What I Did On My Summer Vacation

It was actually a very tall, fluffy pile.

I think I should have gone just a slight bit shorter, but it works.  I like it and that's what matters.  But my hair is doing what it is known for - springing up and I still have my TEXAS Big Hair!

Still At It

Posting here, that is.  For a while anyway.

I finally got my car registered.  It only took several calls to Enterprise to ask them where the registration paperwork was - and the last few were more than a hint of *RHTW getting on them.  The last time I talked to them, last week, they promised me that the paperwork had been overnighted to me but then it turned out that the paperwork had just been mailed the regular way and even then it arrived several days after they said it would.  It finally arrived on Saturday, too late to go to the tag agency to get it registered while it was still within the 30 days from purchase.  After 30 days, then you get charged a fee for each day until it's registered.  But the lady at the tag agency remembered me from when we switched titles for Otter and Bill last week, I asked her then what would happen if the paperwork was late then she didn't charge me for the extra day when I got it registered today.

I was able to get the recall taken care of on the 2008 Impala last week.  It's now officially Otter's car, and Bill is the official owner of the 2002.  He's still having issues with it and we may be taking it to a Chevy dealership to ask them about the thermostat.  I'd like to take care of that this week, but it might actually be next week because this is a very busy week for us.

We're both back to work today, last week was vacation for me but Bill had several holiday days off.  He was off for 2 full weeks, I had a week plus one day off.  I really, really did not want to get up this morning, I kind of enjoyed being able to sleep in almost every day last week!

We may get more winter weather this week.  There is the possibility of a little bit of a winter mix late Tuesday night/early Wednesday morning.  Also, this weekend is supposed to be pretty cold.  Bill cleaned the fireplace this afternoon and brought in a lot of firewood.

Otter came over yesterday with a lot of laundry.  While her 2nd load was in the washing machine, she and I ran away for a shopping trip.  We went to a thrift store and also to Target so she could look for a waffle maker.  There is one at Target she might get.  We also finally got our annual family tradition Christmas Eve trip to the dollar store - we just did it on January 3!  It was still fun, it was just several days late.  :)  She also walked Maggie Moo with me, Maggie Moo does not like the fact that she doesn't get walks when it's cold.  But she's quite happy with the cold weather meaning a fire in the fireplace!  Little goof.

Yep, she's a goof.

2015 Review

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

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

Anyway:

January

Very cold month with some winter weather.

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

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

Froggy started planning her trip to see us.

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

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

February

We switched internet and email providers.

The stupid groundhog saw his shadow!

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

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

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

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

Snowy weather.

22 years since we moved from TEXAS.

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

March

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

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

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

We had more winter weather.

Otter was overjoyed when we discovered Green Apple gatorade!

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

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

We got several boxes of Girl Scout cookies.

The dry air caused me to have a few nosebleeds.

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

Otter turned 23!

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

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

We had to replace our insurance, thanks to NObamacare.

April

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

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

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

Otter officially became the owner of a 2002 Chevy Impala.

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

The hummingbirds showed up this month.

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

May

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

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

Stupid electric company kept at it!

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

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

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

Rain, Rain, Rain!

I had my one and only migraine of the year.

It was one of the better months of the year.

June

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

July

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

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

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

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

August

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

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

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

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

We put tires on my car, the 2008 impala.

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

We closed our booth at the antique store.

The Bluebell plants reopened!

September

Labor Day.

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

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

Then I came down with a cold.

I crocheted purple baby caps for a local charity.

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

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

October

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

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

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

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

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

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

Bill decided to get another booth for the pachinko machines.

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

It rained.  A lot.

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

November

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

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

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

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

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

Bill got a bad cold.

Then I got a bad cold.

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

We finally got our Bluebell ice cream!

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

The new booth store opened up.

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

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

December

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Cold. Tired.

It's cold today and I'm tired!

Yeah, I know.  Not a very imaginative title.

Anyway.  It was very rainy all weekend, especially Saturday.  I had to go run a couple of errands, and literally every time I was inside anywhere the rain would quit.  When it was about time for me to leave and go outside again - yep, the skies opened up!  I would have preferred to just stay home and not have to deal with seriously bad rain, but that wasn't possible.  There waags a lot of street flooding, so I picked my routes carefully.  But I still wound up having to drive in a few absolute downpours.

Yesterday, Sunday, was my birthday.  For the next 6 months-ish, Bill and I are the same age.  He wanted to go to the Hog Trough (Golden Corral) for their breakfast buffet but I really didn't want to because we would have eaten too much.  So we had breakfast at home then we went to an antique store I haven't been to in a while (didn't buy anything) and then to a thrift store (found a real sun tea jar for Otter) then we came home for a while.  We decided to go to dinner so we went to a local place we've eaten at before and it was good.  I don't have chicken fried steak all that often, but we both had it last night.  The servings are huge, so we brought about half of each of our steaks home and Bill finished them for dinner today.

Bill is doing what he usually does when it's either vacation or holiday time:  he's sick!  I was thinking he might have the flu last night, but now I don't think he does.  He has had some fever but I don't think it's been very high - not that he will let me take it!  But he has his normal rash he gets after fever today, and he usually is on the mend when that starts, or at least is over most of the fever.

We've been home today, which we probably would have been even if he wasn't sick.  The rain converted to sleet overnight, which means that the forecasters got it right and wrong again. Right because we did get a little winter weather, but wrong because we were only supposed to get a small amount of sleet and the main storm line would be ending well west of us.  Of course, we had a pretty heavy sleet fall most of the morning followed by snow in the afternoon.  It was a good day for soup, and since Bill has been under the weather himself lunch was potato soup.

Tomorrow morning, IF the forecast is correct and I'm able to get out, I'm taking Otter's car to Chevy to get the ignition recall taken care of.  Then I'm going to pick her up from the not-exactly-next-door small town that J lives in, she went to OK City with J and his mom for Christmas and they came back on Saturday instead of Sunday or today like they originally planned because of the weather forecast.  We are also probably going to get the car titles officially switched.  The 02 is in her name and she will transfer it back to us, and we will transfer the 08 to her.  We have to get everything notarized and then we can get it all switched.  We would have done it a few weeks back, but the title never was sent to us for the 02 when we transferred it to Otter so we had to order a copy.  I also had to call Enterprise because they still have not sent me the information to register the 15 in our names.  The paper tags are only good for 30 days, and I'm on day 28.  I called them the other day and they said it takes 3 weeks normally.  We are well past the 3 week period and I told them that I was very concerned about the fact that we still haven't received the paperwork.  I know that the loan has officially gone through because we looked it up on the loan company's website and it looks like they've paid Enterprise.  I waited until after the mail came today, not that we ever really get mail other than mainly junk mail at home, just to be sure - although it was supposed to go to the post office box and as of Saturday's mail it still hadn't.  The person who handles that was already gone for the day but they promised to check first thing in the morning and will overnight the paperwork to me if necessary.  We'll see if they do what they say, they generally do so I expect them to actually call me tomorrow.  I hope so, *RHTW really does NOT want to have to educate Enterprise!

Maggie Moo has been really funny the last few days.  We have always given a specific type of "bone" as a treat to the dogs, Frasier would always take his outside and eat it immediately.  Maggie Moo would wait, she would put hers where he could see it and then she would wait for him.  If he even acted like he saw it, she would turn into the canine version of *RHTW on him!  The last one we gave them was on March 12, their "beffday" and then Frasier crossed the Rainbow Bridge just over a month later.  We have not given her any of them since then, but we thought it had been long enough that maybe it would be ok and she'd just eat it so that was her Christmas treat.  Well, she was certainly happy to get it.  But she didn't eat it.  She kept putting it in place where it was obvious and impossible to miss.  She acted like she was waiting on her Big Brother Fraiser to come attempt to get it and a couple of times we wondered if she was looking for him again - she hasn't done that since several days after he left us.  We decided that maybe it was a mistake to give her that type of treat after all, but then she started doing something else:  she kept hiding it.  She would "bury" it in whatever spot she could - her beds, her blankets, under the blanket I was using, behind things, etc., and she kept moving it.  After a while, Bill started unhiding it and moving it to where she could see it.  She would hide it again.  This went on for a while, and she was actually bringing it to Bill to hide from her after a while.  She had a great time playing with Bill, and he enjoyed it as much as the beaglebrat did.  Today, she finally decided it was time to actually eat it.  She seemed to enjoy it.  They come in packs of 2, so there is still another one.  She won't get it anytime soon, she doesn't need the extra calories!  But eventually we'll give it to her, and then if she still acts like she's waiting on Frasier then we will switch to a different treat for her.

I will probably post my year-end review in the next few days.  There have been quite a few things that I have not posted about but that have made this one of the worst years we've had in quite a while.  And indications are that next year might not be much better.  It's not all bad, there have been some good things and we are Thankful.  But it's been a rough year and 2015 has not been one of our better years.

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?!!!!

Quick Stuff

Otter's problem with the apartment is situated.  I'm not going into a lot of the details here, but there were issues with Roomie as a roommate from shortly before Christmas and it never got any better.  It involved Roomie's inability to keep a job but there were other issues that came up later.  Although it turned out to be the wrong move in a lot of ways, things did get better when they moved to the larger apartment.  But then other things happened and Otter told Roomie that when the lease was up next summer it would be time for separate apartments.  Unless Roomie had another job issue.  Which she did.  She may have gotten another job but Otter wasn't really sure if that was true or not.  Saturday night, shortly after midnight, I got a frantic call from Otter because she had discovered Roomie packing to move out on Sunday.

She's pretty sure that Roomie did not want her to know and was going to move out when Otter came over to our house to do her laundry.  But since she did find out, we were able to be over there and not let anything other than Roomie's possessions actually be moved.  There was a lot that happened and that's what I'm not going into, but the upshot is that Roomie's father is the biggest bully I have ever met and I am pretty sure that I'm the only person in his life who has ever stood up to him.  It was pretty nasty and involved literally watching every single move anybody made (including Roomie and her brothers) and a threat on my part to call 911 - and I do NOT bluff.  (And it also involved a very strong visit from *RHTW, full blast and full strength.)  And it was pretty obvious to everyone that the bully in question is now afraid of me and frankly, I'm glad.  Otter wanted her dad to come over at that point and he did, he got there after I'd already given the bully an extremely strong verbal lesson but I'm still glad he was there because I really did not know if the bully was going to back down or not - he did, but I really wasn't sure at one point.  The bully would not even look at Bill and I think he was scared of Bill as well.  The bully was absolutely horrible to Roomie and I think that she grew up being treated like something less than human, which explains a few things about her but does not excuse them.  His wife acts like a whipped dog, one son is obviously not the favorite although I think he got treated better than Roomie, but Roomie's twin brother is treated like he's God.  Hopefully, Roomie will be a ok but I don't think that any of us will ever hear from her or see her, unless it's accidental.  I did tell her that she did not have to put up with being treated like that, but I don't know if it will make a difference for her or not.  She had over a year away from being treated like dirt, we hope that she'll at least take away from the experience that she can be an adult and that she does not have to put up with that.

(I can be very fierce when my daughter's safety, health and happiness is threatened.  And Bill would probably be even more fierce.)

One of the concerns Otter had, and we shared, is that if Roomie did move out when she wasn't there that Otter's belongings might not be there when Roomie was through and I think it was a valid concern.  The bully told Roomie to get "everything" out of the kitchen, and I told him very firmly that the majority of the kitchen stuff belonged to Otter because we bought most of it.  Then he told her to just go get the microwave that they bought her, which makes me think that Otter's concern was right and that at least the kitchen stuff would have been gone and quite probably more of Otter's belongings.

After all the not-fun stuff was done and they all left, Bill helped her move her tv from her bedroom to the living room (they'd been using Roomie's) and he stayed for a little while to make sure that the bully in question OR his daughter did not come back and then he left.  Otter and I followed shortly after that and came home, I brought her (and her laundry) with me and we left her car there to look like she was still there.  She did her laundry, got some serious beagle therapy and we went to a store we needed to go to then I took her home.  When we got to her apartment, she wanted me to stay a while so I did.  Roomie had returned her keys to Otter,although Otter had to ask for them - which was also a problem with the bully, he did not want Roomie to give them back and then he was pretty mad at Roomie when she did give them back.  Roomie told me that she had never given the keys to anyone else including her parents - I don't think she did and neither does Otter, but we aren't 100% certain.  But there are 2 locks on the door and they don't match, Roomie only had the key to one of them.  Since the apartment office now knows that she does not live there any longer, they most likely would not let her in if she came back and asked them to let her in.

Even though Otter was exhausted last night, she said it was already less stressful knowing that Roomie was gone and she didn't have to deal with the problems anymore.  Roomie had already paid for her half of November rent, I reminded her that she was legally responsible for the entire half of the rent until the end of the lease before her father got there and she said that she would pay her half and since she had already given Otter that half, Otter did not say anything to remind her of that fact just in case she wanted it back or in case the bully did.  It would not have been returned.  Otter knows that Roomie has no intention of paying any more even though she legally should.  I think Roomie thought I meant just November instead of the entire remaining lease amount but at this point, it's ok.

One of the things I told Roomie, and I told her a lot - which Otter wanted me to do but I probably would have anyway, is that I wanted her out of my daughter's life.  I told her that I am not going to pick Otter's friends, but that she (Roomie) does not act like a friend does and that she's caused too much trouble.  Otter said that she agreed with me.

Otter talked to the apartment manager this morning as soon as they opened the doors and explained what had happened.  The lease did have a clause that she could have used to get out but it would have cost her a pretty good amount and she would have forfeited the deposit.  But the manager said that they really don't want to lose her as a tenant and they are going to let her transfer back to a one-bedroom unit.  The one that she had before has already been rented, but it was above a serious smoker and there were a lot of times when Otter would have asthma, allergy and headache issues because the smoke would come up through his ceiling/her floor.  So it's just as well that she can't move back to that unit.  I also think she'd prefer one that is "hers" entirely at this point, that never had Roomie in it.  The manager said that there are a couple of single units, one is in the same building although it's at the opposite end.  Actually, it's a separate building because of a firewall but it is two buildings built against each other.  The unit will be ready in about 3 weeks, probably not Thanksgiving week but the week before that.  Possibly even a little earlier.  The deposit will transfer, I don't remember if the manager said that they would charge her a pro-rated amount or not and I don't think she cares at this point.  She went ahead and took their offer and she paid the final rent for the 2-bedroom for November while she was there today.

I went over to Otter's after work today and she is 100% away from the stressed out, tired and worried girl she has been lately.  She has really not been able to relax and enjoy being in her own apartment for the last several months,   She said her stomach has been in knots for days, but it's not any longer.  She said that she could actually feel the stress leaving her body.  She is looking forward to moving into an apartment she can afford on her own, although it will be tight, and being able to decorate how she wants to.  The move itself is not going to be fun:  out her door, down three flights of stairs, out the door and down to the other end of the building, in the building's door, then up three flights of stairs and into the new apartment.  Quite a bit of her books and craft stuff is still boxed from the last move, but she's going to get boxes tomorrow and I'm going to go over there one day next week and help her pack.  She cleaned out some stuff before the last move but she said she may have more stuff to donate.

I just want my daughter to be happy and I think that she will be.  She knows that she'll have to be very careful financially but she is willing to do what she has to do.  If she had not been able to transfer to another apartment and had wound up having to pay to get out of the lease, she would most likely have put her furniture into storage and then stayed with us until she could get enough $ together to get another apartment, which would probably have been a month or so but she wouldn't have wanted to move back in long-term and I understand that.  We will never let her go without a roof over her head and a place to sleep, or a meal.  But she wants to be a responsible adult and we respect that.

The next several days are still going to be very busy, we are going to be dealing with getting the new booth built and then loading it with pachinko machines so I may still be away from the blog for a few days.  But the biggest worry we've had has been situated and we are Thankful.

*RHTW.  There is nothing She will not do to ensure Otter's safety.

Alright Already!!!

(Froggy, that title is for you.  :)  NagNagNagNag...)  (Just kidding you know.)

First things first.  Fun stuff:

(Notice that the girl minion is a REDHEAD!)

This is the little, wooden rocking chair that my parents gave Otter when she was about 1 or so.  They brought it to her and it was love at first sight, she loved that chair and wanted it to stay in the living room.  She sat in it when she watched tv, she rocked her baby dolls in it, and she was very attached to it.  When she outgrew it, it held stuffed animals.  When we moved to our current house, it went into storage in the attic.  When she moved out and her room became the Room The Yarn Stash Lives In, it needed something and that something was Otter's little rocking chair.  My stuffed, TEXAS-related animals are now sitting in it and the rubber crocodile underneath is also Otters.  Well, hers and mine actually - and his name is Crickey.  The chair and assorted animals occupy a space in the Yarn room.  The yellow yarn ball is in Baby Bevo's hands and so is a crochet hook - the long piece of yellow yarn is actually the first (and probably only) piece of crochet Otter ever made.

It's supposed to look like Baby Bevo is crocheting.

(Billyboy, this one is for you.)

This one isn't really appropriate for my work, but it does apply to someone I know who has to put up with really bad stuff at work.

This one?  Well, it obviously applies to me!

OK, now that the jokes are out of the way.  My Fenton collection increased last week.  Otter and I went to one of our favorite junk-tique places and I found something:

(That is a stock photo and not mine.)  I've been looking for a piece of Fenton in the color known as Amberina.  I found a huge compote, thumbprint pattern and in the Amberina color while we were there.  IT WAS $5.00.  And it is perfect.  The larger pieces in general are becoming more rare, it is glass after all and glass breaks.  This color is pretty hard to find and the thumbprint pattern is somewhat uncommon - not really rare, but getting there.

Fuzzbutt Beagle, also known as Maggie Moo, went to the vet yesterday.  It's been two months since her last rear gland cleaning and nail trim, she was starting to drag her rear around so we knew she was ready.  The vet said that she wasn't completely impacted this time, but that she was close.  So, we'll keep her on the two months schedule unless we need to change it to more often.  She hates to have her claws trimmed and we got tired of fighting her so every time she goes to the vet for any reason, we have them trimmed.  While we were there, she met another dog that was just leaving and she seemed to be pretty happy.  Until the vet's assistant came to get her.  Then, it was time to play Drag the Dog!  Literally.  I had to lift her up off of the floor so the assistant could get her,and she immediately plopped herself right back down.  She literally had to drag/walk her to the back so they could gets her needs taken care of.  When she was done, she just about yanked the girl's arm out of it's socket in her haste to get back to me!  She is 28 pounds, which is about a pound and a half over what she was in July but she's still within allowable range for a small to medium beagle.

However, she is still known as BowlingBallButt for a good reason!

Got It Done

Otter and I both got our shots today.  I picked her up after work, we stopped at the UPS box to clear it and then we both needed to go to the bank so we did that.  We stopped at Wallyworld, yeah I know - on a Friday afternoon and a holiday weekend Friday at that!  But we got in and out of there fairly quick.  It was a required stop, I got our post-shot ice cream at the grocery store yesterday but I told Otter I'd get hers as well.  We took her ice cream (and cranberry juice) to her apartment and then we went to Walgreen's.  When we took out our new insurance, they said that flu shots were covered but that it had to be done at a doctor's office.  But the clerk ran the insurance through to check and it turned out that it did cover the shots at pharmacies as well, so we saved $64.00.  We had to wait about 20 minutes until the technician could give us the shots.

It was about 5:30 when we got them, and I felt the first hint of the Wave hit me at 5:32.  The first thing I noticed was a sudden feeling of coldness, more like a wind hitting me than a chill and I thought it might be breeze from an a/c vent at first.  We went to Subway to pick up dinner, where we were waited on by the slooooooooooooooooooooowest sandwich maker ever and were stuck behind the ditzyest mother and daughter customers ever.  We were probably waiting in there over 30 minutes.  We discussed going to another store, but it was peak traffic time so we decided to just stay there and wait.  By the time we left there, I was really feeling tired and my (left) arm was beginning to feel a little sore.  We went into the liquor store in the same shopping center - where Otter was promptly carded - and that was at least quick.

I dropped Otter off at her apartment and then I headed home.  I didn't get home until around 7:00.  The sandwiches were good, they just took a loooooooooooooooooooooooooong time for the girl to make them.  But I think she was fairly new and she was just trying to be thorough, she was nice and it was obvious she was trying to do a good job so we didn't say anything about the lack of speed.

Bill spent lat night on the couch again.  He was feeling bad last night but the congestion was beginning to loosen up.  The air was a little dry and that was causing him problems, so I set up one of the humidifiers for him.  He still needed the fan, he figured out where to put the fan so that it didn't blow away the steam from the humidifier.  I heard him sneezing and coughing a few times - in the opposite end of the house, other his fan, my fan and the humidifier.  He felt feverish last night but he didn't feel feverish this morning.  He wants to sleep on the couch again tonight with the humidifier, so I'll make him another nest.  He doesn't get a flu shot, but he does get ice cream since he has to put up with me after I have it!  He just had a bowl and he said it was good.  He feels better but he's still sick.  He's still insisting that it's allergies, but I think he has what I had last week.  It takes a few days to work it's way out.  Otter said that J might be coming down with it, too.

I'm probably going to bed early tonight, I feel really tired.  My arm is a little sore, I had to take the bandaid off already because of my allergy to the adhesive.  I did bleed a little bit, but not much at all - even for a non-red!  I think a big part of the way we react is probably due to the RedHead Curse.  I'm hoping not to have a bad reaction, but then that's what I say every year.  But I'd still rather put up with the reaction and not have to deal with the flu itself.

'Splain Me...

Why people act so surprised that it's hot?

IT'S AUGUST, PEOPLE!!!!!

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

Geesh.

OK, rant over.  That one, anyway.

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

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

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

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

Such a hard life that dog leads...

Way Too Early

Guess what time it is?

Its ragweed season!

It's early, but it's already started.  It usually hits in August, but it's already started to bloom here.  Thanks to the rainy, cool spring and then the rainy early summer.  I've been dealing with my summer allergies for a few days now, and I am NOT looking forward to the rest of the summer allergy season.  I think Otter is beginning to have her summer allergies, too.  I asked her if she needed anything from the store and she said one word:  CLARITAN.  At least she has an allergy medicine that works for her, unlike me.  My issues with allergy meds not working is very probably part of the Redhead Curse - the metabolism of medication part of it.

Sigh.

I know it's early, but I'm beginning to see reminders about flu shots.  I don't think anyone has the serum yet, but I generally get mine on Labor Day weekend.  Because I have a 3-day weekend and sometimes the reaction I have takes me all weekend to get over.  The reaction could also be part of the Redhead Curse, but it may not be.  A few years ago, some places started offering the shots in August and I got one the first year they offered it so early.  But then I went back to my Labor Day weekend schedule because that particular year was a bad reaction and it took me the weekend plus a couple of days.  I'll have to check with Otter and see if she wants to get hers when I do.  It may depend on her work schedule.  She does have a reaction, but it's usually pretty mild.  Although sometimes it isn't mild, but she has only had one time when it was a really bad reaction - the year that the Tulsa Health Department froze the serum and then it thawed out and they didn't know it; the upshot was that the serum was essentially worthless that year and just about everybody got the flu.  Including Otter and then me shortly after!

(Yes, I'm still getting ice cream as my after-flu-shot treat!)

Oklahoma rattled yesterday.  More than once.  Tulsa felt two of the earthquakes.  I was at work (in Tulsa) and did not feel the first one, but I did feel the second one.  I was sitting at my desk and I heard what sounded like the ceiling lights rattle, and then I realized that I felt something move slightly under my feet.  Otter was at our house (not in Tulsa) doing her laundry.  She was sitting on the couch when she realized that the couch was moving.  She called me, she sounded very surprised.  The first one was 4.0, it was as 12:49 p.m.  The 2nd one was 4.5, it hit about 1:15.  They were both centered in the Crescent, which is near Oklahoma City.  We didn't feel the first one, but it was felt in parts of Tulsa.  The 2nd one was felt in most parts of Tulsa, and quite a bit further.  Missouri and Kansas felt it and it was recorded on a sensor in Georgia.  Although we just felt it for a few seconds, it lasted several seconds.  Like Otter says, this is tornado alley - we aren't supposed to have earthquakes!  By the way, the beagle slept through both of them.  :)

So, Froggy.  Got any plans for tomorrow?  Like maybe a birthday cake?  Although I don't know what kind you could come up with, since you don't eat sugar and are mostly vegetarian.  Happy Birthday a day early!

Gridlines

After today, I'm really beginning to think that the Amish might have it right when it comes to electricity!

Otter came over to do her laundry today.  She called me to let me know that not all the lights in the house were coming on, and the ones that were coming on were not very bright.  I told her to call Bill, he thought maybe it was a fuse or breaker.  He told her that she should be able to do her laundry.  She got the washer started, then when she went back to check on it she discovered that the washer controls showed it was finished.  But the washer was full of water and it didn't look like it had done anything at all beyond filling up.  That's when she called me again, and I came home (I took an early lunch.)  We checked a few things and then I restarted the washer.  No water came in, but it did start to agitate a bit - not much.  I talked to Bill and he told me to check the breaker box.  Everything looked good, he had me flip one a see if anything happened - nothing.  Otter and I lined her laundry basket with a trash bag and then we took all her damp and soapy clothing out of the washer.  We got as much water out as we could, then we put it in the bag-lined basket and I followed her up to the closest laundromat.  I gave her enough quarters to get her laundry done, we didn't need any more detergent for it.  I left to go back to work, she said it washed ok and she also used the dryers.

Bill took off a couple of hours early.  He thought it might be a specific fuse, so he went to get a replacement.  He came home and put it in, and discovered that it wasn't any better.  Being an Engineer who works around electricity at times, he got out his tools including the multi-meter and he started checking things.  He discovered that only have the electric current that should have been coming into the house was actually coming in.  I called the electric company and *RHTW started the conversation with them.  I think I scared the girl who answered - which actually doesn't bother me - and she agreed it was an emergency and told me that she'd get a crew sent out. I told her I wanted her name and her word on it.  I also told her that if we had any choice other than their services we would have already switched.  It was just about time for me to leave work by then, so I headed out and got my 2 errands done - mailbox to drop mail in on the way home and Subway to get dinner to bring home in case we were unable to cook anything.  But the electric company did what they said (for once!) and they got a crew out here.  They were just finishing up.

It seems that one half of the new lines they buried 2 months ago (the ones that have absolutely nothing to do with my house other than being attached to the box in my yard) failed.  There is now a very large, long cable now stretching from the back yard of the neighbor to the west (the one we don't like), running up the fence line in my yard, beside the fence line of the dog yard, through the gate of the dog yard, across the dog yard and up to the box outside my wall.  And they say they'll be out to bury it in 2 weeks.  The foreman did call me after they left, he thought maybe he'd been rude to me but I didn't think so.  However, I did tell him that I appreciated him calling me back.  He was appalled at how bad the back yard looks and that it's been over 2 months now, incidentally.

Bill ran the washer through a full cycle and it seems to be working.  The house was getting a little warm since the a/c wasn't able to get enough power to work but it's working now and is cooling.  Maggie is still asleep, where she's been for the last few hours.  But then the words "energy crisis" are almost perfect to describe her.

I really, really, REALLY need the next week off.  I'm pretty sure that if I see a certain phone number (Younger Boss) on my caller id - I'm going to let it go to voice mail!

*RHTW.  She gets responses.

3 Down. 2 To Go.

Workdays, until this week is over.

The last week before vacation is always so loooooooooooooooooooooooooooong.  This week is no exception.  Tomorrow (Thursday) will be Crazy Day.  Also known as the"Day Boys Realize that the Office Manager is About to Be Gone For a Week."  It won't be particularly crazy, at least as far as work that needs to be done because, let's face it here:  I'm obsessively organized pretty much 24/7/365 and don't have all that much to do of so-called normal stuff.  But Younger Boss is going to bring the Teenager into the office for a couple of hours and I'm sure that they will both try to find fires for me to put out!

I went to the grocery store this afternoon.  I read labels, along with getting groceries.  After Otter moved out last October, I switched us to whole-wheat pasta.  Not whole-wheat spaghetti, we tried it once and it was pretty disgusting.  The pasta was better but we never really liked it all that much.  So, I read pasta labels today.  The whole-wheat pasta is actually made with MORE fat than the regular stuff.  The only other difference is that the regular stuff has more carbs.  Not that many more, either.  I bought regular pasta tonight, once the remaining whole-wheat we have on hand is gone we will go back to the regular stuff.

Maggie learned a new trick today!  Well, actually it's not a trick.  But it is something new that she learned.  We've had her for something like 8 or 9 years (I don't want to go look it up) and for just about every weekday of that time she's been put out in the garage every morning - with access to the back yard, a visit to the treat can and the water dish always goes out, too.  Every morning, she's had to be told to go out.  Always.  After all these years, she finally realized that she has to go outside when I leave for work - she took herself out to the garage at the normal time, and sat beside her treat can to wait for me to bring the water out and open the can.  Guess she's a bit of a slow learner, huh?!  We'll see if she remembers tomorrow morning.  :)  She's not the sharpest tool in the shed, but she's a good girl and a lot of fun.  And very cute!  Except for when she ralphed in the kitchen floor last night and I had to clean up after her.

The electric company is supposed to have someone out here tomorrow afternoon to look at the work that they never finished up.  They can't seem to understand why we are upset at the condition they left our back yard in.  I'm thinking that I'm going to skip the preliminaries and just let RHTW* be who greets them.  Should be fun!  Well, maybe not for them.  :)

**RHTW:  She's already riled and that's a really B.A.D. thing!

Updates? I Don't Know What to Call This Post.

So far, May looks to be following in April's trail in more than just the calendar!

Otter's hand is doing well, all things considered.  I took her some ice cream after work today - it's the accepted treat after a shot and she technically got more than one in her hand yesterday.  So, I think it counts!  I took her (and Roomie!) a carton of cookies & cream ice cream and I also grabbed a package of frozen french fries for them while I was in the store.  They were both overjoyed to get the treats, and Otter was also happy to discover the package of pepperoni slices that were in the bag, too.  She said her hand hurts quite a bit, which is to be expected at this point.  She's also got a fairly high pain threshhold, which is also part of the RedHead Curse so "quite a bit" for her is agony for a non-Red.  She's been trying to keep it propped up and not use it, but that is harder than it sounds.  She has been taking tylenol and following the care instructions they gave her yesterday at the walk-in clinic.  She had to day off from work as a regularly scheduled day off and also tomorrow.  She works Wednesday morning and will go get the stitches checked when she gets off work.  Then they will tell her how long she should have to keep the stitches in.  I'm really glad that they want to remove them in the office instead of telling her she can do it herself!  Like I said before, she's her Father's Daughter...

One more to beam up, Scotty!

We lost another one today.  Grace Lee Whitney, 1930 - 2015.  She will always be remembered fondly as Yeoman Janice Rand, first season & first 8 episodes of the brilliance that is Star Trek.

There are only 4 bridge crew members left now.  And a lot of the "background" actors are gone as well.  Plus quite a few of the writers, directors, etc. and of course the Great Bird of the Galaxy himself, Gene Roddenberry.

I had been thinking about getting an actual dog bed for Maggie Moo.  We had one briefly, but Frasier apparently thought he had to rid the universe of it's presence pretty quickly.  So we started using flannel blankets for them.  Maggie has always been fine with the blankets, but I thought she might like something softer.  I priced dog beds and decided to just get a pillow for her.  I bought one for $3.00 at BigLots today.  She's slept on pillows before, she was briefly using a laundry basket with a spare pillow that Otter had in her room and she also slept in Otter's bed for a while (until she did what she does and licked everything!)  So, I put the pillow down on top of the blankets this afternoon.  And she's done everything she can to not actually get on it!  I got her to sit on it once, but she didn't stay.  Bill thought maybe it smells different, which I also thought might be the case.  So we put it on the love seat - she's not allowed up there but she usually gets up on it pretty quickly after we go to bed.  We have an old blanket on the love seat just to protect it from BeagleBaby.  The pillow is now in the spot where she usually sleeps, we'll see if she sleeps on it tonight since it's on the love seat and we know she'll be up there at some point after the lights go out!  She got a walk this morning and then I took her on another one after I got home from work today.  Otter did ask me if I'm spoiling the beagle sufficiently, I have to say that I think I am. :)

My right knee is kind of sore.  It also has a small cut above the knee cap.  I walked into the baby gate at the end of the hall this morning.  I was taking a load of laundry out of the dryer and I forgot we moved the thing to the other side of the laundry room door.  And I ran right into the stupid gate!  Maggie is much quieter than Frasier was, she will sit at the baby gate and wait for us to get up but she isn't really much of a barker (except for now and that's because she's asleep and dreaming)  We've heard her jingling collar coming down the hall a couple of times, but she will sit or lie down and wait patiently until we get up or one of us goes to the kitchen to feed her.  We always seperated their food bowls in the kitchen, one on each side of the kitchen and the water dish was on Frasier's side but they both used it.  We moved the water dish down a little bit, and I tried to relocate her food bowl to that side as well.  She absolutely refused to go anywhere near her food bowl on that side of the kitchen - we spent a lot of time telling her to get out of his food bowl, now when we want her to eat on that side she finally decides to remember what we told her! :)  Goofy baby, but we love her anyway.

Before Otter's Adventures in BillLand yesterday, I did manage to get the peppers transplanted.  Otter has two jalepenos and a peppermint, we have two jalepenos and two bell peppers.  They are in large size pots on the deck, most are in clay pots but two of them are in plastic ones.  I watered them tonight, they look good.  It could be rainy Wednesday so I might move them up closer to the house so they have a little bit of cover - sometimes rain this time of year is very hard and I'd just as soon not lose them to hail force rain.  Otter will eventually get her plants, but they are fine where they are until she does.  She'll be over one day this week to do laundry (and play with the beagle!) and she might take them then, but I think she'll probably wait a little longer until her hand heals up some.

Then, she'd better quit trying to live up to Bill's reputation!

Footsteps

Otter is following in her father's footsteps.  Whether we want her to or not!

This is the palm of her left hand, fortunately.  She's right-handed.

About 1:00, just as Bill and I were starting to eat lunch I got a text from Otter:  "In case you were ever worried that I don't take after dad enough - I successfully sliced my hand open trying to cut a potato."  I told her to call me after getting that text.  She was attempting to cut into a raw potato so she could bake it and it was slightly damp.  Her left hand slipped - right into the ceramic knife she was using to slice!  This was a little over an hour after it had happened, and it was still bleeding enough that she wasn't sure but thought maybe it needed stitches.  She wanted Mom to look at it, she was at work at this point, so I went to her store to check on it.  Being a redhead, she bleeds like the rest of us do so the fact that there was still blood wasn't enough to say it did need them.  She didn't really want to take the gauze wrapping off it it but I had to see the cut so she took it off.  I thought it was deep and long enough, so she told the supervisor and he said that his wife works at a close walk-in clinic.  He called her and they weren't busy, so we went up there.  They took her back quickly (the nurse was a redhead and we compared notes on bleeding) - Otter wanted me to come back with her - and the doctor thought it needed stitching up.  The shots to numb it was pretty painful, but they generally are.  However, stitches would have hurt worse without the shots.  She knew what to expect, having been to the ER with her dad more than once when he got stitches!  The doctor kept telling her to look away, but she's not squeamish at all and she always has to look.  I rubbed her back while he was numbing it, she said that helped.  He took 4 stitches in it, but because it was with a clean, ceramic knife he doesn't think she needs a tetnus shot.  She has to go back on Wednesday to get it looked at, at that point they will decide if the stitches need to come out in 7 or 10 days.  They will take the stitches out, they are not the disolving kind.  I took her back to work, the doctor said she'd be able to work today.  I went to Walgreen's and got her some neosporin, gauze, vetwrap and tylenol.  She texted me about 5:30 and said the numbness was really starting to wear off.  I told her to take tylenol before it was completely gone.  She already had Monday and Tuesday off from work and she will be off early enough Wednesday to not have to miss any time when she gets the stitches looked at.

I'm pretty sure I have more grey hairs than I did when I woke up this morning!

Bill texted her later on: "Who'se yo daddy!"  She answered "YOU, OBVIOUSLY."

What can I say, she is very much her father's daughter. :)