Electricians and a Cool Friday

The electricians came and put a new receptacle in the kitchen.  Now the microwave, refrigerator and washer all have their own circuit breakers. 

They will come back next week to put a wall plug in the bathroom.   Using the hair dryer in the kitchen has been a bit of an inconvenience. 

It’s nice and cool today but it won’t last.  We still have all of August to go.

Yesterday I found a lot of dog poo on the floor in my bedroom.  

I think I may have solved the doggy temper tantrums.  A few days ago I gave Teddy a major brushing, combing, and trimming.  To do that I took his collar off.  I didn’t put it back on until last night.

He likes the jingling tags that hang on the collar, he wanted his collar back on.  CHEEEESH!!!

I’ve lived with a man who wanted a crease down the front of their jeans. 

I lived with a man who wanted his clothing hung all facing right and all the hangers in the same direction. 

I lived with a man who wanted his coffee delivered to his nightstand before he got up.

I now live with a dog who wants his collar to jingle. 

I guess I can deal with that.

I had a request for another picture of the newly painted house.  One thing they did that helped was they painted all the wires that are on the outside of the house.  I’m thinking shutters on the front 2 windows – maybe.  Once you start there is no place to stop.

The only major thing left is for the RV.  The roof needs to be sealed and that will be about $1700.00. 

It’s always something.

I think I’ll go over the the Butter Street Barn and visit my friends.

Later….

Dogs

Slept on the couch last night due to a large wet spot in my bed.   The bed doesn’t get checked until bedtime so there was no warning.  The spot was rather large, covering part of the pillow and had soaked thru to the mattress. 

Maybe the culprit got a clue at how upset I was by the way I pulled the bedding off the bed and stomped into the laundry room with it. 

Maybe I got a clue as to who was the culprit by finding Silly on the bed as I approached.  Did she read yesterday’s post?  I wouldn’t be surprised. 

We discuss world affairs sometimes.  She thinks dogs could do a better job of running things.  A little snarling and sniffing, a lip curl and a stiff legged stance with the  hairs on the back standing up could substitute for nuclear ambitions.

I agree with her – so why wet my bed?

Both dogs were pretty upset when I made them come out of the bedroom and closed the door.

I woke with Teddy curled up beside me on the couch even though I had told him “off”  when I laid down.  I swear he can lay on 4 inches of couch. 

He has lost some weight.  He was 33 pounds at his last vet visit.  Yesterday we both got on the scales and he is down to 28.  The goal is 25.

So today’s job is laundry and making the bed once I sanitize the mattress.   I think the stuff for that is in the RV.   Nature’s  Miracle and Fabreeze work well.

Maybe I’ll get something done

later….

Pets and PET Scans

Survived another PET scan.   Only got lost once while getting to the hospital, daydreaming.  Also got lost in the hospital trying to find my way out.  

I think only very healthy people can get PET scans as it is about 1/2 mile from the parking area to the Nuclear Medicine area.  Luckily they let you doze in that tube for 40 minutes before you have to trek back to your car.

The dogs are always happy to see me come home.  I am having a hard time deciding about Silly.  She is failing slowly.  I give her pain pills every day.  They have to be hidden inside pieces of food as I can’t open her mouth anymore. 

She has trouble finding a good place to lay down.   I know it is my job to decide when she has had enough.  She is still eating well, just very slowly as her mouth is sore.  She has lesions in her mouth.  Tough decision but part of owning a pet.

Didn’t get much else done today except sweeping part of the kitchen.

The electrician is coming Friday morning.  He says he will add more circuits so the refrigerator,  washer,  and microwave can all have their own circuits.

Later…. 

Ironing and Electrician

Wow – I even ironed a few pieces of clothing!  That is rare for me.  I learned to iron at age 10.  It was a big step for me.  I had to stand on a stool to reach the ironing board.  I was only allowed to iron handkerchiefs and pillow cases.  They had been sprinkled with water and rolled up so the moisture got distributed throughout.

It’s good to think about how things have improved over the years.   The reason I had to iron today was that I am out of those dryer sheets that take out the wrinkles.  

Wrinkles are not always a problem for me but tomorrow I have a PET scan.  This time it is at the hospital instead of the doctors office.  That’s because my doctor moved.  I wouldn’t want to go to the hospital all wrinkled, well at least not my clothes all wrinkled. We won’t discuss other kinds of wrinkles.

It’s interesting that the different PET scans I have had all have different preps. 

The first one was done in a semi truck that came from Cincinnati.  The prep for that one was:  no sugar or carbs for 24 hours before the test and nothing to eat for 6 hours before.

The next several were:  48 ounces of water the day before and nothing to eat for 6 hours before.

This one they said just nothing to eat for 4 hours before.  I don’t know what the difference is and I doubt if there is much difference. 

I am at the point that I just say “whatever” and try to do as I am told.   I don’t expect to get any results from this test any time soon.  I was told they will do another one in Sept. and then compare the results.

I called an electrician today about the houses problems.  The refrigerator and washing machine are on the same circuit breaker.  That seems to be the main problem.  I am now on their list to get it fixed.  They will probably call while I am gone tomorrow.

Later….

Grocery Shopping

Grocery shopping is not my favorite thing to do.   In my perfect world food should just appear when needed.  Right!

So I have to play tricks on myself to get the job done.  I make a list of what I am out of or low on.   This goes on for several days.  I put it off and figure how to get by without going to the store. 

Eventually I have to do it.  This week I waited until I was hungry and had a pretty long list of basic things like mustard and ketchup and mayonnaise.    (I just had to go look at the bottle to see how to spell mayonnaise – who knew it had two n’s in it.) 

The greatest joy is when I can skip a whole aisle. 

When the kids were teen agers I used to make the list in the order the items were kept in the grocery store, give them half the list and half the money.  The list was on an envelope with coupons in the envelope and a “C” by the items that had a coupon.  They could keep whatever money they had left but they had to get all the items on the list. 

They soon learned that not all generics brands were a good idea but some were okay.

I always had to take them with me when they were really little.  The smallest one in the cart seat, the other two had to keep one hand on the cart.  The first thing we got was a little box of animal crackers which they had to carry by that little string handle.  That kept all hands busy.

Maybe I just miss dragging kids along with me – NO that isn’t possible.

Maybe I’m just lazy. 

Today I did the BIG shopping and found almost everything on my list.   It was a bit cooler today than it has been for several days.  There have been heat alerts and the news said someone’s dog died of heat and thirst.  Really stupid.

My dogs haven’t wanted to stay out for very long.  I keep the A/C thermostat set at 78 which is great when it is in the 90’s outside.  The heat index was 110 yesterday.  We haven’t been taking walks.  That kind of heat is as bad as the below zero weather in the winter.  You can always put more clothes on but you can only take so much off.

Later….

Silent Night?

I’ve been wanting to record the sounds I hear when I let the dogs out for the last time at night.  So I did it tonight.   I hope it works on here.  When I uploaded it went to youtube.com first. 

That’s my backdoor you see and that’s cicadas and tree frogs or toads and an occasional swish of a car from the road in front of the house.  Turn the sound up on your computer before you listen to it.

Night Sounds in Ohio in July.

The estate sale went okay today except for a bit of shoplifting and the police being called.  Why do people do that?!  Luckily there is a picture of the item and there is hope that the culprit will be caught.

The sale was enjoyable due to good friends working together. 

Another very hot day tomorrow and I will be at the antique barn to help out while some of the dealers help finish up the estate sale.

Grandson Jake came by and mowed my lawn this afternoon.  Grandkids are great.

Later….

Getting Rid of Stuff

A very dear friend of mine is having to help her husband dispose of her sister-in-laws possessions.   Her sister-in-law is in hospice but still alert and aware of what’s going on.   What a sad but necessary job.

The estate sale is this week.  I’m going to try to help them out, even though it may just be a a warm body to watch for shop lifting.

To top it off there are family members who are objecting to the process. 

I am so grateful that our family was able to get through emptying our Mother’s home without undue problems.  The theory was that if you got one thing you wanted you had to take 10 things you didn’t want.   After that the neighbors were called in for a free garage sale.  The rest went to the Salvation Army.

It was a very different circumstance for us as our Mom was already gone so we didn’t have to account to anyone for every item and where it went and for how much.

There is something to be said for dropping over suddenly. 

Sad subject, I know, but it eventually gets us all and as I get older I think more about it.  I’ve been forcing stuff onto my kids for quite a while, trying to simplify my life and un-complicate  things for them later.

Estate sales can be fun.  A friend and I ran one once for a couple who were moving into their retirement home.  A frail elderly lady driving a very expensive car found a vegetable brush in the kitchen and offered 10 cents for it.  I accepted her dime.  Then as she was going down the front steps she wobbled so I helped her down the steps.  Everyone teased me about the service I gave for a dime purchase.  Hey, maybe she got that car by suing someone for falling on their steps.

You never know what’s gonna happen….

later….

Friday and a Play

Okay, I broke down and bought Carbonite to back up my computer for me.   It has taken it 3 days to get it all backed up but now the stuff on here is secure.  woohoo

Just went to see my grandson, Willie, in a play about goldilocks and the 3 bears.   He has been attending a theater day-camp all week and this was their presentation.   It was a real hoot.

The play was a court scene giving different possible versions of the story.  Willie was Papa Bear and had several lines.   It turned out the bears were guilty of leaving their home unlocked and Goldilocks was guilty of entering an unlocked house.  The lawyers turned out to be the guiltiest of all for trying to make a big deal of it.  I like that.

They did a lot of work during the week using the TV show “Whose Line is it Anyway” as a guide.   It sounded like they had a lot of fun.

Next week is pottery day-camp.  Sounds like fun to me.  Maybe I’ll enroll in day-camp.

Later….

Rain Water etc.

It has been raining – a lot.  My house has a stone cellar, just stones piled on top of each other with some concrete between. 

Last year I had city water installed.  I didn’t notice that the plumbers left two old iron pipes open where the water came into the cellar from the old well.

Some of the downspouts were also rerouted recently which put extra water at a corner of the house, right where the old well was.

The rain that came yesterday, 3 inches I have heard, came fast and hard.   I heard the sump pump working so I went to look in the cellar. 

Water was gushing out of the two pipes with more water pressure than I get from my faucets.     The water was a couple of inches deep in places and still coming fast.

I went back upstairs and mentioned a pool in my house on facebook.  A few minutes later there was a knock on my door.  Al,  fellow antique dealer/handyman,  had seen my facebook page and came to the rescue. 

Off we went to Lowe’s.  We wondered up and down the aisles considering several different fixes.   I was thinking liquid nails, several tubes.   Then I pictured a plug of liquid nails flying across the cellar.

Al settled on a couple of fixes.  I helped out by reminding him that most of that stuff still had a hole in it.  He was undaunted by my opinions. 

He found short pieces of hose that would clamp over the pipes.  Then he found plugs to go in the ends of the hose pieces.

Today he came back with tools and my old pipes now are plugged up.  YEAH!!!

There may never be another downpour like that again but if there is the cellar is ready for it.

The dehumidifier is working hard to dry out the cellar.  It is amazing how well it works.

Then I remembered the last time the tax assessors came around and asked if my basement was finished.  RIGHT!  I told them it was as finished as it was ever going to be.  Guess I was wrong.

Who knows what’s going to happen….

Later….

Just a Regular Day

I feel I should apologize when I have nothing to say.  I look at the site meter that tells me how many people looked at my blog  and I feel guilty that there is nothing new for them to see.

I get up, let the dogs out, let the dogs in, feed the dogs, eat breakfast consisting of yogurt and dry cereal, take a shower and get dressed.  Sometimes that takes me till 9:00 or even 10:00.

I check email and facebook and woot.com, then I check the blogs I follow.  Then I try to get something productive done, like laundry or dishes or cooking or cleaning.  Sometimes I just read a book.

Sometimes I get a call from Lory or Susan or a friend or my brother. 

I eat lunch, a sandwich and a banana and canned fruit, followed by some dark chocolate. 

Afternoons involve a nap sometimes or a trip to the post office or the bank or the library or the grocery. 

Monday’s I put out the trash, Wednesday’s I play pogo.com when the new challenges come out.   (I play pogo.com some every day.)  My excuse for playing pogo games is to keep my mind active. 

Evenings I feed the dogs again then feed myself, watch TV or read a book. 

I like to watch TV, Fox news in the morning, then TNT or  USA in the evening, or Animal Planet sometimes.  The history channel has some neat stuff also.  American Pickers on Mondays is good.  I also like The Closer.

On Friday or Saturday I go to the Butter Street Barn to visit with my friends, the other dealers there.   I also pick up any money from sales the week-end before. 

Sometimes I comb Teddy and give him a hair cut.  Since he can only tolerate this for a short time it is always an ongoing project.

Today I had planned a whole day off, it has been a busy week.   I stayed in my night shirt and put on jeans and slippers.  After lunch I planned on hitting the couch and watching some reruns on TV.

Then the electricity went out……….  I found myself laying on the couch holding the TV remote clutched to my chest unable to doze off.  The dogs came to comfort me – I must have looked pathetic.  Silly got the front half of herself up beside me and offered comfort and places for me to scratch.  Then Teddy took a turn.

That got me laughing – oh well – the best laid plans of ….

The electricity is back on as is the TV. 

Just another regular day….

Later….

July 8 – Errands and Laptop Fixed

Thursday July 8 – WooHoo!!!  Got the laptop back and they were able to fix it without removing everything.  I really need to do something about backing this thing up.  Maybe one of those places you pay to do that for you.  If anyone has a good idea let me know.

I ran several errands this morning, came home, ate lunch, and took a short nap.  

The dogs are still a little spooked about the fire works last week-end.  They want me to come outside with them. 

It probably didn’t help that I joined in the noisemaking by firing my gun a couple of times.  I know – I’m bad.   With all the fire works noise in the neighborhood no one could notice what I did.

I was very careful about it, I had saved a political sign for a target – is that a perfect target or what?  I leaned it up against a tree and tested out my new laser light.  It was pretty accurate. 

Teddy was outside with me when I did it.  I couldn’t find him for a while but he finally showed up at the back door.  I have now tied a white bandanna around his neck so I can find him in the dark.

The weather is supposed to cool off some for the next few days, maybe even a nice week-end.   We could also use some rain with this cool front.

Later….

Doctor Visit and Sick Laptop

Yesterday my laptop was disabled by some malware.  It is in the hospital and may get booted back to the beginning of it's life.  BOOOOOO

So I am writing this on the very elderly slow desktop computer.

Lory went with me to the doctor visit today.  It was at the new office and we found it just fine.  There are even parking spots in the parking garage reserved for patients, even near the elevator.  Of course, I dislike parking garages but if I grump about it the whole time I'm in there I can handle it. 

The new office wasn't quite ready, everything was confused and slow.  The room where I get the Zometa infusion is the chemo room.  My infusion takes 15 minutes but some people have to sit there for several hours to get their meds. 

There weren't enough chairs available.  The chairs are super comfortable lazy boy style chairs.  While we were there a couple of employees brought in 2 more of them.  One man brought his own folding lounge chair that he takes camping.  He is being treated every day for a month for melanoma and yesterday he had to sit in a regular hard chair for several hours.  My appointment was for 1:15 and we didn't get home until 3:45. 

My report from the doctor was that I am fairly stable but need to get a PET scan in the next week or two, then another one the end of September.  There was some questionable spots on my left lung.  Probably some bronchitis.  I have a constant cough as a side effect of the faslodex. 

No call from the computer repair shop yet.  I really miss my laptop.   I'm sure I'll get it back....

Later....

Happy 4th

Filling our faces with a 4th of July cookout, John, his Mother, and me.  John’s Mother is quite a woman.  She is 88 years old and still teaches reading at the nearby state prison. 

A beautiful day with a smog alert, temps in the 90’s.  Sorry to say I was happy to get back into the A/C.  Guess I’m a house plant.

The roofer finally came on Friday and fixed the front porch roof.  Something he laid down on the lawn killed some of the grass. 

Next on the agenda is the electricity.  I have to get a list made up of what all needs done on that.  I also need to unclutter the house.  That is a constant job. 

Got a phone call from my sister who is in Alaska this summer.  Really enjoyed chatting with her.  I follow her blog which is listed on the right side of this blog.

later….