Just Hanging Out

Fall has finally arrived in Central California.  This is usually September weather for us, but things keep getting pushed further and further along the seasonal highway.  On the other hand, I see it's down to the -40's in Alaska with the first big snowfall.  It's why I live here ... not a lot of rain, no snow, never below zero degrees, usually sunny and no deadly critters hanging out.  How can you beat that?

Mr. Cooper and I lounged on the patio for coffee, watching the clouds do their dance in the sky.  I don't throw the ball as much as I used too since his eyesight isn't what it used to be.  It means I have to go get it MYSELF and toss it right to his feet.  

With not much going on except an afternoon meeting ... nothing like ruining a perfectly good day ... I spent another hour or so playing with the control panel in the van.  Instead of a nice expensive quilt, I opted for a magnet connected cover to keep the dust off the windshield.  It was so bad last time that it took me an hour to clean off all the dirt so I could see.  

This way I can see while I'm driving really fast to blow off all the dirt on the REST of the thing.  By the way, here's an interesting tidbit I found out at Bingo from a long time RV repair guy.  They tell you when you buy this rig NOT to let it idle for any length of time.  I never could understand that, since it's a diesel engine.  

Come to find out, the catalytic converters of today can be "killed" if you let the engine idle for hours trying to recharge the house batteries.  Why, I've no idea.  I didn't get the particulars, but apparently many have had to be replaced at shock-inducing prices and on all kinds of vehicles!  

First test on this day ... unplug, turn the charger off and see if the gas heater will work.  Oh yeah!!!!  It runs off the battery while the inverter is OFF.  That's good news ... Jonathan will be toasty warm when I'm NOT plugged in.  At this particular moment, I had plugged BACK in and the charger/inverter was roaring.  I have to admit, I like all the little green arrows that tell you where the power is going and what you can run.  You just need a degree in engineering to figure it out what to turn on when.

Back inside, with a pan full of enchiladas sitting in the fridge, I once again tried the rice.  As Shirley said, try try again!  This time I toasted it in a cast iron skillet.  MUCH better!  

Looks like the Hunter Moon, yes?  I love this old Aroma rice cooker.  It makes it perfect every time, no matter how much you make.  YUM!!!  It hit the spot.  

I did absolutely nothing the rest of the morning, since yet another meeting was in the works.  I have to admit, I'm getting rather tired of these meetings.  Sometimes I think it's better to ignore the questionable things and just trot on by.  

Anyhoo, I was pretty surprised when I arrived back home and no one met me at the door jumping up and down.  WHERE IS HE?  I snuck over to the couch to find him fast asleep.  I mean REALLY asleep.  I put my hand by his nose and watched it wiggle as he began to smell.  He stood up and looked at me with the sleepiest of eyes before beginning his happy dance.  I just love this kid!!

It finally dawned on me that he knows I'm home when he hears the driveway alarm.  I had turned it off on this day because the gardener was here.  

I leave you with yet another Hunters Moon image ... the biggest moon of the year.  None of these pictures were mine.  

Unfortunately there's ANOTHER lodge meeting tonight that I have to attend, so I'll probably miss the moonrise at 6:30 tonight.  It's going to be a good one, so get out your cameras.  The moon is closest to the earth this time of year and should be fabulous to view.