Another Day at the Eye Clinic

   Back from another day at the Eye Clinic at Bassett in Cooperstown.  My new ophthalmologist is a young woman named Nicole Lemanski.  She seems very nice and quite knowledgeable.  Had a couple new tests done on my eyes and she was satisfied with their results and with the results that Dr. Manns had reported from my earlier visits.  She's approved the cataract surgery and ordered eye drops...antibiotic and anti-inflammatory...for the days immediately prior to and for the month after the procedure, and prednisone drops for month after.  And she gave me a list of no-no's for the month following surgery including no eye make-up! (UCK!)  Now I'm just waiting for Shannon from the Eye Clinic to call to schedule the procedure.  Dr. Lemanski mentioned she'd like me to see my cardiologist prior to the procedure, too,  and I told her I was scheduled to see him 11/14th.  She said maybe Shannon could get me in to see him sooner.  Just have to wait and see what gets scheduled when. And Dr. Lemanski said if it's up to her, it's not necessary to bridge off of Warfarin.  When I told Jeff that on the way home he asked if the cardiologist would go along with it and I couldn't answer him.  Something else I have to wait and find out about.  And since Dr Lemanski operates at Little Falls on Thursdays we agreed that's where my procedure will be done.  Now I'm schedule to work just 1 Thursday in October (the 26th), anybody want to bet that will be the day my cataract procedure gets scheduled? 

Life Goes On

     Boy, did the temperature go down overnight!  I guess Autumn is here!!
  Zoey is getting on all our nerves a littles.  

what can I get into next?

She is just 4 months old and a real little terror!  She goes full speed until exhausted, then catches a nap and is ready to go again.  Housebreaking is coming along slowly.  In the morning she gets up, hits the 1st pee pad, skips the next one (uses the floor), hits the 3rd one and from then on it's anybody's guess if she'll use or miss the pads.  Doing her business outside doesn't hold that much interest for her yet, either.   (But my floors have never been so clean!!)  She's a climber and a thief.  She can wiggle or jump into any chair and depending on what it's next to she may be off on a new adventure!  The armchair in my bedroom is next to my dresser so I've caught her walking across the dresser.  She picks up what ever catches her fancy...barrettes, stuffed animals, bras....  Paper money mustn't taste very good to her because while she takes bills off my dresser she doesn't chew them very much!  (Thank God!)  She does like Jeff's socks (a definite, NO in my book!!)taking them out of his shoes and keeps taking his sandals eventho one is just about as long as she is!  She has destroyed pencils, buttons, my US5 bamboo circular knitting needles, a pair of decorated

blue & white dragon chopsticks

dragon chopsticks that I use to put in my hair and my favorite 6" wooden ruler.  Today I caught her with my little stuffed Avon Eyeore!  But she's so cute no one stays mad at her for long!  Even Fanny doesn't stay mad at her for long after she steals a bone or treat out of her mouth!  Zoey will have a small scar between her eyes for trying to take a bone away from Fanny...or for putting her head in Fanny's mouth (not sure which) but I don't think she learned anything from that mishap.

see the small round scar?

   We had an early supper last night so around 9pm Jeff decided to go to town and get something from Burger King.  I suggested he give Fanny a treat and take her with him.  Zoey wasn't too happy to be left with me but we managed.  Fanny loves to ride in the car and loves to go anywhere with Jeff so it was a double treat for her.  When he got back we shared a 
Whopper and a chicken sandwich with the dogs.  Zoey even got a couple of onion rings!  (Fanny is like me:  FF's yes, OR's no thanks).  Today Jeff had to go to the pharmacy to refill a Rx so he took Zoey with him.  I imagine he's got his hands full with her! She likes going under the driver's seat.   Fanny doesn't even seem to notice Zoey is missing!  She is sleeping in the sun next to my computer on what use to be

'her' chair until Zoey learned how to climb up into it, that is.  They actually shared it for while but now it's first come/it's yours for the day!
  Yesterday Jeff patched the foundation of the house where it had developed a hole just about where the old electrical entrance had been.  We didn't notice

the quarter-size hole until Jeff bushwacked all the weeds last week.  The area around the hole had chipped away and while it hadn't broken thru it looked like it might during the winter.  We had to buy a bag of mortar mix...an 80# bag...for that small space but it didn't come any smaller.  (How come it's not available in 10# bags for really small jobs like this?) We have another hole in the foundation under the TV room that Jeff's said he'll mend next week.  (I don't think he'll use half the bag to fix that.)  I put D-con out earlier this week so hopefully the critters can't come back in.  I haven't found any dead/dying mice yet.
    My things have started to sell again in the shop.  With the hot weather we had this summer I wasn't surprised not much sold but September sales were decent.  I've had a hard time keeping up with hats and now the number of sweaters has started to get low.  Guess I just have to force myself to sit and knit.  Somebody's got to force Zoey to leave the yarn and needles alone!  We'll see.

A Trip to the Groomers

      Fanny and Zoey had appointments this afternoon to have Mani/Pedi's and their ears cleaned at Olivia's Happy Tails in Herkimer but since it was so hot and humid and Zoey hasn't had her rabies shot yet I volunteered to take Fanny alone.  Jeff and Zoey could stay home and nap in the cool house.  I hooked Fanny leash to her collar and whispered to her 'let's go for a ride and get some chicken nuggets on the way home'.  She looked up at me from her nearly prone position on the couch in the TV room and I swear she said 'f**k you' and did not move a muscle.  I tried tugging on her leash and nothing happened except Zoey came running thru the house.  I truly believe Zoey said 'chicken nuggets?  I'll go for a ride in the car for chicken nuggets!' Jeff followed Zoey into the room and saw I wasn't getting anywhere fast with Fanny.  By the time he had his hat on, she was off the couch and by the door ready to go.  We all went out into the hot, humid day and drove to Herkimer.  The parking space next to Olivia's Happy Tails on the corner of Main St and Park Ave was empty but I was headed the wrong way.  I did an illegal U-turn in the parking lot of the former Crocker Agency and pulled into the parking space.  Zoey and I got out of the car and fed the meter while Jeff tried to convince Fanny it was time to climb down.  Finally she got out and we walked to the door of the shop.  That's when Zoey realized all the interesting smells on the street stopped at that door and there were just dog smells from there on.  She refused to go thru the door.  With a little coaxing, pulling and pushing, we finally got both dogs into the shop. 
   I explained that Zoey had all her puppy shots but not the rabies and they said she could still have her nails done. She shared a room with a golden doodle who was a gentleman and a perfect model.  He stood still and tall while his coat was groomed and clipped, looking over...and down at Zoey.  She wasn't sure she liked what was happening... to her ears when the groomer cleaned them or her back feet when those nails were clipped.  By the time they got to her front feet Zoey was trying to hide in my arms!  A little puppy powder and a kerchief and she was finished!

   Fanny, on the other hand, knew what was going to happen, never liked it and didn't like it today. When her name was called, she tucked her tail between her legs, spread her back legs and tried to hanker down.  Jeff had to pull her down the hall to the grooming room. The groomer slipped on the muzzle to keep her from impulse biting and Jeff stayed close to calm and reassure her as they lifted her into the grooming tub.  Her ears were cleaned out and her nails clipped.  A pretty kerchief was put around her neck and she was finished. 

   Fanny couldn't wait until she was out of there...Zoey was waiting to compare notes...and we got them cow hooves as treats because they were good and didn't bite anyone!  Their next appointment is Oct. 11th. 

   Since I had promised the dogs chicken nuggets, we went to Burger King next and got a 10-pack of nuggets for $1.49 for them to share, 2 Whoppers for $6 for Jeff (and some onion rings) and a Buffalo chicken sandwich for me.  Then we drove over to McDonald's and got 2 large sodas for $1 each and a glass of ice water for free.   Jeff suggested going down to the river to eat our lunch at the Maytan Fishing Site so we drove down there.  It was worth it!  So nice and cool by the river with just a slight breeze!  Jeff walked the dogs around the picnic area by the river before we headed home. Fanny wasn't terribly impressed but Zoey would have stayed all day.
   Fanny fled straight into the house when we got there but Zoey wanted to run around a little outside. Now both of them are napping...Zoey on the chair to my right and Fanny at my feet to the left.  Oh, Jeff is getting ready to nap, too.  Maybe that's now such a bad idea.

Anticipation by Zoey

       It's exciting to live each day following your nose
...smelling where it takes you, tasting what it leads you to, getting you into trouble when you don't 'stay in the yard'.  It can lead you to things to climb over 
or put you on the level to walk on tables or dressers(!!) or tempt you to dig holes in the middle of the yard...or the couch pillow(!).  It can lead you down the driveway after the car...20 minutes after if drove away (OK, my nose doesn't tell time so good) or follow Fanny around the house.  It can tell when supper's being served or when Mary has a cookie and a cup of coffee (she'll share but Jeff won't).  It knows which drive-thru window put treats in their drawer for Fanny and me (the bank) and which one doesn't (the pharmacy) and which ones just smell good (the pizza and sandwich places) but they all have nice people who say how cute I am. Sometimes it tells me I don't want to go inside somewhere but then Mary or Jeff just pick me up and carry me in.  Usually I'm right, like the place that sort of smells interesting but has a lot of other smells, too, that I'm afraid of.
I've gotten stuck in the hinny with a pin or something a couple of times when we've gone there and didn't feel so good afterwards.  But I like to sit at the window with my nose against the screen and just watch and smell the backyard.  There are a lot to things I want to explore out there...maybe someday, if I ever get as big as Fanny.  But then, they tell Fanny to 'stay in the yard', too.

More Outside Work

 More beautiful days spent outside watching the dogs play and knitting while Jeff worked clearing more brush and weeds and helping Wally. Who would believe it's the middle of Sept. and temperatures are in the mid 70's to low 80's?  Tuesday both dogs listened and 'stayed in the yard' except for one quick excursion thru the greenhouse and out the backside of it into the woods...but they came back when Jeff followed and called them. Jeff found the old Frisbee and Zoey seems to like chasing it and bringing it back.  Fanny could never be bothered! 
   Zoey's got a new trick...climbing onto the armchair in my room and then onto my dresser. Caught her the other day running thru the house with a small jewelry box of earrings and rings in her mouth and later with a tape dispenser! Then after supper I actually caught her walking across my dresser!! That means I've got to rearrange the furniture again. I wondered how she managed to get the Eyeore bopplehead over the weekend. I do not want her to be able to get the Wedding Dress bear or the animals Jeff gave Mom and me over the years! And I just found her on the bed...how she did she get up there unassisted? I think she did it during the night, too. She's not dumb...now if she could just remember what pee pads are for...or better yet, follow Fanny and do her business outside!
   Today Wally decided this was the year to mend his driveway.  The wire for the electric lights on the fence started out under the driveway but over the years the pipe that holds it had surfaced and he had  resurfaced that part of the driveway.  Today Wally decided it was time to dig out the pipe, bury it and resurface the driveway again.  Both Wally and Jeff could imagine the pipe getting caught in a snow-blower or picked up by a plow blade if it really snowed and we had to call for help getting out!  Jeff went out to help him dig and after a couple of

'...the ditch has got to be deeper...'

 hours

they had the ditch dug deep enough for the pipe to sit nicely on the bottom.  Once it's filled in and covered, the pipe will be safe.  Mixing and

'...even out that high spot...'

pouring the concrete will be tomorrow's job.
I think Wally had to buy
5 bags of mix to have enough to fill that trench! Glad this beautiful weather isn't 
going to waste! 
   Unfortunately, the lawn isn't growing back very fast.  Wally thinks it will regenerate by itself by spring but in the meantime it looks rather poor.  And both guys want to run a couple more passes with the leveler before seeding it.  I'd like to buy a bag of 'shade seed' but they'd probably make me spread it! 
P.S.  It ended up taking 12 bags (the 40# ones) to fill the ditch but the job is finally done!  It will take a couple of days for it to dry.

Puppy Shots

   Zoey had her last set of 'puppy shots' today at Tractor Supply's weekly Wellness Clinic.  Fanny went along for moral support but waited in the car.  Zoey wasn't too sure what was going to happen when we went into the store and definitely didn't like meeting other dogs.  There was a beautiful golden retriever puppy ahead of us in line who was half Zoey's age and double her size that she didn't really care for too much.  A pair of pugs (adults) were carrying on and she tucked her tail and I had to hold Zoey in my arms until they left.  A miniature Australian shepherd with the most beautiful clear blue eyes was behind us and she didn't care for the pugs, either.  Zoey took her shots and liquid vaccine without any fuss.  We handed in our baggie with a 'sample' to be tested to make sure the dewormer had done it's job.  We had the vet check out the scratch Zoey got yesterday from putting her head in Fanny's mouth because it had developed a scab.  The vet said it was healing nicely and it looked like Fanny (who's been licking it several times a day) has been taking care of it beautifully.  Jeff picked up a free bag of puppy chow and I got a couple of dog treats shaped like tooth brushes!  Zoey liked the one I gave her but Fanny didn't care for hers.  
   Jeff went fishing last night and the dogs decided to sleep with me...until Wally's outside light went out (it's just outside my bedroom window on the fence) and the neighbor critters came out to play in the dark.  Fanny started to run from window to window barking with Zoey right behind.  Finally Fanny jumped onto Jeff's bed and laid there looking out the window waiting for him to come home.  Zoey can't make it onto the beds without help so she climbed into the chair next to my computer and went to sleep.   Fanny repeated her barking routine a couple more times whenever the motion light on our garage went on...something came close enough to trigger it...but finally she fell asleep, too.  When Jeff got home around 11pm she woke up and got Zoey up so they were both waiting for him at the door, barking and wiggling.  Jeff was disappointed he hadn't gotten any fish and was starting to ache from sitting outside for so long after dark.  He took a piece of chocolate pudding pie I had made and a cup of coffee and went to read in his room.  Fanny and Zoey followed him hoping for some crumbs.  I said 'good night' to all of them and went to bed alone...haven't done that in a long time!  I had opened my north-facing window and the breeze was so nice!  Who needs air-conditioning?  I managed to fall asleep right away and slept until 4:30-5am when Fanny had to go out and when she came back in suddenly Zoey and Fanny were demanding space in my bed.  If you think a queen-size bed is large, try putting a person, a 90 lb dog and a small puppy in one.  There is not any room to spare.  But we slept until 9am when the 3-ring circus was back!  Zoey still hasn't learned not to put her head in Fanny's mouth.  Good thing Fanny knows enough not to bite down on her any more!!

Things A Puppy Must Learn

   We started the day out bright and early this morning...before 6am...with Zoey(the puppy)'s 1st frantic run thru the house scoring a direct hit on the 1st pee pad in my room and near misses on all the others in the living room, kitchen and TV room. After breakfast (dog biscuits and peanut butter) the dogs started their usual wild wrestling but it got a little out of hand and Zoey let out a bone-rattling scream as she wrenched away from Fanny and ran crying to me. I couldn't see any blood or open wounds but she continued to cry until Jeff picked her up and checked her out: legs (nothing broken), sides (no bites) and ears (no rips). By then she had calmed down a little but still wanted comfort from the humans. Fanny seemed dazed and tried to check Zoey out,  too, licking her all over. Definitely not sure what had happened.  Eventually all was quiet and the dogs were friends again. Later in the morning when we were all outside I spotted a little dark mark on Zoey's nose...a small scrape, maybe dried blood. The area around it seemed a little tender to the touch but it wasn't bleeding. We think Zoey had her head in Fanny's mouth and pulled away allowing Fanny to scratch her head with some teeth. If Fanny had bitten Zoey's head the spot would have been bigger and the hole deeper and there would have been much more blood. Maybe Zoey learned something...don't put your head into the big dog's mouth...she sure doesn't remember what 'stay in the yard' means because later she ran down to Wally's with Jeff right behind her!  She didn't like the paddling she got, or being led back to 'the yard' or, most of all, being tied up and not being allowed to roam around.

Fixing a Refrigeator And Other Happenings

   If you've visited our house you know that we don't have a full size refrigerator.  I replaced the last one I had several years ago with an 'under the counter' model but put it up on a cupboard base.  It's big enough for 1 or 2 people...especially when you have a chest freezer in another room.  When the 1st one I bought 'died' after a few years, I replaced it with another one and eventually with this one, a Kenmore.  Well, that one decided it's time had come but Jeff thought it might have something to do with needing more coolant...maybe even a leak in the coolant line...so he started looking for a replacement hose, taps and eventually found what we needed at Robinson's in Mohawk.  He bought a can of coolant at the auto parts store and today while I was at a doctor's appointment, he played doctor with the refrigerator.  

  There was no way to tell if he had put enough...or too much...coolant in the hose so most of the morning after the refrigerator started to try to cycle it's way back into service, he's been releasing some of the coolant. By late afternoon, the refrigerator was running the way it was suppose to...acting like a refrigerator!  That gray hose on the left in the photo is actually covered with frost...like it's suppose to be!  Jeff learned how to do this from his Uncle George who was really a jack-of-all-trades. Total cost for this repair job was $45-50.  Since we kept the 2nd refrigerator when we bought this one, Jeff's going to refurbish it so we can use it on the porch for soda and veggies...and probably worms and fish in season. 
   While Jeff kept busy playing Refrigerator Doctor, I visited my regular nurse practitioner for my annual check-up. My Bp is fantastic (112/70)...and that's with a 3 1/2 month old puppy who's not learning why there are pee pads all over the house! Next week I have to visit the Vampire for a round of blood tests including a full thyroid scan. Mr. McCue tends to agree with me that what's left of my cyst-filled thyroid has slowed down on hormone production. It may be time to start Synthroid.  The usual visits for a mammo and with the GYN and Cardiologist are next.  

Always Something To Do

   My house looks like we had a ticker tape parade INSIDE!  I'm cleaning and re-arranging bedroom furniture to make it easier for the guys from Pace Windows to measure the windows tomorrow.  Unfortunately, it makes it easier for Zoey, the puppy, to get into mischief!  Now she can reach my dresser and has decided the Eyeore bopplehead is perfect for her.  NO WAY!  I've chased her thru the house a couple of times to rescues it.  Had to put it up above her reach...I hope...to keep it safe.  Now I'm worried about some of the stuffed animals...the Wedding Gown bear I had made from my mom's wedding gown last winter especially and some of the ones Jeff had given Mom and me over the years...as well as some books and photos. And she's shredded most of the  newspapers and catalogues she's found in my room, as well as a dry pee pad(a new habit), thru the house!  I've got to sweep the living room and my bedroom before I do anything else!
  Tim sent some 'after Irma' photos of his house in S. Florida but I can't cut and paste them here like I want to without some help.  If I do, they will disappear in a couple of days.  I'm going to ask for 'help' at the library the next time I go to town and maybe someone there can figure out how to make the photos stay.
  Jeff worked outside yesterday clearing away more weeds and overgrown shrubs on the west side of the house.  He's got the area clear almost to the property line...something I was never able to do with just a 'walk behind' mower, a weedwacker and a pair of clippers!  What a difference it makes!!  Once the grass grows back it will really make this place look like something...not just a little house in a little clearing in the woods!!  Now with all the lawn we'll have next year I can see the need for the Cub Cadet rider!!  (As long as I don't have to drive it.)

A Bright Sunny Day

    A bright sunny day but our refrigerator has a small problem...needs a refill of coolant.  It's an under counter model, small but big enough for us especially since we do have a separate freezer.  Jeff finally found the parts for it yesterday and will attempt to change the line today.  Glad it's not a 90+ day outside so things are holding on pretty good.
   Friends who live in Florida made it thru Irma without major damage.  Those that evacuated are headed home to check out the damage (mainly lost roof tiles and water around the house) and those who stayed are living on temporary 'islands'.  I hope somebody sends some photos so I can post them here.  (Here that, Tim?)  Glad they made it OK. A friend in South Carolina also got hit, with trees down and water damage.  All these lucky folks have great Guardian Angels around them protecting them from harm, don't they?  But I'll still stick with the snow.  At least you can move it!
    With summer over, sweaters have started selling in the shop again.  My red, white and blue V-neck cardigan(Braves or Red Sox, depending on where you live)  got a lot of compliments before selling so I've got another one growing on the needles.  And most of the Flowers and Lace cardigans have sold so one of them will have to be next.  I finally finished a Pin-stripe V-neck cardigan (Yankee) with lots of 'help' from the puppy, Zoey.  Seems she loves the yarn and needles that it was on.  She tried to chew the tips of the US7's but the Rainbow wood interchangeable needles (from KnitPicks) were too hard for her to damage.  Unfortunately, the tips of the bamboo US5's got chewed up pretty badly.  I had to sand them down before I could finish the sweater.  I've also got a project bag on bamboo US 11's with cotton Sugar and Crème yarn that Zoey seems to have a crush on.  She's stolen the yarn a couple of times and since it's worked with 2 skeins at a time and she only takes 1, she's managed to make a mess!  Took a lot of time yesterday to detangle the yarn.  I was not happy!  Jeff just caught her with my old 6" wooden ruler!  She managed to pick it up off of the end-table.  Luckily, she just got started chewing one end...and she started at the beginning of it!
  Time to get back to knitting!

Zoey, Irma and a Little Knitting, too!

   Yesterday must have been a boring day for the puppy although she certainly tried to keep herself busy!  I've gotten into the habit of hanging my knitting bag on the back of the parlor chair I usually sit in.  It's a wingback and that keeps...or kept the bag above Zoey's head.  Well, yesterday she figured out that if she climbed into the seat of the chair and onto the arm she could reach into the bag and pull the WIP...the sweater on the needles...out.  And she did!  Then she reached in and grabbed the skein of yarn, white of course, and took off thru the house!  That's when Jeff noticed her and saved my yarn and sweater.  She tried to 'alter' the tips of the Rainbow Wood interchangeable circular needles I was using, too, but they turned out to be harder than she expected and she only scratched them (although she did bite the soft circular cable but not badly.) {Sat., 9/9/17:  Zoey decided to try bamboo circular needles

today.  She didn't even bother to take the WIP out of the project bag...just chewed the end of the needle!  Bamboo may be a strong wood but a puppy's teeth can chew it up easily!}  Then last night she was burrowing in the closet by my pc (I thought for a bone Fanny had hide there)and came out with another WIP, this time a project bag that was being worked with double yarn!  She dropped one skein and ran with the other one in her mouth!  It took a couple of minutes but we cornered her and again rescued the yarn and knitting project.  It seemed every I sat at the computer to track a friend's progress in his family's evacuation from Hurricane Irma in Florida, Zoey did something she shouldn't have!  I don't know if she was hiding  

or retrieving something from the bowels of the couch in this shot!   I got up once to answer the phone and she tore 2 pages from the notebook that the pattern I was using was in!  Jeff took both dogs outside to run around during the sunny times and they napped when they came back in, but Zoey definitely has more energy than all 3 of us (Jeff, Fanny and me) put together!Jeff's calling her  the Energized Beagle!
   As for my friends' evacuations from Florida and Hurricane Irma, Tim and his family (dog, son and girl friend, daughter and fiancé) left their homes near Bocca Rotan) yesterday morning heading north.  Initially, they were headed to Atlanta but in-route changed destinations and turned west.  They made it to Panama City by midnight last night and checked into their reserved hotel rooms.  They were planning to stay there a couple of nights (until  Irma makes landfall) and reassess their next move.  I got a Message from him this morning letting me know that there had been a change in their travel plans.  They had decided to head a little further northwest and were on the way to Nashville.  Irma may follow them but the storm surge won't!  It will just be rain and wind.  Lucretia and her family planned to leave their home near Cocoa Beach with their daughter, granddaughter, aunt and uncle and head with their camper to Charleston, SC.  Her sister and brothers and their families planned to ride out the storm in their homes near Cocoa Beach. Their mother is in assisted living  nearby and evacuation is up to the management.  Praying that guardian angels are surrounding all of these people.  Everyone is trying to make lemonade out of the lemons Mother Nature is handing out!!
   I finally managed to finish knitting that sweater Zoey kept stealing the yarn for last night.  It's a navy and white raglan v-neck cardigan and just needs the pin-stripes to finish.  That should be today.  Then it will be ready to take to the shop on Sunday.  I sold my red and white baseball sweater yesterday...some called it a Red Sox sweater but I'm calling it a Braves sweater.  Anyway, it sold!  Got to do a Black Sheep sweater next since I sold one last week when I worked.  I don't mind knitting them when they sell!

New Windows

   We have decided to contract with Pace Windows of Victor, NY for new windows for both bedrooms.  All four are surrounded pretty much by dry rot and the outside window sills are in bad condition.  The windows can only be opened from the top at the moment because something snapped inside them and if you open them from the bottom the window won't stay up.  I had all the windows (except the one over the kitchen sink and the one in the laundry room) replaced a couple of years before I retired.  The rest of the windows are holding up fine...it's just the bedroom windows that don't or won't stay up.  Anyway, we looked at replacing them ourselves (or more properly, Jeff replacing them) but we're not sure what we'll find when the existing windows are taken out.  This way Pace will place and correct anything that needs fixing.  We've had other problems with these bedroom windows...moisture collects on the inside sill, etc...so it's just time to fix the problem. Since Pace will cover the outside frames with vinyl it will also satisfy our insurance company's complaint about the dry rot.   Hope this is the right move 'coz it's not cheap!  I'll post photos as soon as they start work. 
   Pace just called.  We've been approved for credit and the official measurements will be done on 9/14. Photos of that will follow!

Labor Day

   Last night around 9:15pm our neighbors down the road set off a fireworks display. Fanny, Zoey and I were comfy in bed...I was reading... while Jeff was reading at his computer when the 1st bomb went off. Fanny leaped off the bed and ran to Jeff and dove under his bed. Zoey squirmed and shimmied until I put her on the floor and then she followed...with me bringing up the rear! By the time I got to the window, all that could be seen of Fanny was her rear end and tail sticking out from beneath the bed while Jeff had picked Zoey up and placed her on the bed. She was busy working her way under the covers. I stayed at the window and was treated to a pretty colorful fireworks display...bursts of color and patterns...that lasted about 10-15 minutes. (They must have saved the fireworks from the Fourth of July because I haven't seen any for sale lately.) After the display was finished Zoey and I went back to the other room but Fanny stayed next to Jeff...all night! She wasn't taking any chances, I guess! Since yesterday was a pretty dismissal end to summer...it rained off and on most of the day and the temperature never got above 55, the fireworks were a nice treat. Thanks, neighbors!
   Today the weed-busting moved to the back of the house...or the side that faces south.  Jeff had already mowed the lawn...what there was...and today he tackled the overgrown forsythia bushes. Actually the original bush is under the west facing window of the TV room and the rest of the jungle formed because the runners traveled underground.  It looked 

beautiful in the spring but all those branches covering the windows could be a real hazard in the winter.  Just think if  they were covered with
ice or snow?!?   The damage they could do to

the windows!  Now that area under the windows is completely clear of the forsythia branches.  I just hope it grows enough to flower again

next year. 
   Zoey was willing to explore the backyard but kept going off into the woods or down the old trolley path.  Definitely not following orders to 'stay in the yard'.  Fanny didn't feel like playing...those fireworks last night interrupted her sleep so Zoey was on her own.  I sat there with a book and Fanny snoozing next to me while Zoey tried to do some exploring without getting into too much trouble.  A guy on a big 4-wheeler came down the path and Jeff had to stop him and tell him to turn around because the trail was blocked ahead. The driver seemed surprised.  When we first moved into the little house in the little woods I could ride my bike down the trolley path thru East Herkimer, across the old bridge and go to the Herkimer swimming pool without ever going on Rte 5.  The ride back home was a little difficult because the hill going into E. Herkimer was tough but once that was tackled it was a flat ride home.  Now, our end of the path is blocked by Massaro's, who own it, because of liability insurance, and the middle is cut by Gros Blvd. What a difference 50 years makes!
   Jeff has got 3/4 of the way around the house cleared of weeds.  He just has the south-east corner where the big deck is and where he stacks wood waiting to be cut into the right size for the wood stove.  The deck is getting rotten in places and since we don't use it much I think it will probably be next to be taken down and burnt.  I'd like a small stoop...like the one by the back door with a slanted roof like it has...to replace the deck.  Because of the shape and slope of the metal roof on the TV room snow doesn't stay on that roof but ends up on the deck...in front of the door to the TV room making it useless.  A small stoop with a slanted roof would make the door usable in winter.  And since there is a woodstove in that room, not a bad idea, either.  Whether or not we get to it this year remains to be seen, but it is on our 'to do' list.

  Well, Jeff put in his time on the Cub Cadet this afternoon and decided to go fishing.  It's suppose to rain off and on for the rest of the week so this may be his only opportunity this week!  Fanny is trying to catch up on the sleep she missed last night but Zoey

wants her to wake up and play.  I think Zoey and I will go into the TV room and leave Fanny to her nap.  Actually, Zoey hasn't had a nap this afternoon so I might get her to sleep and then I can read in peace for a little while.  We had a big lunch so no supper to cook tonight! YEAH!!  Well, it is Labor Day!