A Little Trouble Fishing

Shortly before dusk, I took J fishing down the road. We were by the road when it started to get dark, but the little bullheads were biting pretty well. I took J home and came back to try fishing some more since I had been getting so many bites. The elderly guy who lives down the road on the other side of the creek and who keeps the path mowed was there, and he held a flashlight while I fished. He said he used to fish there when his kids were little.

It wasn't long before two police cars stopped, lights going. They shined the spotlight on us. I said to the gentlemen holding, "I wonder what they're here for. I didn't think there was anything illegal about fishing. I have a fishing license."

Well, the police just wanted to know what was going on. They asked where the little girl was. I said she was mine and I took her home when it got dark. Apparently someone called the police when they saw us hanging out by the road. The police didn't even ask for identification. I didn't expect them to ask for fishing licenses (and they didn't) because that's done by the game people. While they were there, I got a bite and got an 8-inch bullhead. They left at that point since I guess they figured out nothing illegal was going on, no one had drowned, etc.

It sort of ruined the mood, and the fish quit biting so well, so we left about ten minutes later. That bullhead succeeded in barbing my finger on my left hand. I had a heck of a time getting the hook out of his mouth and probably should have just cut the line.

Who knows (not even me)? Read and see.

My sister-in-law (brother's wife) sent me a package of knitted things she made today. I got a pair of socks! K got a sweater and socks. N got socks. J got socks and a tutu-thing. We girls wore our knitted things to a Cub Scout pack meeting this evening. I did this because I thought my friend Suzanne would be there. Suzanne, like my SIL, is a knitting addict. I showed her my homemade socks. She showed me hers. She told me we had K's sweater on backwards. I told her J and K put it on. I had just thought that was the way the neck was.

I had a Jack and Coke tonight so I'm not totally coherent. It was just one, but I drink so rarely that I keep messing up my typing. I thought I'd kick back and relax after days of worrying about the economy.

I finally called my senators and representative and told them I didn't want a bailout of financial institutions by the government. It took me a long time to come to that conclusion, and I'm not 100 % sure it is the correct decision, but it is consistent with my thinking that the less the government does, the better. I also told them to make sure lenders can't be forced to loan money to people based upon race (which is what got this horrid snowball rolling). All credit should be color blind. If one racial group doesn't get mortgages as easily, that's just tough, as long as no one is denied mortgages or given poorer terms because of race. Race shouldn't matter, and credit should be for those who appear able and willing to pay it back.

I feel like the bailout plan is extortion. You must give us this huge check or you'll get a severe recession (code for depression). No one really knows if that would happen or if the bailout will prevent it. If you give out money now, who will be next? The auto industry? The airline industry? Other banks? Credit card companies?

Economic Post

I told my husband we were having a roasted chicken for dinner. He said, "We have chicken a lot."

I said, "Do you want to know why?"

He said, "I know why, and I don't want to waste a lot of money on beef."

I got this whole chicken at a very good price. It's even an organic chicken. It was on sale for $.88/pound. I think the whole thing was around $4. Then I had a coupon for $1.50 off. I got a nice little chicken for about $2.50. I am hoping there will bu sufficient meat to make a chicken noodle casserole for dinner tomorrow, too, since the kids don't eat much usually.

J Better

J was supposed to be worse today. Instead, she was much, much better. In fact, she wanted to go to school. Since 24 hours hadn't passed since she got the penicillin shot, I didn't let her. I figured out she wanted to go to school because Friday is pizza day in the cafeteria. I told her we could get pizza after K saw the doctor. That penicillin injection was wonderful stuff!

K wasn't as ill as the other two. Had they not been ill, I wouldn't have taken her to the doctors. I was just worried she had something that would get worse when the doctor's office was closed after tomorrow morning. She'd had the fever last night and this morning, but it was gone by the time of her appointment. It was back again this evening.

The pediatrician gave her antibiotics, too, as a prophylactic. Her strep test was negative, but the doctor was afraid she'd catch it yet from J since she's already ill. She might have whatever N has. He's still complaining about a sore throat.

I'm glad to only have one child feverishly sick at a time. It makes things so much easier.

K, too

K has a fever now, too. She was squirmy, so we pulled the under-arm thermometer when it got to 101.something. So, she's at least 102 °F. Her disposition is much better than the others when they have fever. I hope that continues.

I don't know how we'll manage a trip to the doctor's tomorrow if J is worse, as the doctor told me to expect. There is no way on Earth I can carry both girls, and I had to carry J most of the way today. J is also refusing to go. Hopefully I can get an appointment at a time when Mr. K can watch J.

J is ill now

J cried a bit yesterday after 11 p.m., but I didn't think to take her temperature. When she got up this morning, she was hot to the touch. I checked her, and she was at 101.7 °F. Around 9:30, after N got on the bus and it was apparent J was quite ill, I called the doctor's office, and got her in at 11:40. We were lucky and got the same doctor N saw on Monday.

I had to carry J in because she said she hurt too much to walk. J tested positive for strep throat, even though N didn't. We discussed antibiotic options because of J hiding unswallowed chewable antibiotics last school year when she had an ear infection, and all the trouble she gives me taking the liquid stuff. The doctor said he could cure her with one injection of a two-part penicillin (short and long acting). I said, let's do that, then. We only have to fight with here once, and we know the proper dose is in place.

Two nurses got together to get the injection in her butt. J screamed and cried and said it was very painful. The doctor warned me that such a hit of penicillin will rapidly kill off the strep, and that will probably make her much sicker tomorrow. By Saturday, she should start to feel better. We'll see if/how this works. If all ends up well, this will be my preference for antibiotics for J until she is old enough to swallow pills whole. She's been refusing Tylenol and Ibuprofen. The doctor says that's okay. They're to lower her fever so she'll be more comfortable, but if she's more comfortable skipping that, then that's her problem.

I'm supposed to change everyone's toothbrushes (J's in two days).

N made it to school today. He went yesterday morning, but I had to pick him up before noon because he said his throat and hear hurt so much. School is almost over so I guess he's back to functioning. Thank goodness I don't have two sick at home at the same time. Now we just have to keep K from getting ill...and Mr. K.....and me.....

Home Sick

N spent the day home with me. His sore throat is getting worse, but his fever was down to 99.8 °F this morning. I called the pediatrician's office just before 8:30, and they offered me a 9 a.m. appointment or a 10:15 a.m. appointment. Because I had to wait for the bus around 9, I had to go with the 10:15 appointment.

The nurse swabbed N's throat for the strep test, and it came back negative. The doctor says it is some kind of a sinus infection (N's eyes have dark circles under them). He wants me to give N some Claritin or Zyrtec, and he wrote him a prescription for chewable amoxicillin. N is free to go back to school as soon as the fever passes. He's probably not contagious.

I'm hoping N will go back to school tomorrow. I didn't get to go to the gym today, and I can't even try to make it up this evening because I have to take J to a Daisy meeting. I didn't go Friday because I had a cut on the palm of my hand that bandaids kept falling off of, and I didn't want to risk getting a MRSA infection from the gym equipment when I go to the gym to improve my health. Instead I put K in the stroller and took a walk at a park. My hand is pretty well healed now.

The friend I invited to dinner yesterday will drop by after work today. She said she needs to drop off the dessert she was going to bring. I'm guessing it's a birthday cake or something since my birthday is tomorrow. Otherwise, she and her husband could just eat it themselves.

I've got cooked chicken going out my ears. We're having ,eftover roast chicken for dinner tonight. I was going to turn it into a casserole since N likes that, but his throat hurts so much I doubt he'll eat it anyway.

Dinner Canceled

I had to call my friend this morning and cancel dinner. Last night N had a fever of just over 101 °F, and it didn't clear up by morning. We skipped church, and I did a doughnut run. J had to go to Sunday school. This afternoon, N's fever was up to 104 °F. He says he has a sore throat. If he wakes up less than healthy tomorrow, I'll probably call his doctor and try to get him in. I suppose it could be strep throat.

Blathering on

Cadbury milk chocolate, while pleasant, has a strange, fruity flavor. This week the big Cadbury bars were on sale for $1. Last week it was the Hershey bars. I'm eating some of the Cadbury bar as I type. Hopefully I won't get chocolate on the keyboard or mouse.

I'm having the friend I sometimes lunch with and her husband over for dinner tomorrow. I think this is the second time we've ever had non-relative company over for a meal. Last time it was the same couple, and I invited them over for hot dogs in the spring of 1999, before I had kids. We just don't entertain.

I'm planning to do better than hot dogs this time; I'm roasting a chicken. I found a nice big one at the store tonight. I bought dinner rolls. I'm planning to cook green beans and make mashed potatoes. I'll need to get enough drippings from the chicken to make gravy. I'll probably have to supplement with a can of chicken broth. I might make some kind of marinated tomato chunk salad since we are still getting nice tomatoes from the garden. My friend is bringing a dessert. I just need to get some sort of idea how long it is going to take to roast such a big chicken. Usually I roast a scrawny broiler/fry for my family, and that takes about 1.25 hours. This will probably run quite a bit longer.

Her husband and I both have strong conservative/libertarian leanings, so the conversation should be good. Once I called her on the phone, but she was out so I ended up talking politics for almost and hour with her husband on the phone.

Mr. K took N with him all day today while he worked on one of our rental houses. N behaved himself well, and even helped paint a floor. Because he was good and worked hard, we gave him a Wacky Zingoz Webkinz I got for him and was saving in the closet until Christmas or until he gave me some other reason to give it to him.

J was quite unpleasant most of the day. She complained, arugued, and wouldn't do as I asked. She carried on about how bored she was. I played cards with her, and let her make up a card game, and then I let her string some of my beads. While she was busy, she complained less. It was better than all the fighting we'd have had if N had stayed home, too. K napped during the bead time and the card time.

I've been reading J the Little House on the Prairie books. Usually she's grumpy and doesn't want to hear it. She let me read tonight. We are down to the last chapter in Little House on the Prairie. I'm hoping J will like them enough that she'll want to learn to read so she can read to herself without waiting for me to have time and her to be in the mood, which doesn't happen often enough.

None, general rambling

School has been going for a couple weeks. I enjoy spending time alone with K. I don't like the inconvenience of having to assure I'm home for the bus's coming and going. I got spoiled by freedom from the clock this summer.

I had lunch with my friend Debbie this afternoon. K put on quite a show. The worst was when it looked like she was trying to dump tortilla chips on the hair of the lady on the other side of our booth. I'm not sure K should be taken out in public to eat.

I got my orthotics refurbished. They wore out (hole all the way through in June), and a couple weeks before school started, I called the podiatrist's office to see if I could get another pair made since my feet were hurting so badly without them. They suggested having them refurbished. It cost much less, and I didn't have to make an appointment or arrange to have someone watch my kids while I had my feet molded. I'm hoping they'll work as well as they did when they were new.

The state fair is at the end of the month. We didn't make the county fair at the end of August. Part of the reason was that my feet hurt too much. My hope is that I can get used to the orthotics again in time to have a more comfortable time at the state fair. The other reason we didn't go to the county fair is that it cost so much. It's a really lame fair, and with the rides for the kids, it would have cost us as least as much as the state fair, which is actually a much larger, enjoyable event. It used to be that the state fair cost a lot more, but with the kids wanting rides and the price of the county fair increasing, this looks like the way to go. Also, the state fair now lets you buy much cheaper tickets to only walk around the place and not do the rides. Mr. K, K, and I will probably get that kind of ticket. N and J will get unlimited ride tickets.

Tropical Storm Hanna on its way

We're getting the first bands of rain from this storm this evening. It will start in earnest around daybreak if the predictions are correct. We should mostly get rain from the storm and not a lot of the high winds. I'll be catching the evening weather report just before bed to see if the forecast has changed at all.

Yesterday the septic pump guys came in the morning and got their job done (replacing the old pump which had shorted out). They told me they seldom see pumps as old as mine. They guessed it was fifteen to twenty years old. This doesn't give me confidence in the lifespan of the new pump. So, I'm an extra $842.50 poorer than before, but pump should last for a while. One has to have one's sewage flowing the right direction.

K will be happy tomorrow because N and J will both be home. She's missed them when they've been at school this week.

I was out shopping at an Asian grocery store and a Latin grocery store. I've never been in an Asian grocery before, and I didn't know what most of the things for sale even were. I asked the cashier what language was written on the collection of DVDs in the display case by the register, and he told me it was Cambodian. It looks very different than Japanese and Chinese do to me (not that I can read a word or letter).

At the Latin market, I spoke some Spanish to the cashier because I asked him something in English, and he didn't speak enough English to understand my question. Even though my Spanish is weak, he did seem to understand me in Spanish. Hurray! I should practice more often. He told me he is learning English. One day I'll take my duvet cover to the laundromat in the same plaza, and perhaps I'll strike up a conversation in Spanish with some of the other patrons. It happened last time I was there when our dryer broke and I had a load of wet laundry to dry.

This afternoon, K and I put in our winter garden. We're almost a month late because of the drought, but we're hoping it will have time to get established before the weather cools. We're going to try peas, which do horribly here in the spring because it gets too hot too fast, beets (beetroots?), Swiss chard (silverbeets?), carrots (from very old seed which might not germinate), and leaf lettuce (from very old seeds which might not germinate). We got the seeds in today in hopes that the rain from the storm will get them to germinate. I have no idea how our garden will do. I haven't had much luck in the past with winter gardens. Meanwhile, I can spend the winter planning out next year's summer garden and placing my seed order.

I might make a trip to the plant store to see if I can get cabbage plants or other such winter plants just to assure I get some kind of winter garden.

Mr. K wants the computer so I'll end here.

Septic Woes

I got my septic tank pumped today. I guess I had incredible luck it was today. When the guy dug up the tank cover, he asked me if my tank had been working right. I said it was fine. He said that sewage had overflowed my tank, and that probably my septic pump had failed. He opened the pump cover and confirmed the pump was not running. This pump moved sewage from the tank to the drainage field.

The original cost was to have been $200. It was an extra $100 to have the pump housing pumped out, too, which needs to be done before it can be repaired. His company has someone who can fix my pump, and the guy is supposed to give me a call. He hadn't by the end of the day, so I'll call the pumping company in the morning and try to get something scheduled. Meanwhile, the guy who did the pumping figures I have about ten days before I overflow the tank and flood the pump housing if the pump isn't fixed or replaced.

I say I'm lucky because if I had my tank pumped before it overflowed the tank, the guy probably wouldn't have noticed the pump had failed. That would be about a one to two day window between when the pump failed and when I had failed plumbing. If I had waited a day or so more to get my tank pumped, I probably would have caught on because my drains wouldn't work. So, even though this is probably going to be an expensive mess, it failed under the best of circumstances. What are the odds I'd have it pumped at exactly the correct time to notice the pump failure without suffering the concequences?

School begins

Yesterday was the first day of school. N started third grade. J started first grade. K is pretending she gets to go to school on the school bus.

K made a few comments during the day, both today and yesterday, that she missed N and J.