Dog Day Afternoon

No one would believe THIS post without pictures!  Luckily I remembered my camera this time!

Lisa wanted to take her two puppies, brothers Gizmo and Opie who are one year old, out for a walk on the pier at Spitzer Marina.  I wanted to go and help!  We met up at the marina and off we were for an adventure.  Here are the "boys" all leashed up and ready to go.  That is Gizmo on the left and Opie on the right.

We made it all the way to the end of the pier and I thought I HAD to have pictures of me with two large dogs for my sister Cathie!  Who would believe that I did something like this?!!  So, I grabbed both leashes and Lisa snapped away.

It was such a beautiful day.  We were all having a great time. 

Opie was nice enough to mug for the camera!  Such a photogenic little boy!

We can only mug for the camera for so long.  Then it's time to get walking again and the guys were getting restless!  Finally, Lisa had to come rescue me!

When we got off of the pier, Lisa wanted to take the dogs over to the beach area and see if we could get them into the water.  They are part lab so they should like the water!  But, I guess your first time in the Lake is a bit intimidating.

On the way to the beach is a little over look.  The over look juts out over the water and I don't think Opie was thrilled with that.  Every time a wave came and hit the rocks below us, he didn't care for it.  He finally laid down and said that was as close as he was getting to the water.

We left the over look and headed over to the beach.  I kicked off my socks and shoes and was going to help Lisa with getting the puppies introduced to Lake Erie. 

With both of us holding on to one leash, we tried walking into the water hoping the dogs would follow.  No way, no how!  They sort of dug in and wanted nothing to do with the water!  It was a little choppy and the waves were coming in and they just did not know what to make of it.  Luckily, Lisa had called in the big guns for this job, her husband Chuck!

Chuck came prepared in his swim trunks, ready to start swimming lessons!  He started with one dog at a time.  First it was Gizmo.  Chuck didn't have much more luck getting Gizmo into the water than we did.  As you can see, Gizmo put his back to the water and wanted far, far away from it.

Let's try switching dogs.  With Gizmo now looking on, Chuck tried to convince Opie to go into the water.  Yeah.  Not.

Really.  Opie did NOT want in.

Chuck finally got him in, but still, Opie was not a fan.

Finally, Chuck decided he WAS going to win this test of wills.  He picked Opie up and out into the water Chuck walked.

Hmm, maybe it's not so bad after all!

Then it was Gizmo's turn.  To me, the look on poor Gizmo's face after watching what his brother just went through screamed to me "help me!"

And then Gizmo was swimming!

Ok, maybe I can do this, but I am DONE!

Before you knew it, we had two wet dogs who were starting to get the hang of this.

Thanks to Chuck's patience with the puppies, taking one dog at a time back into the water while Lisa held on to the other one at the water's edge, before you knew it, they were both swimming!

It was a great day all around!  I want to thank Lisa for letting me get some puppy time and a huge thank you to both Chuck and Lisa for letting me be part of the puppies' first swimming lesson!  I had a blast today!  And, look at those puppies!  They had a great day, too!

Saturday at Portage Lakes

OMG and me without my CAMERA!  This post will suck without photos, but bear with me.

We went to Ron's family reunion/picnic on Saturday at one of the parks down on Portage Lakes.  For those of you that don't know (like me) Portage Lakes are five small lakes that are connected by a series of canals.  Here is a fishing map I found, but at least you can get an idea of how this is set up.

We had a great picnic pavilion very close to a bathroom!  That is an important feature for some of us!  Well, we all brought food and sat and ate and chatted and had a great time catching up with most of the family.

Ron's cousin Bob was there and Bob even brought his pontoon boat.  After lunch, he offered rides around the lakes.  Ron wanted to go so I thought what the heck.  He and I were part of the first boat load to go for a ride.  I had never been on a pontoon boat and it turned out to be much more comfortable than I thought it would be.  This boat fit 10 passengers in nice padded seats!  We stayed in the no wake zones so it was a very pleasant and relaxing ride.

So much to see all up and down the lakes.  All of the gorgeous houses right on the water, and I'm sure even the ones that were falling down were out of my price range!  But, one can dream.  There were kayaks in the water, people swimming, jet skis, you name it.  And, the weather was perfect on Saturday, bonus!

The best part was when Bob took us by the Poop Tree!  Yes, POOP TREE!  Oh and me without my camera!  I should have my blogging literary license revoked for this!  There is a large tree, I'm guessing maybe 20 feet high right by the water's edge at a junction in the lake.  Don't ask me which lake, as I have no idea.  Anyway, as you are approaching this tree, you can see it does appear to be white.  Not the bark but all of the leaves.  ALL of the leaves, all the way from the top of the tree down to the grass.  As we got closer, yes, the grass was white too.

It was because of ducks!  I have no idea what kind of ducks but as we got closer, there had to be 30 to 40 ducks IN THE TREE!  Personally, I have never seen a duck in a tree, but I guess I can't say that any longer.  It was an amazing sight and one I was kicking myself in the behind for missing photographic proof!  The white in the tree was due to the ducks in this tree pooping all over the tree, hence the Poop Tree!  It was awesome!

So there you have it.  It was a great day for a picnic and a pontoon boat ride.

Other than the Poop Tree, I missed a gazillion photo opportunities that day.  Lesson learned - never leave home without your camera.

Ghosts Have Been Working Overtime

I don't think I have an overly stocked or even a well stocked kitchen when it comes to gadgets and things.  I do have a few nice things that I feel I don't want to do without, but most of my stuff is old and hand me downs at that.

One thing I have that I love is my ceramic pizza pan that I got from Phil last Christmas.  My old pizza pan has to be 20 years old, and it shows.  It's so nasty that I quit cooking pizzas directly on it years ago.  It must be foil covered to be used.  But, it was better than nothing.  I don't make pizza that often, but it's nice to have a good pizza pan on hand, so Phil helped me out.

This ceramic pizza pan is amazing.  You bake on it, cut the pizza on it, wipe it down and it's ready to be put away.  Nothing sticks to it and that's even after putting a knife to it!  Well, I always wash the pan right after I'm done with it and then it gets put away in the drawer under the oven. 

I went to make a pizza the other night and for the life of me, I could NOT find that pizza pan.  I looked in the drawer where it goes, then looked in every cupboard in the kitchen were the pizza pan would fit into.  No pizza pan.

Phil was upstairs in his room so I called him downstairs.  Some times Phil does empty the dishwasher and put the dishes away.  If he doesn't know where something goes, some times he "finds" a home for it.  While I know I don't put that pan in the dishwasher, I was grasping at straws.  I asked Phil if he put the pan away somewhere as now I couldn't find it. 

Before you know it, the three of us were tearing apart the kitchen, dining room and mud room, looking anywhere that was big enough to house that damn pan.  It was NOWHERE to be found. 

Ron and I had both looked in the drawer that usually houses the pizza pan at least twice each.  No pan.

By now I am sure there is a black hole in my house or at least a spirit playing tricks on me.  Ron even went so far as to ask me if I lent out the pizza pan!  To my knowledge, that pan had NOT left the house.  I will say one thing about Ron - he does NOT give up on a challenge. 

Before I knew it, he was on his hands and knees in the kitchen, practically climbing IN the cupboards, looking for that pizza pan.  He gets to the drawer under the oven, opens it up and guess what.  THERE IS THE DANG PAN!!!!!

For real, we had to have been in that drawer at least five times and there was NO pizza pan in that drawer.  The three of us were still standing in the kitchen so there was no way one of the guys snuck that pan back into the drawer.

My opinion stays the same.  I either have a black hole in my house where household goods go to disappear, or I have spirits in the house that are trying to mess with me.

Birthday Boy Phil

Phil had a birthday recently and we had a couple of celebrations for our birthday boy!

We had Phil to Mutt and Jeff's for our usual Friday night dinner.  We started the celebrating a few days early.  It must have been good because I got a shot of Phil actually smiling!  That doesn't happen all the time!

The day after Phil's birthday, Phil, Mike, Mary Jane, Ron and I went out for dinner at birthday boy's choice of restaurants.  Phil's choice this year was Olive Garden.  C'mon now, who doesn't love Olive Garden??

I think we had a great time and I can prove it with pictures.  Since Mary Jane and Ron had the cameras, they ended up in NO pictures!  So, you will have to suffer through pictures of me and two of my brothers.  First, the three of us.

Mike and Phil, mugging for the camera.

Then, me and the birthday boy.  If I've said it once, I've said it a bunch of times.  When it's your blog, you get to put YOUR picture in there as much as you want!

We may be dysfunctional, but we do love each other.  And, we do love to celebrate birthdays, even for someone as old as Phil!  (HA!!)

So, happy birthday, my brother.  Thanks for letting me help you celebrate!

Don't Leave Your Camera Unattended!

Especially around MY family!

I know, I'm behind with blogging.  I'm working on it!

Back a few (or more!) weeks ago, my great-nephew Evan celebrated his First Holy Communion.  That's a big deal in some one's life and definitely worth celebrating.  My nephew and his wife hosted an open house after the First Communion and I am not one to say no to free food and a party!

Of course I grabbed my camera but to be honest, I only took a few shots.  I grabbed a shot of the host, my nephew Mike, looking like he's suddenly camera shy!

And, since I didn't have to move from my comfy spot where I was sitting, I snapped a quick photo of two of my brothers.  Michael on the left and Philip on the right.

Then the fun began!  I was in the house chatting with family, or getting more food (WHAT a feast that was!) I was here and there.  Instead of carrying around the camera, I had just left it on the picnic table you see there by Phil.  I never really thought anything of it.  Until later that night when I was downloading pictures off of my camera!

(Please note I have NONE of the man of the hour, my great-nephew Evan!  I am sorry, Evan.)

But I do have pictures of a father and son duo who know how to mug for a camera!  I told them they were going up on my blog!  Sorry it took me so long to do it!

My family!  And y'all wonder why I'm not wrapped too tightly!  I come from a whole long line of crazy!  And, I wouldn't have it any other way.

This and That

Honestly!  I lived through my dental appointment!  I have a much lighter bank account but I lived through it.  Unfortunately, it was a week from hell.

I had the tooth pulled, a bad reaction to the Vicodin and then a nasty sinus infection.  I didn't know if I was coming or going for a few days, but that finally passed.  Now I have a bunch of blogging to catch up on and I don't know where to start.

I think this blog will just be a little fluff piece with a lot of little recent stories.  I promise more are coming soon!

Let's start with dinner on Saturday.  Ron and I tried a new place, Jin House, on Kresge Drive up in Amherst by Giant Eagle.  We received a flyer in the mail, otherwise we never would have tried this place!

The Jin House is Japanese and Chinese cuisine.  I don't know much about Japanese cuisine but that didn't stop us from trying it.  I even ventured out a little bit and ordered something I never had.  But first, let's start with Ron's meal.  He ordered the Sushi Sashimi Dinner.  While this wasn't something I would order, it looked FABULOUS!  What a work of art his plate was when it came out!  You know me and taking pictures!  Here is Ron's dinner!

I would have taken an "after" picture to go with this "before" picture but all you would have seen was a white plate with a little mound of wasabe on it!  It was truly a gorgeous (and delicious according to Ron!) dish.

I went a little safer but still went out of my box and ordered off of the Japanese side of the menu.  I went with the Hibachi mixed vegetable plate.  Another gorgeous and VERY delicious dinner!

The picture doesn't do it justice.  It was extremely tasty and I woofed it down in no time flat.  Not bad manners, just good food.

The staff was very friendly and competent.  It was an enjoyable dinner and I would highly recommend making the trip to Amherst to try this restaurant out.  We will definitely be back!

The only thing I want to comment on is the side dishes that came with my dinner.  A bowl of Miso soup and some Edamame.  Ok, I know how to eat soup and this was a mighty tasty soup!  That was a lot of flavor in that little bowl for sure!  The Edamame however was another story.

I've had Edamame before but it's always been cooked and cleaned out of the pod they come in, sort of like a pea.  Well, as an appetizer with the Miso soup, you got a little bowl of Edamame but still in the pods.  I tried to bite one thinking the whole thing was edible, but I couldn't chew it!  It was tasty and salty but I couldn't chew it.  That's when I noticed that there was a second bowl under the bowl with the Edamame.  I assumed that this bowl was for the pods.  So, I broke open the pods, ate the beans inside and threw the pods in the second bowl.  If I ate it the wrong way, someone please tell me!  I hate not knowing what I'm doing!  Aside from the Edamame problem, we had a wonderful evening.

I had done most of my work on Saturday leaving only cutting the grass to be done today.  Ron helped me but I took over the riding lawn mower duties when I was done with the hand mower.

My phone vibrates as well as rings so even if I don't hear my phone, I usually feel it ringing.  I was going through the yard, jamming to my tunes on the Nano, air drumming and all that, when I felt my phone ring.  I know I'd never hear who was on the phone, but I took it out of my pocket to see who was calling.  It wasn't a number from my contact list so I put the phone back in my pocket.

I must not have put it in there very good because it came out of my pocket while I was driving the mower.  It was probably an hour later when I realized I didn't have my phone when Ron and I were in the car and I wanted to text my sister!  NO PHONE!  I know I didn't take it out of my pocket and I just KNEW it was in the damn yard.  I assumed it was in the yard over by where I took my phone out of my pocket to look at it.

Ron turned the car around and we came right home to search for my phone.  I ran into the yard, assuming I'd go right to it.  Ron is calling my phone and it is nowhere to be found or heard.  All sorts of bad things are running through my head like I wish I had every one's phone number written down just in case I lose my phone and I wonder how hard it will be to get my phone shut off right away and blah blah blah.  Ugh, I hate when things upset my feng shui.  Luckily, Ron kept calling my phone until we finally heard the damn thing ringing!  It was in the neighbor's yard!  It was in my pocket for a LONG time after I took it out before it fell out of my pocket!  The phone was hot to the touch from sitting out in the sun, but other than that, no worse for the wear.  Thank heavens the crisis of losing or running over my phone was averted!  (Sorry, Jim!)

Phone in hand, Ron and I got back in the car and headed out to the boat for a ride.  It was a calm day so I thought I could handle a little Lake ride.  Here is Captain Ron, cute as ever!

It was a beautiful day for a ride, for sure.  I'm still terrified in the boat so I hang on for dear life which makes it hard to take pictures that way.  I didn't get many, but I got this one as we were going nice and slow up the Black River.  It really was a beautiful day!

After our boating trip, Ron and I were going to chill at home and watch a movie.  But, when I was cutting the grass, I saw that it's starting to get brown already from lack of rain, so I wanted to put the sprinkler out for awhile.  Besides, my neighbors needed someone to laugh at.  I've been behaving for awhile!  Me moving the sprinkler while trying not to take a shower is definitely a funny sight.

I put the sprinkler out, moved it a couple of times in the yard, and didn't take too much of a shower in the process.  Go me!  As it was time to shut it all off and roll the hose back up, Ron went out with me to help.  I walked out the driveway side door and there is a young Dad with a little tyke, under two years old and a true cutie patootie!  I waved at the little boy, he waved back and that was it.  We were now best of friends!  He brought Dad right down the driveway to visit!

Dad had taken this little guy on a LONG walk that had to be at least two miles long!  He was trying to tucker the little one out so he's sleep but I have a feeling Dad was out tonight before the little one was!  Anyway, we looked at Hemingway on the railing of the porch, he saw the garage door opener on my shirt so I gave it to him to play with (hey, he's not my kid!  I can spoil him!) and we watched the garage door go up and down!  Then, Dad said it was time to go and this little angel ran to me and hugged me TWICE!  You can't buy that kind of love, I'm telling you.  Whatever else happened this weekend, that little boy made my week!

So there you go.  A quick update on what's happening over here.  Stayed tuned though, there is more to come.  Like what happens when you leave your camera unattended on a table at your great-nephew's First Communion party, Phil's birthday party, and a crazy story about a wackadoodle.  Yep, stay tuned.  You don't want to miss this!

Dental Update

Ok, I had to go off of the pain pills so I guess my head is back together.  It used to be that Codeine gave me migraines.  It looks like I can now add Vicodin to that list of things I can't take.  What a wicked headache.  No fair.

Yesterday, Phil took me to the dentist and waited for me.  Then he had the task of watching over me yesterday as I had little to no idea where I was for awhile.  Based on my pain level today, that was probably a good thing!

I'm not blaming any of this on the dentist.  He did what he had to do and this is all my fault for putting this work off for so long.  I have to give kudos so far though to the dentist, Dr. Scott Nagy of Elyria.  I'm really glad he was recommended to me.

I got there yesterday and had to sign the release form.  THAT is enough to scare anyone one off of ANY surgery.  You should never have to sign those the day OF your procedure.  Keep in mind, this is a form letter than you have to initial each line stating that you understand the possible side effects or dangers of your procedure.  I was ok until I got to the line that said something like "the possibility of a broken jaw if they are extracting a tooth on the bottom".  Yikes!  I initialed it and moved on.  What the heck else are you going to do!

As soon as I had the forms signed, Alicia came and took me back to the procedure room.  I was hooked up to the pulse meter, the blood pressure cuff (by the way, it was through the roof!) and the nasal cannula with oxygen.  So far, so good.  As a side note, this is the first time I've been to a dentist's office where they actually had something to look at on the ceiling!  Once you're laid back in that chair, you should have something to look at other than the ceiling light.  Each room I've been in had something different, but each had something good to look at.  This office gets points for that!

Then, Dr. Nagy came in to start the IV.   The actual IV seemed to go in very easily.  The three of us were talking a bit and suddenly, I started to get a little dizzy.  I mentioned that to Dr. Nagy thinking I'm just REALLY nervous.  He said he had started the relaxation meds and that was what I was starting to feel.  Ok, that calmed me that it wasn't just me.  I started to enjoy the buzz.  Then, he said that he was starting the second medication and this one will come on me slowly then I should be VERY relaxed.  For real, I could feel it come over me just like he said.  THAT was almost worth the $377 I paid for it!   As I was going under, I felt both Dr. Nagy and Alicia each had a hand on my shoulder and both of them took turns telling me that I was going to be ok and that they were going to take care of me.  It was very calming and I slipped to sleep peacefully.  That was pretty much all I remember. 

I woke a few times during the procedure but I never felt any pain.  I felt them moving, or pressure or little things like that, but I was in no way in pain or uncomfortable.  The next thing I knew, Alicia was there talking to me, telling me we were all done and asking me to try to keep my eyes open!  So much for my nap!  Once I could hold my eyes open, she said that Phil was ready to take me home.  Alicia helped me right out to Phil's car and home we came.

Honestly, I don't remember much about yesterday.  Phil got me into the house and on to the couch then went to get my prescriptions filled.  He came home, medicated me, then kept track of when I was do what meds.  I remained clueless while Phil had me changing my gauze and taking my meds!  It was not my day to be in charge, for sure.  Thanks, brother!  I sincerely appreciate your help yesterday.

As the sedation wore off, the pain pills helped but the pain set in last night around dinner time.  I stocked up on soft foods and meal replacement drinks which was all I could handle yesterday and today.  Dr. Nagy did call me last night around 10:00 to check on me.  I told him where my jaw hurt, and he said that was to be expected.  He answered the few questions I had, reiterated my instructions for the next few days and that was that.  I was to continue what I was doing and take it easy this weekend.  That was the easy part!

Now that I've stopped the Vicodin, the migraine has gone away.  My jaw still hurts like hell, but as my sister Cathie reminded me, the day after my back surgery was the worst so hopefully that means that today will be the worst.  Here's hoping tomorrow makes everything all better.

There you go.  I made it through one of the worst things we all have to go through - the dentist!  Again, thanks to brother Phil for all of the help and a huge thank you to Dr. Nagy and his staff.  I felt like I was in great hands from beginning to end.  The tooth is out, the bone graft is in and I have two new fillings.  I know I need some more work done and that will have to wait until I build my bank account back up.  But, once I have some money aside, I will go back and see Dr. Nagy and his staff.  I'm still afraid of dentists, but if you have to go to one, he's a great one to go to!

Here's hoping tomorrow will be a better day.

And I Made It

What a day.

I have been sitting here trying to type more than that first line for at least a half hour now.  When they tell you not to drive or make any legal decisions for 24 hours after sedation, they mean it.  They should add "don't blog" to that list!

I am feeling more awake but between the sedation and the much needed pain pills, I'm still out of it.  I will tell you about the dentist appointment tomorrow.

For now, know I made it through.  I have one less tooth, one new bone graft and two new fillings.  I am broke but for now my teeth are fixed.  My jaw hurts like hell but I guess that will pass eventually.

Phil has been watching over me all day and making sure I take my meds on time.  I have one more dose due in less than an hour and my happy ass is going to bed.

This is just to let y'all know I came through ok.  Details tomorrow.

My Kingdom for a Dentist

Oh how I hate the dentist.

My whole family has had dentist issues from when we were kids.  I don't know if the problem was that we were poor and the dentist we had was all my parents could afford, or if our dentist really was the sadistic son of a bitch I remember him to be.  Either way, it wasn't a happy memory, going to the dentist.

Now as an adult, I wait way too long to go to the dentist.  When I do go, something is usually past the point of an easy repair.  I am now in to the arena of both expensive and painful.  About 15 years ago, I plopped a fortune into capping most of my teeth.  I thought that would help me help them last longer.  Unfortunately, nothing lasts forever.

Let's go back to close to where it all began.  The sadistic SOB that I am referring to started me on this life long hatred of dentists.  I remember when I was about 10 years old, I had a tooth that grew into the roof of my mouth, behind my front teeth.  Obviously, that was not a good place for that tooth and leaving it there would hurt the continued development of my front teeth, so the extra tooth had to go.  Here is what I remember about that dental appointment.  I had this asshole's knee on my chest holding me down while he yelled at me to sit still while he yanked that tooth out of my head.   That was pretty traumatic for a 10 year old!  Anyway, that brings us to today.

One of my caps has broken in two.  I've had caps come out before and it usually requires a little glue or whatever they use to stick it back in.  I knew this one was going to be different because of the way the dang thing broke in two.  The last dentist I saw in Ohio was not much better than Mr. Sadist from my youth, so I was NOT going back to him.  Someone recommended another dentist, who was good with chicken shit patients.  I put my big girl panties on and made an appointment.

In case you don't know me, I am a wreck most days of my life.  I hold my life together in bits and pieces but to be honest, it's mostly a ruse.  I'm falling apart at the seams over here.  Life is scary and being a grown up ain't easy.  I went to the dentist for a consultation ONLY.  Me shaking and crying as I walked in kinda gave credence to my story that I do NOT like dentists.  I'm not naming him yet as I want to see how tomorrow goes first.  Anyway, I went in for that first appointment, and all that happened was that a few digital pictures were taken of my teeth.  All this was done with a dental assistant, not the dentist.  Ok, I made it through that.

The dentist came in and he sat across the room from me and we just talked.  Ok, that was a good sign.  I told him about the dentist I grew up with, and my resulting fear of the profession.  I was not comfortable in the chair and I was fighting the urge not to run.  The fact that I sat there and cried through the entire appointment made sure he understood how terrified I was to be there.   He said he would work with me, go as slowly as I needed to go, and we would get me back to good dental health.  I only had one caveat.  I have no dental insurance, so my dental health was also going to be based on what I could afford.  That is sure going to limit my options.

Since I lived through the first appointment, I made a second appointment.  The second appointment would include a cleaning, full x-rays including a panoramic x-ray and a complete exam with the dentist himself.  This was a little more difficult to walk into willingly.  But, I had to do something, this broken cap was killing me.

I made it through x-rays and the cleaning.  Now the true test was coming, the dentist actually poking around in my mouth.  Ok, the poking around wasn't as bad as the results from the x-rays and exam.

The tooth with the broken cap is beyond repair and has to come out.  My  jaw by where this tooth is coming out has so much bone loss from the bone deteriorating over the years that he wants to try to save what he can in my jaw.  So, once the tooth is out, a bone graft is going in.  Is this crazy or what?  Bone graft.  He's throwing terms like this around like it's nothing.  Sure, it's not HIS jaw that's disintegrating.  Whatever.

As cheap as I am with the penny, I am paying the extra $377 to be put OUT for this procedure.  Some days you can't skimp on money.  I NEED to be unconscious for this.  Am I a big baby about this?  You betcha.  Am I going to spend an extra $377 to get through it?  Yep.  Will it be worth the extra cost?  You BETCHA.

As long as I'm under, if I tolerate the anesthesia, he will also work on two fillings I need.  Hopefully, we can get it all done in one appointment.  Heaven help me, I don't want to have to go back for fillings.

This isn't the end.  The last dentist I went to did a panoramic x-ray as well.  He told me that I had another extra tooth that didn't come in where it was supposed to.  Unfortunately, THIS extra tooth is a wisdom tooth and it's up behind my left eye.  I asked him then if I needed to do something about this tooth and he told me that it would be more trouble than it's worth going through sinus surgery to get this tooth out.  He said to just leave it there and forget about it.  I did that for eight years or so until this guy took another x-ray and found that damn tooth again.

Now THIS guy is worried about the tooth.  He wants a CAT scan done sooner rather than later to find out exactly where the is.  He believes I could be in for big problems, depending on where the tooth is.  Why he can't tell where from the x-ray where it is, I don't know.  Whatever.  I did balk a little at the CAT scan.  I asked if my medical insurance would cover it.  He said that since it's still dental related, he wasn't sure.  Besides, he had a new CT scanner right there in his office he just got a couple of months ago.  Seriously.  Did he not hear the part about me not having dental insurance and paying for this out of MY pocket?  Do I really NEED a freakin' CAT scan now?  Or does he just need to make a payment on that new CT scanner of his?

Now he has me a bit freaked about this extra tooth.  Then again, it's been up there for probably 30 years or so, a little longer won't matter.  I'm paying a fortune for tomorrow's extraction, bone graft and fillings that I don't need an additional expense on top of that.  

Ugh, keep happy thoughts for me tomorrow.  Phil is going to be nice enough to drive me to the dentist tomorrow and wait for me.  I am going to owe him big time for this one!

The only good news is that I actually made a buck on this deal!  The tooth fairy (my brother Mike) already gave me a dollar for the missing tooth!  Bonus!!   Thanks, Mike, but I'm going to need to find me a much richer tooth fairy though! 

It Was a Party!

Last night, we went to celebrate with our friends, Nick and Sally.  Nick and Sally are celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary this weekend!  That is truly a milestone, and I was honored to be celebrating with them last night.

Nick, Sally, their daughter Edna in from San Diego, Ron and I went to dinner last night to Steak on a Stone.  I've blogged about this place before and it is always a great time to go there and the great food is worth the drive over to North Olmsted.

First, the happy couple.

The rest of the party last night included Edna and me,

 of course, Ron and me (hey, my camera, I get to be in more pictures!)

And the whole crazy lot of us.  Our server was nice enough to take a group shot of us and my favorite part is another server photobombing us in the back ground!  SCORE!  I never saw it until I got home and downloaded the pictures from my camera!

But, back to Nick and Sally.  Theirs is a love story like the ones you hear in fairy tales.  They "courted" for five years via letters as they were in two different countries at the time.  Not two cities, two counties or even two states.  Two different COUNTRIES.  And yet, they wrote, they fell in love and they waited for the day when they could be together.  It is truly a heart warming story.

After dinner, we went back to Nick and Sally's and they brought out their wedding album for us all to look through.  What a treat!  Of course, Sally was a gorgeous bride and Nick was a handsome, beaming groom.  They still have the same twinkle in their eyes when they look at each other.   

So, to Nick and Sally, congratulations on the first 50 years of marriage.  May the next 50 be filled with health and happiness!  You are an inspiration to us all!

He Fixed It

While I don't think I'm very materialistic, I do own a few items that I do NOT want to live without.  My little Black and Decker rice steamer?  If it broke now, I'd be at Walmart tonight replacing it.  I love my steamer for my veggies.  I do NOT want to live without it.

My other must have item is my Shark Steam Mop.  Hmm, so I have a thing for steam?  It didn't hit me until I was typing this up!  But, I love my Shark Steam Mop!  I bought one of the first ones out, so it's just a basic steam mop.  I know the newer versions have more attachments and more bells and whistles.  Mine just steam cleans my floors.  All of my floors.  Hard wood floors?  Cleans like a champ.  Vinyl floors?   I've never had them cleaner.  I know I've blogged about this before but now especially with the cats, I love the fact that I am not putting chemicals on my floor.  It cleans with only steam and my floors feel great when I'm done.  I think a lot of cleaners you just still feel on your floor when you're done.  Not with this.  Easy, peasy.

If you google the Shark steam mop, I think a common problem with the mops is the design of the handle.  If it's going to break, that's where it's going to happen.  The handle is just too flimsy to handle the pressure.  You have to bear down on the mop to release the steam and you do that repeatedly over your floor.  The last time I was cleaning my kitchen floor, the handle gave way.  The handle thingie itself came off of the pole that goes to the mop head part.  (Too technical for you?  Sorry!)

I yelled upstairs to Ron asking him for his smallest Phillips head screwdriver.  I can FIX this!  And, Ron has screwdrivers in every shape and size, and most of them live in his pockets.  He gave me the perfect size for the job and I went downstairs thinking I had this one licked.  I thought that one of the screws just came loose and that I could fix it just with a little tightening.  That did NOT work.  Upon closer inspection, I saw that one of the screws was broken off completely, so no amount of screwing was going to help.

On to Plan B.  I grabbed a few industrial strength rubber bands and tried to hold it together that way to finish my floor.  NOT.  I finally gave up, threw the handle and swore like a Marine while I finished my kitchen floor.  Luckily, I only had about a four foot square to finish so at least I got through most of it without breaking my back.

Ron can't stand a woman in distress and man was I distressed.  I was distressed at the thought of spending another $50 to $70 bucks on another Shark Steam Mop!  But I did NOT want to live without it and I DID want to run right to WalMart to make me whole again.

But Ron came to my rescue.  He asked to see the mop, and he thought he could put it back together to be better and stronger than it was before!  Hey, I was all about it!  Anything to save me a trip to the store to replace it.  I heard noise coming from the basement.  He was serious about this repair.  I heard banging, I heard a drill and then I heard more banging.

Suddenly, he hands me my trusted friend, my Shark steam mop.  It was BEAUTIFUL!  And best of all, it was FIXED!!  Yes, Ron can fix anything!

I immediately grabbed my camera telling him that this was a blog worthy story.  He felt terrible since he said he did not have the right sized bolts and that he didn't do a good job in fixing it.  Are you kidding me?  Read up higher about what I said about this repair job.  My mop is BEAUTIFUL!!! 

And, my mop is FIXED!  Life is good in the mop department.  I think I can clean my floors from now until the cows come home and this baby should stay together.

Thank you honey.  You did a GREAT job!!

Bird's Eye View

On Tuesdays, our uniform guy comes in with the clean uniforms for our guys along with clean shop rags.  We get the same delivery driver every week, so he's almost part of the family by now.

He brings in the clean rags and I take them out to the shop.  Then, I take the bag of dirty rags and I usually throw them in his truck for him as he is counting up the dirty uniforms.  This week, I was walking out to his truck and I hear geese honking.  That's not too unusual as we are out in the country and there is a large pond behind us. 

I look up to the sky, looking for the familiar V shape flying pattern for the geese.  I didn't see a flock flying but here is what I did see!

I don't know if he was watching out over these two or if he was trying to muscle into their turf by playing king of the hill.

Large and in charge.  That would be the goose, not me.  I dropped the bag of rags in the parking lot and high tailed it back into the building!  I'm not an idiot, you know.  I know these things will attack and I wasn't in the mood to get bit!

When our uniform guy was done and ready to head back to his truck, I told him I'd have his back.  From inside of the building, but I'd scream REALLY loudly if the goose started to attack him!  See?  Just like family.  I told you!

Goose on a truck.  If you see him driving through town, honk!

Moron Alert, Ohio Plate # FBX 9545

 It was an eventful drive to work this morning.

While driving south on Elyria Avenue, a white car is ahead of me.  I am the last in line of a bunch of cars.  Keep in mind, where we were, Elyria Avenue is 35 mph and a double yellow no passing line all the way.  This white car in front of me suddenly zooms into the oncoming traffic lane,  This moron took being a moron to new levels.  She wasn't passing one car, she was passing FOUR cars.  Really? 

Being a moron is one thing but putting unsuspecting strangers in danger is another thing.  A mini van was coming out of a side street and turning left (to go north).  I'm sure she saw our line of cars traveling south but she never saw this moron in the passing lane trying to zoom around FOUR cars.  The mini van made her turn safely but was blindsided by the car coming straight at her in the wrong lane.  It was some quick thinking on the mini van's part to swerve into someone's front yard/driveway.  That was the closest almost head on collision I ever had to see.  All because of this moron.

This wasn't her only act of being a moron.  That was the first one, the second one was just before the curve where you come to the stop sign before Elyria Avenue turns into Lake Avenue.  I think that was only a one car pass.  Then, one more time, passing THREE cars between Griswold and Route 113 causing almost another head on collision because this moron is the QUEEN of morons.

That's when I couldn't take it any longer.  We are stopped at the light at Route 113 when I finally called 911.  I thought I was being a responsible citizen.  Unfortunately, today was moron day all around.

When I called 911, the phone rang twice then I got a sound that reminded me of when we had dial up internet.  For real?  What the hell.  So I hung up.  At least a minute later, 911 called ME back.  So, I started to tell my story of this moron driver who was southbound on Elyria and Lake Avenue but just turned west on Route 113.  The dispatcher asked me to hold while he transferred me to the police.

The Elyria police got on the line and I started my story again.  Before I could get anything out past we were southbound on Elyria Avenue, Elyria police asked me WHY I was calling them!  This wasn't in Elyria so why was I calling THEM.  Well, as I told her, I had called 911 and ASSUMED they'd know what they were doing.  Suddenly, she was singing a different tune.  Oh, you called 911!  Well, let's start again.

You know what?  Forget it.  By the time 911 called me back and I had to go through the story again, I'm sure she was gone.  I told the Elyria police I'm sorry I called and hung up.  Another moron.

So it was a bad driving to work day.  As a public service announcement though, if anyone knows this girl driving this car, take her keys.  She has NO business being on the road. 

Moron.

Going Home

Last Saturday, I took a trip to Erie PA.  One of my best friends in life, Ruth, was in the hospital.  If you're serious enough to be admitted to the hospital for days, you definitely should have visitors.  Especially your good friend from Ohio needs to go in and see you!

So, last Saturday I headed in by myself.  With my back, I have a hard time sitting in the car for two hours.  So, I make a lot of stops, walk around a little and start going again.  It takes me awhile, but I get there, eventually!

One place between here and there that I always like to stop at is the Flying J truck stop.  They have very clean bathrooms, and there are always a lot of people around.  It's one place that a girl can go by herself to take a break.  Bonus!  I pee here on every trip home.  TMI??

When I pulled into the parking lot, the roof of the Flying J was like something out of Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds!  The seagulls were everywhere!  I was in too much of a hurry to pee when I got there so I had to go in and take care of business first.  By the time I got done and came out, most of the birds were in the air or gone.  But, I thought it was a cool shot.

Now that I look at it, maybe they were just mugging for the cameras!

As long as I was in Erie, I HAD to make a stop and see Aunt Mary.  I lived upstairs from Aunt Mary growing up and she is like a second mother to me.  I think it's against the law to go into Erie and not stop and see Aunt Mary.  For real.  You will be offered bad coffee (sorry, Aunt Mary!) and whatever she has on hand.  Luckily, I walked in with my own coffee, so I was off the hook for some of Aunt Mary's coffee.

We had a lovely visit!  And, I even got her to agree to a picture.  I thought she looked better than she's looked in awhile.  She's the cute as a button one on the right.

When I left Aunt Mary's, I had to do a walk around the old homestead.  I grew up in this house, remember.  First, the house itself. 

We were on the second floor while Aunt Mary lives on the first floor.  The enclosed porch in the foreground brings back a lot of memories.  More than a few dates ended in that porch!  Aside from those memories, I had to walk around the house and check out all of Aunt Mary's flowers.  She may  not work on them like she used to, there are still a ton of blooms all around the property.

One of the memories of this house and blooms are the lilac bushes on the side of the house.  There were two huge bushes on the side.  They grew so high that I could reach out of my bedroom window on the second floor and pick lilacs off of that bush!  In the springtime, my bedroom always smelled of lilacs.  That was one thing I asked for when I bought my house.  I wanted a lilac bush of my own.  Thank you to Mike and Mary Jane for planting one here for me!

But, back to my story.  This is a shot of where my bedroom window was.  While the bush had been cut back a few times since I've lived there, you get the idea.  You like my superior photo editing capabilities?  I put an arrow in there to show you my window!  Go me!!

These lilac bushes have to be over 40 years old.  They are changing from what they were when I was a kid.  They used to be a beautiful purple color but they now look more pink to me.  Granted, I'm color blind, so what do I know.

I finally left home and headed back across town to the hospital.  Another walk down memory lane. 

This tavern here used to be named something else.  I celebrated my 19th birthday in here!  Everyone in there knew I was under 21 except for the owners.  Someone (my sister Barb!) finally turned me in to the owners and I got kicked out.  Damn, that was harsh!  I think I was a few months short of my 21st birthday by then though.  It was only two blocks from home so it was very convenient.  Oh well, easy come, easy go. 

From here I drove by another favorite place in town.  Damn the diabetes and the diet!  PULAKOS CANDY!!  Sorry, Malley's, but you can't hold a candle to Pulakos.  This is truly pieces of heaven for your mouth.  They make the BEST chocolate covered strawberries.  When I lived in Houston, it used to cost $40 to get a dozen of the chocolate covered strawberries overnighted to me.  Yeah, once in awhile, I just had to fork over the money and make it happen.  It was worth every penny.  Great memories here!

I finally made it to St. Vincent's Hospital and let me tell you, it's changed!  This is where I went to Nursing School and let me tell you, nothing looks like it used to some 30 years ago.  There are parking ramps and offshoot buildings where houses used to be.  I could barely find the ER!  Lucky for me I DID find the ER and took full advantage of their valet parking.  I had no doubt I'd never find my car again if I parked it.

I had a great visit with Ruth and her husband Jeff.  I respected Ruth's request that I not take any pictures of her in her hospital bed.  But, I did take a picture out her window!  She had a great view up on the 8th floor.

It's hard to see in this picture, but if you look at the horizon on the left of the building in the middle, you can see a sliver of Lake Erie!  Hey, a room with a view!  You can't beat that!!

On a happy note, Ruth was finally released from St. V's last Sunday, a day after I went to visit her.  She is home, continuing her treatment and getting better and stronger every day.  Keep up the good work, Ruth!   Hugs from Ohio!

So it was a great day.  I got to visit with Aunt Mary and with my brother Jim, and I got to spend the afternoon with Ruth and Jeff, catching up, goofing off, cracking jokes and just getting some great face to face time.

I made it home in one piece and I consider that a successful trip.  Once in awhile, you just have to make a trip home.