Texas Lady

This is how my night is going.  Look at this face; how could anyone not love this sweet little girl?  Dogs definitely keep you grounded because there’s no artifice to them.  They’re real and they live entirely in the moment.  Buffy is saying “This is me.  This is who I am.  And I give back far more than you’ll ever be able to give me.”.  I’m going to cry when this baby goes back to her parents, when they are well enough to care for her again.  But it won’t be the first time I’ve cried over a 4-legged baby, and I don’t think it’ll be the last.  I’m so fortunate to experience the love they have to give, and to have an outlet for the extra love in my heart.

So I’m home from Denver.  I can walk in the house again after 24 hours of plowing a path.  How do men survive when they live on their own full time?  My god, it was gross!  I’ve done nothing but bitch for 24 hours.  He had even somehow managed to screw up the new refrigerator so the freezer was defrosted, there was no ice and the compressor wouldn’t run.  It had an error message on the screen when I got home.  I had to look it up on the Internet to find out how to get it to work again.  Jeez!!!!!!!!

I have 3 more days of vacation and probably enough errands and chores to last me until that point.  I hope to get a chance to sew before that time.  I have 8 pillowcases and a window valance to finish so I can get into making myself some clothes.  I really need some casual, summery things with an eye for comfort and style instead of the cookie-cutter ungodly things made for my age group.  Why do clothing manufacturers think that as women age they lose their sense of style?  What a crock!

I’m in the process of uploading 225 photographs taken in the past week both at home and in Denver, so it gave me enough time to check in here.  I hope to get to bed earlier than last night but it’s almost 2 A.M. so there’s not much chance that’ll happen.  Thankfully my first appointment tomorrow is at 1:30 so if I sleep in it won’t be the end of the world.  Going to head that way anyhow.  G’night, all………

I only have a few minutes right now but wanted to get started on this post.  Today I am picking up my grand-daughter, Monica, for our 3:30 hair appointment—I think.  She went over her data plan so her phone is turned off until Tuesday, so I can’t call her and can’t get ahold of anyone who lives with her right now.  Dammit!…….Update: my daughter just texted me that Monica is going.

Yesterday was my company physical and I’ll be scarred for the next week.  They were short a nurse so they let an emergency medical tech draw my blood.  I don’t have good veins but he was so over-confident of his abilities that I agreed to let him try.  He hit the vein right away then went right through it and had to dig around to find it again in order to get 2 vials of blood.  He said he was sorry he’d bruised me.  I said I was used to bruises, no problem.  Until a couple of hours later when I removed the bandage.  The blood pool under my skin is about 3 inches long by 1 inch wide and was sticking up 1/4 inch from my arm.  This bruise will last my entire vacation and will be very ugly.  Ugh!  I’ve got to stop trusting people in the “medical profession” just because they work there.  This is twice they’ve screwed with me in the past 2 weeks.  Assholes!!!!!!!

Well, must be going.  Monica awaits!!!!!!

Home again.  Happy, relaxed; it was a good day.  We had our hair done, visited Starbucks, Walmart, Walgreens and the local barbeque place.  Poorer but pleased.  Unfortunately not finished with errands, packing or shopping.  Still have to get a pedi, too, before I leave.  All joyous events to experience on this vacation and I’m not done yet!

Step 3 completed.  Bought lateral file, removed L-return; now the next step, putting the files in with some semblance of order; that is on today’s game plan.  First we’re going to eat Tex-Mex with family so it’ll have to be much later today.  I also got my serger out of the shop, put back together and threaded.  So when I get all those damned files out of there I can sew again.  Last night I shredded two garbage sacks of old paperwork.  I’ve probably got about that much more I haven’t even sorted yet so it will be a chore yet to come.  BUT…it’s getting noticeably better already.  Can’t wait for the after pictures of the sewing room..  Yay, me!!!!!!!

9 Hours Later:

Tex-Mex was good; guys have gone fishing so the dogs and I have the house to ourselves.  All the Mother’s Day gift certificates are in the emails and I only have one blanket to make and I’m done for another year.  I managed to get ALL the files out of the file boxes and filled the free-standing shredder three more times.  I still have to go through some of these existing files and clean them out, and I have to label all the ones that have none.  All I’m left with is a small stack of memorabilia that has to be put with the existing keepsakes and all the extra stuff is gone.  I knew it was going to be time-consuming but it was a back-breaker!  My neck hurts and I’m too tired to do much else tonight.  I vacuumed when I finished with the files, then changed the water in the fish tank; I really need to do laundry but all the paper-trash is in bags in front of the washer and dryer—and I’m too tired to move it all.

The people next door are having a party for a 1-year-old.  They started at noon and are still going at 10 P.M.  I can’t even let the dogs out in their own yard because the kids are driving them crazy.  I just took them out to potty and put the big ones in their crates for the night.  The 5 littles are in here in the office with me.  They’re worn out, too.  I wanted to sew tonight but I have to wash the fabric and can’t so I think I’ll just try to chill for a while (if I can—too much nervous energy), maybe I’ll pour a glass of wine and kick back with Facebook.

Well, I won’t pour a glass of wine because I’ve only got a half glass.  Wah!  It’ll have to be enough unless I want to steal some of Ronnie’s stash (there’s an idea!  LOL).  I’m outta here!

Actually, it’s after 10 P.M. here, but I am enjoying a glass of Merlot.  I don’t know why I’m so tired because I haven’t done much today physically.  I spent 12 hours at work that were uneventful to downright boring and since I arrived home I’ve done nothing to speak of.  I cleaned out some of my Outlook folders, caught up with Facebook, medicated Maximus, Dusty and the fish tank, and put a coat of polish on my nails.  Ronnie cooked hamburger patties for dinner so all I had to do was throw it in the microwave and chow down.  He didn’t have to work today so all the dogs were so happy when I got home.  They love being with us, it doesn’t matter which one of us either.  That’s a really cool thing about our pack.  They all love each other and us equally.

Ronnie got his new hearing aids (remember that the dogs ate the last ones?).  Luckily we had insurance on them that replaced them for $500.  Since the initial cost was $6700 I thought a $500 deductible was chicken feed!  The upside is that Ronnie can hear me again instead of me repeating myself 80 times and then getting pissed because of it.  Downside is that he won’t wear them at home because the dogs are so loud.  Hello?  How the hell can he hear me without them?  Perhaps that’s the point…maybe he doesn’t want to hear me.  So, what did we buy them for?  He can’t wear them to work.  He can’t wear them at home.  So, they’re for fishing trips?

Tomorrow is my day off (?) which means a day of errands and housework.  I have 2 doctors appointments and Mimi goes for her nail trimming.  I decided that since she’s a biter I wouldn’t try to take her to Petsmart so I made an appointment for her at our veterinarian’s office between my two appointments.  And I still have to buy groceries.  We have a brand-new refrigerator that’s basically empty.  Also, I have ALLLL those files to finish sorting/cleaning out, the shredding to do, the serger to re-connect and test, a raft of patterns to sort so I can buy fabric, pillowcases and a valance for my office to construct.  The new lateral file is here (in the box) which will have to be constructed, installed and organized.  And before I can do any of this I need a long, hot bath—without any canine company to assist me.

Just bathing around here sometimes is a feat.  We both like a hot bath, a soak, reading books, whatever relaxes us since our lives have become so stressfull of late.  But neither of us chooses to close the door while we soak.  The result, of couse, is dogs, dogs, dogs in the bathroom.  Dogs like to lick the water off your skin (Bandit), lick water out of your cupped hands (Maximus), lick water off your body while they walk on your tummy (Dusty), roll on “your” towel (Mimi), relax on the rug while patiently waiting for you to get the hell out of the tub (Fancy).  Sometimes a relaxing bath is anything but.

Of late I have come to expect my life to be calmer than it is.  I have expected myself to be calmer than I am.  I have wondered why neither of these ideas is reality.  I wonder why, at the age of 60, I can’t make my life so…….when does that happen?  When does life slow down and your frayed nerves calm down, and your expectations lessen?  Probably right after you catch up on your rest?  I don’t know what that feels like, so I guess I’m still on this treadmill called Life.  Time for an Ambien….goodnight, Gracie.

Our girl, Fancypants, got her trip to Sonic after grooming today.  She ate half of her ice cream and half of my tater tots, neither of which were healthy for either of our girlish figures, but who the hell cares?  Fancy will be 12 in November and recently had a bout with cancer, and I was 60 in January with a hip that was not installed at the factory.  I don’t think either of us care if we have an hourglass shape these days.  They really messed up her haircut.  Her ears look lopsided and there’s little tufts sticking up along her back.  That may be the last grooming at Petsmart.  Normally they do a great job and she has a good time, but the entire grooming department has changed hands and I doubt any of the new employees has graduated from high school yet.  I should have known better, huh?  But you think a reputable store like Petsmart would do a better job of policing their departments.  Maybe there hasn’t been enough complaints yet to make them send them back to training class?  Maybe I should complain?  There’s a thought!

This was my second trip to Sonic.  Earlier I had Dusty and Gypsy there after their nail trims.  Dusty ate all of his ice cream as fast as he could then started shivering but a quick snuggle fixed that boy!  Gypsy was more ladylike and left half of hers to bring home for another day.  She has so much control! (I won’t tell you about the lack of control she exhibited by eating out of MY plate at dinner—-oh, wait, I guess I just did………..sorry, Gypsy!)

I left home with the three Chihuahuas at 11 A.M.  I dropped Dusty and Gypsy at home after their Sonic detour, but Fancy and I didn’t get home until 5 P.M.!  I had more errands than originally planned but I got a lot accomplished, too.  That before-mentioned filing cabinet in my sewing room is completely empty and outta there!  I ordered the new lateral file for the office and have to wait for them to deliver it.  In the meantime I get to go through all the files and shred a million sheets of paper.  I ran out of boxes to put files in so ended up putting the “to be shredded” in a laundry basket.  No one ever said I wasn’t resourceful.  “In my day” we had to do more with less; I don’t think you ever forget how to do that.  And I even got a trip to the nail salon for a mani-pedi with a glass of white wine!  Nirvana!!

Tomorrow I get to take Mimi for her nail trim since I ran out of time today.  I also need groceries and it’s a “Nana day” with my grand-daughter, Monica.  I probably won’t accomplish as much tomorrow but I bet I smile more.  What do you think?

TGIF?  It’s only Tuesday?  Yeah, maybe for the rest of the world but this is actually Friday night for me.  My work week is done, 48 hours down and the weekend is here….even if it’s Tuesday.  Sometimes I wonder how my life ever got this busy/full or whatever you call it.  There doesn’t seem to be enough time left to accomplish anything anymore, and if a little time shows up it’s usually when my energy hits a new low and it all goes to waste.  <sigh>  Such is the way of the world nowadays, I’m afraid.  No one has any time anymore……on the other hand, recently I saw a blurb on one of the news channels online that people were doing this, that and the other because they were bored.  Bored?  Really?  How the hell did they find the time to be bored?  I just don’t get it.  I’m so looking forward to retirement next year so maybe I can finally have the time to do something that I want to do instead of what I have to do.

I have several projects on-going for my sewing room that I hope to address while I’m enjoying my “weekend”.  I have to get rid of the filing cabinet, go through at least 500 files and get rid of at least 400 of them, whatever that involves (are we still under a burn ban?).  I have to find and buy a 2 drawer lateral file to replace it with.  Then I have to talk my husband into getting rid of the L-return on his desk so I have a place to put the new filing system.  That shouldn’t be extremely difficult since the desk he has came from a garage sale 15 years ago.  The desk is in great shape but the L has been moved unceremoniously in the wrong direction on more than one occasion, so where the twain meet there is an ugly split in the (particle)board.  The only reason it’s lasted this long is because that’s the place the printer calls home, but the printer will soon reside on top of the lateral file.  There.  Problem solved.

Next I need to purchase a dress form.  My mom has one but I haven’t seen her use it much, and I never even thought of buying one for myself…until this past week.  I’ve been a member of an online sewing forum for the past few years but lately I’ve begun to really get more out of the group.  I’ve decided to make myself some casual clothes and have been checking out tips and suggestions by various members and experts.  One recurring theme was the importance of having an accurate fit for patterns and how many times you should try on a garment prior to completion.  One repetitive thread in the conversation was that with a proper dress form you could get a better view of your project’s progress and how the garment would “hang” on your particular body.  When I did a Google search I found that the size dress form I need comes in purple.  Purple?  No kidding?  Purple is my favorite color!!!!!!  Too freaking fastastic!!!!!!!  Except they’re sold out and have to reorder them in my size.  Desolation…….. <sigh>

Also, tomorrow is grooming day.  Not for me unfortunately, but for the Chihuahuas.  Several trips involved to get 4 Chis beautified.  I’ll take 3 of them at 12:30, drop one to be bathed, trimmed, nails painted, etc., get the other 2’s nails clipped then take them home.  Will probably take them to Sonic for ice cream or tater tots first.  Then about 4:00 I’ll take the other Chi to get her nails trimmed and pick up the groomed one.  This, of course, will involve a second trip to Sonic because I can’t be partial with the “kids” because it might affect their self-esteem and/or their place in the pack.  I told Ronnie he has to do the big dogs’ nails but if he flashes those big baby blues I’ll cave and take them, too.  <sigh>