The Beast started his work on the water softener/filter today and I was (almost) ready for all the swearing and throwing of things.  I say ALMOST because I had forgotten how good Chewlee's hearing is.  The first time he started that, he was out in the garage and, muted as it was with the storm door, she became concerned and ran over to it then up to me saying, *What happened, Gramma?  What happened?*  I tried to draw her back into my computer room but she would have none of that.  So, I opened the door and asked.  It seems he had dropped a whole can (small size) of plastic pipe primer on the garage floor.  A new can.  Ut oh!

I told Chewlee, since she was still trying to push me aside so she could see Papa that he was all right.  He came into the house a few seconds later, sat down at the table to wipe his brow and Chewlee ran over to him.  Putting her hand ever so gently on his arm, she said, *Are you all right, Papa?*  He laughed and told her, *I'm okay, Chewlee.  Thank you for asking.*

She turned to me and said, *Gramma, he's all right!*  After that, she was calm and ready to come back into my room for her Harry Potter movie.

Every time the Beast went under the house, she made a beeline for his recliner (to heck with Harry) so I could put her Sponge Bob on (or Dora or Diego...whichever happened to be on).  She just loves to sit in HIS chair.  I would just shut off the DVD player and watch my movies on TV until he came back in and reclaimed his.  It was a cute little dance they were doing. 

I made stuffed peppers the way the Princess and the Beast prefer (cooked in tomato sauce, etc.) and mashed potatoes for dinner.  The sauce has onions, sliced carrots and the cut up tops of the peppers in it and we use that as a kind of gravy on the potatoes.  Even Chewlee liked it except she was ready to fall asleep by then.  She didn't take a nap so I know she probably fell asleep shortly after her bath when she got home.

Okay...the shock and surprise?  The Beast both started AND completed the installation of the softener today.    I know!  Amazing!  Then, he drops another piece of news on me but indirectly. 

The Princess asked him why he came home so early (bless her heart) and he said there were two reasons.  #1-he had a project at his brother's house and #2-he didn't have the tools with him that he needed for it.  He also said that he wasn't going to be sure just what tools he would need until he got OUR water softener installed.  Then, she asked him when he was going to go back to his brother's to do the installation of HIS water softener.  I don't have a set date yet because the Beast said he wasn't sure but he didn't want his brother to know he had gotten OURS done already. 

The Beast was busy off-and-on today checking out what he needed to do under the house and taking some measurements.  He went to Lowe's (of course) and bought some supplies after checking out what he already had here.

He looks like something the cat dragged in and I probably do, too, since Bratfink and I ended up being online until the sun came up.  I had to change my doctor's appt. so that meant I couldn't go to sleep until after 8am.  Once that was done, I laid down and got woken up at 9:30am when the dog came in and gave me a doggy kiss.    After that, I was up for about two hours.  The Beast went to lay down for a while and so did I.  In two hours, I was up (so was he). 

I stayed up since I had to pick Chewlee up from preschool but as soon as the Princess came to get her, I laid down and got about 3 hours rest.   The Beast finally went to bed for the night about 15 minutes ago.  I'm going to be heading that way shortly.  I'll have Chewlee all day tomorrow and I can't be dragging my butt around with her here all full of energy.

I've suffered from bouts of nausea twice so far.  Bratfink swears it's because I'm just sick of the Beast and his disappointing me by being so predictable.  She actually might be right since the nausea disappeared as soon as the Beast went to bed. 

Just a short blurb.  Guess who showed up at 9:30am (CDST)?    I'll give you three guesses and the first two don't count.  You got it!  The Beast. 

HE says that he was driven out of the house by the sheer amount of mosquitoes in it.  INSIDE.  They had the doors open all day long so the dogs could go in and out.  He had gone to bed at 10pm and dozed a couple times until he couldn't stand it any more so he decided to come home.

I know better.  It's *the project*.  How do I know this?  Because he was totally wiped out but couldn't wait to get the softener/filter out of the car.  He didn't even ask me to move the truck back into it's place; he moved it himself.  We usually keep the truck parked in back of the ATV trailer in the driveway.

That's where he is right now, after he pulled the car into the garage and out of the sun.  *Sigh*  So my time alone and some of my plans have to be put on hold for a bit.  But, I suppose this way I may have the new bedspreads and sheets for the guest room and my room, too.  I ordered a summer weight bedspread to replace the comforter I have been using.  The guest room one took me several months and catalogs to decide on.    I wanted it to be right and something that *I* could live with since the Beast really doesn't give a damn.

It never fails!  The Brother is as addicted to Menard's as the Beast is to Lowe's.  If the Beast had the truck instead of the car, he would be hauling home some of the trees that are marked down there.  Instead, he calls me today to tell me he will have a new project when he comes home.  He bought a whole house water filter and softener.    He thinks this is going to solve all the water problems we have (bottoms of glasses with mineral coating, having to clean the coffee maker, the mineral problems with the tubs and terlits, etc.)  We shall see. 

This means he will have to toil underneath the house once again to put in copper lines or PVC (I'm not sure which) and direct them out into the garage so he can install it out there.  This is NOT going to be fun.  I won't be doing any crawling with him but I will have to listen to his swearing. 

Chewlee was so proud of herself today because she used the potty all day long.  She proudly told me that she pee'd and pooped in the potty and we had to do a high five.  It was really cute. 

She really loves her new school compared to the old one.  She's so much happier when I pick her up.  She tells me about what she's done, what she learned and the kids she has played with.....even what playground *toys* she played on.  They have these horses like they do on a merry-go-round but they are on huge springs cemented into the ground.  The kids get on them and make them spring forward and back.  She told me today that she *really likes them*. 

Time to get back to changing around a few things in here and then I am going to untangle all the wires behind my desk.   After that, the rug gets cleaned.  Since the Beast now has a new *project* that he's excited over, it means he will be coming back home earlier than I expected.  Or hoped for.  Whatever.  **Insert frowny face here**

My plans for untangling the wires from my computer to the power strips went awry because I fell asleep for a couple hours.  I told you I got up early.  I forgot to tell you I didn't go to bed until 12:30am.  Five hours doesn't cut it these days. 

The Princess stopped by and grabbed some black bean soup to take home with her.  She will make herself some rice and enjoy eating it all the more.  I made her take a sucker with her for the baby who has come to expect it from me and we make a game out of it.  She really tickles me because she will put the window down a little at a time and say to me, *Is this all right?*  Regardless of what I say, she will continue to bring it down, little-by-little and ask the same thing.  The other day, her hair started whipping around her face and she said to me, *This is not all right, Gramma.  I don't like it*.  I asked if she wanted the window up and she almost yelled at me, *Yes!* so I closed the window for her. 

We have power windows in the car and she learned fast how to put the window down but hasn't mastered putting it back up just yet.  Once she realizes she has to hold it in place to make it go up, I will have to put the lock on it that we have.  I think it's put in the cars just for kids like her. 

I got most of the DVD's that I wanted to put in the holder in place.  I actually have one shelf of it with the DVD's for Chewlee.  She will discover it all on her own, I know.  I am keeping MY favorites in the shelf unit the Beast made me because I don't want to take a chance on THOSE being mishandled......just in case.

I was shocked but the Beast actually called me from his brother's house to announce *the eagle has landed*.  I knew he meant he and Baron got there all right.  I also knew he had been there for several hours and had probably already taken a nap or two.  I figured out he was there around 2pm at the latest.  I gave him the news about my brother, Jay.  Sister Bee sent out emails about him to all of us.

It seems he probably had a heart attack or a myocardial infarction, we don't know for sure which but...he ended up having to have two angioplastys to open up the arteries to his brain from the heart.  They put a stent in one that we know for sure.  Unfortunately, his blood pressure is still very high and they are talking about the possibility of having to do a bypass.  We won't have that information until the cardiologist gets all the info together on him and how he does during the night.  Right now, I think he's been moved to a regular room from CCU. 

Bee went to visit him and said he was glad the chest pains were gone but his back was killing him.  Seems to me I heard that about people with heart blockages and high blood pressure on one of the medical shows I watch...LOL.  If you could say a prayer or two for him, I would appreciate it.  The next few days may be the most dangerous for him.