Anything but Uneventful!

Dad and I landed in Phoenix last Tuesday and things have been, crazy, unusual, scary, messy and stressful, ever since......almost from the time we took off!
 
I 'thought'  it was going well because when we left, Indianapolis was sunny, warm and the plane took off on time.  Clear skies till we got about half way to Phoenix.
 
The first sign of trouble was when dad decided he needed to go to the bathroom on the plane!  He never does that.  But guess what....it was my fault because I forgot to remind him before we boarded.  I knew this wasn't going to go well and it didn't.  After about 60 seconds or less in the bathroom he came out with the front of his pants wet down to the hem.  Can't say it was pleasant for the next two or three hours in a tightly packed and slightly warm plane!  (Before anyone suggests Depends, he already wears them.  However, with his diabetes and Parkinson's, he doesn't always know he has to go till it's almost too late.)

I missed another sign too......we always leave Indy with cold, and clouded over weather and arrive in warm, bright, sunny Phoenix.  I should have guessed something would be different this year, especially when we left beautiful weather behind.   Sure enough, about 200 miles from our destination, things got turbulent.  And we couldn't see the ground till we were nearly landed.  We had arrived in the middle of a dust storm!  Bad enough that any turbulence freaks me out but we circled and were buffeted round and round.  There was a young lady seated next to me who was five months pregnant and I glanced over at her to see her eyes squeezed shut and desperately fanning herself. It could have been worse, she didn't toss her cookies but, oh my, it was touch and go for awhile.  I felt so bad for her.  

My youngest brother and his wife had driven dad's vehicle out for us and they picked us up on time from the airport.   Life was now looking better....well....pretty good.  We arrived home to find the toilet in my bathroom not working.  How did that happen in only four months of being gone and it was fine when I left?  Not good when you have four people needing the bathroom and only one works.  My sister-in-law and I promptly headed for the nearest Wal-mart to buy groceries and a new TV for dad.  We were also pro-active and bought a new toilet flapper assembly so baby brother could fix it the next morning.  

Here is baby brother and SIL putting together a stand for the new TV.  Not sure he is paying as much attention to construction as his wife would like him to be!  

And there is the new TV and stand with, of course, a Western on!!  Have I mentioned, dad doesn't like to watch much else????

Baby brother managed to fix the toilet a few days later when SIL nagged him to do it.  It wasn't the flapper assembly, it was a corroded flange.  Then my utensils drawer in the kitchen fell apart when someone opened it.  Got that fixed and after that, the top of my curtain fell off the back door due to a broken plastic holder thingy.  But it's all good, these are small things and not worth sweating over.  

Unfortunately though, it got worse when baby brother went to take the trash out to the curb.  There it was, right underneath the trash receptacle.....an Arizona rattlesnake.  I've always been lucky and never found one in my yard though neighbors across the street have. 

 There it is in the center of the pictures kind of coiled up and really hard to see in the rocks. 

As if it knew, said snake decided to take off before the fire department could get here to take it away.  (See middle of photo)  It was a baby, only about 12"s long, but deadly.  They say the babies are the most dangerous as they don't know how to control their venom.  Really?  If any of them knew how to control their venom, nobody would get bit right??

I watched in horror as it slithered toward that pipe at the back of my shed assuming it was headed inside it.  Oh no.....nope, didn't happen.  Instead......it went directly for the wall and disappeared up under that lip at the bottom of the shed.  That's right, it went right up through the ledge into the wall inside my shed.  And that's where I groom dogs all winter!  

So now, the thing is in the wall of my grooming room.  The firemen got their after it disappeared and suggested we put out sticky glue traps like ones used for mice.   They didn't think we should silicone the ledge closed because that might force it to come out somewhere inside the shed!!!   Oh freakin great!!!


It's been five days now and no sign of the snake.  My monthly bug man came this morning and put down some 'Snake Away' pellets but where o where is the snake!  Someone else came and moved things inside the grooming room and pronounced it 'safe', however, I get really nervous everytime I go in there.  I have two grooming jobs this weekend so hoping for the best!

More soon!