Oh My Aching Legs!

 Good morning from sunny California.  It's not sunny, but the weather is still very comfortable.  I'm lucky to live in a good-weather area where we are not hit with tornados, hurricanes or massive show storms.  My thoughts are with the people of Jamaica.  I'm praying the weather guessers are wrong, that this storm will  not completely demolish the islands buildings and infrastructure.  Pray for Jamaica.

Around here it's just been overcast.  No rain and not the least bit cold.  That makes Mr. Cooper a happy camper as he sits on his throne.  He makes me EVER so nervous when I come home from an event and he's laying on the top of the back couch cushions.  I'm scared he will fall off.  All the better to see you come home MOM!!!

THIS one ... she has become something of a pest.  She sneaks in the door every time it is open, then slinks around the house in the shadows, obviously looking for food.  If she would just lay down and relax, we would all be happier.  

Thankfully, it was another do-nothing day.  I'm beginning to like those more and more!!  Truly, I feel I should do SOMETHING on those do-nothing days, but thus far that didn't happen.  I did however go out to the van, swing open the bike rack and fully open the back doors, just for practice. 

Actually, the inverter control is back there.  I turned it on, then turned on the control panel inside to check the house batteries.  They were charged at 100% in spite of the cloudy skies.  I leave the solar charger on all the time to keep them up.  YAY ... it's all working!

I had chicken rice soup for breakfast before contemplating a bike ride.  No ... you should probably rest up since I could feel my legs were ouchy from the last one.  Yeah, that didn't last long.  I was out the door and headed down the street 15 minutes later.

That's when I ran into the brats that have been the subject of many a Facebook post.  There's six of them, maybe 13-16 years of age, riding electric scooters and electric bikes 30 mph down the middle of the street, yelling at everyone they go by, flipping them off and adding in some foul language.  WHERE ARE THE PARENTS?  If this is how their kids act, it's no surprise they let them go so they are out of the house and out of their hair.  Obnoxious, rude and in need of a whooping!!!

No kidding ... when they raced by the poor lady with two dogs, they were within inches.  They didn't get near me ... I'm guessing they could feel the AURA ... because I would have knocked them into next Sunday.  I made a quick right turn and left them in the dust.  

That probably wasn't my best idea this week.  In a flash I realized just how tired my legs were, but I kept going just to be out of their neighborhood.  By the time I got home, my legs were screaming.  I bet you can guess ... there will be NO bike riding today ... or tomorrow, for that matter.  

Rather than sit too long and stiffen up, I headed to the tomato hedge.  Time to chop up another chunk of it for the garbage can.  I found quite a few small tomatoes, but they were all split on top and pretty moldy.  

The bin is now 3/4 full.  I'm hoping it dries up and squishes down before the gardener gets here.  This is what's left ... still another bin full.

That's when I realized the lawn was overtaking the flower beds.  Not that I needed anything else to do, but the weather was cooperating, so I got out my smaller sprayer.  I've never used it before, so it was time.  I mixed up a batch and went to spraying.  It worked fairly well, but I kept having to set it down and pump it up.  

It was harder to use than my backpack sprayer.  Suddenly it started leaking.  WHAT?  The line hooked to the handle, held on with a zip tie, came loose enough to soak my hand and leg.  Good grief!  I ran inside and jumped in the bathtub, clothes and all, to wash it off.  Not that I'm that paranoid about it, but I did a good scrubbing.  The sprayer went in the trash can.  I don't have the temperament to deal with cheap products that don't work right.

That was it for the day.  I watched the 49'ers lose and Green Bay win.  A little football is good for the soul.

Today I'm headed out to the local live-in Senior Citizens Center where we will discuss Christmas dinner.  A few of us from Bingo cook up a big feast of turkey with all the trimmings for about 100 folks who live there full time.  

I have to come up with a menu ... mostly what vegetables do you want because we all know they love our turkey and mashed potatoes.  One year we tried ham ... they hated it!!  Hopefully I'll be back by noon to snuggle with Mr. Cooper.

A Nail Trim and A Night Out

 Oh MY GOSH!  It's almost the end of the month ALREADY!  I think I said that two days ago.  In the blink of an eye it will be November.  How could that be?  Never EVER have my days passed by this fast.  

I was met this morning with a nice sunrise and 53 degrees.  It doesn't get any better than that.  I hang outside each morning to get a nice dose of QUIET.  

Then the "where's my snack" barking begins.  Mr. Cooper is pretty demanding, to my dismay when I have company.  That 4:00 bark wakes up the entire house.  Now that includes Kitters who parks right outside the door with lots of meows.  

I've really no idea how much to feed a cat.  No surprise she always acts like she's starving.  She gets about 3/4 cup a day, split into two servings.  Add to that a couple of tablespoons at least three times a day that I use to get her out of the house.  Truly, the difference in her is startling.  PLUS she's a purring machine!!

My bike ride got waylaid immediately with uncalled for and unpredicted rain.  Actually, I like it a LOT since it's my excuse to do nothing.  Almost anyway, since I had to take Kitters in for her second set of shots.  

It all went good ... she actually went in the carrier herself ... shocker.  We didn't even have to wait long for them to come out.  The gal lifted the cage and said she would be back.  Wait ... I can't go back with her?  NO.  She's just getting shots and a nail trim.  

Um that would be a no thank you.  You did that last time without asking and I don't want her nails trimmed.   She's an outside cat that catches gophers and mice.  No trimming please.  WELL she stated ... I'm not having MY VET get scratched.

I stated as nicely as I could that I didn't want them trimmed.  She literally said too bad.  WELL I said ... I'm not having my cat's nails cut.  If your Vet doesn't know how to handle a cat and not get scratched, I better find another Vet.  She wasn't too happy, but neither was I.  Three shots and $200.00 later, we were out the door.  I won't be going back.  I've never heard of such a thing and I've had a few cats in the past.  by the way, they think she is two years old.

Back home, Kitters disappeared outside.  No surprise.  Since it was still spitting rain, I began to clean out the freezer.  That 30 pounds of chicken I got a few months ago needed to be sorted through.  Although supposedly ICE frozen, it was getting quite freezer burnt.  

I cooked a couple of pieces for Cooper and Kitters, then decided to make chicken taco soup.

Truly, it's a good idea to make SURE you have the ingredients.  When it came time for the Ro-Tel tomatoes with chilies, there was none to be found.  I actually found two not-so-nice tomatoes on the vine that I still haven't cut down.  In the end it was WAY too salty, probably due to the plethora of chicken stock I used.  I added in a little rice to smooth it out.  Turns out it's now chicken RICE soup.  

It's certainly not the most flavorful, but it's food, and I'll eat it ... maybe ... sooner or later, because you know there are starving children in the world. 

Unfortunately, watching the second World Series Game was off the list.  Bingo donated quite a sum of money for the Girls Cheerleading Championship to be held in Florida.  Our local group has gone to the National Finals every year, with our help.  A LOT of help.  

That means we get Golden Tickets to their event.  Each ticket comes with TEN ... count them ... TEN drink tickets.  As you can imagine, these kids don't know how to POUR drinks.  I stuck with Pepsi, but one gal at our table was feeling it after ONE drink.  It was almost pure Jack Daniels.  I saw her get three more, so no doubt she was dancing on the tables by the night's end.

Add to that, we were the first people served this amazing dinner.  I don't say that often about these events we go to, but this was the best tri-tip I've had in years.  The green beans had bacon, onions and red potatoes, and my all time favorite Mac 'n Cheese that was some the the best I've ever had.  Whoever cooked this gets a Gold Star!!

Unfortunately, the DJ's music was so loud you couldn't hear yourself think, let alone talk to your neighbor.  That was fortuitous because I got to watch the World Series game on my phone.  Sadly, the Dodgers won 5-1.  I'm rooting for Toronto all the way!!!

Four of us finally left because the music was just too loud and two had a 6:00 morning call to work. Not me ... I've got NOTHING on my menu for today.  

Nothing but football that is.  But first, another bike ride to wear off the second day soreness that has beset my legs.  I'd forgotten just how irritating that part is!!  Oh well ... no pain, no gain!!

The World Series

 Good Morning from sunny California!  Mostly anyway.  Though we seem to be a little cloudy every day, the rain and snow swirling all around is missing us.  We are still running in the 70's during the day, but on this day I had to get my Levis out of the closet.  No boots yet, but it is cooling off.

Feeling sorry for Miss Kitters, I let her stay in awhile and warm up.  She really seems to like the company.  I can't believe the change in this cat.  Though she's still quite skittish, she likes to sit on the coffee table.  Apparently it was bath day and she spent an hour cleaning her fur.

She has become quite the beauty, even with the weirdest markings ever.

Whereupon she promptly laid down for a 30 minute cat nap.  I don't think she has ever been an inside cat.  She tromps all over everything and thinks the higher up the better.  Think kitchen counters, on top of my desk shoving everything onto the floor ... in order words, a pain.  Out you go pretty girl.

Company left rather early I thought, though turns out it was 10:00.  I didn't want to miss my bike ride, so off I went down the street on the trail bike.  I quickly figured out which way to go so I didn't have to make any left turns.  I don't have a rear view mirror and don't know if anyone is coming.  Looking that far around is dangerous at this point.  I might fall over!!

I met this guy hanging out in the neighborhood.  I guess Halloween isn't what it used to be.  There were few decorations this year.

I went a total of five miles this trip, finally getting the gear shifting down.  It's interesting to note the places where you have to shift down.  It seems the roads around here are not flat after all.  You can definitely tell when on a bike.  

When my legs started screaming, I decided it was the better part of valor to turn around.  I didn't want to "walk" my bike home.  I'm so surprised I can walk this morning.  I figured I'd be MUCHO sore.

So here's the bike rack in action.  Loosen one big handle and it pulls away.

Pull up on the next little handle, and it pivots out part way ......

Or all the way out to the side of the van.  Cooper thought it was cool.  Access is easy, but watch your knees.  Pull up on the two turquoise knobs and it all folds back up.  I guess next on the list is a bike cover and a motion detector alarm so if it moves at night, I can shoot whoever's trying to steal it out the back window.  Just kidding ... I think my bike will sleep inside with me at night.

That pretty much did it for me.  I just could not get motivated.  I think I was so happy that company took the shop vac, the old house vacuum and is going to come back for the rowing machine, that I just sat on the couch relieved to be rid of the mess.  

I did however, finally drag that filing cabinet in the house.  I had two, and with a door laid on top, it made the perfect desk for years.  I've no idea what happened to the second one, but this one just became a storage cabinet for fabric and patterns.

Not much went on after that except THE WORLD SERIES.  Oh yeah, even though none of my favorite teams are playing I watched just to see if the Dodgers would lose.  WHAT A GAME!!  Toronto ROCKS.  They beat the Dodgers 11-4.  It was of course the Dodgers bullpen that lost for them once again.  

Truly, I've known their Manager for many years having been a season ticket holder.  He used to play for the Giants before becoming Manager for the Dodgers.  They still haven't figured out how bad he is when it comes to the timing of the bullpen, or who to call up.  They may get it together as they sometimes do ... there's lots of games left to play, but CONGRATS to Toronto for their first day win!!

While that was going on, I made up a batch of carmelitas.  Not my best adventure.  I tried to melt real caramels, which was pretty much a disaster.  These will definitely stick your teeth together!!  On the other hand, they are quite tasty once you can actually CHEW them.  Caramels, chocolate chips and lots of healthy oats!!  Oats make the calories go away, don't ya know!

I can't believe we are already at the end of the month.  Halloween is upon us!!  It's also OH NO day for Kitters.  Her second (and hopefully the last) set of shots are due this morning.  And so I'm OFF to the Vets Office.

That Was Unexpected!!

 OH YEAH!!!  It's a big bonus when you have a friend that owns the local Pumpkin Patch, who is also your Elks Lodge buddy.  I got a text message early in the morning.  "I left something on your porch".  I cautiously opened the door at 7:00 am to find BREAKFAST!!  Woohoo!  That was VERY unexpected!

They bought a popcorn machine this year!!  I have to admit I'm very thankful I don't have to shuttle 300 kids around and I don't have to make this stuff, nor deal with "parents" complaining about paying $20 per kid this year.  Yeah ... it's not cheap!

In what seemed like just a few minutes, I was off to what I thought was a bike shop three towns down south.  I had a plan.  Bike shop, call and visit with friends, hit up Hobby Lobby and maybe the quilt shop on the way out.  It all went south in a hurry.

Here I am driving along ... having cranked my music up high.  Do you see anything wrong with this highway?  Like maybe WHERE are the white lines?  It was extremely difficult to see the lanes, especially for truck drivers who were always in my lane.  I finally just kept in the right hand lane at their speed.  

Here's what they did.  Apparently the latest and greatest thing is to make the white lines like rumble strips.  They used their machine to crimp them.  The problem is they went the WRONG direction when they did that.  If you look in the rear view mirror, you can see the white lines perfectly.  Out the front, you can't see where the lines are at all.  Leave it to California.  Coming back on the OTHER side of the highway, they did it the right direction and you can easily see the lines.  I just shook my head.

That's when it all went south.  I got a call requesting a hotel for the night.  That messed up my entire schedule.  There would be no Hobby Lobby and no quilt shop.  DARN!!

It got worse.  I got to the bike shop after getting lost two parking lots over.  My GPS said I was there, but not so much.  I called and got more specific directions through the maze of parking lots and buildings.  Why is everything built on a curve nowadays.  What happened to straight streets.  

Finally ... you have arrived.  Only to find that they did not have the bike rack I wanted to see.  Seriously?  Maybe it was a ruse to get me there.  They actually called around and found one.  Okay ... show me how it works.

The good news is it's not too heavy for me to lift on and off the hitch.  The first problem we discovered ... the way the hitch and light hookup is set up, the lock would have to be installed BEFORE screwing in the bolt.  No problem .. it worked and tightened up perfectly.  No extra hitch lock thing needed to keep it from rattling.

I asked the nice young man with hair down to his waist to show me how it worked, even though I knew because I watched several videos.   It was just as easy as I expected, except for the part where someone put the bike hold-downs on backwards.  Ooops.  

I'll take it.  Yup, it was all a ruse on my part.  I wanted to be sure this was THE ONE before I paid for it.  Otherwise, you order it, you bought it, it doesn't fit and you are stuck with it. This one is PERFECT.

These two pictures were taken after I got back home.  In spite of the website saying I needed a hitch extension, I measured and was sure it would work.  It did.  It also swings out and away to allow access to the back doors.  I'll take pictures of that today, hopefully with a bike attached.

I headed back home, stopping for fuel.  In spite of everyone else's diesel and gas prices going down, California has raised theirs to as much as $5.50 a gallon.  Using my debit card (hoping not to be hacked) my price this time was $4.88 at a Shell station.  Loves just a block away was the high priced one.  The one that most truck drivers fuel up at, which is why your groceries are more expensive.  Talk about a rip-off.

On the way home with not much traffic, I cruised right along.  That's when I spotted this.  Elephants?  Not visible are the baby elephants following the herd.  Are we in Africa?  Far as I know, there are not now nor have there EVER been elephants here.  Tulle Elk ... sandhill cranes ... black bears, yes, but NOT elephants.  Why would they put these critters up there?

And so I got back home, hoping the bike rack was still attached.  I began to back into my driveway.  DING DING DING ... red lights flashed!!  WHAT IS GOING ON?  It seems the bike rack is close enough to the sensors on the bumper to think I'm going to hit something.  That was DEFINITELY unexpected! 

I just kept going, listening to the din which was quite distracting.  So how do I fix THIS?  Here's two of four sensors.  I mean really ... what if you were actually towing a car or boat?  I love that they tell me if I'm going to hit something, but now I won't know since they go off constantly while backing up. Thank goodness nothing happens when I go forward!!!

Sadly, there was no shopping other than the bike rack, which I'm sure made my wallet smile.  I'm excited to load up a bike and see how it all works today after company leaves.  I'll take pictures to show how it swings out of the way.  

My tip of the day ... only 8 weeks 5 days til Christmas!!!

The Crazy and The Weird

 Just in case I didn't make myself clear ... I love our Bingo volunteers!!  I have just as many faults, if not more, than they do.  The good part is we all get along so well that Bingo runs like a clock.  MOSTLY!  

I think there are times when we ALL are pulling our hair out.  Let's face it ... we are all old and set in our ways.  On the other hand, every one of them would do just about anything for each other.  Okay, maybe not ANYTHING, but it's a nice thought anyway!!

Without each other, we would not be donating over $100,000 every year to charitable organizations featuring KIDS.  Who would not love that!

Speaking of crazy and weird, here's my other treasure made of wood.  I was up in the Sierra mountains one day when I found this little store.  Inside they had lots of hand carved wooden statues.  Mostly bears, since there are a lot of them up there trashing garbage cans.

That's when I spotted this three foot tall buzzard!  I had never seen anything like it.  In an instant, it came home with me.  That must have been about 28 years ago and he's still in pristine condition.  I've looked for more carved buzzards ever since, but have never seen even one.  Yes, that's a Christmas decoration that has lived up there for 25 years.  

Here's another one.  Yes, I'm making it this year.  Hot glue red and white ribbon on some greenery, then wrap it in little lights and glue it to the sleeves.  Glue the light controls on the cuffs.  The bow is hot glued on last.

Put your arms up.  THE PERFECT UGLY SWEATER!!  Yeah, I laughed at this one.  I know, it's weird!!  You could even make this your Halloween costume with a black sweatshirt that would not show in the dark.  Yeah, I have a weird sense of humor.

It's all the cat's fault.  This kid is crazy AND weird.  She was once again snooping around the house when I caught her in front of the TV.  Two seconds later, she jumped over to Jonathan's table.  NO NO little girl!  I slapped the table and she went skittering across the slippery floor headed to the door.  

Jonathan went right back to eating like nothing happened.  He's truly not scared ... he will slam his beak into the cage in a nanosecond.  I just hope Kitters little paws, or worse her face, are not ever too close.

At 10:00 I got a frantic call from a frustrated boss trying to do some Quickbooks accounting.  You know how computers can bring out the worst in people, including me.  I wasn't sure I could help, still being full of brain fog from Bingo.  Sometimes it takes me all day to clear it up.  

Two hours later, I was back home in the rain, just enough to make my truck a muddy mess.  Mr. Cooper and I crashed on the couch.  We spent the rest of the day just hanging out, not that there was much left of it.  No, there was no sleeping because the HOUSE neighbor is now building a 3,000 square foot metal shop building.  Between the banging and the LaBamba music, it's been too loud for napping.

That's when I got the call.  The Bike Shop three towns over has the bike rack I was looking at.  They said to come on over and check it out.  Oh LOOK ... I think they have a fabric shop in that town ... and a Hobby Lobby!!!  How could I not go???

The Knights and the Ladys

 Ride those bikes while you can!  We are going from the mid 50's to the mid 70's every single day.  It could not be better for bike riding.  But no, I didn't ride on this day.  I'm feeling much better, but didn't want to push it.  I figured I should take it easy for once.

Mr. Cooper was up at his usual 4:00.  I tried my best impression of a sleeping bump on a log, but the pup knows, and he's never wrong.  

Yeah, an hour later he's fast asleep on the couch and I'm wide awake!!  There are a few good reasons for that.

And this is one of them.  This Kitters ... she barges her way in the door first thing, then slinks around the house until she finally lands in front of Jonathan.  That would be a big NO ... and so she gets escorted outside.  I really can't believe the difference in this cat.  She was mostly black ... now MUCH more tan, soft and silky. 

 Just like a kitty to become soft and cuddly so she can move in, yet she's not into that at all.  Outside, she spends much of her time hanging out under the rose bushes in the dirt.  Hiding as it were ... but comes running, and purring, if I call her.  Inside, she does the same, hiding in the dark corners.

For the first time EVER, both of those kids got a taste of ice cream.  Just a tiny fingernail full.  Cooper was all over that ... but Kitters, not so much.  She hasn't figured out that hands come with goodies.  It sure makes me wonder where she came from.  Yes Jonathan is still in the picture and the ice cream is gone.  

And then there was Bingo.  Even though I have said in the past I would set up the back room since I'm always there early, I got the impression I was overstepping my bounds.  Instead of saying "sure Nancy, please set up for us", there were ten text messages back and forth with three people being scheduled to do 15 minutes of work.  That worked for me ... I went up to the bar for a nice glass of Coca Cola!  

Little did I know, some of the peasants would be nicer on this night than the Lady Knights.  Up came the first one ... I need a key.  We have lots of time, and I hate to have all that moolah hanging out without a watchful eye.  OH THE DAGGERS!  Someone opened the door (it wasn't me), whereupon 30 minutes later I found the cash box just sitting there ... all alone. 

It's difficult to gauge and deal with so many different personalities, but I try my best because they are after all, volunteers.  I imagine they think the same about me!  There's the cranky, the almost-not-there blonde, the "I must have a chair", the guy who always wants to talk politics (it's not allowed),  the guy who screams so loud it hurts your ears, the one who spends 95% of his time watching baseball on his phone, the one who diagnoses every illness in the room followed by medical recommendations ..... no kidding, its a menagerie!!  

My cashier showed up, but my lady in waiting did not.  That meant my plans of going home early went up in smoke.  I had to count.  Here's MY fault ... or at least one of them.  As they pull their cards, I start calling it out to the cashier in order to get them through the line as quickly as possible.  SHE wants to wait until they have picked every card before I call.  Ummm no!  We need to get the line moving as fast as possible.

Making small talk and asking every single person if they need a dobber, wasn't in the best interest of time either.  THEN I discovered she was giving out mostly dollar bills for change.  WHAT?  Every fifteen minutes I was running in the other room for more.  You should only need to do that once a night ... not EIGHT times!!  A little conference was held.  WHAT ARE YOU DOING?

Oh my goodness .... she was giving out nine one dollar bills instead of a five and four ones.  

The rest of the night went by pretty fast.  There was one incident of growling and pitchforks when not one, but TWELVE people won the same bingo.  That rarely happens.  Players aren't exactly happy to win a payout of $20.00 each.

Finally I headed to the kitchen to order something for dinner.  Chili cheese fries please.  Nope we are out of chili.  WHAT?  Corn dog please ... nope, we are out of corn dogs.  NO WAY!!  You may remember that a month ago I got saddled with the Kitchen Management job.  I figured no big deal ... the gal in charge is really good and she will take care of it.  Not so much.  

I got out another can of chili for them to heat up and found corn dogs in the freezer.  Wow .. that was HARD!!  

The rest of the night went swimmingly because I left early.  I ran completely out of gas around 8:30, whereupon I waved goodbye and headed for the door.  But wait ... I better take one last peek at the kitchen.  Sure enough the fans were running on high, all the lights were on and the walk-ins were not locked up.  Be nice Nancy ... they are VOLUNTEERS. 

I was greeted with this gorgeous sky, a happy puppy and a purring kitty.  What could be better?  Sleeping in ... that would be better, but it was not to happen.  Of course as I type, everyone else is sound asleep.  I think it will be my turn VERY SOON!!!

Hitting the Roads

 At long last ... I'm feeling like a human being again.  I can actually breathe with little to no coughing.  Hallelujah!  I am ever so tired of just sitting around doing nothing but expanding, due to the muffins.

Mr. Cooper was happy to finally get out of the house too.  We only got around the corner maybe 50 feet, but at least he's still moving and smelling the smells.  He actually IS on a leash, you just can't see it.

Five minutes later ..... fast asleep!  He still wears the jammies.  They are loose enough not to bother him, but if I take them off, if only for ten seconds, he wants to lick and chew a spot on his leg.  As long as he has them on, he pays it no mind.  The Vet has checked him out many times, but there is nothing short of surgery that will help.  That is of course off the table considering his age.  Since he doesn't appear to mind one bit, I leave them on.

Of course the second he hears me moving around, he's up.  It's time to take the bike out for a test drive.  This came from my trail riding days at about 60 years of age.  What can I say ... I was a late bloomer.

Off I went out the driveway, wobbling along.  Ummm wait ... I lowered the seat two inches and watched the brakes to see which were the front and the back.  This thing has disc brakes, so I can stop on a dime, but I didn't want to land on my head.  

It took me about half a block to figure out the gears.  It's got lots of them.  I could shift up, but not down.  

That's when I realized .. or rather remembered .. that it's like a motorcycle.  You have to go a little faster around corners to stay upright.  In no time I was zooming down the streets, weaving in and out to get a better feel and dodging the school buses.  ERRRRRKKKK ... that's where I hit the brakes a little too hard.

I made it all of one mile before turning back.  I was pretty proud I actually turned it around in the middle of the street without falling over.  Back home, I put it away, but it didn't last long.  That was FUN and I wanted to go again.  This time I went a total of four miles, my knees letting me know I needed to put the seat back up.  Oh yeah ... this is GOOD exercise!  And SO MUCH EASIER than running!

Back in the house, I wandered around once again looking for something to do.  I ended up in the fridge.  Lunch doesn't look the least bit appetizing, but do you see something missing from this salad?  Tomatoes ... there are NO tomatoes.  

I spent the next couple of hours trying to come up with the next quilt.  I've got so much fabric, but I'm not good with colors, nor could I find the pattern I thought I had.  That brought about 90 minutes worth of going through books and boxes, getting all my patterns in order.  Who bought all these??  That darn Elf on the Shelf guy has been busy!

That's when I found THIS.  It's been hanging in the closet awaiting quilting.  Not only is it time to get it done, along with the pumpkin one above it, but maybe this pattern will work for my next quilt.  In the meantime, I've got lots of binding to do.

Here's the surprise of the day.  I bet this is something you didn't know about me.  I love the ocean and I love sculptures. This almost four foot tall wooden seahorse came home with me from an antique store in Washington State.  I admit, it was a little difficult getting him in my big rig, but I tied him up in the bathroom and he made the trip in one piece.  He goes well with my Buzzard.  I'll show him off next time.

And so I think I'm all healed up enough to make it to Bingo tonight.  I won't be doing much, and plan on heading home early if a cashier shows up.  I admit, I'm looking forward to being gone for SEVERAL weeks this winter.  Hitting the road in December sounds like a great idea!

It's PUMPKIN Time

 This is the look I get when I disturb the BOY.  There's rules around here.  You are not allowed to touch the King of the house when he's sleeping.  He really doesn't even like to be petted unless it's scratching his butt.  Oh he will snuggle when he wants to, but otherwise ... LEAVE ME ALONE.  I can't blame him really ... he's on his way to 17 years old ... an amazing accomplishment for a little pup who's traveled the U.S. and Alaska!

Feeling a tad bit better, I really needed to hit the store for some Jonathan food.  I think he eats more salad than I do.  Never send ME to the grocery store.  I know, it was my idea, but I'm like a dog looking for squirrels to chase.  

I can usually saunter by things like cakes, pies and cookies, but the muffins get me every time.  These are pumpkin crunch.  I'm not sure where the crunch went, but when I cut it open, it was filled with apples.  For a grocery store muffin, it wasn't bad at all.  

That reminded me of bread sticks.  No, I didn't really need any, but they are actually quite good for snack attacks.  AND on sale, so they came home with me.

Speaking of on sale, I noticed something in this store with new owners.  Jolly Green Giant corn (the good stuff) was marked at $2.50 a can.  YIKES!!  But the STORE brand was "ON SALE" for $1.99 a can.  Guess which one everyone is going to buy.  Didn't this stuff used to be $ .99 a can?

I noticed something else when I wandered down the ice cream aisle.  These are my favorite, which used to be $7.00 a box.  These were marked $10.99 a box, but on SALE for $9.49 ... today only.  Makes you want to buy them, yes?  Well I bought this box just last week that were regularly $9.49 a box.  SO THEY LIE in order to make you think they are on sale!!  They are probably cheaper at Walmart if you can wade through the p.j.'s and slippers crowd.  

Luckily I got home just in time to receive this.  I had completely forgotten about one of the Bingo Knights dropping off a chicken dinner he said I bought.  I did???  I cannot for the life of me remember THAT!  I don't know if it was his VFW or our ELKS that prepared it. 

WOW!  This was the best barbecued chicken I've had in ages.  It was fall-apart done, just the way I like it.  The beans were delicious ... and the best part ... OREOS!  It was also Cooper approved!

Tasting that pumpkin muffin, reminded me I had a can of pumpkin in the cupboard that needed to be used up.  I thought maybe I could make my OWN muffins much cheaper than the four I bought.  These are chocolate chip pumpkin.  Yeah, it didn't sound too good to me either, but chocolate chip banana bread is quite tasty.

Super easy to make ... 20 minutes to bake.  They are NOT your grocery store muffins.  I don't know what they put in theirs that makes them soft and puffy, but these came out rather hard and dense.  Plus, all you can taste is chocolate chips ... not that I mind that!  I even put in more spice than it called for, to no avail.  Oh well ... they will work with lots of coffee.  Into the freezer they went.

Though I had hoped to be pedaling down the streets and byways on my bike, I got all gussied up in my best riding outfit, including a helmet that almost chokes you (which I hate), only to find out it was 80 degrees outside and WAY too hot to be riding.  The bike got parked in the kitchen.  Maybe this morning will be cooler and I can get on the road for some practice.  I will need to work off those calories VERY soon!!