LET'S EAT CAKE!

This is the view every morning around here.  Mom ... Mom .... where's the food!!  He's just like me.  The older he gets, the bigger his appetite!!  Sweet Cooper is doing okay I suppose, for a 99 year old.  That's figuring his age the NEW way.  MY way, he's 112 with a little heart so full of love it just keeps on ticking!!

The other morning creature is just the same.  She jumps up here every morning ... WHERE'S THE FISH!!  Mostly because her food smells like stinky fish.  That goes well with the eau de lizzie that I found on the bedroom floor at 4:30 am.  I was hoping it was from the last foray under the bed, but alas, I think it is too small to be the same one.  It was unceremoniously tossed out into the front yard.  It may even still be alive .... who knows.  Don't you just love those eyes??

It's going to be an interesting week weather wise.  We are back up to 84 with rain.  That's funny, I don't EVER remember THAT happening here in all my many years.  It should make a great day at the Elks RV Park where we are having our Stag Picnic.  It used to be men only, but they have been kind enough to allow us women to attend, mostly because we do all the cooking.  No steaks this time, only hot dogs and hamburgers, so I don't expect a big turnout.

This would be MY choice for breakfast, lunch AND dinner!  My favorite bakery cake.  No I haven't bought one ......... YET.  That crazy looking bug thing at the bottom is actually a bracelet worn by the girl holding the cake.  Does this not look AMAZING?

After feeding the kids, it's time to feed the starter.  I thought it was too cold to be working, so I left it in the oven overnight with the light on.  That was maybe NOT a good idea.  It feels like 80-something degrees in there and I think I cooked it!!  It doesn't smell yeasty like it should either, but rather like a tad bit sourdough dirt.  Some people have great luck with this stuff.  I don't.  

And so the reason to go out to the RV Park is to snag a chunk of starter from another member who makes it perfectly every time.  She says it's easy.  I doubt that, but I will give it one more try before erasing that permanently from my file.

It was a very long morning of recovery.  Though I work out with weights and run around the block, I still seem to be exhausted after those meetings.  Maybe it's the stress, or walking up and down those stairs six times.  At any rate, I landed on the chaise for a little sun before noon.

Of course I was stalked by this.  She follows me around like a puppy dog, meowing for scratches.  I always accommodate.  The good news is she is FINALLY not gulping down every little morsel of food in one sitting.  She now wanders over to the food, eats a bit, and wanders away.  She is actually turning into quite the nice household pet ... and I don't have to worry about gophers or mice!!

The next phone call brought about a flurry of phone calls.  Bingo donated $5,000 to the local Boys and Girls Club for their fundraiser.  That means we have to fill up a table of eight for dinner.  Honestly, there is nothing worse than being there and seeing empty tables.  We try not to do that.  Sadly, that means my reservation to the coast had to be cancelled.  RATS!  It's okay as I'm not sure how Cooper is going to fare while traveling now.

It does not help that last year the speaker was terrible and went on for almost an hour.  While they usually have lots of great items to bid on, including CAKE, last year they had maybe ten items total.  To be quite honest, it was a terrible event.

 

It took lots of phone calls to convince 7 other people to attend this one.  The only way was to promise they could leave right after dinner!!  It's next Friday night, so we shall see how it goes.  

While on the phone, I wandered around the garden to see what was happening.  It HAD to be better than what was going on in the house, which was nothing!

My Japanese Maple is the happiest I've ever seen it.  Just look at the color of these leaves.  

The color never lasts long however.  The other side is already turning green.  Yes, it needs to be pruned, but neither I nor the gardener have a clue how to go about that.  

In the front of the house, we have even MORE red.  No kidding, everything is reddish around this place.  This is my eight foot tall miniature bottle brush.  I think I planted it three years ago and have never paid attention to how huge it has grown.  I think this is a garden nursery joke ... we'll tell them it's a miniature version.

The good news is it is COVERED with honey bees.  I kept my distance.  No use tempting fate.  It too needs to be pruned.  The only thing I know how to prune is roses, so I guess I'll look this one up on the internet too.

That was it .... my entire boring day trying to recover from a too early morning followed by a too late night.  Boy am I getting OLD!!

I will probably be ON THE COUCH!!