A Happy Belated Birthday To My Sister, Bratfink....

Although I left her a note on her Facebook page telling her that I was soooo sorry to have missed her actual birthday (she and I share a birthday month and she is the only sibling of mine that does), it does little to excuse me.  I have her birthday circled on my calendar but I just don't LOOK at the calendar on a daily basis.   I looked today after getting official notice of my great-grandson's birthday party to make sure the party was on a Saturday.  Lo and behold! there was the reminder about Bratfink's birthday.  I WAS reading my email daily but have fallen on my face and not read it for FIVE days.  

That was a shock to me.  Facebook's notification of Bratfink's birthday was in those emails that I hadn't read.  I read my email and there it was!  I knew she would notice that there was no happy birthday wishes from me.  She got a lot of wishes from so many people but she said at one point that she was thanking everyone that had wished her a happy birthday and noticed all the ones that hadn't.  Boy, did that hit me hard.  It's not like I am so busy taking care of four kids, a house and working a job.  I could be forgiven then, perhaps.  Even a phone call would have been better than forgetting.  *Sigh*  I just hope she forgives me.

Today the Beast had to attend a graduation party for the son of one of the members of his church.  He was there to take pictures of the attendees and the graduate.  Earlier in the day, the Princess and Gunner were here because the Princess needed to borrow one of the Beast's lenses.  She is going to take pictures of a friend's newborn baby.  She also wanted to borrow one of our small portable heaters.  Believe it or not, it was needed for a kind of *trick* you use to make the baby sleep.  It had been used back when they (the Princess and Johnnycakes) had pictures taken of Gunner by a professional photographer when HE was a newborn.

Gunner's two front teeth have finally pushed through (but have JUST pushed through) and now the Princess thinks he is getting the two next to them because he turned fussy again.  I played peek-a-boo with him and then he started rocking back and forth and would stop and wait for me to do the same.  That tickled him for whatever reason.  He did touch my hand a couple times and he even waved at me but he remained shy and by his mother's side.  I just don't get to spend enough time with him for him to be at ease with me yet.

His party is going to be held on the 13th at 3pm.  I responded to the invitation and said I would be there.  There will be a lot of people there from the responses since this one will be held at the kids house.  I am hoping for another nice day for it so that we can sit outside in the back yard.  Last year, for Chewlee's birthday, that was where we were so the kids could play on the big slide pool they had rented and there was a canopy with a table underneath it for the gifts and the snacks.  Chewlee also has a netted trampoline to play on (if they have put it up) and that keeps the kids busy, too.  Gunner is still too small for it but it does help keep him from being overwhelmed by distracting the kids.  I noticed at Chewlee's party that he attracted a lot of attention from them that he wasn't too happy about.  But then, he had just woken up from his nap and wasn't totally awake at the time.

I think the party is scheduled for when he has awakened from his nap so it's going to be a toss-up as to how awake he is.  He may be happier since he will be at home and in his own bed.  The Princess has plans to take his picture in an outfit she has ordered.  She wants to take it on his actual birthday (the 9th) and was upset that what she had ordered hadn't even shipped as of today.  At least, she hadn't been notified when she got here around noon.

We were in the midst of a power failure when she got here.  It affected our whole town and the surrounding areas, according to the recording we got when we phoned the power company.  Why do we get these failures on a day when the sun is shining and it's nice outside.  Okay, yes, it was really hot out (88 degrees at the time), but if it's all the air conditioning that people are using, shouldn't the power company be able to adjust for those times?  It was off for almost two hours.  Our house was nice and comfortable due to it's construction.  It appears that we have good insulation (everywhere BUT the floors).  We should have better insulation there just because of the crawl space under the house.  The Beast says it's poorly installed under there and probably should have been redone.  Now it would be too costly for us to hire someone to redo it and the Beast isn't physically able to do it himself.  But it holds it's temperature well whether we have to heat it or it's just cooled down during the night like it has been lately.  I don't remember being uncomfortable last summer until very late in the day and then only when the temperatures hit the high 80's (like today) and higher.

Well, it's time to get this posted and try getting a little more sleep.  Love you all.  Hope you have a nice Sunday.  One of our neighbors had a little fiesta at their house for their Latin friends but they sent over some carne asada, tortillas, rice and some hot sauce that I forget the name of at this moment.  It's pico something-or-other.  LOL.  It sucks to get old and forgetful.  I'll remember right after I post this, I'll bet.  ***Hugs***

The Problem With Too Much Rain.....

I wish I could send some of the rain we've gotten the past few weeks to areas of the country that are suffering from drought.  Really.  Our ground is so saturated in areas that you can't safely mow.  The pond we have on one area of the circle is almost full now.  That just means more area for mosquitoes to lay their eggs and we will have a heck of a summer.  I have to remember to have the Beast get us some Yard Guard for when we want to sit outside this summer.

It has also made some of our plants just grow wild and many have doubled in size.  The tomato plants have gone nuts and we have lots of branches that need support now because of the sheer number of tomatoes on them.  It will create a bigger problem as time goes on if the rain suddenly ceases.  Why?  Because of the amount of water needed to help the tomatoes fill out.  The Beast won't water them enough because he hates a high water bill.  It drives me nuts when he does that.  He won't listen to me and it means more of the tomatoes won't really develop like they should.  I would like to be able to can a few jars if possible.  *Sigh*

It is also humid as heck outside with the heat we are having.  The Beast, I've noticed, starts sweating almost immediately.  Not so me.  I guess his problem with the heat is even worse than he has always said it was.  All it has to do is hit 80 degrees outside and he's sweating like a pig from the humidity that is present due to all the water in the ground.  Even if we don't have any rain for the day (or night), the humidity is hanging in there at 100%.  I only wear a headband if I am out pulling weeds.  THEN is when I feel the humidity but not sitting on the deck like the Beast.  When he has to mow the lawn, which is often with all the rain, he wears his *safari* hat to try to keep the sun off his head and help him keep from sweating more than normal.  I told him to wear a headband from one of his neck scarfs (the red or blue ones like train engineers have always been shown to wear).  You can just fold it up and tie it around your forehead.  That's what I use.  It works much better for sopping up sweat.

Today it's supposed to be warn again and I have weeds to pull in the strawberry patch.  The Beast has to finish mowing the lawn area next store so we won't have to work together today.  He can be a pain about just what I am pulling.  I had a garden long before he ever decided to be a *farmer*.  *Sheesh*  

Love you all.  Time to get this posted.  Hope you have a great weekend.  Barbeque.  Invite a few friends over.  Do something different.  ***Hugs***

Lady Comes And Goes....

Vicki called me this morning.  Thankfully I was awake when she called.  She was almost crying but she said she had to give me back Lady.  It seems Lady escaped and headed right for the farm next door.  The people that owned the farm raise chickens for their living.  Lady thought the birds were fun to chase all over the place (she dug a hole under the fence where the chickens were confined).  They had a fit and Lady thought their trying to catch her was good fun and not a real threat.  She eventually headed back to Vicki's and Vicki got a call from the neighbor.  They said if she showed up on their property again, they were going to shoot her.  I guess she caused a couple of the chickens to injure themselves and they were outraged over it.

They didn't care that Vicki had no idea that Lady would tunnel under the dog run she was in at the time.  They held her responsible and were dead serious about shooting Lady.  Since Vicki has another dog that's part Border collie like Lady, she had gone through this stage that Lady is in.  Lady really hasn't been trained to mind.  She has gotten good on a leash once we got the training collar for her.  She does know the commands for *sit* and *lay down* but she is headstrong on the command to *come* if she is in the mood to run and have fun.  Vicki, I believe, isn't up to the task of becoming the *leader* to Lady.  Until and unless someone takes that position and makes her respect them, she will be a bit on the wild side.

So I meet up with Vicki and get Lady from her as well as her bed and the paper from the vet that says she has had all her shots as well as rabies.  Lady is wearing her regular collar and the rabies tag is on it so no problem there.

Poor Lady seemed very confused when I took her from Vicki.  Vicki looked like she was going to cry and kept telling me she was sorry she had to give her back but she didn't want her shot.  She said she knows the neighbor and they would have shot her in a heartbeat.  The chickens are their means of making a living and they could care less that she was *just having fun* and wasn't being vicious.  I can understand.  Lady wasn't THEIR dog.

I wasn't all that upset primarily because Vicki was an older person and I had my doubts about her being up to the job of training Lady.  But her dog is older and I think she wanted Lady mostly for company when her other dog died, to put it bluntly.  I knew something Vicki didn't....Sheepie had a friend that already had an older dog that was also part Border collie and that friend wanted Lady.

We had the friend come over to meet with us (we wanted to get our own impression of her and make a judgment about if SHE was up to the job of becoming boss).  She brought her other dog to see if the two dogs got along (they did for the most part).  After talking with her and telling her the things that were good AND bad about Lady, she felt she could handle Lady in the same way she had handled her dog when she was younger.  She also is the type of person that takes her dog on long walks since she lives on a piece of property that has several acres of land.  Lady walked out to the car, on her leash and off she went.  But I feel so much better about Lady's future now.  She truly is a dear sweet dog.

We made BLT's today because we had fresh bread, good lettuce and a couple of tomatoes from the Beast's plants.  I want you to know....the sandwiches tasted AWESOME.  I had forgotten just how good a fresh, ripened on the plant (why do they say *the vine* when it's not a vine?) tomato tasted.  It was a totally different taste from what we had gotten used to eating.  I can't even describe how good the tomatoes were but I am looking forward to more of them ripening.  I can't wait to eat them.

All the rain has made the plants grow like crazy and they are full of tomatoes of various sizes.  We are going to check them all and lend additional support where it's needed.  They all are *caged* but as the tomatoes grow and ripen, they can end up breaking the branches they are on and that would be tragic.  We have a special kind of *tape* that we use that won't cut into the fragile branches but we can then tie them to the cage that is helping to support the plants.  The plants are just about twice the size of the support, they have gotten that tall!  When the Beast said they needed fertilizing, I had visions of giant tomatoes attacking....LOL.  Attack of the Killer Tomatoes was the absolute worst movie ever made.  I can't believe it was made seriously.  It had to be some kind of gag....but if it had been *Killer tomato PLANTS*, I think the Beast's plants might have been up to the part.

It was a nice, sunny warm day.  I checked with Cee and her son, Michael, had put the bookcase together very quickly once he came over to her house.  Figures, right?  He really didn't need the instructions because he said he's put together so many of the same type of things.  She now has her CD player and all her CD's in the bookcase.  When I was there, I got to see the bed she bought for the second bedroom.  She has such good taste in how she decorates things to suit her *style*.  Very nice and cozy feeling.  She hadn't gotten the picture for the wall that she ordered yet but it was supposed to come today.  She was going to have Michael hang it for her.  The whole apartment has a nice look and feel to it.  

Love you all.  I have to post this before it becomes a book...LOL.  Be good.  Be safe.  ***Hugs***

The Bookcase Is A Bust.....

When I went over to Cee's, she had unpacked the bookcase parts and we set to work.  But we ran into a problem immediately.  The divider for the lower part of the bookcase didn't fit in place correctly.  It showed it as being flush with the front of the shelf, and there was no way it fit.  More on this later.

Then, part of the instructions did NOT show how the pieces that did NOT have cams on them fit together.  It did not have the peg-type fittings that I am used to having for that since the pre-drilled areas were flush to each other.  There were these two screw ended pieces that couldn't possibly have been screwed into them due to their being flush to each other.  It didn't make sense to use them unless you pounded them into the holes and that could/would make the holes bigger and easier to separate if you should try to move it with anything in it.  Like I said, they may be clever these Japanese but their instructions SUCK, especially if the pictures don't tell the story and they are missing a thing or two.  

Since Cee decided she would just have her son, Mike, come over tomorrow to try to figure it out rather than us going nuts, I told her to be sure to tell Mike to bring some wood glue with him.  If those two-sided screw pieces ARE to be used in the flush areas, that will make sure the sections stay together once the glue dries.  I told Cee I would show her what I mean by *peg* pieces when she comes over to my house next time so she can see what I think was missing out of her kit.  The things they may have meant to be used will need to have a book or something thick placed in between the hammer and the pieces to prevent breaking and cracking of the veneer.

Back to the divider....I have to call Cee and tell her to have Mike just hammer a couple nails in the bottom of the divider once it's put together and that will cover the hole that she was going to have to cover up with her CD's after she put some putty or spackle into it.  It will hold it just fine.  She just can't have the nails be too thick or it will crack the veneer.  The little nails that came with the kit are for putting the cardboard backing onto the finished bookcase.  Besides, they aren't long enough....LOL.

Other than that, I am having a bit of a problem with my left eye.  That's the one with the retina problem.  The retina doctor told me to come see him if I noticed any changes and this has become kind of obvious the past week.  It's becoming more of a pain in the butt because I am having to close my eye to see without a problem more and more often.  I don't want to mention that to the Beast.  I will just make the appointment and have the Beast drive me.  I have a feeling I am probably going to have to have the surgery on that eye.  *Sigh*  Will these surgeries never stop?

Warm again tomorrow but not too warm.  Chewlee gets home from her trip to Orlando with her other grandfather then, too.  I'll bet they stopped in Destin so Chewlee could get a day in the ocean, which she told me she missed a few months ago.  The grandfather is going to sell his house in Destin and wants the Princess to keep her eye open for a house up here for him so he will have more of a chance to see Chewlee when he is home from Afghanistan.  His hopes, however, for a house at the price he wants to pay which he wants to include a two car garage AND a pool is totally unrealistic.  He probably needs to work with a realtor because I doubt he will believe the Princess that it CAN'T be had here.  Sure, our homes here are cheaper than Florida houses but not THAT cheap.  He also should give up the idea of an inground pool unless he is prepared to pay the higher taxes.  He will need to think about a pool heater, too, if he wants to start swimming in it early in the Spring.

Love you all.   I hope you have a great day tomorrow.  I wish you good weather and a happy day.  ***Hugs***

So Far, So Good.....

I called Vicki today to try to find out how things were going.  I gather they are going well.  Her other dog is acting like she is Lady's mother.  They are playing together until Lady gets tired and then, when Lady lays down, her older dog lays down next to her and licks her like she is her baby.  Vicki thinks it's adorable.  She gave them some plastic water bottles to play with (some have beans in them) and she said they loved them.  They were tossing them around and teasing each other with them.  I gather Lady is happy in her new home.  In a way, it makes me happy and sad at the same time.  I miss her sweet disposition and how she loved to jump in my lap, lick me and settle down.  The Beast said the same thing.  But since she has a companion dog now that likes and accepts her, I can't wish anything better for her.

I am going over to Cee's tomorrow to help her put together a bookcase she bought.  It was the only white one she could find that will fit in nicely with her new living room set.  I told the Beast about it when Dennis was sitting at the table with him.  He couldn't very well object to it....LOL!    So I will grab my screwdriver which has changeable ends and a small hammer (I've done this before) and head over to her place tomorrow.  I will enjoy having the time away from the Beast.  Not that he gives me a hard time at all but he is always, always coming into my computer room to share news about stuff I really don't care to hear about.  I admit that he does come in with some funny stuff from time to time but not often enough.

Today was very warm and I checked the tomatoes.  They are doing well.  We are going to have a shitload of them around the same time.  I'm sure I will be setting some aside for Tara and the Princess when that happens.  I should go out tomorrow and check on the strawberries again.  With all this rain, they should have some ready for picking.  I'll do that when I get back from Cee's.

It's not going to be quite as hot tomorrow but should still be pleasant out.  After we finish putting the bookcase together, we should easily be able to sit out on her little balcony for a bit.  I'm looking forward to that.  The Beast will only sit out on the deck early in the morning or in the evening once it cools down.  The hummingbirds are back and feeding at our two feeders once again.  They are so cute to watch.

Love you all.  I hope your week started well.  Be careful driving.  Smile a lot.  Life is good.  The alternative sucks.  ***Hugs***

Missing Lady.....

I decided today that I will call Vicki tomorrow to see how things are going with her and Lady.  I want to let her know that if she finds out that Lady is not working out for her, she can bring her back.  Sheepie has a friend that would like her and she has a friend that has an older Border collie mix.  I wish Sheepie had called earlier to tell us that since her friend is younger than Vicki and might be a better *fit* for Lady's needs.  I don't want her calling Animal Control if things don't work out since they automatically put all animals that are turned in *down for the count* because of the number of animals that are dropped off around here.  They just don't have the funding to care for the sheer amount that they get calls about.  A couple years ago, one of our neighbors called about a stray animal that had turned feral and he was told to just *shoot the animal* and they would come and pick up the carcass.  Not a lot of compassion to be found here.  *Sigh*

It really IS a bitch to get old and not be able to get around well enough for a young dog.  Who would have thought it?  I sure didn't but that's life.  The Beast and I loved her but she needed something more than we could give her.  She was very active and needed to be walked and/or ran further than we were able to provide.  She also would run off into the field when the Beast would take her for a run around the circle and the Beast was not up to chasing her.  She would return to the house a half hour or so later but she would be full  of burrs and sometimes ticks, too.    

Since the vet has diagnosed Lyme disease in local dogs, it means the ticks are carrying that around here now.  That can be passed on to people if the tick attaches itself to a person.  When we first got Lady and she was full of ticks, I found one in my hair (and freaked out, trust me!).  It's not fun to go through the hair of a dog with a double coat to try to find any ticks that haven't been affected by the spray you use on them.

I hate ticks.  They are SO gross when you think about it.  Dogs get them in their ears even so you have to inspect them closely and remove any you find.  If they have been in place long enough, they get HUGE from the blood they ingest.  Yuk!

The Beast decided that he wanted to make this Hamburger Helper nacho cheese dinner for us since we have some great tortilla chips.  It has noodles in it but it was great with the tortilla chips.  The Beast just crumbled up some in HIS dinner but I used mine to scoop it up.  Fantastic taste.

I lost my internet for a while earlier this evening.  Another storm, of course.  One of the Beast's tomato plants has gone nuts due to the rain.  It provides important nutrients from what I understand.  I believe it just because it seems to have doubled in size and volume.  Plus it is full of small tomatoes that weren't there last week.  The pepper plant has done the same thing.  I'm glad because we use a lot of them in many of the things we cook.  If we have an excess, we have family that will welcome getting some.  Ditto the tomatoes.

Love you all.  I am heading back to bed as soon as I post this.  We are supposed to have another warm day (lower 80's tomorrow).  But no rain in the forecast.  Just clouds.  Our humidity has been 100% for days now so it's kind of sticky once it gets warm.  I hope you are having better weather.  Be good.  Be careful.  ***Hugs***

Big Boomers And No Internet

I'm sure the Princess was glad they were home and settled in before the thunderstorms hit us last night.  I kept losing my TV and had no internet so couldn't write my blog.  I tried going to sleep since I figured I would have to wake to use the bathroom but the thunder and lightning didn't allow me that respite.  I normally like a good thunderstorm but I am usually asleep and just wake slightly when one rolls in.  When it seemed to be right over us at this end of our town, each time the lightning lit up the sky (and the window), the boomer hit right along with it and it jolted me.  I thought about the Princess and her saying that Gunner didn't sleep through boomers and felt sorry for her if she had to deal with a scared baby.

It got very warm yesterday....87 that I know of (last time I checked it).  I told you the Beast set up an outdoor/indoor temperature thermostat.  It surprised me that he didn't turn on the AC until it was dark outside.  That was more to get rid of the humidity than the heat, I think.  It was already humid in the house.  I stayed in my computer room with the door shut so it didn't cool down MY room.  I LIKE the heat...LOL.

A woman the Beast knows decided she wanted Lady, sight unseen.  She had fond memories of her border collie that died a few years back.  She had heard that Lady was sweet natured and smart and that was good enough for her.  We did warn her about the chewing problem although that seems to have been less of a problem lately.  She has an older dog that she knows will not be around too much longer and she really doesn't want to be mourning another loss without a dog around to help her grieve and get over it.  Of course, once she came over to meet Lady, she was in love with her.  She decided she is going to call her Ladybug (?) just because she thinks it sounds *warmer*.  She lives out in the country and says her nearest neighbor is a cow....LOL.    She walks her other dog for the exercise it gives HER she told us.  We gave her Lady's bed, collars and the leash and Lady walked off, happily, with her.  She jumped right into the back seat of Vicki's car and that was that.  

Funny, but the house feels a little empty without her but I think Baron was glad to see her go except that SHE got to go for a ride!  LOL!  That part he was NOT happy about.  

I didn't do much yesterday because I woke up with a stomach ache.  I halfway expected to have a case of IBS but, lo and behold, it didn't happen.  Perhaps now that the offending section of intestine is gone, I may actually NOT have a problem for the six months the doctor said was all that was needed for it to be over for me.  Only time will tell.  But I am hopeful.

The Beast is back complaining about his knee but he's not putting the ointment on it.  He's afraid he's going to run out of it before he finds more.  I told him to go check at Walgreen's and CVS since those two should have anything that Walmart doesn't carry.  I doubt his aunt bought it anywhere BUT a drug store.  She could be strange that way.  I figure I don't have to listen to his moaning and groaning if he isn't even putting the ointment on his knee.  Of course it hurts....sheesh.  He doesn't even take an aspirin to help alleviate the pain.  He's that difficult to get to take any kind of medication that it's no wonder he *forgets* to take his blood pressure pill all the time.

We are supposed to be getting more thunderstorms today so I am going to get this posted now.  I love you all and wish you a fantastic week with great weather.  I'm not responsible if you DON'T get it but I hope you do.  ***Hugs***