Little Bits about Lots of Things

We had gorgeous weather today! Rain is due Monday...everyone cross your fingers, toes, eyes, arms, legs, hair....

you get the idea, we NEED RAIN :)

 

 

OK ,OK, I'm too cheap to turn the water on my gardens.......

 

T had his first after surgery follow up today. Everything looks fine. The Dr would like to see him again in a couple of weeks,

since T had "off" symptoms regarding his Gallbladder. His Dr wants to further follow him a little longer to further his knowledge in case someone else comes in with T's symptoms.

M,T,and C have early Dr appointments tomorrow morning. Yes, on a Saturday. This particular Dr only has face to face appointments on Saturdays. During the week you can get an appointment ~ but it's on Skype in her office. uh, yeh, Skyping with a Dr is a little weird and hard to really communicate with.

 

I keep telling them, I'll Skype but I'm not driving 1 - 1 1/2 hours to have them talk to a computer....they can do that at home.

 

Hey, Convenience for all I say!

She just doesn't seem to get it.

So until then, Saturdays it is.

But Note to self.......

 

make them for later in the day!

 

Their appointments start at 9am, so we need to leave by 7:30am

Oh yes, the children and I are jumping for joy ~ NOT!

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 

Update on the Raccoons

 

They visited the other night.

Anything they would get into was battened down.....

except for the pond. Unfortunately, Angel is missing, so we are assuming they got her. She was the largest fish we had.

She was also the first fish we bought in 1997 for our first pond,

back when it was a molded one

and not the lined one we have now.

She was also the most tame and would come up to the dogs as they got a drink from the pond. She was about 15 yrs old.

I miss seeing her so much.

 

~*~

I found a package of bird netting in the garage, why I never saw it there before is weird...well, maybe not so much. You can barely walk in that place without something falling on you or tripping.....but that's another story for another day.

 

Anyway, I took and unwrapped this netting

 and covered the pond with it.

Then placed extra large rocks on top of it ALL

the way around.

Those little buggers are good at pushing rocks,

 so I looked for sharp edged or ones with corners that wouldn't be so easy as the round river rocks that mostly surround it.

 

We're left with 7 Koi.

2 that were babies from our fish,

2 other smaller Butterfly Koi,

that were purchased years ago, 

and

3 that were babies from my Sister's fish.

 

I'm trying to do everything I can

with what I have to save the rest.

Which is what I did back in 2009.

 

One thing I thought of was leaving a good portion of extra netting around the pond hoping they would get tangled, or not like the feeling of it. But I'm worried they may chew threw it.

They haven't showed up that I can see for a few nights.

I have some ''booby traps'' set up in the back so if they do show they will make noise, the dogs will hear them and wake us.

 

One thing I've tried so far was the wasp spray. It didn't keep them away...but I think my aim may have had something to do with it. 

I would have liked to get it on it's face...yeh, my aim sucks

 

I hate Raccoons.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* 

 

On a lighter side

 

Due to the price of gas, needless to say, we don't have many outings.....except as you see Dr appointments! LOL

But we needed to get some cleaning supplies so off to the Dollar Store we went. Cleaning supplies and bread are 2 things we always so to the Dollar Store for.

How those other items get in the cart is beside me!

Anyway, after getting what we needed, I decided to go to Mountain Mike's Pizza for lunch. We haven't eaten out for SOOO long...  They have a lunch buffet deal that's not to too bad and very very yummy!

 

But boy, did we get there at the wrong time. Groups of workers came in right behind us. 8 - 10 workers per group. They were taking whole pizzas ----- per person. Now I'm sure they were hungry from doing all their hard work but I can only say one word,

RUDE !

My kids look at me, I look at them and we go get in line.

Now the restaurant only puts out 3 medium pizzas out at a time. So you can imagine how long we had to wait.

 

Well, once it was our turn...we acted like buzzards to!

No taking one or two pieces!

Give those plates kids, let me pile it on for you!!

I was kind of surprised at how I acted.

But darn it we paid too and weren't going to to take our two pieces and then have to wait again for another 2 pieces......

I watched and these guys did this not once or twice but THREE times!  How does this place stay in business if they do this on a regular basis?

Anyway, we got our tummies full way before they did

 

And had a great time

 

Don't Get Scamed!!

Need to read...beware. I never answer my phone unless I know the name calling...due to tricks like this.

Received this and wanted to pass it on....

 

809 Area Code
We actually received a call last week from the
809 area code.

The woman said 'Hey, this is Karen. Sorry I missed you- get back to us quickly.

I have something important to tell you.'

Then she repeated a phone number beginning with 809.

We did not respond. Then this week, we received the following e-mail:

Do Not Dial AREA CODE 809, 284 AND 876 from the U.S. or Canada .

THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT INFORMATION PROVIDED TO US BY AT&T.

DON'T EVER DIAL AREA CODE 809

This one is being distributed all over the US. This is pretty scary, especially given the way they try to get you to call.

Be sure you read this and pass it on.

They get you to call by telling you that it is information about a family member who has been ill or to tell you someone has been arrested, died, or to let you know you have won a wonderful prize, etc..
In each case, you are told to call the 809 number right away.

Since there are so many new area codes these days, people unknowingly return these calls.

If you call from the U.S. or Canada, you will apparently be charged a minimum of $2425 per-minute.

And you'll also get a long recorded message. The point is, they will try to keep

you on the phone as long as possible to increase the charges.

WHY IT WORKS:

The 809 area code is located in the Dominican Republic.
The charges afterward can become a real nightmare.That's because you did actually make the call.

If you complain, both your local phone company and your long distance carrier will not want to get involved and will most likely tell you that they are simply providing the billing for the foreign company.

You'll end up dealing with a foreign company that argues they have done nothing wrong.

Please forward this entire message to your friends, family and colleagues to help them become aware of this scam.

AT&T VERIFIES IT'S TRUE : http://www.att.com/gen/press-room?pid=6045

SNOPES VERIFIES IT'S TRUE: http://search.atomz.com/search/?sp-q=area+code+809&x=26&y=15&sp-a=00062d45-sp00000000&sp-advanced=1&sp-p=all&sp-w-control=1&sp-w=alike&sp-date-range=-1&sp-x=any&sp-c=100&sp-m=1&sp-s=0

 

 

Cottage Garden Party

I'm joining in the Fall Garden Party over at ECS

 Not much left blooming...

Mother Nature has been on the war path :/

We've had temps to 105, so even if the plant wasn't done blooming,

it's fried! Then much cooler weather and some rain.

Now we're heating back up again. Oh joy.

I never know what to put on when going out.

Through it all this little Rockin' Robin is trying 

to keep blooming.

The Lantana is enjoyed the heat,

but it is lucky enough to be near the hose.



 Even the Geraniums are confused 



For years the city owned the tree that came with the house

 and we weren't allowed to even trim it.

The poor economy hit and all of a sudden the tree was ours.

They came around one last time

 for pruning prior to releasing ownership,

 but ahem,

 "someone" wouldn't let them prune it.

The Dr. scheduled T's surgery for the next week

(this was 2 weeks ago)

  so we figured we better do the "major attack" prior to.

It's been 4 days since surgery and he is doing well, much better than when my daughter had her Gallbladder removed.

But I digress......

 

Back up to last week and look at the pile

we have ready for city pick up!

Our front tree now has a single trunk! yippee!

Yeh, we could barely move and had blisters

but it was sooo worth it!

Plus no pruning for a few years...oh yeh ;)

But Looky what my Pomegranate gave us!!!

Yummy!!!

And not only have the Raccoons returned, but I saw this Hawk eyeing my Parakeets!

These critters seem to think I have a smorgasbord out for them!!!

I know for a fact there are plenty of field mice a few blocks over, guess maybe he was tired of "the same old thing" :(

Shooed the Hawk away and knock on wood by keeping a watchful eye out at night for the Raccoons and shooting them with Wasp Spray when they show (even tho I need to practice my aim) their appearances are dwindling. We still check with flashlights and loud bangs before letting the dogs out at night.

This year sure seems to be flying by.

Anxious to start a new fresh year,

more on that at a later date.

Wishing all a great week!

MM Freebie Friday!

Did you know you can CHANGE the Size or Shape of your album project
AFTER you start?? Simply click on EDIT and CHANGE ALBUM SIZE
From there you will see the preset options or choose a custom size!
(You may need to rearrange some of your page elements if you are
changing the shape of your project to fit the new layout!)

and here's some BIG NEWS!!
There's a NEW CATEGORY of FUN in the design shop!

Customizeable Craftable Templates and Craftable QuickPages!
Create, print and cut fun and easy projects using
one of the many Craftable software templates or QP's!

Awesome Halloween Kits

Here's just a few examples ^^-^^

Love the Fonts and words!

Don't forget to check out the MyMemories freebie section too!

A few of my faves

And don't forget to use Coupon Code: STMMMS25918

for a great discount at checkout!

Introducing MyMemories Suite 3  the #1-rated scrapbooking software, just got better... again.

If you don't have MyMemories Suite 3 Scrapbooking Software you can always try it for FREE

Look on the lower left side of this page for a free trial!

Can't beat that!

Have fun....





Fun Free Graphics

Here's a few  images for Halloween.

Help yourself :)

 

 

Update on Ty

After being 2 1/2 hrs late, the nurses finally wheeled him into surgery. The Dr was just running late...what's new right? LOL

 

Anyway, he came through with flying colors. Doc says he had a lot of "sludge" in his Gallbladder and even took photos for us...oh yay?

He  was really awake in recovery. I remember my daughter was so sleepy and slept for quite awhile after hers.

He was talking and joking. A few minutes later he was propped up and eating crackers and drinking apple juice. Another 45 mins and he was walking out the door to the van!

I was worried about getting to the pharmacy to get his new prescriptions filled before they closed...we live in a little town and the streets roll up a little early here.

Luckily M and C showed up at the hospital so they visited a bit then headed back to get T's meds.

 

We all met back home about the same time.

Got in our comfys and had nice hot soup for dinner.

 

As usual is was freezing in the hospital and of all days to pick for rain, thanks Mother Nature!

 

He has pain meds so is at least comfortable, laying on the couch watching TV.

 

Glad that is behind us, onto the next hurrdle life throws at us.

Surgery Day

Good Morning!

Yep, here I am up again at o'dark thirty...don't want this to become a habit especially when I am finaly getting a good nights sleep!
T has his Gallbladder surgery today, and you know how early they want you there...oy!

Anyway, I wanted to leave you a beautiful post video to enjoy while I'm gone.
These birds are truly specatacular!

Let me just say, if the human men would act like this life would be a breeze! ;)

Please enjoy these gorgeous birds ♥






Please Not Again

I can't go through this again.

 

No, it's not what you think. Not the stuff I'm still going thru now.

 

The Raccoons are back.

 

B&T came to spend the night so I gave them my bed to sleep in. I slept on the couch. I had nightmares all night. The dogs had been barking like crazy. I kept shushing them thinking it was just stray cats in the backyard, like usual. This went on for a few hours....I would normally have gotten up quicker, but by having the nightmares I was terrified to "see who" was there.

 

I flipped on the light and flew open the door. Cyndar was like a runaway train, determined to get what was there...she knew what it was. Katie started nipping at Cyndar's side as they flew around the corner of the house. I heard a scuffle and figured they got into it, which still may have been what happened.

Or did they get the end of  Raccoon? Was Katie trying to stop Cyndar? Why was she nipping at her?

 

I didn't have my glasses on but noticed wet spots going across the deck. I went out to look and saw fresh wet Raccoon prints!!!

I was beside myself, pictures of Cyndar after the fight flew thru my mind. Once I realized what was going on I called for the dogs only to find them eating out of an over turned dog food container. I thought they must have knocked it over turning the corner. I got them in the house and replaced the the lid/feeding bowls on top of the food storage container.

 

I was so scared I was shaking. If anything were to happen to Cyndar or Katie there's no way I could afford any vet bill at this time.

I am so upset. The Coons have been gone since The Great Fight of 2009". Why come back now? This is about a month earlier than last time.

 

All these things are flashing through my mind as I get a cup of coffee ~ I will be on watch the rest of the night ~

 

With the warm nights we've been leaving the back door open in case the dogs or cats needed out,

what id it had come in the house,

why haven't I seen any evidence of them being there,

the dogs CANNOT go outside at night alone,

the cats either for that matter,

how can I get rid of them this time,

I know animal control is no help,

OMG! what if it had come in the house and headed for Tilly!

Sometimes she stays out on top of her cage at night,

that would have been just awful....

 

All these thoughts are running nonstop.

I sit down at the computer and realize I didn't warm my coffee up. So at 4am I'm at the computer drinking cold coffee, when the dogs start acting up again.

I look outside and there is the bandit into the dog food AGAIN!

It had just been scared off by dogs less than 30 minutes ago and it was already back! I started hitting the sliding door and yelling. I don't stop until it finally leaves, by that time I'm crying.

 

I can't  have the dogs hurt or killed by this marauder.

I have woken up C. He comes out and goes to check the backyard. T wakes up, as does B. None of us can believe they are back after all this time. Trying to figure out how to deter them...since we have tried everything before and had nothing work except a fight with Cyndar.

 

The dogs start barking again!!!!

Back in about 15 minutes this time!

Bold, brass balls on those devils.

We've decided to use wasp spray. It shoots 20 feet so we can do it from inside the house. It high tails it away. Did we hit it, probably not, scare it, hopefully. 

 

I know the police department recommends Wasp Spray over Pepper Spray due to the fact that you don't have to be close to the assailant. Praying it works on Raccoons as well as it does on humans.

 

The can has been by the front door for protection, it will now be moved to the back sliding door for a different kind of protection. I will replace the one for the front door ASAP.

 

3 visits in one night within 1 hour.

I'm sad and scared for my dogs and cats.

 

It's now 6am and I am sitting here drinking my cold coffee ~

 on watch.

I L♥ve My Job

 

Received this in my email from my Mother-in-law

and just had to share...

 

If you don't laugh out loud after you read this you are in a coma! 
This is even funnier when you realize it's real!
Next time you have a bad day at work think of this guy.

Bob is a commercial saturation diver for Global Divers in Louisiana
He performs underwater repairs on offshore drilling rigs.

Below is an E-mail he sent to his sister. She then sent it to radio station 103 .5 on FM dial in
Indiana, who was sponsoring a worst job experience contest.

Needless to say, she won. 
Read his letter below...

 

~Hi Sue,

Just another note from your bottom-dwelling brother.
Last week I had a bad day at the office.

I know you've been feeling down lately at work, so I thought I would share my dilemma with you to make you realize it's not so bad after all.

Before I can tell you what happened to me, I first must bore you with a few technicalities of my job. As you know, my office lies at the bottom of the sea. I wear a suit to the office. It's a wet suit. This time of year the water is quite cool.
So what we do to keep warm is this: We have a diesel powered industrial water heater. This $20,000 piece of equipment sucks the water out of the sea. It heats it to a delightful temperature.
It then pumps it down to the diver through a garden hose, which is taped to the air hose.

Now this sounds like a darn good plan, and I've used it several times with no complaints. What I do, when I get to the bottom and start working, is take the hose and stuff it down the back of my wet suit.

This floods my whole suit with warm water

It's like working in a Jacuzzi.
Everything was going well until all of a sudden, my butt started to itch. So, of course, I scratched it.

This only made things worse. Within a few seconds my ass started to burn.
I pulled the hose out from my back, but the damage was done. In agony I realized what had happened.
The hot water machine had sucked up a jellyfish and pumped it into my suit. Now, since I don't have any hair on my back, the jellyfish couldn't stick to it, however, the crack of my ass was not as fortunate.

When I scratched what I thought was an itch, I was actually grinding the jellyfish into the crack of my ass.  

I informed the dive supervisor of my dilemma over the communicator.
His instructions were unclear due to the fact that he, along with five other divers, were all laughing hysterically.
Needless to say, I aborted the dive.

I was instructed to make three agonizing in-water decompression stops totalling thirty-five minutes before I could reach the surface to begin my chamber dry decompression. When I arrived at the surface, I was wearing nothing but my brass helmet.
As I climbed out of the water, the medic, with tears of laughter running down his face, handed me a tube of cream and told me to rub it on my butt as soon as I got in the chamber. The cream put the fire out, but I couldn't shit for two days because my ass was swollen shut.

So, next time you're having a bad day at work, think about how much worse it would be if you had a jellyfish shoved up your ass. Now repeat to yourself, 'I love my job, I love my job, I love my job.'
Whenever you have a bad day, ask yourself, is this a jellyfish bad day?

May you NEVER have a jellyfish bad day! !!!!

 
Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift.~

 



Just a quick fly by today! Getting ready to take T to the Dr's Office to get paperwork then onto the hospital for T's Pre-op. 

Since we found out he was having surgery so quickly, we figured we bettter do the "major attack" prior to his surgery.

Our front tree now has a single trunk! yippee!

For years the city owned it and we weren't allowed to even trim it.

The poor economy hit and all of a sudden the tree was ours.

They came around one last time for pruning prior to releasing ownership, but ahem, someone wouldn't let them prune it.

Forward to yesterday and look at the pile we have ready for city pick up!

Yeh, we can barely move and have blisters but it was sooo worth it!

Plus no pruning for a few years...oh yeh ;)

Not much left blooming...

we've had temps to 105, so even if the plant wasn't done blooming,

it's fried!

This little Rockin' Robin is trying tho.

The Lantana is enjoying the heat, but it is lucky enough to be near the hose.

Even the Geraniums are suffering.

But Looky what my Pomegranite gave us!!!

Yummy!!!

Wishing all a glorious weekend!

I'm joining:

Tootsie Time

Rose Vignettes