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Tuesday, December 03, 2019
otherstuff
02:09 PM - 12/03/2019
The topic: We’re alive!
----------------------------------------------Not really much going on, but I have been busy.
Playing with the dog, finishing up the cards, trying to keep the house clean. Just life stuff, nothing amazing or amusing.
I just wanted to let the people who read the blog know that there's nothing bad going on. We're doing our daily walks, I'm staying on top of paperwork, and things are just plodding along.
Hope you all are doing well.
Tuesday, December 17, 2019
otherstuff
06:37 AM - 12/17/2019
The current weather is it's cold outside
The topic: Earlier this year, our thermostat died
----------------------------------------------I figured it just needed a new battery. It took me a while to access the battery compartment, the darn thing just wouldn't pop open.
When I did, the battery had corroded. I put a new battery in, but the corrosion was pretty bad and the thermostat didn't show any life. It was to the point that I went online to find a replacement.
Looking through the offerings on Amazon, I realized I wasn't ready to give up on the one we had. I went into the kitchen, put a little baking soda on a wet q-tip. And I popped the battery compartment door open and put the paste on the corrosion. I also had a toothbrush and flat head screw driver. The screw driver was for scraping.
And, by golly, I got it up and running again. Yay me!
The thing is, in the summer, I'm so cheap (or money is so tight, read that any way you like), that I can't see running the air conditioner all day long. I will run it when there's high humidity (over 70%) along with the high temperature, because you just can't breathe. One day I ran it one day and our bill jumped $30. (I watch our usage on a thing our utility company offers online.) Yeah, just no. Plus, it's pretty noisy.
That being said, I never programmed it. It was either on or off. Well, we've had a few cold nights for the past week or so. We've had a bunch of rain the past thirty days and the clouds kept the earth heat in. But this past week it's been as clear as a bell and it's freaking COLD! Yesterday, I programmed the thermostat. On at 7:30 am (so it will be warm after we get back from our morning walk), daytime off at 10:30, back on at 7:00 pm, off at 8:30 (because we're both ready for bed - and I'm probably already under a blanket). I didn't set it really low for overnight, I figured the house never gets under 60°. I had to play with the settings a little because I wasn't really paying close attention to what I was doing, but I went through the settings and had everything the way I wanted it.
So, this morning, it kicks on. We're still in bed. It's not even 5:30. What did I do wrong? I got up and turned it off. I turned on the light to see if I'd messed up the time or something. Nope. It was under 60° in the house. Yowza!
We keep the sliding door open in the living room so Little Bitty Dog can go out and pee at night. He decided he did not want to do this when we had the rains and made the living room floor his toilet of choice. We cleaned it up, but it was getting tiresome. Even though his previous owner had told me that he used to be good about pee pads, after a trip to the groomers, he'd quit going on them. I figured I'd try anyway and put down a couple where he was peeing. It worked. Yay!
And the rains stopped and things dried out, so he goes outside if the door is open.
Anyway, I digress. I just wanted to share how cold the house was this morning! It's crazy cold for us. The thermometer that hangs on the outside of the shop (wireless, I can read it in the office) was 38°. I hope it doesn't get much colder, I worry about the avocado trees (which are LOADED with fruit).
I'll be honest. I'm not looking forward to our morning walk.
Friday, December 20, 2019
catstuff
07:17 AM - 12/20/2019
The topic: Sammy update
----------------------------------------------One of the reasons I haven't been posting is the time it takes to take care of Sammy.
He's supposed to get l-lysine, the imoquin (I think that's the name), both for his immune system, clavamox and famciclovir for the herpes virus. Add to that miralax for his constipation and subQ fluids to keep him hydrated and his stool not dried out. And let's not forget the Ursodiol for his liver. I've started mixing the miralax and l-lysine (not at the same time) in a cup, where I put the med in, use a 3mm syringe to drop hot water in and mix until the granules are melted. Then syringe up the mixture and administer it that way. Mixing with food doesn't guarantee he'll get it all since his appetite is off.
I wash his face every few hours, the drainage from the herpes ulcers can get pretty nasty. Crusty, bloody mess.
Last month, we saw that he was bleeding from his right nostril. This wasn't a good sign. Like so many medications to treat disease, they don't stop the progression, they just slow it down. And that's where my thoughts went. The herpes has spread.
That bleeding only happened for a week or so, but at this point, sometimes that side of his nose is runny and I can pick off a reddish crust with my only long fingernail (I keep it long for this reason, gently scraping goo off of his face).
He's having more problems walking. He has been diagnosed with arthritis in his knees, and I'm sure that's part of the problem, but I also wonder about his liver. Remember, his liver values got worse from the beginning of the year til we took him in for constipation and xrays were taken of his intestines and the vet noticed his liver was enlarged. That's when we started him on the miralax and fluids, because it was possible the enlarged liver was interfering with the travel of the feces through his system.
He's close to nineteen years old now. He's not getting better. And we know that before too long, we'll have to make that tough decision that most pet owners have to make. Start taking into consideration his quality of life.
He has been going outside in the day, to sit in the sun. He purrs for Brian almost every night (he crawls under the covers to sleep against Brian). He's eating kibble again. But he's turning his nose up at soft food and just yesterday said no thanks to a fresh can of people tuna.
So, now, we watch.
I hate this time.
otherstuff
08:11 AM - 12/20/2019
The topic: It’s been pretty cold here in the morning
----------------------------------------------And I don't want to leave the house for our morning walks. It's really hard for me to get out the door. Even though I'm always happy we went, it's so hard to get out that door.
So, Wednesday it was too cold. I didn't wanna go. Brian said "okay, but you will to Costco when I go shopping later...." Oh. Kay.
But, we didn't go!
Yesterday morning, I was feeling a little light headed (it happens every so often in the morning, not sure if it's low blood sugar or being a little dehydrated). Anyway, we didn't go walking.
But we did go to Costco.
We (I) were (was) so bad. But, hey, it's the holiday season. When else can you get a four pack of different kinds of Almond Roca? Or this can of Starbucks Chocolately Cookie Straws? Or this fruitcake? The chocolate covered almonds are always there.
Yeah. I was bad. So, yesterday afternoon, I moved all of these (well, not the fruitcake, not yet) to the freezer in the garage. Good thing I defrosted it last month. Hopefully, they'll last well into next year.
The fruitcake (I love fruitcake with nuts, don't judge me) was kind of a disappointment. There was more fruit than cake. And the nuts were pecan halves on the top only, not chopped and in the cake. But that's okay, I'll survive. I plan on cutting it into single serving size pieces and using the Foodsaver to package the individual pieces and freeze them. Brian isn't a fan of fruitcake, so I need to do something with it (and no, putting it in the trash is NOT an option, so just keep that advice to yourself), besides eat it all week.
Wednesday, December 25, 2019
otherstuff
12:43 PM - 12/25/2019
The topic: The most wonderful time of the year
----------------------------------------------So far, this has been a pretty good day.
I took this this morning, standing barefoot on the street.
Sammy is more active, this started the past couple of day. Last night, he let me pick him up, I was laying down on the sofa and he fell asleep on me. His eye seems to be a little better, the puffiness is more localized. It's still draining, maybe this is wishful thinking, but it isn't as much as it had been. He came out into the family room this morning and he actually ate some of the soft food I put in front of him. He's also been eating more kibble from the office feeder. That's huge.
After years of talking about organizing his photos, Brian is actually doing that this morning. He's been working on them for hours today and he only wanted help once and that was when he was getting started. This is a big thing for him and I'm pretty proud of him right now. He'll need more help when it's time to make new folders and move the images, but I think he should catch on quickly.
Pancho had tapeworm remnants around his butt. I ordered some meds from Amazon and he got those yesterday morning. I was kind of worried that he wasn't feeling well when I saw him sitting on the lawn with his head down. Turns out the reason for that was he was listening/watching for gophers. Late yesterday afternoon, I saw him on the patio eating some internal organs.
He was back out there this morning watching for more rodents. Guess last night's was pretty tasty.
LBD (Little Bitty Dog), the dog who did not bark, has found the bark. At the cats. It starts off with a low growl, then goes into barking. He needs to learn this is not acceptable and damn it, DON'T CHASE! He can growl all he wants to keep them away from his meals, but when we're all just watching television and he's on his end of the sofa or loveseat and he sees a cat across the room, do not growl.
Our possum buddy was back in the garage yesterday, I spoke with it, it hissing at me. I kept talking and not making any sudden moves or anything and it closed its mouth. It's gone this morning. We're in for more rain starting late tonight, I hope it makes it back. It's safe inside and there's food and water. Cats don't pay any attention to it.
That's about it for now. I need to decide what I'm going to do, if anything. I have a roast cooking in the crockpot, we'll have green beans and mashed potatoes and gravy for dinner. And other than that, my day is free. Yay!
Thursday, December 26, 2019
otherstuff
08:50 AM - 12/26/2019
The topic: You know what’s really cool?
----------------------------------------------I'll tell ya what's really cool.
A few years ago, we had to get a new washing machine. We needed a new one because the one we were using, was a Samsung top loader that we got in 2014.
Remember the Samsung machines that made the news because they exploded? We had one. Samsung offered a settlement amount. One amount if you just got the settlement or if you decided to get a new machine, a Samsung, the amount was substantially larger. I had all of the rebate forms I needed that I'd received from Samsung, kept them in the white envelope they were sent in.
We got the new machine, actually upgrading to a pretty nice machine and, of course, we got the matching Samsung dryer. More than I expected, more than I needed, actually, but that's how Brian rolls. And on both of them, we got the extended warranty.
Fast forward to now. The washing machine is really noisy when it spins. The dryer is even worse. And on the dryer, the little window with the time left or the error messages, has always had some condensation in it. Earlier this year, the lights around the knob where you choose your settings have started to go out. Not all of them, so I can find a setting with a light, then move it so many to the left or right, depending on which setting I want to use.
Oh, and it does the child lock setting on its own. That's always fun.
The dryer has been noisy for a while. Yeah, I'd think about the warranty, but just put it on the back burner because the thing still dried clothes, it was just noisy. After all, the television has a volume button, I can always make that louder, right?
Tuesday, I had a load in the washer. The spin cycle started and the machine was pretty loud as it compensated for an uneven load. Woke the dog up. He stood at attention, looking in the direction of the laundry room. There was a little growling. After the cycle was finished, I put the clothing in the dryer. It starts off okay, but as it runs, it just gets louder.
Brian comes in. "Have you checked on getting the dryer fixed?"
"No."
I figure maybe I should do it. I start looking for the receipt. Now, my usual method of keeping receipts is stapling them to the manual. And I know where the manuals are. I find them. No receipt.
Okay. I'll need to look at the statement from Lowes. Not a problem. When did we buy these? Dunno. I thought in 2018, but there's nothing in the file. Crap. I opened Quickbooks and did a search for Lowes. We usually didn't spend that much, so I looked for payments and there were some sizable ones in February, March and April. I narrowed the purchase date down to the beginning of 2017.
Brian pulled the 2017 Lowe's file from the rafters in the shop. I found a copy of the receipt, but not the actual receipts.
My problem at this point is I didn't know which warranty we got. Did we go with the additional two years or four years on top of the manufacturer's one year? Dunno. The copy of the receipt doesn't say. But we do have a purchase date. January 7, 2017.
If we got the additional two years, then I have a couple of weeks to get this taken care of. It's Christmas Eve. Should I call on this? Find out for sure? I look at the clock. I check the closing time on the Lowe's website. Seven eastern. It's about 3:30 here. I call.
Talked to a really nice guy, he looked it up and we bought the additional four year warranty. And both machines are officially registered under our phone number. I will be calling them next month for maintenance.
I finally figured out I put all of the paperwork in the white envelope I got from Samsung. I had to send in the forms to get the rebate.
But where did I put that envelope? No idea. I checked my 2017 and 2018 files. I checked my storage containers. I checked my file slots were I keep miscellaneous paperwork. No luck.
It's surely a mystery. But it's pretty cool that they're still under warranty.
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lisaviolet is seventy something, married with no kids, takes care of lots of cats, likes taking photographs, loves Southern California weather and spends altogether too much time avoiding her responsibilities.
In her spare time, she makes pretty things to sell in her store.
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