Dad is still in the hospital, as the last I talked with Mom - he was dehydrated with low blood pressure when they admitted him Sunday night, and they were going to get him hydrated at least before he went home. Hopefully by then, the combination of medications and dehydration will have worn off, and he will be relatively 'normal' again.

Even though the deer have been browsing on Mom's flowers, there were still some pretty ones out in the side yard - not necessarily close to the fence, however! The deer come in the front yard to eat the apples, and have no shame of munching on a flower or two while they are there!

I made a quick trip to Susanville yesterday. Dad isn't doing well, and is actually in the hospital this morning. Mom called last night around 10:00 (??) and they had called the ambulance for him. He fell last week, and hit his chest on the hearth. He didn't break anything as far as X-rays could show. but the pain meds really messed him up. Major hallucinations! He was pretty lucid when I was there, but I guess as soon as I left, he got a lot worse.



While I was up at Mom's, she took me on a tour of what was left of her flower garden. The deer, being browsers, had been browsing on her flowers! All they have been eating is the actual flower, so she has nice healthy plants, with stems sticking up where the flowers used to be!


This plant only had one little flower left on it!

AJ survived the Airshow. He texted me at 1:00 yesterday saying simply "Airshow Sucks". It was 109 here at the house yesterday, and we weren't on the tarmac. The only thing he liked about the airshow was the Blue Angels, and even they 'did exactly what they did last time'. I don't think planes are his thing! Ralph, on the other hand, was outside watching the whole time. He had to sit in the shade, though, as he spent too much time Thursday and Friday (he had the days off) watching the planes flying in and practicing. He got a bit sunburned!


I managed to catch a shot of one of the Angels coming in near the end of their show. The second picture is an enlarged/cropped version of the first. Living by the airport is quite loud when the Airshow is in town!

Angels flying overhead

I'm home with a sick kid, and a vandalized mail box. Alli is definitely sick. She has been throwing up all morning, poor thing! She doesn't seem to have a high fever, so hopefully it is just a quick little bug running through her system.

Our mailbox got destroyed last night, though. The flag is gone, along with one brick. The door was actually twisted, so someone was on foot - not a drive by thing. They damaged the neighbor just north of us as well, but I don't know if they hit any one else. I didn't notice any others this morning.

AJ Update: He's doing better still. As of yesterday (he isn't up yet this morning) he was only missing the corner vision! He may be on the way to a full recovery! Yippee!

Now, for Allison! She got up this morning with diarrhea and vomiting. I swear if it isn't one, it's the other! Nothing too bad for Alli, but since she can't tell me what hurts, I always worry more. It - so far- has just been one episode of each, but I am on the watch and wait mode for her as well.

I was planning a quick trip up to Susanville today, but....we will see how Alli does. I have to drop AJ off at the airport at 7:00 this morning for the airshow, and had the day 'free' (except for the normal shopping and house cleaning, yardwork, etc.) We'll see how it goes - always a challenge to making plans around here!

An AJ update: He is doing a bit better. Yesterday morning, he said some vision had returned - possible a couple of degrees. When I asked what he could now that he could not see the day before, he said that (when we were in the car) when he looked straight ahead, he could now see my nose and cheek, and the day before he couldn't see me at all. Yippee! His vision didn't improve during the day at all, so we will see if it improved during the night again.

Yesterday was better! Not that it would take a whole lot to be better than Tuesday, but it was better. AJ saw Dr Fox at 8:00, and the Doctor couldn't find anything causing the problem. It was kind of the 'good new/bad news' deal. The good news, he couldn't find anything, which pretty much rules out some of the ugly possibilities - detached retina, etc. The bad news, he couldn't find anything. AJ's vision as of last night had not improved, so we are on a 'wait and see' schedule now. If it has not improved by next Friday, we will start more testing (MRI, etc.) Hopefully, it will go away on its own. Right now, he is on 'light duty' - normal activities, but nothing strenuous. No soccer, no running, lifting weights, etc. Poor kid - they dilated one eye only yesterday, and he looked a bit scary! He wore sunglasses in class because of the light, and to hide his eyes.

What a day yesterday! Work was busy - as usual. I went in early and took a short lunch so I could go to AJ's soccer game. When I got to U-Prep, there wasn't a game on the field. There were a lot of blue uniforms, and they were taking pictures, so I figured the game got canceled. I went back to the car, and waited, and waited and waited. I started checking after about a half hour, and....lo and behold....it was the 8th grade team out on the field, not AJ's team. I have no idea where AJ is. I eventually drove around to the fields that I knew they had played on in the past, but still no AJ. By 6:00, I was frantic. If there was a game, it started at 4:00, and they should be done by 5:45, and AJ wasn't answering his phone yet.

After a dozen + calls to home, Ralph dug out a cell number from an old e-mail for one of the moms, and called. They were at a different field, the game started late, and they were still playing. By this time, it was too late, I was past mad! I drove over to the field, and, of course, couldn't find a parking spot on the first pass, and had to circle around. By the time I got back, the field was clear - no game, no kids. Did I mention I was already past mad? I drove around again and this time, spotted the coach as I drove by, and he told me AJ was probably walking back to the school with the other guys. As I was driving, AJ texted me. "Where are you?". Did I mention I was already past mad? Poor AJ.

I only got to yell at him for a couple of minutes though. After we were in the car and headed home (but still downtown) he casually mentioned that he lost his peripheral vision out of his left eye during the game. I immediately drove him to my favorite walk-in clinic, but they closed at 6:00 (it was 6:45 by this time) so we went to my second favorite clinic that closed at 7:00. The doctor there could not see any gross abnormalities, but recommended strongly that we go to the ER. We got to the ER around 7:15, and saw the Emergency Doctor at 8:30 - not too bad for ER. He also couldn't see anything, but he called on Opthomologist, and he wants to see AJ at 8:00 this morning. After we got out of the ER, I had to feed the poor kid. He had played most of the game (and I missed it!) and it was 10:00. We were both starving! So, it was a rough day!

Another early morning around here (for some of us, at least!) Alli was awake at 4:30, and out of bed before 5:00. I need more coffee! Good thing she is happy in the morning. If both of us were cranky, it could get pretty ugly around here. I do enjoy the peace and quiet when it is just the two of us up, though.

The scarf and gloves were a hit! K said she was so excited, she might even wear them at the game this weekend. I told her she was risking heat stroke if she did! We are still reaching close to 100 here in the afternoons. I am so ready for fall! I'm not quite ready for winter, with the rain yet, but....I'm getting close. I just don't like the non-stop rain we can get around here. Just give me a few days of sunshine in between storms, and I'll be happy with the rain.

No practice for AJ today - he has a game today at 4:00. That means he gets to sleep in too! Hopefully, I can get away from work in time to see some of the game today. (Even better, hopefully, he gets to play in the game!) After the game, off to scouts tonight. Another full agenda!

Back to work today - and I don't feel like I got much of a break! It sure was a busy weekend. Saturday, we left the house at 7:15 a.m. and got back to stay at 6:15 p.m., and had two extra kids to feed and stay over night! Add that to sitting in the sun and heat (the last game I could sit in the shade) I was exhausted, and I wasn't the one running around in the game! Sunday, I had all the normal cleaning stuff to do, along with the laundry and normal Sunday stuff to do! I even put in three hours at the office (yes, I am that far behind there, too!) I need another day off!



Here is my new kitchen faucet! The old one leaked, so Ralph replaced it on Friday. Pretty snifty!



One of my co-workers requested a scarf in 'Enterprise colors' for the football games (when it get cooler). Enterprise High School are the Hornets - so yellow and black it was! This was my first knitting project that I changed colors, so it was a bit different for me. Most of the work was done at the tournament, and I only had to frog a couple of times. I seemed to have a problem counting the correct number of rows when the games were exciting! I added a pair of gloves to go with it, crocheting around the top of them. I think the set turned out pretty good!

AJ's team lost the tournament (they came in 2nd), but won the 'important' game. Tournaments are decided by points, not how many times you win. They get points for each goal they score throughout the tournament (but if you beating the opposite team by more than 5 points, you start loosing points) and if you shut out the opposing team, you get an extra point. They played 5 game,s loosing the 1st one (to Mt. Shasta) 1-0, and then won 5-0, 3-0 and 2-0. They won the championship game 1-0, but lost the tournament by points. The championship game was against Redding Christian, and was very evenly matched - definitely a nail biter! The only goal was scored late in the game.

AJ only played in one of the games - Friday night, where they won 5-0. (Yes, I sat in the sun for 6 hours yesterday, and AJ didn't play!) These shots were taken at night - not too bad! AJ is in blue -.#6



His only action time yesterday was helping the wounded back to the bench. One of the kids rolled an ankle on a play in the championship game, and just kind of hopped off the field on the opposite side of the track. AJ and another team member helped him back to the bench.

I'm glad I didn't open the bank the other day - we had a rock through one of our windows during the night! It was eerie enough clearing the branch before - now I really do have something to look for! The window is out by our ATM, so the 'villains' will be on our security cameras, but....still probably won't be caught. It looked like pretty random activity - not someone trying to rob the bank, so not a lot of resources will be put on the case, I'm sure.



Today starts the U-Prep soccer tournament. AJ has a game at 3:00 today, and one at 7:00. I can make the 7:00 game - I just hope he gets to play! I went out to the last game, and got there in time for the second half, and AJ didn't play at all during the game. He was a little upset about it, but - that's life! The coach already told them that he was going to play to win this season. The game prior, AJ had pulled up 'injured' and didn't play well, and I assume that had some impact on the coach's decision to not play him. Something was going on with his lungs/chest - he said he felt like he couldn't breathe after running for a short time - but it usually went away if he stopped running. He hasn't had a recurrence, so....I'm not too worried. We'll see if it was a one-time deal or if he has a problem. He asked me what I thought could be the problem and we ran through a few possibilities - strained chest muscle, beginning of a cold, asthma, blood clot in the lung.....I think he felt a bit better knowing it probably wasn't as bad as it could be! (That old reverse psychology strikes again!)

Tomorrow is the second day of the tournament - I'm on snack bar duty at 7:30, and AJ plays his first game at 9:00, and his second game at 11:00. His last game will depend on how well they do - the winner will be playing at 4:00. It is going to be a long day!

Alli came home last night with a note in her backpack - can you please send an apron in with Allison? Sure - if I had one! Then - I decided on a whim to make her one! I can do this! I pulled out a cheap tablecloth I had never used - still in the package, waterproof on one side, soft fuzzy on the other, and...using my apron for a pattern, cut one out. Everything went really slick....until my sewing machine decided it didn't like sewing that plastic material. It went along with me for a while, and then just dug in its heels and wouldn't do it. By that time, I had part of a side seam and the hem to go, so I limped through the side seam, and the just did a zig-zag stitch for the hem. It isn't pretty, but it will work (I hope)! I used some bias tape I had here for the ties, since it was obvious I wasn't going to be able to sew them, and....it will work! (If not - it at least bought me some time before I can pick one up, or....do a better job on sewing one!)

It's raining! The first rain of the season! It isn't supposed to last long - just for the morning, and them back to warmer temps by tomorrow, but it sure is nice to sit here and hear and smell the rain!

Alli is up early this morning - 4:15! I could have used that extra sleep, but - she is happy and cheerful. I guess it is better than having to drag her out of bed kicking and screaming in the morning (very similar to what we have to do with AJ) to get her up and off to school. AJ, on the other hand, is one that has to be called a few times, and then kept on track to get out the door.

One of the baby preying mantis grew up! AJ called me out a couple of nights ago to see one that was about 3 inches long. I took a shot of him in the rose bush - and then magnified it just a bit, so you can see it. One problem with taking pictures at night? The flash evidently attracts the mantis. As soon as I took the first picture, it was flying at me, landing on me, etc. #1 - I'm not that impressed to have it flying at me and around me, and #2 - it is hard to take a picture of something that keeps landing on the camera!



AJ is out at the airport this weekend, camping with the scouts. His troop put up the fencing for the Air Show coming up at the end of the month. Ralph went out and helped part of Saturday, but between the heat and all the walking, called it quits early. AJ checked in with us via texting, and they got all the fencing up on Saturday, so he is ready to come home early this morning. Actually, he wanted to come home yesterday, because he suddenly "remembered" some homework he had to do. He has all of today to do it, so I saw no reason to go and get him last night.

One more birthday gone! (Not that I am any older!) Alli helped me make by birthday cake - cheesecake!


There wasn't any left of it Sunday night, either!

Lesson #37 - when photographing cats, turn the flash off! Rufus was just starting to play with the empty box, when the flash went off. The second picture is of him trying to figure out what made that box do that. Poor baby - he wants to play, and there isn't anyone here to play with. The older cats ignore him, Jasper is oblivious, and he scares Koori! I don't think he ever had much of a chance to play with people. He doesn't seem to be interested in playing with me. He pulls toys out of the toy basket though, and bats them all over the house, it is just interactive play that he can't figure out.



Looking forward to a long weekend. It has been a busy week. AJ is doing okay - his wrist still hurts, but not any worse than it did. I am betting it isn't broken. He didn't play in the game yesterday, and they lost 3-1. I don't think it was real exciting for him sitting on the sidelines watching them lose! According to AJ, there is no practice this morning (the schedule says there is) so everyone is sleeping in this morning. No, not everyone, Alli is already up, and it is just now 6:00. Ralph has the day off from work, but has to run the kids around for me. Alli's day care is closed, so Ralph will have to take her to school this morning and pick her up again this afternoon.

Did I say we were getting back to "normal" around here??? Talk about tempting the fates! Yesterday was a wild one!

First off - I forgot to drop Alli's backpack off at daycare when I dropped her off - which contains her lunch, extra diapers and clothes, etc. While I am sure she would get fed at school, the other items are pretty important, too! Daycare called me a little after 9:00, because they couldn't find her bag when they put her on the bus. Shoot! They did offer to come over and pick the bag up and take it to school for me, but that is way beyond too nice! I'm the one that forgot! So...I tell the only other person working in the department (!!! I need extra help!) that I will be gone no more than 20 minutes Really! As I was getting into my car, my phone in the office rings, and D picks it up. It is the school nurse for AJ's school. D told them I had just left, and gave them my cell number.

So....I'm off to Sequoia school, when my cell rings. Who would be calling me at 9:20 on my cell - everyone I know thinks I am my desk at that time of day. Well, needless to say, it is the school nurse. She has AJ in her office. It seems that (the nurse's story) he had been flinging his hands around, and hit his hand on something, and it may be broken. Could I come and take a look. I told her I was already in route to the other school, and then I would be right over! I made a call to the doctor en route to the school, and they were going to squeeze him in at 11:30! (I love hands free cells and pre-programed numbers!)

Turns out, AJ was 'play fighting' with a friend in between classes, and did a spinning karate move toward him, and hit an electrical box on the wall with his wrist (the sharp corner of the box, no less!). No blood, but...it might be broken. Took him in at 11:30 to the doctor, and....no obvious breaks, but X-rays are not conclusive, because he hit his growth plate area, and any damage to that won't show on an X-ray immediately. He is splinted for two weeks, and if it is still a problem, bring him back. He can do anything he wants, including soccer, as long as he is wearing the brace. That means he can practice with the team, but he can't play in games. (Ref's won't allow anything on the field.) Did I say "normal"?


Alli was having a blast in the pool this weekend - she loves to splash and jump!

We are trying to settle back into the new 'normal', again. Alex had a couple of early morning practices canceled (due to games) so I was getting used to sleeping in again. Back to getting up and getting him in to town early! Monday night, after work, I drove down to Sac to the airport and picked Dawn up. She will be staying in the guesthouse for a while. And then, Scouts started again last night. Busy schedule again! At least this weekend is a three day weekend!



The puppies got new collars! (Some of you will be saying it was past time for new collars!) Poor Jasper's collar had been shredded by Koori chewing on it when they were playing.

AJ had a soccer game yesterday, but it was at 4:00 in Anderson, and I couldn't get away from work, so I missed it. They won 6-1, and AJ said he played pretty well. They have another game on Thursday at 4:00, but I have to work late (5:15) on Thursday, so I will miss it as well. I will be glad when I get a full staff back, so I can actually be away for a little while from my desk, but for this and the next three weeks, there are just 2 of us in the office, so one person missing is a bit scary!