Invasion of the spiders

I don't know about your backyard, but ours seems to have twice or even 3 times the number of spiders this summer--all sizes, but mainly the small variety.
Every morning, as I travel from pot to pot watering plants, I destroy one web after another or come face to face with a spider daring me to take down his web again. When N and I return from our daily dog walk in the evening, we take turns blazing the trail through the new webs strung across the walkway alongside the house.
And so I've had my share of spider bites. The bites are usually on the calves of my legs or my forearms. I'm thinking it's happening while I sit in the chairs on the deck.
The first of the bites made me look like I had a dreaded pox. I used my usual remedies to stop the inflammation and itching and they help to a certain extent. Or until the sheets rub against the bites and I begin to itch in my sleep.
Then I began to wonder about Tea Tree oil. We have a small bottle left over from when F was told to use it on an upper ear piercing giving her problems. Once we could get past the smell, we had to admit it did an efficient job of making her excess scar tissue disappear. (I still can't believe it and wonder just what this stuff does to skin.) I decided to give the oil a try on my latest spider bite. And guess what? It worked! It kept the inflammation to a minimum, stopped the itching and the bite is nearly healed after just 4-5 days.
Plus it's easy for everyone in the house to keep track of me--even in the dark. ;>)

We've got camping on our mind

N is caught between needing to use some vacation time (or lose it) and worrying about being gone--knowing how much work will stack up in his absence. Not much of a vacation if you spend half your time dreading the aftermath. Now that he's begun the process of telling himself he really does need a break, we need to decide where to go.
We have plenty of options as well as requests. L yearns for the family camping trip and so wants us to head somewhere she can join us on the weekend. Also, we have others--family and almost family who would like to spend time in the woods with us. How to balance all that AND consider our own desires? Almost more stress than staying home! Yes, you're right, I need a different state of mind, a new point of view, an attitude adjustment . . .

Keeping N Busy

It wasn't my intention. It just seemed to happen. Yeah, I'm totally innocent. :>)

N's original intent was to give F a change of scenery via a night in the tent trailer. So what if it was sitting in the driveway?! She said no--probably to the effort more than the experience. So he asked if I was game. Oh why not! Probably cooler with all that ventilation, compared to our bedroom. It was cooler, but we both woke up at 2 AM, and then lay awake wondering what had stirred our slumber. As a result, we slept in way past our normal time. In the morning, Jonathon was worried what had happened to us. ("did they go out to breakfast without me?") He'd been asleep when we made our decision. He and Izzy were relieved when the mystery was solved.

After stashing the trailer back into it's shell, I reminded N about the issues with the toilet in our half bath. It was time to change the guts of the tank. Since we have a standing cupboard that lives over and behind the toilet, it becomes a bit tougher--lifting the tippy shelf up to the ceiling and keeping it balanced as he moves it out of the way. Plus there's the problem of the cupboard's little support that has to be coaxed from behind the tank, too. When all was complete he had only had to make one trip to Ace. Yay, for that!
I had ordered a new bath chair (with back support) for F, but hadn't been able to put it together on my own. The right wrist still doesn't have the strength it used to, although I am working on it. We worked together as a team, trying to get the metal tubing, that was the legs and back support, to line up with the holes in the plastic seat and back. An hour later, we try it out in the tub only to find out it's too wide--3 inches wider than what's stated in the description. So this is why we save boxes!
And now I'm thinking, what can I do for N today . . .
PS. AND how could I forget? We groomed Izzy, too. Well, as usual I use the "royal we". I hold her still and N applies the trimming tools and styling. :>)

License Up!

Poor, poor N!
He's sitting and waiting for his number to come up in the DMV office as I type. Last weekend, after reading the list of needed ID, we turned every file upside down in search of his birth certificate. Good grief! It was only 2 years ago when we gathered our ID for our trip to Canada! Where could it have disappeared to? Now I'm wondering if we just thought we had his in the envelope with mine--maybe it was F's. I've been known to visually scan forms and have my brain jump to the wrong conclusion.
Plus, N has an added hurdle most of us don't have. When his mother remarried, he was 5 years old. When he reached legal age, he decided to take his step-father's surname--which means he had to come up with an extra piece of ID.
Ordering his birth certificate was a little ordeal all by itself. You begin to feel like they want you to show your birth certificate in order to get your birth certificate. Faxing from home, we're never sure if it was successful or not. So the following day, I checked their site to see if there was a way to be sure the fax was received. Lo and behold, on the same page you make your query, they provide a way to send a JPG of your ID!
A word of warning; to order a new birth certificate the shipping cost is $20 and you're required to be at home to sign for it. Otherwise, it's returned to Vitalcheck.com

Sister time

My two sisters met in Vancouver and drove down to spend the day with me yesterday. What a sweet gift! I would've been content just to be in their company without saying a word--listening to their easy, teasing, loving banter.
I feel close to both of them, but they're only a year and a half apart. Whereas I'm 13 years younger than S and 11 1/2 years younger than K. No getting around it, that's quite a span.
My favorite childhood memories are of being pampered and carted around by both S & K and their friends. I felt pretty special. They allowed me to be a tag-a-long in the backseat of a boyfriend's convertible amongst other special treats. I still have a vague memory of someone lifting me up onto a counter in the girls' bathroom in the high school (where Twilight was filmed). As a kindergartner I was witness to mascara and lipstick application, girls rolling up skirt waistbands and performing various other forbidden behavior.
I remember nightmares that terrified me and crawling between the two of them in the big bed they shared. Such fresh wonderful feelings of comfort and safety!
I also remember the heartbreaking moments when they left home--S to get married and K to go to college--howling and crying my eyes out in my bedroom. How could they abandon me?! And wouldn't you know it, my face is wet from tears just thinking back to that time.
It's good to have them in my life. Now if I could just shorten the distance between us.