Making Plans

Inspirational song: Cinnamon Girl (Neil Young)

The last several years let me down. I didn't get my September day, sometimes until October, sometimes not at all. This Sunday is supposed to be it. I've been watching this weekend's forecast for ten days now. They bounced around for a while, but they are gaining confidence that this weekend will be cool, dreary, and damp. I am getting so excited I'm practically buzzing. It won't quite hit freezing, but it is for sure time to bring in the last of the porch plants. It will officially be sweater weather on Sunday. Let us all rejoice.

I started making equinox plans a week or two ago, when I wasn't 100% sure the weather would bless me with my day. I asked for Valerie's company to make an apple spice cake, and I figured while I was at it, I'd make a hearty soup in the crockpot. I'm thinking sort of a loaded baked potato soup. But now I'm adding more to my cooking goals. I found a recipe for gluten-free cinnamon rolls that sounds amazing. This one demands that psyllium husk not be substituted by anything else. Apparently it helps make them fluffy and chewy. I might have some ancient bag of psyllium in the recesses of my pantry. Not sure how long it's good for, but I bet I've long since passed that date. I will need a restock. Need to buy heavy cream and cream cheese for them too. Will report on whether this recipe is a good one.

The boys went to a park while big sister was at school today. They went to the train park, because that is D's favorite. They took the bus, and sent photos from there. I know we liked to joke about Valerie wanting baby three to be Valerie Jr, but for real, looking in his eyes, he really is. It's eerie how much he looks like his sister. Cool, but eerie.

How Shocking

Inspirational song: Live Wire (AC/DC)

Dogs had to stay outside until the Amazon driver was gone. I wasn't risking them startling him into pitching my delivery out of reach. I needed what he was bringing. I got a 24-pack of electrode patches for my TENS unit. I was so ready to try to shock my janky hip back into compliance. It didn't end up curing me, but it felt so good the entire time I was getting electrocuted, and it relaxed me so much I probably slept off and on for two hours. (The off parts were every time the dogs barked their brains out at the front window over stupid stuff, like vehicles driving by.) I had to replace the battery in the unit, since I hadn't touched it in a couple years. Lucky for me I keep a supply of batteries, including 9-volt for things like this. I will probably try one more round of electric shock therapy before bed, followed by another slathering of diclofenac gel. I need to get mobile soon. Homecoming Stampede is this Friday, and I need to be able to follow the parade.

I had to reschedule a doctor visit previously scheduled on the day I fly to see my parents, and they called me this morning to grab a cancelation. I went from barely awake in my robe, halfway through a cup of coffee, to clean, dressed, and two towns over in 45 minutes. So proud of my ability to panic. I didn't sit down through an entire skin check, not even waiting for the dermatologist, for fear that I'd barely be able to get back up once my adrenaline wore off. I didn't test it, but I'm pretty sure my assumption was correct. For the record, I got another perfect score. No new scary spots, not even on my calf where I noticed a red spot that stuck around for months (inflamed follicle, it seems). 

After last night's trash panda visit, Mr S-P brought in what remained from the backyard grape vines. There wasn't a lot, but it was nice to add to the small bowl of fruits we managed to harvest this year. We had four peaches, a couple nectarines, four apples from Rabbit's tree, and now a few grapes. As the yard matures, it's going to get better from here. This is going to be fun.

Night Visitors

Inspirational song: Young Amercians (David Bowie)

So there I was, googling things like "can raccoons eat grapes," and "what kind of noises do raccoons make?" I was minding my own business, listening to the sounds of grandpa trying to soothe Avery to sleep, and I heard a noise somewhere between a honk and a snort. It was weird and adorable and followed by a lot of rustling in the front yard. I started by peeking through the screen door carefully, assuming it was someone walking their dog and clearing out their nose, and I didn't want to look like an aggressive homeowner running out on the porch. No human, no dog, so I slipped out on the porch and listened. I saw a raccoon dash under the new blue pickup. I went to the bedroom, to verify my assumption that they were here to help us harvest grapes. Indeed so. Mr S-P said he will have to revisit the construction of the grape arbor. It wasn't built to support thirty pound raccoons. Didn't stop them from testing it.

We have Avery for the evening. The kids are at a special event, and we have split the babysitting duties. Their housemate is watching the big kids at home, so they can be put to bed at the proper time in the proper place. We have Avery since it doesn't matter where he sleeps, and this way no one is overwhelmed. It has been fun, playing with him, feeding him, doing Snapchat filters with him for mommy. The only time he is really challenging for me is when he insists on "standing" just enough out from my center of gravity that it pulls on my low back. No bueno.

This is the third full day of pain in my back and hip. There have been episodes of this that lasted weeks or months. It has been the least reliable part of my body most of my life. Sometimes in the past chiropractic or physical therapy seemed to help, at least briefly, but they each do nothing if the inflammation isn't handled first. I've been hitting the diclofenac gel pretty hard today, but it isn't reaching it yet. I dug out my TENS unit to see if I could shock it back into behaving, but when I opened the case, there were no electrode pads. I checked to see whether Amazon could same-day deliver, but none of the packs at the top of the list offered that. I will try the TENS tomorrow when the pad arrive, if (when) it still hurts.

Out of Regs

Inspirational song: I'll Wait (Van Halen)

Whoops. It's another one of those days. I promised myself I would do basically nothing except heal today. My hip slash back is still hurting. I put on a compression garment and rested. It was still giving me fits whenever I had to get up, so I tried the last flexeril I had. And that brings me to this minute, barely awake at 11 pm, needing to blog and move to the bedroom. The stuff I was going to write about can wait.

Here's hoping one more night will make this totally back to baseline. This hip never feels perfect, but it has a certain functionality that will do just fine.

With the Entire Local Crew

Inspirational song: All Day and All of the Night (The Kinks)

No one planned for us to spend ten hours together, but that is how the day panned out, and I am not mad about it one bit. We needed a simple Target run, and from there, nothing was simple. It was a lot of fun, regardless.

I needed a t-shirt that I couldn't get. I've been tasked (well, strongly hinted) with buying a CU shirt, and there were literally two in the store. One was a youth size large. A second was an adult XL, made from a yucky polyester that I didn't even like handling long enough to snap a picture. So I didn't get either. My daughter needed bubble juice. No really. Large refills for handheld bubble machines for the kids. And that was pretty much the extent of our purchases. No coffee, no kid clothes. I did get a small ceramic cauldron for Halloween, but that's it.

We went to lunch after, which was absolute chaos. The kids wanted to roam. Read that with all of the exasperated emphasis you can muster. By the time we left, the pinched nerve in my back (probably from sitting funny on the bed to watch football yesterday) totally seized up, and I turned control of the car over to my daughter. We gathered ingredients for dinner, and all went to my house. The men were supposed to work more on the flagstone patio, but each of them got delayed by their morning projects, so by the time they got here, it was mostly hang out with kids time instead, and then everyone except me pitched in to make dinner happen. I stayed in my chair and held the baby when needed, but no big kids were allowed in my lap. Just shifting in my chair was too much. Yay me.

By the end of the evening, after an amazing dinner, the kids got tossed into the tub. Then they got their jammies on, because they were headed to bed not long after they got home. They were bouncing around like little heathens, and as I watched them jump from the ottoman to the couch to the floor and back again, I was swamped with emotions. There was something very "holidays at grandparents'" about it, and I spoke it out loud. They joked that I could just keep them, and I promised oh yeah, there will be sleepovers to come. Just not on school nights, now that the calendar is starting to become a thing. But that's a story for tomorrow.

Bird, Plane, Super Baby

Inspirational song: Blister in the Sun (Violent Femmes)

The local airport held a big airshow today. Having gone to several in my youth and at least one in my younger adulthood, there is one thing I know for certain: I have no business being at airshows any longer. The sun is too hot and unrelenting. Standing around on hot and reflective concrete hurts. The noise overstimulates me. So while the whole rest of the family went to admire the planes and watch them do loop-de-loops in the air, Avery and I stayed home and had a lovely time rocking, sleeping, drinking milk, burping, and pooping. I will let you just imagine who did the most of what. 

The gang at the air show had a great time, even if they spent most of their time in line for the food trucks. They did get to see fun things, that they shared with me in video form. There was even a fly-by from a C-130 Hercules, the air frame Mr S-P used to maintain when he was enlisted, in the last century. (Man, that makes me feel old.) 

The kids eventually picked up Avery and went home, and the Mr decided he needed some peace and quiet and went to his favorite fishing spot in the mountains. I retired to my bedroom, to the only TV that picks up over-the-air broadcasts, so I could watch the Rocky Mountain Showdown. For the 7th year in a row, CU has beat CSU, and I would feel bad about that if not for several of those years, it was one of the only games we won. We needed something in all those depressing seasons. It looks like they successfully shook off all the bad juju from last week, from letting Nebraska manhandle them. Next week is the first conference game, and now that they are back in the Big 12, that means Baylor. It is also homecoming (already!), but I declined to buy alumni band tickets. I have too much going on to attend. I hope it's on TV, though. I'd watch from home if I can.

Update from yesterday's vaccine boosters-- I think I'm feeling a little sluggish after all. I have a lot of body aches. More than I live with on a daily basis, that is. Now, it could have come from an accidental glutening, when I made a PBJ using a jar of jelly that came from the cabin. (A knife that touched wheat bread went into that particular jar of jelly, and that was all it took to ruin my day.) It might be a combo of both factors. I'm leaning towards the shots making all my joints aching, though.

Grandma to the Rescue

Inspirational song: Mighty Mouse Theme Song (Mitch Miller and the Terrytooners)

This morning, I went swooping in with a bag of tools, hoping to be the key to solve a problem. I didn't end up fixing everything, but at least my tools and scrutiny helped evaluate the situation. Avery got what is referred to as a "hair tourniquet." This is when a hair wraps tightly around a digit, in this case his finger, and digs into the skin. When I arrived, my daughter was waiting for a callback from her pediatrician, and I had barely set up to peer at his hand when they called her. I had crafting tools, namely a large magnification lamp, bright neck-worn detail lights, tapestry needles, embroidery snips, and tweezers. Together we studied his finger thoroughly. The best we can tell, the hair or whatever fiber was gone, but it had dug a channel three-quarters of the way around his finger. The sides had what looked like little paper cuts, and the top had a stubborn groove that didn't want to smooth out. The underside looked totally unbothered, and the tip of his finger was normal colored and normal temperature, so there didn't seem to be an ER-type urgency. The pediatrician said to monitor it, and he already had an appointment for next week, if they need further treatment. They said we could try to moisten it to see if the skin would loosen. We dipped his hand in lukewarm water (leading to all kinds of jokes about slumber party pranks), and we rubbed a little Aquaphor on it. Neither of those seemed to change it. Will monitor.

I went to get my vaccines at Walgreens this afternoon. Other than a solid nap at around 4 o'clock, I appear to be just fine. I had the Pfizer version of the covid booster, and those generally treat me well. Only the Moderna I got one time made me feel like crap.

I took the obligatory selfie of my bandaids, to put on social media. I got a dozen or so likes from mutuals, and then the floodgates opened. I've been getting tons of comments from men I don't know, mostly just saying hello beautiful kinds of junk, plus one pornbot (so far). Why? Just because you could see a fragment of my face in the picture? See, this is why my profile picture is Indiana Jones punching a Nazi. It keeps me separated from the schmoozy stuff I Do Not Want. I hid the bot, but I'm thinking of leaving the unsolicited hellos, so that when other people vet them for friend requests, they have evidence of what sort of account they are.

Two-Fer

Inspirational song: Mama, I'm Coming Home (Ozzy Osbourne)

Efficiency is the word of the day. I'm finding ways to double my impacts, and I'm pleased with how things are working for me. Last week I made a cryptic remark, for which I was scolded by a buddy of mine, and now I can discuss what it was about. I have the opportunity in two weeks to see all four of my parents with one single trip. My dad and stepmother are going to be in Oklahoma to visit family, so by booking one flight and one rental car, I can see all of them plus my mom, stepfather and brother, in a single week. We call this "winning" where I come from. I'm starting to plan how to pack efficiently, to fit in one small suitcase, to make travel less stressful. These people all know what I look like, so I don't need to take a ton of makeup or super formal clothes. The entire schedule for entertainment is "sit and talk," so I need no other accessories to keep me busy. I admit, I did just buy a cheap pair of over-ear headphones for the plane, but that's it for gadgets I intend to take.

I ordered a couple prescription refills ahead of the trip, and Walgreens texted back a suggestion that maybe I'd like to catch up on seasonal vaccines while I was at it. Now that you mention it, large faceless corporation, you're right. I should do that before I fly. Thanks for thinking of me. The text pointed out that you can get up to four vaccines at once, so I signed up for the flu and Covid ones. I was going to ask for RSV also, but that required a prescription, and making a phone call was one step too many. I was able to get quick access to an appointment, so I'm planning on doing absolutely nothing Friday night except lying in bed, questioning my decisions.

We had a pretty good round of bedtime snaps this evening. I kept a couple of them for this space. There was a good one from this morning too. I meant to take a picture of how my hair looked once I wet styled it my way. I failed, and I've pretty much wrecked it running my hands through it and wearing my glasses on my head, as I do most of the time. There will be other opportunities.

Chop Chop

Inspirational song: Put Your Head on My Shoulder (Paul Anka)

Aw, bless her, she tried. My hair stylist has super straight hair, which is admittedly gorgeous. I suspect she spends most of her styling time making her own and other people's straight hair look amazing. But curly or wavy hair? I'm not so sure she has much experience making defined curls. We took care to get the length and cut just where I wanted it, but even though she tried hard on the style, it fell a little flat. Literally. She sprayed water on it and used a little product, and I flipped my hair forward and back while she diffused it. It still came out mostly frizzy and shaped all weird. But I'm not mad. I'm pretty sure when I get it sopping wet tomorrow and put curl defining cream in it, it will be just fine. I'm so relieved to have it shorter again.

I went by to drop off an Amazon package with the kids (I made a combo order and this one was theirs.) Valerie was absolutely engrossed in Minecraft, and barely acknowledged me. Dmitri jumped off the couch calling "grandma!!" and ran to give me a hug. That made me feel 10 feet tall. He was supposed to be napping, so it's possible he was just latching on to an excuse to delay it. Grandma is more wily than that, however. Within 10 minutes, I had lured him onto my lap, while I held up train videos on my phone for him to zone out to. It took a fair bit, but he fell deeply asleep. He stayed there for two hours before he stirred at all, and that was to briefly sit up, adjust, and curl up on his side, even more cuddly than before. So there I sat, watching the girls play Minecraft, and letting a bag of bricks snore against me. Could not have had a better afternoon.

Once Dmitri finally woke enough to stand under his own power, I was immediately handed a much smaller boy. Avery went through the full range of his available emotions in a short time frame. He was fussy, burpy, hungry, alert, sleepy, and smiley just as he drifted off into deep sleep. So I got to grandma two separate boys off to dreamland. (Yes, I just used grandma as a verb.) I'm riding pretty high about now. 

After:

Before:

For No Reason At All

Inspirational song: We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together (Taylor's Version) (Taylor Swift)

I think I was more excited about bringing a helper over for more fall decorating than my helper(s) were. I rushed through putting away all the Rotary accoutrements after the meeting so I could hurry up and reach the kids. I decided on the way there that my heart has been feeling too vulnerable lately to be able to handle watching Dmitri cry at the door when I walk away with Valerie. I told my son-in-law that if Dmitri wanted to come over as well, then I was taking both of them for a grandma day. When we asked, his response was to go dig his shoes out of the drawer by the door. That meant yes. My daughter and son-in-law looked at me warily, like I was about to retract my offer, when they verified I wanted both big kids, and they could have a couple hours to get stuff done. Verily, I wanted both of them. For better or worse, I wanted chaos.

Valerie enjoyed putting together the remaining decorations on the dining room table, in a pleasing configuration. We had three things left over, and I convinced her to put two spooky ceramic candle holders on the end table that I recently cleared and cleaned. Dmitri had fun getting into stuff while we weren't looking. While Val and I mixed up a second copy of the peach cobbler like I made last week, I heard noise in the living room. I found Dmitri spreading potting soil from a small pot (the plant was long dead) around the couch. I looked at him and said as calmly as I could, "I don't like that you did that." He threw his arms wide and said, "I need a hug." That boy. I told him yes, come get your hug, but I still don't like that he dumped dirt all over my ottoman. 

It was a lot of work to have both kids by myself after already doing a lot to wear myself out in the last 72 hours, but I am so glad I did it. Valerie loves cuddling and sharing words of affection. Dmitri is getting much better with his words and interactions, but when that boy fell asleep on my shoulder while watching train videos, that was my favorite part. There will be more of these days, even before their parents' parental leave ends (at the end of this month, I think). 

Slight Improvement

Inspirational song: Paint It Black (The Rolling Stones)

I couldn't look at it any longer. Where I stopped painting last time left a giant capital P on the south wall, the one I face most of my waking hours in this house. It was incredibly distracting. So even though I had plans to take care of a dozen other things, I found myself pulling furniture away from the wall, dumping a pile of papers and other crap that was allowed to sit in the side table for freaking ever, and working on yet another section of paint. I did as much cutting in as I could reach, and painted that stupid niche with a brush. Then I sat and stared at it for at least half an hour, trying to decide whether to break out the roller and tray. I finally did, and I suppose I'm glad, because that allowed me to put some stuff back in the niche, and get it off of the table and other surfaces where it was in my way.

My original intention was to tidy the kitchen and dining room so that I could bring Valerie over here to decorate the dining room. She seemed to enjoy it the first time, and she even asked me if she could do it again over the weekend. We agreed to do it tomorrow. There isn't a whole lot of stuff left for us to use, but I'm pretty sure we can make something happen without me sneaking off to a craft store to spend money I can't currently spare.

I suppose if I'd gotten her here today, I would have delayed the painting. But she and her family went up to Nederland to ride the carousel and visit with the folks at Nature's Own, the rock, fossil, and crystal store up there. They sent back pictures of the kids grabbing giant handfuls of polished rocks, and I was so jealous. I can never get enough of those. They've been an obsession of mine since I was their age. Seeing that, I guess I'm okay with them having fun rather than being here while I tidy and make a tablescape.

The Good Stuff

Inspirational song: The End (The Doors)

This is an oddly specific type of post. Information intended for the few people who care about this sort of thing. But it is meant with the best of intentions.

Normally I cannot say enough good things about Costco. I love everything I get there, with the exception of Kirkland brand batteries, which seem to die very quickly in string lights. But I digress. While Costco has a huge range of products to offer, some of the items only come in one brand, one variety. This is particularly problematic for me when it comes to cat litter. They only sell Fresh Step, in 42-pound cases. Whenever they would go on sale, Mr S-P would max out the quantity allowed, and he built up a stash in the garage, a stack over waist high. This really wasn't an issue as long as the cat boxes were all in the basement. That brand is dusty as hell, but it was contained to the basement, and I wasn't fighting that battle. 

When we had our second housemate move in, she brought along her dog and cat during the days she is here. This necessitated separating the animals, and putting cat boxes in the laundry room upstairs for the home team. I bought a quality litter that is dust free and releases easily from the plastic box when scooped. That lasted a few months, and then I started feeling guilty for asking him to bring home that litter when he bought cat food, knowing that Mount Fresh Step was still in the garage. So I made a point of using it up. I hated it. My entire house is covered in a thick layer of dust, and the smell was unbearable. I have been counting down the days until it was gone.

My daughter helped me out, asking for the remaining few bags when she ran out of her supply of the good kind last week, and when she restocked, she repaid me with two cartons of what we both really wanted. Arm and Hammer Slide. I spent all day elbow deep in cat boxes, throwing out the dregs of the old, stinky stuff, and scrubbing the plastic. First I washed everything with diluted Lysol, then again with a concentrated straight vinegar and dish soap concoction. I washed everything, inside and out of the boxes, the scoop, and the tile floor. I ran the catch-mats through the washer and then set them in the sun. I have never been so satisfied cleaning toilets before, but man I feel better. I need to spend a week dusting everything that I just dusted last week and the week before when I moved furniture to paint. 

I did not take a picture of any stage of this process. No one needs to see where my cats pee. Instead, before I turned out the lights to go to bed, I took a picture of a ficus shivereana that I have managed to keep alive for a year. You're welcome.

Targeted

Inspirational song: Poor, Poor, Pitiful Me (Warren Zevon)

Well that was ugly. Painful. Familiar.

Buffs couldn't get out of their own way in the first half. Huskers played well enough, don't get me wrong. But the Buffs buffed several times in the first half. The second half was better, but not better enough. By then there were a lot of injuries to some of our key players, and two, maybe three players ejected for targeting. The final score was 28-10, which doesn't nearly describe the agony that game was to watch. I made myself watch all of it. By the end, I was just hoping that these guys were learning valuable lessons from this humiliating defeat. Like never let yourself feel this way again.

My night got better once it was over, and housemate 1 asked if I wanted to go outside and watch the solar sail go overhead. This is an experimental craft that NASA is testing, to see whether photon-based propulsion is feasible. As fast as that little speck of light went over us, my gut says yes!

The only pictures worth sharing are proof that even Saoirse couldn't bear to watch that game.

Goodest Kids

Inspirational song: Rikki Don't Lose That Number (Steely Dan)

Saoirse was the bestest good girl today. No pulling on the leash, even though she hadn't gotten to go anywhere in ages. Hopped into the car and sat like a princess. Greeted the humans she encountered at the vet like an ambassador. Sat still on the scale. And she loved on the tech and doctor like she wanted to be adopted by them each in turn. She got three shots, and tolerated them drawing her blood for heartworm test (required for the preventative shot). She passed everything with flying colors, and was rewarded with a trip through Ziggi's for a pup cup (and mommy was rewarded with a fireside latte). 

We needed two shopping carts at King Soopers today. It was a big time reload kind of trip. I'm glad I had emptied my trunk before we left, because we barely fit everything in. Had to put a couple totes in the two empty car seats. Valerie occupied the third. As much as my daughter needed this time around, I am dreading what trips will be like when the boys hit adolescence. We will need to take a full-size pickup. I helped her unload her haul, and I haven't recovered yet, six hours later.

We had a short bonus visit with our son-in-law and a couple of the kids. Avery still looks at me like he doesn't think red hair is trustworthy. He stares at my hairline when I hold him. Does this mean I need to go back to a color closer to what I had growing up? Will he guilt me into it? Back me up here, folks. I can keep the red, right?