OH BOY .... BINGO!!

 Can you feel the enthusiasm?  Oh yes ... another wonderful, glamorous night on the blue carpet.  It started out like any other day, full of surprises.  I got my P G & E bill.  I almost went into shock.

I've had no bills for the past two years, other than the minimum $15.00 payment.  Wasn't I surprised to find the bill was $279.00 last month.  I think I mentioned while I was gone, even though I set the thermostat to 60 degrees, I found the fancy dancy thermostat at 67 when I got home,  That was a month of  freezing cold weather here.  Okay ... I paid it.  

So THIS month I was sure it would be zero.  NOPE ... even though I turned the thermostats down, the bill was again $290.00.  A little investigation provided the answer.  It was for natural gas ONLY.  Since the middle of November to now, the price has skyrocketed in California since we are paying for all those fires.  And so you can probably feel the shivering as I type.  If you're cold, wear a COAT!!  There are too many other things I would like to spend my money on!

The good news is the solar is working overtime and the electricity for those heaters cost me nothing!  YAY!  And so the appointed came and went, as I rushed off to Bingo, the infernal machine in tow.

I literally ran with it through the door, down the steps and to my awaiting table, where I instantly plugged it in.  I wasn't taking any chances by leaving it unplugged for any length of time.  IT WORKED!!  Oh the relief!!

After signing a bunch of checks upstairs, I retrieved the backup machine, set up in the Bingo room and went to work.  There are not as many keys to program on this one (it is not the same model), so I thought it would be easy.  HA!!!  

After several mistakes, I finally got it set up.  I even grabbed a knife to pop the keys off and change out the words so I knew which keys were which.  I changed out the batteries, but weirdly, it said NO BATTERY.  I tried it again.  NO BATTERY.  It was a sign. 

Sure enough, I unplugged it and plugged it back in immediately.  They usually keep their head on straight for the 60 second trip to the safe where they live.  

In a NANOSECOND ... the infernal thing lost all that programming I spent an hour doing.  If I had a pitchfork, I would have stabbed it to death!!  And so I stuck him back in the safe, in the far back corner where he will sit until I can figure out the battery part.  Infernal Machine 2 wins!!  I could hear him snickering!!

And so we were off once again into the land of Bingo, short about 7 volunteers.  Everyone is sick with one thing or another.  It's okay though .. I would rather do twice the work than have them pass it around to all of us.  

The night went well for the first hour, until one lady won THREE bingos in a row.  Yikes!!  They brought flame throwers on this night!  It truly is the luck of the draw.  The stacks get out of order quickly when they take five minutes going through every single one to find the perfect card.  This lady just took the top two.  

It took a bit to calm everyone down before continuing on.  At least until the food fight erupted.  Someone went to the kitchen counter and picked up an order that was not theirs.  There's no excuse since your name is on the tag next to the food.  The King jumped in quickly on that one, because none of us wanted to clean up a big mess.  She was sufficiently chastised and new orders were prepared.  I guess I'd be mad if someone stole my corn dog too! 

At least on this day there were no boinking problems.  You can tell the lady in the bottom right of the above picture is a pro.  She pays to be a member so she can bring her tilt-boards in and set up in this exact spot every time.  She's a sweetheart unless someone tries to take her spot.  This is serious business!!  Not that she wins by sitting there ..... it's just HER chair!!

The rest of the night passed without incident.  Lucky for me, the newly programmed Infernal Machine balanced to the penny.  I guess we will have to change that to "balanced to the nickel" from now on.  

I arrived home in one piece to the barking whirling dervish that is my sweet puppy.  It's always a treat to see his happy face.  Until next time Bingo!!

Mr. Clean The Stalker

 Good morning California!!!  It's PRESIDENT'S DAY and Monday Funday, or more like Monday recover from the fun day.  Mornings used to be a LOT more fun.  I creak, I crack, I'm sore from one end to the other and my hand is cramped up into a fist.  I could hardly unroll it.  That must have been a good fight I was in!!

I spent the first hour playing brain games with my two buddies Patsy and Doug.  At least it keeps THAT part of my body from complaining.  Breakfast is always the same ... English muffin with a scrambled egg.  Mr. Cooper gets half the egg, and is not the least bit shy about telling me so.

I really had nothing on the menu today except to sew and work the puzzles.  Standing at a puzzle is better than sitting on the couch.  Progress once again.  I love this one since I'm all about steam trains, but mostly I love the BIG pieces.

I stitched a couple more squares, but have to admit I don't like the crosses.  They stick out too much.  I may have to make two extra ... from the easiest pattern of course.

Suddenly I heard it.  Mr. Clean came alive and was wandering around the living room.  Cooper almost got run over when he appeared behind my chair in the sewing room.  No no no ... the carpet is too thick in here.  I booted him out the door.  That was a bad idea.  

I finally had to CLOSE the door to keep him out, he was just insistent on entering.  I'm not kidding, for the next 15 minutes he stalked us like a bear on honey.  He hit the door over and over again ... bang bang bang!!!  Just give up and go away.  You are NOT coming in here!!!  Good grief ... this guy is persistent!!  At long last he went away, only to sulk in the corner with a dead battery, having again lost his internet connection.  Today I'll move him closer to the router and see if that helps.

I watched a little rodeo where one of the clowns did a little bullfight.  Not your traditional one, but getting the bull to run at them.  The bulls are bred for this ... and OH MAN ... they are FAST!!  The bullfighter is getting up there in age ... probably 30 something ... and didn't jump QUITE high enough.  Ouchie ouchie!  He got rolled around pretty good, but still jumped up and went at it again.  Oh to be 30 again!!!

While watching that, I had THIS.  I blame Dan Chance for this ... 100%.  He had some popcorn when I was down there, swimming in yummy hot butter.  I left off the butter, but ate the WHOLE THING!  Of course you know it's not any good the next day!!!  I need to buy smaller bags.

For those who would like the cauliflower recipe ... here it is.

One whole cauliflower head that I cut up and cooked in the microwave.  You could boil it if you wish, which might have been easier.  Chop that up into 1/2" pieces.

In a bowl, combine a room temperature block of cream cheese, 1/3 cup mayo, 1 tsp garlic powder, 1/2 tsp black pepper and 1/4 tsp salt.  Then stir in 1 cup (or 2 like I did) of grated cheddar cheese.  Dump that over the hot cauliflower and stir.  

I put it in casserole dishes and sprinkled with parmesan like the recipe called for, but I think cheddar would be much better.  I baked it for 20 minutes at 350, just to melt the cheese and brown the top.  This is definitely a KETO recipe.  It almost reads like meat, because I ate a small amount and was full to the brim.

 I was a little disappointed when my Hello Fresh order showed up.  I think I'm going to cancel this one.  This is the celery they gave me, along with one carrot that was so rotten on the end it was soft.  

I was able to scrounge enough of the veggies to make it, but this is not acceptable for the price you pay.

I sautéed the veggies, added the ground beef until cooked, then a little flour, some tomato paste and a cup of water.  WATER?  Yup ... that's what it said.  Then two small packages of beef broth.  Cover with mashed potatoes and white cheddar cheese.   This is the SHOULD look like picture.

Not bad ... not bad at all, except I was afraid to leave my pan under the broiler since I didn't know if it was oven safe or not.  This shepherds pie is one of my favorite meals.  I'll just have to get the ingredients myself from now on.

Back to the OTHER puzzle since I can't sit for long and not be bored to death ... there was a little progress.   I gave up quickly since I don't really have good light to see the colors on the pieces.  I've gone through the piles twice and still not found the final two border pieces.  Maybe I'll finish it by Christmas!

Today I'll be resting up ... maybe even take a nap if I can.  Who am I kidding, that will never happen.  Oh yes, it's Bingo time again ... a night of Kings, Knights, Ladies in Waiting and of course the PEASANTS.  Here's hoping the infernal machine keeps its brain intact for the 20 minute ride to the lodge.  Wish me luck!!!

Gentlemen, START YOUR ENGINES

 The sunrise was less than epic on this day, but the ground fog made up for it.  Fifty some years ago when I got my drivers license, we had fog most every morning in the winter.  Of course there were a lot less houses and a lot more farmland since our politicians had not yet sold our water down the river to Los Angeles.  I actually learned how to drive everything in the fog, including our WWII Jeep. 

Gathering cattle on horseback in the fog was a chore no one wanted to do.  Just when you thought the job was done, you would hear a bawl from the south corner, meaning you had to ride all the way back and sweep the field again.  We always came back soaking wet.  

It was easier to take the Jeep, but then you risked hitting the irrigation boxes ... a big NO-NO for which you were sufficiently yelled at.  

This is the first ground fog I've seen in ages, mostly because this 50 acre field is empty and wet from the rain.  

Breakfast was that of Champions.  I'm trying to clean out my freezer from food I did not take on my last trip.  These bowls are cast iron and heavy as can be.  There's no way I was taking a chance of a broken foot when it fell out of the cupboard.  

Turkey pot pie it is ... without the biscuit.  I can't believe I made this, it tastes so good!!

Then it was on to that cauliflower that's been sitting there for a week.  I love cauliflower if you put enough cheese on it.  This is a simple scalloped recipe ... cream cheese, mayo, and every block of leftover cheese in the fridge makes up this one.  It's so hearty that you don't even need meat for dinner.

While that was cooking, I watched the end of Extreme Bulls in Texas before turning on the Daytona 500.   It seems like they went from racing cars to Destruction Derby.  It started off nice enough, but then the rains came down.

They closed the track and brought out their fire breathing pickup trucks to dry it out.  While waiting, I think they interviewed almost every driver.  It worked pretty well since they all got to put on new tires and fuel up.  

Break time ... I went outside, only to discover greenery trying to take over the entire back yard.  I hate weeds.  I pulled what I could, throwing them on the lawn ... or what pretends to be a lawn ... so the gardener can mow them along with the grass.  I finally whipped up a batch of weed killer in my way-too-big-for-me backpack and sprayed the rest.  I'm not sure it will work since it's been so wet.

Back to the race, is this a gorgeous sunset or what??  The president showed up at the speedway (with his granddaughter) to the resounding applause of the audience, but left when the race was rained out.  Four hours later, with this beautiful sunset in the background, they started off once again.  

One more quick rain stop and they were finally out of the woods.  With very few laps to go, these guys got crazy.

It turned out to be a total destruction derby.  One big wreck took out most of the leaders, giving the next guys a chance.  But wait ... on like lap 498 they started pushing each others cars out of the way, causing another big wreck of the leaders.  I guess that guy thought if he pushed that car out of the way, he would win.  You could tell the car in front was losing it ... why would you do that?  I'm pretty sure everyone on the track hates him now!!!

The winner who was in the back of the pack, slipped through the wreckage and won for the second year in a row, just by being patient.  

Yes, believe it or not, I was actually involved in these races many moons ago at two levels down.  One of our truck driving friends was a race car driver ... and a good one.  Our construction company bought many sets of tires so he could race.  We spent many an hour in the pits, building and rebuilding his engine, duct taping the fenders back on and generally having a good greasy dirty time.  He won that year, and so we got to attend the big trophy ceremony.  It was fun times.

So much for that .... I went back to watching RODEO!!  Dinner was going to be epic ... tasty onion gravy meatballs over mashed potatoes.  How could I go wrong?  Here's what it SHOULD look like.

I admit, I was a little surprised when it said to BURN the peas.  Really?  I tossed them in a frying pan with a little butter and turned the heat up.  My tip of the day is NEVER TURN YOUR BACK.  In two seconds something flew over my head and landed at my feet.  What?  Those peas were exploding like you wouldn't believe ... all over the kitchen floor!!  YIKES!!

As I was on the floor cleaning up THAT mess, the potatoes boiled over.  Of course they would.  Thankfully the meatballs in the oven did NOT catch on fire.  

Here's the AFTER picture.  There's enough food here for four meals ... a plus in my book.  I have to admit it was quite tasty, even with the burned peas.  I'm not sure what flavor that was supposed to add, but I couldn't really taste them anyway.  

Today is "test the infernal machine once again" day, just to be sure it isn't holding its breath for tomorrow's Bingo night.  I'm pretty sure I will be okay since there is no full moon.  Here's hoping there are no more surprises!!!

So Many Surgeries!!

 On such a nice sunny day, I should be out walking the neighborhood.  My enthusiasm for that has waned.  Mr. Cooper however, threw an absolute fit when he saw me put on my shoes, so a walking we did go.  Not too far mind you, but just far enough to come upon the house with the barky dogs who crawl halfway under the fence trying to get out.  We did a 360 and headed back home.  It was long enough though, and Coop was a happy camper!

The day would be full of surgeries.  These are never my forte ... but a girls gotta do what a girls gotta do.  First off, replace the old shower head with a new one touted to be the best of the best with the highest water pressure.  I was pretty suspicious of that since it came from China for $20.  They thanked me for my donation to the pandas.   ?????

The second surgery was to put this one back in the guest bath.  I stole it when mine broke.  So far so good.

And then I noticed the housekeeper wasn't doing HIS job.  I pushed the "get to work" button, but he procrastinated.  It seems he lost his internet connection (it may be too far away from the router) and showed an error message.  Yup ... blew his brains out.  

Surgery was required.  That's when I discovered there is a lever in the base that needs to be switched for him to empty the bin correctly.  I put it back together, held my breath and hit the CLEAN button.  Sure enough, off he went, mapping all over again.  Three times he had to go back to the base for some GO juice.  After 6 hours of work, I finally hit the STOP button.  The noise was just too annoying.  Hopefully he gets back on schedule.  I have to admit though ... he's doing a very good job of keeping the floors clean, even the corners.

Progress ... I worked on this puzzle for a bit since it has BIG pieces that are a little easier to find.  

That brought up surgery number four ... why is there a screw on the floor under the chair?  I grabbed the seat to move it and two more fell out.  What the heck?  Try as I might to be a good surgeon on this job, I failed.  This chair is from a rather expensive breakfast nook set, but must have been made in China.  Seriously, the screws have nothing on the bottom of the chair to screw into but a thin piece of cardboard.  

Well that was disappointing.  Having no idea how to fix this, I stuck it in the corner and brought out another one.  My first surgical failure.

Well actually there ended up being TWO failures.  I worked on this quilt again for a bit, only to find a string sticking out of my fabulous embroidery machine.  The only way to get it out was to remove the plate.  OH MY ... lint and dust was covering everything.  Surgery number five began.

I know, I know ... the sewing gals are saying NEVER TAKE THAT COVER OFF.  And they would be right.  I didn't take it off, I just moved it a bit and cleaned out everything I could.  When all back together, it would not sew.

NOOOOOOO!  I tried again and again, but it was dead on the table.  I gave it CPR for several minutes, but resuscitation eluded me.  I think I need to go back to Doctor School.  Oh this is going to be an expensive one to fix.

No problemo, I packed it up in its nice little rolling case (because it's so darn heavy) and made a call to the REAL doctor, over an hour south.  Luckily I actually got to speak to the Tech himself.  August was a sweetheart.  He made an appointment for me (though it's in two weeks) to drop it off early in the morning and wait for it.  I may have to stand on the street corner and sell something to pay for it though.

Then I pulled out my second fabulous sewing machine.  This is the one I kept in Arizona.  I knew it had even worse lint buildup.  This time I did NOT remove or loosen the metal plate, only the plastic one, and cleaned out even MORE lint.  I really should do this more often.

At long last, after the last surgery of the day, I was back in business, but by then I was not in the mood to sew.  Mr. Cooper and I snuggled on the couch and watched the first day of Rodeo Tucson.  This is the first year in AGES that I have not attended this rodeo with Patty and Dan.  

The cool part however, is now that I have a RECORDING Dish Network box, I can rewind and watch those amazing horses over and over.  

So today we'll see if Mr. Clean will vacuum again and if my shower will actually put out water.  It's the little things!!!  I might even sew for a bit.  I'm certainly NOT going to get groceries ... I'll be on cheap canned tuna and chili until I gather up enough money to repair the embroidery machine!!

The Day Of The Valentines

Little did I know just how popular this holiday was.  The Day of the Valentines was the craziest thing I've seen in many moons.  

I needed groceries.  In spite of the food deliveries I've been ordering, you still need things like paper towels, chicken for Mr. Cooper and of course Ritz crackers for Jonathan.  Just like in a normal household, everyone has their favorites.  I should have picked another day.

I walked in the door to be completely shocked at the enormity of their flower and balloon display.  Good grief!!!  I could barely push the cart through the too-close-together aisles.  I did a quick measurement in my head.  They had almost 2,000 square feet of stuff ... including that six foot tall rose balloon.  

Do people really BUY all this stuff?  And it's not cheap either!!!  $45.00 for most every little container of flowers.  When I finally got through the maze, because there's no other way to get to the actual GROCERIES, there was a stand selling chocolate covered strawberries.  Pick how many and which ones you want.  I passed.

I admit, this is not Walmart.  After mailing off my tax records to he who is better at navigating the IRS than I, and returning that perfect foldable chair for the RV which I could not for the life of me UNFOLD ... oh that was another story ... I proceeded to get food.  

The chair came from Amazon in a box the size of my front door.  Either there's a trick to getting it to unfold, or it was broken.  I even watched videos to no avail.  The UPS store would not take such a large box, so I had to PAY $10.00 for a box to return it.  

Walmart is no where near either of those places, so I went to the EXPENSIVE grocery store.  It couldn't be that bad, since I didn't have much on my list.  Well it was bad enough to almost cause a heart attack.  

Before the new company took over this store, groceries were affordable.  Certainly not any more, and so I will never shop here again.  It's back to Wally World for me!  That $195 got me two full bags, one half full and the cheapest paper towels they had.  Pretty crazy!!

Back home, I tried to put this off.  I knew programming the infernal machine was going to be a hard row to hoe.  There is a million ways to do it, including figuring taxes on twelve items for each key.  We don't have taxes thank goodness.  The directions are vague at best and do not tell you how to switch from ABCD to 1234.  

We fought for about two hours before I finally got it figured out.  To type in REG 2, it took 14 key strokes.  No kidding ... it's crazy complicated.  And that just programmed ONE key on the machine.  

We fought back and forth, tooth and nail.  At long last came the test.  With his last breath, he tried to stab me in the heart ... one key did not program, meaning the remaining 18 keys were incorrect.  AAARRRGGGHHH!!!!!  

Another hour and I was ready for the final test once again.  Amazingly, it worked.  I WON!!!  It was a hard fought battle, but when I typed in the normal bingo purchase, it added up correctly!!  

Uh oh ... I just realized I did not check the receipt tape.  I'll have to do that today.

Anyhoo, I then proceeded to program the SD card.  Unlike last time when I did NOT make a folder for the programmed data, meaning it didn't work at all ..... I created a folder and copied the data.  Hopefully if this happens again, I won't have to do it all manually.  BUT I wrote down specific directions in 5th grade English, so I would remember how to do it next time, just in case the SD card did not work, because there is always a NEXT time.

TAKE THAT infernal machine!!!  Time for a little Nancy The Conqueror reward.  This is a smash pork burger, smothered in onions and cheese.  Who would have thought to use ground pork instead of ground hamburger??  This is what it SHOULD look like.

Not bad ..... not bad at all.  Apparently I got a little carried away with the Old Bay Seasoning on the fries, which I cooked in my air fryer.  They were not exactly crispy, but boy were they pepper hot!!  That burger ....  OMG it was DELICIOUS!!

I keep saying I'm not going to buy these meals any more, but gosh darn they are tasty!!  AND they seem to turn out fairly well when someone cooks them that seems to have lost her knack in the kitchen department.  You can skip weeks any time you want, so maybe every other week ......

Today I get to fight with Mr. Roomba.  He lost his mind yesterday, and his internet connection.  He just sat there and hummed about it for an hour before I realized he was lost ..... and DEAD.  So far I have not been able to get him connected back to my internet.  Brain surgery seems to be required.  I'll put on my scrubs and see if I can bring him back to life today.  This should be fun!!!

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY

 Greetings and Salutations!!  Happy Valentine's Day to all you sweethearts out there.  Did you get candy?  Flowers?  I got a big wet kiss from my sweet Cooper this morning.  Not exactly my idea of the greatest kiss in the world, but what can I say.  He loves me!!

On the OTHER hand, I get to celebrate a BIRTHDAY today.  A big happy birthday to Patty Chance, the best friend a girl could have.  Even if I do stupid stuff and cook terrible, she's still my friend.  Here's to many MANY more!!!

I'm pretty sure this guy will always be my friend too.  We aren't playing the ball game quite as much as we used to, but the puppy snuggles are even better.  

Any plans I had for this day were immediately cancelled when I looked out the door and saw this.  Yikes!  This is something we NEVER see.  It rained most of the night, but it usually quits during the day.  I can't complain because we definitely need the water.  

And so I got brave and tried to work on this puzzle.  Two hours later, this is all I have.  It has expanded quite a bit and may be too tall for the table.  

Just for size reference ... the bottom piece is from the OTHER puzzle.  I may have to fly Patsy in to help out.

After raining all night, this happened.  This is a LOT of rain for us ... so much so that my gutters, although completely free of trash, could not keep up.  This kept up until I had to head off to the Elks Lodge.

I really wasn't feeling it, but I needed to check out the infernal machine.  I was hoping and praying that the SD card would magically return it to life.  Sadly, that was not to be.  Although the data is there, it wants it in a folder.  There is no folder, and now it's too late to make one.

I read the directions six times, but they are completely Greek to me.  I think that's so you will just buy a new one.  After a lot of trial and error, I got one single item coded with its name.  Nothing else, just the name.  This is going to take a LONG time.  

Luckily when I went upstairs to our three hour meeting, you know, like the three hour tour? ... I found a nice guy who carried it out to my truck.  I let it sit out in the cold all night long to teach it a lesson.  It better shape up FAST!!!

The three hour tour ended up with lots of committees to look at stuff, all of which I denied.  It's about time someone ELSE volunteered.  At this point, I don't have much more volunteerism in me.  Maybe I'll feel better when the infernal machine gets over the chicken pox ... or whatever it has!!

I have a long list of to-do's today, including driving the van to keep the battery up since I STILL haven't figured out how to work the charger I bought.  I'm good with plug it in and push one button.  This one has four.  The next time I go to the lodge, I'm taking it with me so a nice MAN can MANSPLAIN it to me.  Where have you heard THAT before!!  

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY EVERYONE!!!!!

Factor and Rain, Rain, Rain

 I'm happy to say all the grumpy has gone!!  I still dread trying to program the infernal machine, but the sun last morning put a smile on my face.  I had plans to walk, to shop and to drive the RV, but alas, I just tried to rest up instead.  Sometimes you just have to say no, which I'm not very good at.

Instead, I decided to fix my shower head.  The water here is quite hard and plugs up the showerhead.  I had a little trouble getting the tiny little screen out, which was full of sand.  It required pliers.  I put it all back together and installed it in the shower.  The moment of truth ... I turned on the water.  Nothing.  Not a drop of water came out.  Maybe I broke something?

I tried again and again, but nothing worked.  A plumber, I am NOT.  I tossed it out the door and stole the one from the company bathroom.  I hate it, but it will have to do until I can order a new one ... hopefully one without all the "you don't need any water flow to take a shower" restrictors.  I'm hoping the new "let the water flow" programs, including toilets, dishwashers and washing machines, will get rid of the restrictors.  

Awhile back, I made the mistake of getting a new kitchen faucet.  The flow of water coming out is barely 1/4 inch wide.  I have to wash and rinse twice as long to get anything clean.  

Speaking of which, here are just a couple of the things the "auditors" have found about government spending.  We should ALL be mad about this stuff.  

$10 million worth of food to an Al Qaeda terrorist group.  $20 million to produce a Sesame Street program in Iraq.  The list just goes on and on.  I try not to be political in my blog, but this is just crazy and it affects all of us.  Even many of the Senators didn't know this was going on.  The money should be spent on countries that support us and need help ... like food and schools for children ... NOT terrorist groups.  It sure makes you wonder who got kickbacks on this stuff ... and I guess we will find out.

I'm hoping all this craziness ends up with our taxes being lowered.  I spent two hours yesterday gathering up my paperwork to send to the accountant.  Sadly, I have no deductions this year ... and I'm going to pay through the nose.  I'm outraged to find out WHERE my hard earned tax dollars are going ... and I'm just one tiny little person!!

And so I took a lot of big deep breaths, soothed my soul with a little Pepsi and finished sewing the binding on this quilt.  My company had a great idea ... I'm going to start donating more of these quilts to organizations that can auction or raffle them off, giving me at least a bit of a tax deduction.  Getting hung up in another rental is way too much work.  At least this is something I enjoy doing.

Lunch was the second Factor meal.  This one was Grandma's beef bolognese.  This is how it comes to you.  It is interesting that they say to put the pan in the microwave with the biggest side pushed out to the outside of the microwave plate.  

Is that because it heats MORE on the outside, or maybe less?  At any rate, THIS was delicious.   How do they get all that flavor in there?  Yes those are big carrot pieces, and they were perfectly cooked!  So far, I'm impressed with this food service!

Okay folks .... here you are.  THE puzzle of the century!  No I haven't finished the other one yet.  I set up the 8 foot long table and spread it out.  I worked for over 30 minutes and only got HALF the pieces turned over.  Luckily the edge pieces stand out a bit and I was able to get this far.

NOW ... anyone who comes through the front door to visit, or even drop off a package, has to put ten pieces in the puzzle.  Yes, even the UPS guy is going to get shanghaied.  The good thing is the quilt colors and patterns stand out ... kind of ... and will hopefully make it a little easier.

Just after hitting the sack last night, the rain came in like gangbusters.  It poured most of the night and STILL looks like this now.  The forecast is for thunderstorms continuing for three days.  This should be fun!!

By the way, here is an interesting little tidbit.  The infamous governor of California, in spite of approving $50 million dollars to Trump Proof the state and fight extradition of illegal migrants, he has now said he will do everything he can to help ICE arrest them.  Funny how the withholding of federal funds and indictment of governors can change a person's mind.  

They are now going to do everything they can to help ICE remove the bad guys ... the criminals.  Why would you not want to DO THAT?  So I wonder what will happen to the $50 million????  FYI the State of California is $1.6 TRILLION (with a T) in debt.  Kind of makes you wonder WHO we are in debt TO.

Anyhoo .... since there is a Trustee meeting tonight, my plan was to go early and begin the reprogramming, but alas, I forgot to get the manual that tries to explain it (which is vague at best) out of the safe.  So this morning, I'll see if I can download something from the internet.  

If not, my next best idea is to bring it home with me so I can work on it here.  I'd much rather be frustrated in my PJs.  

Valentines day is coming up FAST.  If you haven't been to the store for your sweetheart ... you better hit the road TODAY!!!

Sorry about the political stuff, but when you figure out just how much you have to pay in taxes and then you find out what they are doing with it .... well I just can't help myself!!!