late night

 Late night tv knows how to target audiences

    We watch Antenna TV at night.  Jackie likes to hear the shows when she drifts off to sleep.

    But the commercials?  

    Pain relievers you rub on your legs to help you walk.  Orthopedic shoes.  Life alert buttons. 

    If it is a product that appeals to Boomers, it is advertised!

    But the one that gets me is for ..... wait for it....  a Viagra like product.

    No, I am not interested in it.  But some people are.

    In the commercial some guy said he was looking for some way to spice up his marriage.

    But Viagra was $40 a pill, according to the man.

    $40?  Holy cripe!  

    But this guy found a plan where you could get a generic equivalent for only $8 a pill.  

    Yes, you need a prescription, but they have a doctor on staff and all you have to do is call and answer a few questions.  (By the way, the last 4 numbers for the phone are 6969.)

    He then says his wife now walks around the house with a smile on her face.

    Hell, I bet if he did the dishes, laundry and cleaned house once in a while she would really be smiling!

    One of the fun things I do is try to figure out who the guests are on Carson's show.  People don't look the same today as they did 40 years ago.  I honestly thought Marc Harmon was Tom Cruise. 

    There are so many comedians I never heard of that appear.  But George Carlin, Bill Mahr, and Roseanne Barr were all on at some point. 

    I realize most of the people have now died.  

    Sometimes it is hard for me to grasp the passage of time.  The Beatles were in their heyday 60 years ago.  The Summer of Love, Woodstock, man first walking on the moon.......in my head they were just yesterday.

    But late night TV, and Sirius Radio bring them all to life today.

    Beth's blood work came back pretty normal.  Our next step is an ultrasound, which will be done next week.

    We are to just keep on doing what we are doing until a reason for her low albumen and cholesterol counts is discovered.

    I may need a part time job.

Peace and Love

        Especially Peace

Ding, Dang it

 No word, no patience, no rain, no cool

    I did not hear from the vet today. the message they sent said  test results were not back yet.

    But I asked about Beth eating a bird carcass and having bugs in her food and they did not feel that would be an issue.

    I somehow turned off the     "leave a message" option on the land line.  Figured that out t today.  No wonder for the past few months we have not had any callers leaving messages!

    Amboy must not have called to tell me I won the big 50/50 drawing.  If they did, there was no ability to  leave a message.

    Jackie had a doctor appointment in Sycamore today.  Boy, was it hot!  I told her if I dropped her during the transfer she would probably fry on the blacktop.  Luckily, I once again made good on moving from the car to the chair, back to the car, back to the chair, back to the car, back to the chair and into the house.  

    About a month ago I contacted Comcast about our bill.  We worked it out, lowering it some 50 a month.

    Got the bill today and it was up 50 from last month.

    Tomorrow I hope to talk to a human.  Not "chat," but talk.  

    Time will tell.  I don not handle dealing with them very well.

    We had some packages of Rosti in the pantry.  I made it tonight along with peas and carrots, and bratwurst.  All the food was done almost at the same time.  I thought it was pretty good.  Rosti is a Swiss hash brown dish.

    At least it was different.  I need to find simple meals that taste good.

    And that I can cook.

    The frustrating thing is I had some special brats in 3 separate freezer bags.  I can't find any of them!  How can I lose brats?  I have looked in my freezer upstairs and the freezer downstairs and did not see them.  I don't smell them either, which means I did not put them on a shelf somewhere.  

    Oh well.

Peace and Love

    Especially Peace

no scam

 I got a strange e-mail today

    Basically, it said I was eligible for a refund from State Farm Insurance as part of a $5 billion settlement.

    It looked very official.  All I had to do was enter the claim number and provide information to direct deposit the funds.

    The e-mail was not sent from State Farm, but from a different e-mail address.

    I am no fool.  I deleted the e-mail and then e-mailed my State Farm agent about the scam.

    About 15 minutes later she called and said, "Yup...it is real."

    Turns out the company works through a third party to handle the refunds. 

    By not providing my bank info, I will be sent a check.  That is what the e-mail said.

    I have become scam scared!

    Better safe than sorry.

    We have not had an update on Beth.  I thought we would hear something today, but maybe the test results were not back yet.

    She is acting very normal......but she still has not had a BM that was solid. And she still strains.

    She was in the front yard squatting and straining when a squirrel raced around the corner.

    The squirrel saw Beth and froze, sitting on its hind legs with its front paws out like a boxer.  Both just stared at each other.  

    They were like that for a few seconds.  Then the squirrel scampered up our maple tree and Beth did not even give chase.  That is not normal.

    But aside from that, she seems fine.

    We are hoping for positive news tomorrow.

    Watching the flooding in Nepal is mesmerizing and horrifying.  I can't imagine what those people went thru.

Peace and Love

    Especially Peace

to mow, or not to mow

 I had a tough decision today

    Go sit on the mower for 2 hours in 90 temperatures that felt like a closed bathroom after a 20 minute hot shower,  or not.

    Granted, I never take 20 minute hot showers.  Maybe 10 at the max, unless my body is sore.  But never 20.

    And I did take 10 minutes to finish the small area I did not mow on Friday.

    The grass looked long.  I had time after PT.  The sky was cloudy.

    But I just did not have the desire to sit out there in the heat and humidity just to make my yard look nicer.

    So I will wait for the temps to come down Saturday or so and then mow.  I probably will have to run the sweeper after I mow,  but I will cross that bridge when I come to it.

    Beth had. 9:30 blood draw this morning.  Yes, I got there on time.  Our morning help took care of Jackie while I was gone.

    Beth has gone several days without a solid BM. But this morning, in front of the vet clinic, she dropped a load.  Luckily I had a plastic bag and a spoon, so I scooped some up and carried it in.  Then I washed my hands several times.

    I figure every bit of information can help figure out what Beth's problem is.  

    Now it is a waiting game.

    Emily's flight back from Wyoming was delayed about 2 hours due to storms in Chicago.  Jackie looked at the weather map and did not see any storms.  I am just thankful the carrier is being cautious.

    Meanwhile, the Cubs begin a crucial series with the Brewers.  4 games.  I am hoping the Cubs can win 3.

    They are a very confusing and frustrating team.

Peace and Love

        Especially Peace

Ear worm, again

 I don''t understand why this happens

    When I was a kid, a guy named Alan Sherman did a song about Camp Granada.

    Like Hi Lili, Hi Lili Hi Lo Hi Lo, I have not heard the song in years!  So why did I wake up having," Hello Mudda.  Hello Fadda, here I am at Camp Granada." running through my brain?

    And the chorus...."Take me home, oh Mudda Fadda, take me home, I hate Granada. Don't leave me out in the forest where I might get eaten by a bear"  

    If I remember, Leonard Skinner got ptomaine poisoning after dinner.  And a boy named Spivey was covered in poison ivy.

    Somebody was lost and there was now a searching party.

    Anyway, I guess I will Google it to see if what I remember is what it was.  Sometimes the memory is a little weak.

    But why did this song pop into my brain?  I have not heard it in years

    Am I regressing toward childhood?

    Are diapers in my future?

    Good grief.

    I went to a bench dedication at the museum today.  Jackie looked at the radar and it said rain at 1.  The dedication started at 1 and she reasoned it would not be good to be in the rain in a wheelchair so she stayed home.  It rained about 1:15.

    The bench was dedicated to Steve Strang, who was Santa for a long time.  He also decorated hay bales and helped with a lot of things around the museum.

    The bench was made from recycled bottle caps.  A local service club...I think Golden K?  Or is it Lions? .... (DJ will tell in the comments) collects the caps, sorts them, cleans them, and sends them to Indiana where the caps are melted  to make benches, picnic tables, planters and other items.  

    I think it is a really good program.  I did not bring my bag of caps today, but I will drop them off sometime.

    I also blanched 10 ears of sweetcorn, stripped the corn from the cob, and froze it. 

    But the best part of the day was sipping a coffee from Cypress House while reading on our porch.  And napping.  I need to do that more often.

Peace and Love

        Especially Peace

the plot thickens

 We got Beth's blood test results today

    Turns out, she looks fine but has some problems.  Her albumin level and cholesterol levels are low, which is ver concerning to the vet.

    He called in the prescription to Walmart and I picked it up this afternoon.  (I was stumped when they asked when her  birthday was.)

    Talking with the vet, he seemed to feel a change in diet would be a big benefit to her.  But he also wants to do another blood test.  So Monday morning I have to take a fasting Beth over to the clinic for a blood draw.

    I will also be picking up a special food that should help.

    We certainly did not expect this.  She acts fine, has been eating her new food, which will be replaced by newer food, and she has taken the meds the vet prescribed.  Not to be gross, she has not had a solid poop in a while.

    Our fingers are crossed that this is just a blip and that diet and medication will solve her problem.

    But we also have to change.....not so many treats and only, those approved by the vet!

    I decided to mow today.

    That was a late decision.  I did not finish the yard.

    I was shocked at how much it had grown since Tuesday!  So not only do I have to finish mowing, I may have to run my sweeper again.  I don't think I have used it in previous years as much as I have  this year.

    And my trimmer won't start.  It kicked over briefly but failed to continue running.

    That is a continuation of my inability to deal with gasoline powered lawn equipment.

    But tomorrow is another day.

    And it could be a hot one.

    Hope everyone stays cool.

Peace and Love

    Especially Peace

TGIF

 Beth had her vet visit today

    There was noting obvious concerning her condition.

    She did not have any swelling or painful spots.  They took some blood and a urine sample from her and sent them for analysis.  But the vet was upbeat about our puppy.

    Beth  is now on a bland diet with 3 different medications that will help get her stomach in sync again.

    Beth takes a heart worm preventative.  We changed brands this month and it might have been around the time her digestive issues started.  But the vet assured us it was the same medication with a different name.  I think I will Google that and see if I can compare ingredients.

    We also have to cut down on the treats.  That will be hard.

    Jackie and I had a nice time tonight.  Julia, Human Beth and Sheri came over for pizza and we had a great time visiting and talking.  No Emily because she is in Wyoming. 

    And I talked to friend John in the city.  

    So all in all it was a pretty darn good day.

    The only drawback was whenever Beth goes to the vet we get a pupachino  for her and vanilla latte  for me at Starbucks.  So, no pupachino for her today.  I felt guilty, and I could feel her stare at my drink all the way home.

    I think that was my first coffee of the week!

    Tomorrow I will attempt to get the bird feeder up.  That is day 6 of me saying that, if anyone is counting.

Peace and Love

        Especially Peace

Yummy!!!  Maybe for my pizza tonight?

She always looks so sad.