Hot Mess

"Do you want to do something New Years Eve?"  SM asked me yesterday.

"Like what?"  I perked up, hoping for a fun suggestion.

"Dunno.  You tell me."  SM responded, no doubt hoping for some creative plan from me.

We stand there eyeballing each other for a minute or two.

"Well, I got nothing and even if I did, how am I gonna make it past my 7pm bedtime?"  

That's what I do now.  Pass out the first chance I get.  Sometimes I'm barely home from work, out of my scrubs with dinner in my belly before I'm passed out, drooling in my recliner.   

 

I've been in a fierce cycle of hot flashes these past few weeks.  More intense than usual.  The good news is that it's at it's worst between midnight and 3 am.  So I can usually get in a bit of a doze before I'm wide awake, usually right about the time SM is going to bed.

"I suppose we could crack a bottle of bubbly when I get up at midnight?"  I teased.

SM just shook his head and wandered off, clearly unimpressed with my party plans.

Off kilter bedtimes aside, I really have been getting a lot done in the wee hours lately.  

I try not to get up.  I really do.  I toss and turn for a bit, hoping that I'll drift back to sleep.  Sometimes I can.  

But then there are the nights like this one where the noise inside my head is just too much.  And so I lie there blinking in the darkness thinking about random crap.  

And then the next hotflash comes on 20 minutes after the last one hit until finally I kick off the covers in a sweaty snit and head out to "The Nook" to spend a few hours clicking around on the computer as I shuck my hoodie on and off with each new flash.

Sometimes I surf.  
Sometimes I post nonsense like this.
Sometimes I turn the TV on and drift back to sleep.

About 2am I wandered in and turned on the tube.  They had War of the Roses on.  One of my favorite dark comedies.  





Now that is a pissed off menopausal woman.

I watched for about an hour and then started having shivering spells.  Cold flashes.  Yeah me!

Heading for bed around 3:30 and under nice warm covers I eventually drifted off again.  

I woke up at 5 feeling refreshed.  

Except now I can feel I have a migraine coming on.

I am, my friends, one Hot Mess.

Renovation Realities

I watch more TV in the winter.  

Every weekend I usually have HGTV or DIY or The Food Network on as I bop around the house doing stuff.

The other day there was a marathon of Renovation Realities on and I got sucked in.





Now if you've never watched this show, it basically follows a couple of people as they take on a home renovation project for themselves.  

It was evening and SM had been watching sports in the other room but came and sat on the sofa in the room where the dogs and I hang out.

And he got sucked in too.

I tell you, watching this show is better than any horror movie out there.

"Don't do it!"  SM tells the TV. He leans forward.

"I can't watch!"  I squeak, covering my eyes but still peeking through my fingers.

After about an hour of this, SM gets up saying "I can't watch this anymore.  My blood pressure is through the roof!"

Even I have limits.  

They showed an episode where the couple was going to take on a replacement roofing project.  

I turned completely away.

Oh The Horror!

To Blog Or Not To Blog

That is the question I've been asking myself the past couple of months.

Everything has a lifespan.  A point in time when there's nothing more to be said.  

I wondered if I'd reached that point with this blog.

So I signed up for Facebook a few days ago.

SHOCKER!!!!!






I know, I know...I've been anti FaceBook for so long but felt that I was really missing out on the experience that all my friends and family have long since embraced.

I still a newbie on it but so far I don't see it as a platform for expressing my thoughts the way that my blog does.  

To be honest...It's kind of a yawn.

Facebook is short and sweet.  A daily blip on what's going on with your peeps. Kind of a "high five" as you go through your day.  Or a depressing note if someone decides to unleash their angst on all of their "friends".

Since I'm a meat and potatoes kinda girl, I think I need my blog to satisfy that part of me that needs to write creatively.  I have a voice that FB just can't understand or translate.  

Plus I like the thought of this blog being a journal of our life together.  The story of the up's and downs and quirks of a man and woman who decided 27 years ago to walk the same path together.  

Our story is not done yet.  I bet there's still something interesting right around the corner.

So I am committed to continue the blog for another year.  

New Year's is a favorite holiday of mine simply because I use it to evaluate where I'm at and where I'm heading.  I evaluate the changes I'd like to make and formulate a gameplan to accomplish them.  

I dream.

So I've been considering cosmetic changes to the blog.  You might see them over the next few days as I test them out.  

Let me know if you like them.  Or not.  That's cool too.

*  Just a shout out to anyone who might be getting the latest Blogger Error gwt.xml module error.  I'd been getting these for about a week or so and managed to work my way around them.  This morning I couldn't get into Blogger at all.  After doing a bit of poking around I found that this is a current issue with anyone using Internet Explorer and it appears that Blogger is working on it.  

Click here for a better description of the issue.  

I'm in Foxfire now to navigate in Blogger and that works fine. 
 

Goodbye Christmas, Hello Walter

I was standing with the TV remote yesterday, deleting SM's Christmas programing.

"What are you doing?"  SM asked.  "Why are you deleting all my Christmas shows?"

"AMC is running a Breaking Bad marathon this weekend.  All seasons back to back."  I replied, eyes focused on my task.

"But you don't need to delete all my shows for that.  There's 40% space still available on the DVR."

I paused looking at him.  "There are FIVE SEASAONS.  Do you know how much space that is going to take?"

"But my Christmas shows..."  SM is working the big lip now.

""They'll all be back on next year."  I reassured.  "Besides...Didn't you like BB?"

SM and I watched had the last few episodes and the series finale so we know how it all ends.

"This will give us something to watch together."  I proclaimed.  SM has his TV room and I have mine.  The only thing we watch together is Big Bang and The Blacklist.




And now Breaking Bad. 

Geez, that's a lot of B's....

Short But Sweet

I buried Callie Cat this morning.

We hadn't seen her since Tuesday morning. And when we didn't see her Christmas morning we figured she had moved on.

Callie adopted us back in August.  The Vet placed her at around 7 months at that time.  She was friendly enough but really only hung out in the house when the weather was bad or when she was hungry. 

So it was really only a matter of time.  Unless you have a kitten or adopt a cat that is only used to being inside, eventually something is gonna get you.

SM got a neighborhood alert email this morning when he got up a 5am.  The email said that a cat had been struck and killed last night around 8pm out on the main road that hugs our neighborhood.

I was already geared up to take the dogs out for their walk so I did a mile with them then brought them to the house and, grabbing a shovel, headed out to walk the main road.

Sure enough, there she was.  I crossed over the main road and buried her in the soft soil out in the field where she had undoubtedly been hunting only hours before.

Goodbye Callie Cat. You were a sweet cat. 
Thanks for stopping by and sharing some of your life with us.

It's A Christmas Miracle

SM came home yesterday with a gift for me.

My first Apple.  Yep, I got me an iPad for Christmas.

"But what I really need is a phone."  I told him.

"You're gonna love this."  SM said enthusiastically .  "You can read all your blogs and books outside or wherever you are!"

"But I have my laptop for all that."  I replied.  "What I really need is a phone.  Everybody keeps telling me that I'm living in the dark ages without a phone!"

"I'll get you your phone.  In fact, I'll get a new one and give you my old one."

So Tami is getting with the program.

I've been playing with this sucker for about an hour.

I do LOVE the quality of the camera.  I need to figure out how to upload a picture from the iPad to my blog.  

And I love the way it spell checks.  But I've got a lot to learn with this puppy.  

I've already got iPad for Dummies and iPad for Seniors saved on my laptop.
I've done this entire post on the iPad.  It's a Christmas miracle I tell ya!

Now I need a neck massage.

Have a Merry Christmas Ya'll!

Scroogette

SM is really just a big kid at heart. 

Particularly at Christmas time. 

Now I'm not talking about gifts or toys or games.  SM and I never got into the whole gaming thing with the Wii and Xbox.  Maybe if we were younger but it just never really popped with either of us. 

SM is really nostalgic.  He watches (and has saved on the DVR) every freakin Christmas cartoon, show and movie that has played this season.  There are 18 programs on the DVR as we speak.  From Rudolph and Frosty to Scrooge and It's a Wonderful Life, we have it all.

And tonight begins 24 hours of Ralphie. 





Oh Joy!

Last night he was watching Polar Express.  I wandered by and ruffled his hair as I walked by his recliner. 

"Whatcha watching?  Oh, Polar Express."  My tone flattened. 





"I hate this show.  The animation really freaks me out."  I proclaimed.

"You're such a Scrooge."  SM said.  "Actually you're a Scroogette."

"Yeah, that's me!  I'm a Scroogette!"  I crowed.  "Bah Freaken Humbug!"

All kids (and kids at heart) are naturally into Christmas and while I do enjoy some aspects of the Yuletide Season, by the time Christmas is actually here I've pretty much said "Enough already." 

I decorated the house so that all the Christmas lights and paraphernalia are in the living room where SM hangs out most of the time.  As I reached down to plug in the lights the other day, I stepped back and  mentioned to SM that it looks like someone vomited Christmas all over the room.  Everywhere you looked...Christmas. 

I have rarely seen SM look more pleased.

If I had my way I'd have it all packed away the day after.  But I usually wait until New Years to prolong the pleasure for SM. 

I don't have much use for Winter.  I do enjoy the downtime but I'd much rather be outside in the green leafy world of the growing season. 

I've tried to get SM to take me on a trip over the holidays.  Someplace warm, with a beach and lots of sunshine.  He wants nothing to do with it claiming that it just wouldn't feel like Christmas if he was anyplace but home.

He's right of course. 

It wouldn't feel like Christmas.  SM has seen through my evil plan once again...(Rubbing my hands together.)

"You're a mean one Mrs. Grinch"

Talk Dirty To Me

Oh Yeah...I could listen to Sam all day.  And not just what he's saying but how he's saying it...

I am a carnivore. 
I like meat. 

If I knew I was eating my last meal on this earth, I'd have steak.  Medium rare please with a baked potato slathered in butter and some salt and pepper. 

Some nice crisp green beans on the side.

Heaven.

I went out Saturday and bought our "Roast Beast" for Christmas Dinner.  A nice long strip of tenderloin beef that set me back $63 bucks.

We don't eat steak very often around here. 

Burgers?  Yeah, they'll hit the grill a few times a month during summer.  In the winter I might manage a meatloaf or chuck roast every once in a while.

But steak?  Three times a year.  That's it.  And that's because a nice strip of tenderloin cuts up into three pieces quite nicely.

I would eat steak every day if I could.  And if I'm going to eat steak, I prefer to eat tenderloin and tenderloin ain't cheap.

I typically suck it up though and splurge for a full strip of tenderloin at Christmas time because you can usually find it on sale.  If you'd like to call $10.99 a pound "On Sale."

I then cut it into 3 sections, with the thickest piece for Christmas dinner.  The other two skinny pieces, I freeze for consumption later in the year when the "I just can't eat another freaken chicken" hits.

Some years I can't afford to do this but this year my employer sent out an email from HR that Obamacare rules said some nonsense that for 2012 we had "overpaid" our premium and that we'd get a $70 refund in our last paycheck of the year. 

Gee, Thanks

When I shared this fact with SM he advised... "Don't spend it all in one place."

Turns out, I did.  @;)

(Now hush up while I listen to Sam one more time.)

Fun With Critters

An update on Miss Ginny.

I had set up an appointment to "dock" her tail about a month ago but the Vet called back prior to the appointment and said he wanted to try "behavior modification" first.

He felt that putting her on "happy pills" while her tail healed would cure her "compulsive desire to chew". 

OK.

(But I'm thinking while he's telling me this that this doesn't solve the long term issue of the fact that she keeps whipping her tail into walls and doors and splitting the tail open again.)

I can't force the Vet to do my bidding.  So we'll try it his way for now.  I did suggest antibiotics which he agreed to since I've read that a tail infection that runs up the spine will kill a dog within a few days.

So along with happy pills I also had to "try" to protect the tip from Ginny and the world to allow it to heal.  I'd already switched from the PVC pipe (too heavy) to that foam pipe insulation which has worked perfectly. 

The problem was the tape.  I tried every tape I could get my hands on even bringing home some of what we use at work.  Nothing stuck for more than a day.

SM suggested Duck Tape which at first sounded cruel.  But I applied it lightly and it sticks to the hair of her tail incredibly well.  I covered it with a sock to discourage licking.

Stick a cone on her head when SM and I are gone and "Viola"...Success!

It's taken about two weeks to get it to scab over.  I'm thinking we may have another month or two before it's healed but I still say she's going to need protection on the tip for the rest of her life.

What a drag!

Yesterday afternoon was in the 70's so I went out and wandered the back yard while the beasties ran around.  

Even Callie showed up for the fun. 

She has a new nickname now.  "Squeak."  She makes the funniest little squeaky noises when she greets us.   

Here's a few more snaps from the day.  I'm wanting to "update" the look of the blog for 2014 and realized most of the critter pictures are a few years old.

My Sweet Ginny Girl is turning nine this coming year.  

Looking at these pictures, she's more like "My Grey Lady" now.  It won't be long before she's completely blind.

Scooter Boo will be eleven soon.  

He still gets around fine but we think he's going deaf.  Either that or he just doesn't want to pay attention to us anymore.

Casey Pig will be five.  

She's such a sweetheart.  

My Piglet of Love.

Great Expectations

What is it about hair?

For both men and women, hair seems to be a big freakin deal. 

Having it, not having it, too long, too short, this color, that color...

It seems to control much of our waking hours.

No wonder Brittney shaved her head.





My last hair cut and color was back in June 2013.  Like a lot of women, I would visit a salon several times a year to get high and low lights to jazz up my mousy brown hair.  But with age, I'd noticed that I was getting a lot of "Salt and Pepper." 

Hey!  That's a natural high and low light.  Why bother with color?  Save your money!  So I stopped going. 

The other day I said to SM...

"You know, my hair is really growing in pretty good considering.  I'm surprised.  There's not a big difference."

To which SM dropped the bomb... 

"I like you better as a blonde.  I'd hate to see you let yourself go."

Now before all ya'll get your panties in a wad over that bomb, please understand that I didn't.

Think about it. 

SM might be evaluating me, but so is everyone else I come into contact with.  Including me.  Don't we all evaluate ourselves everyday when we look in the mirror?

I can't think of a time since I became a teenager (enter hormones) that I didn't consider my appearance and how I "rated" with other women. 

And not only in the looks department but in behavior too. 

What was expected of me during all the different phases of my life as a woman? 

Get good grades in High School, go to college, get married, have kids, develop a career, develop successful relationships with the people in my life.

Establish a home, go to church, go to the in-laws, go on vacation, go to continuing education, go to a conference.

Like a diamond we reflect facets of our lives to each other but mostly to ourselves. 

And we try to look our best while doing it.

Jazzercise, Weight Watchers.
Tight jeans, fat pants. 
Flat irons, curling wands.
Bad perms, bad haircuts.
The list is endless.

Let's examine the phrase -

 

To let oneself go

 

1. 1.

   act in an unrestrained or uninhibited way.

   "you need to unwind and let yourself go"
2. 2.

   become careless or untidy in one's habits or appearance.

   "he's really let himself go after the divorce."

So as I sat there thinking about what SM said, my first impulse was to get on the phone and call my hair stylist ASAP.

And that's exactly what I did.

But then I thought about this and then thought some more.  I didn't mind what was going on with my hair.  Far from it.  So I cancelled my appointment. 

To act in an unrestrained or uninhibited way. 

Oh yeah.  That has me (exit hormones) written all over it.

Menopause is tough.  It's tough on the women who are going through it and it's tough on the men who have to deal with them.  I can understand why so many couples split up at this time in their lives. 

They don't call it "The Change" for nothing.  And some people can roll with the change and some people can't.

I feel more me than I ever have before. 
Who I am, what I want is becoming more defined. 
Clearer. 

There's this person inside me who is slowly stepping forward. 

The menopausal fire that has been washing over me every day for the last two years is forging a sharper, more intense version of the me that was before.

And I'm really very curious to meet her.

A Polish Man In The South

A few weeks ago SM traveled back to "The Motherland", a small town in eastern Ohio where he got to hang with his peeps and eat, drink and be merry to his hearts content without having his wife of 27 years nag him into diabetic submission over all the bad food he was eating.

Did you know I was a nag? 





Oh yeah.  (raising my hand)

Although in my defense researchers do say that married men live longer and it's usually because the nag in their house is making him live a healthier lifestyle than said man would like.

Poor Baby.

Since I declined to go with him on his annual migration north, SM decided that (while he was up there) it would be his mission in life to find to a good Polish Market that could supply him with some of the yummy Slavic chow he grew up eating.

You know...The kind of food his good for nothing Missus would turn her nose up at. 

The kind of food that makes his Lipitor kick into overdrive.

The kind of food you smell before you even see it.

I didn't need to see his car parked in front of the house to know my baby was home.  Open door.  Inhale.

"Phew...What the...?"  I said as a greeting to my long lost spouse of four days.

I wandered into the kitchen and noted bags upon bags of miscellaneous stuff on my counter.

"I see you found Polish nirvana."  I said giving SM a smooch.

"Oh yeah.  I've got tons of kielbasy, pierogi, cookies and rolls."  SM crowed.

"What's in there?"  I asked pointing at a tub.

"Homemade sauerkraut."

"Well, I'm too tired to deal with this tonight.  Let's get this stuff refrigerated and I'll deal with it tomorrow."

The next day I called SM to help me sort through his loot.  He went to S&D Market in Pittsburgh.

He bought 4 different kinds of kielbasy, including some smoked sausage sticks. 
Three different pierogi flavors.  Nut and poppyseed rolls.  And Kolaczki cookies.

So we divided up the goodies and froze 2/3 of the sausages and pierogi's.  I then took the remaining sauerkraut and kielbasy and cooked them up along with reheating the pierogi's and fixed SM up a nice Polish feast.

Just consider this SM's version of the Grinch's Roast Beast.

Encroachment

 Encroachment is an intrusion, usually unwelcome, into the space of another

It had to happen sometime I guess.

Less than a mile from our home, a brand new three hundred home subdivision is going in.

Goodbye to the sounds of cows mooing and roosters crowing.

When we moved to Charlotte fifteen years ago we both knew that we didn't want to live in Charlotte. 

We wanted to be close enough to take advantage of her opportunities but far enough away to live a small, quiet country life.  The neighborhood we live in is modestly sized.  Most homes are about 2,000sq ft and sit on 1/2 acre lots.   

Ironically, if the Great Recession hadn't have hit when it did we would have had an "Eco-Sustainable" community built on that same patch of land.  Supposedly they were planning orchards, community plots for gardens and a "solar farm".  SM and were excited by this possibility. 



So much for good intentions.

Obviously things fell through with that plan and now there's a new builder currently bulldozing every tree, bush and shrub available.  Earth movers start humming at 7am and you can hear a wood chipper grinding.  Dump trucks crawl in and roll out constantly. 

Here's a snippet from the press release back in September 2013.

M/I Homes intends to build 297 homes on 225 acres of beautiful, rolling farmland.  Nearly 50 percent of the site will be permanently preserved as common open space to create a beautiful landscape for the community. 

Prices have not been finalized but are expected to range from the $200s to the $500s.  Amenities will include a pool, cabana, walking trails and playground.  Buyers can choose from a wide variety of home styles, ranging from about 2,000 to more than 6,000 square feet.  Both ranches and two-story homes will be available.

At first, SM and I were not at all happy about this.  We didn't say anything to each other just watched all the activity as we drove by.  Considering.

One Sunday morning we started discussing the pros and cons of staying in our home.  I expect our conversation was mirrored in just about every house nearby.  I don't see any For Sale signs cropping up yet. 

We talked about moving out further.  Towns like Shelby, Hendersonville, Rutherfordton were tossed out.  Maybe Spruce Pine where we stayed a few months ago on our Fall road trip.  SM can work anywhere.  The problem would be me.  I work in a pretty specialized field and unless I want to change career paths and downsize too, than I need to be near a major city.

We talked about the traffic congestion.  How it's already bad and likely to get much worse.  The two country roads that hug our neighborhood will no doubt be widened to support the influx of traffic.  Knowing the county we live in that construction will no doubt happen later than sooner. 

Our neighborhood is already being used as a cut-through by a another neighborhood.  Fortunately the street we live on is not one of them.  But still.

We talked about the fact that 2 corners of the intersection near us are zoned for commercial development.  Gas station?  Grocery store?  Walmart?  Who knows. 

I searched online for more information.  Not much out there yet.  I went to Town Hall thinking that they'd have something to hand out.  No.  But I could set up a meeting with someone who could show me the community plans. 

Nah.  Don't bother. I'll see it soon enough.

I was close to calling a realtor.  But cooler heads prevailed.  Namely SM who wisely pointed out that it will take a year or two for everything to be completed.  That it might actually benefit our home value and make our neighborhood even more desirable.

Maybe. 

Our house needs a lot of renovation.  New windows, appliances, flooring.  The Master bath needs to be finished.  I really want an extended hard top back porch area with all the trimmings.  The exterior needs repainted. 

I really hate to do all these updates only to turn around and sell it but isn't that the way it usually goes?  

We'll wait and see for now.  Moving costs money.  And we're happy here.  Big lot.  Nice house.  Good neighbors.  SM tells me to take my little half acre and enjoy it. 

Mmph.

We'll see.

Dream A Little Dream

I've got a pretty creative mind.  I've always got a story going on in my head.  Must be why I'm such a Sci Fi geek.

But fantasies are different than dreams.  Fantasies are make believe.  Possibilities that aren't really based in the reality of your world. 

Dreams are different.  Dreams are real hopes that just haven't come to fruition yet.

I have lots of dreams.

I dream every day of driving into work without getting into an accident.  (Let's play bumper cars!  Jaywalkers jumping out in front of you!  Seriously.  I almost hit a guy jumping out in front of my moving car!  I tell you, it's wearing on my last nerve.)

I dream of a productive, fruitful garden.  Maybe even a year without a squash bug!  (Well, that might be considered a fantasy.)

I dream of losing another 10 pounds before next Summer.  Yep,  I'm fighting back against the Menopausal Twenty that crept up on me the past few years.  (So Long Lane Bryant!)

I dream of a morning where I don't have to spend 15 minutes cleaning up crap that has somehow attached itself to my computer.  (Yes, I'm talking to YOU Blogger/Google.  I wasted valuable time this morning uninstalling your "Better Browser" just so I could type this freakin post!)

Ah Yes...Dreams are wonderful.  And they come in unexpected packages.  Look at what came in the mail yesterday.

Watch out 2014 garden.  I'm placing my order ASAP.  (Love me some Baker Creek!)

And a big shout out to Leigh over at 5 Acres and A Dream.  I've read the first few pages already.  Leigh points out rightfully in her book that dreams are so much easier to achieve when two people have the same goals in mind which (if you think about it) is a pretty rare thing. 

Not impossible.  Just rare. 

SM and I have pretty much been on the same page as we've wandered through our life together but I know some of my dreams are always compromised a bit because of how SM see's our life heading.

SM was fine with tearing up a 1/3 of our backyard for a garden but put his foot down about the chickens.  "NO CHICKENS."

SM wanders along with me as I check out the RV's over at the local lot.  "What do you think, Baby?  Can you see yourself living in one of these?"  As we peek inside a bathroom the size of a closet, humoring me. 

SM listens sympathetically to me as I whine about my job, my drive, my knees.  He and I both know that I'd love nothing better than to be a fulltime housefrau.

Someday.

A girl can dream can't she?

Another Favorite Right Now

Holiday House

Mom and I were on the phone last night having our weekly "check in" chat.

Only there wasn't much chatting going on. 
(Lots of breathing though...)

"Well...not too much going on around here."  I said.  "Kinda like my blog."

"I don't know how people can post every day.  I have a few friends that blog and somehow they find something to say every day!"  Mom tosses in. 

"I think I'm forgetting that what might be dull and boring to me might actually be interesting to someone else."  I mused.

In fact, that's what got me into blogging in the first place. 

You see, I'm a "Peeping Tami". 

Nothing I love better than peeking through your "cyber window" and seeing what's going on in your world.  And what's good for the goose is good for the gander.

So here's a peek at how my house is looking for the Holidays. 

(I'd show you around outside but brown dormant grass and tulip bulbs being planted don't thrill me as much as twinkling Christmas lights.)

Here's the Living Room all dolled up. 

I tossed out all our old lights and went to Target and bought the new LED lights.  SM and I really like these lights.  The colors are much more vibrant and I love the fact that they are cool to the touch.  Even though our tree is artificial, I've always been twitchy about how hot the regular lights can get. Particularly the great big bulbs that SM likes. 

(The scariest thing I ever saw was our firefighter neighbor burning neighborhood Christmas trees he had gathered for a bonfire New Years Eve.  Whoosh! went the dried up trees within seconds.  I can't imagine the inferno inside a house....shudder.)

Over my kitchen sink.

The Nook.

My first Amaryllis.  I'm in love!

And nothing says snugglely warmth like Callie Cat all curled up after a long night prowling around.

System Overload

And so it begins. 

The busy season.

For some reason December through March tends to be our busy season.  The pace picks up.  The work day tends to be longer.

It was a 12 hour day yesterday with 10 of those hours on my feet.  Moving.  Pushing through.





This morning, I found myself hobbling around the house for the first few minutes.  Slowly my spine straightens, my feet flatten and my knees start to function.

I've found that when my body is screaming with discomfort the best thing for it is exercise.  So I hauled my butt around the hood for 3 miles, working out the aches and the kinks.

I feel much better now.

Too bad I can't unload my brain the same way. 

My head is buzzing. 

System Overload.

I feel like I'm spinning in a circle.

Too much information boiling in my head.





I need to decompress.





Thank goodness for the mundane simple tasks that need doing around the house each weekend. 

There is a comfort in running the vacumn cleaner back and forth across the carpeting.  In stuffing the washer with dirty clothes and folding the warm ones in piles. 





I've told SM to let me know what he wants to eat today.  I can't come up with a meal plan, but I can put things together and cook them.

Hopefully tomorrow I'll have something brilliant to say.





Until then, stay warm Ya'll!

My New Crush

I've always heard about how women are attracted to The Bad Boy. 

Not me.  I was raised to be a good girl and never really got into the whole bad guy thing.

Until the last few years. 

Maybe it's the writing. 

Most definitely the acting. 

But I have been seduced to "The Dark Side" by the wonderful characters of Walter White from Breaking Bad,




and The Governor from The Walking Dead.




And now I have a new love. 

Raymond "Red" Reddington from The Blacklist.




Ruthless Red who makes me laugh with his sarcastic, quick witted brilliance and makes me cry with the unexpected depth of his regret. 

To be honest, I'd never paid any attention to James Spader as an actor before this.  But he owns this role.

Hook, line and sinker...I'm in.

It does give me pause though.  All these brilliant roles written for the boys. 

Where are the evil ladies?  Bad sure.  But evil? 

I can't think of many.  Just one.

Why You Little....

I ran out to run a few local errands.  I couldn't have been gone an hour.  But that was long enough for Ginny.

Just so ya know the pill bottle splint doesn't work.  Not with a dog who can wrap her jaws around it and crack the pill bottle.  I'd even put the sock on before I left to keep her from messing with it!

I came home to a fresh bloody tail, tape and bandages in a pile on a soggy blanket and Ginny looking contrite and she stood there shaking like a leaf.  She knew I was mad.

The obvious solution is an E-collar.  I know it and I hate it just as much as the dog does.  So I'll be running to the vets tomorrow to get one. 

Until then, I poked around the garage and found a 6 inch length of PVC pipe.  I cleaned the pipe, cleaned her tail, wrapped about a foot of her tail in flexible bandage as a cushion, inserted her tail in the tube, then taped the pipe to the bandage and to her fur towards the base of her tail.

The tip is far enough up there that she can't get to it, but I still can.  Hopefully, this will hold until I get the E-collar.

What a pain!

Dealing With Happy Tail

(Gross stuff ahead...You've been warned!)





We have been dealing with Ginny's tail injury's on and off for a few years now.  She has this super long tail and she bangs it into everything and anything resulting in bleeding from the tip of her tail.  We pay extra attention to her for a few days and it eventually heals up and we move on until the next episode.

A few days ago, Ginny took matters into her own hands.  She had a minor cut on the tip of her tail that she decided needed to be licked, chewed and assaulted into a major wound site. 

SM is pretty much a weenie when come to dealing with stuff like this so I sent him to clean things up while I did the doctoring. 

I thought I'd managed to bandage it successfully but we came home from Thanksgiving dinner to discover a major crime scene in our house.

Clearly Ginny has my number now.  No sooner do I get her wrapped up than she manages to slide the sucker off again and chew another 1/2" off of her tail. 

She was due for her annual shots this month so I loaded her up on Friday and took her to the Vet for a look see.  I'd already determined that amputation was the likely solution and (since we've been dealing with it for so long and infection is always a constant) he agreed. 

Surgery is set for Wednesday.

What I didn't plan on was the endless tug of war with Ginny since the Vet appointment. 

She'll sit there all sweet and bandaged up and off to bed I go.  When I checked on her around midnight last night, she'd managed to rip off her bandages again and chewed things up nicely too.  So another night of "sleepis interruptus."

An Internet search Saturday morning introduced me to "Happy Tail Syndrome".  Obviously this a pretty common thing.  Who knew? 

After perusing some of the articles, I took a pill bottle, cut off the end, taped two emery boards to the outside of it as a splint/support system to cover the tip and strapped her in.

So far so good.  The wound is getting some air and I stuff a small piece of Kleenex in the end that I replace with fresh periodically to allow some drainage to occur.

Since night time is the right time for Ginny to destroy all my hard work, I placed a long sock over the entire tail and taped her in good.

Sunday morning and we have success!

SM is not too happy with the thought of docking her tail but I'm steadfast in the belief that this is the right thing for poor Miss Ginny.  It's pretty much become a chronic thing now and enough is enough.