Not Much To See Here

 The weather could not be more perfect.  63 to 88 is right in my wheelhouse.  It's perfect for walking before the sun comes up, trying to work off a little of that 2.5 pounds Mr. Cooper has put on.  

Then, once I'm wide awake, HE goes back to sleep on the couch.  It's just not fair!!!

The rest of the day was less than exciting.  I tried to clean up the house a bit more since company was coming.  I checked the camera from the night before, catching this just as I got home.  Notice there are now TWO shadows following me across the patio.  I guess this is going to be the norm from now on.

Company arrived around 1:00.  The plan was ... well there WASN'T a plan.  I've got nothing.  There is absolutely nothing to see here.  I was way too tired to be the good hostess, so basically we just sat in the living room for four hours.  I watched a little rodeo, company spent time on her phone.

I tried not to be a clock watcher, but it's hard for me just sitting there.  At long last we headed out to the lodge for dinner.  She was thinking calamari ... I was thinking shrimp scampi.  As we arrived, a gentleman came out the door ... one who recently asked for a donation to a Civil War project ... and asked if I was a reader.  

Sure I said, as he handed me this book with a request to do a review when I was done.  Okay, though the subject is far from what I would EVER pick up to read. 

We got a drink from the bar and sat at our table.  From there on it was a blur from the food coma.  There's nothing to see here because I completely forgot to take a picture.  This is all you're getting today ... an ugly mess of food dumped into a to-go box.  I wasn't going to waste one WONDERFUL bite.  For our lodge to produce this kind of a meal is just amazing to me.

The scampi was over the top delicious, with the best baked potatoes, followed up with perfectly cooked asparagus.  The problem was I was stuffed to the gills from the huge salad bar with homemade potato salad, clam chowder soup and those garlic bread sticks I love.  

What's that piece of chicken laying there?  We met friends Kathy and Nick who had four huge pieces of chicken each.  They passed one on to me.  

I was full and miserable when we got home, so I sat on the couch and speed read the little book.  It's an interesting concept, though I'm not sure how safe hydrogen fuel would be.  Apparently he wrote it maybe two years ago?  Much of the world has now changed, so it's not as relevant.  

Add to that the cost of setting up fuel manufacturing, not to mention fuel stations across the entire country, and I think it would be a futile attempt at lowering costs. They say it is "safe" but highly flammable, meaning if there's a leak, your house will blow up?  They are not clear on that point.  

Hydrogen engines for trucks and cars would have to be built, hydrogen engine mechanics trained, it all seems a little crazy to switch over when we have more gas and oil reserves than most.  At least in my neighborhood, our current energy producing manufacturers will never switch over, causing themselves a huge loss of moolah.  They would have to charge us double or triple, just to come up with enough money to manufacture it, making the consumer price through the roof.  Maybe many moons in the future when I'm dead and gone.

That's it ... that's all I've got today.  I'll try to do a little better ... maybe even take a picture or two of Hobby Lobby, because that's where we are headed.  Yes, I've leaving my credit card home.

FIRST RAIN

 Lookie here ... lookie here!!  Those are RAIN CLOUDS hanging out overhead at 6:00 in the morning when Mr. Cooper and I went for our morning walk.  The sun wasn't even awake yet.  The good news is his foot has healed up nicely and he actually wants to check out the smells.  YAY!!  Next time he doesn't want to go out, I'll know something is wrong and I need to be more vigilant.

Even though it was looking like rain, it was still 73 degrees, making more tomatoes ripen on the vine.  I measured that thing yesterday ... one tomato plant is now 6 feet wide and still producing these chocolate ones.  Too bad they don't TASTE like chocolate.

Having had way too much stuff going on with little sleep, I didn't really get much more done, other than to prepare for company coming today.  I did boring laundry and returned two more Amazon buys.  Can you just imagine the amount of stuff returned to that place?  This is just small town America ... I can't imagine how much gets sent back in the big city, especially since covid shut down businesses everywhere.  We have little choice here, but to order on-line or drive 40 miles.

I spent most of the afternoon sewing binding on this quilt ... the second to last one.  Oh yeah oh yeah ... I only have ONE MORE TO GO!  The finally tally is 16.  Next year I'm voting for NO embroidery unless I can find a real company to do it at a reasonable price.  These ended up costing me twice the money I received to make them.  It's for Veterans ... so you know I can't really complain about that.  Next year I'll ask for more moolah!

I tried hard to veg out on the couch before the Lodge meeting.  I don't know why they have so many of these things ... twice a month and a Trustee Meeting makes three.  

It was an unusual night however.  Our Head Honcho's daughter was the chairman on this night, and thank the Good Lord above they decided NOT to have steak.  Truly, if they had reduced the price, they would have sold more, but this was some of the best Mexican food I've had in a long time.  

The appetizer, which I did not get a picture of, was something you may want to try.  It was Tostitos (those little cup tortilla chips) filled with smoked salmon, Mexican crema, a slice of jalapeno and a tiny piece of cilantro.  I think I ate six!!  WOW that was good!!  Who knew?

The homemade cabbage salsa was the BEST (I need to get a recipe for that) with the pico de gallo coming in a close second.  We had shrimp tacos, grilled chicken tacos and for #3, carnitas!!  And just how do they make that rice!!!  I brought most of it home, having OD'd on the appetizers.

Okay, I admit chocolate cake did not exactly go with dinner, but I ate it anyway!!

That came from this Costco cake for this wonderful Bingo volunteer's birthday.  AND they boxed up a piece for me to take home.  Not that I need any since I still have six months worth of dessert in my freezer from the shrimp feed!!!  I'll just add it to the pile.

Thank goodness the meeting afterwards was short and sweet.  We were out of there in 40 minutes.  I mean really, why do we go through all that for a meeting where we say ... yup ... nothing is going on.  Good night.  I suppose it's the get-together ... the talking ... the hanging out thing.  My bad, I prefer doing that with Mr. Cooper!!

Outside, I ran like the wind to my truck.  It was raining big drops heavily.  From right here, I have to make a big U turn out onto the street.  There's nothing like having a big diesel truck with absolutely NOTHING in the back for weight, spinning all four tires on a first rain wet road, trying not to get hit.  

I wasn't the only one, guys were gunning it right and left having a little fun spinning their tires.  

And so today I'm exhausted!  Little sleep and too much movement (not to mention food) has caused this body to complain ... and I have company coming in a few hours.  Hopefully that gives me enough time to crash on the couch before she gets here.  Then it's BACK to the lodge for dinner ... her request.  Maybe I can con her into helping set up my two remaining cameras!!

Oh, and by the way, automatic kitty feeder #2 is on its way.  Anyone taking bets if it works or not?

SAY YES TO BLINK!!

 Mr. Cooper says HOWDY on this gorgeous morning.  It's 72 degrees right now, which Mother Nature bestowed on us before two days of rain.  This should be fun!!

My day started out normal for me ... my watch died a horrible death.  There was a big red lightning bar before it went black as night.  Truthfully, I'm surprised it lasted this long.  Nine years was more than I expected.  I thought about getting a new battery put in, but no one around here wants to do that.

My choices that have been living in my bathroom drawer for literally 16 years, were few.  Elvis or Mickey Mouse.  Believe it or not, I purchased this Micky Mouse watch around 2007 or so.  It runs on kinetic energy.  I seriously had little hope it would still work, but I picked it up and waved it in the air for about 30 seconds.  The little wheel started spinning, so I waved it around some more.  

I am seriously SHOCKED to find that the wheel kept going.  I set the time.  An hour later it was still going and the time was exactly correct.  WOW!!!  So at least now I can tell time, but alas, it does not give me those verification codes constantly required by my computer.

In other GREAT news, I received the BLINK I ordered.  These are outside cameras that allow you not only to see who's there in real time, but you can talk to them also.  This came from the recommendation of a Deputy Sheriff/private detective.  He should know about surveillance cameras.  

Not only was it not all that pricey, but he says you do NOT have to have a subscription.  I'm not sure about that part yet.  I unboxed it and spent an hour trying to get the controller to log on to my internet.  It might have helped if I had written down that password!!

Getting the cameras logged on wasn't quite as bad.  I will say that NO electronic gadgets come with EASY instructions any more.  

Installing them outside was another lesson in how NOT to hang them from the ceiling.  Right outside the door .... OH LOOK!!!!  Kitters just had breakfast!  Just what I wanted to see right after eating myself.  Not a bird, so I'm guessing a gopher?  This relationship just might work out after all.

So this was my problem ... my house is covered in plaster.  When you try to drill, it makes a big hole and the screws don't hold.  What I ended up doing is putting it on the wooden door frame.  Kind of a tight fit.  

My first image was an upside down hand, followed by me standing horizontally.  Who knew there was an up and a down!  I finally got it straight .... and this is what it looks like.  Not bad ... not bad at all.  I even talked to Kitters.  I'm saying YES to BLINK!  It's not ON all the time, I can ARM it when I leave and turn it off when I return.  It can also sense humans and will send a loud bell to my phone along with a real time video.  Cool!!

At this point I have a free 30 day subscription.  They tried to get me to sign up, but eventually I bypassed that part.   No credit card number was given, so there's that.   I guess I'll see what happens in 30 days because I'm not paying for a PLAN.  

Next up ... the doggie feeder for Kitters.  This was MUCH worse than the cameras to set up.  I poured in a bunch of dog food and began the setup for it ... also on my WiFi.  I didn't get far before it required a SUBSCRIPTION at a cost of $15.99 PER WEEK.  Sorry China, that would be a bit fat NO.  Yup, made in China and connected directly to my WiFi.  

I dumped out the kitty food and boxed it back up for a return to Amazon.  I'll keep looking for a better option.  Too bad because this would have been perfect.

While gnashing my teeth over THAT one, I got a call that company was coming tomorrow.  YIKES!  This place is a mess.  I spent the next couple of hours cleaning up.  What could be better to work off all that China frustration than MOPPING THE FLOORS.  I admit, they haven't been done in ages.

This is my steam cleaner that for the life of me I could not get to work.  That tells you just how long it's been since I've used it.  I finally spotted the STEAM button and we were in business.  I quickly worked off all that bad juju and collapsed on the couch.

That brought about the Watch Search.  What can I say, I'm addicted to having all that information sitting on my wrist.  Just having the time isn't working for me.  Of course there are no stores around here that might have another Apple watch, so I went online.  Apparently the latest Series is coming out tomorrow for a whopping $500.  I'm not sure I want $500 sitting on my wrist, but I suppose it's not doing much sitting in the bank either.  At least this does not require a subscription.

I spent the next few hours playing with the BLINK camera.  I have two more to install sometime today after I figure out where to put them.  By the way, since they are wireless, you can put these on your rig when parked (maybe with velcro?) so you can see if anyone is about to try and break in.

More cleaning will ensue shortly, followed by a lodge meeting tonight and of course company.  That's okay though ... she's taking me out to the lodge for SHRIMP SCAMPI!  How can I say NO?

SLINGS AND ARROWS

 Welcome back to central California and the Magic Kingdom of Bingo!!  Oh yes, it's another rousing day of catching flaming torches, pitchforks and steel arrows right in the heart.  But FIRST ........

Let's run off for another rousing hour of accounting.  The good news is I'm getting much better at knowing where to go online to actually DO the accounting.  

The problem popped up three days ago when I decided it was time to actually COOK that nine month old turkey.  Yessiree ... it's been sitting in the freezer for nine months.

The Accountant called for help when I had 60 minutes left on the timer. Lucky me, the timer went off as I walked BACK in the kitchen door.  I cut and hacked it up, practicing my knife skills for Bingo.  Unfortunately, it tasted TERRIBLE.  It was the worst Butterball I've ever put in my mouth, but I'm guessing that's because somewhere along the line it got thawed out and refrozen.  No worries, it will make good kitty food.

Cooper on the other hand, get's the PRIMO stuff.  I picked up this pork loin for $2.99 a pound when hamburger was $8.99 a pound.  That's just downright crazy.  I even got a slice or two of this one!

Surprise!!  The automatic dog food feeder showed up at my door unannounced.  False advertising ... it's nowhere NEAR this size.  In total it's maybe 18" tall and says it holds 50 cups.  That should last the entire time, assuming I don't have a power outage and it has to reset itself.  Once I heal up from bingo, I will read the 45 pages of directions and see if I can get it to work.

It was finally time to head off to Bingoland.  Oh so sadly, my Fairy Godmother is gone to a REAL job.  That means someone has to set up the machines, PROGRAM the machine and set up six televisions so they project the games and the next ball.  

THIS is why I get the big bucks.  I previously took pictures of every plug-in and hookup.  There's a LOT to hook up and if you get it wrong, you can blow up the machine.  Lovely connection there, yes??

This one is even better!  The TVs gave me fits, but eventually I got it from HDMI to AV2 where it lives.  I got lambasted by players that I posted two numbers TOO early, so next time I won't make THAT mistake.  I pulled the flaming arrow from my back and went to get the games.

Yup I took a picture of THAT too.  These were the games put out three weeks ago.  This way I know the names of each game to be played, and more particularly, the ORDER to be played.  Believe me, these peasants will kill you with their eyes if you don't get this right.

Sadly, on this night, we only had 90 players.  That means we only played 8 games instead of our normal 9 or 10.  The poor sellers had to work their butts off to get the boxes sold.  Every card in a box must be sold before we can call the game. 

I only called two instead of the normal four.  Hopefully some day I get more confident with that.  I'm so intent on the board and where the little ping pong balls go that I forget what I'm supposed to SAY.  

In the meantime, we had a new kitchen volunteer come in ... a very sweet lady.  Too bad they just stuck her on the side and didn't teach her ANYTHING.  If you want someone to learn something, you have them DO IT.  I'm thinking she won't be back.  Standing there for three hours cannot be fun.  I AM however, really trying hard to stay out of that altogether.  I'm just the complaint department.  

And of course I got complaints.  The chili was burned.  How do you burn chili in a crock pot with a liner?  Apparently you can.  The Nacho Cheese?  Also burned.  Good grief folks ... you don't have to COOK anything, you just have to heat it up.  I ran out the back door at 10:00

And NOW I'm getting ready for another rousing night boondocking in the back yard, BECAUSE I found a perfect camping spot over on the coast where I can go for just a night or two ... hopefully at least once a month!!!

Now ... where did I put that instruction book for the feeder?

What Are Pipe Cleaners

 Woohoo ... it was with great satisfaction that I woke up at 5:00 am.  I actually feel like I caught up on sleep for once.  Even Mr. Cooper slept in.  That's a miracle!  As you can guess however, we were NOT camping out.  Bingo day requires mucho shuteye before tackling the peasants at the Magic Castle.

First things first, Mr. Cooper has to go out IMMEDIATELY.  There's no messing around unless you want the mess.  Lookie here ... Kitters is sleeping in the box.  No worries, I'll fix up something nice and cozy for her before any trips.  AND I ordered a very expensive DOG food dispenser ... automatic and all that.  Not sure it's going to work, but it will hold enough food for 60 days.

I went out to check the batteries since I left the van unhooked all day and night.  The only thing on was the inverter, meaning the light on the microwave, and the iPads hung on the wall that run everything.  It was still at 82% since the solar was working just a bit.  Truly, the more I use it boondocking, the more confidence I will have.  

That's when I noticed this.  Hmmm someone tried to walk up the window.  It's Kitters of course, since she has tiny feet.  Looking for another way IN, I suppose.

Then I broke out laughing!!!  This is hilarious!  Apparently she decided to jump up the OTHER side and missed by just a hair, landing on her belly!  It also appears I need to wash this thing again!  Almond harvest season covers everything in a thick dust.

Having finally gotten my prescription for glasses, I was off to Costco early.  I have always gone in the door at 9:00.  On this day however, I was stopped.  YOU CAN'T COME IN.  Ummm I've been coming in every month for years ... why not now?  YOU ARE NOT AN EXECUTIVE MEMBER.  Excuse me?  I AM TOO!!  

That brought about a trip to the office.  It seems when they decided to use my Costco Citicard as a membership card (when they took my old one and would not give it back) .... they did not renew it as an Executive card.  Nancy was not a happy camper.  They took my credit card, made copies and made me take another awful picture.  It was NOT a good hair day!!  I finally got my card back after they made the correction.  Sheeeish!!

Then it was on to picking out frames.  I'm just as bad at this as I am at quilt colors.  The nice lady was quick to point out that I picked the most expense sunglasses frame in the store.  Of COURSE I did.  It took almost an hour, but I can't fault her.  She was kind enough to figure out which pair would get the biggest discount through my Vision Program.  In the end, I had to pay $295 for both frames.  At the last eye doctor (where I am never going again) ... I paid $635.00.  Crazy, yes?

From there I went through town to finish up some accounting work and stopped by Hobby Lobby.  In the back of my mind I remembered they do not do Halloween, but I hoped to at least find some orange ribbon and pipe cleaners. 

I could not find them, nor anyone to ask where they were after going up and down every aisle, so I went all the way back to the front of the store.  Where are the pipe cleaners please?  NO KIDDING ... she said "what are pipe cleaners?"  Maybe the kitchen section?  Ummmmm that would be a NO.  I came out with a nice WELCOME mat and one roll of ribbon.  Who works in a craft store and doesn't know what pipe cleaners are?

Back home, contemplating a trip to Hobby Lobby in the next town over, and since I now have three MORE tomatoes, I figured I better whip up another BLT.  No, I will never get tired of these.

I spent the rest of the afternoon/evening working on this quilt.  I SWEAR it's haunted.  I have never made so many mistakes sewing pieces together as I have with this one.  There's lots more pieces to go too.  Little black stars all around and in between, not to mention all the background fabric.  I admit, it's a little DARK looking ... more like rotten moldy pumpkins.  In my defense, it does look a little better in person!

And so I ended the day by plugging the rig back in.  I've looked up four Harvest Host places to camp out over towards the coast where heat won't be a problem.  Unfortunately things like doctor, dentist and vet appointments have gotten in the way, in spite of opting OUT of three Elks meetings.  

Yes, I'm playing hookey, but don't tell them!!!!

Time to get ready for the Magic Castle!!

OH ..... THAT'S WHY

 Good Morning once again!!  I'm still in sunny HOT California, boondocking in the van in the back yard.  If I'm going to get any use out of that Harvest Host membership, I need to learn how.  Practice makes perfect.  Mostly because this is not your "everything automatic" kind of set up.  

But first ... let's start with breakfast ... OUT.  My friends called and said they were on their way to a restaurant rather close to me.  Heck YEAH .... I can do that!!  

Later in the day ... OH ... that's why I don't do that.  I ate WAY too much and I was miserable for the next four hours.

Back home, I made quick work of those now TWELVE tomatoes, adding in mushrooms and Italian sausage this time.  It also has ground turkey.  Why would I ruin it with turkey you ask?  Because the cheapest hamburger here is $8.99 a POUND!!  Yup, that's why!!  Turkey was $5.99 ... still too expensive.  The sausage was the cheapest part!!

Once done and cooled, I put it in these small containers ... about enough sauce for two people.  Into the freezer it went for future meals.  It will be yummy dumped over a chicken breast and smothered in cheese.  Just a note here ... my friends six tomato plants produced maybe twelve tomatoes and died.  What's up with that?

All this time, I was preparing for a night of bliss in the rig.  I plugged it in and turned the fridge on to get it cold.  I wanted to see how much battery it would use up when it ran all night long.  The good news is I have a NIGHT mode that uses less power.

More pumpkins ensued.  I was either very tired or very distracted.  Operator error ... I kept sewing on pieces backwards.  It didn't take me long to stop that endeavor.

After more rodeo and chastising myself because I ate too much, I had one last bite of a Carmelita.  That's toffee, caramel and chocolate chips in between layers of oats and sugar!  Waste not, want not shrimp feed leftovers.  I'm determined to eat them up, one 1" square at a time.

In no time I was headed out to the rig, the moon shining brightly.  Even the stars were visible on this night.  Okay, put on your thinking cap and engage your brain.

OH ..... THAT'S WHY!  The charger only works when you are plugged in.  DUH!  So you can't turn it off because it's already NOT working.  I can and do turn it off when plugged in because it makes too much noise to sleep.  Okay, solved that one.  I unplugged and went into boondock mode.  In this picture taken earlier, you can see the green arrow that shows the solar is charging directly to the batteries.  

The fridge was running, so I put it on night mode to run less and quieter.  I probably could have turned the inverter off, but then the plugs won't work and I can't charge my phone overnight.  GOT IT!!

Sleeping was not to happen.  It was once again hot, though I had all the windows open.  I could have started up the generator for the AC, but there would definitely be no sleeping with THAT noise.  

That's when I heard it ... something tried to get in the side window.  What the heck?  OH ... THAT'S WHY.  Good grief ... Kitters had followed us.  She tried to jump though the window into the rig, but the screen stopped her as I heard her claws scraping down the side of the door.  Lovely.  She meowed around for a few minutes before apparently walking away.  

I'm practicing .... NO I CAN'T TAKE THE CAT WITH ME.  NO!!!  She would eat the parrot, then escape out the large sliding door and I'd be chasing her through the bushes.  NO!!!   That is NOT a good idea.  I'll just have to be sure she has an entire huge bag of food to eat (thinking I can put it in the now empty water trough) and fix up a water bowl to the sprinkler system.  

I can sleep, I can sleep ... I kept saying that as my eyes stayed wide open.  Thinking it was the fridge noise, I finally got up and turned it off.  Ahhhh quiet .... for all of ten minutes.  

That's when the noise began in earnest.  That darn charger is ON ... how can that be??  It says NO CHARGE.  

OH ... THAT'S WHY!  Big sigh ... when my neighbors put in their swimming pool, they put their equipment 12" from my fence, which happens to be five feet from my head.  It's REALLY noisy (sounds exactly like my charger running under the seat next to my head) and ran most of the night.  There was so sleep to be had until 4:00 am when it turned off.  Oh good .... I got one hours rest.

Mr. Cooper and I got up at 5:00 and headed back to the house.  The battery read 92%.  So tell me you RV guys out there ... they are lithium batteries.  How low can I go without damaging the batteries?  It appears boondocking will not be a problem, but I need to know my YIKES number.  As soon as the sun comes up, the solar starts charging again, so unless I'm parked under a canopy of trees, I should not have to worry.

Today will be another accounting day, followed by at least two hours of sleep on the couch.  I'm pretty sure I won't be boondocking tonight with Bingo happening tomorrow.  Sleep is always my friend when it comes to Bingo!!

Dazed and Confused

 Good Morning my friends ... and welcome to the land of van camping.  It was a wonderful night of great sleep and puppy cuddles.  Okay, you know that's not true ... since most of my latest and greatest plans don't seem to work out that well.

Here's Kitters, looking spiffy after having had 2 pounds of kitty hair brushed off her body.  She's also gained quite a bit of weight.  Time for that Vet appointment.  By the way, I never open the door that she is not right there, or snoozing in the bushes to the right.  She comes running every single time.

First things first, as always, water and check the tomatoes.  I admit, I'm getting rather tired of this routine.  I suppose it's the variety ... or how they have been altered by scientists and chemistry over the years, but they just do NOT taste like the tomatoes of old.  I'm thinking next year I need to look for some Beefsteaks.   That's what we used to grow on the ranch and the flavor was totally different than these.

I was literally a couch potato until 11:00 when I headed off to my third job ... accounting once again.  This time I was a little confused and frustrated.  The program supposedly expired and tried to require me to SIGN UP for a costly replacement.  The worst part, it would not let me into the program at ALL.  

I messed with that for an hour before finally being able to bypass stuff.  As I've said before, I'm a MAC girl and haven't used windows in 17 years.  That's a long time to remember how to work on a completely different kind of computer operating system.

My client is a 92 year old who still handles eight rentals.  Poor sweetheart sat on the couch while I spent over three hours getting her up to date.  From now on, I'll go more often!  

With that done, I used GREAT restraint as I drove PAST Hobby Lobby on the way home.  There was a method to my madness.  They are closed on Sundays, so that gives me one more day to talk myself out of those skeletons I want to hang on my front door.

The rest of the afternoon, I watched the PENDLETON RODEO Finals.  Here's a quick clip of what happens to the PVC bull fence.  It starts out bad, but keep watching.  It gets better, then repeats the best part of it.  The three guys in weird outfits running after the bull are the bullfighters ... supermen in my eyes.  They are keeping the bulls attention away from the people running for their lives!!

Fun stuff!  Now I know YOU don't think that, but if you're a cowboy or a cowgirl ... this is FUN STUFF!!  This is what made us scream and laugh on the ranch for years to come, as long as it wasn't US in the bulls path!!

And then it happened.  My day was completely ruined.  I'm a BAD puppy mom.  Mr. Cooper had been chewing on his back foot.  I tried to see what it was, but he was having none of it.  Just before bedtime, I reached down and rubbed the fur the wrong way.  WAIT ... there's something there!!

I held him down ... a feat in itself ... and grabbed it with my fingernails.  Out came a 1/2 inch long sticker, similar to a foxtail.  OMG that's been stuck in between his toes for two days and I never did see it.  I'm devastated he was in pain all that time.  

I doctored it up, so thankful that I was lucky enough to find it before it disappeared into his paw.  Big treats followed.  There will be no more walking down that road with the stickers and foxtails.

At last it was time to head out to the rig.  I had turned everything on earlier in the day, but alas, nothing was working.  Not the charger and not the inverter.  Big sigh!  I'm just not good at this stuff.  Rather dazed and confused, I checked the fuses first ... all was okay.  I turned everything on and off several times over an hour.  I could hear the charger running, but the touchpad would not turn it off.  It said Not Charging. 

In the past, I turned everything on ... then turned the charger off at night so I could sleep.  It refused to budge.  The inverter however was working just fine.

So here we are ... all tucked in for the night.  NOT!  Good grief, in spite of all the windows being open, and it being rather cool outside, it was HOT HOT inside.  Cooper was panting like crazy and would not settle down.  I was sweating up a storm.  

Okay, enough of THAT!  We went straight back to the house.  Today I'll turn everything off and on again, including the fridge (which runs on battery only) to see how long I can go before starting up the generator.  Why you ask?  Because most of these Harvest Host spots do NOT have electrical hookups, but DO allow you to use generators.  

As I stepped out the door, who should be waiting but KITTERS.  I think I've created a monster here.  She was sleeping by the van door.  Now I have TWO shadows following me around.  This is not good ... what will she do when I leave for a month?

And so I sit here while drinking the last of my morning cup of joe, contemplating a grocery run today.  Hmmmm I wonder if the Spirit of Halloween stores are open on Sunday!!!