feet.  As usual!  Frasier is snoozing in front of the coffee table.  Lazy hounds!  But maybe they have the right idea.

 

2 days down, 3 to go!

1 Down. 4 To Go!

Work days until vacation, that is.  It's a stay at home vacation - I do NOT like the word "staycation" so I don't use it.  But the upshot is, I have 4 days of work left and then I have a 9 day weekend!

 

The resident toad was back this morning, "he" was hanging out in the dog's outside water dish when I refilled it.  He stayed in the water dish this time, he got out of the way of the water I was pouring but he didn't seem to be afraid.  He looks well-fed, too.  We usually move the dog's inside water dish out to the garage in the morning when they have to be outside.   They have outside water, but it gets warm and icky by the afternoon so we move their clean dish out for them.  Not that they would mind, I've seen some of the things they eat and they like to get dirty water from puddles, the plants, etc., but we like them to at least have clean water available.

 

I took the car in to Chevy this morning and left it in their hands, until Tuesday or possibly (probably) Wednesday.  They got me to work and Bill picked me up.  Otter works the afternoon shift tomorrow, so I'll take Bill's impala to work in the morning and then at lunch I'll get Otter to work.  That way, I'll have the car and a way to get to the grocery store if I decide to do that tomorrow.  I'll have to pick her up, but she gets off at 5:00 so that's not so bad.  Wednesday morning, if the car isn't back tomorrow, I'll most likely head in to work with Billyboy which means I'll be at work about 6:30!  I'll take crochet or my laptop with me, since I'll have about an hour and a half until the workday officially starts.

 

The El Camino has a problem, the driver's side window controls are not working.  Bill's been unable to find a replacement part anywhere - even on the internet!  He's got it blocked with a piece of wood so that the window doesn't fall out of the frame and shatter into a million billion pieces.  I called Chevy and talked to the service manager, he said that the labor would probably be $130 - $150.  BUT that he doesn't think the part is available anywhere.  He suggested junk yards, the internet and a few other places.  Which Bill's already checked.  We used to have the parts car, the blue El Camino.  Bill stripped it of most of the parts and then sold the body.  However, the one part he didn't get?  The window controls!

 

Froggy, I have gotten quite a bit done on Uncle Crazy's blanket.  I've gone through one skein of yarn already, and it's 21" across.  I have 4 other skeins and I'll probably use all of them.  I'll let you know when it's ready and when I ship it.

 

It rained this morning.  Then the sun came out and it got humid.  Again!

Something we strongly believe in

Now, tell me that you don't have the Reading Rainbow stuck in your head!

 

Reading Rainbow was such a quality show, it was an oasis in the desert and is very much missed.  Literacy is one of my big issues, and we are all for the return of RR.  Because, after all:

 

 

You Know What?

I hate colds.  Especially summer colds.  Ok, so it's still spring.  But you get the idea.

 

I managed to work most of the day today.  I went in at 8:00, which was a struggle.  But it was a quiet morning, the Teenager had a few senior moments which involved calling me numerous times over his plans to have lunch with his grandson today.  But when you are 97, you are allowed senior moments!  They weren't bad, mostly he just couldn't decide if he wanted me to come get him or if he was going to have his grandson pick him up at home or at the office (which is what he finally decided on.)

 

I spent most of the morning coughing my head off, or at least it felt like I was attempting to.  But I was still doing better than I had been.  I got back from lunch with Billyboy (Chinese buffet!) and the Teenager got there a few minutes later.  And immediately launched into what we call "Dr. Teenager" mode - which involves repeatedly lecturing me about going home.  I was supposed to be his ride home, so I told him I was able to stay.  I was still coughing myself dizzy at that point, so he called around until he found someone who could take him home.  Then, he ordered me out the door and gave me clear instructions about NOT wanting to see me until Monday.  I left about 45 minutes earlier than I normally would have.  I think I'm probably going to take his "suggestion" and not even attempt to go in tomorrow.  One of his reasons is that he doesn't want to catch the cold, which I agree with and I have tried to stay as far away from his as possible.  Keep in mind that he told me that was his reason for not letting me take him home - but then he thought maybe he should drive me home since I was obviously sick!

 

Otter worked today, she drove Bill's impala since he wanted to drive the White Lightning today.  Of course, that was before it started pouring and UPS notified him that he had a pachinko machine delivered (which is why he took the truck today.)  Normally, he would have gotten it without a problem if he was in the truck but it was too big to fit in the cab and the back is not covered.  Guess who got to go to UPS on the way home?  Yours truly!  I didn't have to carry it, they carried it out to the car for me and it (just barely) fit in the back seat.

 

Bill wanted to take a couple of machines to the booth, so I rode along with him.  I rearranged a bit while we were there.  Then Bill decided to bring a machine home and fix something on it.  I need to seriously rearrange but I was pretty tired, so I just moved a couple of things around.  I'm not sure if anything has sold or not since the last time I was there, which was maybe last Friday?

 

OK, here's the not fun part:  It's Spring.  This is NE Oklahoma, also known as Tornado Alley and that is for a reason.  We might be reminded of the reason this weekend.  Specifically, Sunday is the highest chance and the forecasters sound worried.  Sometimes, that means something.  Sometimes, it doesn't.  But it does mean that we all need to be prepared.  Just in case.

When it Rains, it Pours

And it's done both today, literally.  The rain part was what preceded the sleet and was very light.  The pouring part?  Well, that was not good.  It also wasn't outside.

 

Bill got up early and he was just getting out of the shower when I got up.  He commented on how the hot water didn't seem to last, but it was very cold outside and he thought that maybe the water just didn't have that much time to warm up.  I went to let the dogs out at that point, it was about 5:15 a.m.  I opened the dog door flaps, then I happened to glance to the other side of the garage.  Which is when I noticed that there was a whole lot of water running from the inner end of the garage to the outside.  From the closet where the hot water heater is.  Sometime after I blocked the dogs in at about 9:15 last night and between 5:15 this morning, the water heater apparently developed a leak.

 

Bill immediately started clearing the area in front of the closet, which was filled up with pachinko machines.  The machines were ok, they were sitting on a board that kept them up off the floor but they did get a little wet on the bottom sides.  The water did get to the area where he had some boards stored, most of which are scrap pieces so he probably didn't lose too much of his cabinet frame wood although he might have some that is damaged.  I filled up a few containers of water in case he had to shut it off completely, then I started helping him move things out of the way.  We put the box fan in the garage and aimed it at the area that was the most wet, and I grabbed just about every towel we own to use.

 

The weather front was slowed down overnight, which is a Blessing.  We looked online at a few companies such as Home Depot, Lowe's and Sutherlands.  We found one that is a good brand, affordable and the right size.  The store in our small town did not have it in stock, but the neighboring small town store had 7 or 8.  The streets were still good because the ice storm hadn't made it yet, so we got in the El Camino and got there immediately.  We got the new water heater home and since it weighs 118 pounds, Bill got the dolly and brought it in the living room.  We figured out that we did need a couple of things, such as a 2" deep drain pan to sit it in in case of leaks and a couple of misc. things.  The weather front was on it's way but not here yet.  Bill's dad said he would come over and help, so we left Otter at home to wait for Grandpa and we went  back to Lowe's to get the stuff we needed.  We took Bill's impala for the second trip, and it was just barely raining.  We were only in Lowe's about 20 minutes but the rain was transitioning over to sleet when we came back out.  By the time we got home, it had gotten even colder.  Between Bill and Grandpa, they got the old heater out and the new one installed.  Bill got the gas line hooked up to it and the water, checked it multiple times for gas or water leaks (none) and then Grandpa left because he was trying to beat the weather front while the roads were still in decent shape.

 

I finally got to take my shower about 2:00 this afternoon!  I ran the dishwasher last night but didn't get it unloaded until after Bill got finished with the installation.  I have been able to do laundry since I use cold water for that, and Bill never had to turn the water off to the house itself just at the water heater.

 

Yes, I am still sick.  I was really feeling cruddy last night and had just a touch of fever so I was really afraid that it might actually be flu.  I woke up with a tremendous headache this morning but I felt a little better so I'm now thinking that it is "just" a bug and not flu after all.  I was going to call in anyway, but Bill had planned on going in to work.  Obviously, his plans where changed.

 

In spite of having to spend $400.00 we didn't anticipate this morning, we still consider it a Blessing.  For one thing, the weather held off long enough.  Grandpa was able to get here and home safely.  We were able to get the old heater removed and the new one installed without too much trouble.  We were home when it happened, not off on vacation or gone for several hours so we discovered it pretty quickly and didn't lose as much water as would could have.  And nobody got hurt.  So yes, it was a Blessing.

 

But I did overdo a bit, even though I tried not to and Bill tried not to let me.  But there were some things he needed me to help with.  But I didn't overdo it too much.  After I got out of the shower, Bill had a nice fire built and the living room is very warm and toasty.  He did get up in the attic while he had the machines out of the way, since the attic access was unable to be reached due to the pachinko machines stacked in the way.  He got one of the Christmas trees down and what I think are probably boxes with ornaments, stockings and the things I wanted.  He also got the wreath down.  I'm not in a hurry to get any of that stuff out of the boxes.  We were going to get it down this coming Sunday.  Bill's attempting to sort pachinko machines as he puts them back in place, Otter is now moved to her bed & blanket (she's hibernating today due to the weather) and I'm on the couch with two blankets and a beagle foot warmer.

 

We'll see how it is in the morning, we are getting less ice than was forecasted but we are getting some.  It's probably going to transition to snow.  It's very cold and will be well below freezing for a few days.  But I fought the Wallyworld crowd yesterday for the last minute things we needed and we already had everything else we need.  So we're fine.  One of Bill's buddies was short of firewood, so he came over yesterday and we gave him enough to get him through the next few days.  Now, I think I'm going to see what's on tv and rest for the rest of the afternoon/evening.  I am tired!  But I might get a little crochet in, I started a new hat for myself with the "chili" yarn I got last summer.  I made a scarf then, but I decided I wanted a hat as well.  It clashes with my red hair, but I am not really concerned as long as it's warm to wear it!

It's Just Sunday

Just normal Sunday stuff around here.  Laundry mostly!  And dusting, along with using the extra-long extender on the vacuum to go after the major cobweb situation on the ceiling.

 

 But I don't want Froggy to get after me about not blogging often enough. :)

 

Otter and I did a little shopping earlier.  Among other things, we went to the party store she used to work at.  While we were there, she talked to her former boss and it was pretty obvious that they wish she was still working there.  Otter doesn't, however, and neither do we.  They have their Halloween hours posted, and midnight closing is on the schedule.  She found out that one night, they didn't get out until after 1:00 a.m.!  Otter was scheduled until 10:00 last night at her new/current job, and she actually got out about 15 minutes early - she only has the occasional night and usually it's 9:00.  But the manager is there until 10:00 and he has to have a couple of witnesses as he counts the money; the employees are rotated so that it's a very occasional thing at that.  Otter's schedule for this coming week has no nights at all.

 

Bill thinks he can drive the El Camino even though the window is braced in place.  He just usually likes to roll the windows down.  He took the winder off the inside so that he won't accidentally forget and try to roll it down.  That way, Otter will still be able to take herself to work this week.  Which is good, because most of her hours this week are in the middle of the day.

 

I have a picture on my phone and I have an adaptor to upload it to the computer, but it's in the other room and I am not in a hurry to get up and go get it.  Its a Bad Knee day.  So, the picture of the very large Black Widow Spider I found in the back yard isn't being posted today.  The builder that built a house which straddles between our back yard and the nice neighbor has to move the section of the fence behind that house (we're not surprised).  We have some bricks stacked back there (on top of the grave of a hairless cat that belonged to Lovely Neighbor) and that will be behind the fence line after it gets moved.  They can have the cat but we want the bricks!  I was moving the bricks (with my foot, I'm not stupid) and that's where the spider was.  She's still out there, I probably wouldn't have killed her anyway based on where she was but she moved really fast once the brick covering her got moved and I probably wouldn't have been able to catch her even if I wanted to.  She was the biggest Black Widow Spider I've ever seen and absolutely beautiful.  That probably sounds really strange, but it's true.

 

After shopping with me, Otter went off to meet J at the mall.  I had a few things to donate, so I went to a thrift store.  I donated and then since I was there I had to shop.  I tried on several skirts but I didn't like any of them.  It was apparently "Unwatched Bratty Kid" day at Goodwill today.  And there were a bunch of them!

Thursday?

Last Wednesday, I thought it was Thursday.  And I was happy that way.  But then Bill had to go and rain on my parade and tell me that it was still only Wednesday!

So today, he thought it would be fun to tell me that it was only Wednesday.  But since I'd already seen the correct date on the newspaper (what part of it they actually delivered that is), I knew he was fibbing.  I'll let him slide.  This time.  :)

Only half of the paper was delivered this morning.  Actually, there were two halves.  But they were the same half twice!  I called them and they brought me out a full one.  Not that I've actually had time to read it, that is.  I'm hoping that I manage to find the time sometime before tomorrow.  We'll see.

I had to go buy new drinking glasses tonight.  We had a bunch of them.  Suddenly, we only had about 3 and about 4 that were originally jelly glasses.  So, off to Wallyworld we went!  They don't have nearly the variety or selection that they used to have, and it's that way in nearly all the departments.  What they do have is a large amount of their own brand but not a big variety even in that.  But we found a set of 12 and they are now washed and waiting to be used.  We use a lot of eating utensils, for some reason.

I mentioned in an earlier post that the White Lightning might be up for sale.  But Bill's decided against it, and I'm glad.  He bought the truck because there are times when he needs one.  Not all the time, but when he needs it, he really needs it.  For that reason, we've decided not to sell it.  He drove it yesterday, he had to go get lumber for one of his pachinko related projects.  You probably heard it and thought it was a low-flying jet!

We're following the news about Israel very closely right now.  For the record, we are firmly on Israel's side.  In this and in just about every conflict, probably all of them actually.

We've also seen the news reports about the Hostess company and their union difficulties.  It probably will come as NO surprise to anyone, but we have zero use for unions.  At all.  Never have had any and never will.  I find it to be extremely selfish that a minority of the employees are willing to let 18,000 people lose their jobs over arrogance.  I have had some experience with a union, at my job in Texas where I was the assistant personnel manager and have had to deal with union idiocy on a regular basis, so I do know where I'm coming from on this one.

(I gues that this might be a T & T Thursday to an extent, but I didn't realize it until just now).

I wanted to elaborate about Froggy's comment about placing her order related to Otter's upcoming oral surgery.  She's got the same decalcifying teeth/bone loss issues that I have, and so does Toadly (our big brudder).  Our mom had the same thing, we probably inherited it from her.  Which means that we actually have something that is not redhead curse related! (How did that happen?)  Anyway.  Froggy's managed to go a whole lot longer that Toadles or I did, our mom was in her 30's when she went the denture route and I was in my mid-40's.  I'm not sure about Toadles, but he might have been in the same general age range I was.  Froggy will be joining the group very shortly.  Although she might actually have implants, at least on the bottom jaw due to the same bone loss issues I have.  Froggy - you are going to wonder why you didn't do it sooner.  Believe me, it will be worth all the inconvenience and discomfort of the assorted procedures.  I guarantee that.

Then, you and me and Toadles can have our own little contest to see who can gross our offspring out first!  Although I think he's probably the master at popping his teeth out!

Kinda Cold

I'm not talking about the weather.  I'm talking about me.  And I don't mean my temperature.  I mean that I have a cold.  It's been coming on all day and now, I think it's arrived.  I had pretty bad sinus congestion yesterday and was beginning to suspect a sinus infection but that cleared up and I woke up with minor symptoms that could have been allergy.  Until I had a sneezing fit about 7:00 this morning, I stopped counting at about 15.  I'm not exaggerating!  I've been trying to fight it off all day, but it's won the fight and I'm officially "cold."

Uck.

I went to Sam's at lunch.  And bought 4 large cans of chicken broth, because I'm making chicken noodle soup tomorrow.  I would have made it tonight but Bill wanted us to help him get the White Lightning cleaned up (it might be on the market) so I knew we wouldn't have time.  But then when Otter and I got home, he was just about through washing it so we didn't have to.  However, he then answered an ad on Craigslist for a Pachinko Machine so we ran off to look at it.  (He didn't buy it - you know, old & rare & worth a lot of $$ - except that it wasn't.)  When we got home, it was kind of late to make soup so I just warmed up some of the tuna casserole we had last night.

I'll see how I feel in the morning, but I'm not sure I'll be going in.  If I do go in, I might not make the day but I'll figure it out in the morning.  Hopefully, I'll sleep tonight.  I set the humidifier up in our room last night.  It's on my side of the bed and it did help me last night but I might move it a little closer to the bed tonight.

Also, we're dealing with smoke.  There has been a fairly large grass fire all day, to the southwest of us.  It's on the other side of the river from us and a few miles, but it's been very windy and the smoke is all over the area.  Miles away into Tulsa and surrounding towns, including ours.  It's really bad and not helping my cold symptoms!  Even in the house, we can still smell it.  I noticed that Frasier kept sneezing when he and Maggie were playing in the back yard.  I don't think we're in any danger from the fire, there is the river a few miles away which is between it and us.  But the smoke is a problem.

Achoo.

Warm Wednesday

Not necessarily a Whine Wednesday, but there may be a little whining.

No "Wine" because I'm out and am not inclined to get out to go to the liquor store.  So, maybe just a little "Whining".  Or maybe not.

Otter's on a date this evening.  This is one that her father actually liked - he likes HP as much as he can, but HP is still a "boy" and father's don't really like their daughter's boyfriends no matter what they say!  But their plans this evening were to eat dinner with his parents and then they were all going to church.  Which might sound like a boring date to some people, but not to us.

Strange thing on the news yesterday.  The downtown (main branch) of the Tulsa Library has bed bugs.  The were found one one chair, they were discovered by someone who was bitten and recognized it.  The library has been closed since then, and today they brought in the big gun:  a Beagle!  The beagle in question is named Miss Liberty Belle and she's really cute.  The news reported this afternoon that she hasn't found anymore, and she has a very high sucess rate so they think that it's been caught in time.  But they aren't going to reopen until tomorrow in all probability.

There is a rumor that the Pixar company might be thinking about another sequal to Toy Story.  Frankly, I hope that they don't.  There are a couple of shorts and they might have a few more of those, but I hope that they realize how much they are risking with this one.  Toy Story is a very special movie series, and the ending was so precious.  They need to leave it alone!  It will always, always hold a special place in our hearts - for reasons that are probably extremely obvious to people who know us.

Otter's just about through with her summer semester.  She has one class on Monday, the final exam is actually an essay that was assigned today and is to be turned in on Monday and that will be the last time for that class.  The afternoon class is not in session on Monday, but will be in on Wednesday.  The final exam is a regular test and she'll take it then.  We were going to the library Sunday afternoon (not the downtown branch!) but I think we'll most likely change our plans to me picking her up Monday after her morning class and then dropping her off at the library for the afternoon.

Black Friday

Not a shopping day for us!  I hardly ever do any actual Black Friday shopping.  This year was no exception.  We did run to the grocery store for about 3 things, then I took Otter to a local museum.  We went to two thrift stores, one was to donate a load that filled the back of the El Camino and since we were there we did look but didn't find anything.  Otter and I went to another thrift after that, she found a skirt.

When we went to donate, the guy taking the donations was just about in rapture over the car itself.  He'd have happily taken it, I think!  It was a little close in the car, all three of us in the El Camino is like playing sardines.

The only other trip we made was to the video store to rent a movie to watch tomorrow.  That's a normal Friday occurance, as is the run into the grocery store for misc. stuff.  Usually, it's milk or orange juice but today's list had fresh mushrooms and a jar of olives on it.  Also wrap tortillas for the turkey wrap sandwiches we're having for dinner.  Which is why I bought fresh mushrooms also.

I also went to the gas station but I don't think buying gasoline counts as Black Friday shopping!

When Did NE OK Turn Into S TEXAS?

It hit 104 today.  In a neighboring town, it hit 105.  We're very close to the neighboring town (less than 1/2 mile), so I think we were probably about 105 as well.

It's hot enough to even make a TEXAN yell uncle!  Or at least keep the a/c cranked.  The dogs have spent most of their day snoozing, which is normal, but they've been even less active today.  Although Maggie did have a spell of playing with one of her tug toys this afternoon.  But mostly, they've been sleeping.  And haunting the kitchen, since we made pizza with the bread machine for dinner tonight (and tomorrow lunch).

It was nice this morning, mid-80's.  I watered all the plants well since it was already getting warm, then Bill and I both worked out in the garage for a couple of hours.  I got my workbench & shelf cleaned off and organized (again).  Bill did a lot of things that involved noise, I think he was casting parts for the pachinko machines and he also was working on stripping the varnish off the desk we got at a yardsale a month or so back.  We also took my car for an oil change, then when it was ready we took the White Lightning and left it for it's turn.  Somewhere in there, it got hot.  Really hot.  It got to somewhere around 108 in the state today.

We're used to it, but we don't have to like it!

However, Otter and I did have some much needed Girl Time:  we went shopping!  Specifically, we went thrifting.  We went to the library first, then had some stuff to donate to Goodwill and since we were already there, we had to go inside and see what we could find.  I mean, really, we couldn't have just dropped of our stuff and left.  That wouldn't have been polite to all the nice people who work there, and we just couldn't be rude.  So we shopped. :)

I made what is probably my major find for the year at Goodwill today, in fact.  For $15.00, I found a genuine Coach purse.  It's green suede, which is really what I wanted - I don't really like the purses with all the big C's on them, they look kind of gaudy to me.  I've always liked the more understated ones, and leather is always a big draw.  For a leather purse, $15.00 was a great deal.  But for a genuine, honest to goodness, real Coach bag - $15.00 is practically free!  I showed it to Otter and the first thing out of her mouth was "you are going to buy it, right?  Because you have to, you know."  I did not disagree with her!  Coach purses are very expensive, but they are also worth it because they are extremely well-made and last for years and years.  They run several hundred dollars, new and even the used ones can be a few hundred.  They are also frequently counterfieted, so I've educated myself on what to look for and have seen several at thrift stores that are fakes.  But this one isn't, it's the real deal and I'm very happy with it.

Tomorrow, we're going to take some stuff to the Salvation Army to donate.  I'm sure we'll shop there as well.  But I don't expect to find another spectacular deal like today's.

Day one of vacation has been a good day!

One To Go!

One work day left, then we are on vacation!

Usually, we take the first week of July.  But Bill couldn't get the first week approved, so he asked for the last week of June instead.  He works for a school district and they have things scheduled during the summer when the kids are not in the schools, the summer is actually a fairly busy time for non-teacher staff of school districts.  It actually is going to work out better, because the original plan was Monday as a holiday and 4 days of vacation.  But since we're taking the week prior to July 4th, we'll actually have one more day off than normal since the holiday is on a Monday this year.

Small miracles, but I'm happy about it.  I desperately need a vacation!  We still will be getting up around the same time in the mornings, the dogs have this strange idea that they need to be fed on a regular basis.  We just won't have to hurry breakfast and go to work.  I intend to spend several mornings on the deck with my coffee cup.  Depending on the weather, that is!  Although I think it's supposed to be dry.  Just hot!

We are probably going to head out on one of our exploration/shopping rambles one day next week.  We have a couple of choices, we just haven't decided for sure which direction or which day.  Well, we think we know which direction we're going.  We just aren't certain of the day yet.  The only thing that is definite one day next week is that I'm taking my car for an oil change Monday morning and possibly Bill is taking the White Lightning in for one as well.  IF he can get it started, that is.  The El Camino has been sitting in the driveway for a while, the battery was dead when he tried to start it so he took the battery to get checked.  and it tested as good.  So he thought maybe it was another problem, but it turned out that the radio he installed in the White Lightning a while back has a clock that was sucking all the juice out of the battery!  He bought a solar charger, which is basically a solar panel that sits inside the car on the dashboard and it's slowly charging the battery up.  Neat gadget!

The rest of the week is deliberately unplanned.  Last year, I went to TEXAS and spent the week with Froggy.  Then, we went to TEXAS for Thanksgiving and I used my remaining vacation days at Christmas like I usually do.  This year, nobody is in the mood to go anywhere very far so we're just going to hang around the house and do whatever.  I might take Otter to a movie, or she might get together with one of her friends.  Bill's going to take advantage of the free time and work on his pachinko machines.  Oh, and we'll get a few fireworks!  And probably make homemade pizza one day.  Since we'll be home, Otter and I will be cooking more than normal (by choice, we both enjoy it).  We went to the grocery store today and bought pizza fixins.  (Remember, we Texans have our own language and fixins is an officially recognized TEXAS word with multiple meanings).

I haven't had any crochet time at all this week.  That's not a good thing.  Just ask Bill! :)  I'm going to remedy that situation as much as possible next week.  I had been thinking about entering something in the State Fair but I think I've changed my mind.  I have done a couple of commissioned items for a price, and realized that I don't really enjoy it as a "business."  The last thing I want is for my crochet to become work.  So I probably won't submit anything this year.

I'm just glad that tomorrow is (finally) Friday.  It's been a long week!

Wednesday's W(h)ining

I don't really have anything to whine about today, I just love this picture!  And since it is Wednesday, and I went to Wine Wednesday at the liquor store, I thought it was a good day to post it.

We're empty-nesters.  Our babies have flown!  We thought that they were on the verge of flying yesterday, when I went to pick Otter and BF up from the movie they saw Mama Bird was in the tree near the porch and chirping.  The babies were all aimed in her direction, but they hadn't figured it out at that point.  This morning, they are all gone.  Sometimes birds will raise more than one family per year and they will sometimes come back to the same nest, so we are not cleaning it out yet.  Although somebody has got to get out there with the broom, the porch is covered in "evidence!"

Otter and I washed the El Camino this afternoon.  It's just been sitting in the driveway, I'm not sure how long it's been since Billyboy actually drove the White Lightning.  But the battery is dead as in doornail!  I was going to move it to the middle of the front yard so we could water the lawn at the same time, but it wasn't going anywhere.  So the driveway got wet instead!  But the car is now white again, and not red from the dust from the storms a couple of weeks back.  We might wash Bill's impala this weekend, we won't have time the next couple of days.  But it did get hosed off, so it's at least a little less dusty now.

The backyard bluebonnet definetely has a bud.  Otter's jalepeno plants are really producing, she's harvested one pepper and there are several more but they are still too small yet.  Not for long, though.  The plants are not big, but they are loaded with blooms and tiny peppers.  Well, good things come in small packages and we'll eat them any size!

Sunday Honey Mustard

Today's title also courtesy of Otter!

It's still fairly cold, but I think it might be above freezing. It's sunny anyway, and not windy. Next week should be cold nights with above freezing days so maybe we'll see the end of the white spots by the end of the week. Hope so, anyway!

Otter and I saw the first Robin of the year just now. It was standing in the street. Froggy saw a hummingbird in her yard a couple of days ago. We also saw a flock of geese heading north this afternoon. The geese were low enough that they could have just been pond hopping. I refilled my bird feeders yesterday morning - while it was very cold and also snowing. There were several cardinals, a few chickadees, some sparrows, a bunch of starlings (vermin!) and a woodpecker. We haven't seen the squirrel in a few days, but he likes to haunt the feeder at the end of the trellis because he can climb down to it. He does try to get to the feeders on the metal poles, but he winds up doing the squirrel version of pole dancing! It's funny to watch, he keeps trying and eventually will figure it out. They are smart animals, at least when it comes to getting food.

Willie and I went to Talequah this afternoon. Froggy - we were pretty close to the Cherokee place we went to last summer. He now has 3 more pachinko machines in his collection. I'm not sure, but I think he's now got around 7 of them. These were in fairly good shape, he'll have to clean them and that can be labor-intensive and time consuming, but they seem to be in good working order. Bill's just happy that they were too big for the cars, it gave him a chance to take the White Lightning out and cruise down the highway. I think the car enjoyed the run, I know the driver did! (No, he didn't let me drive this time. Darn.)

No more Fenton finds lately, but I haven't been anywhere to look for it since our vacation week. Weather & car issues kept me from shopping! But I have managed to get a lot of crochet projects done. I finished one throw pillow yesterday, it has different varigated colors on each side and I am nearly finished with the throw pillow that Bill requested - camoflauge yarn to match the quilt he made. I'm making an effort to get a few UFO's taken care of. (Un Finished Objects). I had put them aside to make a few things for Christmas.

Movie review: Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs. It was kind of cute, but don't see it if you are expecting it to be like the wonderful children's book that Otter loved when she was young. The story was ok, but it was refreshing to watch a movie for once that didn't have much of an agenda. But other than the title, it doesn't have much in common with the original story.

I guess that's it for today. Not much went on this week, just work and weather and car issues. And crochet, of course.

Baby, It's Cold Outside! (Edited)

And I'm so glad I'm inside.

Of course, the inside I'm referring to is home.

I did try to go to work today. But neither of the two cars in my driveway wanted me to do that. I think I have a dead battery in my car, the Impala. It wouldn't start, but it didn't act like it was because it's so cold. The El Camino, however, just plain doesn't like the cold! And it won't start for anything.

Not that I blame it!

Bill leaves for work at 6:00 a.m. I don't have to leave until about 7:30. I love my remote start feature, and I generally start the car about 10 minutes before I need to leave when it's really cold. Like today. It was 15 degrees when we got up this morning, but it is very windy and I think it's a safe bet to say that we've already reached our high for the day. I've tried a couple of times to get my car started, and it's not cooperating. So, I am home today with the Otter and two furry stinky dogs. Bill wasn't where he could come home and get me, and I did thinking about calling somebody for a ride but I have the time to take off so I decided to just use a day. When Bill gets home this evening, he's going to look at my car and then we'll most likely have to go buy me a new battery.

Wish the car would have done this yesterday, when it was at the mechanics!

Since I've been home, I've gotten all my laundry done and also cleaned the kitchen. And made a loaf of bread. And did a little crochet, which was difficult because of my winter skin. And watched the news on tv at noon. And played with two doggies. And visited with Otter, although she didn't get up until close to 10:00!

Not that I blame her. It was a good morning to sleep in. She gets another one tomorrow. Although I probably won't be waiting for her to wake up since I anticipate being at work, and I won't do the chores that were originally on her list. Lucky girl!

(Edit) It was the battery. Bill got home a little early, pulled the old battery out of the car and we took it to the auto parts store to be tested. Which took a while, as their tester wasn't working right. They eventually got a reading, and it was bad. So we bought a new one, brought it home and Bill put it in. The car started right up. And it's colder than it was this morning.