And I'm back on antibiotics again, this time it's Cipro, for 7 days.  Let's hope this time it's enough to kill whatever the infection is within me.  I think it originates in my sinuses, or inside my left ear, where there is most likely to be pain.  As soon as I take the antibiotic, the pain in my ear lessens and my sinuses drain.  And of course, I've been working on the porch amid flying insect killer, and the dust and mold that accumulated out there over the past 7 years or so. 

The weather has turned sharply colder.  Only a few days ago, we had 80 degree weather and now we're lucky to get into the 60's.  And I am so reluctant to go out in colder, rainy weather.  But today I must begin, as I now feel fairly well again.  

It's been a couple of days, and the debate has been circulating through me long enough to calm down and form an opinion.  I was shocked that McCain can look into Putin's eyes and see goodness, but could not bring himself to look into Obama's eyes and see his goodness, nor even bring himself to speak to his opponent directly.

His low-voiced, insinuating rhetoric does remind me of Cheney, though.  One expects a snarl at any minute.  But McCain did make a few good points.  I think we can all see the bad side of ethanol; we all want government to stop wasting money; we all want to win the war in Iraq, etc.  But what is winning in Iraq?  Why are we there still, having already declared "mission accomplished" years ago.  It seems to be another giant taxpayer rip-off, and it's obvious now that oil must be the reason, basically; along with the "need" to establish military presence in the Middle East. 

McCain emoted that he was going to take care of veterans when they came home from his wars, yet he has consistently voted against all benefits that might help our veterans for all of the Bush years.  He claims that he is going to deny all spending, except for "the military," veterans and one other thing I can't remember off-hand.  Sorry, I don't believe that.  The slashing of government spending under a McCain administration consists of just one thing - the further destruction, abandonment and suffering of the American people in order to achieve their war-mongering, neo-conservative goals.  And you can bet that there will be government spending of American tax dollars to special interests, lobbyists, oil companies and other giant corporations, and payoffs to foreign dignitaries who pretend to be our friends. 

McCain is pro-life (until the child reaches military age) because he really doesn't like women to have that much power.  He certainly doesn't want them to receive equal pay for equal work.  He never votes "yes" to insure children, so they can receive the care they need, and doesn't ever mention education.  Health insurance?  A credit so you can be "on your own."  Not his problem.

I also resented his many slurs against Obama, repeatedly saying, "he doesn't understand that..." or "he just doesn't get it."  I can't get it out of my head that McCain is one of the Keating Five who participated in the swindling of American workers in the Savings and Loan Scandal, and was only reprimanded. 

McCain is getting up there in years.  There is every chance that Sarah Palin could end up in the White House as President.  But, not to worry.  Just as in the Reagan years, and certainly in George W. Bush's administration, these are figureheads, and merely make pronouncements given by policy-makers in the background.  We could even be putting up with Cheney, Rove etc. for four more years.  Look at the men who surround McCain.  Are these the advisors we want to be whispering in the President's ears?  It's the Republican machinery that keeps the wheels on the cart.  And we all know that they are champing at the bit to get their hands on the Social Security money.  Yeah, wouldn't it be lovely to see it all disappear down the magic sinkhole of the stock market.  But I am getting out of control here.  For I still believe that Soc. Sec. is the one best idea that we have to provide a decent life for the elderly, and I hate that they want to ruin it. 

However, I must agree with the real conservative Republicans who have made a stand against the current Bush attempt to stampede the dogies into giving them the money.  I honestly believe they do have the right idea.  See?  I'm not against real Republicans doing things properly.  I just hope that bit about insurance companies getting involved doesn't happen.  Because we know how the insurance companies have messed up health care, so that patients and doctors have to go to the insurance companies to find out if doctors can treat patients for their ills.  It just sounds fishy, like maybe the insurance companies will soon be telling prospective home-owners and mortgage companies whether they can buy/sell houses or not.  Is this really oversight?  Or just more of the same interference and dictatorial policy masquerading as oversight?   

I have been busy!  I didn't realize how much time had gone by since I last posted.  Let's see.  I had gone to Menards last Saturday, and on Sunday, I pulled away everything from the west side of the porch, and removed everything from the wall, down to the studs.  I got the new 4-mil poly sheeting up, covering that wall and stapled it on.  I got one sheet of plywood up on the studs at the bottom so now I have a 4' wall, but still need to fill in a 2' gap to complete the wall. 

On Tuesday, I took everything away from the little front porch or stoop, got up on ladder and removed everything from the front of the porch down to the studs.  Also, got some laundry and dishes and vacuuming done.  On Wednesday, I had a doctor's appointment for a checkup, and managed to bring down my cholesterol and triglycerides count using just diet and exercise.  Cholesterol down 6 points, triglycerides down 20 points, but the doctor still wants me to start taking another kind of statin drug.  I declined to accept and will continue on my own, eating healthier foods and hopefully, less of them.

On Thursday, I decided that my dogs need to be wormed, and stopped at Foster/Smith to get some (very expensive) wormer that will hopefully kill all 4 kinds of worms that dogs get.  I went on to lunch with my girlfriends from high school, had a chicken quesadilla and raspberry tea.  Afterwards, I went back to Menards for more staples, foam in a can to fill in big cracks and empty spaces, more screws and nails of various sizes so I will always be ready, 2 tarps to cover the firewood I plan to make, and a box of white cheddar Cheez-Its.  I wormed the dogs at 8:30 at night.  Now they are lying around with their tummies gurgling, but I sense that they are feeling better already. 

Today, I'm back at the porch job.  I made an effort to take measurements all along the front where there is a triangular space above the doorway and wall.  While I work on my projects, I can't help but think of the very strange political situation in the Republican party these days - the McCain/Palin head-shaking, jaw-dropping campaign.  As I drive along, I notice that there are quite a few Obama-08 signs up, and very few or no signs for McCain.  People in stores, restaurants are talking openly now that they see no problem at all voting for a black candidate, especially one as intelligent and capable as Barack seems to be.

McCain and Palin seem to be out-of-control and flying by the seat of their pants.  If it weren't for the huge and powerful Republican Party machinery that is set up in place in this country, they would not stand a chance of election.  In fact, I keep expecting them to give up and drop out of the race entirely, they have so much egg on their faces.  But I know that won't happen, because the powerful machinery behind them knows that anybody could be "elected" if they just hang in there and keep lying to the public.  The machinery will keep functioning.  I am still very worried that a lot of cheating at the polls will create havoc with the true vote.  There's reapportionment to contend with too, so we are going to need a landslide vote to get Barack elected.  Let's hope and pray that sanity, competence and good will toward all will prevail this time. 

Now, on with my outside work.  The weather has held up very well, and it should only be two-three days more, and the porch job will be done.  Then I can begin the burning pile business of dragging everything out of the garage and getting rid of things that have been in there for a very long time.  Then the firewood, yes.  But this morning, I kept the chicken "Susie" in her pen area, so I could get into her house and do some winterizing for her.  I replaced her 16-watt lightbulb with a 30-watt bulb and added a lot more fresh, clean straw in her house.  She has stopped laying again and gone into a molt of her back tailfeathers (as is usual for her every few months or so).  But her diet is so rich and varied, I know she's all right.  She stops laying eggs as soon as she notices that I have taken a few from her, so it's a counting contest for control of the egg supply. 

I have also been harvesting broccoli, cabbage, little summer squashes, and cauliflower buds from the garden, in addition to tomatoes and cukes.  I need to get a fork out there and pull up the straw that I had over the potatoes.  I can't wait to see if they really did make potatoes without being planted, or if that was just a pipedream.  The deer now jump right into the garden and make themselves at home.  But they seem to be content with nibbling things that I don't want and that is a surprise.  My nasturtiums have run riot, my blueberries were blue, though not too many.  One thing that amazes me is that the birch trees are loaded with grapes!  The vines have grown up into the trees where the deer can't get them, but neither can I.  This is a tremendous boon for the birds, no doubt.          

I have gotten all the boxes unpacked, all the glassware unwrapped, into the dishwasher, and had to clean off a shelf in the house to place all the glassware in neat fashion there.  Now to get rid of all that I don't need.  And there's plenty more to go.  But I had to go shopping for groceries yesterday, and I was plenty sore, so I only put all the rest of the things from the porch back onto the porch until I can get around to it. 

I also went to Menards and put another $70.00 worth of stuff on my card.  I got 2 bundles of fanfold insulation to apply to the outside of the house before winter sets in.  I will need more of that to complete the whole house.  I'll see how far these two bundles go.  I'm only putting the 1" styrofoam on the front of the house, where it's needed; the rest of the house has lots more insulation inside, so don't need the 1" all over.  The fanfold insulation is only 3/8" thick, gives an R-rating of 1.  Mostly, I want it for an air leak barrier, and to make a smooth surface for when the siding goes on next year.  I only owed $20.00 on the card anyway, so I'm still below $100.00 on that, and I'll have it paid up before spring.  I also bought lots more suet cakes for the birdies, screws of the proper kind, wire, new extension cord and plug-in cube, 4-mil plastic sheeting for the porch (until I can afford glass windows). 

But buying groceries is harder and harder to do these days.  I've had to put some of the bill on my credit card for the past two or three months.  Yesterday, I had to put $25.00 on the card, and I was only buying staples like potatoes, onions, bread and eggs.  Over at the feed store to buy dog biscuits, I find that dog food has gone up $4.00 on the 44 lb. bag, and the next bag down, 35 lbs. is now the price I used to pay for the 44 lb. bag.  I'm down to a quarter tank of gas, have $25.00 left to buy gas, and don't know how much that would get me anyway.  I remember not too long ago, filling my whole tank for $30.00, and thinking that was getting pretty high.  I haven't been able to fill my whole gas tank for quite some time now.  $50.00 gets me half a tank.

I called the County Landfill to see if they had a free paint collection day, as I found 2 boxes of very old used paint cans in the porch.  The man said "Never free, ma'am, never free.  It's 30 cents a pound."  Another way to deal with these paint cans is to open each and every one of them, pour the paint onto old rags or newspaper, let it soak in and dry out thoroughly and leave the lids off the cans to let any remaining paint dry and harden.  Then all this can be thrown away like regular garbage; at least, that's what I've been told.  But that's going to take time and more effort.  Or what?  I guess that's why they've been sitting there so long.  Maybe they are all dried out already.  Just another chore I have postponed for way too long. 

But the weather continues to be so beautiful, that yesterday, I was mesmerized by how the sun plays among the trees and rapidly changing leaves.  It was breezy and warm, a day that makes life worth living all by itself.  My cucumbers have survived and are beginning to bear cukes!  I've got to make a salad today.     

Before I could do much of anything else, I needed to move a bunch of 4'x8' paneling pieces across the porch to lean up against the side room wall.  No problem.  Kept sweeping and cleaning up the area.  I managed to get one box open, unwrapped, and took a few things into the house to put in the dishwasher.  Somehow, even though these glass items looked perfectly clear, when I got them in the dishwasher, suddenly there were wasps crawling around in the dishwasher!  Panic mode set in, and I hastily threw a little soap in there and slammed the door shut, punched the button, and washed the bejuniors out of them.  There was no sign of them when it was all over. 

The next day, opening the second box, I found the nest of wasps, proper.  A huge, beige conglomeration that was mostly formed into like giant slices of bread, with a lot of extra wattles on the surface of a wicker basket I had in there.  And there were many, many more wasps crawling around.  All things unpacked are now examined thoroughly before bringing indoors, and everything else goes into a sled and gets dragged down the driveway to the burning pile.  STILL, they come back to their original place and perhaps they are grieving for their destroyed home and family members.  I like to think that I respect all forms of life, but I am killing wasps every day as they present themselves as targets.  And each day finds me getting more sore and aching. 

Then by yesterday eve, I had emptied six boxes of glassware and other "precious" memorabilia, brought all into the house, thrown much away, and washed two more loads of things in the dishwasher.  I have also emptied the shelves of mom's hutch, cleaned the interior, and replaced the pretty glassware that I will now keep.  I can't believe I find it so hard to part with these things.  The plan was to get rid of all this somehow, preferably for some money. 

After bath and bed last night, I began to have a headache and became clogged up in the sinuses.  Then body aches and pains.  I know it's from breathing in the dust and mold of everything in those boxes.  I couldn't sleep all night, got up at 6:30 a.m., made coffee, toast and took a Benadryl.  I was finally able to sleep until 11:30 a.m., but still my head hurts.

There are only four boxes to unpack, and I am determined to finish the job today, as I am very tired of doing this.  But the weather has held out nicely, and nothing got rained on.  What remains are items that can quickly and safely go back onto the porch until I think where else they might go.  Oh please, just let me hold out for today and get this job done!  The good news is that leaning all those 4x8 sheets against the opposite wall is straightening out the slight bend they were getting on the other wall.  Also, I'll have much more room to work out on the porch.  And, I have found all these treasures again, that were stuck in boxes out there when my mother moved in.  That would be approximately seven years ago. 

I am debating with myself how much I can afford to donate to Barack Obama and to the senators who need to get elected to help him get his agenda passed.  I feel the coming election is critical to saving our country from economic disaster, for one thing.  And I worry about the Republican dirty tricks at the polls in November.  Since they don't want things to change, and have no real plans to help our economy, they are stuck with cheating, lying and finagling to get their way.  So it's dig, dig, dig, into the pocketbook and see what I can come up with.  My Obama sign looks good at the end of my driveway, but I'm not much of a community organizer anymore.    

I've been busy, working outside every day now, trying to get things done that need doing before it gets very cold out there.  So far, I've removed everything from the area of the well and the pipe that leads into the house.  I've filled in the hole that the dogs dug there for their bed and picked up and bagged debris left over from the well drillers' visit earlier this year.  I've attached the last full sheet of pink styrofoam to the front of the house, cutting out with a steak knife around where the water pipe goes into the house.  That was Day 1. 

On Day 2, I insulated the pipe with expanding, insulating foam.  The pipe and wiring now looks like a giant brain parked by the house.  Good.  I covered the brain with plastic sheeting, duct-taped the sheeting to the wall above, and covered the surrounding area with a layer of many rocks.

On Day 3, I attached legs to the inside of an old home-made door we used to have on the house, and using leverage and blocks, I got it up high enough on one side to be able to tip it over, covering the "brain," putting it up close to the house, and extending it out lengthwise to cover the well besides.  It looks like a table now.  It took some time to get the legs all positioned correctly on bricks, so that the table slants gently away from the house.  Then I covered it with a blue tarp and laid some scrap lumber on top so the tarp won't blow away.  The dogs love to be under this table in the winter or when it's raining.  They have a three-sided view of everything that's going on.  They dig a shallow hole under the table which I fill with straw and they love to lay out there and keep an eye on things; nose, eyes and ears sticking up over the edge of the hole.  

We had wasps that built a nest in a cardboard box full of dishes, etc. which was stored with many other boxes on the porch.  I erroneously thought that putting a sweet, sticky syrup in a dish would trap and kill them, but after the first layer of wasps died in the dish, the others just sat on top of them and drank their fill of syrup.  Not only that, but it brought every wasp in for miles around to swarm around excitedly.  It was intimidating to have to leave the house or come in, I tell you.  We decided we would have to do something drastic; by we, I mean John.  He first built a smoldering fire in the little grill with newspapers, etc. and put the lid almost all the way on...then used a fan to gently blow the smoke toward the nest.  After awhile, there was no discernable activity, so he used a can of insect killer and sprayed nearly the whole can into and at the hole.  By the next day, there were only a few wasps flying around, searching for survivors. 

Today, being Day 4, was the day I hauled everything out of the porch, the anxious wasps (3 of them) droning on about everything.  I've swept the place out, and am now searching for a suitable length of something to fill a gap at the bottom of the side room wall.  But when I opened one of the boxes to see what was inside after all these years, there are much bigger wasps still living, crawling around unsteadily.  I've retreated to my blog to await inspiration on how to proceed.  I can't really leave all those boxes outside in case it rains, and I'm getting pretty tired and sore already.  I may just throw a tarp over all until tomorrow?  Do I have an extra tarp? 

The only other thing to report is that yesterday, after coming indoors from my labors, I took 2 acetaminophen (500 mg. ea.) and took a hot bath in Epsom Salts (just a tablespoon in the water).  I could hardly believe how good I felt after soaking my back in the tub, and I was pain free all night and until just awhile ago when I came in from today's efforts.  That Epsom Salts bath really did the trick.  I have been going for my walk every day with Pepper, and the woods are beautiful now and no waylaying bugs attacking.  It surprises me a little that we have not been stung by any of the wasps we have been dealing with either.     

My grandson has returned home, and now with Daphne gone too, it seems so quiet and somber in the house.  Outside, it's been rainy, cold and gray, and fits the mood indoors.  Sunday passed as a day of rest, not much on tv except horror shows, turned it off and worked a few puzzles. 

It's time to begin the work outside that needs to be done before it gets nasty out there.  I need to clean out the garage and burn a lot of stuff.  I have a burning permit.  I need to purchase a few more pink styrofoam sheets to finish the front part of the house before applying siding next year.  Oh, and the front of the porch - that area that's a triangle above - need to get that filled in with boards cut just at the right angle.  And apply plastic sheeting over the window areas; maybe next year the glass or cheap garage windows. 

Still have to dismantle the greenhouse and move it to the side of the house, maybe put the chicken in there.  That would be ideal for her.  The garden is already a mess, and I can hardly wait for it to be over.  Just corn, tomatoes, and zucchini, plus a lot of flowers.  Then I might just mow it all down and do something completely different next year.

It's cold and gray outside.  Maybe I'll wait for better weather to get started.  Wouldn't want to catch a cold now and be sick when the weather gets nice.  Sound like procrastination?  Yeah, maybe. 

Seems every time I come up with a political opinion on the way things are going, one of the elected Democrats or one of the candidates is already on the job, speaking out.  It is good to know that my Party members and I are so much in agreement. 

It is interesting to note that the oil companies have leases on lands that they could drill right now, but why is it that they want to drill so desperately on the North Slope?  I have come to believe that they want drilling rights there just to destroy it, just to show how much power they have.  The oil they would get from there would not be sold in the United States; they have already gotten a law passed, I believe, that mandates the oil from the North Slope will be sold to foreign companies.  Even if this oil would be pumped for the United States, it would only reduce gas prices by a few cents in 10 years!  But it might just give the oil companies a monopoly on drilling rights, and then they would become the dictators of all oil sales in the U.S.  Our Senator, Russ Feingold, has suggested that the oil companies be given a mandate; a time limit to drill the existing oil leases they have now, or those leases will be canceled and given to companies that WILL drill them.

What were the special qualities that John McCain found to be so wonderful in Sarah Palin, that he chose her for his running mate?  I keep shouting at the television set, as the media seems perplexed by this question - It's OIL, I scream, she's definitely going to do everything in her power to see that oil companies get the North Slope.  She has shown herself to be quite a hunter of wolves, bears, and anything else that stands in the way of total human development of Alaska's bounty.  I guess it's the way of the humans, but to me, it is a sad day when greed, development, and the destruction of the natural world takes precedence over the real need to preserve God's creation the way it was meant to be. 

The Republican Convention was a jaw-dropping farce of theft of ideas from Barack Obama, a sneering description of Democrats as being responsible for the failures of the past 8 years, a lot of bald-faced lies, and some misrepresentations of what they are really all about these days.  John McCain claiming outright that Barack Obama will raise YOUR taxes.  Maybe he was referring to rich Republicans there at the convention, but he didn't bother to delineate just who those people were.  But there were so many lies and contradictions, the mind gets weary trying to keep track of them.  I noticed that many signs were held up claiming that "SERVICE" was the theme.  Wouldn't it be a service to your country, when it made you a rich person, to give something back to the people who made you wealthy, in the form of fair taxation?  Instead of trying your darndest to avoid any taxes, when you know that many people are living in dire circumstances, and in need of assistance?

The Republicans like the idea of "you are on your own."  But that is just their way of avoiding responsibility.  John McCain talked about how he needed others to help him get through the terrible times he suffered in the prison camp, but he turns around and says "you are on your own" with the rest of them.  They talk about community service as an ideal "service" motto, then repeatedly ridicule Barack Obama for being a community service organizer.

When they list all the things they hate about our country and want to get rid of, it's Social Security, a program that has saved the elderly and given them dignity and survival in their old age; a woman's right to choose, while they still maintain their right to kill our children when they become 18 in their interminable oil wars; the appointment of right-wing politically motivated Supreme Court justices so they can abolish Roe v Wade; the total surrender to the oil companies greed and pollution; the hunting of wolves by airplane and all the other hideous policies of animal extermination they intend; incredibly, the right to torture, detain indefinitely, and eliminate habeas corpus; and the intention to treat the World at large with aggression and military might in their futile war(s) against those who dare to oppose them.  Meanwhile, selling out our people's jobs to foreign countries, and always, always using taxpayer dollars to bail out their corrupt industries and pay for all their big ideas. 

So that's my take on the Republican Convention.  Now for the debates.  I am still concerned with the Election being compromised by faulty voting machines, good people being turned away from voting, and gosh, the oft-spoken idea that people believe any lie that is told them.   I hope that is not true.

So I took Daphne to the vet's, and all that.  I was to give her the antibiotic twice a day, evenly spaced.  I gave her one when I got her home, then again at 9:00 p.m.  She had a terrible night, throwing herself back and forth, struggling.  I kept petting her and lifting her to a more comfortable position.  She would open her eyes and look at me, and I could see she was really sick.  But the comforting seemed to help her and calm her, and she was able to sleep then for about 1/2 hour or so.  But then the discomfort would begin again, and I was up and down all night, until about 5:00 a.m. with her, telling her it would be all right.  But privately wondering if things were getting worse for her.  Finally, I thought she was sleeping comfortably, and between 5:30 and 6:00 a.m., I fell asleep for a few hours.  I woke up at 9:00 a.m. sharp to give her the medicine again, and knew immediately, looking at her there at the foot of my bed, that she was gone.  I phoned the vet and told them, and they said the vet would get back to me, but he has not done so.  I believe that she was a lot sicker than they let on. 

I'm coming out of the shock now, and starting to grieve.  John helped with the burial, out in the woods where Arnie, Sr. lies and also my little Miss Muffet, the sweetest kitty in the world.  I'm sure Arnie, Jr. and Pepper know what's happened, but they are more concerned with living, a good thing.  Daphne had her problems, but we believe she had a good life here, though not a long one.  She was a Sheltie, and I had cared for her since my mother died.  So goodbye, my sweet girl, I know your troubles are over now. 

I could tell something was wrong with my Sheltie dog, Daphne, yesterday, when she couldn't step down to go out.  I had to lift her down, and I noticed she was having trouble going potty outside.  Last evening, she wouldn't eat her supper, and she NEVER doesn't eat.  And then she didn't rise to the occasion of barking when the phone rang. 

All night long, she was scritching and scratching around, and seemed to be uncomfortable all night.  Her breathing was just panting.  This morning, she wasn't able to get up at all.  I called the vet and brought her in.  She had to be lifted and carried out to the truck.  I didn't know what was the matter.

Well, she has anaplasmosis, a tick-borne disease, quite serious.  It's at least as bad as lyme's disease, and the vet's informed me that both of these diseases are spreading fast.  They gave her an injection of dexamethazone (steroid) to make her feel better right away, and an injection of Sub-Q fluid, and she has to take antibiotic (doxycycline) for 21 days.  She has a fever of 104 degrees.  Hopefully, she will beat this thing.  She was carried back in and is resting on a clean rug.  She is sleeping all the time.  The other dogs were worried and wondering what all this was about, but so far, they are all right, and won't get bitten by any disease-carrying ticks. 

My grandson and I are leaving now to go to a barbeque that my son is having over at his house.  He's been preparing for days.  I know there's good food waiting, and his son is eager to see his dad again.  So, off we go.