To Barb

Barb wrote:

"I am sad, very sad, because each time we come and visit you it is really to see the goats, now there no reason to come see you now. Barb"

Bruce replies:

"The only reason we come to visit you is to get the pickles, and now you just gave us some, so there is no reason to come see you now, either".


LOL! Also, just for the record, (and yes my husband is an egomaniac), he has determined that the upcoming holiday should now be called "Brucemas"

Um, yeah, so A Very Merry Brucemas to all of you. Too crazy.

Goats might be gone....

Bruce and I have been contemplating our goats for a while now. It makes things complicated that our backyard has been taken over by barnyard animals. Don't get me wrong, its been a fun experience. A learning experience. And I am glad that I had this time with them that I have. But we made the decision that things would just be easier if the goats went to a home more suited to livestock. The dogs would be happier to have free run of the backyard again.

We attempted to contact a local farm that has a petting zoo, but they are closed for the season, and although Bruce left a message, nobody ever called us back. Several months ago, while I was still trying to make up my mind if I could actually part with my goats, Bruce ran by the farm where he bought them from originally. That guy said it was no problem, he would take them back. But...a couple of months have passed and when Bruce contacted him this past week, this man was selling off all his goats, and was no longer interested in taking them back. Yikes! We were beginning to get a little bit worried that we were stuck with goats for life. And goats live a good 10-15 years.

So, in a last ditch effort, I put an ad on Craig's list this evening. That was around 7pm. A dozen emails, and half a dozen phone calls later (who knew goats would generate so much interest??? Maybe it was the FREE part?) I think we have found them a good home. Bruce has interviewed and asked questions while we tried to match them with a good family. Under NO circumstances would I let my goats go to someone who planned to eat them. That was my major concern. But the people that we decided to grace with our precious goats have a farm with horses, other full-sized goats, plenty of pasture/farm land and 2 daughters (ages 10 and 14). These little pygmy goats were going to be for the girls. We got other offers of people who wanted to use them to clear lots, mainly because goats eat almost everything. But it was the family with children who made me feel the happiest about this whole situation. So, we will see. They have confirmed that they definitely want them and want to come on Monday to pick the goats up. If they don't show, then...I will go back down the list of emails and see if we can figure out someone else that might be a good match. A few of the others seemed Ok. One lady assured me that she was a vegetarian, so my goats were not in danger of being eaten. But how can I be sure that she wasn't lying? haha

Actually, I am surprisingly not sad about it. I think our goats get somewhat bored out there in our backyard. Its spacious, but not for grazing and foraging. I think they will enjoy being on a farm with horses and other goats. And I KNOW they will love the attention of kids to play with them. I think its a much better situation for them, and so....I am ready to let them go, and be happy that I think they will have a good home.

Which leaves us with only 2 dogs, and 2 cats now. That is almost like a normal amount of pets....isn't it? LOL.

Hurt

We lost Scarlet today. She would have been 17 years old this coming spring. And that is old for a dog. We have had her since she was just about 2 months old. Jeanne gave her to us. To Erica, actually, for her 10th birthday. She had a long full life, and lots of love from her family. Its been difficult watching her suffer from really bad arthritis, and a loss of appetite.

We have been trying to postpone the inevitable as long as possible, carrying her in and out, and to the water dish. But it was becoming painfully clear that she was not happy, and her quality of life was not good. At 17, we couldn't expect things to improve. So...with the help of our vet, Dr. Kuhn, who has been so wonderful and supportive with all of the geriatric dog care that we need, we scheduled euthanasia here at home. And that....hurts. Its hard. Its right, and its compassionate, and its humane. But still, it leaves a hole in your heart. We will miss her.

Happy Birthday Stephen

My beloved son, my youngest child, is 25 today. I can hardly believe it. Hannia and I have been working for weeks on pulling off a surprise party for him. Between coordinating all the food, decorations, guests, etc....there has been a whole LOT of lying, sneaking, sending coded texts and emails. LOL. I feel a huge relief that its over and done with just because of that. But it was a success. Erica got him here under some guise of running errands with her today. I don't know exactly what she said, but her job was to pick up the cupcakes at the bakery, and to get Stephen here at our house at 12, without him suspecting anything.

I think he really was surprised. He walked in, thinking they were just stopping by the house for something quick on the way out to eat lunch before Erica had to leave to drive back to Va. And as he came through the door, we were all standing around shooting off these confetti-loaded poppers that made a huge bang. So funny. I still have confetti all over the floor.

The food was good. Hannia made chorizo quesadillas (and onion and pepper ones for people who don't eat meat). I made these mediterranean pinwheels that had prosciutto, feta and fresh basil. We had sneaked out a couple of weeks ago to order cupcakes from the Perfect Cake bakery that said "Happy Birthday Stephen" in IPA. IPA is an international phonetic script that dates back to the 1840's (I think. I could be wrong). The people at the bakery really seemed so confused by our request. Even though I had a print out of how it should be spelled. But they got it right, so Yay!

Anyway, it was fun and he was surprised. Everyone has just left. Jack, who came all the way from Richmond is spending the rest of the weekend at Stephen's. Hannia knew about it, and was secretly trying to clean up around the apartment, like anyone would naturally do if they were having houseguests. But she had to do it nonchalantly as if nothing was going on. LOL. Erica is on her way back to Charlottesville, too. I will miss her, but she will be going to Jamaica with us for Christmas, so its only a few weeks before I get to see her again.

And one last update: I went to Rite-Aid yesterday and FINALLY got the stupid prescription filled. All of it. Maybe now that its in the system, it won't be so crazy-hard to refill next month....? Who knows....


Here's a pic of the cupcakes. I am not sure how well the IPA script shows up. Hannia probably got much better pictures than I did. And halfway through the party our camera died and we didn't find the charger until after everyone had left. I had inadvertently packed it up with the Halloween decorations that we took on the cruise....and believe me, looking through that stuff was an absolute last resort since I had it all boxed up and packed away. But we found it, and everything is fine. Hannia had her camera so I don't think we missed anything.

The Rite-Aid Rx Saga

We have been getting our prescriptions filled at Eckerds for years. At least ten years, but maybe as many as 15...? Our Eckerds turned into Rite-Aid a couple of years ago. And I am not so sure how I feel about it now.

Day 1: I have a Dr. visit. He changes one of my prescriptions to twice a day (up from once a day). Same mg, just a different dosage. I run my Rx by Rite-aid on my way home. The pharmacist said they were out of this particular drug, but would have a shipment in the morning. Come back tomorrow. Ok, fine. Its on my way home from work so not really a big deal.

Day 2: I go by Rite-Aid on my way home from work. I ask for my Rx, and the Pharmacy assistant goes off to look for it. 15 minutes later, after slowly checking every filled script in the place, she comes back and looks at me blankly. I explained that I turned in the Rx yesterday, it wasn't in stock, so I was told I could pick it up today. She sighed as if I was inconveniencing her and went to a computer. They must still be using a dial up connection. It took another eternity. She couldn't find it, even after asking me to spell my last name 3 times in a row...everybody who might know anything was on break...(?), and maybe I should try back tomorrow.

Day 3: Different assistant, so I felt hopeful. This man couldn't find it but only needed me to spell my last name twice, and finally found it on the computer. He told me that since I had had the prescription filled only 2 weeks ago, the insurance company wouldn't let them refill it again so soon. With a heavy sigh of my soul, I explained to him as patiently as my rage would allow that this was a DIFFERENT Rx. A DIFFERENT dosage. He looked uneasy, but told me he would have to call and get it straight with the insurance company, and would I please come back tomorrow.....

Day 4: Once again, I go to Rite-Aid. I get the same assistant as the day before. The one who promised me he would get it all straightened out with the insurance company. I asked to pick up my meds. He seemed to remember me, but somehow had gotten my situation all confused. He said something about the insurance company again, I reiterated that it was a DIFFERENT dosage this time. He got on the dial-up connection computer AGAIN. And then has the audacity to come back and inform me that to get a different dosage, I would need a prescription. Like I had just decided that I wanted to up the dosage all on my own..!?!? I was sooooo NOT amused.
I told him that I had turned in the script FROM MY DR. a couple of days ago, and was still waiting for them to get it straight. He told me he would need to verify this with my Dr.'s office. He would make the phone calls, and then I could pick it up....get this...TOMORROW!!!

Day 5: I go back to Rite-Aid AGAIN! The girl was the one I dealt with first. The one who clearly couldn't find her way out of a paper bag, even if she had a flashlight and a map. She looked at me blankly. She slowly pawed through all of the ready Rx bags. She came back to tell me she couldn't find it. I leaned over the counter, got as much in her face as I could, and I told her in my best imitation of Satan that she better find it. I had been through hell and back for 5 days and I wasn't leaving until I got my damned meds! She looked scared and if she thought I was a woman on the verge of homicidal rage, she would be right. She left and a few minutes later the male assistant came back, with a BAG in his hand. But....they were almost out of stock, and he could only give me a partial refill. I could come back to pick up the rest....tomorrow!

Day 6 (also known as Today!): I run by Rite-Aid on my way home from work. The girl sees me, gets all nervous and walks to the back. The man comes up to talk to me. Yes, he realized that I only got a partial refill yesterday, BUT....in the process of trying to finish up the refill today (after that truck dropped off a shipment), that whole error message from the insurance company came up AGAIN. He is going to have to call them AGAIN. And then...who knows....I will probably go back on Friday only to find out they are out of stock AGAIN....I swear, I am ready to move all of our prescriptions to Walgreens. Or CVS.
Both of them are equally convenient to get to. At least...at the very least....I got my partial refill and have enough of this medication to last me through the weekend. Assuming that I won't be able to get my refill on Friday. I am so frustrated right now!!!!!!!!!

Happy Thanksgiving

Twas the Nite of Thanksgiving


Twas the Nite of Thanksgiving
But I just couldn't sleep
I tried counting backwards,
I tried counting sheep.


The leftovers beckoned -
The dark meat and white
But I fought the temptation
With all of my might

Tossing and turning
With anticipation
The thought of a snack
Became infatuation.

So, I raced to the kitchen,
Flung open the door
And gazed at the fridge,
Full of goodies galore.

Gobbled up turkey
And buttered potatoes,
Pickles and carrots,
Beans and tomatoes.

I felt myself swelling
So plump and so round,
'Til all of a sudden,
I rose off the ground.

I crashed through the ceiling,
Floating into the sky
With a mouthful of pudding
And a handful of pie.

But, I managed to yell
As i soared past the trees....
Happy eating to all -
Pass the cranberries, please.

May your stuffing be tasty,
May your turkey be plump.
May your potatoes 'n gravy
Have nary a lump,

May your yams be delicious
May your pies take the prize,
May your thanksgiving dinner
Stay off of your thighs.

Happy Turkey Day

Crazy

Things are crazy busy around here. I want to blog, really I do. But having the time to actually sit down and put together a few thoughts is hard to do lately. Everything is fine. Its dandy, even. We've got a really nice Thanksgiving weekend planned. And then a most excellent trip to Jamaica for Christmas. I have always wanted to go to Jamaica, so this is one of those places on my "list". This trip is the kids' gift, too, so...the bulk of my Christmas shopping is DONE! How cool is that?

Anyway, I feel like I have neglected my blog, but I am here. Alive and well. I will try to do better, I swear.