Ready for Christmas

When the holidays get here, the cats get excited over all the hustle and bustle.  There’s so much activity in the house that it’s beyond the normal state of affairs in their worlds. 

The baby, Raven, especially likes all the happenings.  He likes to be right in the middle of all that goes on, lending a helping paw.

This cat is so tolerant of everything I want to involve him in.  He just loves attention, no matter what he has to do to get it, so he lets me dress him up and puts up with my silly notions.  How many cats do you know that would pose in a hat of any kind?

Raven

I’ve been dressing him up in hats all his life though so he expects such stuff from me.  He is such a dear and if I can put up with him chewing on my head at night I guess he can pose in the hats I make for him.

Here are Koki and Tootie also in the holiday spirit.

Koki

Tootie

Merry Christmas to all of you, dear readers.  Enjoy your loved ones as you get together with family and friends.  Have a happy and safe holiday.

A ray of sunshine in the dark clouds

I’m still plagued by car problems and now hubby also has to have a windshield replaced in his vehicle.  It had a pit in it from his trip to Oregon in October and a few days ago it split all the way across due to the cold weather. We had to scrape a quarter inch of ice off the windshield before we could get on the road.

I just got my car back out of the shop again, this time for an electrical problem that the mechanic thinks is in the front door panel.  This could be up to a $700 repair but he replaced a fuse and so far it’s working.  I’m crossing my fingers it continues to do so for the long term.  The tech told me he didn’t know how long it would last, a week, a month or a year or longer.  There was no way to know since everything showed up fine when he scoped the car on the machine they use.

The ray of sunshine in all this is that the guy came to my house to get my car and take it to the shop about ten miles away.  That evening he gave me a loaner car that he delivered to my house at 8:30 PM.  I would like to know what other mechanic does this?  He made sure the car was an automatic too and had gas so I could get to work and back while he had my car in the shop. 

 This is the loaner car, which reminded me of a demolition derby car

 

Now I have to say this loaner car was like driving a tank and not the prettiest thing in the world but it was wheels and got me where I needed to go.  Beggars can’t be choosy, right?  Also the car was definitely a smoker’s vehicle.  It about knocked me over to stick my head in there so I emptied half a bottle of Fabreeze in the car and let it sit overnight so I could breathe driving to work and back. But again, beggars can’t be choosy.  I was extremely grateful he loaned me the car because he didn’t have to do that.

 This thing had dings everywhere and you could view the trunk from inside the car

 

Be thankful for all your blessings, big or small.  There’s always something to be grateful for, even when a dark cloud hovers over your head.

Mopping the floors

Industrial mop bucket

Seriously, does anyone still do this regularly today?  I forgot how strenuous this is.  I vacuumed and then mopped my whole house today.  Tonight I’m worn out and have a sneaky suspicion that I’m going to hurt in places tomorrow that I haven’t thought about in some time. 

I live in a 3300 sq ft house and about half of it is tile.  I wish the whole thing was tile but, of course, that would have meant more work for me today.

I don’t think my neighbor has ever mopped her house and she’s been there about nine years I would guess.  My other girlfriend never mops her house either.  I don’t do it as often as I would like because it wears me out, but at least the place does get mopped about four or five times a year.  It’s nice to have the place clean and get rid of all the red sand and dust.

Now tomorrow it’s back to work.  I hate spending my entire day off doing chores but sometimes that’s how it is.  I did catch a beautiful sunset through the front windows, so propped the mop in the corner and stretched over to grab my camera and not touch the wet floors so I could snap a pic.  I can’t let a good sunset go by.

 Sunset from my courtyard

 

My cats follow me about and roll on the wet floor.  I have an industrial mop bucket.  I use hot water and add a bit of Clorox and lavender Fabulosa to it.  That smell drives them crazy I guess.  Someday I’ll Google it as I do everything else I have a question about.

She wants to join the family

We live in a place where we’re lucky to see a lot of wildlife coming by at various times.  The last few weeks this female roadrunner has made it clear, she wants in the house. 

 Not the greatest pic but I had to hurry

 

She jumps up on the top of the bench we have on the back patio and pecks at the window.  This sends the cats into a frenzy watching with wild eyes.  I’m not sure what this lady has in mind because I don’t think her or the cats would actually want to meet face-to-face. 

Female roadrunner trying her best to adopt us

She makes her rounds of the backyard near the house, hopping from chair-to-chair and perching on the table.  Last week she even tried her best to fly up and land on the ceiling fans out there.  Maybe she got into some loco weed, or ate some juniper berries.

 Here she is on the patio chair

 

Today, she jumped off the patio roof and took her place on the bench to peck at the window.  Her eyes scan the place from floor to ceiling.  I imagine she’s looking for food and expects me to provide it.  I don’t have any lizards or bugs lying around to give her.  Right now I’m not sure what else she’s trying to tell me, but she looks plump enough and not starving.

At this point, I’m not sure how long this activity will last.  The bird of prey that was taking a daily bath here has gone to other areas.  I haven’t seen him in a while.

Other than that, I hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving and spent a relaxing day being grateful for all we have. 

Below are a few pics from our Thanksgiving drive along the back highway to Mesquite NV and back.  These are taken from the car window so aren't the best photos in the world.  This country passes through an Indian reservation and is mostly sagebrush and Joshua trees.  But the day was beautiful and about 50 degrees.

 
It’s onward toward Christmas now.  Some neighbors already have their lights up.  I’m only perturbed at the one who put his up a week before Thanksgiving.  That’s disgraceful!  These days everyone rushes things. 

We have a few leaves left on our trees, but they’re quickly littering the ground.  I watched some flutter down in a gust of wind this morning and wished I had the camera ready.  I did spend the next half hour trying to capture some but didn’t have much luck.  I guess things like that are better in person.

 Most of these fluttered to the ground today

 

I hate to see winter coming but that’s beyond my control.  All I can do is count the days until spring – and I shall be doing that – in the near future.  December and January are in the deep freeze here some years.

Now that those awful ulcers are about gone from my mouth, I have a raspy cough to take their place.  I attribute this to working near the coolers all day at work last week.  I was chilled to the bone from head-to-toe by the end of my shift, so I’m now stocked up on all sorts of cold products and extra vitamin C to get me through the winter months without becoming too ill.

Added to all this was another car problem, a dead battery this time, but I can’t say my mechanics didn’t warn me about that when they replaced the radiator.  So I spent part of yesterday getting that fixed.  

Now if I can just fix the garage door, which has gone on the blink lately, I may be able to sit back for a while.  I’ll be opening it manually for the time being because the openers and the opener have become enemies apparently.  They aren’t talking to each other now and the batteries are fine.  It’s back to my old friend, Google, to see if I can find a solution.  What did we do before the internet?  It’s too bad they didn’t teach courses like this in high school – something we could really benefit from as adults.

Happy Thanksgiving

It’s so important to be thankful for all our blessings everyday.  I’m glad there’s a day set aside to do just that. 

I know many times life hands us lemons, but that’s just part of living.  Heaven knows I’ve had my share lately, but I believe all these set backs make us stronger and we enjoy the good times more with those lemons thrown in there occasionally.  But remember, even when things are crappy, we all still have many things to be thankful for.  Think about this.  Many people in the world are in wheelchairs, deaf or blind, or impaired in some other way.  Perhaps they don’t even have clothing or shelter and little food. 

My heart goes out to all those folks because anyone of us could be in that position.  We should never take anything for granted in this life because things happen and these established things could be taken away in an instant.  We all have to meet challenges because that what life’s all about.  How we handle those challenges is what counts.

I have great respect for people who are handicapped and not letting it get them down.  They do the best they can with what they’ve got.  We could all learn from this.

So today, as everyone sits down with family and friends to enjoy a meal together, take a moment to give thanks for all we have.  We still live in a free country, so far, and can enjoy independence many don’t have.  We have the Earth’s bounty before us, a roof over our heads, a closet full of clothes and we enjoy the privilege to drive wherever we want to go.  Give thanks for your health because without that, you’re greatly limited and any endeavor is harder to achieve. 

Things can always be worse in almost any situation, so we must always strive to look on the bright side when dark clouds hang over our heads.  The storm eventually moves away and we’re in the light again.

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone other there.  Be safe, healthy and happy.

Is it Botox or something else?

From Web MD website

I swear guys; the last couple of weeks have been a total mess.  A week and a half ago I woke up a week ago Saturday with lips twice their size.  What’s going on?  Seriously, it looked like I had Botox injections.

At least I know what I’d look like now if I ever got them.  It’s so unnatural and I can’t drink out of a glass because I spill it on myself.  My lips are too big to feel the glass edge.

I had been dealing with mouth ulcers for the previous three days and this was an extension of that.  You know the kind you get from eating tomatoes and other foods that are too acidic.  I’ve gotten in the habit of washing all the seeds out of tomatoes because I love them so much, but I don’t always do it.  I guess this will teach me.

You have no idea the ordeal I’ve been through with this.  I never get half a dozen in my mouth at the same time.  I probably don’t need to tell you how painful this is.  So, I started out using some Kankar on them because I had that in the medicine cabinet.  That wasn’t doing it, so I got on my old friend Google and searched for a solution to this issue.

Everyone was shouting out praises for alum, yes the pickling spice.  So, I decided to give that a whirl last Sunday and Monday nights.  Now warning, this is not for the faint of heart.  This stuff burns enough to send you through the roof for a few minutes.  Hubby helped me apply it.  The instructions were to count to one hundred and then spit, but not rinse and then go to bed. 

The next morning, things weren’t improved at all so I had another dose on Monday night.  On Tuesday morning, my lips were stuck together, so I gently wiped them with a wet paper towel and then rinsed my mouth.  I felt like crap, but got ready for work, hoping no one would notice.  I stuck some moisturizer in my jeans pocket and used that all day because it felt like my lips would crack at any moment.  That day I also used campho phenique recommend by the pharmacist at Walgreens.  Hubby was a bit concerned at this point, went down there, and talked to him.  The pharmacist said it was the best over the counter medicine for ulcers in the mouth. 

Does anyone remember this stuff?  We used it on mosquito bites as kids.

I had Wednesday off, so I decided to go to the doctor and have this mouth situation checked out.  I’m not one to run to the doctor for every little thing, but I was sick of fighting this.  I really wanted it gone by Thanksgiving.  I was down to eating bland mashed potatoes and scrambled eggs.  Those eggs reminded me how much I hate plain scrambled eggs, but almost everything burns my mouth.

My regular MD is on vacation until December 1, so I had to see the on-call doctor at the office.  He told me I had a virus going on that I most likely got from a water fountain.  Excuse me.  What?  I don’t drink from water fountains and certainly not with my lips right on them.  To make a long story short, he gave me an anti-viral pill and “magic mouthwash.” 

The next two days I had to spend talking all day at work, so that hasn’t helped things at all.  I also can’t just take off to doctor my mouth when I want to.  I did take my prescriptions to work and used the “magic mouthwash” on my breaks, applying it with a Q-tip.  This mouthwash deadens your whole mouth for a while.

Now on Sunday night as I’m writing this, my mouth is better.  I’m almost out of my anti-viral medication but the ulcers are still there (the swelling is gone.)  So, it’s back to the doctor in the morning before my shift at work to see if I can get a refill or if he’ll give me something else.  At this point, I figure what is still left in there will get worse because I have to talk at work for the next three days and then Thanksgiving is a holiday, so best to take care of this now.

I’ll be seeing a different on-call doctor this time because I couldn’t get an appointment, so I have to go in, wait until they call me, and hope it’s before I have to leave for work.

Hopefully, I won’t be having scrambled eggs for Thanksgiving.

Has anyone else out there had this situation?

More of life’s issues

My Caddy - I love this car and I'm going to have to love it a lot longer

As the old saying goes – when it rains it pours.  That seems to be the case right now with my car issues.  Of course, it is a sixteen-year-old car so I don’t expect things to be perfect.  I just hope this is the end of an expensive list of repairs for a while.

It all started out with the A/C, which had to be repaired this summer.  I could have let it go for a while if it wasn’t in the triple digits here.

Things went smoothly for a month and then the starter went out.  That happened when hubby was in Oregon taking care of his dad’s affairs, so I borrowed my neighbor’s car so I could get back and forth to work.  Thankfully, she has two vehicles and one sits in the garage most of the time.  After three days in the shop and about $500, I was able to get my car back. 

Now the car still had a shifter issue, which I’ve been nursing along for a year or more.  I wasn’t ready to shell out another couple hundred to have that looked into, so I’ve been putting up with it, although it’s getting to be a very sore spot having to fight to get the car out of park every time I get into it.  I think this is a brake switch and not a solenoid, which is a good thing because the brake switches are the cheaper of the repairs.

So back up a couple days ago when we were running around town and I had hubby drive my car so he could see how bad the shifter was.  He was getting pretty frustrated trying to get it into gear.  It smelled hot when we came home, but he couldn’t smell it, assuring me all was fine.

So the next day I went to work and noticed I left a trail of wet splashes and drops after I locked my car.  I touched it and it looked like water on my finger.  My car had the hot smell again, plus this time my heat gauge was slightly above the center spot, which it never is, so I knew there was another issue.  Things weren’t just fine.

Hubby brought a gallon of water and filled up my radiator.  The oil was fine.  I called the shop on my break and asked to bring it over after work.  The guys are so good over there and said they’d stay late so I wouldn’t be stranded and would take a look at it for me.  They even offered to give me a ride home, but hubby picked me up.

The verdict is it needs a new radiator and new radiator hose.  The tech pressurized the radiator for me, it was leaking in the front, and the main upper hose is almost worn to the point of having a hole in it.  So this problem is now being fixed, leaving me without a car again for a few days.  The shop ordered the new radiator right away, but they sent over a defective one and the mechanic can’t get another one until Monday.  That seems to be the story of my life, but things happen and it could always be worse.  Thank goodness, that’s my philosophy in life or things could get depressing in a hurry.

So I’m also having the shifter fixed as long as the car is in the shop again anyway.  Actually, hubby suggested it after his round with the car the other day.  I don’t have the estimate on that repair yet and am crossing my fingers because the radiator job is going to cost me $480.  Yikes!  You can see where my paycheck is going.

If things happen in threes, maybe this is it for a while.  I’m keeping a positive mind.