Travel Mercies

Ripped was driving himself, Searcher and 3 other Chick-Fil-A workers to Busch Gardens in our van a few weeks ago. I told him to take our van instead of the Taurus, as it had just been serviced. They were part of a caravan of employees being treated by their boss at the Cypress Lake store to a day at the park, including an annual passport.
Naturally, since I told him to take the van, a tire blew out while he was doing 70 on I-75. He was able to hold control and pulled into the center median (he had been in the left lane). The entire caravan stopped, drawing the attention of a member of the FHP. He sent the caravan ahead and radioed for road service. The kids were back on their way in 20 minutes.
Hubby took the tire out of the back of the van. A good 1/5th was just gone, as if the tire had exploded from the inside. I took a photo with my cellphone and sent it to Ripped's phone. He texted back, "Admit it, I'm good!" meaning that he hadn't lost control of the car. This Mama texted back: "No, GOD is good! Did you think your Mom wasn't praying for you to have safe travel to and from the park? This is called "travel mercies." " I wanted to remind him who to thank.
A humorous end-note: Hubby walked into O-K Tire the next Monday, toting the wrecked tire with two fingers in the wound. Some guys looked up at him and he said, "Hey, Guys, I need this flat fixed!" He got quite a chuckle.
Later!

A Drop of Cat Pee in the Middle of the Desert.....

Dreamer once told me that my nose is so sensitive to the smell of cat urine that I could smell a drop of cat pee in the middle of the desert. So imagine my consternation (and that's putting it mildly, expletives deleted) when, as my last act of dressing this morning before I went out the door, I opened my closet to get my shoes and smelled......well, it reeked of cat urine. (May I digress - I am SO glad that dog urine does not smell like this. I would probably never have a dog!) I had no time to worry about it right then, so tonight, I came home, took out shoes, dumped the ones I never wore anyway, Hubby washed some, then I bleached the floor. The puddle was obvious.

Hubby just came to report that the cat had also peed on his side of the closet, so now we think he may have a bladder infection. That's only fair. Why should Hubby and I be the only ones racking up medical bills?

And strangely enough, my former vet, who has known our family since I was pregnant with Dreamer in '84, called tonight! My Mom had made them an afghan a few years back and she wondered if she could take it with her on her retirement. I told her that Mom made if for HER. Take it, enjoy, machine washable, etc. It was so nice to hear from her . She is very much enjoying her retirement. She and her hubby were the best vets ever. They started in our town fresh out of college, working with an established vet; then moved out to a rural community 17 miles away (we followed) and later to another storefront clinic 4 miles further out (we followed again. Hey! Maybe they were trying to get away from us!!!) Anyway, they were awesome through the years. Greatly missed, especially since it's now time for Molly and Honey to have their annual checkups. *sigh* I miss the old days.

I'm sleepy. G'night!

Good Golly, Miss Molly!!!

Searcher called me at work today to say that Molly came in from outside a "different dog." Oh, my, I thought, she finally found a snake in that patch of night-blooming cereus and it's bitten her and she's gone off her nut. I asked Searcher how she was behaving, and that's when the situation was clarified: she went outside to play, and returned several shades darker. Was quite filthy. I came home from work to find that this was no exaggeration. So Molly just had another bath. A dirty pup can't share Mama's bed. We have a detachable shower head with hose, quite handy for dog washing. I must say that I have never seen the water look so gray as it ran down the tub. She was absolutely filthy. I could have potted a small plant with the lost dirt. So of course, she is now running around the house like a moron to dry off. I won't let her outside again til she's good and dry.

In other news, I already think I mentioned the promotion to Asst. Community Health Nursing Director. Tomorrow, THE WORLD!!!! DUN-DUN-DUN!!!! (evil "i will take over the world" music) Well, at least I can't do any worse than current world leaders, and much better than Kim Il-Sung. Ripped just got a $3/hour raise, no small feat for a 19 y.o. My kids have their parents' work ethic! Yay! Searcher is, hopefully, one small step away from a job at the local sheriffs' office (a good thing before she gets accidentally killed at the small italian restaurant where she works - owned by Brazilians, food cooked by Mexicans - go figure). Dreamer graduates at the end of April, and since the program that she and her husband were going to sign with for the Japan trip is in some kind of trouble over there, they will come home, set up house, and make babies. But first, some money!!! I am eager to hold grandbabies. From Dreamer, not the twins.

Hubby has found out that his neck is screwed from prior surgeries. Options were more surgery (????), physical therapy, or do nothing and suffer. He chose P.T. So far, it's helping and he's actually gaining a little strength, a good thing. He's had such muscle wastage in his hands and arms, and not from underuse! It's all nerve damage from the neck.

My health is stable, yay. I just ate an onion sandwich. Mmmm. Onions are good for you.

Today, my health director was yelled at on the phone by a local bombastic ass of a physician, and she hung up on him. Go, her!!! He's had a miserable reputation for years, and I don't know how he still gets to practice. He creates drama, yells at everyone, and says it's all for the patients. Well, no other doctors here do that, and they take good care of their pts., so he's just an ass. I almost cheered when she hung up the phone.

I am taking ICS training this week, then moving from my comfy east-side office to central. My east-side office was well set-up by me in '05, and the staff is more than lovely. I shall miss our little clinic. The downside of promotion. But I'll still see them from time to time. And I leave the clinic management there in good hands.

Enough for one day. My hands hurt from typing. Probably not in a health position. I need a wrist-rest at home.

Bye!!!