Another day gone

I got nothing done - again - today.  Well, not exactly true, but nothing towards the craft show.

At noon, I went to the prayer/communion service at church.  It was a good thing.  I am glad I went.  I left feeling uplifted.

Before I left I had to go up to put away my ironing board and the like  because the guy was coming to check out the heaters.  Yes - we do use heaters around here!

When I got home, I found that we had Monkey Boy with us.  He was having a GI incident, and was sent home from school.  I'm glad G stayed behind to await the heater guy.  Daughter is running herself ragged trying to get all of her work done since her company is pulling them for a national meeting in Orlando in a couple of weeks.

So with MB here, I spent a lot of time with him.  I was also waiting for G to GET THROUGH WITH MY COMPUTER!  Sorry - irritates me.  I have to get the desk top fixed so I can get the router to work again.  Then I can trundle off upstairs, embroidery, and surf all at the same time!

So it is 4:30.  We are all anxiously awaiting Daughter's arrival.  Then more normal things can commence.

Yesterday I went out to pick up my Christmas present.  I ordered it before we bought the car.  I knew it was going to be expensive, but I was given the go ahead.  It was, after all, a lot less than  the new sewing/embroidery machine that was introduced at the same time. This little doozy allows me to  make almost anything into an embroidery design and put it directly into the machine.  Sweet!  I installed it yesterday on the little computer upstairs.  Having trouble with this one however. It is Windows 7, and I have had problems with things like that before.

So that was my exciting day.  Nothing worthwhile happened - except spending some time with  my grandson.  Funny - until this year, he could care less about me.  That has changed.  He loves me this year.  Seven year olds!!

Peace.

Er, remember me??

If you can't, I wouldn't be surprised.  We just came back from the edge of the world known as the SSB.  When there, we are in the vast never, never land known as "no internet."  I really am looking into that to change that little fact.  Of course, good ol' Sprint is really failing me now.  I was able to get a signal sometimes, now not at all, and the phone doesn't even work!  Eight more grueling months with that thing.  I would pay just about anything to rid myself of it right now.

To more pleasant things.  This Thanksgiving went the smoothest of all the ones (eight now) that we have been there.  The turkey was absolutely beautiful.  The sides were good.  It was all pretty much ready on schedule, and we had my SIL come over to join us.  The grandkidlets were well behaved.  Doodle Bug is really growing up.  She only had a couple of meltdowns!

My other SIL and I went to the Thriving Metropolis to shop and have lunch.  With MIL gone, so are all perceived tensions.  Things are back to the way they once were.  I am so glad.  I guess they felt they had been dumped on, but the woman  would have never come here.  We were certainly not her favorites.  Of three children, G came in last in favoritism.

Being without internet for 10 days meant that I spent about 3 hours this morning getting caught up.  One of the email sources I just deleted the entire thing.  There was no way I could get it all done.  This is especially true with the Black Friday and Cyber Monday thingy.  Wow.  All those emails.

Daughter and I were set to do a craft show Sunday.  Of course, Lady Bug, the fish, has a swim meet.  I can't be too upset.  This girl is really something.  Her strokes are the hardest ones for me - breast and butterfly.  She jets through the water.  Her least favorite is my second - the free style.  She says she is going to the Olympics.  I wouldn't be at all surprised.  Her coaches are amazed at her form and determination.

The craft show is, as always, in some jeopardy. It is being held outside completely.  They always bring in "snow."  I know - not a big deal for some of you, but our kids here love it.  If it is rainy, they try to cancel the snow before being delivered.  It is expensive, and no one would be there in the rain.  Yes, we are wimps around here with rain AND snow.  Something that doesn't happen.

So, after a respite of ten days, I really need to get upstairs and get on with my sewing.  Today has been a complete waste.  I haven't done a thing toward the show, and here it is 3:30.  Gad!  Well, all I can hope for is people falling in love with what I have and my pictures.

Peace.

So good with technology

NOT!!!  At least not any longer.  When I was an active duty teacher, I was a whiz.  I was the one who my colleagues would call to fix their a/v stuff and consult with about the computers.

Now?  Now I am lucky to get on line.  I have been left in the dust.  If something goes awry with this little gem, I am up the proverbial creek without that blasted paddle.

So now I am the one talking about getting a sling box to go on the cable box here, installing internet at the SSB, putting in two new routers, buying a computer for the SSB, and slinging my tv signal from here to there thus getting rid of the satellite (which has gone up yet again).  Have I lost my everlovin' mind?  I do believe so.

So now we bought a new vehicle that does everything but drive us to out destination while we party in the back.  It has taken me this week of reading and trying to find out how things work.

With my points from my credit card, I got a Blue Tooth a few years ago.  My son helped me to get it to work.  It did a good job, but the battery died.  It, of course in this age of disposable everything, cannot have a new battery put in.  Here in Swampland, if we are on the phone in a school zone - it is a huge fine.  Therefore - must have hands free.  I know you are asking what this has to do with the new vehicle.  Simple!

I have Blue Tooth in the new vehicle.  What does that have to do with my techlessness (love that non-word)?  I got it to work today!


There is hope, there is hope, there is hope!

Peace.

More sane - I hope

I haven't gone back to re-read yesterday's post.  I probably should take it down.  I was distracted by G, and wondering if I were really over whatever had taken control of my body.  One should never write under those conditions!

Things have settled down nicely.  I am feeling pretty well with only a few intestinal growls (I know - too much information).  Son called to check on me last night.  It was strange on Sunday night.  He, Daughter and I were all sick.  He had symptoms more like mine, and I would say we caught the same bug.  If we did however, it was from different sources.  Or this is a mighty bug since I last saw him the week before!

This little business I have going is not a money making proposition!  I told a lady at church I would do three little handkerchiefs for her.  She wanted four letters and the year.  Ok.

I did the first one.  I was all finished with it.  And as usual, with it all finished when I was trimming threads on the back - my super sharp scissors - the same ones that cut my foot when they fell on it - cut a teeny hole in the cloth.  Can you believe?  Sure you can if you have hung around here long enough.

I knew where she got these.  They were really pretty with lace around the edge.  She said they weren't expensive, and I already told her that I hoped it would go well, but there was no way I would ask her to buy another because I was so stupid.  So I set out to the gift shop.  Those suckers were $6! There was only about a thousand stitches to it, so the most I was going to charge was $1 per handkerchief.  So $3 supposed profit as opposed to $6 for the replacement, plus my gas out to the shop.

Perhaps one of these days I will become proficient.  I did learn a lesson here.  I know how to probably not do that again.  You DID notice the "probably."  That's because I know me too well.

All's well that ends well however.  I am only $1 out on this deal (well plus the $3+ for a gallon of gas).  She paid me $5.  One of these days things may go well, and I will make a profit!  But for now, it keeps me off the streets and mostly out of stores.  But I did find Christmas presents in that shop - they have some really cute earrings for the girls.  Probably $50/pair with another $50 for the charms that can be put on - but cute!

Peace.

To complete the weekend

We were to have dinner at Son's and DIL's last night.  I was excited about it - it was a chance for this part of the family to all get together for an early Thanksgiving dinner.  

Well, after church, we went to our favorite local Mexican food restaurant.  I got my usual - knowing I would have half of it for lunch today.  I felt full from breakfast but attributed that to the excitement of the weekend.

At church, during the congregational meeting, we, the women, felt we had been given the right to form our women's Saturday small group.  Don't get me wrong, our Pastor is great, but he has been narrow minded about this for a while.  So we were very excited.  

When I get really excited about something, I don't have an appetite.  So I thought this was just a normal thing.  

I was getting full really fast at lunch.  The restaurant had already kept half of my meal in the back to box it up, so I certainly didn't over eat, but I was so full I was miserable.

We got home and had to empty out the old Pontiac.  We were giving it to a family in the neighborhood who was really down on their luck and working so hard to get back.  Their other car had just been repossessed, and the man didn't have a way of getting to and from work.  So as I was trying to get everything out of the trunk, I was even more miserable.

That misery got worse.  By the time we were to leave for dinner, I had lost lunch.  I guess I should have stayed home, but I wanted to see all the grandkids together.  

DIL made a wonderful meal - I guess.  I didn't eat.  I came home and went to bed.  Today is much better.  

I guess my old system just can't take so much excitement anymore.

Peace.

What an end to the week!

We finally made the decision to buy a new car.  Why?  Well the same reason we bought a new truck two (?) years ago.  The other one was OLD.  My little Pontiac was/is 13 years old.  It should be in middle school now.

So we went to look at the web page for one of the big used car sellers.  We looked for a while.  We were looking for a mid-sized SUV.  There were some, but having waited for three weeks before we actually went to look - they were sold.

We had narrowed the search down to four makes, but we didn't want white or black.  The roads to the SSB would have them a dull red.  And we wanted an SUV rather than a car to traverse those roads sometimes.

When we finally made it to the lot, it seemed that all that was there were white and black ones.  At one of the other lots, however, there was a maroon one.  Oh great.  Our price range, year range, size range, and color.  So our salesman was going to have it transferred to our lot.  Someone had already put in a transfer request.

So back home leaving him instructions to look at what came up.  We did didn't really want to transfer from Austin or San Antonio.

Two days later, he called.  That afternoon, we drove it out.  In the time we were at the car lot, G's aunt called.  His cousin's wife had suddenly died from a massive heart attack.

G had always been close to this cousin.  They are about two months apart in age, and grew up in close proximity.  I told him it would be a great shake-down trip to really decide on the car.  So we were off to Rockport for the visitation and funeral.

Driving a brand new car on a road trip may not be the best idea.  Especially when it is an import, and we have never had an import before.  But we got there, and we fell even more in love with it!

Saturday was the funeral.  It was also a dear friend's wedding.  So as soon as the "message" was over at the funeral, we hit the road home.  That meant yesterday we began the day with a funeral and ended it with a wedding.

I was exhausted.  I slept well.  The wedding was beautiful.  Today was church, lunch, and family early Thanksgiving.  I just hope lunch digests better before we have to leave.  I am so stuffed from lunch.  Don't know why.

Hope your weekend is/was great!

Peace

Sweet sleep - at last?

Sleeping may be a fact in my life again!  When I talked to Daughter this morning, she told me that both Boxer girls will be going into boarding at the kennel that works with the rescue group.  EXCELLENT!

Of course, she managed to make me feel rather guilty about us spending Thanksgiving at the SSB.  But then it doesn't take too much for me to feel guilty about almost everything.  Anyway, Lady Bug is going to miss three swim practices.  Really.  I know she is in competitive swim.  She loves it .  She is more than good at it. She has set the goal of being an olympic swimmer.  She had a meet this past weekend and placed first in the 50 and 100 meter breast stroke.  But really - no break with the exception of Spring Break?

We are doing the only craft show of this year December 4.  LB has a swim meet that day.  I don't know what I will do.  I guess just hope for the best.  I would ask Son to help me set up instead, but he is way south of town being worship leader for a church down there.  G will hopefully do it with not much grinching about it.  I think I will go look for a cart to move things before that.  I have thought about it for a while.  That way he can just sit in the truck while I set up tables and merchandise.

Anyway, my life looks better now.  I don't have to think about several days with an untested Boxer and a poor cat.  Don't get me wrong -  Boxers are my passion.  They are so great.  But.  They can and do like cats a little too much.  They can have a big prey drive.  Our first one - a huge male - knew cats from the day he walked into the house.  He was absolutely fine with them - but squirrels and rats - another story!

I still am having a problem with the lies that come from SIL's mouth.  I still have a problem with a lot of things he does.  This is after them being together for 13 years.  I have to get a mind set change.  It is getting worse and worse.

So - now I have to trundle off upstairs.  I have been playing too much recently and need to get more things done.

Peace.

Not normal

Usually the time change wears me out, especially when we "fall back."  My body tells me that it is bedtime early.

That isn't happening this time.  I attribute this unnatural state to my Daughter and SIL.  I am still steamed about Angelica.  I am still steamed that they are planning to bring the other little Boxer girl, Princess, to the SSB.  She is untried around Simone AND Shadow.  I foresee five days of sheer hell.

There is no place to move around.  Someone (somedog ??) is going to have to be isolated.  G will not be happy about that.  If we have to put S and S in our room - he will not like having to be sure they are both cooped up while he makes his million and three trips to the bathroom or whatever.

If Princess is the one - she loves to sneak off and poop and pee.  At least we have solid surface floors everywhere.

It is just the fact that - again with the lies - we were never asked.  SIL would say that he wanted to see Princess with SImone.  He would add he wanted to compare sizes since Princess is a rather smallish Boxer.  Liar, liar, liar!  He wanted to see if they got along.  Why not just SAY THAT?  Gad - that man is pathological, and they wondered why his daughter from a fling lies all the time?  Well, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

Anyway, I am still upset about Angelica.  She is the one who is losing in this.  I tried to get Daughter to let me turn her back to the rescue.  No - she wanted her.  She is "thinking" about adopting her.

In the meantime, I am worried about this whole thing.  I know there is  no good coming from it.  Of course, it may just be Daughter's way of not coming to the SSB.  G is really angry about this.  He does need SIL's help - what there is of it.

Last time we were there, we talked about who we were leaving the place to when we are gone, not that it really matters.  We won't know.  But we know SIL won't take care of it.  He thinks he is a handyman.  He messes up more than he can do.  He had damaged the place already, and we watch him like a hawk.  Son and DIL don't come.  She, like a daughter, is wrapped up in her family.  This is especially true since she and her dad have reconciled.  We thought of just selling the place to our neighbor.

Another gripe session.  Sorry.  I hope to get out of this soon.  It doesn't help that last night I got the update on Previous Pastor. Doesn't look good.  He had surgery, and the tumor was larger than expected.  It was wrapped around some blood vessels.  They took the head of the pancreas, gall bladder, some stomach, and some intestine.  There will be chemo and radiation.

Also a dear friend who lives around the SSB was diagnosed with ovarian cancer.  G's aunt who lives up there had ovarian cancer the year before I was diagnosed.  She is still doing well, so there is hope for Pat.  I hope she can get the same type of treatment Flo got.  So my label has gone from the little c to the big c.  That's how I feel right now.

If you are of a mind - please include these folks in your prayers or thoughts.  Wish them well.  They need it.  I guess I do too to get over this funk I am in!

Peace

I swore I would never be this way

My MIL was a mean, vindictive woman.  She verbally attacked me on more than one occasion.  I knew what it was like to have at least one in-law from hell.  FIL was ok, but not her!

I promised myself I would NOT be that way.  I knew what it was like, and I simply would not be that way.

Well, guess what - it seems I am getting that way.  Not to the point of verbally attacking - at least yet, but I am getting to be angry with SIL.

The man doesn't know what it is like to open his mouth without having a lie come out of it.  When we first met him, all he did was try to impress us.  For example, he swore he and George Strait were friends.  He would refer to him only by the first name.  I tried to impress us with the fact he tried out for the Astros.  He didn't make it - at all.  Not even to the farm team, but he would always talk about the "Killer B's" as they were referred to.  Please don't ask me to name them - Bagwell, Biggo, and ???

Anyway.  Last night he was sitting there when Daughter said she didn't know what she was going to do with Angelica (remember the foster dog) while we are all at the SSB for Thanksgiving. Being with us is not an option with Shadow there.  He popped up and said "we are on a waiting list for boarding at the vet's office."  I KNEW that was wrong, but I just shut up.

This morning when Daughter called, he "beeped" in - as is the usual case.  He said the vet had a suite open for Thanksgiving.  There was no waiting list.  I just sat and fumed.  I was so glad there isn't telephone service for us with the camera.  I would have had a hard time hiding my expression.

Also last night, he was ragging on the church for having a "workship" yesterday.  They went to some group homes and worked instead of having formal worship in the church.  He knows that I am a great advocate of doing some things as a whole congregation in an informal setting.  We need to form bonds.

As he was sitting there, he said "that church meeting next Sunday ought to really be something."  Well, no.  We have just chartered.  Our next step is to elect our board and set a budget.  I told him that, and the answer was another lie out of his mouth - "oh, I know."

When I said that he interrupted my call with Daughter, it happens almost each and every time I am on the phone with her.  He calls her multiple times in a day.  When they were dating, she was almost fired because it was always calling her.  When she came home for a visit - he called about every hour on the hour.  Long distance.  His phone bill for the week was $300 - which he didn't have.

Whew - I feel better.  Vented that out.  There is more - like signing Monkey Boy up for year around baseball.  He said he would never push his kids into sports - ha!

Now I am through.  Thank you for allowing this.

Peace.

OK - now I am alert

I cannot believe I used to take four (!!) of those things (hydrocodone) a day, and not feeling it.  OMG!  I really was a danger on the roads and everywhere else.  That one knocked me for a real loop, but I finally metabolized it.

Now let's get back to where I wanted to be before the drug hit.  Oh, and by the way - there is no doubt I will NOT get back to where I was, and have to go through getting off again.  The effects were far too unpleasant yesterday.

Our trip.  It was a pleasant day and a pleasant drive although Mapquest didn't have the directions exactly correct.  Even though Austin is much smaller than Houston, traffic there is horrendous.  AND we were going to be staying downtown.  So, arriving at 4pm in downtown anywhere is not a pleasant thing.

Mapquest said this hotel was on the left  as we got to 6th street.  So we were looking closely, and there was nothing.  Well - a bank building.  So we went around the block - looking carefully for which were one way streets.  There was the hotel - on the right side of that intersection.

We pulled in, and registration was easy.  Good.  I love knowing that reservations go well.  We hauled our belongings up to the room, and there were a lot for an overnight stay.  I had packed two pairs of slacks and three blouses for the trip.  In Texas, at this time of year  you have to be prepared for heat or cold, and in fact, we did experience both.  So you really never over pack.

We were to go out to dinner with his brother and brother's wife that evening.  We called them, and they said they would pick us up.  So that  was taken care of, and  G decided to use the time between to find the court house.

When he came back, he said  it was easy to find, but it was up a STEEP hill.  He  reported that he had scouted out a place for breakfast the next day.  Staying on 6th street is staying in the party area of Austin.  There are a lot of restaurants and bars, but guess what - they are not open for breakfast.  I was reminded of our stay in downtown Ft. Worth where there was nothing for breakfast with the exception of the hotel, and evening meals started at $25.

We are used to the hustle bustle of big-city downtown, so we didn't want to move the car for breakfast.  We thought the traffic would be so heavy he would never make a 9 am court date, hence that was the reason for the downtown hotel.  We were in a  quandary about what to do.  We were fairly close to the campus of UT, so we set out in the car thinking we could find a grocery or something.  Our hotel was an extended stay, so we had a kitchen.  We could make out easily.

So off went.  In two blocks we came across a huge Whole Foods.  It looked fabulous, but it was on the left side of the street, and the traffic was terrible. We could have  never gotten in there.  We turned right to head more to the campus and housing area.  Sure enough - a convenience store .  They assorted food items among which were egg muffins that we could heat in the microwave.  Problem solved.

Dinner out was nice - supposedly at one of Austin's top four restaurants.  Perhaps one of the top four Mexican restaurants.  Not "Tex-Mex" but it was good - more Mexico City type of food.  The company was nice.  It seems all the tension that was there before MIL died seems to have disappeared. I am so glad for that.  We are too close and have too many mutual friends and relatives (duh!) at the SSB for there to be hard feelings about anything.

We got back to the room, and had been wondering why it was so noisy in the room, but we were on the street side, and just thought it was a noisy room.  The A/C fan didn't run continuously, just cycling on and off.  No white noise. So that would be a problem.  We are used to white noise.

So it was bed time.  Other than traffic noise - so many motorcycles - it was pure silence.  Neither of us slept soundly (oh so punny!) especially when the three fire trucks came screaming by.  When the blue norther hit - we could clearly hear the wind that was blowing about 40 mph.  It did get chilly in the room, and I turned on the heat which apparently had not been on this year. (It stunk, and G thought there was a fire.)

The next morning,  I looked out at all the folks bundled against the cold wind. All G had was a long sleeved shirt and his suit coat.  He is Mr. I Am Cold All The Time.   I realized that there wasn't  much traffic, so I volunteered to drive him the four blocks to the court house.  It was surprisingly easy.  The traffic was so light at 8:30.  Here the traffic around the court house(s) is a nightmare.

When I came back, I looked at the windows from across the room.  I could see daylight under the right side window.  They weren't closed all the way.  No wonder there was so much noise!  No wonder I could hear the wind.  I just sat and laughed.  The kicker here is that they wouldn't close either.  We should have asked for another room - but we didn't know that was a problem.

We survived though.  The drive home was nice - even though we got the news about out previous pastor and friend.  I didn't get a new pair of shoes, but all was good.  We certainly slept soundly that night too.

The cat was furious with us for being left alone over night.  Such an indignity has never happened to him before.  Simone had her spa day - a bath and her nails done - but she was a little miffed too because she had been left at the vet (among people who love her there too).

And that's how I spent my Wednesday/Thursday.  What an exciting life I lead.

Peace.

Holy Cow!

If yesterday's post was disjointed, this one will be worse.  I foolishly decided that I was a pack horse yesterday when I loaded up my suitcase and computer bag to take to the car.  I am paying for it today.  My back woke me this morning, and it still hurts - a lot.

So at breakfast I asked G's opinion about taking the dreaded hydrocodone until the pain goes away.  I do not want to be in the same boat again to go through withdrawal.   He said that probably would not happen.

So I went to my stash.  I took the hydrocodone along with the Lyrica.  I thought nothing of it.  I used to do it all the time, right?  In fact, I considered two hydrocodone.

I was sitting here going through free embroidery designs (I am  cheap).  All the sudden, I got dizzy and  nauseated.  I couldn't guess what was happening.  Then I remembered what I had done this morning.  Guess who isn't used to drugs?  Oh, my.  The bed is looking really good right now.

I was going to tell you about our experience in Austin.  Pretty funny, but I think that will have to wait.  See you after this all passes!

Guess it's that time of year

Who took the last seven days?  I was just here, and now seven days or so has passed.  Who took them?

I have been a sewing fiend - that part is true.  If I had  not left my camera at the SSB, I could chronicle some of that, but - that camera is sitting on the love seat up there.  So, you just have to take my word for it.

We just this minute returned from Austin where G probated his mother's will.  It was a simple process - taking less than an hour, but it involved driving there, staying overnight and all.

I rode along because SIL has been telling me about an outlet store for the hideously expensive shoes that fit my feet well.  She gets hers there.  So, I was going to use this trip for that.  Guess what!  We were ready to go in at 10:35.  They opened at 11.  There was nothing to do to waste that time, so we hit the road.  

No shoes and a $32 dog boarding fee.  That stinks!

On the trip back, Daughter called.  Our current pastor send them an email that our previous pastor (who confirmed and performed the marriages for both kids, baptized one grandchild and is a good personal friend) has pancreatic cancer.

That is why I am taking the time to post - other than I needed to.  I came home to check my email, and we have one too.  It doesn't sound good.  He is in the hospital now - can't have visitors.  So I don't know how bad this really is.  If you are the praying sort, I know he could use all the prayers offered up.

So - I guess I better unpack and change clothes.  Before I do that - I have to admit these one day trips are killing me.  I don't pack well for them.  In the case of MIL's funeral and this trip - I neglected to pack sleeping togs. This trip - and it is embarrassing -  I forgot underwear.  The old brain is going!  I am used to having most of what I need already in place - like at the SSB.

Oh well, peace be with you.