First, the good news.
Miss B had an overnight visit to the Hospital this week. In this case, it was a planned visit to take a test. As we discussed a couple of weeks ago, she had pulled the oxygen tube out of her nose and slept through the night without the O2 Level tester's alarm going off. Her parents discussed that with her pulmonologist who ordered up a sleep apnea test. I've had a couple of those, no big deal. You go to sleep and they've got a tester on you that keeps track of your O2 level.
Well, according to the Doctor that monitored the test, she passed with flying colors. Of course, as with any bureaucracy, the data has to undergo review and the review has to undergo review and...and...and... So we won't know for sure for a while, but looks good so far.
And, of course, assuming she passed, then the gummint gets involved and has to decide if she and her mom can go overseas and be reunited as a family.
So, my prayers are now several Thank You's and a Please.
It's always something, ain't it?
On a different note, after the events of the past month, Mrs. J made an executive decision that the Family needed a getaway vacation. So, she did a little surfing and found a nice large home that had been turned into a B&B. It was named "The Jungle Haus"
A little kitsch-y perhaps
OK, maybe not a "little".
But it had 5 bedrooms and a dining table that sat 8. We had grand plans to go visit some new wineries, go out to eat, you know...Do that vacation thing. It has been a while.
Well, Mrs J had a diabolical plan for the weekend. It involved...
It being July in Texas, our plans to go out and about devolved quite quickly.
Miss B needed a little bit of encouragement but she and entourage were first in.
Shortly after this shot, the photographer (yours truly of course) decided to join them. Yes, Beans, the water was cool, not cold, and quite pleasant. Time passed quickly and by the time the College Station team arrived the desire to go out to dinner had waned. Take out pizza, wine and Mrs J's knockout cookies were the end to a perfect day.
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| Cabernet and Chocolate Chip Cookie? A match made in Heaven! |
Tara O'Brady's Chocolate Chip Recipe
The following morning allowed me some time to explore the back yard a bit.
A nice little reading room with a Tuk-Tuk parked out front, but looks are deceiving.
I think Tuk-Tuk, in the original Thai, means Bar! However, it was a little early for enjoying a bar, so I continued my exploration.
Swing Sets sure have come a long way from when I played on them. Unfortunately, I'm too old for it and the grand kids are too young, so it didn't get much use. Further on in the tour, I came upon this.
Thought it was just a jungle themed storage shed. Nope!
It's a reading/play room for kids. Thought that was pretty cool.
About this time, MBD, The Rev and MG had arisen and I resumed my duties as swimming observer.
Even Miss B's Dad got involved.
Time passed fairly quickly and soon I had to turn in my Lifeguard whistle and don my Chef's Toque. Dinner was Juicy Grilled Shrimp Kabobs and Grilled Corn with Feta Cheese and Chive Butter. Quite delicious, quick to cook and, being cooked on the Barbecue, easy to clean up. Perfect Vacation Menu.
I did get a little time for a side trip. I decided I'd do a drive by of the Boyhood home of the third worst President in my lifetime.
 |
| Joe and Barry being #1 and #2 and compared to those two, Lyndon is a distant third. |
Before we knew it, it was Saturday and we had one more task, vis a vis my Sister, to accomplish.
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| Grindle on the left, Bentley on the right were hers, Cooper at the top was adopted from MBD. Oskar, Annie and Atticus are around...somewhere. |
Since Lisa's roommate has moved, we've adopted Lisa's dogs. We're now a 6 dog, 2 cat family. My sanity is in danger.
Peace out, y'all.
As you have proved once again..... Family Time is Best Time. Chocolate chip cookies make EVERYTHING taste better. Six dogs, oh my.....that's a lot of pup food juvat.
ReplyDeleteNylon,
DeleteThe cookies were a new recipe for Mrs J. They had a few flakes of sea salt on the top of them. MAN! did that make a difference. As to the dogs, yes...and all three are bigger than our previously biggest dog, even the 4 month old pup. Gonna be a challenge.
juvat
I don't totally disagree with your presidential rankings, but Lyndon may look better than the other two because he has some historical distance from them. After all he may have been involved in the assassination of another president, and his legislative policies and war policies were disastrous. I would prefer to think of the three as worst presidents one A, one B and one C.
ReplyDeleteAnon,
DeleteAll good points. I think my ranking was based more on Lyndon's a goner and can't do any more damage. The other two? Still hard at it. But, as I said, your ranking has merit also.
juvat
We are going to have to do some testing of the chocolate chip cooky and red wine theory. I'm pretty sure that the correct red wine to go with anything chocolate is "yes!"
ReplyDeleteMy brain read the word "Cabernet" and almost immediate suggested that word would also describe a woven catching setup for those big sticks that Scots folk toss.
That terrible pun was a good thing because it stopped my mental jukebox from endlessly repeating a certain song that name of the place you stayed at triggered.
Great news about the little one.
The way things are trending, I would suggest this change, ",,,,the third worst President in my lifetime so far."
Yes, that's supposed to be dots instead of commas. But it takes a little while to get the dry eye ointment out of my eyes in the morning. Next time I will bump up the display size.
DeleteJiP.
DeleteMight have to see if I can't beg, borrow, steal or otherwise cajole the recipe out of Mrs. J. Believe it or not, Cabernet is an excellent grape for Texas. Tolerates heat well and is drought resistant, both important traits down here. That particular wine is made by our winemaker friends and is one of our "Go To" wines when we can't figure out what to have with what we're gonna eat. Always seems to work.
Can't disagree with your recommended wording. More's the pity!
juvat
JiP,
DeleteApparently I have the reverse problem, I used a period instead of a comma after the salutation. My Guardian Angel, in charge of writing, has a wicked sense of humor.
juvat
Glad to hear of Miss B's successful hospital visit/test. Nothing to prolong the suspense of waiting for test results by involving a team of medical specialists. Then before the actual decision regarding travel can be made there is the indefinable time required for involvement of human resources individuals, aided by insurance company medicos and actuaries. I hope Little Juvat's employment leadership can persuade the participants in the latter stages of travel approval to "encourage" that group to fast-track an informed decision.
ReplyDeleteCletus
Cletus,
DeleteOne can only hope. He RTB's the end of next week. Won't see him again until December. Hopefully we'll have answers to several questions by then. Hopefully!
juvat
Looks like a fun trip, to the folks next door. Interesting BB.
ReplyDeleteShout out the recipe if'n you don't mind. (I'll be looking for it anyways) I'm always on the lookout for new bribery devices. Cookies are like cash.
I still remember Carter, the Worthless One. But there are quite a few that have surprised me at their fecklessness. W even smells like a WH at low tide to me now. The joys of getting older....
STxAR,
DeleteLink is posted above. Enjoy!
Politicians gotta politic, although I didn't realize that apparently the Law doesn't apply to them at all. I sincerely pray that I'm proven wrong on that....SOON!
juvat
Such good news about the little Miss B. Family vacations can be a lot of fun, looks like yours was. Praise the Lord on both counts!
ReplyDeleteSarge,
DeleteYep, not quite as worried about my BP prior to my quarterly Doctor's visit as I was. We'll see. It was a blast and other than going to the grocery store for things I forgot (and Ice), we didn't leave the property at all. Very nice.
Thanks
juvat
When Mrs. Andrew (before becoming Mrs. Andrew, yes, we were living in SIN!) and I moved to Gainesville, she got a house with a pool. Since the summer was hot (July 4th was right around 100 degrees, most of the rest of the summer was pretty much above 95 and thee was a week in August where pretty much every day was above 100 degrees, all combined with the at-the-time 4pm 30 minute rain shower to add the steam broil effect) we pretty much spent any free time in said pool, sitting in the shade, reading, sleeping, eating fruit and sammiches. By dark, the pool had sucked enough heat out of us that we were okay with the 10 second dash to the door to get into the air conditioned splendor of inside...
ReplyDeleteThe pool had a screen room so no insects were allowed.
It was heaven.
Hot days require either staying inside a house with excellent air conditioning or a pool or both.
Glad to hear the news about the family.
And glad to hear you only adopted two dogs.
Do they all sleep on the bed with you and Mrs. Juvat?
Beans,
DeleteSounds like you were living the life of Brian.
As to 2 dogs. It's actually three, 2 Great Pyrenees (One Full Size Adult, One 3/4 size 4 month old pup) and a Golden Retriever. The Golden is somewhat neurotic. The adult GP is as good as a dog gets, very mellow. The pup...Well, he's a pup. Got good intentions, but a lot of velocity and no vector.
As to sleeping arrangements. The two small black dogs are the only ones allowed on the bed. I require space!
Thanks
juvat
6 dogs? Oh wow... Enjoy!
ReplyDeleteRob,
DeleteI'm not sure "Enjoy" is the word I'd use. Tolerate, maybe, although even that verb is tough right now. We're just gonna have to "Wait and see" for a while. Two days in is still a little too short a time for a decision.
juvat
Some places I've lived you'd need a kennel license for that many dogs.
DeleteRob,
DeleteSomedays, I feel like I LIVE in one. ;-)
juvat
Miss B: Whoo-hoo!! You go girl!!
ReplyDeleteRe LBJ: I find as I get older, I am less enamored with his policies, or at lest with the consequences of those policies. I remember him, but I was a kid back then, so didn't really understand what was going on until I grew a bit older.
And I find I really am not a fan AT ALL of the "Rules for thee, but not for me" situations that seem to be multiplying faster than bunnies. I think there has been too much sparing of the rod and spoiling of the child...time for some tough love all around and much more adulting is needed these days from what I'm seeing, especially here in the great state of New York. Having Gov Abbott ship the illegal immigrants to NYC, where Mayor Adams was like OMG, there are A LOT of folks--to which Texas folks said Ya think??!! -- I heard ya all the way up here...cause when Adams shipped several busloads further north--all of a sudden life long NY state Democrats are saying "Hey! Hey! Hey!! Wait just a minute here!!" My hope and prayer is this sanctuary city/state/country jazz will be kicked out the door at the next election.
The best part of every summer is when the entire family, which is scattered across the country, manages to all descend on the beach cottage we rent every year in CT. Memorial services are not fun, although are good to have. Closure is important. But better yet, is seeing everyone, and getting together over good food, good drink--my brother-in-law brought back a Scotch from Scotland when they went in June--sampling some of CT's small breweries products and just generally getting in each other's way for a week.(8-11 adults, 1 bathroom) Making family memories. Which reminds all of us of what family is all about.
Suz
Suz,
DeleteLast first, 8-11 adults, one bathroom. I hereby rename you Saint Suz. So it is written, so it shall be.
As to politics, I hope the Republicans win the Presidency for one reason. If they do, the Democrats will enforce the rule of law. Which would be a refreshing change.
Thanks,
juvat
Down time is good! And concur on getting laws actually enforced!
ReplyDeleteOld NFO,
DeleteYeah, it is. And needed at times. Lord help us with the latter.
juvat
Wonderful news on Miss B Juvat! Thank you for sharing.
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like a wonderful getaway. The monkey lamp holder is either the work of a genius or someone with far too much time on their hands.
THBB,
DeleteThanks, yes it is.
As to the Monkey Lamp...My vote is on the latter. Just sayin'
juvat
Good to see Miss B looking more in standard baby mode, vice baby with tubes mode. Need to start saying some prayers of thanksgiving in addition...
ReplyDeleteTuna,
DeleteBelieve ME! "Thank you, Lord" is the beginning of every prayer I say. Way back in July, it didn't look too hopeful. There was a lot of "asking for help" praying going on. Seems to have worked. She's doing quite well now. Still ask for a little bit of protective help, but the Thank You's are on the beginning and end of each one.