Not so sweet dreams

Every once in a while I’ll have a bad dream about someone I know and it will leave me uneasy until I’ve heard from that person, such was the case this morning.  I awoke after dreaming about my cousin Alexis.  I’d dreamt her husband had been killed in a head on car accident.  Now I’ve never met her husband, but the horror of her being a widow with two small children at such a young age is worse than any monster-filled nightmare.  

I wait anxiously for a reply from her. 😟

How prophetic

Today's horoscope.  Sounds like exactly what I was saying a couple of days ago!!

F-1 tornado

Our area was hit with an F-1 tornado yesterday.  Not much damage in our neighborhood, but about a mile or so east of here they got a bit more damage.  We did lose our large forsythia bush and my pawpawtree lost a branch along with the largest bunch of pawpaws.  That hurt! 😭😢

Oh the agony

The derma doc took a biopsy of another spot on my leg yesterday.
I’ve had probably a dozen or so spots punched over the years, but I think I can honestly say this has been the most painful.  It’s difficult to get comfortable to sleep, because of the pressure it puts on the wound, and I can’t sleep face down.  It throbbed at work all day.  Keeping my fingers crossed the labs come back benign so she doesn’t have to take more from the area, not just because I don’t want cancer, but I really don’t think I could handle more pain. ☹️

Pardon my French!

Pardon my French, but I’m so effing sick and tired of people and their opinions and misplaced, unsolicited advice.  Or maybe I’m just sick and tired of my husband telling me what all these losers have to say about our plans for the future.
So now some ass-wad thinks we’re doing the wrong thing by waiting til John retires to build our dream home in the country.  What’s the difference between doing that vs. moving to FL or AZ like the other retirees?  We sure as hell can’t build it now or even 10 years ago when we didn’t have the money or the time to take care of it or when he’d have to drive over twice the distance!!!
I fail to understand what business it is of these people what we do, when we do it, or how we do it.  It’s our lives, our plans and dreams, our money.

Ya just can’t fix stupid

Majorly severe storms just passed thru our area.  The wind was blowing the rain sideways so hard, it made it look like a blizzard.  While standing with a longtime coworker at the window, watching the windows get pelted, a tornado warning came across my phone.  She says, “well okay, where are we supposed to go to find an interior room?” 😳🙄🤦🏻‍♀️
Seriously??  Does she not know what an interior room is?
As old as she is, does she not know that bathrooms or closets on a lower level are usually your best bet?
I’ve said it many times before and I’m saying it again, I don’t know how she finds her way home in the evening.

Reality check

As is it and watch these home remodeling/building shows, I can’t help but think how greedy these families are.  I want I want I want!  4&5 bedroom homes and bathrooms AND playrooms for the kids, AND man caves and nothing is ever good enough for them.

I understand that some of this is edited for effect and probably have producers telling them to make unreasonable demands.  But I can’t help but think while I want larger rooms and closets, I certainly don’t want MORE rooms!!  But hey, that’s just me.

Learned Something New Today

To say it was a slow day would be an understatement.  Did watch a couple of movies, one being "Play Misty for Me".  Not sure how it is I've never seen this Eastwood classic.  But it was obvious 10 minutes into it that I had seen it, in a manner of speaking.  I never knew that "Fatal Attraction" was a remake of this movie, retooled and modernized, but still an obvious duplicate.  I think I like the Michael Douglas version better.

Board & Brush

Had a fund time this past Saturday evening at Board & Brush in Middletown.  When I originally mentioned going a few months ago, several people were all gung-ho about wanting to go, then when I finally picked a date, 2 were decided not to do it, another either never signed up or else got a refund, but regardless, wasn't there.  So it was just Tammy and I with a bunch of strangers, but we had fun.  The other girls at our table were nice.  Young enough to be our daughters, lol, but nice, and from the Georgetown/Greenville area.
I had never done this type of painting project before in my life, and had no idea what to expect, but it was a really fun, neat experience.  Yeah, $65 seems a bit high, but I figure since they provide everything and clean up afterwards, why not?  So many projects to choose from, I had a hard time deciding which to do.  I can easily see myself going back there every couple of months.  I look at it as decorations for our new cabin. 
A few things I need to remember for next time, make extremely sure to stain ALL sides and ends of the boards, to put the hanger just a little lower or else make the wire hanger shorter, as I didn't care for the way it showed above my sign when I went to hang it.  AND, to make super duper sure the boards are aligned properly and tightly together.  I've got one board that is a nano-bit higher than the others, and just a bit loose.   But this was a learning project for me, and I'm happy with how it turned out. 
If I had a way to make stencils or were any good at free-hand art, this would actually be an easy thing to do at home.  John actually said he'd do it with my sometime, so I'm hoping to sign us up for an event in August for our anniversary.  :)

Size 12

It’s been a looong time since I’ve fit into a size 12.  Seems a lifetime ago.  I was sure I’d never wear a size 12 again.  And yet, today, I did it!.  Of course this time it was a size 12 shoe. 😳

Yes, a size 12 shoe.  Good gawd will my feet ever quit growing??  If they get any bigger I’ll have to have them custom made.  

I hated giving up the ones I have, as there is still plenty of tread on them, but the support has worn out and my feet have been killing me more and more of late, so it was time for new ones. 😕

Brooks shoes won the comfort contest for me today.  To look at my feet, you’d never know there was so many things going on, but the plantar fasciitis, bone spurs, arthritis, neuropathy, and possible Morton’s neuroma, there’s not a day goes by where agony doesn’t flare up at some point or another. 😭

Take care of your feet people!

Bent Willow Place

These are photos of our property, which we've named "Bent Willow Place".  The pictures are taken over a 2 1/2 year period.
Top left: 11/22/2015  when we first found the property  It was so overgrown and we couldn't see anything.
Top center: 10/16/2016  almost a year later, after it had been bush hogged 3 or 4 times.  Looks a lot better!
Top right: 4/2/2017  early spring, grass is just starting to turn green and the leaves are still bare.
Bottom left:  11/4/2017   almost 2 years to the day from when we found it.  Quite a difference, eh?  That "stick house" is the approximate spot I envision our cabin being built.
Bottom right: 3/3/18   Sometimes just the sun shining bright and lack of clouds makes a huge difference on how the place looks.

These pictures were all taken, standing in the approximate same spot, aka my favorite spot, to stand and gaze east and just take it all in.  I think it's the prettiest spot on the property.
We've still got a lot of work to do to get it ready.  John wants to dig up some of the little stumps left from when it the bush hog mowed down the little trees.  We need to spray some brush killer to hopefully get rid of the poison ivy and other thorny plants and brambles.  I'm hopeful that if we're able to keep it cut once we get the tractor, that it will look even better and we can get some grass to grow, not just this weedy stuff.

This top pic was taken 11/22/15, bottom pic was taken 4/24/16.  This is the south-east corner of our property, looking north.

Raindrops keep falling...

It's raining, it's pouring 🎶
It's been raining off and on, if only briefly, for days now.  Doesn't really seem to amount to much, just enough to get the grass too wet to cut and get the dirt muddy.  Our backyard was already on the verge of being a jungle, I dare say this will push it all the way into rain forest status.  If the grass gets much taller, I won't be able to find the Danes.  At the very least, I won't be able to find their pooh piles. On the plus side, I'm hopeful that this has been enough rain that we won't need to go and water the trees at BWP this weekend.  Although we may still do that, just to have an excuse to not be around Louisville on Sunday.  (Did I just say that out loud?)

I've got plans for tomorrow to go to Board & Brush with a couple of friends from school.  I'm excited.  Hope this project turns out better than the ones I've done from those other painting on canvas places.  I'll post pix later this weekend.  TGIF, enjoy the weekend everyone!

FB addict recovery, Day 3

John finally gave in and went to the doctor today about his poison ivy, but only after his doctor brother told him to go.  Makes me so mad!  He ignores my good, common sense advice, only giving in when his brother tells him the exact thing I told him.  Asshole!!🙄😠
Of course today’s doctors appointment will cost us probably double what it would’ve cost had he gone yesterday to the family doctor, because he went to the Immediate Care instead.  Lot more expensive! 😠😠

I got a separate blog up and running, strictly for dog posts.

Staying away from fb is getting easier and easier,  quicker than I thought.  Yes, I’ve gotten on there a handful of times, just to lurk a little, not commenting or “liking” posts/comments.  Not responding to invites.  If somebody wants to invite me to something they can reach out personally, not be included in gen-pop.
I did get on there long enough to “clean house”.  It was time to unfriend a few people.  Seriously considered a few more, may do some more house cleaning in the coming days.

 Checked on the auto loans balances.  I’m beyond ecstatic that my car should be paid off by September and John’s by January.  Mine is months early, John’s over a year early.  Can I get a WooHoo?  Then I can put that much more towards paying off the HE loan and house, so gawd willing we’ll be in good shape when it’s time to start building that cabin.

So glad it’s almost the weekend!😎

Bad financial advice?

I had heard a while back that to help pay down a loan or even credit card payments, that instead of sending in one payment each month, to break that monthly payment up and send in half a couple of weeks ahead of time and the balance by the due date.
I decided to give it a try and set our car payments and mortgage up in that manner.
At the time I set them up a couple of months ago, I went on and paid the month of May in full, then set up 1/2 of June's payment to come out mid-May and the other 1/2 by the end of the month so that it was all paid by the first of the following month.  AND, I paid extra, as I've done for many years, and the mortgage lender already has instructions that any additional funds I pay are to be applied to the principal.
So I got a call from our mortgage lender this afternoon, telling me that I'm past due for the month of June!  WHAT?!?!?!?   I seriously thought it was a scam.  He wanted me to take care of it over the phone, I refused and told him I'd look at my checking account and take care of it today.
So I checked my account, saw where the full payment for May was taken out on the 1st, then two 1/2 payments later in May which were for June, and a 1/2 payment already taken out in June which was for July.  WTH???
I called the mortgage company and after what seemed like an eternity of pressing buttons and listening to menus, I finally got to a live person.  I was fuming by now.  The girl informed me that had I set up the payments thru them to deduct it from my checking account twice a month, then the payments would be properly applied.  But since I did it myself thru my bank, the payments were just considered additional payments and strictly being applied to my principal, and not touching my interest or escrow.  Are you freaking kidding me?!
After much back and forth nonsense, I told her to go ahead and set up the payments from her end and I went on and cancelled my bi-monthly payments.  After more back and forth nonsense and her asking me some ridiculous questions and trying to sell me a mortgage on our future home we aren't even ready for, I finally said, "you know what, cancel all that.  I'll go back to making single payments once a month for the whole amount."

Honestly, trying to get ahead shouldn't be this difficult!!

FB addict recovery, day 2

Both of my mobile devices are now FB app free.  I guess the only time I'll be accessing FB now is on the rare occasion I fire up my old lap top at work.  I don't do that often as it has such a slow connection.  But I did log on today for a short bit so I could change all my photo album settings to Private.

It's strange, when you think of addiction, you think of drugs, alcohol, etc.  You don't generally think of spending time on social media as an addiction, but I guess it is real.  I've caught myself reaching for my phone on a few occasions since deleting the FB app a couple of nights ago.  I deleted my Twitter app also.  I didn't use it very much anyway, so no great loss there.  But I actually found myself ready for work over 1/2 an hour earlier than usual this morning, and I guess it was all because I wasn't looking at FB every few minutes.

And there have been a few times I've started to reach for the phone so I could post something cute the dog(s) have done or to vent about something, but I've just kept it to myself.    Dear blogger world, you now get to hear all my frustrations, lol, I pity you!

So the husband just called me, informed me he had poison ivy around his eyes.  Gee, I'm in shock!  No doubt he got it when he was trying to shake the drone loose from the locust tree.  I told him to get to the Immediate Care Ctr., he of course refused.  Said it wasn't too bad, yet.  Exactly John!  Don't wait until it's at it's worse or works its way into your eyes.  Men!!  I told him at the very least, change his pillow case when he got home.  SMH

My arse is dragging a bit today.  Willow had me up at 1:30 and 4:30, dancing around because she needed to go potty so badly.  Poor little thing has got some bad diarrhea.  I gave her meds with her breakfast.  I just hope John doesn't arrive home to a mess in her crate.  :(

Okay, so as I was leaving the nursing home yesterday, a woman that works at the NH stopped me and asked if I was a volunteer there.  I confirmed I was (I've been going there 5 years, +/- 1 year).  Then she asked if I had been thru her orientation class for volunteers yet.  Um, nooo, I don't think I've ever met you before.  She then thrusts a packet of papers towards me and says I need to attend an orientation class that volunteers are supposed to take, get a background check done, and make sure all shots are up to date, MINE, not the dogs. I could feel my blood beginning to boil, but I held my tongue and just walked out.  After I got home and read the packet, my blood boiled a bit more.  Her damn orientation class is during my working hours, which means I'd have to take time off from work to not only attend, but also to get the TB test done, rechecked, and then repeated again in two weeks.  I'm doing good to get my employer to let me off work as it is for nursing home visits, all this extra crap may be asking a bit much of my employer.  I mean, I know I work basically next door to the facility, but what if I worked some distance away?  I think that woman's expectations are a bit ridiculous and she needs to be accommodating the volunteers if she wants to continue to have volunteers.  I fired off an email to a friend that works there, asking if this was a new policy that had recently been established, or something that's been on the books for a long time.  Because if it's not new, I feel like they can kiss my ass.  Grandfather me in or something.  THEY were the ones that approached me, not once, but twice, requesting me to come there and volunteer, so I feel it was their responsibility to have my background checked, TB tested and any orientation at that time.  Don't spring it on me years later.  And it's not that I feel I won't pass any of their tests, it's the principle of the whole thing!
If it weren't for enjoying the library program so much, I'd seriously just give up the whole pet therapy volunteer work.  I'm awaiting my friend's response before I make my decision.

Looking in my dogter's eyes

There isn't usually anything on tv on Thursday nights that piques my interest, so I didn't even waste my time channel-surfing. Instead, I let the husband have my recliner and the remote so he could watch a ballgame (or rather, sleep in front of the tv), and I propped myself up on our bed and finished reading the latest Ann Rule novel "Everything She Ever Wanted". I read while dinner baked in the oven, I read while I ate dinner in bed, and after the dishes were done, I returned to my book, this time taking Olivia to bed with me.

It's not often I let her (or any of the dogs) in our bedroom, but I did this time. At first her curiousity in the cats was about to get her in trouble, but she finally settled down and sprawled out next to me.

I have a hard time sitting up in bed to read, as it's very uncomfortable for me and I continually shift positions. After a while, I finally flopped onto my belly (something I rarely ever do!!) across the end of the bed and resumed reading. But then out of the corner of my eye, I saw Olivia's left eye watching me from it's deep set in the socket. I say "eye" because she was lying on her side and one eye was hidden against the covers. My poor sweet child with the messed up eyes.

I layed my book aside and leaned in close to her, getting nose to nose, telling her how much I loved her. I know she couldn't hear me, but she could feel the breath of my words against her face and she could see my lips moving. I watched her eye shifting, and noticed for the first time she was able to shift it side to side (although as she was lying on her side, the movement was actually vertical). Very unusual for her as she normally doesn't have the muscle control to move her eyes around to see things. Interesting. Perhaps the fact that she was on her side somehow enabled her to have that muscle control. I'm not sure, but this lack of control may be called Duane Syndrome, which is a limited amount of eye movement especially to the sides, but I'm not for sure if that is really what her problem is, just a guess.

I leaned in closer and looked deep into her eyes. I would give anything to be able to see her entire eye, but that 3rd eyelid covers so much of her eye it makes it nearly impossible.

I've done a lot of internet searching for things that describe her eyes many (birth)defects, and the best I've been able to come up with are Enophthalmia for the way they are sunken back into the socket, and Microophthalmia which describes the smaller than normal eyes. I haven't yet found a term to describe the small tremors her eyes have whenever she tries to stare at a fixed object.

I came across another term called Eccentric Pupil, but really haven't been able to find much on the condition other than it's when a pupil isn't centered in the iris. In Olivia's case, it rests at the bottom of her eye.

So many issues for one dog to have, yet she's just perfect to me.


PS,
This was originally written a few years ago, but never posted.  I just discovered it saved in my Drafts folder and published it.

FB addict recovery, day 1.

Well hello my old Rat Sass friend!  It’s been too long.  I think it’s time to get reacquainted. FB has left me with a very bad taste in my social media mouth.
Pardon my French, but people are just effing nuts!!

In the past few weeks I’ve had perfect strangers verbally attack me just for stating my opinion.  I thought this was America, and free speech was one of the foundations this country was built in?
It’s no wonder people are shooting places up.  Not that I condone this behavior, but people are fed up with being dumped on.  And if adults are having a difficult time handling the verbal and emotional abuse, how can we expect kids to properly handle their emotions??
This country is going to hell in the express lane.
Drug abuse seems to be at an all time high.  Human trafficking is out of control.  Mental health, well, I just don’t know what to say.
And now, today, I just about went off the deep end because of something that happened as I was leaving the nursing home.  I’m just about ready to wash my hands of doing any volunteer work.  I’ve already cut back my volunteer schedule substantially, which is a shame because I’ve always enjoyed it, but just get so sick of others and their superiority complexes.
Life is too short to be miserable and unhappy.  I’ve spent the first 50 years of my life trying to help and please others, it’s time Pitawoman spend her remaining years, however few or many there are, living to make her happy.

I’ve got to report to the cesspool location tomorrow. Grrrr!