Late August 2016

I can't come up with an interesting title.

I don't mean to neglect this blog.  But there just isn't anything exciting going on.

I'm pretty much over the sinus infection, which is a good thing.  I'm hoping that I have at least 2 1/2 years before the next one - or longer!!!

It's still warm, it is Summer after all.  But it is cooler than it was and the signs are there that Fall is on the way.  I think we are going to start getting our firewood pretty soon.  We didn't get the full amount last Fall that we normally get, but then it was such a mild winter that we hardly used any of what we had on hand.  We're not going to take the chance of a mild winter and not have enough firewood.  Bill is probably going to get the first truck load in the next week or so and then I think probably a couple more loads.

At the moment, there are 7 pachinko machines in the living room.  All of them are restoration jobs for customers.  He has two that he's almost done with, one of them is his machine that is destined for the booth and the other one is a customer's machine.  He's keeping pretty busy with them.

Maggie Moo has been her usual silly beagle self.  I took her out in the back yard this afternoon, she has not had much interest in tracking lately.  Until today.

She was extremely interested in something and she followed her beagle nose all over the side of the back yard close to the shed.  We have not seen raccoons lately or any sign of them, but I'm thinking that they may be back.  I don't think she was tracking a cat's scent.  She had that nose to the ground and she was sniffing deeply.  She went from the back of the yard to the front of the back yard and then to the corner of the house where the fence attaches.

She went to the corner of the house/fence and then along the house back the direction she'd started from but in a different spot.

She was concentrating very intensely.  I can see why beagles are used to hunt with, just from the way she was tracking whatever it was.

Then she went back to the rain barrel.  She had started for it when she was walking towards the front but I called her away and that's when she went on to the front of the back yard.  But on her way back, she zeroed in on something and it was apparently very strong and possibly very fresh.  She stuck her entire head under the stand the rain barrel is on and she did not want to come out.  Whatever has been underneath it was probably pretty recently.  I will not be surprised if it does turn out to be raccoons.

I just hope it's not skunks!

OK, So It's August

It's Summer.

It's hot.

It's supposed to be.

I keep hearing people gripe about the weather and how hot it is.  I keep responding:  This isn't hot.  You do not know hot, unless you grew up in S. TEXAS.  Then, you know hot.

OK, enough griping.  :)

Tuesday. Day 2 of Stay at Home Vacation

Not a staycation!  I dislike that word intently.

Anyway.  Yesterday was a lot of fun, we went to Bill's dad & stepmom's for the 4th.  Bill's niece, her husband and kids were here to visit and it was nice to get to see them.  Otter had to work, but she came over to join everyone when she got off work.  Bill and I both try to stay out of the sun, redhead complexion and sunlight don't mix very well.  He was not really in the sun very long but his face is pretty red.  I was not in it at all, but I was sitting close enough to the pool that the reflected light got me a little pink as well.  Just on my right side.  Bill said I have one raccoon eye (because of my glasses) and I have a patchy sunburn on my right shoulder because of my shirt strap plus my upper right arm.  Not a bad sunburn for either of us and we've been using a lot of aloe vera gel but Bill has to be very careful because he tends to get skin cancers.

We slept in a little bit this morning, we both woke up around 7:00.  After breakfast, Bill got the back yard mowed and I did a little work on the honeysuckle bed/trellis.  Yes, he wore his hat with the flap covering his neck.  And he also hollered at me because I forgot my hat - I'm always getting on him about his, so he wasted no time in returning the favor!  :)

I had to run to wallyworld for carpet cleaner, since we're going to clean the carpet on Thursday.  Possibly Friday.  Anyway, since I was there I went ahead and got the few grocery items I needed.  Walmart is already clearing out the summer stuff - pool toys, sun block, etc., and stocking school supplies.  It's only July 5!  But I did discover half-price chocolate candy, since the holiday was yesterday and the packages were decorated with the American flag.  I grabbed several bags, I don't have a deep freeze any longer but it WILL last us a while.  Yes, Bill.  IT WILL.

Tomorrow is my play day.  The only day I actually planned an activity during my vacation week.  I'm going shopping with Otter!  Bill is going to stay home, he's not into the shopping thing.  I don't think it's going to be an all day event, but we are going to one of the not exactly next door but close (sort of) small towns because they have a couple of antique stores I've been wanting to check out.  We may go to a book store in Tulsa and we may go to a thrift store or two.  We'll figure that out tomorrow.

And now I'm going to go back to my crochet.  Then I might just follow Maggie Moo's example and take a nap!

Yes

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Can't Think of Anything To Call This!

I've been fighting allergy symptoms for several days and today I don't feel the best.  So, cut me a little slack Froggy!  (You know you want to get on me because it's been a few days. :)  Do I know you or what!)

Last week had some interesting weather.  Wednesday was odd.  I don't think we even made it to 80!  It was so nice, it was a very pleasant change from the warm and icky weather we've been having.  It hasn't been "hot", but then I go by TEXAN standards so my version of warm might be someone else's version of meltingly hot.  But the point is, it was nice and I enjoyed it.  We've had a few days of rain, Yesterday was rainy for most of the morning and into early afternoon.  I had plans to go to two neighboring towns on an errand for Froggy, but I decided not to after seeing the radar and the storm prediction.  It wasn't bad in terms of tornado alley bad, but there was a lot of water and some localized street flooding.  So my plans changed.  When Otter got off work at 2:00, I picked her up and work and we went across the street to Hobby Lobby.  After we shopped, I took her back across the street and dropped her off at her car.  This morning, we were planning on visiting one of the other 2 churches we are interested in but then we woke up to a pretty loud thunderstorm and a lot of water!  The power went out for about 30 seconds, which was B.A.D. because the coffee pot was only about half way through!  It came back on quickly, so I pushed the "on" button on the coffee pot and it finished.  That was a good thing, because I desperately needed caffeine this morning.

Otter came over to do her laundry this morning, Maggie Moo didn't get a walk yesterday because of the rain or Friday because it was just rainy enough that she wouldn't go outside (she might melt, you know!), so she was raring to go this morning.  When Otter got here, Maggie Moo was overjoyed and then she was even happier when she got to go on a walk with her Otter.  (Maggie made a new friend on her walk today, a young female pittie mix puppy who is just the sweetest, goofy baby!)  I wanted to get something at Wallyworld, so Otter and I ran up there after she got her laundry going.  When we got back, we went through the fabric boxes that Otter left here.  She cleaned out a small amount and got a few things to take home with her, but most of the boxes will go back to the closet.  Which is fine with me, they are not in the way and she doesn't really have that much room at the moment.  She may get some or all of the fabric later on, but it's fine if they stay here.  She gave me one of the picnic baskets - the original one that I had and gave to her, and some of the stuff in the boxes was mine so it's now in the picnic basket.  She left the large plastic tub full of her silk flowers and another box of misc. stuff that she'll get in the next few days or we'll take to her if we happen to be heading in the direction of her apartment.  We also stopped at Subway to get lunch to bring home after we went to Wallyworld, we all got foot long sandwiches with the idea of getting two meals out of them.  Bill's having his 2nd half for dinner at the moment, I'll get to mine eventually.

I don't remember if I mentioned it or not, but we're closing our booth at the antique mall.  We're paid through the end of this month, next weekend we'll bring the machines home.  I told Otter that we might want to borrow her car, since these are restored machines and could be damaged if they are tossed in the back of the El Camino.  I also might need to borrow her car one day to get myself to work, since we're probably going to put new tires on my car this week.  She's agreeable, we buy her gasoline when we borrow her car!

In the news this week, former President Jimmy Carter has cancer and it's spread to his brain.  He probably doesn't have a lot of time left.  I have never made a secret of the fact that I think he is the worst President in recent history.  I'm not too impressed with some of his actions/statements after he left office,specifically his comments about Israel.  But as a human being, I do feel for him and I wish him the best with his treatment.  I also think that he is a genuine Christian and not a "show Christian."  He needs our prayers as he faces what is probably the final battle of his life.

I rearranged some of the kitchen decor.  Actually, the dining room.  I have a triangular plant stand, it's tall (5 or 6 shelves) and is designed to fit in a corner.  I moved it from where it was to the other side of the dining room, it's now beside the china cabinet and the trash can is moved to where the plant stand was.  I'm going to hang the 5 ceramic and 1 metal pie plates on the wall that was formerly covered up by the plants stand.  It makes the dining room look better, less cluttered and all I did was move two things to the opposite side of where they'd been!

Late for Sunday!

I meant to post on Sunday, but I got busy with stuff and forget.

Among other things, I did a little maintenance on my yarn drawers.  I took the doilies out of the large drawer that they were in, and then I moved the contents of 2 of my smaller drawers into the large drawer.  Which then left me with 2 empty drawers!  I teased Bill about needing to go to the yarn store, he offered to "help" me with my yarn stash and I threatened him with dismemberment if he so much as thought about getting into the yarn!  He thinks I was kidding, but I'm not sure sure. :)

I didn't get to the yarn store, but I did get to a few thrift stores and one of them had yarn.  Vintage Red Heart brand, clean and non-smelly, 3 skeins in a colorway that they don't make any more and $1.00 each.  Of course they came home with me!  I had to move the futon out of the way a little, which meant that I had to also relocate a certain beagle, and then I rearranged my yarn in the drawers.  I have quite a bit of Red Heart, it's fairly cheap but also fairly strong and works for a lot of items so I have a lot of it.  A LOT.  I spread the Red Heart out a bit so that the 2 empty drawers are now full, and there is room in the rest of the drawers to at least shut them easily.  I moved some of the other varieties of yarn to different drawers, the stuff I don't use much is in the lower drawers that are blocked by the futon and the Better, Good and Really Good Yarn are now where they can be accessed easier.

I took the doilies out because I wanted to get started on my doily curtain.  I pinned a few together to see how it worked and flung it over the curtain rod.  It does work, but I'm thinking that I might change my plan slightly.  The curtain that was my original inspiration consists of doilies that are attached to very filmy fabric and I'm thinking that I'm going to go that direction.  For one thing, it will drape better and I think it will be easier to hang.  The one at the store has a pale pink fabric but I'm thinking I'm just going to use a white gauzy curtain for my backing.  Froggy, even with as many doilies as I have - and I have a lot, I'm not sure if I actually have enough.  So, I will be very happy to get the ones you mailed to me.

I've given up on my clematis plant.  It never really did very well, it would grow a few feet long and twine around the trellis but that was all it would do.  It would grow to a point and then it would quit growing.  It died several times and came back, but I don't think that it would ever have done any more than that.  So I dug it up yesterday - and it was dead at the ground level again.  I'm going to put in a rosebush next year, which was my original plan for that particular trellis but Otter is extremely allergic to roses and she was still living here when I put the clematis there.  I have always loved roses but never had them because of her allergy.  I'm not sure what kind of rose I want, I love red roses but pink roses are really my favorite.  Bill apparently figured that out early on in our marriage, because if he's going to send me roses they will be pink!  So I'm probably going to go with a pink blooming rose.

This is the forecast for the Tulsa area for the week.  Look at Wednesday!  It is still August, as far as I know.  But Bill is going to start getting firewood pretty soon.

The Teenager gave this to me a few years back.  The working mechanism quit working a while back.  After we lost him, I came across the clock again.  I went to Hobby Lobby and bought another clock mechanism, Bill put it in for me and the clock is now in a place of honor in the living room.  The Teenager was a TEXAN and was just like the rest of Us - TEXAS is in our blood and bluebonnets are especially sacred to us.  When we and Miss Dorothy moved to their retirement community a few years back and they were cleaning out stuff they didn't want to take with them or wouldn't have room for, he immediately brought the clock to me.  It means a lot to me, to both of us really.  The office is very quiet and feels like something important is missing.  Which it is, I guess.

'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...

Warm. Saturday. Drowsy.

It's Summer, and it feels like it.  It's not particularly hot, it's just that it is hot enough to notice but the humidity makes it worse.  Humidity is a big asthma trigger for me, so I'm spending a lot of time indoors.  Which I don't like!  I need my outside time.

I got a little bit of outside time this morning.  I walked Maggie Moo, she was very happy about that - she sniffed every single thing she could and I don't think either of us got much exercise because it was a "stop and sniff" walk with a great deal of stopping.  But she was happy about it.

I followed yard sale signs today.  I was going to the post office to drop some stuff off to mail and I saw a sign not too far from my neighborhood.  So, I followed it.  Nothing I was interested in, but I decided to just follow signs for a while.  I only drove around for about an hour but I saw several sales.  I stopped at a few and drove by a few more.  Didn't buy a thing, except for when I stopped to get a coke (which was a real coke and not a Texas Coke a/k/a any flavor/variety/brand I wanted at the time) but I still enjoyed getting out.

As of about 4:00 this afternoon, the Teenager is still with us.  Younger Boss says that it's very hard to see him linger like that.  I know how he feels, it was that way with Dad.  It is very tough.  But he is as comfortable as possible and his family is with him.  I guess that all we can do is pray.

It's a Beautiful Day

Really nice and also like Spring, not like the first week of July!  The sky is gorgeous, the perfect shade of blue and no clouds at all.  It's warm but not hot and there are birdies chirping all over the place.

 

It was in the 50's last night.  The 50's!  In July.  Bill opened the house up this morning, it was nice & cool.  The birdies were chirping their little feathered heads off then, too.  Including a huge dove that landed in one of the trees in the back yard.

 

Well Done, Tulsa Police Department! Well Done.

 

Today has been a "whatever" day.  Otter had to work, she talked me into taking her this morning and we took the recycling stuff on the way.  Bill's been working on his pachinko restoration as well as moving more of his stuff back to the office/pachinko workroom.  I've been doing stuff around the house, and for the first time in a long time and probably the last time in a long time, the laundry basket is empty!  That won't last long, it never does.  I swept the front porch off, judging by the "evidence" I'd say the resident bat has been back.  Fine with me, he is welcome to come eat all the buggies he can catch!

 

Otter and I have shopping plans tomorrow.  At least in the morning, she still has quite a bit of sewing and misc. stuff to do on her cosplay clothing.  But we are going to the mall so I can go to the Coach store about getting some of their leather cleaner/conditioner and we're going to hit a few thrift stores while we are out and about.  Bill's going to be enjoying the day at home, he is still working on the pachinko restoration and the work room but he enjoys it.  Seems like it would be work-like to me, but not to him.

 

Well, Bill just reminded me that I was going to mail something but I forgot to take it when I got Otter from work so I guess I'd better head in the general direction of the post office!  I guess I'd better check the UPS box while I'm at it, and I think that he also wants me to take his car so I will run it by a gas pump while I'm at it.

 

Also, Blogger is acting up again.  Froggy, your comment posted but when I told it to post KN#3's comment, it sent hers to the delete file.  I was able to find it but I couldn't get it to post or move the comment back to the "waiting to post" file so I retyped what she said and posted it that way.  I do remember Uncle Buck's RV and he would generally have a crowd of grandkids with him where and whenever he travelled, now that I've had time to think about it I do remember Mom saying something about the rain when y'all went to the zoo but I don't remember all the actual details.

 

OK, the post office is waiting on me!

Warm Wednesday

OK, it's not bad weather at all for this time of year.  It's warm, but it is not hot at all.  It is supposed to be like this the rest of the week.  A little on the cool side for this time of year, but it is really nice.

 

Yes, Froggy.  I do remember Mom taking us to the zoo many times.  But I don't remember the story about Uncle Buck's kiddo and the water.  Was that maybe before I showed up, or maybe I was too young to remember?  I know we went to the zoo with "the cousins" as we referred to them, many times.  I do remember the elephant rides, and also monkey island with all the monkeys and goats.  We also always went to Breckenridge Park after the zoo and rode the train.  The Tulsa Zoo has a train, but it is inside the zoo.  We usually ride it, but we were all hot & tired yesterday and didn't take a train ride.

 

Today's vacation fun was shopping.  Unsuccessfully, I might add.  I went to the booth store and the store you reminded me about, I saw a few things but nothing that really "talked" to me.  I think that Otter and I are going thrifting for a little while on Friday, and to at least one fabric store.  Yes, Froggy.  I will get the pattern and license plate for you!  There are actually several on the list you sent me that are in the general area of where I live or close enough.  Otter won't let me go to a fabric store without her.

 

I got two rows on Uncle Crazy's blanket this morning.  I was hoping to have more time to work on it this week, but not so far.  However, I don't think that anybody has anything planned tomorrow so maybe I can get in a crochet marathon.

I stopped at the liquor store this afternoon.  And taped to the front door are 4 pictures:  three of the same man and one of a woman.  And all of them are shoplifters, the pictures came straight from the security camera and there is a sign with the pictures:  "WE ARE WATCHING YOU" written on it in bold letters.  I talked the clerk, she said that they have been in several times and that the clerks all know them on sight now.  There is usually only one person working at a time there, she said that the pictures were taken when she was working and that she knew what they were doing - they were pretty bold about it, but that she was by herself and really was afraid to confront the man.  I told her she should grab her phone and dial 911 as soon as they come in the door the next time.  She hadn't thought about that, but I think she will do that if they come back again.  I don't blame her for not wanting to confront the man, but they really should have more than one person working at any one time.

Bill is watching a particular movie at the moment.  From 1975.  One with a very specific and well-known musical score that will still cause a chill to the blood:  JAWS.  The original one.  Being part of that generation, I remember seeing it in the theater right after it came out and being absolutely terrified - not of the ocean or swimming in it, it was just a very scary movie.  But it never kept me our of the ocean, and we used to go a couple of times per summer.  But I do remember the first summer the movie was out - when apparently a lot of other people did let it keep them off the beach!

Very Tired Friday Rambling Thoughts

In general, I don't mind being 51 years old.  But I've been above-average temperature for days now and it's beginning to get on my nerves!

 

OK, whining aside, it's been somewhat chaotic the last few days.  But at least the water is safe!

 

Tomorrow is the 9th anniversary of when we lost Dad.  I bought Blues & Greens today, in his memory.  (Peanut M & M's.)

 

Frasier might just be over his irrational fear of the vacuum.  The last couple of times I've run it, he's actually stayed inside and even in the living room with me.  This morning, I was vacuuming between/under the couch cushions and he actually came up and stood beside the vacuum!  And it was on!  He was happy, he had that smiley face he gets when he's extremely happy and he stayed in the room and beside me/the vacuum the entire time I had it on.  Maggie Moo, on the other hand, never stirred from their blankets - where she was napping.

 

It's been hot the last few days.  Mid-90's, which is not really "hot" (at least not to a South TEXAN), but the humidity levels have been astronomical.  Which means that breathing is on the difficult side, to say the least.  I'm sure that the asthma issues I've been dealing with this week have contributed to the fact that I'm very tired, as I said in the title.

 

I think I'll go get into my chocolate stash in the freezer and then I am going to have a glass of wine and read for the next couple of hours.

Hot Tuesday Stuff

Hot as in, it's warm!  It's mid 90's, which isn't really all that hot.  But we went from 70's to Summer with no in-between.  Also, the humidity levels are bad and getting worse - which will mean lung issues for me at some point.

 

And there's also the fact that I'm a 51 year old woman and I've been above average temperature for days now!

 

Today's activities include coming home after work and filling every available container with water.  Seems that my not-so-big town has a water issue.  The main line that water comes in to the treatment plant developed several leaks overnight.  Apparently, there was a power outage and they had to close some of the valves.  When the power was restored and the valves opened back up, they developed lots of leaks.  Since late morning the city has been on reserve water and the reserve level has dropped a lot.  We have several big water jugs on hand, the kind you see in water coolers.  But we prefer not to have to tap one of those if we don't need to - we've had them for a while and they are part of our emergency supplies.  We had to use one once, several years back when there was a pipe failure in our area (it wasn't city-wide) and the water was off for several hours.  So, when I got home, Otter and I got busy and we filled up several containers.  I also got the coffee pot fixed up for tomorrow morning!  Got my priorities, huh!?  We filled up the dog's water dish, and about 30 seconds later Frasier came in and did what we call "camel dog" which means that the level in the water dish went down about an inch.  He was a thirsty boy!  The city issued a boil order while ago, water has to be boiled for at least one minute before being consumed or used for medical needs.  The reason for that is that the water pressure is so low that any potential contaminants won't be flushed out and might well be in the water that comes out of the tap.  The crews are still working and will probably get it fixed in the next several hours, but it will take several more hours after that to get the reserve tanks filled.

 

Otter is off the next 3 days, I'd already been ordered (there is no other word for it!) by a certain 96-year-old teenager to bring her to see him and his wife and she wanted to go in with me tomorrow for that.  After lunch, which may well be a thrift shop, I'm going to take her to the library or she may decide to go to the mall or somewhere else instead.  But with the water issues, I would probably have suggested she go in with me anyway.  For one thing, flushing is not recommended right now!

 

The house behind us has the sides up now, it looks like it's going to be a one story but we won't know for sure until the roof timbers are up.  Which will probably be soon, the way that those houses are built.

 

One of the trees in the back had a dead limb that has been in it for a few weeks, since one of the bad storms we had.  It finally fell out today.  It's not a huge limb, but it's big enough.  It's now in the grass below the tree and will stay there until one of us gets out in the back for longer than it takes to call the dogs in.  That might be a few days, it's getting humid enough that it's not pleasant or easy to breathe so I'm staying in as much as I can.

 

I've also had to cope with a slight migraine.  I took 3 motrin as soon as I felt the beginning of it, it seems to have done the trick.  I do have a headache, but it's tolerable.  For a migraine, anyway.

 

I just realized that I don't have to come up with an excuse.  I don't have to do laundry tonight!  Wheeeeeeeeeeee!

I Thought My Young Baby Days Were Over!

But apparently I was wrong.

The baby in question is Frasier.  He's doing really well, at least as far as his incision and healing go.  I spent Friday night sleeping on the couch, and he spent most of the night leaning on me.  I think he was uncomfortable and needed his mama.  There is a reason my local mother in law calls him a mama's boy!  Saturday night, he was good.  He did fine, although he wasn't too happy about the cone.  Last night was a different story.  I think we'd been in bed about 30 minutes, just long enough to be falling asleep, when I heard the dog block falling down in the hallway.  I get up to check it, and there's Frasier waiting for me.  I put it up, he leaned on it hard until it fell.  We do this a couple of times, then I finally just gave up because I was too tired to deal with it.  I got my bedding, pillows and the fan and camped out on the couch again.  He didn't lean on me all night, but he did sleep right beside the couch as close to me as he could get.  Big baby!  I didn't get much sleep, then I got up at 5:00 to feed them, let him out and medicate him.  I went back to sleep then, until 7:00 and I probably got the best sleep since 11:00 last night!

He's been nekkid* (without the cone) part of the time today.  But he's also tried to lick the spot a few times, so the cone goes back on him.  We've let him out without it a few times, but somebody has to go with him.  He's gone out twice, by himself, and both times I've had to get him back in because I can see him from the kitchen window when he's going out to the grassy area to relieve himself.  When he doesn't get to the grassy area, he's generally on the concrete sidewalk right outside the doggie door and licking.  Froggy said she feels sorry for him, but she wasn't kept up most of the night by him!

Tomorrow, the dogs will be back outside and Frasier will have to have the collar on.  Otter will be home after her class, so he'll be inside and hopefully nekkid* all afternoon.  Not sure yet about Wednesday and the rest of the week.  They do have a sheltered spot with shade since he won't be able to get back inside the garage through the doggie door with the cone on, and they have water.  I'm not really sure about his ability to get a drink with the cone on, which is another reason why Otter will be home after class.  As hot as it is, they'll need additional water.  We'll probably feed him several ice cubes before we leave in the morning.  They normally get a long drink of water after they eat but it's going to be pretty hot and we don't want to take a chance with him.

We've had a nice, calm Labor Day.  We didn't have anything in particular planned, we had burgers & oven fries Friday night since Otter was going to spend the afternoon at one of her girlfriends.  I made meatloaf and brown gravy (yes, Pioneer brand!) and Bill made his World Famous Mashed Potatos.  They were on the menu for yesterday, but nobody was really hungry for anything big so it got put off until today.  Which was fine with Otter, she loved the potato part of the menu but is not a fan of meatloaf.  I made a lot of potatos, so there is plenty left for her if she's hungry when she gets home today.

We did manage to get out this morning.  We went to Wallyworld for the vitamins I forgot yesterday and we got vanilla ice cream while we were there.  We also went to the dollar store, for two things but actually got about 10.

Bill and I were going to do some stuff out in the yard and cut up some tree limbs to an allowable size so we could put them out with the trash this week.  But it's 105 today, and it got that way fast.  It's also pretty humid and not at all pleasant to be outside.  It's going to be that way tomorrow and Wednesday, I would have made sun tea today if I'd thought of it early enough but I think I'll make it tomorrow instead.

Otter's allergies are really bad the last couple of days.  She had a migraine last night and went to bed about 7:45, allergies don't normally cause migraines but it made her that much more miserable.  She was going to lie down for a while, but she fell asleep almost immediately and stayed that way until I woke her at about 8:00 this morning.  I would have let her sleep longer, but the monkey bread she wanted for breakfast was ready and I didn't want to be on the receiving end of an angry RedHeadedWoman!  Been one myself, and it's not a pretty sight.

Also, the possibility of neighbors behind us is getting closer.  Otter and I drove behind our street today, there are more and more houses being built there and some of them are built to sale (empty).  It was the other way for a long time, built to suit (built for someone and not just to be empty in hopes of someone liking it.)  The spot behind Lovely Neighbor's neighbor on her other side has the beginning of a foundation clearing started.  Bill and Otter stand ready for mayhem, should anyone start to build behind us!

*Nekkid:  To non-Texans and probably non-Southerners as well, it means to be in a state of undress.  It is NOT pronounced "naked."  It's pronounced like it sounds.

Sunday Coneheads

(Grossness ahead!)  Well, I don't think it's particularly gross but then I'm not particularly squeamish.  So, in case you are:  pictures 1 and 2 are safe.  3 and 4 are the "grossness" in this.

The Conehead in the title is Frasier!

This was right after we got him home on Friday.  They had to use an extra long cone, since he could reach the spot with a normal sized cone.  This is actually an extra large cone and it's adjusted down to it's smallest size.  I'm almost afraid to image the dog that it would fit!  It would probably be the size of a horse or elephant.  Frasier's a big dog, but he's not that big!  Although he did seem to think he was a lapdog earlier, he tried to sit in my lap when I was sitting on the floor - all 70+ pounds of him!

Closer shot of a sad puppy face.

Sorry this is sideways!  This is the spot where the golf ball sized growth was.  The vet shaved a square area.

There's a little bruising showing up now, it looks grody but it's not as bad "in person" as it kind of looks in the pictures.  The place that was removed was just so darn big that the incision is fairly long.  Frasier's Golf Ball

Frasier's actually done pretty good.  I spent Friday night on the couch, which is pretty comfortable for naps but not for extended periods of sleep.  Not that I actually had much sleep!  Frasier needed his mom a few times in the night - I woke up more than once because I had a large dog head leaning on me and there was a plastic cone on the dog at the time!  He didn't act like it was an intense pain, but I'm sure that it was tender and probably hurt a little.  They gave him a pain shot before I picked him up and I've been giving him his pain pills.  They make him a little sleepier than normal, but he seems to feel pretty good for the most part.  He spent most of yesterday napping, he normally takes several naps anyway but he definitely seemed to sleep more and deeper than normal.  (Since it was Saturday, he's not the only one who took an afternoon nap!)

The cone has not been on him all the time.  It's been on him at night, but if we're in the room with him we've been leaving it off.  It's been off when he eats and drinks, and most of the times he's been outside but someone is with him the whole time.  He's only tried to lick the spot a couple of times, the cone goes back on him right away even if we're staying in the room with him.  Like now, Bill just had to put it back on him because he thought he was out of Bill's sight!

Frasier grooms Maggie a lot.  She likes it, she'll manuever herself to where her ears, belly, whatever are in front of him and then he'll groom her.  He cornered her earlier today, for a forced ear groooming.  He had the cone on at the time, she was kind of squished up inside of it!  She was not amused, but we were.  It was kind of funny.

I am really glad that tomorrow is a holiday.  Not that I will get to sleep in, I have gotten up early the last couple of mornings to feed the dogs.  Frasier can't eat with the cone on, and he also can't fit out the dog door so I have been staying in the kitchen while they eat and then making sure he gets outside (with supervision) and then back inside.

The plan for today included pulling both the couch and the love seat out so that I could vacuum behind them, but we haven't gotten that far yet.  Bill did some cleaning out in the garage, which was mostly just some wood that he didn't need.  It was shelving, etc., that he got for free and used a lot of with the pachinko machines but he had a bunch that was either too small or odd shaped so it got moved to the wood pile.  It will still burn, if we ever get winter.

I'm pretty sure that I have a bunch of baby blues coming up in the whiskey barrel.  Bill noticed them when he was mowing Thursday, and I noticed them yesterday.  He was pretty sure that they were bluebonnets, the initial leaves don't look like they do when they are bigger but they are still unique.  The normal pattern is that the plant goes to seed after blooming, then the seeds lie dormant for several months until the next spring.  But that's in TEXAS, where they don't get a lot of rain during the dormant months.  This is not the first year that they've come up in the late summer, I've even had them come up in the winter before.  This crop might actually have enough time to make it to the bloom stage, we'll just have to keep our fingers crossed.  There are several and probably still several seeds that are dormant.  Wild Blues!  I have also transplanted them into pots when they came up at the wrong time.  They don't spread out as far as normal and look funny, but they are still bluebonnets and are still special.  If I have to do that this time, then I will.

I'm also wondering how long the hummingbirds will be here.  I'll keep the feeders out as long as I see them and then for a while after that, in case of any that need a snack during their migration south.  The ones I have now are fun to watch, there are three birds but only two feeders and they have a lot of spats.  Gotta watch out for the little needlebeaks!

Bill saw a preview for a tv show in the fall season.  He thinks it's the same TEXAS hog-hunters.  The real ones, not the wannabes.  Hope so, it was a good show and we enjoyed it.  But I'm not holding my breath, considering that the producers, etc. felt the need to subtitle the father of the family!  He wasn't speaking a foreign language - just TEXAN.  Well, I guess to them maybe he was.  But please, if you are going to subtitle:  at least get it right!  The word is FIXIN, not FIXING!

We don't like it when people change our words.  We don't take lightly to misuse of them, either.  Use them at your own risk, but be prepared for an "attitude adjustment" if you get it wrong.  One thing you do NOT want to do is get a TEXAN riled.   :)

Warm Wednesday

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

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

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

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

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

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

Summer Reruns

Not the tv kind of rerun, either!

The forecast has a definite "been there, done that" quality to it.

I like this forecast better.

(Especially the 20% cooler part!)

Otter didn't see the dove this morning.  She was watering the morning glories along th fence line (which don't like heat or dry conditions, by the way), but the bird was nowhere in sight.  Either she is hiding somewhere such as the remains of the iris plants, she's recovered and left or she's gone because of one of the evil neighborhood cats.  I looked out this afternoon but didn't see her.  I didn't actually go outside, I just looked through the dining room window but that's how I spotted her last night.

I did manage to climb over the pachinko machines in the garage last night.  I got another mason jar from the collection of them that we seem to have out there, brought it in, washed it, put the pump on it.  And discovered that it was too tall.  So, back out I go and go through the whole process again!  But the 2nd one was the right size, it's now filled up and back at the sink.

Hopefully, this one won't get smashed into the sink like the first one.  But honestly, I'm surprised it made it as long as it did and that I wasn't the one who dropped it!  Well, I had dropped it but it didn't break then.  Of course, I dropped it into a sink already filled with warm, soapy water and Otter was just getting started on doing the dishes when she lost her grip on it so it hit a dry, cast iron sink.

I looked at Foreman grills again today.  And decided that I still don't want another one - the newest ones seem to be a little sturdier than the ones I saw right after the 2nd one wore out, but they are still too flimsy.  We used ours a lot (we wore two of them out) so I want to make sure that it isn't going to fall apart the first time we use it.  It's on the list of things I want, unlike a dishwasher, I just prefer to get value for what things cost is all.

Also, Bill's pachinko stash expanded today.  He found another one on Craigslist, they guy wanted $100.00 for it, because you kow they are so rare (not).  He sent Bill some pictures and it had several missing or damaged places, so Bill offered him $35.00.  Then he went to look at it today, and they settled on $40.00 which is a pretty good price for this specific machine.  But in Bill's defense, he did sell a machine recently so I'm not complaining!

Besides, all I have to do when he comments on the amount of yarn I have is to ask him how many pachinko machines he has!

Works every time. :)

Mid-Summer, Mid-Week

OK, so it's probably not technically mid-summer.  But it has felt like summer for many, many weeks so I'm counting it.

It is, however, the middle of the week.  So I got that right, at least!

We've been cleaning out some stuff, in an effort to find a few things.  We found what we were looking for, but I've also come across two or three paper grocery bags full of stuff.  Like pictures, some of them are even from before Otter was born.  I'm probably going to spend a lot of time on Saturday, looking at the pictures and figuring out what we want to do with them.

I'm fighting off what could be allergy symptoms.  Or it could also be a summer cold.  Summer colds are not fun.  But my main concern is that it could actually be a sinus infection coming on.  I hope not, I've had 2 since last Fall and that's not a good thing.  I'm honestly afraid that I'm more susceptible to them than I have been for a while.  The surgery when I was 16 helped a lot, because my sinus cavity was sort-of rebuilt and could drain (TMI!) better which meant that I no longer got several of them a year.  They also always lasted longer when I would get them, so it was a good thing that I no longer had to deal with them as much.  But my nose has been broken at least twice, probably 3 times, since them.  And since the last time, it seems like maybe the sinus cavity issue is a little worse.

It's not a deliberate thing, it's just that my nose is so fragile compared to a "regular" non-surgically repaired nose that it doesn't take much of a bump to actually cause a break.  Which hurts!  It's still way better than it used to be, it's just worse than it was for several years.  Also, I'm not a candidate for reconstructive surgery on my nose because of the way it had to be rebuilt when I was 16.  It's not particularly misshapen, it's just not perfectly straight anymore and it has a bit of a bump on the top just below where my glasses rest.  It's not an issue for me, except that I don't want to have to deal with sinus infections!

But it might "just" be allergies or a summer cold.  If it's an allergy, it's not going to be any easier to deal with - there is not an allergy medicine that works for me.  They either make me dull & groggy or they make me hyper.  And don't do anything for the symptoms.  I take motrin or tylenol - no aspirin for redheads - and usually drink a lot of orange juice (well, I do drink a lot of it anyway so I increase the amount) and just try to tough it out.  If it is a cold, I'm probably also going to have to deal with an asthma flare at some point.  But I'm not going to worry about that unless I have to.

Either way, I don't feel the best.  Otter and I went to the grocery store this afternoon.  It only took us about an hour, which wasn't too bad.  I just didn't want to put it off until tomorrow, in case I feel worse.

Froggy more or less ordered me to have chicken soup tonight.  I was planning on just opening a couple of cans, but then I made a mistake.  I told Otter about her Aunt's request - Otter was all for it, so I gave in and bought the *fixins.  Otter made the soup, it's easy but she'd never made it before.  We all had two bowls each, we were apparently pretty hungry and it was pretty good.  I've also got enough for leftover soup tomorrow night.

Leftovers are always a good thing!

Also, while the soup was simmering we noticed something.  Frasier's a wimp!  The pan was making a noise as it heated up and my dog would not even come inside the house as long as it was cooking.  I guess he didn't like the sound?  It might have sounded a lot like the electric fence did, and he wouldn't even come in for an offering of chicken!  Maggie was under no such confusion - but then, even if she had been confused I'm certain that food being offered would have won out.  Frasier did eventually get his chicken bite - but Otter had to take his bowl out to the garage and then as soon as he ate it, he was out the dog door again and on the other side of the lean-to.  Goofy boy!

*Fixins.  See my many, MANY posts with the label of TEXAS.  It won't be in all of them, but it's in a lot of them.

Cold Front Monday

We actually had a cold front hit today.  It only got into the 90's!  But they are actually calling it a cold front.  Makes no sense to me.

Anyway.

At least we didn't have to go to work today.  Otter did have classes, but the first one met at a local museum and they have a paper to write based on some of the exhibits.  Her 2nd class was at the school campus, but I don't think she really feels like she had a full school day.  I took her to the museum, then I went to Sam's which is just down the street and I also went to Hobby Lobby which is across the street from Sam's.  I had a trip planned to Sam's this week, so I just scheduled it for today.  Hobby Lobby was unplanned, but I got to Sam's about 15 minutes or so before they opened and didn't want to wait in the car.  I needed something at Hobby Lobby, and they were already open.  I got out of there just about the time Sam's opened so it worked out great.  I picked Otter up when the class assignment was over, then I ran her through Long John Silver's for lunch and took her back to school for her 2nd class.  She's now through with class for the week, so she's on vacation too.  Well, she does have the paper to write about the museum but that's not going to take her all week.

We had a trip to Petsmart this afternoon.  Maggie the Brave (not really!) needed a new collar.  Of course, Otter chose a girly one!  It's black with dark pink tiger stripes.  Maggie is a silly baby, she does not like to be without her collar.  No idea why, but she gets antsy without it.  She's now sporting her new jewelry, or at least a new collar and a new name tag.  Frasier could probably do without his collar, he doesn't seem to mind when it has to be taken off.

Both dogs managed to get themselves into trouble today, but honestly I think Maggie Moo had more to do with it.  When we got home, they left us a present:  trash strewn all over the kitchen floor!  I took the bag out of the can before I left, but then I forgot to put it out in the garage.  Bill was outside working on something, and they took full advantage of the fact that they didn't have any adult supervision.  It was a mess, but not as bad as it could have been.  Maggie greeted us with a lettuce core, but at least they didn't get into the coffee gounds that were also in the trash!  The last thing I wanted to deal with today would be a caffienated beagle.  Been there, done that and let's just say that it is not an experience I wish to relive.

Can we say Energizer Bunny multiplied exponentially?  :)

It's Going to be a Scorcher

I think we have another South TEXAS summer on our hands.  Today's official temperature was 104.  Same thing tomorrow.  Wednesday 105.  Although once you get to 100, it's kind of all the same!  Today was exactly what was forecast:  heavy air with little breeze.  Which makes it feel hotter.

I know, I shouldn't gripe - I did grow up with this after all.  But that doesn't mean that I have to like it!

Ok, on to other things.

Evilbugfiredeveldeniziensofhell.  Yes, we still have wasps!  The one that was starting a nest outside of Otter's window wasn't on the nest last night or this morning, so we thought that maybe it had abandoned it.  However, it's back this afternoon.  So, Billyboy's going to spray it later.  He did knock down the other two nests that were in front - the ones he killed first right after I got stung.  He didn't want anymore bugs to get any ideas and think tht they might be welcome here!

Of course, they might think that anyway.  At least, one of them did.  The one that Bill killed inside the living room this afternoon.  Otter was on the couch and she saw movement out of the corner of her eye.  It was climbing the curtains.  Bill got his electric fly swatter - the kind that electrocutes things.  Fried wasp does not smell good!  But, it is better than being stung by another one.  We're not sure how it got in, Bill said that it looked like it had a deformed wing and couldn't fly.  It could have come in with one of the dogs through the dog door, or it could have come in with one of us.  It was a big one and I thought at first that it was actually a hornet, but Bill said it was "just" a wasp.

Our vacation plans for next week have changed somewhat.  We have decided to put the zoo off until the fall.  Besides the fact that we don't want to be out in the heat if it's like it is this week (and it could well be), the animals won't be active if it's very warm.  So we will wait until it's a little cooler.  We will possibly go to a movie next week, thrifting, rambling shopping trip - we'll find something to do!  Even if it turns out that all we want to do is keep the couch from flying to the ceiling.

Actually, that sounds like a good thing to do tonight.  I think I'm going to have to do just that.  And I might just finish the crochet hat I started last night.

Wednesday, But it Feels Like Monday

Or maybe it's really Friday the 13th and nobody told me?  That is what the 95-year-old-teenager told me today.  Of course, from the day he (and I) had, I can see why he thinks that!

It was just one of those days, and I was very glad to see 3:30 roll around so I could escape.

Otter found the above picture and told me about it.  It's cute.  It's pretty close, too.  I found a similar one that talked about how wasps only desire is to mess things up for humans and it was right on.  It just had language I don't use, so it's not on here.  No sign of any of them today.  The fly/wasp trap has a couple of flies in it, which is not bad - but no yellow jackets.

The upshot of today is that it's one less day until Friday!

Today is the last day of spring/first day of summer.  That's because summer officially starts(ed) right after 6:00 p.m.  Although I don't think we really know what day it is.  Or what time it is.  The clock & calendar have been messed with too many times, so it's really all just a guess anyway.

Bill keeps asking me to spell words for him.  I can't type my thoughts and spell other words at the same time, so I'm going to post this.

Happy Summer!