July 4, 2016

Easter 2016

2014

It has been a busy year.

January:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Our 29th Anniversary happened.

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

February:

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

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

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

I finally finished my afghan!

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

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

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

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

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

March:

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

We had more winter weather!

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

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

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

Otter planted her crop - mostly jalepenos.

We had a hail storm.

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

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

April:

2 Hot Flashes in one day!  Talk about miserable.

We had a hail storm with a lot of rain.

2 baby blues came up in the whiskey barrel!

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

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

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

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

One of Bill's sisters came to visit.

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

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

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

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

May:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

It rained.  A lot.  A LOT.

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

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

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

June:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

July:

Vacation!  We stayed home.  Shopped a lot.

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

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

Found out just how sharp a Ulu knife is.

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

Otter started working on her cosplay outfit for TNT.

Bill got two or three wasps nests this month.

Brake replaced on the car.

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

Otter had an ear infection.

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

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

The lumberyard started stocking firewood.

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

August:

10 years since we moved into our current house.

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

Retro TV started running the original Dr. Who series!

I visited several fabric stores for Froggy.

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

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

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

Froggy's daughter graduated nursing school!

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

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

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

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

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

We got the chimney cleaned.

We had some limited water restrictions but not bad.

Otter and Roomie looked at several apartments.

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

September:

Bought a new camera.

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

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

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

2nd sinus infection of the year!

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

I finished Uncle Crazy's lap blanket.

Bill got a bunch of firewood.

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

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

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

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

October:

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

The TEXAS persecution was especially bad this year.

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

There was a lunar eclipse.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

I started a lap robe blanket for Otter.

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

Bill replaced the brakes on Roomie's car.

Halloween.

 

November:

 

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

We decided to have a low-key Thanksgiving.

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

Otter had a pretty bad migraine.

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

Snow!

Bill's other sister came to visit.

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

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

Thanksgiving.  We had our pizza.

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

 

December:

 

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

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

We had a spell of very foggy days.

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

Finally replaced our microwave.

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

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

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

Vacation!

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

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

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

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

 

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

Father's Day 2014

Happy Father's Day!

2012 Start to Finish!

2012 is just about over, although since Blogger is being so slow it might actually BE over before I get through typing this!  Anyway.  I think we'll be glad to see this year end.  It hasn't been horrible, but frankly we have had better.  We've had worse as well, so I'm not really complaining.  Just stating a fact is all.

January

Well, I brought back a cold from our TEXAS trip in December 2011 and then spent at least half the month fighting it.  It turned into bronchitis and I was very sick.  Otter had a touch of the cold, but she was over most of it early in the month.  I made it into a marathon!

I did manage to get quite a bit of crochet done, mostly because I was home sick so much.

Bill's pachinko collection increased (this happens a lot).

There was a Friday the 13th this month.

Otter got new glasses.  We decided that we don't like the Oakley brand, they don't curve around the ear and keep falling off.  She doesn't want that kind anymore and I don't blame her.

Bill took a turn with the cold but he didn't have a very bad case.

My tendonitis showed up and it stayed around for weeks and weeks.  It's one thing I want to do without for 2013!

Bill's car had a leak in the power steering system.  $516.00 to fix it. Ouch!

Otter was mistaken for an actual librarian at the library one day. :)

February

For a while, we were concerned that Otter might have a thyroid imbalance.  The doctor was too, but so far she seems to be ok.

Bill got the first of what turned into several fillings.  Actually, he got a few this month and then for the next few months.

There was an attempted kidnapping of a 13 year old girl at a school bus stop, less than 2 miles from our house - the boy that tried to grab her was 14 years old.

We had a trace of snow (finally!)

A very special couple I know celebrated their 75th Wedding Anniversary!

We replaced the filter on the ice maker in the fridge.  And discovered billions and billions of multi-colored twist ties.  With no idea where they came from!

This was a leap year, so there were 29 days in February.

March

Froggy's hubby got a great job in the Austin, TX area and they decided to move.

Otter started the month with what she thought was a night of not sleeping and then a cold/allergy coming on - but it turned out to be the flu!  She was one of many in the Tulsa area who got the flu shot and then still got the flu.  She didn't have a bad case, but it was still not good.

The Oklahoma primary was in March.  Our first choice, Herman Cain, dropped out earlier so I voted for the 2nd choice - Rick Santorum.  He won Oklahoma, but ultimately dropped out of the race.

Otter was thinking about changing her major from Library Sciences to an English Degree and that is what she decided to do.

We had a pretty intense hail storm.

I got to crochet again!  I didn't even attempt it for several weeks, thanks to the tendonitis.  Then I had to be careful and just do small sessions.

Bill shaved his beard!

The dishwasher died.  It had been on it's way out for a while, but we were nursing it along.  We didn't replace it at the time and later I decided that I don't really want one.

We actually had weather that was nice enough to sit out on the deck.

The frogs showed up, so the bricks went into the dog water.  Don't want any drowned frogs!  Dead frogs don't eat bugs.

We switched from the humidifiers to the fans in the bedrooms.  In March!

Bill had a cold or allergy.

We had pouring rain for a few days.

Otter's annual lung recheck at the allergist.  He was very impressed with her status.  She also had Spring Break.

Birds started building nests in various places around the house and yard.

Otter turned 20!

April

Discovered a bunch of bluebonnets coming up in the front yard and whiskey barrel.

Also, we discovered the first of what became a major invasion of yellow-jacket nests.

Dallas had tornados!

The iris plants started to bloom.

The vet started really watching Frasier's leg.

We had a nice Easter at Grandpa and Sweetie's house.

Spring Storms made their appearance, especially in the western part of the state.

Otter learned to crochet!

Froggy & Uncle Crazy found a house!

May

We had a storm with a lot of strong wind.  And then we had pieces of one of our trees all over the back yard!

Maggie caught a fledgling mockingbird, but Otter got he to drop it and then Maggie was in major discgrace!

Mother's Day.  We saw the Avengers movie and had buffalo burgers.

The office cat disappeared.  We eventually found her, she was deceased and we think she "came home" to die.  She had adopted us several years ago and was probably just old but she was still a fun pet at work and we miss her.

9 yellow-jacket nests at the office.  That was just in one day, we killed them and they kept coming back!

We got the septic tank cleaned out. Not a pleasant job, but necessary.

June

The hummingbirds showed up!

We moved plastic shelves into Otter's room, now she has a place to put all that craft stash of hers.

More yellow jacket nests.

I got stung by one of the beasties.  It wasn't pleasant.

The drive-in reopened in Tulsa!

We found out (the hard way) that Otter is not allergic to yellow jackets.  We were already destroying them as we came across the nests, but not Bill was on a mission!

Bill's 51st birthday.

Froggy's house in SA was an interesting story.  The first buyer had a stroke just a few days before he was to close, they had to put the house back on the market and the 2nd buyer was kind of a turkey.  But it was eventually sold.

Ozone days started for the summer.

Otter found a wasp.  It was climbing up the curtains inside the living room!

We found a box turtle in the back yard.  She was relocated under the fence.

The supreme court made a collosal mistake.

July

V-A-C-A-T-I-O-N!

A sparrow flew into the dining room window.  It did not survive. :(

We watched fireworks from our back deck.

We found an injured dove in the back yard.  We gave her food and water and kept the dogs out.  After a couple of days, she was nowhere to be seen so we think that the got her strength back and was able to fly off.  There was no sign of anything else.

Still finding yellow jackets.  Still squashing/spraying/killing them.

The Olympics started in London.  We watched quite a bit.

Our neighbor pointed at me as I was driving off one morning - actually it was the husband/boyfriend/whatever he is and he mimed pulling a gun on me and shooting.  This was the 2nd time, the first was just pointing.  I waved at him and gave him a big smile - and then they seemed to do everything they could to avoid us after that.  Guess they didn't like realizing that we don't intimidate?

My favorite author, Maeve Binchy, died.**

August

Otter decided to take a break from college and think about her plans for the future.  She started applying for jobs, then after a long talk with her councilor at school she changed her mind.  At least for the immediate future.

We supported Chick-Fil-A.  And continue to do so.

Otter went to TEXAS for a week, she saw her TEXAS grandmother and most of her cousins.

Found another yellow jacket nest!

The vacuum cleaner died.  Unlike the dishwasher, it was replaced!

I made my specialty soup with frozen vegetables and it worked pretty well.

The vet decided that Frasier's "spot" needed to come off.  We scheduled his surgery for Labor Day weekend so it was actually August 31st.  It was the beginning of a roller coaster that we actually thought at one point was the end of Frasier's time on earth.  He got better!  But we really weren't sure he would at one point and we (and the vet) were actually planning the timing for euthanasia.  It was that close and that serious.

Otter started her 2nd year at college.

The driver's side window fell off it's frame in Bill's car.  We had to replace the motor assembly but the window itself was intact.

September

We didn't get a lot of sleep this month, courtesy of one large, furry dog!

We went to Wallyworld one morning and there were was looked like (literally) millions of crickets!

We got our flu shots.  Later than we planned, but at least we managed to get them!  I had my usual reaction.

Frasier, in his cone, got his head stuck between the couch and a magazine rack.

The dogs came veryclose to getting a cat under the shed.

Talk Like a Pirate Day!  Otter got a free dozen donuts at Krispy Kreme, and so did most of her friends, just for dressing up like a pirate and talking like one.

The dentist agreed that Otter's top wisdom teeth were just about ready to come out.  She also diagnosed the beginning of de-calcifying in Otter's teeth.

October

I brought the hummingbird feeders in the for the year.

Frasier kept us up at night.

I had a chance to educate two neighborhood girls on not throwing rocks at passing cars.  RHTW got the job done and I don't think that they will do it again.

We went to Bartlesville and areas north, one of our shopping rambles.  It turned out to be the last one for the year although we didn't realize it at the time.  It was fun.

Otter and I went to the Fair.  First time in two years.  Fun, lots of walking.

The vet recommended a bitter apple spray for Frasier's leg.  It didn't keep him from licking and I'm firmly convinced that it made his mental state worse.

We had a bad dust storm.

Otter started showing signs of Red Hair anemia.  She's increased her iron intake and is much better.

We heard coyotes.

I found one of the two opal earrings (two different ones) I lost over a year ago.  Thought it was gone for good, it was in the dryer!

The vet had us start the dog on benadryl at night.  It worked two or three nights, then we were right back where we started from.

Bill transplanted an elm tree sapling that came from the elm tree we put in a couple of years ago.

The vet suggested leaving a light on in the living room with the hopes that Frasier would be able to see that there was nothing to bark at.  He only saw that I wasn't in there and he kept barking!

November

The vet suggested tranquilizers.  They did the trick.  He still gets one occasionally, but after about a week of a pill nightly he was much better.

Time change.

Bill briefly considered selling the El Camino.  I'm glad he decided not to.

The "big" election happened.  Without us, frankly.  At least without us on certain parts of it.

I had a cold.

Grass fires in the area, lots of smoke & dust.

My puppy is back!  He's been so much better and actually wore the beagle out on a few occasions.  That is not easy to do, by the way.

We scheduled Otter's oral surgery for mid-December.

I started an afghan for Grandpa for Christmas.  Which I didn't get finished until about 30 minutes before they came on over Christmas morning!

Bill had time off at Thanksgiving.  And he got sick!

Thanksgiving.  We had a great time at Grandpa and Sweetie's.

Otter and I saw an annual exhibit at a local museum.

We took the curtains down from the dining room and put up mini-blinds.

December

Otter made a great find at an estate sale, she found a fairly rare and collectible picnic basket.

12/21/12 happened.  And nothing happened.  We didn't expect anything anyway, but it was fun watching people get stupid about it.

Well, one thing did happen on 12/21/12:  my notary commission was renewed for another 4 years.

We made cookies.  Lots and lots and lots of cookies.

And then I threw away most of my cookies sheets and got new ones!

The dogs jumped the block in the garage.  And discovered a full back of their food.  It wasn't full for long!

Otter had a fairly heavy nosebleed - in line at the dollar store!  Thankfully, they sell kleenex.

Otter had oral surgery.  The two two wisdom teeth came out and the surgery went well.  She didn't have any problems from it.

But she did have problems from the pain pill, it was a hard way to discover a codiene allergy but I guess it was the only way it could be discovered.

Christmas!

V-A-C-A-T-I-O-N!

I turned 51, I caught up with Billyboy.  We went to Incredible Pizza and a few thrift stores.  It was a lot of fun.  Otter made me brownies. :)

Bill was on vacation and he did what he's known for:  he got sick!

I finally gave in and bought a purse.  I buy purses when I need one, but this one was a little different.  And it cost a lot more.  I still can't believe I paid that much for a purse.

We had a touch of snow on the 28th.

One other thing in December:  The publisher that handled Maeve Binchy's books announced that there was one more book and it would be coming out on Valentine's Day 2013.  I'm not sure if it was one that was just never published for whatever reason, or if it was going to be published and then she died.  But whatever the reason, I am going to buy it.  She was a major talent and is very much missed.

I had 4 migraines in 2012.  Which is about the average.  I had a few hot flashes, only a couple of them were really bad (hot flashers, actually).  But I guess it's to be expected.

We had very little car trouble, what we did have with mostly with Bill's car but it's a 10 year old car and has around 150,000 miles on it.  I guess it's to be expected too.

It was a warm year and a dry one.  It didn't feel as hot as 2011, but it actually was.

But we managed to get through the year without losing a special dog, that is something that we didn't expect at one point.  He's an old dog and we're just going to enjoy however long with have him.  And spoil him even more rotten - same thing with the beagle!

But I really, really do NOT want tendonitis.  Ever again.

Aw, Nuts!

One of the field guys at work sells pecans this time of year.  He picks them himself, I don't know if the orchard is his or a family member's but they are papershell pecans.  They're very good.  But then, pecans are special to TEXANS.  I ordered 5 lbs and he brought them this morning.  My two bosses also ordered 5 pounds each, so he delivered a 15 lb. bag and I split it up.  Then I shelled part of the teenager's portion for him.  They came pre-cracked, so it was relatively easy to shell them.  I brought ours home and Otter promptly claimed them all!  She has to share them, although she probably would prefer not to!  Half of the pecans are in the deep freeze, the other half is in the house freezer but I'm sure that they will not be in any danger of going bad before they get eaten.  I just kind of have that feeling for some reason.  :)

Anyway, I have a pecan pie in the oven now.  Karo Syrup changed their recipe slightly, it used to call for heating the butter/syrup/sugar on the stove then adding the vanilla and stirring until the sugar was dissolved.  After that, the pecans are added and it's all poured into a 9", deep-dish frozen pie crust.  (I don't have the pie crust gene so I use pre-made frozen ones).  Now, it's all just stirred together although the butter is melted (and I think it now calls for less butter than before) and when the sugar is dissolved (takes a while, stirring it by hand like that) then the rest of it is the same.  I decided to follow the revised recipe, at least this time.  We'll see how it turns out.  The pie is not going to be eaten until at least tomorrow night, it takes several hours to cool - unless Bill wants to consume what is essentially molten lava with pecans in it.  I also bought cool whip.  Vanilla ice cream works good on it, too.

Here's a little T & T Thursday:  The UN needs to keep it's nose out of Israel's business!  I do sympathise with the Palestinian people, but the Book states clearly what is Israel and what isn't.  It also clearly states what will happen to Israel's enemies.  The land is Israel and the Jewish people are the chosen people of God.  Don't believe me?  Read the Book!

I have a prayer request.  A friend's daughter lost her baby yesterday.  It was her second child, she has an adorable little boy.  But they are still mourning the loss of a child and prayers would help them.

Otter has 2 weeks and one day left of the current semester of college.  She's looking at her options, since this was her "think about it" semester but I think she's probably going to continue with college at this point.  It's her decision to make, we'll support whatever she decides to do and she'll make the right choice for herself.  We can only give her guidance in this, it's one of those decisions she has to make for herself.

She's also got two weeks until the oral surgery.  Bill and I have 3 weeks of work, then I have a week & a half off in a combination of vacation and holiday.  Bill will have two weeks off in holidays and then he's taking another week off after that for vacation.  Otter will have two or three weeks, I'm not exactly sure when the next term starts because I think she's going to go back.  (See previous paragraph.)

I'm just glad that tomorrow if Friday.  It's been a busy week.

It's Pickle Week!

Check this out:

International Pickle Week

I absolutely love pickles.  They were probably my favorite food as a child (next to chocolate, of course). (And chili!).  Mom used to make pickle sandwiches for us.  As an adult, I realize that they were probably one of those running-out-of-grocery-money-too-long-until-Payday shortcuts, but at the time we thought that they were a delicasy.  They are still and always will be my "Childhood Comfort Food."

This one is just too fun not to share.

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day!

Just Friday

But what a week it's been!

Obviously, it has been an important week as an American.  Beyond my first post about justice, I have deliberately stayed away from the subject.  I still stand by what I said, it was justice and very much deserved. But I am trying very hard not to celebrate the aspect of the death of the person.  (I'm not posting the name because this blog is not searchable for a reason and there are certain words that will always show up on a search.  That person's name being one of them.  Also, I refuse to justify him with a name or anything remotely dignified).  But I am glad that there has finally been some justice.  Notice that I did not say closure!  Closure in that sense does not exist.  However, I do still think we should pray for the people involved, all of them.

It's been a fast week.  Which is a good thing.  I'm so ready for it to be Friday again.  Actually, I'm ready for it to be Saturday.  Because I'm going to crochet/read/sleep/goof off all day!

Sunday is Mother's Day.  I told Otter that I want two things for Mother's Day:  1.  To go to the zoo, which we are doing on Sunday.  and 2.  I want to teach her how to crochet.  She's talked about it before, she wanted me to show her a few weeks back but then she got sick and that's never a good time to learn anything new.  Whether or not she sticks with it is up to her, but I'm going to show her the basics and then she will at least stick with it long enough to really know what she's doing - it's like any other skill, there will be a period of "I'm going to throw this stuff out the window!" and then she'll figure it out.  Then, it's up to her.  But it's like embroidery - I taught her and she knows how (although neither of us can stand it!), and it might not be something she'll want to do much of but it's come in handy for her a few times already.

Of course, if she does love crochet and gets obsessed about it (which will happen if she likes it at all), then I might have to fight for my stash!

Halelujah!

For He is risen just as He said.

2010 Review & December Books

It's only January 2nd, so I'm not too late!  I just didn't have time on Friday.

Anyway.

Here's the highlights of 2010:

January

We got a freezer.  Which we use quite a bit.

We had quite a bit of cold weather and ice a few times.

On one of those cold days, the battery in my car quit and it was so cold that the El Camino simply wouldn't start, so I had an unexpected day off.

Bill was named Employee of the Month at work.

We celebrated our 25th Wedding anniversary.

We participated in the church-wide Fasting & Self Denial at our church.  It was hard at time, but it was also very fulfilling.  We probably all need to learn a little self denial.

February

Bill was sick this month.  I know he was really sick because he even asked me to take him to the doctor!  That never happens with him.

When he recovered, he went to Oklahoma City.  For a pachinko machine.

It was still really cold weather.

I guess I shopped a lot, because my notes for the month include lots of Fenton finds. :)

The Winter Olympics was the main thing we watched on tv.  We enjoyed it.

Otter started Night School.

My skin was really bad this month, I tried wearing latex gloves to crochet and it worked great.

The tulips we didn't know we had started coming up.  That was a really nice surprise.

I had an unpleasant encounter with a stray cat at work. Bad cat.

Otter had a bad experience with a boy at school.  This is on the list because it's the first time that the teachers actually backed her up!

March

Otter had a spectacular check up with her allergist/asthma doctor.

I found a tamale source!  That's a major one, for us Transplanted Texans.

Otter turned 18 on the 31st.

The day of her party was very cold, we had an ice storm the day before and had to deal with ice on party day.

It was a bad month for my knees.  Cold weather affects them.

I made a pink & white granny square afghan for Sweetie.

April

This was a fairly quiet month.

The resident frogs showed up, which is a good thing.

Bill transplanted the surviving 3 banana plants in the back yard.  While they did grow and were pretty, we probably won't have them again.

Otter finished and passed night school!

May

This is the major Wild Weather Month of the year.

It was also a bad month for Maggie.  She chewed up Otter's cell phone charger, got evicted from Otter's room and eventually both dogs were put out at night (but it was Maggie's fault, Frasier was just caught in the crossfire).  But since we'd started the month by Yarnbombing Maggie, maybe she was paying us back. :)

I crocheted lots of potholders for Froggy.

Mother's Day.  We had tamales!

The hummingbirds showed up for the summer.

We bought a blu-ray player.  We use it quite a bit.

The end of 11th grade for Otter.

San Antonio had some bad weather, including one near-miss twisty storm.

Our weather was really bad.  We had 2 days of severe weather, Spring Storms as they are known.  One of them was fairly close, but the second day of it was terrifying.  It was Very Close and we really thought we were going to get hit.  Thank God we didn't.

June

It was a rainy month.  Also, it was a warm month for this area.

Bill realized that he could make a little money by repairing pachinko machines for other people, so he started that this month.

Otter's big thing for the month is that she and BF went to an anime convention.  She made a set of cat ear headbands and they wore cat-tails.

Billyboy turned 49!

Father's Day.  We had barbecue.

I cleaned out some of my yarn.  That won't happen too often, which is why it's on here.

The big movie of the summer for us was Toy Story 3.

Otter's hamster, Helena, died.

July

This was a really hot month, we had heat alerts most of the month.  The temperatures were warm, but it was the lack of wind that was an issue.

I went to Texas for a week to see Froggy and Nana.  We shopped a lot.  We ate a lot.  Puffy Tacos! I got to see Virginia, we went to the Pig Stand with Toadles & Mrs. Toadles. I found a lot of Fenton and some wonderful yarn.

The census worker came to the door.  "THREE!"

Frasier got another cat, the neighbor's hairless one.

Otter went to Texas for a week, she stayed at Nana's and saw Froggy & Crew.  They shopped and she swam a lot.

Otter tried contact lenses, but they didn't work for her.

August

Still a hot month, more heat alerts.

Otter started 12th grade.

I took advantage of the dry weather and cleaned out the rain barrel.

Tax Free Weekend.  Shopping frenzy.

We decided to refinance the house, we started the process towards the end of the month.

Flu shots were available this month, so we got ours.  And the Red Head Curse struck again!

September

We had all sorts of inspections for the refinance process.

Bill made us a book shelf for our many library books.

The drive in theater in Tulsa burned to the ground.  In a matter of minutes.  The police think that it was copper thieves that caused it.  At this point, it's still uncertain if it will be rebuilt.  It's a very expensive process.  We hope it comes back, but won't be surprised if it doesn't. :(

Our favorite barbeque place closed! :(

San Antonio had 5" of rain in one day, which is a lot for them.  We didn't get any rain.

Our wonderful neighbor called the cops on our barking dogs one night.  Except that the barking was coming from her own back yard!  We decided to go ahead and let our dogs back in at night at this point, we were going to let them back in when the weather turned anyway.  I'm sure that they did some barking, but I'm also sure that our dogs didn't start it because I know them and how they act.

Bluebonnets came up in the whiskey barrel!  They were transplated to clay pots and two of them are still alive.

October

The Texas/ou game.  Major persecution this year.

Otter had a bad sinus infection.

We closed on the refinance of our home!

We went to the State Fair, first time in 4 or 5 years.  It was a lot of fun.

There was an earthquake.  It was a mild wiggle, but it was a big story.

27 years since Bill and I met.

Maggie Moo had a bump on her head that came up fast and stayed.  The vet thought it was a cyst but he was unable to aspirate it and it needed to come off.

Our church started a 9:00 a.m. service, so that's the one we go to.

Billyboy started an actual website, for pachinko machines.

November

Otter is now a registered voter!  She excercised the privelege for the first time.

Maggie's spot on her head was surgically removed.  We forgot to ask the vet to insert a brain while he was at it.
We got the tulips planted.  Unlike 2009 when we were busy with the rent house and didn't get bulbs.

Otter's remaining hamster, Nadine, died.

I finally started crocheting on the afghan I wanted to make.  It's on on-going process.

We went to Texas for Thanksgiving.  We had a great time and the dogs had their own vacation.

We got a whole bunch of firewood delivered.

December

It was a cold month for the most part, but a dry one.

Otter had strep throat. :(

We saw the new Harry Potter movie.

My wedding band broke!  The jeweler was able to repair it, fortunately.

Christmas!

I turned 49.

We had a home vacation and enjoyed it.

Our exploratory rambles took us to Ft. Smith, Arkansas to shop.  We make a lot of these type trips, but they are usually in the same state.

We celebrated New Year's eve with more tamales & chili.

2010 was a pretty good year for us.  It wasn't perfect, nothing ever is.  But it was a good year.

December books:

1.  Dyer Consequences by Maggie Sefton.  I started this series in November by reading the last book, I thought that I should catch up in order.  It's ok, it's not the best but it is entertaining.

2.  Fleece Navidad by Maggie Sefton.

3.  Drop Dead Stitch by Maggie Sefton.  OK, I'm now caught up.  But I'm thinking I might need to re-read the last book in the series just to stay straight.

4.  The Rose & The Beast, Fairy Tales Retold by Francesca Lia Block.  Interesting.  Makes you think.  Otter recommended this one.

5.  In the Still of the Night by Ann Rule.  I skimmed this one, I didn't have time to read it in detail.  But I will read it again when I have a chance.  It's a little different than her usual books, but it's very good.

6.  The Lobster Chronicles, Life on a Very Small Island by Linda Greenlaw.  OK.

7 - 9.  Crochet.

10 - 12.  Star Trek.

13 - 15.  Crochet.

16.  A Catered Wedding by Isis Crawford.  I think I have her name right.  This was the second book in a series, I had requested the first one but read this one first.  Then, my next step was to go cancel my request!  Not very well written and a stupid plot.  I skimmed the next book in the series to be sure, and it confirmed my low opinion of this author's writing skills.  Don't bother.

17.  Batman

18.  Mixed Media Explorations by Beryl Taylor.  Interesting, but nothing I want to do.

19.  Chic Sweats, 22 Ways to Transform & Restyle Your Sweatshirts by Webber & Marshall.  Otter is always looking for crafty sewing related ideas and this was originally on her shelf.  Not anything either of us wanted to do, but it was interesting.

20.  Jimmy Stewart, Bomber Pilot by Starr Smith.  Biographical and really one I'd suggest.

21.  Triumph, Life After the Cult - A Survivor's Lessons by Carolyn Jessop.  She wrote a previous book, Escape, which dealt with her escape from the FLDS cult.  This one, like the first book of hers, should be required reading.

22.  Terrorist Cop, the NYPD Jewish Cop Who Travelled the World to Stop Terrorists by Dzikansy & Slater.  This is a true story and it looked interesting, but it was so badly written that I simply couldn't read it.  Maybe the number of words in the title should have been my first clue!

23.  Witness to Roswell, Unmasking the 60 Year Cover Up by Carey & Schmitt.  I knew that this was going to be a "Roswell UFO is a True Story" book, but it looked interesting.  Let's just say it's not what I would consider a serious book!  Otter and I have been looking for conspiracy-type stuff, because they can be a lot of fun.  This one wasn't, it was not well-written and I'd have to seriously wonder just what the authors/researchers were smoking the day they decided to write this one!

24. Japanese Braiding, the Art of Kumikimo by Jacqui Carey.  This was on Otter's shelf but it looked interesting.  It's an art form that is a lot harder than it looks.

OK, that's the year-end and the book list.  I guess that's it!

Happy Thanksgiving

I just wanted to take a few minutes to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving!  Now, don't eat too much!

Let us not forget that this day was set aside to give thanks to our heavenly Father.  Not just for turkeys, eating ourselves into a stupor or watching sports.

I know that I personally have a lot to be thankful for, starting with my family.  And a whole lot else!

(And let's remember to thank our Veterans for keeping us safe.)

Friday Spiders

The spider is still there.  I tried to take a picture, but it's just breezy enough that I can't get a good shot.  No movement at all, until I start to take the picture.  Then the wind blows!  The spider is still alive, he's just not in a good spot where I can take a picture.  He's beautiful, though.

It's been another allergy day for me.  I've sneezed more times than I can count.  I had a watering left eye this morning but now both eyes are itchy and dry.  My nose is itchy.  My skin is beginning to react, so I'm probably in for a lengthy allergy spell.  It's already been lengthy, but it was tolerable.  However, not so much anymore!  Otter's complaining of tiredness, which is also a symptom and she's been sneezy as well.

But Otter's also happy because we're having buffalo burgers for dinner tonight.

The dogs seem to like the cooler weather.  They are more playful when it's cool like this.  The extreme cold will get them overactive, but cool weather like this just makes them sillier.

I can't believe it'll be Thanksgiving in just a few short weeks.  And then Christmas is right behind.  Where has this year gone?

Some Misc Mid Week Stuff of Various Degrees of Importance

Info from Froggy that I thought I should pass on to anyone interested in such things. Like me!

January 27: Chocolate Cake Day, I would normally particpate in this one, but I didn't get the email from Froggy until I was home and I don't want to go back out "just" for this one. But since it's chocolate, it's major. So I think I'll remember the white cake we had last night and go get a piece of chocolate out of the freezer.

January 28: National Blueberry Pancake Day. This is one I'd enjoy, but I don't have time to make pancakes in the morning. Also, Otter is allergic to blueberries. Besides, I'm really tryiing to stick to my oatmeal. But I do have dried blueberries which I'll probably put in it tomorrow!

We might get Winter again tomorrow morning. Or maybe not until tomorrow afternoon.. Or maybe not until tomorrow night. Or maybe not until Friday morning. The forecasters have covered all possible bases now, but it looks like we have a winter storm headed our way. Time of arrival, duration and severity to be determined later! Well, we're prepared. But we generally are. We have firewood, both cars are gassed up, blankets are washed, dog food bin is full, pantry is full and we have water on hand. Wait, that's normal life! I did go to the grocery store today, instead of waiting until Thursday or Friday like normal but we would still have had several days worth of food on-hand even if I didn't. It was very crowded! When we drove by Wallyworld on the way home, their parking lot looked like it was on the verge of overflowing.

But, on the off chance that the storm is as severe as the original forecast - there is the possiblility of power outages due to ice. So, if I don't post and nobody gets email from me then it's safe to assume that we're without electricity. So, Froggy, if you don't hear from me by Friday sometime: call me! We'll be hunkered down in front of the fireplace (fighting for space with two furry dogs), probably roasting marshmallows.

2009! (Edited) (Edited Twice)

It's 6:15 a.m., and I've been up for 30 minutes. I'm only on my 2nd cup of coffee, so I'm not awake yet.

But I do want to say something. I keep hearing about how the decade is ending and the next decade is going to be better/different/etc. Except that the decade isn't ending. Math Lesson: count to 10. What do you start with? 1. Not 0. The decade STARTED with 2001 and ENDS with 2010. So the last year of the decade isn't this one, it's the next one. Which means that 2000 was the LAST year of the previous decade, and 2001 was the FIRST one of this one.

Anyway. Here goes:

January

January started with mice, living in our closet. That problem was solved fast.
Bill worked on the quilt he made for me, that took a lot of time. But when he finished it, I was thrilled.
It was a very cold month and the cold caused me significant asthma issues.
A new president was inaugurated. Not one I'm impressed with at all.
We celebrated our 24th anniversary.
Ice storm - but that's not unusual!
Bill decided the time had come to switch jobs, he had an interview with the local school district and they really wanted him but they couldn't afford him. But it gave him the boost he needed!

February

The decorating bug visited, it spent a lot of time in our bathroom.
I found the quilt I started when Otter was in kindergarten and started back on it.
FutureJediMom's tribe increased!
16 years since our move to OK.

March

I started Froggy's collection of crocheted pot holders. I probably need to get busy and increase that!
Bill started clearing out unused shelf space in the garage and getting rid of some of the junk, I mean clutter!
The tulips started budding.
I crocheted a lot, working on Froggy's collection mostly.
Otter's asthma/allergy doctor agreed: no karate, so even though she hadn't been going in a while this was the month she officially dropped out. She's much improved.
Bill interviewed for a position that opened up at his current employer and got it! It turned out to be the position he was originally hired for and it was a true Godsend. But he didn't start the new position until April, it was very hard to keep quiet about it for most of March.
Snow!
Otter turned 17. Too quick! She should still be about 3 or 4.

April

Bill worked on his hydrogen generator project, he had a lot of fun with it. It did work, but not nearly as much as we'd heard that they would - which was not a surprise.
Bill's job transfer officially happened. It was a Very Good Thing.
Maggie decided that she needed to sleep in our bed instead of Otter's. That was not allowed!

Easter! We had a wonderful time at Grandpa & Sweetie's.
I mailed Froggy's collection to her.
We had the first hint of spring, we started hearing tree frogs. Fun!
Otter's parakeet died. While it was a sad occasion for her, she realized that she really did not enjoy having a bird and started thinking that maybe she should have got hamsters instead of parakeets like she originally wanted. She did the research and presented her case to her father, then two little furrballs moved in and I think I enjoy them as much as she does. "Nadine & Helena."
Sweetie's birthday was this month.
The irises started blooming!
Miss Dorothy fell & broke her hip. This was the beginning of some really rough times around the office, it was pretty bad because we were all so worried about this precious, precious lady. She's fine, thank God! But it was scary for a while.
One fun thing this month, a mockingbird outside the dining room window started imitating my cuckoo clock!
Otter had an interesting experience in school, they started disecting things. She enjoyed it, she's her mother's daughter after all.

May

We started hearing about swine flu. The media did it's usual thing, and it got to the point where I didn't even want to turn on the tv or read the paper!
The morning glories started coming up!
Maggie Moo discovered the hamsters, so the cage got moved to a higher location in Otter's room.
We got bamboo for the back yard. Which was a lot of work and then we didn't need it after all.
Work was wild, mostly due to the situation with Miss Dorothy.
We realized this month that Otter was probably going to have to go to summer school.
Mother's Day was very nice.
Rain. Lots of Rain. Lots and Lots of rain.
The tree frogs seemed to have multiplied exponentially! We enjoyed hearing them.
Put the pool up.
Last day of 10th grade.

June

Miss Dorothy got to go home from the hospital, she had been admitted again in May.
Toadles came to see us! He was the first of our summer visitors and we really enjoyed his visit. We had a train hunt, hit flea markets, and just had a great time. He got to hear the local coyotes, they talked to him. Otter also got a Toadles wake-up: ice cubes!
We saw a rabbit in the back yard, first time in a long time. The dogs spent a lot of time trying to find it, but they never managed to.
Nana came to visit! We had a wonderful time, and Otter really enjoyed it.
We saw the Oklahoma City Bombing Memorial. Very somber, but so well done.
I finally got to see the Chihuly exhibit in Ok City! Spectacular, absolutely spectacular.
Billyboy had a birthday.
Father's Day this month.
Minor air conditioner repair needed at the rent house.
The pool split! It was not a fun thing.
We had several heat warnings, early for the heat to happen. Still not as hot or as long as S. Texas, but pretty warm for NE OK.
The builders behind us put up a privacy fence, so the bamboo came out.
Froggy came to see us! Lots and lots of Braum's trips, many flea markets & thrift stores. Lots of Fenton finds this month. :)
Talequah visit, to the Cherokee Heritage Center.
My vacation started at the end of June, finished up in the first week of July.
Summer school started for Otter. And she finished the first draft of her manuscript! (This is the edit)

July

Bill decided to sell some gold stuff we'd had for years. Not anything big, just a few little things.
Painted the rain barrel. It was white, now it's dark green.
Bill shot off a few fireworks on the 4th. And one bottle rocket blew up as soon as it was out of the bottle, which means that it was in Bill's face. I was not pleased!
Air conditioner at the house started acting up, turned out to be minor.
Summer school continued.
I got a raise! Totally unexpected, very much appreciated.
Billyboy's brother Scott & his family visited. Really cute kids. Otter enjoyed their visit so much, they are just great kids.
FutureJediMom had news - the first thing guessed was that the Tribe was expanding again, but it turned out to be the 2nd thing everyone guessed - they moved back to Texas. Which made Toadly very happy - FutureJediMom is his daughter, by the way.
Harry Potter movie premiered, I took Otter and a friend of hers.
We started putting trellis pieces on the privacy fence, and the morning glories took off!
Otter finished summer school with a B! She worked really hard and we are very proud of her.
Bill brought home a load of firewood in the White Lightning and broke one of the shock absorbers.
Otter went to Texas to spend a week with Nana and got to see pretty much all the other relatives. She had a great time, but it was very quiet around the house! We're glad she could go, it didn't look like it at first because of Summer School.
Dogs still looking for the bunny, it ran right in front of them and they still missed it!
Froggy's birthday!

August

The month started with a call from our tenant, they had bought a house and would be moving at the end of the month. We discussed our options and decided that it was time to sell.
Bill sold the Redneck Joke, also known as the parts car - the blue El Camino.
Otter came home from Texas, tired & happy. She had a great time.
FutureJediMom and the Tribe (or she might have called them the Herd) came to see us on their way back home to Texas. It was a short visit, but we are really glad that we got to see them. I think that Otter would have willingly kept any and all of the kids, by the way. We would have let her!
Grandpa's birthday this month!
Sales Tax Free weekend, we found a few things - mostly t-shirts for Otter to wear to school.
One particularly bad thunderstorm this month. Lots of hail. We started thinking maybe we should get the roof checked. Which we did, and the insurance started a claim for us.
11th grade started. Otter chose buffalo burgers for the special meal the first day of school.
Tropical Storm Bill! Then Hurricane Bill!
We argued with the insurance company on the type of coverage we had for the roof. We are going to change agents very shortly, since the agent we had been using couldn't give me an answer as to why we were told we had one coverage type but then didn't - at least we were not charged for the better coverage, we paid for the type of coverage we had. But it was not the better coverage we thought we had.
The tenants moved out a few days before the first, so we were able to get into the rent house this month and see what we needed to do. We started the cleaning process there. At first, we thought it was minor but then we realized that the carpet was not repairable and that there were a whole bunch of little things that were tenant related. It really added up.
Toadles had a birthday! He was hatched, by the way. Or maybe the aliens left him, we're not sure. :)

September

Busy month! Mostly related to the rent house. But we got it done, over the course of the month. There was a LOT to do. Otter helped us a great deal, and we really appreciated her efforts. She also helped out a lot at home, since so much of our time was spent at the rent house.We met with our realtor and signed the contract. He was very positive about it. We signed the contract on a Wednesday, he showed it for the first time on Friday and on the next Tuesday we had an offer. We got what we wanted for it and we were happy about that.
I had a major skin allergy attack, from something planted in the back yard - we think it was the "tree" on the neighbor's side that I brushed up against while mowing. I just about scratched all my skin off!
We realized that Magginator was having some housebreaking issues. We locked her out of the bedroom at that point. At their regular vet visit, Maggie weighed 30# and Frasier weighed 71#.
We had to buy a new lawn mower, Bill wore the old one out!
We discovered mosquitos in the rain barrel. Unexpected, we didn't think they could get in.

October

Frasier brought me a dead vole, good doggie!
Otter and I went to the rent house to say goodbye, since it was our home for 10 years. There were a lot of memories.
We saw the Toy Story movies in 3D at the theater.
I made my major Fenton find of the year - Cactus! This one made my year, as far as Fenton goes. It was spectacular! Now, I just need to top it. :)
We started redoing the rock garden.
We realized that Magginator had been leaving us surprises all over the house! We bought a steam cleaner and started cleaning everywhere.
We got our flu shots this month, as early as we could since all indications were that the supply was short.
We had to turn the heater on this month, as it got cold early.
We should have closed mid-month on the rent house sale. It looked like it, but the purchaser's title company kept messing up their paperwork. Then it was his mortgage company that kept screwing up.
We celebrated the anniversary of our meeting by cleaning the carpet!
Froggy had an internet issue - Scooter's dog chewed the cords up. So I didn't feel alone in doggie issues!
Otter really enjoyed sewing class at school.
Bill and I went to the rent house for one last check, we realized just how much work we'd done over there and it was a lot. It paid off, but we really worked hard.
The redecorating bug moved into Otter's bathroom!
We had the dryer vent cleaned out and also asked them to sweep the chimney - which turned out to need some work so along with the roof replacement, we now had to get the chimney rebuilt.
We worked on the rock garden some more.
We actually went to an auction! First time in months.
We signed our closing paperwork on the rent house sale.
We steam cleaned lots of places in the house.
Our realtor informed us that our rent house set the new price standard for that neighborhood - it raised it considerably. We're glad that we were able to do that.
Otter counted her shoes - 20 plus pair.
FutureJediMom's birthday this month.
Halloween.

November

We finished the rock garden! It was a lot of work, but I enjoyed it.
The Dirty Jobs show Fenton episode aired. Obviously, I really enjoyed this one.
After who knows how many delays, the rent house closing finally happened! We had reached the point where we told the title company that we were not delaying anymore, it either happened by a certain date or we were cancelling the sale. All of a sudden, the tenant's mortgage company got their stuff together and it happened at about the last minute, on the last day we gave them. But it happened!
Bill bought a compressor on Craigslist. It meant that he had to clean out a lot of clutter in the garage. Good Thing.
I bought a bike, to replace the one that I'd had for a while but gave up on because of the fact that it is old and falling apart. Of course, the weather turned then so beyond a test ride I haven't actually got to use it!
Since we finally had time, Bill started getting estimates on the chimney and signed the contract for the roof repair. We really weren't sure that they would happen this year.
We got banana trees. 3 of them died, 3 of them might make it - we'll find out for sure in a few months.
I finally, FINALLY got to see the new Star Trek movie! It was tremendous!
I got new glasses. After a delay caused by the tech who made the new lenses.
We enjoyed Thanksgiving, we went to Grandpa & Sweetie's house and had a wonderful time. Great food and great visit.
Bill got a new chain saw! He used it on tree limbs. No blood this time!
Bill finally got around to replacing the windshield on his Impala.

My friend Virginia lost her husband. Two years after their daughter died, and completely unexpectedly. She retired in the early spring, they only had a few months together where they were retired and they were raising their grandchildren. It was a really rough time, he died the day after Thanksgiving. This overshadowed everything this month. They still need our prayers.

December

The roofing company had an opening and were able to work us in!
The chimney rebuild happened on the same day, it took a couple of weeks for that because they had rain delays but they were able to get it finished and in perfect time because it started to get really cold shortly after they finished.
Bill bought a few pachinko machines.
Otter had to seperate her hamsters, they quit getting along and now she has two cages.
We got our first freeze. It got cold early this year, but then it got warm again and the trees were confused - they started budding out.
For the first time in all her school years, Otter got sick and school and I had to go get her!
Nana & Carolyn had birthdays this month!

Christmas happened this month. We had a nice one, very quiet and relaxing. I did get one present that I need to mention - FENTON! It's pink, it's a rose bowl style vase and it's perfect. It's on the shelf in the bedroom, which badly needed another piece.
We had an ice storm, it was actually an official blizzard and hit Christmas eve. We were really glad that the chimney work was done!
We had a nice vacation week (we're technically still on it today).
I caught up with Bill! I'm 48 now.
Paul graduated from Texas A & M! Froggy was very happy.
Carolyn & Jim visited, we enjoyed getting to see them.

Otter made a wonderful find at a thrift store - no Fenton for me, but she had a good day. She found a jacket. New with the original tag. She paid $2.00 for it. The original price tag? $169.00.

We finally decided how to rearrange Otter's bathroom! She chose a burgundy shower curtain and is using jewel tones for the other colors. It is turning out wonderfully.

I made another major Fenton find, on Dec. 31. It's a footed compte, milk glass in the Rose pattern. The one I've been looking for, and in the shape I've been wanting. It wasn't quite as good a deal as the cactus, but it was a good deal. (This is the 2nd edit).

This has been such a busy year, but it has been a good one. We got to see a whole lot of people, family visits were so much fun. We accomplished a great deal around the house and the rent house sale was something that took a lot of work but was so worth it. We have had very little in the way of health issues, just a few things but they were all relativly minor. Otter's asthma has improved so much, it looked like she was going to have bad problems for the rest of her life but instead we got a Miracle. Bill has a great job now, he's so much happier and the reduction in his stress has helped a lot. It's been a very good year. Our wish for everyone is that 2010 will be a good year for us all.

And now, it's 8:38 a.m.!

A Couple More Thursday Thoughts

Blogger is being weird. The last two times I've posted, or attempted to, it's saved & posted all on it's own. It has an auto-save feature but that doesn't actually post the entry. But lately, it's saving and posting so if you happen to check my blog and it's blank but has a title, or looks like I've quit in the middle of a sentence just come back in a few minutes because it probably did it's new thing and posted before I was ready!

On to my other Thursday thoughts. Well, the first one is Fenton. I went back to the crafty place on Main Street and brought home the blue piece I saw yesterday. I had a suspicion of what it was, but I had to come home and check my books first. I found what I thought I would, and now I have a piece of silver turquoise which is fairly rare. That particular color/style was made from 1956 to July of 1959 and there were less styles than most patterns. I paid a little more than I usually do, but I still got a very good buy so I'm happy. I had never actually seen silver turquoise "in person", just in books before and I have to say that it is beautiful.

Froggy's new collection is another thought today. I looked at the crocheted pot holders, but they didn't have anything I particularly liked so I'll keep looking. Which gives me an excuse to go thrifting! Also, to yard sales this spring and summer. But then I generally hit those anyway.

Froggy, regarding your trip to OK/my trip to SA: I have no idea what my summer plans are this year. We were talking about a trip July 4th week but then Sweetie said that some of Bill's siblings may be coming up here that week. So we are still waiting to see what happens with that. I know you've been here twice, but I've still made more trips to TEXAS than you have to OK! :) I would like to come see you for a few days, but I'm not sure if it's going to work this year or not. So if you would like a vacation away from home, which I think you should want just because, then you should come see me this summer and then next year I might manage to come see you. But we still have time to figure out and plan.

Speaking of vacations, Bill and Otter are off on Monday for President's Day. I'm taking a day of vacation on Monday, so I'll be off with them. Bill is off Tuesday and Wednesday, he's burning vacation time so he doesn't lose it. I'm just glad I have a 3-day weekend coming up, because I really need it.

Otter and I ran errands today and spent about an hour in Wallyworld, buying groceries. It was a little crowded, we usually like to go right after school/work so we can get in and out before the crowd and we try to NEVER EVER go on Friday afternoon. But we had a few other things to do first (such as go buy more Fenton!) and we didn't get there until after 4:00. We still managed to get through reasonably quick, but I am tired and my feet are not happy with me.

But I'm also hungry, so I think I'm going to go make dinner now. It's either going to be hamburgers or that Texas staple chili. I'm leaning towards chili, but I think I'll let Bill decide for once. And then I might just make chili anyway!

A Change of Plans

Well, we thought we were going out for our anniversary dinner tonight. However, the weatherman actually got it right (for a change) and it's icy. I stopped at the grocery store on the way in to work this morning and picked up DiGiorno's pizzas just in case. And I'm glad I did, because the winter storm started about 11:30. It was not too bad at first, but it got that way quickly. I had already asked my boss about leaving early if it got bad, I was going to leave about 2:00. At about 1:45, they both called me (they were both gone) to tell me to head on out the door. It took me about 5 minutes to clean the car off enough to drive, mostly just getting the side mirrors cleared of ice. I'm very glad I have the remote start on the car, I could start it from the office and it was nice and warm when I actually managed to get into it.

The roads were just starting to get icy when I left, and I actually managed to stay ahead of it most of the time. I got to school just a few minutes before school let out, and in the 10 or so minutes it took for the bell to ring and Otter to get to the car the weather caught up with me. We stopped at the grocery store around the corner from school - I forgot a couple of things this morning. The store was very busy, lots of people apparently waited until the last minute to stock up. But, like I told Froggy earlier, the Borg Queen is always prepared! By the time we got home, the roads were starting to get icy. The stuff I wanted was not urgent and I would have skipped it if the roads had been worse. But we were nearly out of marshmallows and they are so fun to roast in the fireplace!

The highway Bill normally takes has already been closed. He has a couple of back roads he will take that shouldn't be too bad, although there is one particular bridge that can be a bear. But he is a careful driver, especially in icy weather. It's really more the other drivers that are a concern, some people in this area view icy roads as a challenge and go even faster. The highway was closed because of ice, but part of it had already been shut down because some idiot rear-ended a firetruck that was stopped to help out at an accident. This part of the country is known for it's lack of driving skills.

We let the dogsters in as soon as we got home and they got a treat. Then Frasier curled up on his blanket for a snooze and Maggie went to her, I mean Otter's, bed.

The school district Bill works for has already announced that they are closed tomorrow, and from the way it was worded I think he's also off. I expect Otter's school district to announce but at this point they have not said anything. I'll decide in the morning, we are on the outer edges of our small town and the sand/salt trucks don't usually get to us until very late (if at all).

Maggie said that she might have a blog post next week, it's too cold for her to get her thoughts in order. Or at least that's what it sounded like!

Before I forget, I'd like to wish my blog friend Rhonda a Happy Australia Day! And tomorrow is chocolate cake day, which sounds like a good excuse to me.