Wednesday Whiffs

*The other night, both Jay and I accidentally left our garage doors open and the next morning, we discovered our trashcan out in the driveway with trash spewed as far as 100 yards away.  Right next to the sticky mess were bear paw prints.  We had noticed some rather large prints down at the bottom of our driveway a week earlier and thought they were probably bear tracks but knowing a bear was IN MY GARAGE kind of freaks me out.  Every morning, I walk Henry and Sam down the lane to the road where the bus picks them up and I've noticed two other sets of bear tracks.  I've still never seen the bear but my guess is he lives somewhere in the trees nearby.

*In a previous post, I mentioned some trouble I've been having with my right front tooth.  I call it my Zombie tooth because I've had a root canal in it but every once in a while, I feel a dull, throbbing pain in it that seems to come and go with no explanation.  My dentist referred me to the local endodontist (we only have one) to make sure I don't need a new root canal and to put a post inside my tooth to stabilize it and I went and had a consult and exam with him yesterday.  He is quite the piece of work.  He seemed nice enough at first although I was a bit disturbed by some odd facial pulls he used in an apparent attempt to entertain me (He came in with his hands on his hips, eyebrows raised, lips in a pout and face tilted downward.  I asked what was wrong and he chuckled and said, "Oh, nothing!"  Ha.  Ha.  Ha.).  Then, as he examined my tooth, he told me that I have a lot of plaque along my gumline and began to scrape it off.  O.K.  Kind of embarrassing but I think all professionals have a tendency to let you know how badly you need their services.  Like the pedicurists who are always telling me about my horrible heel cracks.  Or the car detailer who said if I ever needed my year supply of food (he was LDS) then I could just go scout out the crevices in the back of my van.  I just smile and nod, people.   Anywho...this endodontist then proceeded to hold up the metal tool with the hook that now contains a tiny blob of tooth plaque and said, "Do you want to lick this off?"  What do you say to that?  Um...no?  Do I have to?  After a too long and uncomfortable 10 seconds, he chuckled again and said "Kidding!  But it's gross, right?  You need to brush better!" and proceeded to wipe it on my chest napkin.  Ha.  Ha.  Ha.

*Sam and Henry have been treated by a pediatric opthamologist in Salt Lake City for the past five years.  Jay and I both felt that the continuity of care in their cases was very important and as we travel there pretty frequently and they only needed to be seen once a year, it wasn't a big deal.  This spring, we got a letter from the eye center informing us that this doctor had left their practice to pursue a new opportunity and Iowa and gave us a list of other doctors to choose from.  Because we were starting with someone new anyway, we decided to switch care to an opthamologist closer to us up in Grand Junction (only a 3 1/2 hour drive versus 6 or 7).  The three of us headed up there after church on Sunday for their Monday morning appointments and I have to say that I had forgotten how easy it is to travel without a baby.  I kept thinking I had forgotten something because we only had one small suitcase.  No diaper bag.  No crib.  No stroller.  No crying baby wanting out of his carseat.  We made it up there in no time and had a good night's sleep in a hotel we got at half price on hotwire.com.   The doctor was very happy with Henry's progress and vision and isn't even changing his prescription.  Sam, on the other hand, she is worried about.  I have always noticed that he tends to cheat with his bifocals.  he sits really close to the television to see and reads his piano music with his neck bent backward so he can read the music with the more magnified lens.  I guess all that cheating hasn't helped his cause and during his vision testing, he showed crossing with his lenses at both long distance and close up.  She is changing him to a single lens but wants to see him again in a month and probably again in a month after that.  If she isn't seeing the eyes working with the lenses better, she mentioned a possible surgery in the future.  I guess it's a good thing that she is only 3 1/2 hours away instead of 6 or 7.  Sigh.  And poor Sam.  I just want the boy to be able to see!

We do get to drive over the scary but amazing Red Mountain Pass when we go.  The drive could not be more beautiful than it was this past weekend.




A beautiful tunnel.



Coming back down into Silverton on the way home.



Driving into Ouray




Gorgeous trees changing color



The 14ers. Uncompaghre, perhaps?

*I am a definite PSETDIer.  Oh...not familiar with that acronym?  It's main rival, DIY, is much better known, thanks to big stores like Home Depot and Lowes but I am still a firm believer in Paying Someone Else To Do It, if at all possible.  I developed the phrase when our basement flooded last summer and our neighbors, who happen to be plumbers and handy and have big trucks and equipment for all sorts of various activities, suggested we just....fix it ourselves.  Rip the carpet up and pad up, get some big fans and dry it out.  Get the young adults and youth to come and help.  That sort of thing.  I didn't want to.  We hired ServePro.  Not just because I don't want to be a burden on other people and I never know what the heck I'm doing (and I don't...ever) but because I believe that by using other's talents, and paying them for their expertise , I am helping this great world spin.  Economically and spiritually.  Service is great but people also need to work and earn money!  I also have no desire to figure out how to do most things.  Still, sometimes, this core belief of mine doesn't work out so well.  Take, for instance, the great hot tub debacle of 2012.  I have been working with a local repair shop since APRIL and it still isn't working.  What is more frustrating than the ridiculous amount of time that has lapse since I first hired them to fix it is their assumption that I have any idea, at all, what is wrong with it.  The questions they ask about relay circuits, filters and pumps all go right over my head.  I feel like yelling over the phone (I did say it sternly once but I'm not a public yeller), "I don't know anything about hot tubs.  That is why I hired you!"  The guy we pay to fix the well pump that regularly goes out is also frustrating.  He doesn't know exactly why it doesn't work as well as it should but still manages to fix it...over...and over again.  I just want it fixed!  The PSETDI philosophy isn't always frustrating, though.  I had a totally efficient and competent company come and fix a propane leak in less than 20 minutes.  That's the kind of stuff I'm talking about!  That's way better than the tire people who put on my new tires last week but inadvertently ripped the beading (all new words I'm learning!), causing a flat two days later.  Every once in a while, I even get a nice surprise by Jay who has the skills to be a DYIer but not the time.  After Seth noticed the ceiling dropping water in the basement, we figured something was wrong with the main floor toilet because the ceiling leaked every time the toilet was flushed.  After talking to our neighbor plumber, Jay changed the wax seal underneath and, voila, problem solved.  He saved us at least $80.  But, I'm still not in the mood to learn how to fix toilets.




He needs to show some more skin to be a real plumber:)


Daniel just cut 3 teeth at the same time.  Like, the same day.  He's been miserable since Friday and I felt bad leaving him with Jay when he was so down but Jay sent me pictures throughout the day to let me know how he was feeling.  Thankfully, he is back to his happy baby self and now has eight sharp little teeth.  He also happens to be weaned.  The two occurrences might have something to do with each other.

Miserable baby in the morning

Getting into trouble with the toilet paper.

He loves toilets and toilet paper!

So, Jay put him to work. He was in heaven.

Still crying for me yesterday but feeling better today!