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May 31, 2008

A Mouth Full of Metal

 

Or, young boy becomes a partial Transformer.  That's what has happened to my sweet Derek.  He just got a full mouth of braces a couple of days ago, after a week of torture with rubber band spacers between his teeth.  The spacers, they say, are the worst part.  And they hurt right away.  The pain of spacers is supposed to subside within two to three days.  Ibuprofen is the drug of choice.  Oh yeah, and the spacers pop out and break alot too.  If they break and remain between the teeth, no big deal, they are still doing their job.  If they come completely out you have to replace them yourself.  Or rather, MOM is supposed to.  Well mom couldn't. 

Derek's teeth were so tight together that the orthodontist's assistant could barely get them in.  And with so much chance of slippage, (mind you, replacing them requires that you thread a couple of pieces of dental floss through them and pulling tight, then cramming the fat little rubber band between the teeth), I could not tolerate the thought of cutting my already hurting son's mouth/lips up.  So after a few tries, I pussed out.  Derek, however, brave soul that he is, was determined to do it on his own.  AND HE SUCCEEDED.  Several times because the damn thing kept popping out.  PROBLEM SOLVED.  Sort of.

We were told very little about the braces process as far as pain goes.  I think that's because they don't want to scare the victim patient.  So Derek and I turned to our knowledgeable friends.  The consensus was this:

Derek's friends:  You can really eat whatever you want.  Oh yeah, and it hurts like hell.

My friends:  You have to change your whole diet.  What do you mean they can eat what they want?  Ask them this, are YOU an orthodontist?  So what makes you smarter than one?  Oh and sure, it's two years of torture.  Lot's of blood and pain.  But SO worth it.

In the end, it was not so much about choosing what he WANTED to eat as it was choosing what it was POSSIBLE to eat.  So far that is soup, tapioca pudding, jello, and little sandwiches picked into mouse size pieces.  And mashed potatoes.  Now excuse me while I go cook something soft and mushy for the boy.

May 23, 2008

It's Kitty Friday.

And that's why you are being subjected to one more kitty picture.  Kitty ala carte (without cone).  She is frisky and severely underfoot.  And thusly she has been stepped on twice so far today.  I think wearing the cone for a week distorted her depth perception.  Or else just made her way too brave. 

She is used to sticking to me like glue, crippled by the big blue cone made for kitties with longer legs.  She couldn't always eat without help, or walk, or clean herself.  It made her very insecure and dependent, much like a two year old.  Now she's back to her bratty teenager self.  Pretty much.

In other news, it's still cool and drizzly.  According to the always wrong weather forecasts, it should be that way until NEXT Friday.  Which actually makes me happy.  It's perfect transplanting weather for the garden.  So don't sit on your couch and mope about the weather the whole holiday.  Get out and do some planting. 

May 15, 2008

Hotter Than Barbie's Booty

 

After the sun started to go down, it cooled to 90 degrees on the porch.  I have been watering constantly today.  Not only is this heat dangerous for plants, but it also poses a massive threat to us used-to-cool-weather coastal beings.  Thank goodness I have trees and plants, it turns my zone into a balmy jungle region instead of a desert wasteland. 

I kept the house closed up today, (mostly because kitty got herself in another scrap and had an abscess, requiring her to have a drain put in, meaning no outside), and the ceiling fan on.  Everytime I thought I was going to die from the heat, I just went outside, where it was 20 degrees hotter.  I cannot imagine that tomorrow will be even hotter.  Is this possible? 

It's a perfect evening for that walk on Sunset Beach. 

April 28, 2008

Speed Gardening

 

Speed gardening is what happens when you get 2 nice days in a whole month instead of the 10-20 that are typical of the month of April on the Oregon coast.  After weeks of cold and windy and snowy and hailing weather we were blessed with a few warm and wonderful days.

Mr. Wyrd and I weeded and composted and moved around the many plant beings that inhabit our yard.  I transplanted Heinz tomatoes and night blooming jasmine and dwarf snapdragons and Siam basil and marigolds, about 300 plants in all.  My greenhouse, once stuffed full, is now an echoey mess of dirt and containers. 

Which means, of course, I have to start more stuff.

April 21, 2008

Happy Birthday Derek!

 
 
Seventeen years ago, you were born.  My sweet baby boy.  You had more hair on your head than any human child I had ever seen.  And eyelashes to die for.  Born close to Hitler's birthday, and to earth day.  I don't see any signs that you will take after Hitler.  Thank god.

March 28, 2008

A Pretty Brookings Princess.

A picture for Vanita.  I don't know who the curly haired doof-ass is, but I am most fond of the other one.  I wish her well. 

March 23, 2008

I'm Not The Easter Bunny and That Ain't Chocolate.

Easter will be a cuddle at home with the neighborhood day.  After a week of appointments and kitty  nursing, the Wyrd family is tired.  A vast pile of bread was baked yesterday for todays Easter feasters.  A mound of strawberries and a lovely ham await my attention. 

Kitty is much better, thank you, as is demonstrated by her incessant nagging to get out.  The first day  she was home was really rather horrible.  She wouldn't drink or eat and just looked very sad.  I tried to pick her up to hold her, which made her cry, and practically everyone in the house as well.  My first thought of, oh maybe she didn't need her pain meds after all was soon replaced with frantic dosing.

Yesterday she was much better, but just like a human, seemed to get tired and hurty later on.  Today she seems a little more interested in licking her stitches.  Not.  Good.

 

March 21, 2008

Terrible Times For a Certain Kitty

The past three days have become part of THE KITTY DISASTER.  Two days ago Miss Kitty was moping around, clinging to me, looking at me with those emotion filled eyes, willing me to understand her plight.  Whatever that was.  When the boys came home from work/school, I mentioned this day long kitty phenomena to them. 

"Oh it's probably that lump she has on her tummy, you felt it right?" 

*WHAT*??!!??!!! 

Exit, to the vet, stage left.

Kitty had a rather large umbilical hernia.  I asked the vet, "could it have been from falling off the fence perhaps?"  Because kitty is an accomplished acrobat.  "More like she got punted over the fence,"  mumbles the vet.  She paused to behold the frozen look of horror on my face.  "People are horrible", she says.

Yeah, no shit.

So the surgery happened yesterday, it went fine, and I know kitty is ok at the vet hospital because everyone adores her there.  If you must know, I take her to Hanson's, infact, I have taken my animals to Hanson's since I was a teenager, and they have always done me right.

So this morning, within the hour, I shall go to fetch her kittyness, and she will be the most cared for kitty in the whole world.  I swear. 

March 13, 2008

Saving the Wrecks

I am right at this moment watching a fox news clip that is blah blahing about our Oregon beaches and wrecks.  They are talking about how efforts are being made to save the wrecks.  I don't see any of those efforts being made myself. 

Last weekend we stuffed the parents in the 4-wheel drive and took them to behold the George L. Olsen.  This was our third trip.  Each time we go, we see more damage to the ship.  Chunks of the outer hull are missing, revealing the unbleached wood underneath.  I would suspect people are taking  souvenirs, which is rather sad.

 

The ocean is taking its toll as well.

This is a previous picture I took of the shipwreck.

 

This is the same side of the boat as the previous picture.  I took this last weekend.  You can see how close the sand is to covering up the portholes now.  As for the back of the boat, which is still partially buried in the sand, people are being allowed to climb all over it, up and down the sea wall.  And trust me, everyone is touching the boat.  Oh sure, the cops are there, but they only seem to be interested in people who are going over 25 miles an hour.  No effort is being made WHATSOEVER to keep people from touching/climbing on/destroying the wreck.  And don't even get me started about the stupidity of destroying the New Carissa.

 

A reef for fish, a perch for the birds, and a wondrous site for human beings.  What's not to love?  Can our city fathers/mothers actually make a decision that makes sense?  Why tear up something that has attracted so much attention, that has provided so much entertainment.  Not to mention how much money destroying the Carissa would cost.  I just don't get it. 

March 10, 2008

Another Eclipse Picture.

My daddy took this picture.  The eclipse the one of the most fantastic sites I have ever seen.  At the peak of the eclipse, the moon was just a boiling dark red.  I can see why an ancient type person might have thought the world was going to end.

March 04, 2008

I Found A Little Greek Girl On The Beach

I told her a tsunami was coming.  She did what everybody else does when that happens. 

February 27, 2008

A Little Intermission

Just a little bathroom break so to speak, a hiatus from pictures of ships and flowers.  A brief PAUSE.  A bit of Eye Candy.  Check out that bejewel-like igloo.  When I was little, my beloved cousin was going to build an igloo for him and I.  An igloo with which we could escape the adult world (we were in trouble.  again.).  A little underground home made of ice.  Furniture.  All ice.  Only there was no ice.  Just dirt.  And though we tried hard.  All we managed to do was to dig up the old dead cat.  And then we were in trouble.  Again.

I'll stop now.