Ruby Tuesday

Guess where I live in Texas and how high the pollen count is today. I live in the very RED area where the pollen is excruiciatinly high today and will be worse over the next few days. It is beautiful outside, but I have to stay in pretty much. You can check out Pollen.com to see what the pollen count is where you live.

Wish I could click my heels together and zap into one of the green areas.

Ruby Tuesday is hosted by Mary the Teach over at Work of the Poet. Stop by and sign up on Mr. Linky to play.

Lucky

• Lucky Ft. Colbie Caillat by Jason Mraz

More Jason Mraz music on iLike

Dryer Sheet tales

Dryer sheets...I have no idea if this works or not, but pollen is really high today and this is all I could find to post right now. Maybe make a dust mask out of one for today, except I'm not wild about the scent in dryer sheets.

Letter Carriers put a sheet in their uniform pockets to keep yellow jackets away, and they will also chase ants away when you lay a sheet near ants.

They also repel mice.

Spread dryer sheets around foundation areas or in trailers, cars that are sitting and they keep mice from entering the vehicle.

Dryer sheets take the odors out of books and photo albums that don't get opened often.
*I wonder if they are acid free?*

They repel mosquitoes Tie a sheet through a belt loop when outdoors during mosquito season.

They eliminate static electricity from the television or computer screens. This makes sense since they are designed to help eliminate static cling, so just wipe the television screen with a used sheet to keep dust from resettling.

Dissolve soap scum from shower doors by cleaning with a sheet of Bounce.

Freshen the air in your home by placing an individual sheet in a drawer or hanging it in the closet.

Put a sheet in the vacuum cleaner.

Prevent thread from tangling by running a threaded needle through a dryer sheet before starting to sew.

Prevent musty suitcases by placing dryer sheet inside empty luggage before storing.

Car air freshener by placing a sheet under the seat.

Clean baked on foods from a cooking pan by putting a dryer sheet in pan, fill with water and let sit overnight, then sponge clean. The antistatic agent apparently weakens the bond between the food and pan. *I'm thinking just soaking in water would loosen baked on foods. Always has for me*

Eliminate odors in wastebaskets by placing dryer sheet at the bottom of the wastebasket.

Collect cat hair by rubbing the cat with a dryer sheet to magnetically attract all the loose hairs. Might try that on doggies too.

Eliminate static electricity from Venetian blinds by wiping the blinds with a dryer sheet to prevent dust from resettling.

Wipe up sawdust from drilling or sand papering. A used sheet will collect sawdust like a tack cloth.

Eliminate odors in dirty laundry.

Deodorize shoes or sneakers by placing dryer sheet in shoes overnight.

Golfers put a dryer sheet in their back pocket to keep bees away.

Put a dryer sheet in your sleeping bag and tent before folding and storing them.

Things are getting better

My daughter in law called this afternoon and the visit with the orthopedist went well. He said the fracture is just the same and hasn't grown together, which was why she was so afraid. If the bones had grown together to heal they probably would have had to rebreak them and set her foot. He is confident the boot she has now is all she will need and that is the "new" cast these days. I forgot to ask if she got the temporary handicap parking hang tag.

Our kitty went back to the vet today, because she wasn't eating. If cats go for over 48 hours without eating it effects their liver. The vet kept her all day and finally found a cat food she would eat, thank goodness. I know it seems small, but she has become very important to us. Last night I called the lady who had her before the cat came to live with us to find out if she had been vaccinated for rabies in the past. I was sort of concerned we might have Cujo in the house with us. The vet thought it very likely the attack was by a raccoon, but felt it was unlikely it had rabies. The attack was at night and after talking to my friend down the street I found out she has been having problems with a raccoon. The vet said after we get her over the injuries right now we will get her a booster rabies shot. He also put her on Prednisolone to help her feel better and to stimulate her appetite.

On cats, kids, candy and casts

Our little cat is a somewhat better today, but the medication did not sit well with her yesterday. She was immediately sick and didn't keep the antibiotic down. She wasn't interested in eating either before or for sure after. The vet was only in the office until noon yesterday and I was afraid to wait. We called and they had her come back in right then. They said she was a little dehydrated and gave her some fluids, and sent some special food home for her. The vet changed the antibiotic to something that is much easier on her. We've had no problems with the medicine since the startling events of yesterday morning. Thank goodness. The vet was pleased with the way her wounds are healing and her appetite is coming back a little. She actually ate a treat...one of the soft ones she loves and a couple of bites of food. The important part is that she is starting to want to eat again. She wants to sleep on my heating pad so hubby bought me another one yesterday. That is true love.

Speaking of love and eating, we had dinner here at home last night. Hubby heated up some tomato soup, the good kind in the box, and made some grilled cheese and ham sandwiches. It was just what we wanted last night. Then we watched "Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull" followed by the first one in the series..."Indiana Jones and The Ark of the Covenant". It was a very low stress enjoyable evening, and we did share a Hershey's Symphony bar with almonds and toffee chips during the movie.

Earlier in the evening our grandson called to wish us a Happy Valentine's Day and that was the sweetest gift. He is growing so quickly. When I answered the phone he identified himself to me, like I wouldn't reconize his voice, but that is really good manners. He wished me a Happy Valentine's Day and and chatted for a few minutes, then he talked to his Grampa for a while and told him about his skiing trip and the bicycle he got for Valentine's Day. Dang! Our kids thought it was really special when they got a box of candy for Valentine's.

Our son and his family got back last week from skiing, and our son says he couldn't keep up with TJ. They both learned to ski on their trip last year, but my son isn't as young as he used to be. Our daughter in law broke her foot coming down the stairs from the hot tub on the roof the first night they were there. She elevated her foot the next day, but by the next day she decided it was time to go to the emergency room. Her foot was definitely broken, but the doc didn't want to cast it in Colorado and advised her to wait until she got home to Texas. Bless her heart, she didn't get to ski much at all and was in pain the whole time. After she did get home her doctor was out of town and the physician's assistant would NOT sign the paperwork for her to get a temporary handicap parking tag! In my opinion he should be fired. She is on crutches and it is pretty darn hard to get from the car to the grocery store and other places she has to go. She finally has an appointment with the orthopedist next Tuesday, but that is nearly three or four weeks since it was fractured. Her friends have been helping by picking up groceries for her and running errands when they go. We just found out about it last Thursday when she told my daughter. Now that it has been so long she is afraid that the fracture has started to heal, but not in the optimal way and will have to be rebroken to be set properly. I can't imagine trying to keep up with a 7 year old while having a broken foot. She has a desk chair with wheels that she can use to get around the house. She is amazing and surely she will get her foot casted Tuesday! I've offered to go the town where they live to help out, but she wanted me to wait until after the surgery on her foot to come down. She feels she will need more help then than now. I'm not sure about that, but will do as she wishes.

Of love and kitties

Happy St. Valentine's Day. It is the time for lovers. For us it is usually a low key day without grand gestures of massive flower arrangements and fancy dinners, but, we try to show each other how much we love the other in small ways all year long. This year has brought some radical changes in diet for me, so maybe we will indulge in a Hershey bar tonight or something. I can have chocolate.

We have found how much our little cat has worked her way into our hearts in the past couple of days. Night before last it was very warm in the house and we opened the door to cool the house off a bit. She wanted to go outside for a while before bed. In just a few minutes she was savaged by another cat, I guess. There was a lot of screeching and we raced out to break it up and rescue her. After we got her inside I looked her over everywhere and couldn't find anything wrong. No blood or any indication anything had happened except her tail was bushed up and she was trembling. Hubby took her to the vet yesterday morning when we saw she was very stiff and couldn't walk well. At first the vet couldn't find where she was hurt until they took her back to draw blood. That is when they found some large wounds under her fur. They we very surprised and decided that was why her temperature was high. They gave her some medication for pain and an antibiotic shot. She was so pathetic all day yesterday since she was goofy from the meds plus just feeling so terrible. She is much better this morning, but still sleeping a lot and not eating that much yet. Our little petite five pound cat has conquered our hearts and brought us to our knees with worry and love for her. Now it is time for us to give her the antibiotic for the day. Thank goodness it is a liquid and a dropper, but the dosage is two dropperfuls once a day for 10 days. Well, we will see how this goes.

And that's when the fight started....

We survived the storms last night and had no damage, thank goodness. My prayers are with those who lost their lives and homes and businesses in Oklahoma last night when the tornado dropped down on them.

Hope all of you are safe and sound. Sometimes when things are so bad, like the weather and the economy and so many things right now it helps to laugh. For some reason I think these are funny and I'm sure ones about men aren't far behind. I hope you get a laugh from these.

My wife sat down on the couch next to me as I was flipping channels.
She asked, 'What's on TV?'
I said, 'Dust.'
And then the fight started...
------------ --------- --------- --------- ---------
My wife was hinting about what she wanted for our upcoming anniversary.
She said, 'I want something shiny that goes from 0 to 150 in about 3 seconds.
'I bought her a scale.
And then the fight started...
------------ --------- --------- --------- ---------
When I got home last night, my wife demanded that I take her someplace expensive...
so, I took her to a gas station.
And then the fight started...
------------ --------- --------- --------- ---------
I took my wife to a restaurant.
The waiter, for some reason, took my order first.
"I'll have the strip steak, medium rare, please."
He said, "Aren't you worried about the mad cow?"
"Nah, she can order for herself."
And then the fight started...
------------ --------- --------- ---
A woman is standing nude, looking in the bedroom mirror..
She is not happy with what she sees and says to her husband,
'I feel horrible; I look old, fat and ugly. I really need you to pay me a compliment.
'The husband replies, 'Your eyesight's damn near perfect..'
And then the fight started.....
------------ --------- --------- ------
I tried to talk my wife into buying a case of Miller Light for $14.95.
Instead, she bought a jar of cold cream for $7.95.
I told her the beer would make her look better at night than the coldcream.
And then the fight started....
------------ --------- --------- --------- -----
My wife asked me if a certain dress made her butt look big.
I told her not as much as the dress she wore yesterday
and then the fight started.....
------------ --------- --------- --------- ------
I asked my wife, "Where do you want to go for our anniversary?
"It warmed my heart to see her face melt in sweet appreciation.
"Somewhere I haven't been in a long time!" she said.
So I suggested, "How about the kitchen?"
And that's when the fight started....
------------ --------- --------- --------- ---------
My wife and I are watching Who Wants To Be A Millionaire while we were in bed.
I turned to her and said, "Do you want to have sex?"
"No," she answered.
I then said, "Is that your final answer?"
She didn't even look at me this time, simply saying "Yes."
So I said, "Then I'd like to phone a friend."
And that's when the fight started....

Ruby Tuesday Getting Geared Up for Valentine's Day

Ruby Tuesday is hosted over at Mary, the Teach's blog, Work of the Poet, and the theme is to write something Valentine related such as some examples on her blog. Stop by and sign the Mr. Linky and to let folks know where you are.

Below is is a picture of a scarf I knitted for my husband after Christmas. It is a 1X1 rib knit and he does like it a lot.

Ignoring form 1, I went for form 2 or possibly form 3 shown on her blog.

Form 2: "Like....., love is....

Lord Byron wrote: Like the measles, love is most dangerous late in life.

Form 3: You know it's love when...
And the very well-known writer and painter, Anonymous wrote: You know it’s love when you want to keep holding hands even after you’re sweaty.

Form 2-Like the stitches in this scarf, my love is knitted within.

Form 3- You know it is love when the scarf I knitted you is around your throat.

Possibly sticking with the form 2 version. It seems more loving

The blood red scarf belonging to my husband created by me, his wife, with much love and caring for his comfort on very cold days.

Below is our very crowded coat rack in the laundry room. For two people we really do have a lot of coats and scarves and hats and stuff that hasn't been put away since the last ice storm. Maybe, we won't need it all much longer.

The silk scarf with the big white star on it is mine and is like the coolest scarf ever. It even has the great seal of Texas on it and cowboys and the state flag and I just love it and get it out to wear when the Stock Show is in town. That is about over now, though.

Clearing out the brush

Clearing out the brush

I have no idea if the slide show is going to load or not. If not, please click on View all images. I couldn't find the option to post through Blogger that has been working like a dream lately. I found it under "Share", so hopefully this slideshow will work. Aha...you can't write anything under the slideshow or it won't load. I remember that now, but the main point is that we did NOT have a tornado, even though our yard looks like we did. We are going to have our fence replaced and the sales guy said we would have to clear out the overgrowth so the fence guys could get in and have a nice place to put the posts and all.

Ok..we worked pretty much all day Saturday, where these photos came from and then added more yesterday. Somewhere around the embedded tree, I snapped and refused to continue unless there was nobody in the state of Texas who would do this happily for a fee. I'm old and my husband is older and it was somewhat unsettling seeing him with one foot on our rickety ladder and the other on the fence behind us with the chain link fence positioned in an area not conducive to good health if he slipped. I was pretty cranky and adamant about the whole thing.

The fence guy is coming by today to see if his fencers can take care of the rest. I'd hope someone half my age and somewhat stronger could manage this if they want our business. Having new fencing put in is not an inexpensive undertaking. And Amber Star, although would finish this task if needed, is tired of working like a field hand so her husband can save a few dollars. There is nothing wrong with working like a field hand and field hands produce that which I love...food and cotton and stuff. And many times in the past I have worked very hard at very weird tasks when money truly was an issue, but dang there comes a time to be cherished and February is that month.

Random things and cedar fever

more animals

It has been a topsy turvy couple of days. We are having some serious pollen issues! In Texas we have an extra pollen season...it is for cedar, cedar elm and juniper. I'd never heard of Cedar fever until my daughter lived in Austin. They have a lot of trouble with cedar fever this time of year and make much ado about it, too. To make a long story short, because my head is hurting like everything from a sinus headache, cedar fever is no fun...the cedar fever or sinus headache I've had for two days. Maybe it will get better if we get some rain Sunday evening and Monday.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy the LOL kitteh cartoon. I know how she feels...been like that for me this week.

It is time to start making plans for new planting projects for this spring. Today I found several coupons for shrubs and this is for sure the time to buy. This is the off season and they are somewhat less expensive now. I have plans for a privacy hedge between our yard and our neighbor's without having to totally fence that side. The flower beds have gotten away from us while I was working and will need a lot of attention before we can plant. Somehow my husband just doesn't see beyond the need to mow the grass. He is a really good guy, but not so much a self starter out in the garden.

I bought a bunch of seeds while out the other day...movie day then garden center day...and there is an herb container in my future out in the greenhouse. My plan is to plant it in a container that is nice and wide and not too deep. I think that will be nice to have fresh basil, dill, and some other herbs that were on that rack.

My cousin said she is going to come by and maybe we can swap some seeds. I have a whole bunch I gathered last fall. from some nifty plants that were going to seed...but after Christmas and all...I'm not really sure where I've put them. Ack! They are very good seeds, too...butterfly bush, purple cone flowers, ornamental peppers...hopefully she will want to swap something good, and I can locate mine...durnnit! Anyway, I bought some heirloom tomato seeds I want to try out in the greenhouse. We even saved some large cans from tomatoes and spaghetti sauce to transplant them in once they get big enough. Good thing I'm easily amused with 19 cents worth of seeds and a $350 greenhouse.

Probably it would be a good idea to stay indoors until the pollen settles down, but when did good sense enter into my decisions and it will be fun getting started. I'm pretty sure there is still nothing happening with the cherry pit tree experiment. Probably irregular watering on my part has caused problems that have contributed to the lack of a cherry "orchard" out there. I can mark that up to a learning experience, but will check again tomorrow for signs of life before bagging it. Also, I'm thinking I need to set up some shade areas set up for some plants that don't like direct sunlight. One in particular is looking pretty peaked.

Spring is my favorite time of year and I can hardly wait to get into full swing next month. With spring the storms will begin and they may even begin Sunday evening. We truly need rain, but we could skip hail, high wind, and flooding. Time for me to go to sleep, but before I go I need to give my rain stick a good shake. On the link there is a sound clip of what a rain stick sounds like, if you would like to hear one. It is a pleasant sound, and I really believe it can call the rain.

What a difference a letter makes and movie day.

What a difference a letter makes. I got this from a friend and thought it funny....and a reminder to check your child's homework before they take it to school. There are several misspelled words in this one, besides the obvious, especially for the third grade. I'm sure no child was involved in the making of this at all.

Pretty busy today...movie day and all.

They really do show "the underbelly" in Slumdog Millionaire. They don't attempt to hide anything. That is what I'd heard in some of the interviews with the cast and they were not kidding. Bear that in mind if you go. It was not what I expected. It was a very well made movie, though...just much harsher than I'd expected for some reason that I can't fathom why I thought a child from the slums of India would have a lot in life anywhere approaching tolerable. Then it got worse for them.

Ruby Tuesday

Ruby Tuesday is hosted over at Mary, the Teach's blog, Work of the Poet, and the theme is red in our offices. Stop by and sign the Mr. Linky and to let folks know where you are.

Here are some pictures of red items in my "office". My office is pretty much a multi-task room that used to be a bedroom when all the kids still lived at home.

This is a box of Crayola chalk from some project that was laying on the desk. I have no idea why it is out, but figure someone was looking in the drawer beneath and it just wound up there to remind me of when the kids were little.

The very red Webster's Dictionary in my dictionary section on my desk. I had no idea there was such a vast collection of dictionarys. There is even a Cherokee dictionary from when we vacationed in Tennesee and I was going to get in touch with my "roots".

Batman drops the F Bombs

Have you heard the audio clip of Christian Bale's total meltdown cursing a lighting guy for accidentally walking onto the set to fix a light while they were filming? I can tell you now, he ain't one of my kids or his head would be still spinning from where I slapped it. The recording was on the news shows this morning and was so vulgar and foul and just plain rude and mean I want nothing more to do with him. He needs to be drug checked or something....and his mouth washed out with soap.

Catching up

We have been shopping for replacement windows for our home and have been having sales people bringing samples for us to examine. It has been a very time consuming and a pretty sharp learning curve for us. Who knew there was so much to a window. The salespeople gave us addresses where we could look at their installations. I'm so glad they did, because all the ones we saw looked dreadful and we are talking very high end windows. We have had to regroup and look at some other windows.

Our ice storm was very brief and didn't inconvenience us at all, since we didn't have to drive anywhere. Those that did had troubles, though. On the other hand, Judy at Living on The Other Side of the Hill posted yesterday she has electricity again after not having any since last Tuesday, I think. She says there are trees leaning on the electric lines and doesn't know for how long it will last. Some folks won't have electricity for weeks. Tomorrow is Ground Hog day and we will see about how much more cold there will be.

Our plans for Super Bowl are minimal. We will watch it, but no party, or big food spread, or beer bashes. We did get 3-D glasses to see the commercials. Truly we are living La Vida Loca.