I am in the process of changing the look of my blog. As a control freak, everything must be perfect so I am still working out some of the crap I hate. At the moment, however, I am at a point that I can live with. I have to say 'thank you' to my friend Jerry. When I got to the code manipulation part he was available to talk Geek to me and help me get it sorted out.
In a while I will give an update on my dad. I want to get all the details first. Keep him in your thoughts though; he may need some good thought mojo to get him better.
Thursday, February 28
Wednesday, February 27
Is There a Problem Here?
Should it bother me that my cats are more popular than I am?
http://toughasstortiesassociation.blogspot.com/
http://toughasstortiesassociation.blogspot.com/
Tuesday, February 26
Blankets, hot tubs, and near death experiences
While we were in Vegas the last time (3 yrs ago) I fell in love with a store called Alpaca Pete’s. I had just spent $1200 on a couple of clocks at the time so I didn’t think it was a good idea to spend another $600 on a blanket. This time when we went to Vegas I hit Alpaca Pete’s before the clock store and found a blanket that I could live with. I really wanted the white one, but with 4 cats (only one of them white) I thought it best to go with a multi colored one. I got an oversized one and negotiated the guy down from $700 to $550. Additionally, I got free shipping and I didn’t pay tax (shhh). As soon as it arrived I opened it and put it on the bed…and the kitties HATE it. LOL. It must feel funny against the pads of their paws because they hop from the comforter to the pillows. If we place them directly on it, they don’t move until they find an escape route and then hop away. I have to say though, since we put it on the bed, we have more room because the kitties don’t sleep with us. Actually, that isn’t true…now they sleep on our pillows which is nice also. Now we have a fur blanket, and with using the kitties as pillows (hey, they don’t seem to mind) we have fur pillows also! I think the bed looks really…Disco 70’s now. It is a waterbed frame with a fur blanket on it…very Lounge Lizard. But OMG!!! Sleeping with this thing is like heaven. It is nice and warm (we drop the house to 60 degrees at night) and soooooo soft. It is like sinking in warmth. I had no idea how luxurious it would feel! And if I take a nap I sleep on top of it and pull up the comforter…heaven.
Alpaca Pete’s is in the mall at the Stratosphere and we were on our way to the tower when we ended up there. At the top of the tower, on the 108th floor, is the restaurant, the observation deck, and the rides. Michael and I went up for the ride while everyone else went to the observation deck to watch us idiots try to kill ourselves. I was fine with everything…until I sat in the chair. Up until then I didn’t give it much thought since we were just taking care of the logistics: buy tickets, wait in line, are we next? Walk up the stairs, go back and put glasses in the bin, get into seat, look down…Oh Shit! What was I thinking? At that point the kid operating the ride gives a maniacal laugh and wished us the best in the afterlife…and we are off. The ride itself wasn’t anything interesting…it was the plunging over the edge and hoping like hell the brakes worked that was so scary! It was over in about a minute and a half and I was REALLY happy to get off. I loved it though and wanted to hit the other ride that swings you over the edge but since they were having high winds it wasn’t open.
The winds really did a job on some of the hotels in Vegas. They were having freakishly high winds and apparently weren’t prepared for them. On the strip, the front entrance to the Miracle Mile shops was barred. They weren’t letting anyone out of that exit because the winds had damaged the signs on the Bellagio and the Paris hotel and shards of glass were whipping around everywhere. The next day we drove though before the repairs had begun and in the daylight things looked bad.
Once we got home and got settled I went to check the chemicals in the hot tub. I hadn’t checked them in almost 2 weeks and was fully prepared for the worst. As I suspected, the little strip said there were no chemicals in it so I started dumping crap in: algaecide, foam out, shock, clarifier, etc. I wasn’t even going to bother with the Ph levels until I got the rest situated, though I noted that I hade never seen the water so cloudy before…and…ewwww…there was unidentifiable stuff floating on the top. I got brave and went to scoop it out with my hands and got a shock…the water was c-c-c-c-o-o-o-l-l-d-d-d! That unidentifiable floating crap was ICE!! Great…now the hot tub needs to be repaired! I knew that Michael had been in the basement flipping breakers (a stove light issue) and suspected that he hit a wrong one. I had him go down and flip everything back…still no go. I hit the reset button on the outlet and Bingo! Power. It must have gotten tripped by all the rain we had been having. By last night the water was lukewarm to the touch so things are working. I was also concerned that because it got so cold that the hoses or pipes were damaged, but they are fine. Whew! So now I am planning on checking the chemicals again today and hopefully get it squared away so I can get in it tonight.
While I was working on the hot tub I was also taking care of a water spot on the wood floor. When the shower leaked it damaged a 3x3 foot area. I got some stuff to help blend the finish and some Feed and Wax and started to work on the spot. Yay! It worked. And fast too! I was done with the spot in about 30 minutes…and you can’t even tell where the water mark was. I was so impressed that I went around the house polishing all the wood furniture! I was a polishing fool! I have an antique vanity that someone was using as a plant stand ( I know, Idiot!) so I am planning on using it there next.
So I have covered all the topics I promised I would. And believe it or not they are all linked. The commonality? ME! Because, really, it is all about me.
Alpaca Pete’s is in the mall at the Stratosphere and we were on our way to the tower when we ended up there. At the top of the tower, on the 108th floor, is the restaurant, the observation deck, and the rides. Michael and I went up for the ride while everyone else went to the observation deck to watch us idiots try to kill ourselves. I was fine with everything…until I sat in the chair. Up until then I didn’t give it much thought since we were just taking care of the logistics: buy tickets, wait in line, are we next? Walk up the stairs, go back and put glasses in the bin, get into seat, look down…Oh Shit! What was I thinking? At that point the kid operating the ride gives a maniacal laugh and wished us the best in the afterlife…and we are off. The ride itself wasn’t anything interesting…it was the plunging over the edge and hoping like hell the brakes worked that was so scary! It was over in about a minute and a half and I was REALLY happy to get off. I loved it though and wanted to hit the other ride that swings you over the edge but since they were having high winds it wasn’t open.
The winds really did a job on some of the hotels in Vegas. They were having freakishly high winds and apparently weren’t prepared for them. On the strip, the front entrance to the Miracle Mile shops was barred. They weren’t letting anyone out of that exit because the winds had damaged the signs on the Bellagio and the Paris hotel and shards of glass were whipping around everywhere. The next day we drove though before the repairs had begun and in the daylight things looked bad.
Once we got home and got settled I went to check the chemicals in the hot tub. I hadn’t checked them in almost 2 weeks and was fully prepared for the worst. As I suspected, the little strip said there were no chemicals in it so I started dumping crap in: algaecide, foam out, shock, clarifier, etc. I wasn’t even going to bother with the Ph levels until I got the rest situated, though I noted that I hade never seen the water so cloudy before…and…ewwww…there was unidentifiable stuff floating on the top. I got brave and went to scoop it out with my hands and got a shock…the water was c-c-c-c-o-o-o-l-l-d-d-d! That unidentifiable floating crap was ICE!! Great…now the hot tub needs to be repaired! I knew that Michael had been in the basement flipping breakers (a stove light issue) and suspected that he hit a wrong one. I had him go down and flip everything back…still no go. I hit the reset button on the outlet and Bingo! Power. It must have gotten tripped by all the rain we had been having. By last night the water was lukewarm to the touch so things are working. I was also concerned that because it got so cold that the hoses or pipes were damaged, but they are fine. Whew! So now I am planning on checking the chemicals again today and hopefully get it squared away so I can get in it tonight.
While I was working on the hot tub I was also taking care of a water spot on the wood floor. When the shower leaked it damaged a 3x3 foot area. I got some stuff to help blend the finish and some Feed and Wax and started to work on the spot. Yay! It worked. And fast too! I was done with the spot in about 30 minutes…and you can’t even tell where the water mark was. I was so impressed that I went around the house polishing all the wood furniture! I was a polishing fool! I have an antique vanity that someone was using as a plant stand ( I know, Idiot!) so I am planning on using it there next.
So I have covered all the topics I promised I would. And believe it or not they are all linked. The commonality? ME! Because, really, it is all about me.
Monday, February 25
To Vegas and Back
Well, we made it back in one piece and we still have money in our pockets. The trip was nice but unless one is a big gambler or has never been to Vegas before, 8 days is too long to spend there. I absolutely hated to leave the Poodins for that long. It is funny how something you so take for granted leaves a huge gaping hole when they aren’t there. The first day back, I don’t think Autumn’s feet touched the floor. And when I did have to put her down she stayed attached to my ankle! Man! I love that cat!
The first leg of our flight left BWI at 8am and got to Atlanta…sometime. We had a 2 hour layover and then started the second leg of the trip. Our neighbor, Jackie, came with us and stayed at Planet Hollywood for 4 days. I have to admit that having her along made a long ride a bit shorter - Michael and I both had a great time picking on her. But now I don’t think she will ever travel with the Andersons again.
Once we got to Vegas we went to Planet Hollywood (PH) and hung out with Jackie for the afternoon. She went there on one of those timeshare sales pitch things. She got a great room, but in exchange she had to go to a sales meeting that lasted just long enough to suck the soul from her body and then had to promise to give them BRAAAIIIINNNNSSS (sorry, had a Zoombie moment there). And since we were in Vegas we had to eat at a buffet for supper. Good God! It was like sex with food - the mashed potatoes alone were climactic!
After supper we left Jackie and we went to our hotel. We had the golf package at Primm Vally Golf Resort so I was looking forward to seeing our accommodations for the week. Our rental car was a Charger so it was a nice ride to the resort and I could drive it around when Michael was golfing. Our room was nice if not a bit…common. We did have a nice bay window with a huge window seat though.
The next day my family wandered into town and we all met up with everyone as they came in. I have to say, that baby is just the cutest thing ever! What a great baby – he was happy the whole time and we played and played and played, and then he napped, and then we played some more. He gave me hugs and I don’t know what happened to me. I don’t know if it was the baby drool saturation level (turns out babies are…juicy) or that intoxicating baby smell but somewhere along the way I think I promised him a car. When he got over stimulated I gave him back to the parents and went shopping. Usually by the time I got back he was a happy boy again…or was it that I was a happy girl? Eh…either way, I got shopping done and played with a happy baby.
While we were there we also hit some shows. The second night we were there we went to see The Phantom of the Opera. We had seen it a few times before but the music always makes me cry. And we had great seats. We were in the second row in the orchestra, right smack in the middle of the row. We could see the actors sweat!! We also saw George Carlin and the last night we were there we went to see The Blue Man Group. Awesome!!
The day after we got home Merry Maids came by, the contractor came by, and we got a call from the realtor saying they wanted to show the house over the weekend. We spent most of the day Friday getting ready to show the house and taking care of little things like nail holes, touch up paint, etc. we got feedback from the realtor saying that the house shows well, so I am going to leave things the way they are now.
Well, I am going to get this posted so I can go to bed. I will post more tomorrow and here is a teaser for tomorrow’s post: it involves the Stratosphere hotel, an alpaca blanket, the hot tub and wood polish…and they are all related.
The first leg of our flight left BWI at 8am and got to Atlanta…sometime. We had a 2 hour layover and then started the second leg of the trip. Our neighbor, Jackie, came with us and stayed at Planet Hollywood for 4 days. I have to admit that having her along made a long ride a bit shorter - Michael and I both had a great time picking on her. But now I don’t think she will ever travel with the Andersons again.
Once we got to Vegas we went to Planet Hollywood (PH) and hung out with Jackie for the afternoon. She went there on one of those timeshare sales pitch things. She got a great room, but in exchange she had to go to a sales meeting that lasted just long enough to suck the soul from her body and then had to promise to give them BRAAAIIIINNNNSSS (sorry, had a Zoombie moment there). And since we were in Vegas we had to eat at a buffet for supper. Good God! It was like sex with food - the mashed potatoes alone were climactic!
After supper we left Jackie and we went to our hotel. We had the golf package at Primm Vally Golf Resort so I was looking forward to seeing our accommodations for the week. Our rental car was a Charger so it was a nice ride to the resort and I could drive it around when Michael was golfing. Our room was nice if not a bit…common. We did have a nice bay window with a huge window seat though.
The next day my family wandered into town and we all met up with everyone as they came in. I have to say, that baby is just the cutest thing ever! What a great baby – he was happy the whole time and we played and played and played, and then he napped, and then we played some more. He gave me hugs and I don’t know what happened to me. I don’t know if it was the baby drool saturation level (turns out babies are…juicy) or that intoxicating baby smell but somewhere along the way I think I promised him a car. When he got over stimulated I gave him back to the parents and went shopping. Usually by the time I got back he was a happy boy again…or was it that I was a happy girl? Eh…either way, I got shopping done and played with a happy baby.
While we were there we also hit some shows. The second night we were there we went to see The Phantom of the Opera. We had seen it a few times before but the music always makes me cry. And we had great seats. We were in the second row in the orchestra, right smack in the middle of the row. We could see the actors sweat!! We also saw George Carlin and the last night we were there we went to see The Blue Man Group. Awesome!!
The day after we got home Merry Maids came by, the contractor came by, and we got a call from the realtor saying they wanted to show the house over the weekend. We spent most of the day Friday getting ready to show the house and taking care of little things like nail holes, touch up paint, etc. we got feedback from the realtor saying that the house shows well, so I am going to leave things the way they are now.
Well, I am going to get this posted so I can go to bed. I will post more tomorrow and here is a teaser for tomorrow’s post: it involves the Stratosphere hotel, an alpaca blanket, the hot tub and wood polish…and they are all related.
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