Another 12 hr day

Everything went well per the doctor. We were told he would have chest pain through his back and where the catheter went into his groin would also be tender.

They got him up and walking once he was no longer groggy from anesthesia. They told him to hold the small dots where the catheter went in when he coughed, laughed, or sneezed. He walked a lot and went to the bathroom instead of holding his penis in that plastic pee thingy. 

I do believe I heard them say 'Pee Thingy ' was the medical term. 

After shaving, then moving his junk to and fro while shaving him, he said there is no dignity in the hospital. He is correct.

At the 11th-hour mark, he was given discharge papers. The PA came in and asked about his pain. He said it really hurt. They asked if he wanted morphine and he said no. He told ME it was more discomfort than pain and he sure didn't need drugs. So they did another EKG and it was perfect. But the PA told his Dr the patient was in pain. The Dr then suggested he overnite. The PA was freaked out by the word PAIN.

Aaaah! He was dressed in street clothes and ready to go. He kept saying he didn't need to stay. Too late! Then he was apologizing to me. So now we got him undressed and moved into a staying overnight room vs a small room for post-op. 

I waited until he got settled, and met his new nurse. I kissed him and drove home in a fog. I was SO HUNGRY! It was now 12 hrs I'd been there and I was ready to go home. I would have preferred going home with him!

I'm glad he was being watched and cared for but I wish he had come home with me.

We got up at 4am. I did not eat because I did not wish to eat in front of Rick. After all, he kept saying how hungry he was and he couldn't eat before surgery. That would have been mean of me.  I figured I could wait until the afternoon when we'd be leaving. HA!

They fed him a turkey sandwich and pita chips. They asked if I'd like one. No, thank you.  I can't eat that kind of food so I waited. Besides some candy there is nothing in a vending machine that a celiac can eat, oh, I checked.  I did have M&M peanuts though around 4pm when hunger got the best of me.

Before I left he was looking great, and entertaining them all. 

That helped me to go.

I got home and I stood in front of the fridge, then the pantry. I so didn't want to cook. Even scrambled eggs were too much to make. I was really being lazy. I was also out of GF bread so not even a PB&J.  Then I saw Tator tots in the freezer and thought, yes, quick and easy. I put some on a cookie sheet and got out of my hospital clothes into my pj's while they were in the oven.

I talked to a friend on the phone and then my tots were done. I put 'em on a plate and brought them into the living room. I ate 3 and that's all I remember until I woke up at 11p. I fell asleep sitting upright. That's tired. I then crawled into bed and slept until 4 a.m. again. I think I slept 8 hrs so this time at 4am, I felt rested.

I've had my coffee this morning and now I need to jump in the shower, get myself presentable for public consumption and head to Raleigh to pick up my Big Guy. Hopefully, he will come home by noon!

And to the commenter who asked if the Dr answered Rick's question. 

He did, he has to wait 10-14 days. 🙂

Here We Go Again

Its 9:25am. We got here as directed, at 6:30am. Dear Lord that was early! We got into his room at 7a and the IV'S started and the shaving commenced. He was brought back to OR at 8:10a. I got a text at 830a that the surgery began. 

Here we go again. I've decided that being the patient, to me, is easier than being the anxiety ridden spouse waiting to hear all went well and he's just fine.

They shaved him from neck to knees. Oh, he will be a bear when that begins to itch and grow. He said to me as she was shaving him, "Look, I'm your own personal Ken doll". That made the woman doing the shaving laugh. 

He continued to make nurses, anesthesiologists, and the doctor laugh. The good looking, swoon worthy, anesthesiologist asked if he was always like this, funny and in a good mood. I said, "yes until the stroke, but he's coming back as you can see" 

I about died when they asked if any questions, he wanted know how soon he can have sex. Honestly, you men think about this no matter what. That would be the very last thing on my mind before heart surgery. Yes, I am shaking my head as I type this.

Just got word.

I do like that they text me to keep me posted. 

More updates later. Dr on his way to chat with me.

Testing

Gee, let's see if this gets banned. Does blogger pick and choose? If they are going to slap a warning on you, should you not be notified of what exactly they find harmful so you dont do it again? 

Pictures of abuse are on blogger, so that isn't harmful? Pictures of war, racism etc are they considered just hunky dory? 

I posted a PG-13 trailer and typed the word 'Deep Throat" referring to the garage and 'tattletale' in Watergate. Did Blogger, apparently run by children, who have never heard of watergate are those the ones in charge? Or they watch early 70s porn and assumed I meant Linda Lovelace and her practice? Either way, Idiots!

The Morning Show

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Almost Friday.

Busy, Busy, Busy, couple of days.

Tomorrow is pre-op shit for Rick. Yes, that is indeed the professional term.

He has bloodwork, EKG and CT scans etc.

Monday is the surgery.

We have a man here now fixing our dryer venting. Another long story but this kid and company were top-notch in every way.

This meme makes me howl!  Having worked in the travel industry in many capacities I've seen and heard it all. Now that people make their own reservations on the internet, I can see how this happens all the time. If they had to install a counter just to service all the goofballs who booked their flight to Austria instead of Australia there has to be a lot of them. I wonder what those people hear while sitting in their seats and the flight crew tells them that they are going to Salzburg Austria, do they hear Salzburg Australia? Travel Agents don't make that mistake. 

Ticket Counter - I used to say when I worked at the ticket counter that the airport doors automatically open and automatically suck the brains out of people.

Some of my favorite questions are, where is my seat? 

Gee, you have a number, you have a letter, you can figure this out on your own if you can count. Of course, those words were only uttered in my head. This was always a CEO or a high-level person in their industry. Never ceased to amaze me. 

See, the airport door did suck out their logic.

As a travel agent, I had this happen, a woman told me- "I want to go see Micky."  

A grown-ass adult said this to me. I played along and asked if they wanted to see Micky in California or Orlando. She got up from her seat and said loudly while flapping her hands at me, "If you are too dumb to know where Micky is then I need another agent" Inside I'm laughing. 

"Disneyland or Disney World.?" I asked her. 

She shook her head and swatted me away with her hands. 

She said, "Never mind!"  and she walked over to a co-worker's desk and asked if she knew where Micky was. (this was in Seattle) The woman tells her yes and just sends her to Orlando. I bet she wanted California because most did when living in Seattle. But hey, if she is that dumb my coworker said she was going to take the commission on a bigger trip. The damn fool.

As a reservation agent for a commuter airline - This airline flew 19-passenger turboprop planes. 

 A woman made a reservation and after I went over the entire itinerary with connections and final cost, she then asked me oh so seriously,  "Where will you pick me up?"  

I was befuddled.  "Pardon me?" I asked.

She repeated, "Where are you going to pick me up?"  

"Ma'am, you will go to the airport, check in at the ticket counter and then go to the gate and wait for boarding." 

Long silence.

"But these are small planes, right?"

"Yes, they are 19-passenger planes, but you still have to go to the airport"

"Oh, I thought maybe you'd pick me up."

OMG. Yes, pack your lunch, stand on the roof, wave a yellow flag and we'll just land on your house and you can jump in.

I honestly thought at first, she was pulling my leg but after a few times, I realized she was just clueless.

So, you can see why that meme made me laugh.

_________

Be back after Rick's surgery on Monday, or maybe from the hospital.

In the meantime, a meme dump.

Power Tools

I used a drill today. Now you may wonder why that's a big deal. 

Oh, but it is. In this partnership of Rick & Peg, he uses what I call the man tools. 

I make things pretty.

As you know, in the past, I showed Rick a table from Pottery Barn, and he made it for me. I show him a cabinet and he makes it for me.  I've had my own handyman for several decades now. New ceiling fan? Sure, he can put that up. 

Now not so much and that is something that needs to be done.  Oh well it can wait.

I bought solar lights to put on the newels on the railing going up our porch. 

It's very dark around here so this helps light the pathway. I prefer that to the porch light on all night and bugs flying around it and making a bug mess on the porch.

I took everything out of the box and saw they gave us bases for a 6-inch, 5-inch, and 4-inch newel/post. Our post came to a point. Who does that? Hideous, I say! 

I measured and saw that we needed the 4-inch base.

Rick got a reciprocating saw and cut the points off. 

I really did not wish for him to use a saw. It's not like he's a steady boy right now. But he was careful, which surprised me, and he did it. I told him that was enough using the power tools for him.

Then came the drill. He handed it to me and said, "It's time you learn, you can do this, it's easy" Sure, easy for him to say.

I asked him to show me how to use it. Easy peasy and I drilled the base of the light fixture on the post, then attached the rest, and viola. Because I did this, he said I was ready for the power drill. This one has a battery and is easier to use. So, if it's easier why do I want to learn how to use the bigger one then?

Is this male math?  He tells me there are certain times I will need 'the big one.' 

I laughed, agreed, and made a rude comment. Then he said, "Ah, that's my girl"  

We're a sick couple, hence why we're together. 😀

Rick mentioned the saw. Nope. I like my fingers too much. The saw scares the bejesus out of me. You know about my knife cut on my left-hand ring finger. 

Well, when I had my annual checkup with my doctor on Friday, I took off the bandage to show her. She winced. I told her that my doctor wincing was not reassuring. 

She said, "This must hurt like hell" Yes, it does. It was not infected, which was my worry. It does not need stitches but it's bad were her words. My nail will come off entirely. She suggested what Rick suggested, super glue.  She also suggested I stay away from the knives.  

So back to tools - If I am prone to cutting myself all the time why the hell do I want to tempt fate and use a damn saw? That is just asking for trouble. 

I may be clumsy but I'm not stupid. No to the saw! 

____

Did I tell you we were ghosted by our lawn guy?  WTF? I texted and called and left a msg. If you are choosing not to do my job anymore then for God's sake have the decency to call and tell me. All you have to say is that I can no longer do your yard, I'm sorry. End of story. But to just ghost me pisses me off. I paid immediately after each mow. I was not a deadbeat. I don't get the people around these parts.

This man charges $5 more dollars. But if he shows up, I do not mind. We thought the other guy was too low but hell if I am going to say that to him.

He showed up today and did a great job. Hopefully, he will show up again in 2 weeks. 

____

Rick has been remarkably better of late. He has energy, he and I made a stir-fry dinner the other night together. That was the first time since he had his stroke. Whereas before the stroke we cooked together, or he did it while I watched and drank wine. My favorite way. 

He even made me breakfast the other morning. Just in time for his surgery/procedure on Monday. And that will set him back again. 

I hope the recovery time for this is short. 

The poor guy can't catch a break, so I hope this ablation is not too hard on him. 

Tomorrow we are back to therapies. Today was a day off due to meetings they were having. Rick wasn't upset and neither was I. Both of us could be home and get some things done around here. It was so nice not to be driving somewhere.

It was the loveliest of days weather-wise. The mid-70s, a brisk morning, a warm day, it's what we call Peggy Day. We don't get enough of these. I'd take this weather all year round if I could. No, throw in 2 months of coldish, like 30s just to make one appreciate being back to 75. 

If I can't have beautiful fall colors at least I can have cool mornings with warm days. But I'd give an arm for a Vermont or Adirondack's fall day right now. 

Maybe next year he can travel.

Walmart Never Disappoints

My goodness, Walmart never ceases to disappoint. In the worst of ways.

I've mentioned I had never gone to a Walmart until the year before we moved. A very nice one moved into the brand-new plaza across the street from our development. But it just isn't my jam. I'm a Target girl. 

Then we moved to hillbilly land. Where Walmarts are on every corner. The convenience of location is nice but it's Walmart. I'd rather drive a few miles more and go to Target.

Rick can get his prescriptions there and at Walgreens per his insurance. Some of his prescriptions are far cheaper at Walmart so I've been going far more, unfortunately. 

Rick had a Rx there for me to pick up. I was running our errands and stopped there last. 

I was in line. An older gentleman was in front of me. Oh, I say older, and he was probably only 3-5 years older than me. He had his hands up his ass and he was digging for gold. Scratching, digging, all of the above.

Then if that wasn't bad enough, he moved his leg and hip to really get in there. God, he was grossing me out. 

I wanted to scream, go home, and shower man! How disgusting. There were bathrooms around the corner so he couldn't go in there to do this disgusting habit? Honestly!!

Walmart never disappoints.

Speaking of Rx. Did I share that Eliquis was $800 with insurance, and it was killing us. If I did I apologize. But if Rick didn't have this blood thinner, he'd be more likely to have another stroke. I mentioned to the doctor who did his pacemaker and will be doing his ablation, that if there was another drug similar could he advise us of it? I told him the cost of Eliquis was killing us. He told me that if I was willing to drive to the hospital pharmacy, they have a negotiated rate for Xarelto, another blood thinner, for only $15.80. I asked if it was the same and will it do the same for Rick. He said it would be absolutely fine for Rick.

Hell, yes, I will drive to the hospital. Even the cost of gas (which is $3.17 right now) still makes it worth it. The hospital is 15 minutes away. I can do that for that kind of savings. Wouldn't you?

__

April left a comment about Amex and them refunding us. 

She wasn't sure how that worked. 

The money was deposited into their bank, and it was removed from their bank. Of course, Amex had all that info.

April it even happened to us when in business.

Example of how this works.

A woman got some work done, not much, it was $495. At the time it was just a soaking tub to be refinished. (that price seems so long ago now)

She never told us there was an issue, just called her bank and asked for a refund. I was looking at the account online and saw a reversal of $495. 

Less than 24 hrs after the job was done she called the bank.

Upon digging deeper, I saw who the customer was, and I contacted the bank. I asked what she claimed the issue was. There was a hair in the tub. 

I told the bank if that were true and she called us we'd immediately go back to fix the issue.  Can we go back and make this right? The fact that this was less than 24 hrs I think helped us.  The bank said to try. The bank asked if we were called (she told them we refused) I told the bank I only knew about this because I saw the reversal online on my bank account.

I called the woman and said, "I understand you have a hair in the tub we just refinished. That is a quick fix for you. Sometimes the men's hair on their arms does fall into the tub. Why did you not call us to fix this? And just to let you know, I have spoken to the bank about this."

That made her silent. She knew what she told the bank was a lie.

Normally I will always say, those who talk first lose. 

But this time I continued speaking.

"We can have the owner out there late this afternoon to fix this, it will take 5 minutes. Would you like us to go ahead?"

(knowing that if she refused the bank would hear about that and she would have egg on her face)

She said that would be fine. I said, "You do understand that the bank will then be reversing this correct?"  She said yes. 

I told her the owner's name, who was coming to her home, and when he would be there.

When Rick arrived, she was not happy. He said, "Oh Margaret she had piss and vinegar written all over her face"

She was just trying not to pay, and we knew that. But Rick played dumb and he was all smiles and puppies.

Rick asked to see the hair in question. She took one of her hairs and laid it in the tub. Rick looked at it and played dumb, "Did you attempt to remove this?"  (if one of our guys did do this while refinishing, it would have been stuck in the coating)

"Oh no, she said, I was worried I would ruin the finish, but I couldn't live with that."

Rick bent over and picked it up. 

He said, "Gee, it's awfully long to be one of mine or the man who did your tub as you know has a bald shaved head. This looks like your blonde hair; did you perhaps bend over to view the tub to view the job?" (oh so diplomatic)

She said, "Oh that must have been what happened?" 

Rick said, "Well since it wasn't embedded in the paint, here it is" 

And he handed it to her. (when he told me that I laughed, it was long and blonde) 

He then asked if everything else looked okay. 

He said, "Let's look it over really well."  They both did.  

She told him it looked pretty, and he had her sign off saying as much.

He repeated the warranty and said, "If you have any issues always give us a call, we will always try to make it right"

So, we got our $495 back. What an ass. 

I would say we are in a different situation here now. 

But you can see how it all works.  I did see the money quickly and trust me it would not have taken me 30 days. And it was only $495. 

So, I have a difficult time thinking that this horrible construction company has not seen it, or they are so wealthy that a removal of 18.5K is no big deal to them. Either way, screw them.

Master Bathroom

As I've written here this has been a nightmare.

I can't believe we were hoodwinked.

So, with egg on face, I will explain.

July 23rd of this year we signed the contract. To us, it was a 2-week job.

They said it may be 4. Either way, it's still not done and it's October 19th.

The minor things were -

**Wrong tile, not what we paid for or ordered but went with the cheap option to move the job forward.

**Wrong grout, we asked for epoxy and not sanded, we got sanded.

** The seat/bench was too high and had to have that changed.

**The grab bar is backward and that made it not ADA compliant. And most difficult to use

** We got a door, and it was 2 ft too short. Ordered a new door and it came in satin nickel, not chrome and ordered 3rd door which is in our garage.

** We were to call them when the 3rd door arrived. When I did, I was sent a text that said, STOP.  To cover my ass I wrote back, stop what? I wanted it in writing. He did not respond.

** 3 weeks later he sent a text from a different number as if I'd forget what he said to me and said, "I've been on vacation let's set something up for the new door installation.

** I told him we had a punch list as well as plumbing concerns. He said he'd address it when he came here.  He never came.

These are just some of the issues that the inspector called minor.

These things were not part of the State Inspector here today because he is the State Plumbing Inspector. No one covers routine shoddy work sadly.

We knew that the water we could hear in our bedroom/master bath when someone flushed the toilet in the hall was not correct. Rick assumed it was missing a P-trap. But not being a plumber, we knew we had to get one.

The cost of this estimate was $110. We got a list of things from the plumber that needed to be done to correct this. He also saw that a permit was never obtained. (we were told they took care of it)

We paid the plumber $1073.33 to repair all the issues. This included the $200 for the permit. He said he'd be back in one day after things dried to see if there were any more leaks. Oh, there was. But it wasn't from the pipes now, it's coming from the drain. Where the tile meets the drain and in the corner of the shower floor by the bench. He called his boss, and he came out to view it. Because this is not their work, that is the problem but the tile and the drain/tile they suggested I contact the state and county inspector about this shoddy work. I have a video

The plumber contacted the state and county inspector for me so it's in his name when the papers are served. Of course, they will know it's us because of the address but we preferred the plumber doing this (fear of a lien on our home) and he had no problem because he wants guys like this to leave our state. I don't blame him. He said he fixes this type of work every week. Rick joked that after this joker leaves the state he would lose business. 

He said, "That kind of business I don't mind losing"

Rick most certainly understood this, he was just joking as the plumber thankfully knew. 

We also have photos showing the slope is incorrect on the window seal, the small step to walk over, the seat, and the niche. Meaning water would get behind the walls and/or onto the floor not going towards the drain. Major headache and damage if that were to happen, which it most certainly would have.

The state inspector was here Wednesday.

He said it was one of the worst. Great. 

The plumber came with him. He gave his statement as the inspector typed. It was signed and notarized and a copy was given to me.

We then gave our statement, and it was typed and printed, signed, and notarized and a copy was given to me.

The next step is it goes up the command ladder and papers will be served to this dude. A judge will make the ruling. Sadly, we can't be there to see that because I don't see how we can lose, the inspector said as much.

Next, the county inspector will show up next week and we will go through similar. We are going to get him from all sides.

In the meantime, I went to American Express which was how I paid. It's funny because I didn't plan to use my credit card. The money was moved to my checking account, but he wouldn't take debit cards. I don't have checks. So, I decided to use Amex because that also covers my ass the best over my other cards.

I called Amex and said I had a dispute regarding fraudulent work.

They sent me to that department. I asked to speak to someone in America because I didn't want any misunderstandings. They were not happy, but it was either Manilla or America. I was a bitch and chose America. It always makes me feel bad, but I had to. I did not want any language barrier to stop this from moving forward. I've had that problem once before. 

I gave a statement to Amex. I asked if they needed photos, videos, inspector statements, etc. They said no.

She told me they would give him a week to respond. Then he will give his side of the story. Then they will make a judgment. Late Wednesday I was told he did not respond to the case, so they gave me a credit of all my money $18,544.03.  I called Amex and said what if he just hasn't noticed this in the 4/5 days does this reopen the case? She told me they could indeed do that. So, Rick and I will hold out for 30 days to be sure he doesn't. We find it hard to believe the credit card company taking $18k from them will go unnoticed for more than 30 days. But we think we will be safe by that time. But we both worry. We haven't had the best of luck these days.

Once the county inspector comes, he will determine if the tile must all come down. The state inspector said it did and he said the county would too. Either way, the tile in one area must be removed to see the supply line. If it was done incorrectly as we all assume, the plumber here today said he would do that at no charge for us.  (THANK YOU!!)

Then when all that is complete, we can move forward. Now to find someone to just do the pretty stuff. No plumbing. No moving of a drain. Just tile and grab bars and shower fixtures and door. We are both now skittish as you can imagine. We also feel that just for a shower it should be less money. We aren't getting new vanities or anything. I'd love to but can't afford it. 

This was all being done for Rick so the poor guy could walk into a shower now that he's had a stroke and has issues with his left leg.

So far, we have not had to contact our attorney again. We hope we don't have to. We don't need that expense too, but we will if we must.

As long as we get our money back and so far, that looks like it could happen with Amex, we just want to move on. The state and the county are taking care of this MFer. I want to shut 'em down. Ooh, and they will be fined. I don't recall the exact amount, but it will be painful for them. 

We both enjoy that fact. 

The bottom line for us is if we don't get the money back, we can't afford to do this and will just have a bathroom that looks like it's under construction.

Fingers crossed this all plays out the way we need it to. 

Send all the good juju you can, please.

Lenny, Taylor and Jada.

You all know my love for Lenny Kravitz. I've mentioned it here many times.

If he were tall, he'd be perfection. I guess everyone is given at least one flaw. Lol

Seriously what deal with the devil did he make to look so good at 59?

I like his music and he is simply fine. 

Last week apparently a new video came out of Lenny's. I got so many links to this video it was hysterical. My girlfriends from all over the country sent me the link to the video. After the first couple I laughed, then it became very funny to me that all my girlfriends would send me this.

One sent it and said, "Don't say I never get you anything!

My friends up north came through, one sent in the early morning hours. 

That was the first one.

One sent it and said, "It took me a while to even know there was a song" Yep.

As the time got later the west coast started chiming in.  

I guess you could say I am predictable since they all sent it. 

11 of them to be exact. 

California, WA, VA, PA, FL, MD, ND, and NY.  

C'mon, that's funny. 8 states. 

I told some of them next time please send money. 

This is a bit Prince-like and I do prefer his more rockin' stuff but again, it's Lenny. I will overlook that part.

Now I have no idea what tk421 means but...

_______________

I am sick to death of seeing all the 'news' about Taylor Swift at a football game. Please! Stop it. Every friggin' day.  I am so glad she isn't dating a baseball player. I would HATE it if she were the topic and not the game. I wonder how real Kansas City fans feel about this. Anyone?

______________

Speaking of sick of - Jada Pinkett. 

This woman is everywhere touting her bs /book. 

The other night she was an entire hour-long special. 

Oh, she is special all right. Rick went to bed early and knowing he would never watch it I thought I'd give it a try to see if my opinion of her would change. Oh it did nothing but put the nail in the coffin for me. I think she is a liar and bitch with a capital B. I found so many inconsistencies and it was frustrating me that no one was calling her on it. The 'reporter' would smile and go along. I was screaming at my TV.

She and Will have not lived together as a married couple for over 7 years. 

Why stay married if you haven't lived together for 7 years? 

Okay, that's what they wish to do, so be it. Not harming me.

But its the way she treats the man she's married to. I feel she emasculates him and makes him look the fool. 

It was all about her being a victim.  She talks about her affairs, her depression, and her relationship with Tupac (dear lord when will she stop talking about him?) She claims not to have seen the slap at the Academy Awards. She thought it was a skit. 

I so wish someone would call her on her shit. Chicken reporters. 

I'd have asked why did you roll your eyes when you were laughing at first if it was a skit?

Bad skit?

Then she threw not only everyone under the bus with her husband Will, but she also did the same to Chris Rock. Apparently, Chris asked her out years ago when he heard they split up. She claims Will and he have bad blood between them from that. Okay, let me get this straight - they weren't living together, and it was reported they got a divorce. He asked if true and would you like to go out?

Why would there be bad blood if you are sleeping around during this time and telling everyone who you were sleeping with? Did you tell Will who you were sleeping with during these 7 years too or just Chris Rock?  Hmm...convenient for your story though. 

I wonder who is falling for her BS?  Did she tell Will for a reason other than to make him jealous? They weren't living together for years at this point she claims.

But no one confronts her with her stories that don't line up. And heaven forbid you call her Will's wife. She claims they aren't living as husband and wife, but they aren't getting a divorce. Boy calling him her husband or her his wife made her a bit snippy.

Seriously stop talking woman! 

Get a therapist like the rest of us and chatter your ass off. 

She sickens me. Gorgeous, but boy not nice to others who circle her!

Pumpkins

Rick and I lived behind, or depending on how you look at it, in front of an enormous pumpkin farm.

People came from many states, as we'd read the license plates in the parking lot.

Rick and I wanted to go something terrible, but we didn't have kids. Neighbors would say, too bad you haven't any kids so you could go to Cox farms. 

One day Rick retorted to this male neighbor, "They will let us in without children, won't they?"

The man appeared shocked at the very idea. That made us decide to go.

So what? We needed pumpkins too. 

(we got shamed like this at a water park in my hometown once too) 

We paid our entrance fee and walked around this enormous farm. 

So much to see, do, and buy. 

For me, three things have stood out over the years.

1. A 3/4-year-old whose mom gave him a tiny Dixie cup of goat food as he entered the pen. I was leaning on the fence just watching this adorable little boy. 

He fed the first one, grabbed his tail, and lifted it as he scooted down to examine the goat's butt. I howled at this. He continues this on every goat. Oh, he didn't bother to feed them anymore he just studied their butts. His mother finally saw this and asked what pray tell are you doing? He proudly said, 'Looking at goat butts Mom" She ran in and stopped him and made him wash his hands. 

I thought it was funny. I'd have been a bad mom, wouldn't I?

2. A friend from up north/hometown, came down after a pumpkin farm convention she attended in the Midwest. Yeah, who knew there was such a thing. 

She and her husband wanted to open one on their farm and the one by my house was the one all coveted. So, she asked if I'd go with her. Seeing this from her side was interesting. From the food to the games and entertainment she saw differently than me. It was so interesting.  I went to her pumpkin farm the first year she opened it and let's just say. it fell short. I hear it's far better and larger now. We are no longer friends, so I only know what I see online.

3. At the end of the season they fling your pumpkin. After Halloween, if you bring your pumpkin, they will fling it. It was an enormous catapult. Sometimes, it was dropped from a high bucket like a linesman uses. Rick had a niece on his shoulder when they dropped hers. They announced whose pumpkin was going to be dropped and she got so darn excited. We adults knew they filled them with water, but the small kids did not. They showed her pumpkin raising it high above the man. Everyone cheered, and then it was dropped. Pumpkin parts and the water went everywhere. My niece got splattered. She was grossed out and giggling all at the same time. It was fun watching that.

Due to the traffic during the fall, we had to take a different road in and out of the development. It was just craziness for a couple of months. During the day the place was packed with school buses and school field trip events.  

Halloween here is not much fun. No trick-or-treaters. No pumpkins to put out since no one comes here. It bums us out. Yes, we could get pumpkins for just us but why bother, it's just not the same without kids. And honestly, it was a reason to buy a box of full-size candy bars at Costco and not be judged.  If you do it any other time people think you are eating too much chocolate. And yes, I do. But now I cannot justify bringing home a big ass box of candy bars, damn it. 

What are you doing for Halloween?

Saturday Meme Drop

We need to have our bathroom (master) and bedroom painted. We've needed it since we got here. But then I was down for the count for 6 months of chemo and steroids. Then my surgery and Rick's stroke so nothing has been getting done. Everyone says to just chill. C'mon, it's been 2 yrs. now this month.

I called a painter to give me a quote. Rick was not happy. It has cathedral ceilings so I can't do them even on a ladder. He gets pissed because he can't. He is not getting on a ladder no matter what he says for heaven's sake. Then he says dumb things like, "Wait until I can."  Oh, my goodness. 

I try to appease his ego but that is just stupid. (I did not say that to him) 

I told him we would just get a quote to see.

I got the quote on Friday. It was only $600 for the bedroom. Yes, that is a lot, but we were expecting double. BUT, since calling him for a quote, things have changed. We now must demolish all the stuff that was done in the bathroom. ALL OF IT.  It's a nightmare. I will write about it again when I can without crying.

After the painter left Rick said, "Well that's less than what I expected. I assumed double that. I just hate that I can't do shit anymore" 

"I know, I know, but in a year or two you will, it's only been 4 months and 2 weeks. And I too thought it'd be double" He laughed.

Now that we know we can't do this right now because of having to do the bathroom again. We will save up for this. You know, eat rice for a month. LOL. We did explain to the painter why we thought we were ready but now what is going on. He was horrified. Yep, so are we buddy.

I am going to do a few political memes today, with a few others sprinkled in so that I can delete them from my phone. Happy Saturday.

and this guy voted for him

Oldie

Another crazy busy few days so I am posting an oldie that my dog, Izzy wrote.  This was when we were trying to sell our lake house. As you may remember Izzy LOVED Rick and she tolerated me except when she was sick or he wasn't around, or wanted food and attention.

_________________________________

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2012

Izzy Takeover

Good Day Bloggers...Izzy the Wonder Dog here. 
My human mom is preoccupied with this house sale.
They are driving her crazy with what she is screaming to be piddly shit. 
Don't even know what that means but it's making her nuts.
So I am taking over. 

Look, I like this woman, she feeds me, spoils me with treats, hugs, and belly rubs and I can get her to do almost anything I want with my pretty face. But she gets on my nerves because she is always taking time with my man away from me. I should get all his attention and love not her.

You see when my man comes home, he is all mine and she doesn't seem to get it.
Look at me in his arms. Ah, just where I am meant to be.
I'm giving her the ha ha he's mine look here.  I love rubbing it in.

Yesterday she came outside with us while he threw the ball for me.
She complained about how cold it was - whine, whine, whine.
So go inside already bitch. I am having fun with my man and you are annoying me and he is giving you attention!  No, this is my time just buzz off.

Then she had the nerve to come to bed last night on my side of the bed. How dare she.
Oh sure, it was her side at one time but not anymore.
Now I take up the whole king-size bed except for where my man sleeps.
She had the nerve to snuggle up with MY man. I took care of that, oh yeah I did. 
I poked my nose in between them until that nonsense stopped!
Finally, I could sleep.

This woman appears to be a slow learner because she doesn't give up.
She was all kissy with him this morning in the kitchen. 
Geez, get a room, people.  I had to get in between them again until my tail hit my man's bad knee. That will teach him. That made him jump away from her quickly.
And they think I'm "just a dog" hah! I can see them ya know!

I heard them say at 6pm tonight I had an appointment to go to the vet for blood work.
Apparently, my ever-expanding waistline is bothersome to my vet and my mom.
My vet is just another jealous woman.  I'm gorgeous and they are jealous of all the attention I get every day. They don't do they?  No.  See?   It's just jealousy.
I'm really pretty so why the hell can't I be chubby?

Chubby is cute...c'mon look at me, I'm gorgeous. 
My coat is shiny and people comment on that all the time.
In fact just yesterday this woman made a fuss over my coat.
No one tells her she is pretty! 
Yep just jealousy.
And because they are petty like that I must get stuck with needles.

Those damn bitches think I need to be skinny.
Perhaps it's just their issue at hand, ever think of that?
They put me on terrible-tasting diet food and much less of it for Pete's sake. 
Why if I had thumbs I'd be raiding that damn pantry and getting my own food!'

Oh sure, I eat that terrible food but I don't like it! Nope, not one bit.
I can only get 2 treats a day from that woman now and I have to run after balls and sticks for at least an hour a day to even get them. And I walk. What more do they want from me? 
How would she like it if she had to do all that stuff to get her ever-beloved coffee every day?
I.don't. think. so!
But that crazy female vet seems to think I have a thyroid issue.
That vet just likes sticking that damn stick up my butt. Perverted sicko she is.
I'll show her and this crazy ass human woman living with me - I will sit and there will be no sticks up my butt today. 

I'm standing my ground today....or sitting my ground today.  No sticks up the butt.
I think that is just a damn good rule to live by, don't you?

Got BandAids?

I cut myself badly on Wednesday evening while making dinner.

The blood wouldn't stop. I had paper towels on it and continued but they were filled with blood quickly. So, then I got a finger bandage and got it all wrapped up. It has a heartbeat as I type this. 

In fact, I can't use my ring finger on my left hand to type, too painful.  

I'm afraid to look at it. 

Rick walked into the kitchen and saw all the blood and said, "And you worry about me!"  

Well? But Rick takes a blood thinner. I can't have him bleeding. 

Then he looked up to the heavens and said, "Hey Doc you are so right, she did it again!" That made me laugh. (Doc has passed away)

You see Doc was my first husband (nickname) and he decided to keep BandAids in our kitchen, so he didn't have to run to the bathroom to get them. Funny boy. 

After our divorce I had not seen Doc even once in that small town. 

Then my boss Heidi asked me to go to a party she was invited to. 

She met this man, and she was smitten, and he told her he was having some people over to his house and asked if she'd like to stop by. 

She asked if she could bring someone. So, she asked me. 

As we were driving over to the east side by General Electric I had the thought, oh I hope this guy doesn't work at GE because my ex does. Then I thought, nah, there are thousands of people at GE what are the chances he'd know and invite Doc, so I said nothing. 

We get to this man's house, and everyone is in his finished basement. 

We walk downstairs and he introduces Heidi and me to everyone. 

I saw the guys at the pool table and my heart stopped. Shit, it's Doc. 

He introduced Heidi and I to Doc and Heidi shook his hand and I played along as did Doc. We shook hands as if we'd never met. Then he smirked and someone said, "you two know each other?"  He had a look of panic and

I quickly said, "We went to high school together actually"  

Ahh, is what most said as if that made sense to them. He smiled and nodded as if to say thank you. Whew, neither of us wanted to tell everyone how we knew each other in that scenario.

I stayed at the other end of the room. Thankfully it was a big basement.

At one point Heidi's date asked if I wanted another drink to help myself. 

I went behind the bar and saw the gin and he said there are limes there. 

I saw them. I then asked if he had a knife so I could cut the lime.  

At that very moment Doc yelled across the room "Oh if you give her a knife you better have Band-Aids." 

I burst out laughing. He gave me a knife and said, "Do you really need a Band-Aid?"  I told him no and stuck my tongue out at Doc.  We both laughed. Thankfully, no one really said anything to either of us about that. 

On the way home Heidi told me that the guy I went to high school with was sure cute, did you ever date him?  I said, "Heidi that was my ex husband"

She pulled over and said, "WHAT? YOU NEVER SAID A THING!"

"See how you're acting? I didn't want that at this party. You all would have been watching where I was or what I was doing every minute as well as watching Doc too.  No, that would have made my night far more miserable. When I saw him, I did want to leave but he stayed at one end, and I stayed at the other and it was all fine."

So today when I cut myself Rick looked to the heavens and told Doc he was so right. Sadly, they both are.

I told Rick my ring finger now has a heartbeat. I wouldn't take off my bandage to look at it. He asked if I thought I needed stitches. I don't know. 

I said, "at this point it feels like I'd lose my finger" He laughs. 

I said, "hey the way things are going it'd be my luck and it's my ring finger and I waited years for this honkin' diamond and I'm not losing this finger no way no how." 

He laughed at me and said, "That's my Margaret"  

Yep, that's me, shallow and clumsy. 😀