Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Sick Pumpkin

Kelsey and Greg totally forgot about getting a pumpkin when we were out apple picking. So we will have to pick one up from the local grocery store.

I wasn't feeling so well yesterday. Body aches & pains. My ribs hurt really bad. Low grade fever. Napped for almost 2 hours yesterday. Took about 3 hot baths as I couldn't seem to get warm.

Today, I am tired. Everything still hurts. I will stay inside today and try not to do too much.

USPS delivered the wrong mail to us yesterday.

Sunday, October 26, 2008

Ap-ples

Went up to Green Bluff for apple picking-some Gala & Jonathan. Got thoroughly lost in the corn maze, snacked on carmel apple & kettle corn. Ran into Matt Zahnow & family.

Afterwards we stopped at Longhorn BBQ for Kelsey's sandwich that she had been craving since our Oregon trip.

At home, I baked the chocolate cookies that I had stored in the fridge from yesterday. Greg fixed the faucet in the bathroom. After a brief TV viewing, we all went to bed.

Saturday, October 25, 2008

Whoop-di-frickin'-do


Got Kelsey's Jeep registration in Sandpoint yesterday - $2000.00 in taxes for a new car. Plus another $50 in registration fees. Shocking, huh? Where does all that money go?

Picked up my new elliptical at Wally-World. Then showed K the homes over in Dover. She took pictures of some of the aspects and found that she liked knotty alder.

We then drove into CDA to pick up my hard drives at the computer repair shop. (thank goodness they did not "wipe" them clean) Picked up crafting products at Michaels with K while G and the dogs got cheeseburgers at Wendy's. At Borders bookstore, we picked up more home design books. (along with another Maple Caramel latte for me) K & G were starving, so we stopped at Las Chavelas to eat. Then another 1 hour & 30 minutes wasted in my life that I will never get back at the Verizon Wireless store (yes. I am complaining to them in a letter about the wait time) as K had "accidentally" driven over her old phone and had to get a new one.

When we got home & unloaded everything K got into her Jeep for another 30 minutes to program her new Bluetooth cell phone to the car computer; and with her father's assistance, got the garage door programmed to her vehicle's remotes! Now, all we have to do is install the new gates, with the remote openers & she can program the remote gates to her car! No need to ever get out of the car.

Thursday, October 23, 2008

DYs




Monday, October 20, 2008

Boo!

SATURDAY

Hubby worked in the shop until 2PM; then we all got ready to go. Drove over to Spoky-Jo visiting the property that Kelsey had wanted to view. It is very beautiful, I was immediately sold on the area when we saw 3 deer run through.

After talking with the sales realtor, we went back to look at the lots Kelsey was most enchanted with at the end of a cul-de-sac. Great views of Mt Spokane in the background. We were all very excited for her to have found a neighborhood like this. The Airway Heights vicinity does not have a lot to choose from in subdivisions. New housing is almost nil. So with an option for one of 60 lots, it will be great!

We stopped to shop for groceries on base, but they unfortunately closed at 6PM; undaunted, we still went to visit with the Kegley's at their home. Saw Maggie (their mastiff) again and also met their new temporary lodger - Nipper. It's odd that in the military, they all call each other by their last names...

After a while, it was time to go downtown Spoky-Jo for Matt's "honorary" birthday dinner at PF Changs. Yum.

Dinner finished, walked back to our respective vehicles (while dodging the drunks wanting to fight, the downtown prostitute, & bums asking for money) & drove to Post Falls for the Haunted House sponsored by the Lions Club. For $6 a head, you can get the bee-geesus scared out of you!

The wait was not very long. The scary part took about 20 minutes. It was great; not too cold. But cold enough you needed a jacket & sweater.

Post scare, we went our separate ways home. Sad to celebrate Matt's birthday without him. Kelsey felt like a 3rd wheel. Next year, Matt will be here for his b-day!!!!


SUNDAY
Woke up late; got morning lattes; Kelsey made wonderfully delicious biscuits & gravy for breakfast.

Then went into CDA to look for french doors to replace our sliding door. Shopped at Costco. Washed truck.

Came home and lazed around.

Saturday, October 18, 2008

Tickets

Friday morning after getting lattes went to the garbage dump.

Came home to get trailer, then drove to pick up steel for storage building doors;

Kelsey drove her new jeep to Sandpoint to pick up her registration - it wasn't there yet.

Got another latte for me at Starbucks.

Yes. I'm addicted.


Picked up new driveway entrance gates at Co-Op.

Came home for lunch; Greg watched tv for a while.

Went to Farragut for bike rides.

Isabelle fell over a rock while running. But got up and started running again.

Kelsey accidentally ran over Bravo's foot & tail. But he was ok.

Took Bravo down to the docks for a swim. Kelsey filmed it.

Bravo dug in the sand. Kelsey filmed it.

Went with family to Miller's Grocery to get hot dogs for bonfire tonight.

Had bonfire after it got dark. Roasted wienies & mallows.

Weak fire as wood had moisture in it.

Went to bed early as we were all exhausted.

Friday, October 17, 2008

Autumn Bike Ride


Lorie Davidson-Flitting Fall Faeries Weathered Paper

Thursday, October 16, 2008

October-Smocktober

So we sat around lazily doing nothing on Monday. After I had made hubby's breakfast & lunch, I was so tired that I sat in my recliner and almost fell asleep. Kelsey had let Bravo come upstairs and this is becoming a habit...he races up the stairs to see "grandma & grandpa"; begs for droppings as "grandma" is making "grandpa's" lunch; then tears around trying to play with Isabelle if she deigns to come down from her lofty sleep perch!

Then after Greg leaves, Bravo goes back downstairs to paw at the door (or whine) and Kelsey lets him in her room so that they can both sleep for a little while.

Slobbed around most of Monday; worked diligently on my ACDSee organization. I am deleting a lot of files that I really don't want now, but had kept anyway. Probably because I didn't know they were there. LOL! Some were very old. The quality of some were not acceptable to the way I work now. It is very easy to "clean house" with this program.

We took the dogs to the Vet on Tuesday; however - Dr. Mike was not there and instead a woman from the C-word state was there. Not that I have any problem with them. It just irritates me when somebody continuously keeps referring to "this is the way things were done when I was in C..." or "when I lived in C this is what happened..." Well listen. You don't live there anymore. You live HERE. So get used to it.

Arriving promptly for our appointment (Dr Mike is also very punctual about his schedule) we had to wait 20 minutes in the small exam room before she finally arrived. No nurse came in to advise us that the doctor was on an emergency or anything else. I can only assume that she is SLOW. So after about 12 of these references in a matter of 8 minutes about the C-word reference, I was fuming. Then she drags the dog away to adminster his shots & cut his toenails. Now, this is not professional behavior in anybody's opinion. The dog is calmer if the owner helps to hold it. What the heck is the examining room for? So we stood around for another 10 minutes until she brought the dog back-we were not even certain the dog RECEIVED his shots... the receptionist even forgot to schedule a follow up appointment. So we decided to make the appointment when we brought Isabelle in later.

Unable to find her leash, we took Isabelle in; and the office had none of their customary 10 leashes hanging out in the entryway. So I had to ask..."are there any leashes available (all the time thinking to myself that there is no way in hell that 10 leashes would be used at a single time. This is a SMALL town. Maybe one dog every hour visits this doctor...) The receptionist looked at me dumbly and responded..."Aren't there any in the entryway?" No. Lady. I'm. Dumb. I. Wouldn't. Possibly. Think. Of. Looking. There. Duh.

The staff finally found a leash while Isabelle was nervously trying to avoid capture. She followed me into the office sans leash & I attached it once we were in the room! Convinced her to climb up on the weight scale and found that she had gained 3 pounds. Poor dog. We haven't been diligent in biking every night. But it might just be that she has more lean muscle mass which weighs more. (Yeah sure. Tell yourself that, you numb-nut.)

An aside here - on Saturday, we watched a tv program on the BBC America called "Fat Pets"; which showed several poor dogs that could barely walk. After being told by the vet that if a certain dog did not have a serious change of lifestyle including diet & exercise that he would die within one year, the woman went home and stated to the camera while feeding the dog 6 pieces of cake "I know I really shouldn't be doing this". Kelsey & I laughed hysterically. Fat, overweight, waddling dogs. It was so pathetic, it was laughable. We could not believe that people would actually abuse their dogs in this manner. So even tho Isabelle tipped the scales at a little more than what she should have done - we did control her diet & exercise so that the result is that she is, in fact, leaner.

Isabelle did not like the new female fill-in doctor at all. She shied away from her; then the doctor gave us some double-speak medical gargon so we had no idea what she was doing. Finally advising us that the bump on her leg might be cancer and that she needed an x-ray; we made a follow-up appointment for the following day.

After arriving home and finding Greg had started working the plow teeth for VZ in his shop, we told him the story. He advised that he would rather have Izzy visit with her usual doctor that she has seen since she was a baby puppy.

I called the vet and re-scheduled for Thursday when Dr. Mike would return.

On Wednesday we had decided to attend the Linens-N-Things Liquidation Sale after watching on the news that my favorite linen store was going out of business post bankruptcy...We called the local store only to be told they did not know when the actual sale would be starting. They were still selling their things at full price.

Lolly-gagging around home seemed to be adviseable as we had nothing further planned. I ran out of coffee around 11AM, so I had Kelsey haul my fat ass in her brand new Jeep down to the latte stand. Where, they now have EGG NOG flavored lattes. Indulgence. Awww. Sweet pleasure. Egg nog for the next 3 months...

We also ran into my husband and Kelsey's father...who told us that Kevin Reese & his father would be willing to talk with her at the Twin Lakes home they are building. They are agreeable to be the contractors for her if she decides to purchase a lot over in Spoky-Jo/Airway Heights. Arriving to walk-thru the home, we studied the excellent quality work that they had put into building the spec home. So Kelsey was very excited. Now all she has to do is:

1/find a lot
2/establish financing
3/purchase said lot
4/find draftsman
5/decide on house plan
6/pay for blueprints
7/give Reese's blueprints
8/have contractor build home
9/decide on furnishings
10/have mental breakdown

A fairly easy accomplishment. Should only take about 4-6 months! All by herself. Without her husband.

After going shopping at Super One, we drove home in almost total silence. I know that Kelsey was turning over the enormous, overwhelming project in her mind. Advising her that we could talk to her dad, then we would help with everything we could...we unloaded groceries and proceeded to veg out for the rest of the day. I took a late nap just prior to the presidential debates. (Should have taken a nap DURING the debates)

Greg came home - Kelsey made spaghetti for dinner. We watched the new South Park.

Went to bed. Enuf said.

Sunday, October 12, 2008

Autumn Activites

On Saturday I managed to do about 8 loads of laundry and re-arrange my closet. There are 9 bags of clothes & shoes sitting on our deck to donate to a worthy charity. Also cleared out the file cabinets from the basement so that hubby can install the new heater on Sunday.

Kelsey left late Saturday night so that she could visit overnight with friends & look at new homes with her in-laws on Sunday. So we were left with babysitting the "Little B" again. He was pretty good Saturday night with sleeping in our room.

Early Sunday morning, the puppy work me at 6AM for potty call. I rolled over and nudged Greg to take him out. After hubster returned to the bed, we both crawled into Isabelle's bed instead to give her some personal time...we slept with her until about 7:30AM. Greg watched his car shows on early morning TV until we went to get lattes.

Then we started in working on the heater. Tearing out insulation, cutting out walls, and making a dusty mess. Finally got everything done. I was also working on sewing up the dog blanket which the dogs have ripped to shreds.

Bravo went outside several times in the sun and played with grasshoppers. He also took a nap while we were working in Kelsey's room. Thought we lost him, but he was at the head of the bed where K had dumped all her extra pillows. He had made a little fort and was in the middle of it!

Once everything was completed, we packed up the dogs & bikes and went for a bike ride at Farragut Park. The sun was shining and it was quite warm at 52F degrees! There won't be many more pleasant days like this until winter pounds us with its brutal temps so we need to take advantage of the great weather!

Kelsey came home around 8:30P and we watched a few shows before going to bed. I also ordered the tickets for Sweeney Todd at the Martin Woldson Theater at the Fox in Spoky-Jo on December 14. My daughter said the play is much better than the movie. Tho how anyone could be better at singing & acting that part than Johnny Depp is beyond me~

Saturday, October 11, 2008

Woe is Me

Got the computers back from repair, but having to load every darn thing that I ever had on them is such a chore.

Such simple things as uploading a picture to email, and being able to send it. I have to download ActiveX, iTunes, Paintshop, Photoshop (with all the accompanying plug-ins) etc. just to be able to function. It is impossibly boring. and tedious.

In addition to all this, Kelsey is forcing me to organize and installed ACDSee for me. What a chore. Now, I only have to re-establish my computer AND organize everything on it. Oh, depression.

After having a fun day out with the family...Greg had the day off after working 4/10s; we took Kelsey to Riverstone Cinemas to see Appaloosa. The movie had been rated A or B+; it was not even an F in my opinion. Kelsey repeatedly kept whispering in my ear...it's night...it's day. Obviously the director decided to show the passage of time by showing one tiny little thing happening and then move on...The movie was boring, cliched, and impossible to believe. Dialogue was extremely stilted. Movie sets including the whole town was too brand new; why could they not hire more actors to indicate a populated town; how stupid can two cowboys possibly be; how ugly can we make an already ugly actress?

Save your money. Go to something else. Sorry Ed Harris.

We picked up a heater for Kelsey's basement room at Home Depot. Then returned home. Kelsey had to attend the homecoming game at Timberlake with the in-laws while we babysat the puppy. We also got a chance to watch pay-per-view movie The Happening. While Kelsey was gone was the first time that Matt chose to call. We had an enjoyable 29 minute talk to our son. He is doing OK.

The dogs settled down enough last night to decide they actually LIKE each other. See them lying down side by side~

Sunday, October 05, 2008

Update-R

Monday 15 Sept –
Kelsey & I had a quick stop at Jamba Juice for Kelsey to pick up a drink, then went to get our nails done. Picked up some groceries on the way home.
Greg went to work for VZ, then came home to work in the shop.
Kelsey made Italian crusted chicken & stir fry veggies.
Bravo dug up Isabelle’s bone in the planter by the deck then had a bath after Kelsey went to visit the in-laws.
Isabelle slept all day.

Tuesday 16 Sept –
Kelsey’s shelves came that we had ordered from Bed, Bath & Beyond. We put them together.
Kelsey made spaghetti & meatballs for dinner.
Received first email from Matt. Unfortunately, he reported that he had lost his bag on the flight over to Iraq.
We all biked down at Farragut. Bravo kept up with the bikes fairly well.
Later that night, I got stung by a bee on my inner left knee. It swelled up pretty badly.

Wednesday 17 Sept –
I went to Spoky-Jo to get my hair redone. Wasn’t quite happy with it the first time. Too much highlight blocking. Quincy made me happy and got me out of there quickly!
Kelsey stayed home today with the dogs. She was sick later, so took a 2 hour nap. Then went to Applebee’s tonight with Amanda.

Thursday 18 Sept –
Kelsey got email from Matt again; and a special delivery box in the mail.
Greg & I went to CDA, then brought Wing Stop home for dinner.
My bee sting was getting progressively larger and was hurting badly. I overdosed on Benadryl.

Friday 19 Sept –
Greg’s day off – we all went for a ride on the Hiawatha Trail in Idaho at Lookout Pass.
We rode through 10 tunnels and 7 high trestles, stopped for lunch on the 17 mile route observing the Bitterroot Mountains between Idaho and Montana. The best part of the trip was riding through the Taft Tunnel for 1.6 miles and getting completely soaked.
Stopped at WalenMart to get Rocky Racoon for Bravo. We were all exhausted by the time we finally returned home.

Saturday 20 Sept
I stayed home all day and doped myself up with Benadryl because my bee sting was swelling over my whole leg. Greg wanted me to go to the doctor, but when I called, the doc was out and would not return for a week. Bah humbug!

Sunday 21 Sept –
Went to Spokane to go house hunting for Kelsey & Matt. Visited Kegley’s – met their mastiff mix dog named Maggie. Very sweet dog. We got groceries at the base.

Long Time No See

My absence from blogging has been due to unfortunate computer problems.
Both my computers bombed. With a nasty virus.

The laptop & the desktop were both wiped clean to clear anything bad from happening again. So I will have to rebuild everything that was on the computers. So sad. This will take months.

In the meantime, I cheered myself up by deciding to update to the all new Photoshop CS4 and Paintshop X2.

But having to find and re-load all my filters will not be fun.

However, we are back from our week of vacation. Oregon was lots of fun. Jet Boat on the Willamette River, 4WD on the Coast, Dune Buggy in the Dunes, Laser Light Show at OMSI, Sea Lions Cave, Beach Campfire at Brookings.

I am having to do LOTS of laundry, LOTS of dishes, and CLEAN. Already finished 9 loads of laundry, 2 loads of dishes, and cleaned floors. More to do, tho.

Kelsey got to pick up her brand new Jeep at the dealership in Gresham. She is extremely happy. Giddy. Delirious!

More info & pics to come...