Date & Dentist

My mom and I went on a date recently.  We like to make our dentist appointments on the same date and time so we can hang out, have lunch and then get our teeth cleaned.  I was sitting at a red light on the way to the dentist office and read the mess of signs at this yogurt shop: "STEAMING WIENER"  "Yogurt & Donuts"  "Donuts, BBQ & more"  What the freak are these people doing and thinking!!:

My mom gave me a few things when we met and, to my surprise, inside a small bag were small Wizard of Oz figures.  I believe they are from a Monopoly game:

I added them to my miniature collection.  It's a good thing I have a lot of room and extra shelves now:

Ceramic Painting

We have a few more stamps on the cards we purchased for ceramic painting, so we went on a date.  The last time we painted a Hulk and a Halloween decoration.  This time was Spiderman and a Christmas decoration:

Doug focusing while he perfects his Spiderman:

Done painting, but before the glaze and firing:

I think they look great!! 

We were bummed we weren't able to have Mongolian a couple weekends ago and I've been craving it, so we made it happen.  I ate myself silly.  I think the 2 sodas pushed me over the edge, since I usually don't drink much soda.  Mmmmm tasty!!:

I harvested some tomatoes and strawberries recently.  I dropped our "harvest bucket" in the sink when I was done.  Later that day I freaked out for a second when I walked by and saw "spiders" in the sink.  Tricky little tomato leaves:

Hanging out, being cute.  He's leaning forward waiting to get the ball before I reach for it:

Treats

I think Ruger thinks he's a police K9 dog or something.  We get sniffed up and down when we get home:

Helping me take out the trash....by "take out" I mean "have fun and run around so no one can catch me."  He always carries the milk jug by the handle.  Weirdo:

These weren't the largest bones at the pet store, but they were close.  They were so excited, but sat and waited as they were told:

Then Doug got treats for us:

The Oreo cream makes the Chips Ahoy taste weird.  The Reece's Oreos are good.  I also got the Reece's Chips Ahoy and those are good too.  I would prefer more of a peanut butter taste in both cookies though.  I think my cookie binge is done for a while. HAHA

Tree DOWN!

The evolution of Ruger bothering Winnie:

He finally left so we could enjoy the lovely afternoon:

I've had these little trees since they were seeds.  I put them outside after the winter freeze; they've been around the fire pit for months.  Doug said, "Those are going to get knocked off ya know."  Sure enough, the next morning Ruger and Winnie were running around and knocked one over.  Way to go Doug!!  He said it and it happened:

Luckily I had an extra clay pot sitting, so I was able to transplant it quickly.  They are checking out their mess:

Dog park fun!  Tired pups are great pups!!:

Odds & Ends

I saw this a few months back and I saved the picture.  I kept looking and it and wanting it, so I ordered the grid and labels.  I want to put it together this weekend, but our weekend is filling up quickly.

This bird ran into the window at work and didn't want to fly away.  Mel and I wonder if it hurt itself.  It would fly away and then come back.  It was still hanging out the next morning squawking away.  Another bird was trying to feed it, but it kept spitting the food out.  It eventually flew away and didn't come back:

Summer is upon us!!  Luckily it was only hot for a couple days, but I can't say the same for next week.  It's going to be triple digits for the entire week!  Yuck!

It was pretty hot upstairs too!  88 degrees made for a very sweaty workout:

I get excited when this flower blooms.  It doesn't last very long or happen very often.  3 flowers bloomed out of the top this year.  This is the first one:

Pool party all by himself:

I wanted a Dutch Oven last year, but never bought one.  They are expensive and I didn't want to spend the money to get one....until NOW!  Doug and I did some shopping at Kohls and I had a 30% off coupon.  The original price was about $100, it was on sale, plus my 30% off and my Kohls cash - I only paid $35 (with tax) for it!! YAY!!!!!  Waiting paid off!:

Movie Date & Tired Pups

I contacted a horticulturist from university in the area and she gave us some advice on how to treat the oozing sap from our lemon tree.  Sadly, she thinks it's an infection that will kill the tree:

Unfortunately it looks to be a citrus gummosis. It could be caused by a few different fungi including Phytophthora.  Not much can be done once a tree has it.  I would recommend removing the bark around the oozing area (and slightly beyond). Apply  sulfur dust and then paint the area with latex paint.  If it is a gummosis of some sort this may slow the disease.  Since it is a young tree, if it is one of these diseases and treatment does not work it will be very noticeable decline.   Make sure the next tree is not planted too deep, paint the trunk to prevent sunburn (sunburn injuries let the fungus in), and the graft area looks undamaged when purchasing. 
Now on  to the Ants! Ants will go to plants when there is an infestation of sucking insects such as scale, mealy bugs, aphids, or white flies.  They "harvest" the insect poo which is rich in plant sugars.  The ants are bad because they do not allow natural predators to come.  Copper tape works with snails but not ants.  Use something called "Tanglefoot". It's basically a sticky goo that will get the ants stuck.  Use masking tape around the tree trunk and then apply.  Make sure branches of the tree are not touching anything else such as a fence or roofline.  The ants will just go that way instead of the trunk!

Poor lemon tree.  I just realized we didn't dust it with sulfur.  It seems like it's stopped oozing sap; it did ooze some, but not a lot.  I'm hoping it was a bug burrowing into the trunk and when we removed the layers it got rid of the bug.

We went to a quick, SUPER quick, dinner and then met Ben and Breanna at the movies.  We really enjoyed Maleficent!  On our way to the movie we stopped at Walmart and stocked up on drinks and treats:

Lazy dogs:

Ruger actually wanted to cuddle:

It was a lot easier to cuddle him when he was only 13 pounds!  They aren't allowed on the furniture, so if we cuddle I have to sit on the floor:

Winnie exploring the yard:

Appointments Day

I spent a day running errands, going to appointments and shopping all by myself.  I wen to the doctor to talk to her about being tested for fibroids and/or endometriosis.  I spent $30 so she could refer me to my GYN.  Then I'll spend another $30 to see my GYN.  Sigh, the joys of the insurance games. 

 

My doctor suggested birth control...just like my GYN did last year.  I "suggested" birth control is a LITTLE counterproductive while dealing with fertility issues.  She agreed.  I said I understand that it can help regulate my issues, but it just sounds really stupid to me AND at this point I'm not interested in masking problems with pills.  I've tried ibuprofen, narcotics, teas, pickle juice, milk, heating pads, exercise, etc.  I don't want to start ibuprofen at least a day before my period, then continue for days only to cover a possible issue.  AND I don't want to deal with what ibuprofen can do to my stomach.  I see the GYN in a couple weeks, so we'll see.

 

I also went to an eye doctor appointment to have a punctal plug put back in.  I have very dry eyes and the plugs keep my tear pools from draining into my tear ducts.  It was nice to have the plug back!  Dry eyes can be very painful!   My tear duct spit the plug out already :(  Gotta go back to get another one.

 

On my to-do list was getting my jewelry checked and cleaned.  They are so sparkly after they're cleaned!! 

The jeweler we go to has a new employee I had never met.  When he saw the ring below he asked if it is real alexandrite.  I said yes and he was pretty excited to look closely at the stone.  I said, "It's always nice when someone knows what alexandrite is!!  Not many people know how valuable or rare it is."  The jeweler said, "Peasants!!!"  I laughed pretty hard!

While out shopping is saw these lovely pants.  I'm still trying to figure out how spandex Looney Tunes pants ended up on clearance!!:

Winnie must have been in the middle of a nap when I got home because she climbed into another bed when I took them outside:

Ruger was really needy.  He kept putting his head in my hand.  I guess Winnie wasn't good enough company for the day:

Not sure if you see what I see, but the clouds made a heart in the sky.  It looked great in person!  When I walked outside to get the mail, I pulled a total girly move and said, "Awww" out loud at the clouds. HAHAH

Bugs

When I was outside with the dogs a tiny praying mantis came to visit.  I could hardly see it, but it's little shadow is perfect:

Then while I was watering our tomato plants, a tiny grasshopper jumped out of the leaves.  I shooed this guy away so he won't eat our plants:

While on the subject of bugs....my Rav4 navigation system still doesn't work right.  It shuts down completely and restarts whenever it feels like it.  Toyota replaced it once - that sure paid for the warranty!  I think the guy told me it's a $3500 part.  YIKES!!!  I try to take a picture of it or a video when it's not working so I have proof when I take it back in to be replaced again.  It's really crappy when I'm using the navigation system to go somewhere new and it shuts down just as I need to turn.

Complete change of subject: Ruger's armpit is healing well.  The scabs are gone and now it's just a bald spot:

Damn City Dog

POST #1300!!!!

 

Yep, Ruger has a new issue.  We think he scratched himself with his back foot while trying to get rid of an itch.  He sure tore up his armpit:

He doesn't seem to care, so we'll make sure it's clean and healing properly.

After a couple days, it's looking better:

Taking a nap after he wakes everyone up at 5am.  Little jerk:

Winnie surveying the neighborhood:

Ruger's armpit is still getting better.  It's a pretty decent scab now.  Thank goodness no vet visit: