Friday, February 26, 2016

Of Wisdom Teeth that are not so wise~~~~

Hello Darklings,

Right now I have to agree with Coralline, why are wisdom teeth called wisdom teeth, there is nothing wise about them and they are very uncomfortable.

Which for the last two weekends has been the situation for my poor niece,  she had to have all 4 of her wisdom teeth extracted, two of them were pressing down on nerves in her jaw line, and the other two were crowding her teeth.

So on two separate Fridays, they were removed two at a time,  the latest ones were done today, right now the poor child is sleeping on my couch in the family room as I don't want her to try the stairs.

They had to "knock her out" and stitch her gums, but because her parents are involved with some sports doings with the twins and were committed for both weekends, I said I would take care of her,  soft foods, jello, ice cream, and lots of sleep.

And it's all working out,  I've been called in to work during the week several staff members have come down with either the flu or severe allergy attacks, so I'm taking up the slack, but I said I had to have those two Friday's off, no problem.

My gardener has been clearing out the excess weeds although I have to admit the wild wood sorrel or what we as kids use to call "sour grass" looks very pretty, all those yellow flowers among the greenery,  I found out that it's other nick-name is "Sleeping Beauty" very appropriate. So I told him to leave the wood sorrel alone for now in the pet cemetery, until it begins to die back.

My fruit trees, the cherries and Plums have been blooming and looking so wedding like, and dropping white petals here and there like Springs' carpet of snow. 

It looks so refreshing and beautiful.  

For February we only had a little rain but hopefully for March and April we'll get a lot more.

Fortunately with the dry weather I've been able to get some of decorative parts of the house replaced and they've received a protective 1st coat of paint and perhaps that may have to be repeated, but progress is slowly being made.

And now I hear Coralline whimpering, I have to give her the pain meds, poor thing, I'll ask her if she wants chocolate ice cream for dessert, Doyle can pick that up, the question is Dryers or Ben and Jerry's.

Later Darklings

Sunday, February 14, 2016

Of Valentine's Day and a night-light for the Toilet Bowl???~~~~~

Hello My Darklings,

What have I been doing? 

Well I've found an excellent carpenter through my art friends who can replace some of the finials and outdoor carvings on the house, as a matter of fact in an act of good faith, he duplicated one of the more difficult ones for free to show his workmanship and it is excellent, so he will slowly (depending upon the weather and his other commitments) replace each item that has wood rotted.   There are not many fortunately, but he said he'd be happy to do this work for me (for a fee) as each situation arises.

I've also again through the same group of friends have been able to find a lovely lady who restores stain glass windows, especially church type windows,  she's a bit eccentric but her bonifides are excellent,  but it will have to wait until the rainy season passes.  

She also has given me information on someone who can install a protective shield over the windows to protect them in the future from the elements and the shields can be swung out in sections for cleaning as needed.

And for Valentine's Day??  

Well Doyle is going to take me to several of my favorite vintage fashion shops so I can shop to my heart's content.

And then we have dinner reservations at our favorite place.  Of course I am aware that there maybe some delays---Valentine's Day is very popular, but it doesn't matter, I'm with the man I love and that is what counts the most.

But our Dynamic Duo will not be forgotten, Doyle yesterday picked up their favorite treats and Brian is going to baby-sit them, he says after such a hectic work week, being with the dogs is his Valentine's treat.  

Sis is visiting her children in Sacramento and will be back tomorrow and Thank goodness for Brian to house sit for her.    I told Sis we owe Brian at least a belated Valentine's present.

Doyle has a habit of watching T.V. while tying up his shoe laces and putting his wallet together I've never been able to figure out why but he started doing that years ago watching the morning news and it's stayed with him ever since.

As I am putting on the finishing touches, he just came in and told me he's think he's seen it all, I asked him what is it and he said "A light to light up the inside of your toilet bowl!"

I think I froze in position before I turned to look at him questioningly thinking he's lost his mind but he then described what it's purpose is for.

It seems its a sort of sensor night light as you go to the bathroom late at night because you have to do something it lights up the interior of the toilet bowl so one can aim one's posterior in the right direction and not miss it,  which I personally have had that almost happen once or twice (O.K. maybe more).   Then after you flush and leave, it goes off.

And it will light up the interior of your bowl in colors!!!   Hmmmm I guess it will add color if you have to do a number 2.  

In a way it almost makes sense,  I think I'll mention it to my sister in law, she complains that the twins at night seem to miss aiming for the bowl, and I think for little ones it might take away the fear of monsters inside the toilet bowl.   

And it doesn't disturb the other sleeper if your bathroom is immediately adjacent or if by turning on the bathroom light it shocks you awake.

But it lights in Colors???   I will have to eventually see this commercial.

Now I'm wondering if Doyle is thinking of buying one.

Later Darklings and Happy Valentine's Day!

Monday, February 1, 2016

Of a Super Bowl free Sunday and Film Noir~~~~




I am sorry my Darklings, but Moi will Not be watching the Super Bowl.  Why?  Well it’s not that “Big” on my “To Do” list.

As a matter of fact both my sister in law and my niece along with Sis, we will be relaxing having a girl’s day in.  Yes we will be pampering our feet, doing our nails, facials, massage all of that fun stuff, I managed to find a ‘serenity type spa’ where we can relax and feel good about ourselves,  Saturday we will all have our hair done (well for me it will be a dye and trim and scalp conditioning) and then Sunday to the Spa.

All the men folk will be congregating in the Man Cave at my brother’s house, my brother, Doyle, the twins, Christopher, and a few friends to watch the game. 

We ladies will in turn have a nice early dinner out after all that pampering and later dessert at my home and watch a few favorite Noir Films such as “Laura” and “D.O.A.” and “The Lineup”. My sister in law remarked the other day how Coralline has a bit of a resemblance to Gene Tierney, and even I can see it, in a way I’m glad she inherited the best features of both her Mother and her father, and in a way looks a bit like my Great-Aunt, yes she is beginning to become quite a beauty.  

I’m afraid Darklings that I have not posted for a while and the reason is I have once again been on a Film Noir “kick” yes, I attended Noir City the San Francisco Noir Film Festival, and besides old favorites like “Rear Window” and “The Two Mrs. Carrolls”, a more recent addition “Public Eye” and one that shows off that Lucille Ball was more than a comedienne in a dramatic turn in “The Dark Corner”,  that is why I “disappeared” for so long,  Sis was with me while Betty helped out by House sitting and watching the Dynamic Duo during the day and Doyle did duty at night.

Sis and I decided to stay in the City, shopping, relaxing, dressing in our vintage finery while attending the showings.   In a way it was a wonderful vacation with the exception of all the insanity of this Super Bowl stuff,  we did miss the fireworks that signaled the re-lighting of the Bay Bridge and the opening of Super Bowl City, but not by much. 

And yes I did take good care of myself and not have a relapse, no colds, no sniffles, no coughs or sore throats.   But I have to say seeing those old wonderful films revitalized me.   

But now we are home again, and once again my Doyle made arrangements to have his friend bring the vintage Rolls Limo (1930’s) to pick us up at the Hotel, both he and his friend dressed in vintage style chauffeur uniforms,  and Sis and I “dressed to the nines” in our vintage Day wear as we left the hotel, I’m sure some folks thought we were eccentric or weird, but really if you can’t have fun what can you do.

Although for a Monday getting through San Francisco was slower than usual I couldn’t help but notice that even the most anxious drivers gave the vintage Rolls a clear berth, no one wanted to scratch it’s paint or dent it’s chrome.   And the smiles on people’s faces especially as Sis and I waved as if we were royalty.    Such fun!!

And when we got home today Doyle surprise me with an early Valentine’s gift, the complete set of all 14 of the Chester Morris Boston Blackie films.  Where he got them I haven’t a clue, but I love him for it.

And now it’s back into the mundaneness of bills (which I will tackle tomorrow) and other things,  my handyman and I need to go around the house to see what needs to be done when things dry out,  there has been a bit of wood rot here and there, easy to take care of and the house will need to be seriously painted, which means scaffolding which means getting estimates, thank goodness the house trust is designed for such things.

And my Gardener has been removing those plants that did not survive the extreme cold or over-abundance of water, and trimming the trees and bushes when it’s not raining.  And he managed to squeeze in mowing the lawn during the storm breaks.  We’ll have to talk about what we want to do with the bare spots.

Belladonna and Weiner Dog were very happy to see their “Mommy” again and Betty has dinner crock pot ready all we have to do is serve ourselves.   But she told me even though it was daylight during the days it rained the house was “spooky” to her, she didn’t want to go into the Library where sits my Cabinet of Curiosities.  Too much for her, she’d check from the door how the cleaning ladies were doing but she just would not go in.   Well it isn’t for everyone.

But now with our plans in the works for our personal Super Bowl weekend, we have something lovely to look forward to. 

I’ve also been looking around for fun things that we Goth/Noir ladies can enjoy,  and I think I’ve found a few things but that will be for another time.

In the meantime, it's dinner and later we're are going to watch a new show "Lucifer"  Doyle recorded the first episode for me along with X-Files, Blacklist and a few other fun things, Doyle says I'm going to LOVE the vintage Corvette that Lucifer drives.  Well a Vintage Corvette, hmmmm he can't be all bad, can he?

Later Darklings