goodbye September

September quietly came to a close on Parker Street.  We had open-window weather all week.  I finished going through each room and color-dotting all the important items.  Probably a good thing I had just completed this task when we happened upon the Columbia Senior Center garage sale yesterday because all I could see was table after table of dust collectors and I was able to easily say "no thank you".  I did find a vintage ironing board that I bought for $2.50.  They don't make ironing boards like they used to.  This wasn't one of the actual wooden board types like my mother had but it was clearly from the 60's and it is really sturdy and stable.  I also found a Swingline stapler for 50 cents.  The only reason Steve and I were even there was to help our two-doors-down neighbor, Jan, haul a desk to her home. 

As we all know, fall is open enrollment time for health insurance and Steve and I decided to see if Obamacare was really a cheaper way to go.  NOPE!  Boy, I am SO grateful for Steve's retirement package and for the affordable healthcare we have until we go on Medicaid. 

Speaking of health, Sadie had her teeth cleaned Tuesday.  Dogs have to be anesthetized so their mouths will stay open during the procedure so it is kind of a big deal - no food/water after midnight, leave them at the vet all day....  Well, when we picked her up that afternoon, we learned that she had three teeth pulled because they were loose.  Gum disease?  Not sure.  But, they also had NOT given her any pain medicine so, after she got home, she was NUTS with pain.  Frantic panting and burrowing her head and inability to stay still.  I've never seen poor Sadie so agitated!  So, back to the vet for pain medicine and for the dosage for the tranquilizer we used to give Trissy for thunderstorms.  And, finally, after about 2 hours, she was able to calm down.  In fact, she was pretty loopy that night....could hardly walk.  Thankfully, she woke up the next day all perky and normal.   Ugh, I already try to regularly brush her teeth but I will be more assertive so hopefully, she won't have to go through something like that ever again.

We served dinner to the missionaries Friday night and they are always asking if they can do anything for us.  Well, this time, we said "Sure - how about helping us move the grand piano?"  It really wasn't that big of a deal.  We just relocated it away from the east window to the south part of the living room where is has been before.  This is to make room for the pink couches that have been out in the garage.  They needed to come in to make room for Elise's storage items.  She sorted everything into piles last week and yesterday morning, Steve and I filled the north part of the garage with her not-going-to-use-in-this-apartment things.   Elise's stuff-to-integrate-into-the-apartment items still in the garage, as well as the few remaining items in the Noah's Ark room where she stayed, should be gone by mid-October and then we can park the truck inside again.  Have you noticed as you drive down a street and look into people's garages that very few are actually used for car parking?

Steve and I watched an old and rather obscure musical Wednesday night - Flower Drum Song.   It is a Rogers and Hammerstein and I remember playing some of the pieces in Scotscapades in high school.  It focuses upon Chinese Americans and would not be exactly politically correct today which is why I think it is not done any more. 

Finally, we are loving this General Conference weekend.  Yesterday, we watched the morning session here at home and the afternoon session at Carroll and Sheila Wile's home with Steven and Tamara.  Today we will be here at home again. 

Happy October, everyone!