Sick and tired

of being sick and tired. I've had this cold for nine days now, and now when I cough I get a sharp pain in my right side and I can't sleep for more than two hours without coughing. Functioning at work is interesting.

Mouse is doing well, thank heavens. He's eating, he bounces when I come home from work, and he's putting up with Little Miss Piggie Pie's efforts to play with him.

My condolences to Sherri and Jay

who lost their beautiful black and white kitty Ophelia today. I had the pleasure of hosting Ophelia twice, and she was as sweet as she was pretty.

*hugs Sherri and Jay*

Long week

Even with the holiday on Monday, it's been a very long week. I have a nasty sinus infection and a really messy house. Mouse is starting to settle in, although Little Miss is bummed that he's not really interested in playing with her. She's very good about not over-pestering him, though, so yay for that!

The rental company where I used to work put an ad in the paper on Sunday, and I did some soul-searching and some list-making to see if I wanted to apply for the job. Back when I quit, I was specifically told that if I ever wanted to come back, I'd be hired. In the end, though, I remembered how unhappy I was at the end of my time there and decided I'd keep looking.

Hopefully, I can manage to find enough energy to at least do laundry and run the vacuum this weekend.

Mouse is here!

He's absolutely huge, incredibly sweet and pretty needy right now. He's in the spot that has been a refuge for Littlefoot and Little Miss, in the well of my desk. This means I am sitting back from the desk and typing from a very odd position, and I'm thinking this might be a good time to go sit in my recliner, watch "Downton Abbey" on the netbook and stop straining my back!

Mom and I took the boys to Kalahari, a water park in Sandusky, yesterday. It's about 90 minutes from my house, so between that and the seven hours we spent there, it was a long day. Snoopy stopped by in the late morning and let Little Miss outside, and he would have stopped in the evening, but Mom and the boys and I got back early. We discovered that McDonald's milkshakes have gluten, and The Awesome Nacho discovered that he prefers plain hot chocolate to hot chocolate with caramel in it. SuperDoughnut, on the other hand, adored the caramel hot chocolate. Both boys had a wonderful time at the waterpark, and I enjoyed myself, although I didn't feel as though I got much exercise. My biggest victory was not showing how dizzy and sick I felt after riding the big, enclosed waterslide in a 4-person innertube!

I don't know if it's stress, the long day in and out of dryness, heat, cold, etc. or if it's just been incubating for a while, but I have a nasty sinus infection kicking my butt today. Thankfully, Mom took the day off and gave me the day off, and I'm working half-days tomorrow and Thursday, so hopefully I can rest and recover. Mouse has an appointment with his old vet on Thursday, and after that I will take him to my vet for care in the future.

All in all, a good 3-day weekend.

Yes to the second dog!

Apparently, I am getting him if he takes to me, so I'll be meeting him tomorrow morning. I'm still slightly dizzy from all the reversals but pretty pleased!

No second dog

He's fine, I just don't get him. Too upset to write much. :(

New stuff all over the place!

I had asked for a new digital camera for Christmas, so yesterday Dad took me on an expedition to get one. He'd done all of his research and had it narrowed down to three cameras, but decided after we started shopping that only the Nikon CoolPix S9100 would do. So we went to a small chain of NE Ohio camera shops called Dodd Camera in Fairlawn, only to discover that while the website said they had a 9100 in stock, the store computer said they had one in stock, and they had the box, they didn't have the camera! The sales associate tried to interest us in a different Nikon, but Dad asked him to call the Medina store and see if they had one. The SA said he got the fax machine when he called, and told Dad there wasn't a map on the website. Dad asked for and got permission to come around the counter and found and printed a map, and took the Medina store's number.

I have to think that the SA didn't want us going to another store, because as soon as we were in the car, I called the number, got an associate there, and had him set aside their last red 9100. I also got excellent directions from him, and although I hate driving in Medina with all their damn one-way streets, we made it and got the camera. Dad also got the auxiliary kit, which included a spare battery and a mini tripod. After stops at Advanced Auto Parts and Office Max, we headed back to my house, but went to Arby's because Dad was hungry. He treated me to either a very late lunch or a very early dinner, which we ate sitting on the breezeway. Mom called while we were eating and was not pleased that Dad had forgotten she was cooking dinner!

After Dad was done, he set up my new Acer netbook he got for me, and then he talked my brother through some computer problems, then we played with the camera and then Dad left. Aside from the fact that I was a little peeved by his being half an hour late, we really had a great day.

So the new stuff so far is a new red camera and a new black netbook. However, there is one more new and important change coming for me, I hope, on Friday. No, it's not a new job, it's a second dog.

I debated whether I was going to mention this at all, because I'm so afraid I will jinx things, but I'm too excited to shut up. It looks as if I will be fostering an elderly yellow Lab whose current owner can't keep him. If all goes well, I will pick him up on Friday and bring him home. So everyone, please cross your fingers for us as you go through your week!

This could go either way

Mom announced this week that she intends to make Saturdays "SI Days," with SI standing for self indulgence. Knowing Mom as I do, I think either she could turn this into a new project, wherein she sets schedules, to-do lists and deadlines for herself about what "indulgent" things she is going to do, or she'll feel guilty for spending time doing "unproductive" things and abandon the whole project.

I await the outcome. :)

And a good time was had by almost all

Because my sister-in-law insisted that she was prepared for chaos and repeated the invitation several times. on Saturday morning I plopped Little Miss Piggie Pie in the car and headed for Columbus, intending to stay until Monday. About halfway down, I gave LMPP an acepromazine tab and as soon as we arrived, Annabel brought Ralphie out and the four of us went for a walk, per the advice of my friend Bun, the dog-whisperer. Ralph was willing to be friends, but LMPP was not having any of it, so he very quickly stopped paying any attention to her at all after she snapped and growled at him a time or two. On Sunday, when she tried to make friends, he ignored her. Annabel said she hadn't thought he held grudges, and I said that he just remembered the hostile reaction and wasn't taking any more chances, so it was "Talk to the paw!"

Unfortunately, LMPP did not do well at all with my nephews. The Awesome Nacho tried very hard, and semi-succeeded, but after a post-holiday discussion with the above-mentioned Bun, I realize that I was at fault for not giving Little Miss a way to get away from the boys. She couldn't walk away from them without walking away from me, and she was too uncomfortable to do that. Because Annabel and I had both been focused on the dog-dog interaction, neither of us considered possible trouble with the boys, and when I discovered there were five more kids in the same age group coming over after dinner, I elected to skip dinner and leave at 3:30 on Christmas day.

Doggie difficulties aside, we had a nice afternoon and an amazing dinner on Christmas Eve, followed by a good night's sleep, albeit a short sleep, because my nephews were up at 5:40 and the rest of us by 6:15. SuperDoughnut burned through all of his presents and then was a little pouty when he realized there weren't any more for him to open, and both boys AND my brother had gifts that didn't work, but we still managed to have a good morning and a nice breakfast. I got totally spoiled as always--clothing from Mom, an Acer netbook and the promise of a new camera from Dad, a gorgeous ornament from Jeeves and the boys created their own candles just for me!

Jeeves and I both bought each other this year's Life Savers Sweet Storybook, and agreed that compared with the ones we grew up with, it's a ripoff--it has only one side now and half the candy! Still, it was a rare bonding moment with my brother, and I'll always treasure it. Dad really liked the photo collage I did for him, but his favorite gift was the giant spotlight my brother got him.

So next year I know that I can go and take the dog, and I'll just have to keep in mind that she needs an escape route when the boys are too interested in her. Overall, a lovely Christmas.

Merry Christmas

to all of my friends and family--I love you all.

Cars suck.

What they principally suck, of course, is money--right out of your wallet. On the 2nd, I took my car in for new brakes. I had that budgeted at $300, so of course it was $303. Then on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, Mom and I had three very rough days at work, and this culminated with me walking to my car on a cold, wet, dark evening only to find that it wouldn't start. The gentleman from AAA advised that I stop at an auto parts store and have them see if the battery needed to be replaced. I did, and the guy who helped me couldn't even get a reading because of all the corrosion. *sigh* So that was another $104 that I didn't have budgeted, and good bye pretty new nail polish, holiday smellies or anything fun.

Dad was still sick all last week, which is hard on Mom, Vegan Lawyer had two briefs due which were driving her and her staff crazy, and I have mice again. *shudder*

Speaking of the mice, I went to Home Depot and asked for some help. The sales associate took me to the area reserved for pest control, waved at the shelves and said "Here you go." When I asked about a poison that wouldn't kill my dog, he said all the baits were the same and that the mice would run away and die. I bought two traps and a bait station with refills, came home and checked the interwebbinetz, only to discover that if Little Miss Piggie Pie ate a poisoned mouse, she would be poisoned! So I set the traps, which are nice in that they are self-contained and you don't ever see the dead mouse. Tomorrow night I am going back to HD and exchange the unused bait station for more traps.

Last night I did have to use a trap that wasn't self-contained, and LMPP was very interested in that corner of the floor this morning. I made her leave it, because I was not up to dealing with a dead mouse before my second cup of coffee. Yes, there was a dead mouse, and the worst part of disposing of the trap was the tail. *full body shudder* I can't wait to get more of the fancy traps.

Dad advised just the simple wooden traps, and made fun of me for "killing at a distance," but Mom has him to dispose of dead mice and I just have me. I told him that if it wouldn't ruin my kitchen (and the house, and the neighborhood, and the city and so on) I would nuke the damn things! So far, I've gotten two, and I will keep setting traps and hope for the best!

Put ze hendle beck!

Last weekend, I didn't really have time to do laundry, so I'd planned to at least wash a few things Monday night. On Monday, work was really rough, and I was tired and a little out of it by the time I got home. Still, I let the dog out and in and fed her, had a cup of coffee, ran downstairs and started one load of laundry. After dinner, I threw the clothes into the dryer and turned off the water softener to fill up jugs to water the houseplants.

After watering the houseplants, I washed a load of rags, then ran the dishwasher, and it wasn't until Tuesday morning when I saw that the water in the toilet was dark orange that I realized that I hadn't turned the softener back on. By then, I had to take a quick shower, get dressed, make my lunch and go to work, so I left myself a note on the basement door.

A wonderful, exhausting weekend

Because my younger nephew's birthday is a week before Christmas, Mom makes sure that the boys come up to her house every year the first weekend in December, and no matter what else happens, we have lunch and presents before Mom takes the boys back to Columbus on Sunday.

This year, although PlaidJammies was miserably sick all weekend, Mom and the boys and I had a great time. On Saturday, I took Little Miss Piggie Pie and met the other three at Gorge Metro park, where we hiked down to the falls and then up to Mary Campbell cave. The dog was not on anything even close to her best behavior, and it took a long time before she would stop growling if one of the boys approached her.

After our hike, I dropped LMPP off at home, and then Mom picked me up and we had lunch at McDonald's followed by a trip to Stan Hywet Hall. In the conservatory, they had a display which included a complete replica in Legos of the hall itself!




In the house, there were painstakingly repaired holiday window displays from one of the old downtown Akron department stores and we ran into one of the Probate Court clerks taking the tour for the first time! Mom found it necessary to tell everyone we met that I used to be a guide there, and I then found it necessary to qualify that it was 30 years ago!

After Stan Hywet, Mom dropped me off at my house and then took the boys home to shower and change (which I did as well). When we were all clean and nicely dressed, we went to dinner at Bricco and then to an Actor's Summit performance of The Winter Wonderettes. It was silly and adorable and a ton of fun, and then we went and had ice cream at Mary Coyle's, where the Jammies family has been going on special occasions for the last forty or so years.

Sunday morning I put together the gingerbread trains for the boys to decorate, then headed out to Casa de SeniorJammies. SuperDoughnut opened his presents, then we had lunch, then the boys played with the new Nerf gun for a while, and then we decorated the trains.

OhmydogOhmydogOhmydog! Boneshaker movie!

I fell utterly in love with Cherie Priest's writing and her steampunk Northwest when I read Boneshaker for the first time, and now it's going to be made into a movie!

It's about time the film industry branched out from sequels, remakes, and reboots and did something original, and I couldn't be happier for Ms. Priest! I don't know if I'll see it, both because I hate to see a movie once I've read the book and I know what is being left out, and also because I'm a giant wuss and scary movies scare me.

After all, I slept with the lights on for a week after seeing The Blair Witch Project. I'm thinking after seeing steampunk zombies, I might have to sleep with the lights on for a year!

Anyway, congrats to Ms. Priest, and to Boneshaker's alive and undead legions of fans!

Why I'm not spending a dime today

Although it may seem that way to some people, Black Friday hasn't been around forever. The phrase was actually coined in my lifetime, and the whole retail circus really only began within the last 20 years. I remember when the day after Thanksgiving was a quiet, lazy day spent with family.

In my family, Thanksgiving is a non-materialistic holiday, meant for cherishing our blessings and especially each other. It is wrong for Target and other retailers to take that away from their employees and it is wrong for customers to fall in line with the materialistic greed that motivates such actions.

As a nation, we have gotten what we need mixed up with what we want, and we will go to any lengths to get it. I refuse to contribute in any way to the craziness, and will not spend a single cent, either online or offline today.

I've been told that's just a drop in the bucket, but at least I'm being true to what I believe.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Or rather, Happy Thanksgiving to my American friends and family, and Happy Thursday to my international friends!

I am grateful for so much:

My family, who love and support me even when I'm not very likeable,

My friends, who do the same thing,

My sense of humor, which has leavened some dark days,

Little Miss Piggie Pie, without whom I would be dogless, which is not a good thing to be,

Bigfoot and Littlefoot, for being such important parts of my life for a very long time,

The ability to learn,

That I am single and not in an abusive or dysfunctional relationship,

That I have decent if not spectacular health,

That I am gainfully employed,

That I have minimal debt,

And that even though I often take it for granted, I am surrounded by a wealth of good things.

What a day!

We have one client who is so stupid it's a shame he reproduced, and he was bugging me all day, two letters from different attorneys being all judgmental and pissy about things that didn't even happen, and two wards in the hospital from different nursing homes, plus all the crap going on with my neighbor.

On the other hand, I sent four kick-ass Christmas presents to Texas, and I have another great Flannel Jammies story to tell.

When my brothers and I were growing up, Captain Crossword did the best turkey impersonation I'd ever heard or have heard since. I thought of that a few weeks ago when I was in Target and saw a hat that looked like a turkey, with legs that came down and velcroed together under the wearer's chin. I bought it, and sent it to Texas with a note for my brother.

Mom and Dad had been there for a while when I remembered to ask about the hat. I was on the phone with Dad at the time, and said, "Did Mom give CC his hat?" Dad said, "I don't know about any hat" and the promptly yelled for my mother. Mom got on the phone and when I asked her, she said "Oh yes!" and handed the phone off to my brother, who told me that everyone had tried it on, they had taken pictures, and Tinkerbell had adopted it as a pet.

So my smart, savvy father failed to notice three adults and two children taking turns wearing a hat shaped like a turkey. *chortle*

*sigh*

Well, now I'm disillusioned and a bit sad--NeighborBoy was apparently busy cutting more wood today while I was at work. So much for doing a favor for a neighbor, if it was that, he'd have quit when I asked him to stop cutting. :(

A great big MESS

Last Tuesday, NE Ohio was hit with big storms--hail, rain, thunder, lightning, high winds, tornado watches, etc. I was trying to get the local radio station's streaming audio to work on my computer so I'd know if I had to grab the dog and head for the basement when I heard a huge CRACK! Since nothing hit the house and I didn't hear anything else, I figured a tree had come down in the back yard and didn't worry about it.

For reference, this is how my backyard looks in the summer:



This is what I saw when I looked outside on Wednesday morning:



When I got home from work and went to take a closer look, this is what I saw:




Forty to fifty feet of tree, in my estimation. Snoopy came out, said it was 90 feet, to which I said "Men think this *thumb and forefinger about three inches apart* is nine inches, so I don't trust your estimation." He hemmed and hawed a bit, then promised me he would do the work for the wood, as long as I wasn't in a hurry. Okay, I'd like the big tree out of my back yard, but I can't afford a professional remover, so yeah, thanks.

When I got home on Friday night, my feckless young neighbor was out back, cutting the tree apart with his chainsaw. While the cynical part of me suspected that he was planning to sell the wood and not tell me about it, I went out and thanked him for the favor, and explained that the friend who mows my lawn was going to take care of it, but he was welcome to the wood he cut.

When I told Snoopy about it, he was furious. Apparently, he thought he could sell the entire tree to someone and give me half the money. After I had repeated that I didn't ask NeighborBoy to cut up the tree, Snoopy gave up being mad at me and just pouted. I did tell him that even if I'd been home, I probably wouldn't have stopped him, because Snoopy hadn't told me about his plans for the tree. He rather lamely told me that it was supposed to be a surprise and he thought he had time to get the tree buyer out to my house.

While some money would be nice, I'm not so in need of it that I'm bothered by not getting any from either NeighborBoy or Snoopy's tree guy. I am irritated by the fact that neither of them elected to consult ME in their plans.

Men. Pffft.

New rule for Election Day

All polling place employees should be required to put their teeth in while at work.