Now that THAT has been done, it's amazing how much space there is under there.  Makes me laugh.  I also found something I didn't know we had because the Beast bought it and never told me.  A flea and tick spray for the dog's bedding and other places he likes to plop down on.  I almost considered spraying it on the comforter but I do check it every day when I make up the bed......just in case.  I wouldn't have to worry if the Beast always told me when he takes the dog out by the lake or in the woods but he doesn't.  It's very easy for ticks to drop onto the dog and hide from view, even with as short as his hair is.  I changed the linens and sprayed the dogs bed because we gave him a bath today (with a good flea and tick shampoo) and guess what I found on the dog?  Two ticks.  I wasn't taking any chances after that.  As it is, every little itch I have tonight will be a tick in my mind and I'll be waking myself up just to check.  I know me.  Even though the linens and the comforter are new and clean plus I sprayed the edges of the bedding before putting the new sheets on it.  Did I mention that I also sprayed the frame?    I hate ticks, fleas and all those other critters that creep and crawl on you without your permission.

At least the dog is nice and clean and smells better.  Of course, the first thing he did after we were done with him was to run out into the yard and roll in the grass.  He even dragged his bottom on the grass.....legs behind him and pulling himself forward with his front legs.  We had dried him off good with a towel so I don't think drying himself was the point of it.  He looks great, regardless.  Of course, even dirty, his coat gleams.  You have to go by the smell.  Funny how every time he starts to smell, it reminds me of hormonal teenage boys.  Think there might be some correlation? 

I thought I was going to have Chewlee for the night.  The Princess was going to go out for some gathering with Johnnycakes and didn't plan on being here to pick Chewlee up until around midnight.  I thought it was a good idea to just keep her since she would be here all day Saturday anyway.  The Princess would just have had to drop her off before work.  However, wherever it was they were going to be getting together changed.  It had something to do with this one girl but she wasn't going to make it so everyone is going to hang out at the Princess's instead.  She came to pick up Chewlee after she did her nightly *run* (she's been running a couple miles every night after work).  She has a personal trainer now that offered to help her devise a plan and a diet so she can get her run up to 15 or 20 miles.  I guess she's planning on running a marathon some time or other.  It would be nice if she did the Susan G. Komen one, wouldn't it?  We do have a family history of breast cancer.  Buttmunch used to skate for that.  I think that one was 40 miles or more, however.

It was another hot, hot day with high humidity.  Very nasty feeling when you spent any time outdoors.  Even the Beast stayed inside but he's really upset at the fact that we lost another one of our trees.  This one was one of the Mount Morency cherries and it had been doing great.  The Beast is still finding fungus on some of the trees and that makes me very sad.  We have to get rid of that this summer or next year will be a total bust once again for any fruit.  The intense sun and heat helps but we could use less humidity, that's for sure.  The Beast will be spraying for sure this weekend.  He's got to do it early so it is dried off before nightfall.  Plus, it needs to dry off before the sun gets too intense.  Spraying late in the evening is as bad as soaking it with water.  It will keep the fungus alive.  *Sigh*  Can't win for losing, it seems.

I had hopes that the weather wasn't going to be too bad today because it hit noon and it was still only 86.  But...never fear!  It was almost scary how the temperature went quickly up from there so that it was 95 degrees by 2PM.  Hot is hardly the word for it.  It's brutal for this area.  I keep hoping against hope for some decent weather.  Everything that grows is suffering around here, too.  One of my neighbors said to me that the only things that seem to be thriving are the weeds.    I had noticed that much myself.

I hurt Chewlee today.  It was an accident but I still feel just awful over it.  She got her fingers caught in the door jamb of the storm door from the garage to the house.  I know she put her hand there just to help her get up the stairs but I should have been more aware.  I was behind her and started to let the door close.  I thought she stopped because the dog was charging towards us but then looked and saw what it was.  She wouldn't let me touch it, kiss it or even put ice on it.  But, I gave her juice with ice in it and she DID put the fingers in it.   Later on, when I was cleaning off her hands after she had eaten some soup, I checked them.  I think they will be sore but it doesn't look like she's going to lose the nails or anything.  I was hoping they hadn't been *caught* long AND the door wasn't fully closed either.  **Phew** but it doesn't make me feel any less guilty.

The Beast hasn't installed the new faucet in the kitchen yet.  I didn't ask him why and he never volunteered a reason.  I think he just wasn't up to it.  That usually happens after he's pushed himself to get things done and he DID get the properties mowed, trimmed and built my rain barrel stand in two days.  He did a lot of it in the heat and sun so that drains him physically for a few days.  So I put up with the dripping for another day or two.  It's not a big deal (except for the wasted water) and, if I work at it a bit, I CAN get it to stop or at least space the drops so far apart that I feel better.

All the parts are finally in for the Princess's car so the job of restoring it to pre-tornado condition is underway.    They promised her it would be done before her birthday on the 9th so we shall see what happens.  The big hold up was all the glass, especially the windshield.  That ended up cracking on her and wasn't covered by the insurance settlements.  Remember, shortly after the tornado damage was done to it, a cop car hit her.  She thinks the car is unlucky now.  She hadn't owned it a year and that made three times it was involved in some sort of accident.  The first one was where the guy in the Jaguar backed right into her while she was waiting for some food at the drive-thru.  She had no place to go with a car in front of her, one in back of her and the building to her left while this maniac zoomed into the passenger side of her car.  He seemed to totally ignore the horns being honked.  But, you know guys in a Jag.....they can't drive normal.  It's zip in and zoom out!  Like anybody really cared or was impressed except, perhaps, other young guys.

The 10-day weather prediction isn't showing us getting any relief at all here.  As much as I sure don't want the weather the Midwest has been having,  a LITTLE bit of rain would be welcome, not the deluge they seem to be getting.  I sure hope you all are keeping cool and safe, wherever you are.  Love you all and talk to you again tomorrow.  

There are no gaskets you can replace.  So you either replace it or live with it.  We decided it needed to be replaced.  So, off to Lowe's goes the Beast (of course!) and he found a really elegant one with two handles (Hurrah!) and gaskets if a drip starts.  He starts to put it together (it was in many pieces that had to be put together) and guess what?  Pieces were missing.  After some rudimentary cussing, he gathers it all up and heads back to Lowe's.  Wouldn't you know it but they didn't have another set like it?  All the rest were either very cheap and cheaply made OR it was get another single lever faucet.  So now we have a single lever faucet (again) but it's truly nice.  It means, however, that if IT starts dripping, it will have to be replaced AGAIN!  **Sigh**  I'm sure they offered to send for another faucet like the first one he had selected from one of their other stores but the Beast is impatient once he decides to do something.  That is why we have a single lever once more.

It had to be put together also but had fewer pieces.  It's all ready to be installed tomorrow.  I guess that will be his big accomplishment for the day.  He always has to have at least one.  He finished doing the trimming of the lawn and then set out to build the stand for my rain barrel.  He used pressure treated wood, of course, and I had to give him a hand for a bit but it's finished and in place now.  He trimmed up the down spout and it IS placed where I wanted it.  Now all we need is rain. 

Today was hotter than we had been led to expect (of course!) but the humidity was lower than *I* expected it to be with the rain we had the day before.  No rain, which would have been nice but the Beast is also hoping to get out early tomorrow morning to get his trees sprayed.  He hasn't been able to do that for two weeks because the weather was just too damn hot.  Even the mornings were.  And, with no clouding, he didn't dare take a chance of burning the trees with the spray.  It has a kind of oily base (that's the way it feels to me....like a very light oil) and that would just fry those leaves and delicate new branches.

Chewlee was hungry when I picked her up and spent the whole way home discussing what she was going to eat when we got here.  She was a little disturbed that Papa (the Beast) took the car as soon as we pulled in the garage.  He was leaving to go to Lowe's to take back the faucet with missing parts.  She wanted to take the ride with him but I told her NO!  There is no way he would take her anyway but better she is upset with me than him.  I can say NO to her without hurting her feelings but not the Beast.  When he does that, she cries like her heart is broken.

As soon as we got home, I fed her.  When she was done, she grabbed Papa's chair and asked for a popsicle.  That is where she was when her mother got here to pick her up.  Did I tell you the Princess is in the running for the assistant manager's job at the AT&T office in Huntsville.  She will be going for her interview with the manager up there on Sunday so I will have Chewlee for a few hours.  She is really hoping she gets it even though it means commute time for her (and me).  I will have to plan on getting Chewlee bathed and ready for bed every day I have her then.  But, we shall see.  The job isn't hers yet.

Tomorrow is another busy day for me.  I need to change my linens and I think I am going to put the pillows out on the line for some airing and sun to kill off any mites.  Damn things.  Every since I watched the Discovery program about them, it makes my skin crawl to think they are everywhere and there is no getting rid of them.    I will probably hang on the sheets on the line, too, even though they don't predict much wind.  With my luck, it will probably rain. 

Here is the link for the download.  Go to *download* on the left-hand side and click.  Just follow the instructions and Happy Hunting! 

What Being,  capable of making a universe such as we live in, would WASTE all that magnificence by having only ONE planet inhabited?  Wasn't the *image* of God that we were being created in ATTRIBUTES and not physicality?  Who declared that only MAN, as we call ourselves, is capable of displaying and utilizing such attributes? 

To me, it would be the most fantastic thing in the universe to be able to meet beings that were very different than we are in our physical form here on Earth.  We are in tune with our planet.  It meets our needs.  Does that mean that other beings cannot be living on planets very different from ours that meets THEIR needs?  I think not.  We just cannot quite grasp what would be needed for other physical forms of life to exist.  Nor can we imagine not being able to meet with such somehow, somewhere.  Even their forms of communication may be beyond our ability to *hear*.  Our universe could be teeming with life that we are unable to hear, see or imagine.  And, perhaps, that TOO was meant to be that way.

As a species, we are capable of some of the most incredible feats.  We love, hate, despise, kill, create and justify *in the name of God*......whatever God we may worship.....with impunity.  Man is capable of incredible love AND incredible evil.  It's almost scary at times just to live within our societies as they exist today.  No one feels safe any more.  No government is totally good nor totally bad.  We have leaders that we find are not *perfect* or have hidden agendas.  In some instances, we have put those leaders into office and now feel trapped by our own actions, as well as betrayed.  Our societies are not ready to meet other intelligent life, don't you agree?  We would seem barbaric to them, I'm sure.  Especially if THEY had the ability to travel long distances through space and WE do not.

Let us suppose those beings were created BEFORE we were and have lived for eons more than we have on their planets.  They probably have been through much of the same turmoils we are experiencing but....they have gone beyond us and live in a much better form of society (we can hope, right?).  That may be the reason they have been able to start exploring the space beyond their world...beyond their own universes.  They have discovered other forms of travel (like wormholes or the ability to *fold* space).  But it took a unification of their societies before they could do such things.  Perhaps because then all scientists would be able to openly share ideas and discoveries that we seem unable to do here on Earth.

But, like man, they are curious beings.  We may have been under study by them to see how (and IF) we ever develop to the point that we can finally and openly meet.  Since we are different from them, they study us and the fauna and flora that make up our eco-system.  They are documenting our progress over centuries if you are to believe the space ships seen in the backgrounds of many ancient artworks. 

For quite a few years, I donated computer time on my home computer to S.E.T.I.  I was assigned a section of the sky to *search* whenever my computer was on.  Many times, I never shut it down.  I told everyone to go to the website and help out.  A lot of people laughed but I was surprised at how many did it even so.  We all are looking for something outside ourselves to be sharing *life* with us.  What a sad thing if there is no such thing in our universe but I believe there is room for more than man.  I also believe that we ARE being visited by extraterrestrial life.  I just hope they think a bit more of us than savages, and wouldn't treat us the way we did the American Indians. 

I bring this up because I decided to download my *searcher* for S.E.T.I. once again.  Not because I want to just help find ET lifeforms but because it might help cut down the amount of money needed to help in the search.  If we all did it, on our home computers, it would help because we are located all over the world and each person would be searching different areas of the skies.  Who knows in what direction they will be found?  Who knows?

I just discovered the download is NOT on the SETI site.  I have written a note to them and will let you know if and when I get an answer.

Men are nuts!  Today our weather is supposed to be less brutal (maybe mid-90's at the highest) plus there is a chance of more rain.  It rained several times during the night.  I know because the dog woke me up so he could go out.  I swear, that animal knew the rain had stopped and took the opportunity to do his business.  The grass can't be cut even if the Beast was in the mood to do it because of the rain.  I suggested the sun and heat would dry it off by this afternoon so he could probably cut the grass in back when the sun got behind the trees at the west edge of the yard.  No!  He says it will still be too hot.  So what does he choose to do today?  He went to the gun range.  ***Insert eyeroll here***

Sheesh!  Even if where he shoots from is covered, he still will be making trips out to the targets to both put them up, move them further away and checking accuracy.  Yeah, that's the ticket.  Stay out in the heat for a couple hours.  I have no pity for him.

Sure enough!  When he got home, the first thing out of his mouth was, *OMG, I couldn't take the heat!  It got so hot under the overhang, I couldn't stand it anymore.*  He then proceeded to drink about four big glasses of ice water.  This is because he ignores me when I tell him to take some Gatorade with him whenever he goes to the range.  He never does, of course.  But, what do *I* know?

He's tickled that Tara's sons are back from visiting with their father.  He's anxious to take the older of the two boys to the gun range to teach him how to shoot.  Once he's sure the kid can use a weapon, he plans on taking him hunting.  First during Turkey Season and then Deer Season.  From what Tara has said, my grandnephew is very excited about it.  Just what the world needs.....two inexperienced hunters.  One, an old man and the other a hormonal teenage boy.    It's going to be a very interesting fall season around here, don't you think?

The Beast actually asked me if there was something I wanted for the house.    You could have knocked me over with a feather.  I told him that besides the freezer, I would love to have a rain barrel.  I wish you could have seen the look on his face.  I told him where I want it and why.  I want to collect rain water and use it for a garden.  I can attach a trickle hose to it and water it with the rain water.  I think it's much better since it doesn't contain fluoride or chlorine.  Plus, I have fond memories of being at a friend's parents cabin years ago and using the rain barrel water on our hair.  It may not really be wonderful for your hair but the memory will always make me smile.  I want to introduce my great-granddaughter to a few things I know her mother would never consider.

I want to teach her about a garden and how to find and pick out weeds.  I want her to see me canning foods and, when she is a bit bigger, to help.  I think the Princess remembers the time I had her helping me and how we counted all the *clicks* as the jars started to cool and sealed.  She wanted me to make some salsa and I did but it wasn't the same as she remembered.  I don't think I told her that I forgot one ingredient and that one made all the difference.  Next time I do it, she will love it.  The salsa I made and canned was good but what she wanted would make you stop buying commercial salsa.  Trust me.  Especially if you like yours with a *kick* to it.  Mine will make you sweat without burning your mouth.  Shhhhh!  It's a secret I discovered by accident. 

When we lived in Port Charlotte, I didn't have a normal garden.  I had two earth boxes, one of which I used for three tomato plants.  I had bush beans and two different types of peppers.  One was green pepper and the other banana peppers.  In a large regular pot, I grew jalapeno peppers.  All my plants were out on a special platform just outside our patio.  I ended up with so many tomatoes it was shocking.

The Earth Boxes, when prepared properly, are incredible.  I was glad I bought extra *covers* (which help keep weeds out of them plus it keeps the water from evaporating).  My neighbor was growing both cucumbers and pickling type cukes.  He provided enough cukes for me to pickle some and they were wonderful.  His wife had also purchased earth boxes and he lamented the fact that it seemed they would never stop producing.  His wife didn't can and wasn't interested.  I gave him some of what I had prepared (salsa, pickles, pickled peppers and some spaghetti sauce).  It was the least I could do for his contributions.   

I bought Baron one of those toys they advertise on TV.  You know the ones....no messy stuffing, dog can chew on it, has squeakers in the head and tail.  Baron went apeshit with it.  He just loves it and is running around the house wildly, plopping down and then finding one of the squeakers and biting down on it.  He wants us to toss it up in the air for him and you should see him jump to catch it.  Then he runs away with it, finds himself a private spot and starts squeaking it.  It was well worth the $10. I paid for it.  I was just glad that Walmart had them.  Chewlee decided the fox one was the one Baron would like the best so that is what we got.

By the time I picked up some of the things I needed from Walmart and we were headed home, it was actually time for the Princess to pick up Chewlee.  I kind of hoped she had to close the store (it closes at 6:30pm) because that would mean she wouldn't leave work until 6:45pm and would give Chewlee some time to enjoy being at my house.  She DOES love it here.  We got here and no Princess so she helped () bring in the bags of food and then I had to fix her some Beefaroni.  After she ate that, she got her popsicle and her juice while she visited with Papa for a bit.  I was told to *go to my room*.    I went gladly because I always end up with hips and back hurting when I take her shopping with me.  Part of it is her weight and lifting her up into the cart gets tougher all the time.  Then her added weight to the cart makes it more of a strain so there goes my back and hips.

Bringing in the groceries is just another burden since the Beast wouldn't get up off his butt to help.  I was almost nauseous by the time I did that and had to go sit down for a bit before I could finish doing what I needed to get everything put away.  Heck, Chewlee was more help since she grabbed the juice and put it in the pantry for me and that was a chore for her.  They aren't light.  She knew where they went, though.  She pays attention.

My day continued as great as my earlier blog talked about.  I got a lot of stuff done that I needed to do except for making up my bed with fresh linens.  When I started getting a bit tired, I dusted instead.  Even got the curly-q cast iron decorative legs on the coffee and end tables done.  Those will get cobwebs if not kept after, especially with wood floors.  Don't know why that is but I didn't have much except dust on them when we had our rugs.

Judging by how dirty my duster got, some areas were LONG overdue.  Made me blush to see how I got lazy about doing the shelves holding the Beast's Salties.  Those are figures of fishermen and sailors at various chores.  It started out with the Beast buying ONE that happened to kind of match a lamp of ours and everyone kind of jumped on it as presents for him after that.  Until many of them were *retired* that he would have liked and then when we moved away from Ft Lauderdale.  Oh well.  What I would do with many more NOW, I have no idea. 

I still feel great but I am watching what I am eating closely.  After feeling so shitty for a couple days, I don't want to lose this good feeling.  Temperatures here got up to 100 degrees before I stopped looking.  At that point, who the hell cares what the heat index is??    It just meant I wasn't going out in it, that's for sure.  I need to do some grocery shopping but, with no shade in the parking lot at Walmart, there's no way I want the car sitting in the hot sun for very long.  I will go early in the morning....well, kinda early.....and try to make it a quick trip..  It's not supposed to be quite as hot but even 94 degrees F is HOT. 

I feel bad for the poor hummingbirds.  I'm not seeing much of them out during the day except early in the morning and then after 6:30pm or so.  I put out some fresh nectar for them this morning since I worry about bacteria growing in this incredibly hot weather.  It can cause a soft beak and that's a death sentence for those beautiful birds.

The poor dog was so antsy.  He wanted to go out and run around until he actually stepped outside, that is.  He barely wanted to go out after the first time or two but, unfortunately, he had to a time or two.  You should have seen how quick those trips were.  It would have made you laugh!  You would have thought it was winter again.  I've only seen him be that quick when our winter temperature dropped down to about 50 or less.  Yeah, he's a real wimp, he is.  After he got back into the house and cooled down a bit, he'd start his antsy dance again.  Honestly, you'd think he would figure out the weather was not going to change in a few minutes time.  Oh!  But wait!  He's a DOG.  What do they know? 

We thought we might get some rain there for a while.  We sure had enough thunder you could hear for almost an hour.  We got some warnings about the possibility of severe thunderstorms.  Yeah, right.  That passed and what do you know?  They canceled the warnings.  Guess they figured we weren't smart enough to figure that out for ourselves. 

Sorry about the all caps thing last night.  Just shows ta go ya that I was in too much pain at the time to even take it off the caps.  Hit it by accident and figured the hell with it.

Anyone who suffers from IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome) knows the pain as well as the other problems that come with it.  It's either diarrhea or constipation.  Nothing in-between.  I'm still learning what foods might *set it off*, so-to-speak.  Apparently, garlic (which has never liked me but in a much different way) is one of those things.  I've used and eaten it in moderation but I made a mistake that I paid dearly for. 

My niece, Tara, made some stuffed peppers the other day.  She used fresh green peppers from the Flea Market she goes to all the time.  So she dropped off a couple for the Beast and I to enjoy.  They looked (and smelled) delicious and I couldn't resist trying some....not just then because we had already eaten when she dropped them off...but on Friday.  I heated them up and, when they were ready, I ate some. 

They were REALLY garlicky.  I think Tara must LOVE garlic.  I like it in moderation but these were very strong.  Even though I could only manage half of one, within about a half hour, I knew even that was too much.  I started blowing up with gas and talk about an upset tummy!!!!  

Once that started, I knew I was in trouble.  Even taking the OTC pills didn't help once the damage was done.  I knew I was going to have to try to live through the episode to it's conclusion. 

The bad part is that I had Chewlee for the day on Saturday.  That was the worst day of all.  I was so blown up with excess gas that I had to find my largest pair of sleeper pants and I didn't have to pull the waistline in at all.  They felt tight on me (and they are a size 12 ).  I was running to the bathroom every 15-20 minutes and Chewlee was high-5-ing me every time I came out of the bathroom for *being a big girl* and going on the potty.

Apparently, Chewlee had an upset stomach because the poor kid used up a whole bunch of diapers (I ran out of pull-ups but it worked out okay) and she was really upset that she couldn't use the potty.  No time to get to it, ya see.  Her mother had tried to bribe her with going to the lake on Sunday if she used the potty all day.  I was really mad because she HAD to have known (or suspected) that the poor kid would NEVER manage that task.  It was not fun when *I* was not in the greatest of shape, too. 

Once the worst was over, there was still the gas to deal with and that made sitting up impossible.  The pain was incredible.  It was manageable if I laid back in the recliner or laid down on the bed with a pillow at my waist.  I finally gave up trying to stay upright because even my pain pills didn't work.

I feel wonderful today.  I even got my floors mopped up while the Beast took off to Huntsville (again...**insert eyeroll here**).  It makes me appreciate how easy it is not to feel good when you don't THINK.    I much prefer feeling good so I am adding garlic to my offender list.

I yelled at the Princess about her *bribe* to Chewlee and why it was unfair.  She told me her stomach was upset all day long and so was her manager's.  She said the poor woman spent most of the day on the terlit!    I don't know if Chewlee is better today or not but I hope she is and that the Princess takes her to the lake for a bit.  It's 91 outside today so far and it's not even noon.  The weatherman and Weatherbug say it's going to have a heat index of 108.