The Magic Kingdom Rides Again

I'm SO happy to be over the latest sick craze.  I never was one to follow the pack.  This time it was a big surprise, because in exactly nine days it was gone and I didn't end up at the emergency room!!

That meant I could once again travel to the Magic Kingdom for fun and games.  We solved the world's problems at our own private Bingo happy hour and helped Apache Frank have a good time.  He's the 98 year old that fell and broke his leg.  He walked up the stairs completely on his own.  He must be one tough old bird, because the doctor said he didn't know how he could possibly even walk at this point in his recovery.

Downstairs, I set up for the onslaught and grabbed a coke to get me through the night.  Immediately, the infernal machine threw up and refused to work.  I changed it's paper roll and we were off for about fifteen minutes when it happened again.

I know there is a way to stop that, but it would take WAY too many brain cells and probably an hour in a quiet room to figure out the programming.

All of a sudden in comes one of our regular players with a HUGE kitchen cart full of pans of something covered in foil.  I knew what was coming.  Lots of indigestion and stomach woes.  This nice lady had made 150 cupcakes for the entire building.  What a sweetheart!

They were smothered in frosting with a swirl of dark, chocolate I assume, then covered with M&M's. You KNOW how I am with sweets ..... however ..... many moons ago I had a cupcake someone baked at home, and I truly regretted every single bite.  You can imagine why, right?  I was sick for two days.

Ever since, I've made it a rule, never to eat ANYTHING from someone's kitchen when I have never been to their house.  I wish my resolve to not eat was always this good!!  Not a single crumb touched my lips.

I felt bad ... it might have been better to take one and just drop it in the nearest trash can.  Instead, when she came back for the third time, I told a little white lie and said I already ate one.  They were DELICIOUS!!

Over the next few hours, we had the usual "I didn't get my red ticket for the drawing" folks (because they left the register before I could hand it out), the "you didn't give me enough cards" lady (always the same one) and a new one ..... I left my dobber in the back room and when I went to retrieve it, it was GONE!!!

No kidding!!  If you drop your ticket, or a card, or leave anything anywhere even for a few seconds, I guarantee it will disappear.  They literally walk around the room looking for the right opportunity to steal something.  WE ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE!  You have to expect that kind of activity when you  are around a Bingo crowd.

The night was long and there were multiple yawns over the last two hours.  The infernal machine felt better and was nice enough to balance to the penny.  I've said it before and I'll say it again .. if it weren't for the nice Knights of the Round Table that work here, I wouldn't be doing this, not to mention there are a couple of really handsome ones to boot!!

I'm hoping to slip in a power nap this afternoon before heading off to Merced College for the photography class portfolio critiques.  You never know .... we may just motivate the next Rembrandt of photography.  Plus, it's always a great time with my photo peeps!!

Motivation Lost

Sometimes I just can't seem to get motivated.  Ever since I returned from Arizona, I haven't hit the sewing machine, not once.  October was all about the Pumpkin Patch and there was no time.  Then I seemed to be stuck in a rut on the couch.  Motivation has always been my slow suit.

Being sick didn't help, but once you're in that mode, it's definitely hard to hit the switch and get in gear again.  Maybe it's my age.  At any rate, I'm happy to say I am finally out of neutral and in first gear, even though there was a lot of grinding noises in between.  Sewing is back on the schedule.

The quilter finished this one a coupe of days ago.  Sewing the binding on the edge is one of my favorite things to do, mostly because I can do it sitting on the couch.  There's that motivation thing again!!  This one is done and I love it!!  Now to decide if it's going to Arizona or to my bed in the rig.

Of course I'm always motivated by food, especially when the Elks Lodge is having Contractor night.  Those guys can cook, as evidenced by this magnificent meal.  Lucky for me, the Bingo Crew always buys me dinner.  At $15, this was a steal.  I even took home an entire rack for $10.  You can't beat THAT with a stick!!!

In other good news, I fired the gardeners.  I sent them a nice letter stating all the things wrong, like cut electrical wires and drip lines, putting all the clippings in my TRASH can, which I had to empty to the GREEN can, the untimely death of many plants and just generally doing a bad job.

I should have mailed it three days later.  They got it just in time to refuse to mow my lawns on the last week of the month.  

The bad news is it's going to cost me $30 a month MORE to have a new crew.  They came the first week of December and did a great job, considering there were six foot tall piles of leaves from the trees.  We shall see how it goes.

In an effort to keep motivated and moving, I decided to fix breakfast for the RV Rally attendees in January.  Along with those cinnamon rolls I made (and I need to make one more batch) will be Hawaiian banana nut bread, bagels (at least I don't have to bake those) and possibly quiche.  I need to do a test run on that one.  

I baked these two yesterday and stashed them in the freezer.  Lets all say a little prayer that they are done in the middle.  

It's Magic Kingdom day ..... YAY!!!     or not.    At least I'm feeling almost back to normal.  Just a little sniffle now and then.  Today I'm going to try and slip the clutch and slide into second gear!!

Chicken In A Tree

Sometimes you just see things that make you laugh!  I left WAY too early for the cooking school the last two times, leaving me about 45 minutes to wander about the closest little town of Columbia.  It was founded in 1850 as a boomtown ... the Gem of the Southern Mines.  In other words, GOLD!!!

If you haven't been here, you should stop in, but leave your motorhome home.  All the roads in this area are twisty, curvy and narrow.  They will tell you there are RV parks nearby, but only if you have a small rig.  I came here a couple times as a kid and fell in love.  It's about four blocks long with mostly original buildings.

As I walked the completely deserted streets at 9:00, I heard the call of the wild.  Er er er er ERRRRR.  An echo came back through the trees.  It was loud enough to totally grab my attention.  The search was on.

I honed in on the ERRRRRR and looked up.  There at the top of this huge tree, maybe 50 feet up, was this beauty singing his praises and letting everyone know HE was the boss.  Chicken in a tree.  He's a pretty smart cookie since there are lots of dogs and coyotes in this area.  He is HUGE!  I bet he weights 30 pounds!!

Many moons ago, there were several stores here, including antique shops, ice cream and candy stores, with my favorite pulled taffy.  Nowadays, since the Parks Service has taken control, there are only trinket stores left, along with a couple of hotels and restaurants.  

The Towle and Leavitt building originally sold books and stationery, but later added watches and jewelry.  Thinking his building was completely safe from fire, he wasn't worried when another building went up in flames.  He should have been, because it actually caught the inside on fire.  Luckily, he was able to save most of the watches and jewelry, but he burned his hands badly in the process.  All his books went up in smoke.

I've held several photo shoots here using many of my vintage clothing pieces.  On this day, I even got the Parks Service to let us have full run of the Hotel when it was closed to the public.  Best day EVER!!

In 1854, fire burned down about six blocks, which was quickly rebuilt with brick and metal.  In 1857 another fire burned down everything else except the brick buildings.  

This is the Wilson-McConnell house.  In 1878 James Wilson, a shoe shop proprietor, built this house.  

His wife Rose, completed the house after his death and lived in it until the 1930's.  Mr. McConnell purchased it in 1940 and refurbished it just in time for filming High Noon.

In 1862, Columbia was the first location of a Cinco de Mayo celebration.  Who knew??

At one time there were 8 hotels, 4 banks, 17 general stores, 2 firehouses, 3 churches and over 40 drinking institutions.  Unlike other gold mining towns, Columbia never really became a ghost town

The Columbia City Hotel and Restaurant is still open for visitors if you'd like to spend the night with a ghost or two.  If not, at least go in and ask to see a couple of rooms.  It's a fabulous place to visit.

Over 100 movies and televisions series have been filmed here, including the Lone Ranger, Death Valley Days, High Noon and the Cimarron Kid.  Pale Rider rode through here as did Behind the Mask of Zorro.  

Check it out .... look for the biggest chicken ever sitting in the tree (a rooster actually) and have some ice cream while visualizing what it was like in the REALLY old days.  Best to go early in the morning before the crowds.

Getting My Fondue On

How many of you received one of these for your wedding present back in the 60's?  Is it still hanging around because you just KNEW some day you would use it?  Mine is in the closet in the laundry room.  So when I saw this class for FONDUE, I signed up immediately.

It was pretty foggy when I left, much worse than this.  We haven't seen this kind of fog in a long while.

Almost there, I saw a doe and her fawn trying to cross the fence and the road right in front of me. I stopped until she decided which way she was going, while getting honked at from behind, so the picture isn't all that great.

Up the crazy steep hill with the hairpin turn at the top and I was in luck.  First one there, so lots of turnaround room.  Here's a picture of the dining room and one wall of cookbooks.  Kind of hard to see, but this table is where he displays all his cookware for the day's event.  In all, I counted 21 fondue pots.

This picture will make you crazy.  It's the mirror over the stove so you can see what they are cooking.  We all had cutting boards and VERY sharp knives.  I brought bandaids, just in case.

So I thought I knew fondue.  I was very much wrong.  Cheese fondue is the smallest part of it.  It was more hot pot and meat fondue.  We spent the first hour chopping up halibut, shrimp, beef and chicken into bitesized pieces.  Along with that came potatoes, zucchini and green peppers, which were parboiled.

Then he plugged in an electric fondue pot like this one, filling it with oil.  While we waited for it to heat up, we made five sauces for dipping, one being a beer batter for frying.  I thought all we were having was bread and cheese!

Finally, he got to the cheese part.  Jarlsberg swiss cheese (available at Costco) and white wine.  The secret is to grate the cheese, then lightly sprinkle it with flour or cornstarch.  That keeps it from separating when it is melted.  Then you add it a little at a time to the wine you have heated to about 95 degrees.  I don't know, there was a LOT of stirring involved in that.  

The end product was placed in a cast iron pot.  Fuel for these things is hard to find, so just use a spoonful of sterno blue stuff in the fuel container and light it.  Gosh, I'm starving ... can we eat now?

We each grabbed a plate like this (the small spaces are for the sauces), at least four forks and went to town.  Sort of, because it takes a bit of time to cook that meat.  After standing in line for 20 minutes, I went and sat down.  In nothing flat, those people who cooked their meat first, were BACK in line.  In other words, the line never ended!!

SO ..... the cheese fondue was good, but I'm not really a chardonnay wine fan.  Apparently the Swiss use a riesling, so maybe that would be better.  The sauces ... they were tasty, but plain old barbecue sauce would have suited me just fine.  

This is grazing.  There is no filling your plate up and sitting down to a nice meal.  You graze, grab a couple of bites, converse a little, then graze again.  

Next up, my all time favorite CHOCOLATE!!!  Super simple, this one.  Cream, Nestle chocolate chips and corn syrup.  YUM YUM!!  Dipping things included donuts (!!!!), pineapple, pound cake that disintegrated as soon as you dipped, marshmallows, biscotti, apples, bananas, grapes ... all KINDS of things!  Lucky for me, there weren't as many chocolate lovers, so the line was VERY short.

If you're going to do chocolate, you need a pot like this one, ceramic with only a candle underneath.  The regular fondue pots get too hot.  Ahhhhhhh got my sweet fix.

But WAIT!!  There was even MORE fonduing going on.  Similar in appearance, this is a HOT pot.  It was filled with chicken broth, some asian spices and cilantro.  He dumped in the veggies, including mushrooms, potatoes, zucchini and green peppers, then added his fork with the same meats as before.  

This pot (although electric in this picture) sat on the stove burner to keep it boiling nicely in order to cook faster.  Everyone else seemed to be done with fondue, so I filled up a plate with meat and sat at the stove.  This was SO much better than the oil frying fondue.  Amazingly, the meat picked up all the flavors from the veggies and the broth.

It worked out perfectly, because THEN I had to have dessert all over again!  Back to the chocolate I went like a bee to honey!!

I was rather disappointed that we didn't get more cheese recipes than sauce recipes.  I guess every class can't be as good as PIES!!  It really was an interesting experience, but my fondue pot may just end up back in the closet.  After all, I can eat right from the pan on the stove and not have to wash TWO pots.

Next up ..... ebelskivers.  Here's a hint.  They are SWEET!!!!

My SECOND (And Last) Official Letter Of Reply

Mr. Robben Davis:

Robben, Robben, Robben .... I'm terribly disappointed at this point in my transactions with the African Government.

Shame on the U. S. Department of Homeland Security that has instructed the U. S. Government to sieze my funds.  By the way, that's spelled SEIZE.  That money, originating in Africa,  is meant as compensation to all the scam victims, which I am entitled to be a beneficiary of.  Wait ... did you just end that sentence with a participle?  Anyway,  how dare you meddle in my business.

I understand you, as the Department of Homeland Security representative, have agreed to be in charge of disbursing the funds, in agreement with the Economic Community of West African States.  Okay, I forgive you for holding up my millions.  How nice of you to help us poor Americans get what's coming to us.

I have taken note of your distribution schedule, but you haven't even mentioned the AMOUNT of money I'm receiving.

24hrs/$170USD

48hrs/$120USD

hrs/$100USD

What happened to the $27.5 million that was just going to be deposited in my name directly into my account??  

I see your alternative is delivery by a Diplomatic Agent, with an extra charge of $320.  That sounds reasonable, since I'm getting over 27 million, however I'm not sure how you are going to be able to load that much on to an ATM MasterCard as you have stated.  Please do not send me 200 ATM cards as that would look rather suspicious.

Just to be sure I have this correct, you want my full name, my mailing address and my phone number.  So here goes:

Name:      Busty Valentine (as per the last Name Game I played)

Address:  Bank of America, P. O. Box 0000, Los Angeles, California

Phone:     11325-6667-4312-9

Age:       A gentleman NEVER asks a woman's age.  You're out of luck on that question.

Sex:       Only if you pass all the extensive tests at the local hospital.  You can't be too careful these

days.

Please respond quickly, as I've already spent the first million using my credit cards.  By the way, are you married?  Maybe you want to come and help me spend $26.5 million???

Breathlessly awaiting your reply .....

Busty

In the meantime, while I await my millions, I'm off to cooking school to revive the old 60's trend of FONDUE!!!  Maybe I can impress Robben with my cooking skills.

Dieting At Christmas .... NOT!!

There's probably not much worse for your diet than sitting on the couch sick, getting absolutely no exercise.  My exercise watch thinks I died.  Add to that my love of cooking and I'm in trouble.

Among my many lists of things to take to the next RV rally are cinnamon rolls.  My mother used to make them every Christmas.  Unfortunately I've never been able to duplicate hers (which always had the perfect amount of sugar and nuts) even when I used the same recipe.

So how do you get perfect rolls?  You find someone ELSE'S recipe .... like Paula Deen, the Queen of Butter, and throw in your own twist.  I couldn't think of a twist, so here are Paula's rolls.  I sure hope they turn out okay, which of course you never know until you serve them to a crowd, right?  These will be smothered with frosting before serving, so they can't be ALL bad.

I've been dying to try that berry pie recipe from the Cooking School.  Since the box of 50 pans arrived, I figured to give it a shot.  The crust came out better than I ever expected.  I know, because there are only THREE pies left in the freezer.  This is the flakiest pie crust I've ever made!!

Here's a hint I learned somewhere along the road ... place the big cookie sheet in the oven to heat up BEFORE putting the pies on it to cook.  That hot pan makes the bottom crust brown very nicely. 

These are made with frozen mixed berries, sugar, instant Clear Jel (for thickening) and lemon extract.    They turned out just as good as the one I made at the School.  YUM YUM!!

With the diet completely out the window and the freezer full of turkey and pie, I zoned in on Christmas decorating.  This is it ... that's all there is.  With the disastrous flocked tree I had to deal with last year, I decided to go minimal this year.

I know the stockings aren't evenly displayed.  See that one on the left?  It hangs down just a tad too low when the fireplace is on, creating a fire hazard.  That's just what I need, so I moved it way over.  

That's mine from when I was four years old.  It has held many a walnut and those terrible candy canes, along with a few oranges, a real treat for us ranch kids.  That's it ... no toys, no gift cards, no cd's.  We didn't have a fireplace like I do now.  They were taped to a cardboard table in the middle of the living room, which occasionally fell over from the weight of the oranges.

I've nothing on the schedule today other than to heal up from overeating at last night's Elks dinner.  I'll show you pictures later.  It is already nap time since I got home at 11:00, maybe got to sleep by midnight and was up again at 4:00.  

I'll be up early again tomorrow because it will be FONDUE TIME!!!!  I can't wait for THAT class!  You are probably thanking the Heavens above that you are not my neighbor, otherwise you TOO could be eating all this stuff!!

One More For The Books

I got a few more good marks behind my name yesterday to help combat all those bad things I did when I was a kid.  First off, I have to say I'm feeling really good.  Of course I've been better, but all the recommendations I've tried have done their job.

Yesterday was "cooking for senior's" day at the Lodge kitchen, with this being a small part of the results.  These are huge turkey breasts, prepared and roasted by one of only two who know what they are doing.  The rest of us just hang around and look pretty.

With only three hours to go, we whipped up potatoes, dressing, sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, gravy and rolls to feed 100 people at the Senior Living Facility.  

As always, there was lots of discussion about how much water, how many bags to fix and how long to cook things.  That's what happens when there are eight Indian Chiefs in the kitchen.  It meant food went in the ovens sooner than it should have and was done 15 minutes ahead of schedule.

We loaded it all into the back of my truck (the seats fold down) and into Chairman Len's SUV.  Luckily, the gravy went in HIS car.  

We arrived 30 minutes early, which caused some distress to the party hostess who insisted we wait until 5:00.  It's getting cold folks .... let's get this show on the road!

At long last, let the serving begin!  This time the quiet group of Boy Scouts showed up to help serve about 60 people inside the building, before eating themselves.  Note to the Chairman ..... make the kids eat LAST so we don't run out of food.  

For those that cannot come to the table, there were order forms for take-out boxes.  I made up 35 of those, which the Boy Scouts delivered.  Unfortunately we ran out of potatoes with three orders left to fill.    Everything else came out perfectly, a FIRST!!  

This is the Bingo dirty thirty, whittled down to the five people on the right.  These guys are the best and never fail to show up and help.

I hauled people and dirty silverware back to the lodge and cleaned up the kitchen, then helped put away eight HUGE boxes of ribs for tonight's dinner.  All of that only because somewhere in the walk-in freezer was a box of two turkeys with my name on it.  

I've been trying to tack on my two to the order for three years.  These turkeys are SO good!!  In the not to distant future, you will probably see one here, cooked to perfection.  Well, ALMOST to perfection.  

In spite of feeling better, I'm going to spend one or two more boring days on the couch watching the ever popular Christmas movies (the alternative is Murder Next Door or Evil Lives Here) where the plot never fails.  Guy meets girl, they get along great, guy has fight with girl over "something", one of them figures out how wrong they were and they live happily ever after in a cute little town of 500 people while it snows.  

I guess I better find a tiny little town to move to, or I will never meet my soon-to-be-king Prince Charming, my soul mate, or the love of my life or ............ yeah you know what I mean!!  

If It Could, It DID ...

Same old, same old.  I spent most of the day on the couch trying not to cough until it was time to head on out to the Magic Kingdom.  I skipped the happy hour and really didn't feel that bad as I walked down the steps to the dungeon with a wool scarf wrapped completely around my face.

You know the old saying, if it could happen, it will .... and it DID.  Right off the bat, the tables and chairs were not set up.  Apparently some other function ran VERY late.  I ignored it and traveled on to my station.  It was set-up time and I knew I would be doing that alone.

The first moment of panic .... the infernal machine was sitting on the floor, when it SHOULD have been sitting on top of six huge boxes of bingo cards.  That means we are OUT of lucky cards that win people money.  Hmmmm me thinks there is a new "order" person.  Hopefully we can skinny by.

I continued set up and counted out the cash box.  At least THIS time it was correct, whereas LAST time it was short ... the perfect way to start the evening.  About that time, the purveyor of all things sick and flu-like who gave me this lovely infliction, came and sat down next to me.

I frantically looked for my regular helper, who was nowhere in sight.  I hugged the wall, staying as far away as possible.  The evening began with a crazy credit card cancellation.  I forgot to check that ONE card.  We only allow debit cards ... NO credit card gambling here.

The mini me machine usually tells me what's going on, but this time it coughed (something like me) and didn't spit out the paperwork.  I've no idea whether it went through or not.  RATS!!

Then there was the lady who said I didn't give her the correct change ... and the one who lost her red ticket under the table, saying I didn't give it to her ... and the one who said she only got two cards instead of the three she paid for.  You got it ... if it could go wrong, it DID.

Even though I knew better than to leave those two in charge of the infernal machine, I said the heck with it and wandered off to the Henchman's Rack in back.  Time to torture and panic the new "order" girl.

If she didn't find the paperwork and call in for stock, there would be no Bingo next week.  Little did she know when she volunteered, this is a chamber of horrors!!  Not really, it's just that no one explains what you are supposed to do.  She had this blank stare as I showed her what to order.

That's when I practiced my disappearing act and slipped out the back door.  I was back on the couch by 7:00!!  Too bad I can't stay there today!

The Elks (really just four of us) are cooking a full Christmas dinner for the Senior Living Facility in town.  The whole shebang .... turkey, dressing, potatoes, gravy, sweet potatoes, green been casserole, not to mention pies for dessert.  I can't beg out of this one, but I'm going to do all my cooking from a chair.

By the way .... I found the perfect solution for those terrible biscuits.  Believe it or not, they made great bread for a turkey sandwich!  They are the perfect size, don't fall apart and if you add enough mayo and cranberry sauce, they taste pretty good.  I snatched them from the cemetery staging area and put them in the freezer.  Waste not, want not!!

Fudge and Fondue

Feed a cold ..... starve a fever ..... isn't that it?  Surprisingly, I haven't been feeling so terrible that I didn't want to do SOMETHING, and of course that something is COOK.  In between that I've been on the couch wrapped in an old electric blanket.  Miss Jessie loves it.  Her favorite spot is underneath, completely covered up.

I may have mentioned (honestly my head is rather muddled) about the fudge I was going to make.  Talk about an easy recipe ... there are only TWO ingredients.  Three if you count the walnuts I added.

This just might make that perfect Christmas gift for your neighbor.  One 12 ounce package of Nestle chocolate chips and one can of sweetened condensed milk.  That's it!!  Instant fudge!

Heat on the stove VERY slowly, which is why you see the pan off the heat, until the chips are completely melted.  Quickly stir in nuts if you wish, then pour it into a pan lined with either parchment paper or foil.

Cool in the fridge, then cut into squares.  How simple is that?  I have to say, and this actually was made BEFORE I lost my taste buds, it's pretty darn good!!  Super simple!!

Remember the Walmart internet shopping trip?  Just a note here .... if you think that will keep you from making impulse buys, you would be incorrect.  Just before you hit the ORDER button, it asks if you need anything else ... followed by lots of pretty pictures.  

Totally on impulse, I clicked on Pillsbury biscuits.  What was I thinking?  I hate these things.  Maybe I was hoping they had changed in the last 20 years.  They have not.  Although I love the crispy outside, the flaky inside is still the same gooey stuff that won't soak up butter, letting it run all down your hand.

The taste wasn't anywhere near what I remembered, but then I do have a bad cold.  These are definitely burying material.  Or maybe I'll just throw them out back for the birds.

What about the fondue?  Well ..... while perusing the website of Yankee Hill Cooking School, I spotted their next class .... FONDUE.  I have very fond memories of going to the Jamestown Hotel (at least I think that's where it was) and having fondue with the Chance family many MANY moons ago.  It was fabulous!

By the time I signed up, I was fourth on the waiting list.  These classes are VERY popular, mostly because Chef Ron is a hoot.  I called yesterday just to see where I was on the list.  Chef Ron himself called me back and said YOU'RE IN!!!  

I'm so excited!!!  It's probably a skill I will never use the rest of my life, but it will be fun to learn the ropes anyway.  Maybe I can surprise my RV group with a tasty treat.  To be honest, it will surprise ME if I can create a tasty treat of fondue!!  So dig out those old pots you have laying around!!

I actually felt good enough yesterday to finish up the January RV rally paperwork, including rig numbers, maps and all the stuff to allow 20 rigs to seamlessly enter the fairgrounds and be parked with a large party spot.  Check that off the to-do list.

This morning I'm coughing a bit, stuffy head and all that, but think I'll be good to go to Bingo this afternoon.  My plan is to get them through the first wave of 120 people, then sneak out the back door.  I'll let you know how it goes.

SNEEZE!!!!!  Bless me!!  Cough, cough .......

On The Mend With Cheesecake?

So ....... as you guessed it, I'm still sick.  I was awake at 3:30 and figured I might as well get up.  It's easier to cough and sneeze sitting up than laying down in bed.  I hate being sick.

I don't want to jinx it, but I did feel MUCH better yesterday, almost like a REAL person and not a sneezing machine.  

Prior to this lovely cold visiting me, I thought to make my famous white chocolate cheesecake for Christmas.  Trouble was, you can only get the wonderful chocolate at Trader Joe's, a mere 45 miles away.   

I opted for a variety from Safeway, only 30 miles away.  Once made, I couldn't remember if I needed to bake it in a hot water bath or not, and of course there was no mention on the recipe from my Chef friend.  

I can now tell you, the answer is YES.  I thought it looked a little "heavy" when it came out of the oven after 1-1/2 hours at 250.  Once cooled, it went in the freezer.  Being sick, my brain wasn't really working well when I decided it just might cure my cold.

I was wrong ... it didn't cure anything.  It was in fact so heavy it would have broken my foot had I dropped it.  It had no white chocolate taste, although I chock that up to being sick.  My taste buds are pretty much on vacation.  If it was swimming in cherry pie filling, it might be edible.    Maybe I should try Overnight Oats instead.

THIS is my thank you for shopping Walmart.  A free gift if you will.  Overnight oats?  Never heard of it.  I read the directions.  Pour in milk (or milk substitute) ... I'm not kidding, that's what it said ... and place in the refrigerator overnight for a wonderful chilled breakfast in the morning.  

Who the heck wants a COLD CHILLED breakfast?  Certainly not me.  I want something hot and steamy.  I'm pretty sure this product will be an epic fail.  What were they thinking?

Truthfully, it probably wouldn't matter what I ate.  I couldn't even taste the grilled cheese sandwich I made yesterday.

I'm pretty sure coughing and the accompanying sore stomach muscles are on their way.  I'm hoping it passes as fast as everything else did, since tomorrow is BINGO night.  I would call in sick, but the Castle Lawyer is out of town the entire month of December.  

I'll be back on the couch .... after I go buy a bottle of Vicks!

Walmart ..... Who Knew??

I sneezed 589 times yesterday.  I know that number because I kept count.  At least up until the 500 mark where I lost count due to the pressure in my head.  I thought my brain was going to explode!!  I went through two boxes of kleenex while lounging on the couch.  Not really lounging, lets just say I never had the energy to stand up.

I did find out something interesting however .... the only redeeming factor of being sick .... Walmart can be a lifesaver.  Who knew?  Or better yet, who has tried it??  

Most of the time I spent dozing off on the couch with the puppies and a king sized blanket.  In one of my more lucid moments, I began craving salad.  Something MORE than the horrible tasting Nutrisystem stuff I have in the freezer.  Not that I could really taste anything.

Slowly, out of the muck in the back of my little brain, I remembered something about Walmart's newest gig .... order on-line and just drive to the designated pickup spot.  There couldn't be a more perfect time to try out this service.

I drug myself to the computer and began the process.  Super simple, at least if you aren't sick.  It took me a couple of tries, but I finally got it down.  You can order practically ANYTHING!  I opted to skip the lettuce, in light of the current situation, and went with bag-o-spinach.  Hmmm I'm out of sugar (click), sweetened condensed milk (click click click) and just to test the process, two tomatoes and an avocado, along with other flotsam to make the order over the minimum of $30.  DONE!

Now to look at the pickup times.  There were LOTS of choices, but the same day at 5:00 worked for me.  It was 11:00 when I placed the order.  I clicked the button to charge everything to my credit card.

Sure enough, at 4:30 I got an email saying my order was ready for pickup.  I jumped in my truck as is, torn jeans, slippers and a twice worn shirt.  I donned a pair of sunglasses, even though it was overcast and I could barely see, to cover up the no-makeup face and swollen eyes.  The hair was wild and crazy, but I didn't care.  

I pulled up to the pickup area where I found six reserved "pickup" spots.  On the sign was a phone number to call announcing my presence.  I could have "checked in" with my phone but didn't really want Walmart to know where I was every second of the day.  Turn OFF the location services.

In less than 5 minutes, a nice gentleman brought a cart to my truck and loaded everything in the back seat.  I quickly signed my name and was OFF, sneezing all the way.

Of course they charged me for FIVE bags, two of them only having ONE ITEM EACH.  I'll talk to them about that later, but first, I wanted to savor that salad.  Believe it or not, the tomatoes were perfect.  Exactly what I would have picked.  

The REAL test was the avocado.  It was pretty soft, so I expected to throw it away.  Amazing, it was absolutely PERFECT!!  To make this service even better, they will actually DELIVER to your house.  I've no idea what the cost is, but I'm not kidding, it's worth it when you're sick.

They guarantee the prices are the same as in the store, with NO extra charges, other than maybe too many 10 cent bags.  I also really liked the web page showing not only their brands, but name brand items with all the prices listed.  This is the best thing since peanut butter for a sickie on a couch-only day.

I did order some 2032 batteries, which they did not have.  That amount was deleted from the order and my card credited for the amount.

If you detest shopping, this service is for you.  Truthfully, Walmart would not be my first choice for groceries, but with a service like this, I may just have to change that.  Try it ... you just might like it!!!

Here We Go Again!!!

It's a good thing my camera is turned off.  You would be looking at a wreck that would scare you half to death!  Yup .... SICK AGAIN!  On top of that, I'm irritated.  Irritated that Jane X came to Bingo to help out and instead gave me her cold/cough/flu.

Honestly, I did try to run away from her.  It was all the coughing without covering her mouth that got me.  Why do people DO that??  PLEASE PLEASE if you are sick, STAY HOME!!!!!

I was so happy the gargling suggestions worked like a charm.  Both peroxide and salt water did the trick in no time.  I was even able to eat dinner, such as it was.  That's when the sneezing began.  Huge raging sneezes that lifted me right up off the couch.

In no time my nose was running like a faucet and a box of kleenex was my friend.  I went to bed at 11:30 and was up at 3:00.  Everything hurts, including my ears, my teeth, my eyes ... from the neck up it's a total wasteland!

So I'm sorry to say there's really no blog today.  The pressure in my head has squeezed out all the good thoughts.  Hopefully I'll be in better shape tomorrow.  #I'mnotcountingonit  #sickasadog