So Long Charley

Neighbors are a funny thing. When you move into a place you just never know what kind of neighbor you're going to get. I have a nice lady who lives right next to me on the left side. On the right side - you have to go across the stree - lives the mad shitter. I call him that because for the longest time he brought his dog into my yard to do its business. He no longer seems to have the dog so I haven't seen him other than the lawn tractor testosterone fest that happens when my lawn guy shows up - and then he's across the street. Directly in front of me - across the street I have a couple really nice neighbors that wave when they see you and other than that you never know they're there.

Then there's Charley. Charley lives directly behind me. My bedroom window is only several feet from his driveway, so I knew of his comings and goings - even when I didn't want to. I've only talked to Charley once - he introduced himself as he handed back my garbage can that had blown over into his yard during a really bad storm. After he introduced himself he told me that I should tie my garbage can down so that it wouldn't blow into his yard again. I've written a lot about the fact that he mows his yard almost daily - having a vacuum attachment he would sweep his yard. The mower has gone silent. Charley died this last weekend. He was one of those guys who was always moving and on the go. I was amazed that for a guy in his 80's just how much energy he had. So Long Charley. I can only hope that whoever my new neighbor will be - will be pretty much just like you - minus the lawn mower.....

One More Time

Last week I told you about the debacle I had with the filter that I ordered for the vacuum cleaner - it was wrong and had to go back. Today I received the filter I ordered from a different vendor. The filter comes in two parts - the frame and then a filter pad that goes in it. The frame has a white filter sewn into it - so you have to replace both parts. What did I receive today but the filter pad - no frame. So now a third order is going into a yet another vendor. That means, for my $80 Eureka vacuum cleaner, I've now spent $60 on replacement parts. And don't get me started on the attachments that don't work. Next vacuum is a Dyson - I've heard nothing but great stuff about them.

Weekend Dog Blogging

Gertie
Originally uploaded by KenCalvino

Gertie has had a pretty good week. She's been learning the command rollover. It's slow going but she's getting the idea. I'm teaching her just the way I taught her to sit and shake - while playing. It makes the learning fun!

Here she is with one of her favorite toys - the racoon. It's the stuffless ones they advertise on television. Gertie's a bit rough with her toys and sometimes chews on them. Those with stuffing usually last about a month - this one has lasted about 4 months so far. She has ripped a couple holes in it while playing a bit of tug of war, but no big deal - still useable. I also bought the fox, but she's got enough toys for now - I'll keep that one on reserve for a bit.

Saturday Evening

Yesterday afternoon Gertie and I laid down to take a little nap. I no more than laid down and the doorbell rang. The UPS driver was here to pick up the package that I had waited two months for and was wrong. After a quick romp outside to work off her nervous energy, Gertie calmed down and so back to bed to finish our nap. Five minutes later the doorbell rings. Fed Ex showed up with my new ink cartridges. Half an hour later I said let's try once again. Only to hear the neighbor start up his mower and of course he started on the side of his yard that is right under my bedroom window. Nap time over.

Today I had to go back to Walmart to do a little shopping. The temps here are still in the high 90's. I was absolutely wilted by the time I got home. I got a container of Ben and Jerry's Stephen Colbert's Americone Dreams. That made things all better.

Bird Woes

Last night I let out Gertie for an evening roam in a bit cooler temperatures, if such a thing is possible. There on the ground right off the ramp, near the door, was a little baby robin. It still had its downy feathers and could not fly. The nest it fell from is a regular spot that robins have used every year since I've been here. In the past I've even seen some of the baby robins on the railing of my ramp, having just learned to fly and still under the watchful eyes of their parents. This little bird, though, was all alone and crying for its parents. I felt bad, but as I've already learned this season, nature is, at times, cruel.

You may remember earlier this spring my telling of a little squirrel that had fallen out of the tree. Still alive, all it could do was lift its head. It died shortly thereafter and became a meal for some animal willing to eat carion. And such was the fate of this poor little robin. It became a swift meal for a neighbor's cat just after dark.

I felt bad this morning to see on the railing of the ramp a large robin, calling over and over - obviously looking for its little chick. Gertie's morning duty call put an end to the robin's search. It flew off alone.

It's been that kind of day here at Frog Central. Little has gone right. I've been waiting since the beginning of May for a part for my vaccuum cleaner. It finally came today - the wrong part. I found another place on line that has the proper part and hopefull it will get here soon. In the meantime, the other part goes back.

My printer ran out of black ink and I opened a new cartridge but couldn't get it to fit in the printer. Finally I realized I had opened a color cartridge - which I didn't need to change. It got changed anyway and I've put in an order for a couple new black cartridges.

On a more exciting note, the genealogy research I did has turned up some new people. Always interesting stuff.

Heat Index 113 degrees

I think I'm beginning to know what Hades feels like. The temps are in the high 90's with a heat index of 113. All I know is that when I open the door to let Gertie out a wall of heat just about knocks you over. I feel sorry for anybody who has to work out in this heat.

Remember to bring your animals inside - they are wearing a fur coat and cannot deal with this heat.

New Office Chair

Yesterday afternoon the UPS guy brought I gigantic box - my new office chair. All I had to do was put it together. That became my evening task - I read through the 6 pages of instructions and sorted out all the pieces. It was generally straight forward, just time consuming. Finally, viola, my new chair is together. The chair is huge - it takes up a good portion of my den, but that's ok - it's extra heavy duty. I told EH that I could more than double my weight and it would still hold me - he said it sounded like a personal challenge - I don't think so. I just wanted something that was indestructable - for a while, anyway.

I have really short legs. For someone who stands some some 70 inches tall, only 26 inches are devoted to my legs. Very short legs indeed. As a result, even though I've adjusted the chair down as low as it will go and my legs still dangle a bit - I'll probably have to get a little stool to put my feet on.

In other news, it's now been 6 months since I last heard from AB - not sure why she's drifted off the radar, but I miss her infectious laugh. Hope she finds her way back soon.

Happy Father's Day

Hope it's a great, lazy, and barbecued filled Sunday for all Dads.

Weekend Dog Blogging

Gertie
Originally uploaded by KenCalvino

Another hot, hazy day here at Frog Central and Gertie has had it! Her trips outside are limited to how fast she can pee...lol. Twice this morning she stuck her head out the door and turned around and came right back in - the third time her bladder took over and she hit that grass and was back in a flash.

We had a little rain last night, but that seems to only have made it steamier. Gertie's pet peeve now is the attic fan. When you walk in the hallway you can hear it running overhead. She has always been leery of the hallway to begin with, but now it's something to bark at! I've nipped that one in the butt - quickly. I hate that it isn't cooling off overnight. The area is under heat advsories until Monday evening.

Power Outages

The electric has finally come back on after an evening outage. It's the second in as many days. The weather here has been in the 90's with a heat index running about 105. Everyone is running their air conditioners and it is over-loading the system here in town. It doesn't take long for the house to heat up - and a long time to cool it down!

TGIF

It's been a long week here at Frog Central. I have finally recovered from my escapades earlier this week and am feeling pretty good. Yesterday, just as I was getting ready to take a little nap in the afternoon, the lawn guy showed up. I headed outside because I wanted to get some of the taller weeds in the flower bed down as well as a large branch on one of the hibiscus hedge plants taken out. And it's always enjoyable to see lawn envy in action. My lawn guy was almost finished when the neighbor came out and started mowing. My guy had to show off his mower and go over my lawn a second time, and even brought out his second mower just to show him up. Then out came the weed wackers. I watched as my guy and the neighbor weed wacked around the same area two and three times. I have to talk to the neighbor - it was the best job my lawn guy has ever done and I'd like to make sure it happens every time! LOL

Reader Starts Own Blog!

Ann, a friend of the blog, has told me about her collection for a while and she's finally started her own blog to show off her collection. She's got a lot of great frogs and is quite knowledgeable about her collection. Her blog can be found at Frog Pondering. I feel like a proud papa - LOL. I know Ann will find blogging as enjoyable as I do.

Frogs for Sale

Hermitage Pottery - Osama Frog
Originally uploaded by KenCalvino

One of our readers has a set of four frogs from Hermitage Pottery. These were all limited edition pieces from around 2002. There is this one pictured - Webombin Bin Froggin. There is also Froggham Wussain, Yassir Arafrog, and Frogzilla. If you are interested in purchasing one or all of these great American-made, hand-painted frogs, send me an e-mail and put Hermitage Frogs in the subject line. You can't go wrong with these guys - they're all in good shape, no chips, cracks, etc.

Tuesday

Today has been a rough day. This morning I decided that I needed to get out and run some errands. Gertie didn't want to have any of me leaving - she tried all the time I was getting ready to crawl in my arms and just wanted to be held. Guess I need to get out a bit more often. As I was walking out the door she settled down in my chair and was watching television. It was hotter than Hades here today and just as humid - down right miserable. I went to the gas station to fill up and while pumping gas a torrential downpour started. Oh joy - soaking wet going to the building to pay. I walk outside and the rain had stopped - and it was more humid than before, if that was possible.

I headed off to the bank and then to Walmart. I started to get quite dizzy at Walmart and had to sit quite a bit. I got everything piled into the car and headed off to CVS for a prescription refill. I decided since I was next to McDonald's to get a chicken sandwich and some fries before heading home. I loaded myself and my walker down a bit too much but I wanted to make it inside in one trip because I really wasn't feeling well.

I made it inside and put everything on the counter and sat down quickly, put my head down, and then over I went - passed out cold. Gertie did not find that amusing. I was just overcome with the heat. Once I cooled down I felt better. Not before I felt like I was hyperventilating and dry-heaving. I stuck my head under the sink with nice cool water - that felt good. Gertie has been stuck to me like glue ever since.

I decided late this afternoon, since it was major thunder and lightning, and everything electronic was turned off, to go take a little nap. The thunder rattled the windows for a solid hour. Some of the lightening strikes sure felt like they struck close by. As I was putting trash out this evening, I noticed there are little branches down all over the place.

Tomorrow will hopefully be a little cooler. Enjoy the rest of your evening.....

Monday, Monday

Last week I ordered 5 lbs. of licorice from my favorite snack place. The last couple of days I've been enjoying some fresh licorice in the evening while I'm watching television. Last night I had a pounding headache - guess what, you're not supposed to eat licorice if you have high blood pressure - the licorice makes it go sky high. Who knew? So now I'm limiting myself to no more than a piece or two at a time.

Happy Flag Day!

I ordered myself a new desk chair this morning. My present chair the seat broke off of the pole that stick up - it sits there but swivels all over the place. Last night I sat down and swiveled me right over backwards. So that's the last of that chair. I hope the new arrives soon. I'm sitting on the seat of my walker and it's was too high for working at a desk.

The heat is just oppressive here today. The temps are in the 90's with heat indexes near 100. It is so humid you could go out there and stir it with a soup spoon. It was getting quite hot inside too - the air no able to keep up when I realized that I had forgotten to turn on the attic fan this season. It's been getting better in just the short time that it's been on. Hopefully it will cool down in here in no time.

We had a brief rain shower last night that cooled off things a bit but made it steamier, if that was possible. Thundershowers are in the forecast again for tonight.

I think it's nap time. I still have a hell of a headache and the heat isn't helping.

Weekend Dog Blogging

Gertie
Originally uploaded by KenCalvino

Gertie has had a really good week. She has lost and found her ball serveral times this week. She's getting better at giving it to me - she'll either drop it at my feet or jump into my lap and drop it on top of me. She's fun to watch chase it down. If it goes into the hallway, she goes right to the edge of the carpet and then waits - the floor is not level and so the ball will eventually roll back to her. I think she finds that endlessly entertaining. Sometimes she'll lay on the carpet and push the ball with her nose on the hardwood. It rolls a little then rolls right back to her - a boomerang ball! LOL

This picture was taken this morning as she was lying in her favorite spot - under the desk and on top of my foot. Whenever I'm working on the computer, that's generally where you'll find her. Her eyes opened briefly as I was snapping a couple pictures, otherwise, right back to sleep. Sounds like a plan.....

Heat Index

Last night was the first time this season that I heard the weatherman use the term "heat index." Today's index is for 95 to 100, the index for Saturday and Sunday is suppose to be 100 or more. Ugh! Thank goodness for air conditioning....

Gertie has a new pastime these days - chasing ants. I've seen a couple big black ants the last couple of days and they provide endless joy for Gertie who has to do this whole chase scene - run away, run back, run away, run back - then she graps up the ant and thows it in the air only to repeat the scene. Eventually she eats the ant. I figure that people eat them covered in chocolate so they can't be all that bad for her. Kind of gross though when afterwards she wants to come give you kisses.....

I'm reading up on a big controvery going on over vitamin D. It seems that the vitamin D you get with your prescription is D2. It is a synthetic form of the vitamin and apparently does not get absorbed well, and questionable whether it does any good. I've been taking it for a couple of months and I don't know if its that or the vitamin B shots I've been getting, but I've been feeling a bit better. Anyway, supposedly a natural form of vitamin D is available as D3 and better for you. It's quite the controversy on the internet. I guess I'll print out what I think is relevant and talk to my doctor at my next visit.

In the meantime, I'm hot on the trail of straightening out a genealogy snafu. I'm ashamed to say that we have a relative who signed up for the civil war (fighting for the North) and then deserted when it came time to fight. I guess it was quite common during the civil war because of the conditions the soldiers had to live under, but still not a pleasant thing to find in the records.

Wednesday

The weather here at Frog Central has been absolutely miserable. The temps today shot up to near 90 degrees. The humidity is at least that. Yesterday and into last evening the sounds of thunder rolling was non-stop. Today has been a bit quieter - for now. More storms are forecast right through the weekend. This unsettling weather will eventually give way to just pure hot. I'm not sure which I prefer at this moment. Television is generally rotten through the evening and with the constant weather interruptions I've decided that it's just better to give it up and read a book.

Yesterday was world ocean day. Kind of sad when you think of all that's been done to the oceans. Over-fishing, the large garbage swirls that are hundreds of miles long and many feet thick, and now the whole BP mess. It will be amazing if the next generation is able to enjoy the oceans at all.

Monday Evening

Blogger has been down for new posting for the most of the day - but things seem to be working now. Gertie and I had a great weekend. The temps here moderated a little bit and Gertie took full advantage - spending as much time outside as I would let her. Tomorrow we're supposed to go back to hot, sticky, and thunderstorms. I wrote the other day about the overnight thunderstorms and how dangerous they are - then Saturday night thunderstorms spawned tornadoes across Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio. The pictures are terrifying and the loss of life devastating.

EH returned to Mississippi from Vienna - now there's a culture shock! I've never been to Vienna and was thoroughly jealous of his two week jaunt there. Of course I'd need a year to accomplish all that he did in that time. I wonder if things are accessible over there for those of us who use walkers. I better stay right here and keep Gertie company.

Hot, Hot, Hot

The temps are hitting 90 today and tomorrow! My lawn guy showed up yesterday - I think he knew how hot it was going to get. The lawn always looks good after he leaves. I wish he'd trim some of the bushes, but he won't touch them.

I finally caught up on some much needed sleep. Wednesday night the thunder and lightning was worse than it was Tuesday night. Finally about 3 a.m. it started to quiet down and I was able to get a couple hours of sleep. That doesn't mean I'm not going to take a nap this afternoon....lol.

Today I sat down and paid the monthly bills. I started using a bill paying service and I have to say that I wish I'd done it years ago. I was able to pay all the bills in about 5 minutes. I spent more time putting everything into my checkbook.

I've been really happy with my genealogy research this last week. I've heard from several cousins who are filling me in on long lost family. It's been fun connecting with them.

Now if I just a couple new frogs my week would be complete!

Night Time Thunderstorms

Tuesday night I had no more than gone to bed when my weather radio woke me up - thunderstorms, hail, and high winds were coming. I was awake the rest of the night as thunder shook the house. Tonight is brewing to be a repeat. Thunder and lightning have been going for the last hour or so. The weather radio has gone off several times. I'm so exhausted I'll probably sleep right though it tonight though. Or else tomorrow I'm not getting out of bed!

Guest Frog of the Day

Porcelain Frog
Originally uploaded by KenCalvino

We haven't had a guest frog in quite a while - this is exciting!

Mike has a great little porcelain wide mouth frog. As I have mentioned before - these frogs often have little chips around the mouth - but Mike's looks fantastic - very pristeen condition.

Mike has his own website called JoMiToys.blogspot.com - check it out. And thanks Mike for being our Guest Frog of the Day.