Not Eaten

No, I have not been eaten by a shark.  At least not yet.  I'm just worn out, and don't really feel like doing much.  Not even blogging.  The good news is, work seems to be slowing down a bit.  The plant only worked a partial shift today -- component areas and a few lines.  I didn't have to go in, due to my having taken vacation yesterday.  So, what have I been doing with my days off?

For the most part, I've just been relaxing and being lazy -- and watching Shark Week, of course.

Yesterday, the first order of business was to go to the dentist for my semi-annual cleaning and checkup.  We discussed getting implants for my recently broken tooth.  What Dr. Horan suggested was that I get an implant bridge.  See, I had some molars that my permanent teeth never came in, so my primary teeth never fell out.  When I was 19, my dentist pulled the primary teeth and gave me bridges in those spots.  I believe that's why I'm losing my molars now -- because of those bridges.

The problem is, once you lose a tooth, the bone in your jaw starts receding, and in those spots -- the ones where the tooth has been missing for 35 years -- doesn't have enough bone left for an implant.  We discussed some of the options -- trying to build the bone back up with a graft and what not, but he thinks doing an implant on either side and bridging the gap between would be the best bet.  He referred me to an oral surgeon who does a lot of implants.  I still have to call and make an appointment with her.

Yeah, you know me and phones.

It'll be October before I can get up there anyway, so I'll procrastinate until the last minute -- as usual.  BTW, he did not extract the root of my broken tooth, and I'm thinking he did it so the bone won't start deteriorating, since we're going to do implants. 

That was yesterday. 

This morning, the plan was to get up and go into town to do my business.  You know, shopping, payday errands and the like.  However, once I'd made the turn to get onto the access ramp to the highway, I discovered they had the whole road blocked.  No way to get onto the southbound lane, and no way to turn around and go back.  Well, no legal way at least. 

Gee, you could have let me know sometime before I got to the point of no return.

Not a big problem.  I'd just get on the Northbound side of the highway and get off at the Coffeeville exit.  Just a couple of miles up the road, and I needed to get gas anyway.  Alas, when I got up there, they had that exit closed as well.  I tried to get off, and the workers just kept waving me northward.  I had to go all the way to Tillatoba (ten miles further up, for you non local folks) to even find a place I could turn around.  I briefly considered going on up to Batesville, but I didn't really want to go that far today.

I turned around at Tillatoba, and got back onto the highway.  I got off at the Coffeeville exit on the Southbound side and thought, "While I'm here, might as well get gas."  That's exactly what I did. 

Once I'd finally made it into town, I ran my errands, then went on a bit of a spending spree.  See, the squirrels have found my bird feeders, and are emptying them out every day or two.  I figured, if you can't beat them, get them their own food.

Yes, I bought a squirrel feeder.

I hung it on the pecan tree just behind the fence, and filled it with loose corn, but so far, I haven't seen any squirrels feeding from it. 

I looked for some squirrel food -- which is just corn with peanuts and some other stuff added to it, but they were out, so I filled it with deer corn.  Hopefully, the squirrels will eat that, until I can get them some peanuts or something.  To complete the transition, I also bought what is supposed to be a squirrel proof bird feeder.

If anything heaver than a cardinal lands on those perches, the ports close and the squirrels can't get to the feed.  Eventually, they give up trying.  We shall see.

What got to me about it, though, were the instructions.  They said to hang the feeder away from trees or buildings, or anything a squirrel could jump onto it from, and to add a squirrel baffle.  What's the point of a "squirrel proof feeder" if you've got to do all that other stuff to keep them out?  I could have just bought the baffle and saved myself $20.  I hung my feeder on the hook under the eaves of my shed -- and moved the one that was there to a hook just outside my kitchen window.  Maybe I can watch birds while I'm washing dishes or whatever.

Speaking of, I was washing dishes, and saw one of my deer come out of the woods.  I've been seeing one of my big does these last few days.  I know she's got a fawn somewhere, because her bag is full.  I haven't seen the baby yet, though.  Buuuut, this deer wasn't her.  It was a little buck!  I think he is one of the fawns from last year.  He has antlers in velvet, and isn't a spike!  Yay! 

We are still under a supplemental feeding ban in my county, due to Chronic Wasting Disease, so I miss seeing my deer every day.  BTW, I tried to put the squirrel feeder high enough the deer couldn't reach it easily, but if some corn should just happen to spill on the ground, well, it'd be fair game,  wouldn't it?

The last things I bought on my spending spree were a book,

and some emergency blankets and panchos for my bug out bag.

They weren't but a couple of dollars each, so I grabbed extras, just in case. 

Now, if work really is starting to slow down for the fall, I'd probably better stop spending so much money. 

Got Christmas coming up and all.