What a Day Already 😆

Good morning!

It's only 10 AM, and it's already been an interesting morning around here. I woke up to Gary yelling outside, and when I went to see what in the world was going on, he was bowed up at a contractor in our front yard. I don't even know exactly what happened because he had to leave for work before we could really talk about it, but apparently the guy was trying to tell him that parts of our fence needed replacing when Gary knew they didn't.

Gary is one of the nicest people you'll ever meet, but he's also very blunt. He's not emotional with anybody but me. With everyone else, he's just very factual and straightforward, and I think sometimes people don't know how to take that. Anyway, something happened, things got heated, and the next thing I knew, Gary was practically chest to chest with this man, telling him to pack his sh*t up and get off his property. I've only seen my husband that mad a handful of times, so I knew something must have really set him off.

We knew the fence repairs after the hurricane would be expensive, but we also know which sections need replacing. We're not idiots, and when you're talking about hundreds of dollars per panel, somebody trying to add unnecessary work can get expensive pretty quickly. Anyway, Gary has already found somebody else to come look at it this afternoon. He texted me from work and said the guy might even be able to get started today. So we'll see!

After all that, I decided to lie back down until it was time to get the kids up. Well, that didn't last long. I started smelling something absolutely horrific. Clementine, our golden retriever, had gotten sick in the house, and y'all, I have NEVER seen so much poop in my life. It was disgusting.

Our dogs never use the bathroom in the house unless they're really sick. I honestly wonder if all the commotion outside upset her stomach. She was going nuts at the front door while Gary was arguing with that man, and she's extremely protective of him. Maybe she wasn't feeling great to begin with, but I think all that excitement might have pushed her over the edge.

Now, let me tell you something. I cannot handle poop or vomit. I just can't. I don't know how people who work in hospitals deal with that kind of thing every day because I was literally gagging. I had a towel wrapped around my head, hair-dyeing gloves on my hands, and my eyes closed half the time because I couldn't stand to look at it. Then I was scared I was going to get something on my hands, so I had to keep looking. 😂

I ended up using some cheap plastic kitchen tongs to help clean everything up, and those went straight into the garbage afterward. I don't even think they touched anything, but I wasn't taking any chances. That's why I didn't use my good metal ones! Then the kids got up complaining about the smell. No kidding, y'all. You have NO idea what you missed.

Harper started spraying everything, and I mopped, sprayed everything down with Odoban, mopped again, and now I've got the robot mop going. This house is going to be cleaner than it's been in years.

Anyway, I'm still working on Harper's Halloween costume. She's dressing up as The Dark Lord from Alan Becker's Animator vs. Animation series. They can't wear masks to school or bring anything that looks like a weapon, which happens to be the two things I'm making for her, so at least I have a little more time. I'm having to do several layers of red paint to get the color right, and she actually wants it to look kind of sloppy so it has that animated appearance.

Tomorrow is going to be busy. We're having a house full of kids, and apparently most of the boys are coming over around 2 PM. I don't know why they're coming so early, but they just want to hang out. I'm seriously considering putting their butts to work in the backyard. 😂 We still have tree limbs falling from the hurricane, even when the wind barely blows, and we need to get everything cleaned up. Maybe we can get some of it piled up for a bonfire tomorrow night.

Anyway, I'm about to get dressed and head to TJ Maxx for a little while. I need a break from crafting and cleaning up dog poop. Gary is only working four hours today, so he's going to meet me at Pedro's for lunch. Chips, salsa, and a taco salad sound pretty good right now. I made a big pot of gumbo last night, so dinner is already taken care of. All is good in the Alcina household.

I hope y'all have a wonderful weekend! For those of you participating in Halloween, please be safe. Stay prayed up, don't focus on the dark stuff, and just enjoy watching your kids have fun.

Honestly, if kids still had the same opportunities to socialize that we had growing up, I might feel differently about Halloween myself. But everything is so internet-based now, and I think they need more reasons to get together, hang out with their friends, and just be kids.

And one more thing. If you're handing out candy, please don't be one of those meanies who refuses to give it to teenagers. Those kids deserve to have fun, too. They don't get to enjoy being young the way we did, and I think we ought to encourage them to get out and do something besides stare at their phones. Anyway, that's all I've got. Y'all have a good one! 🤍