Still Alive And Kicking ...

Everyone still here?  According to the dramatic news media, we might all have been killed off by the sky falling, or at the very least, blind from looking at the sun.  

I have to admit, the sun is so bright, you can't see anything if you DO look, so there's that, unless you are right in the path.  Here's my rig all set up and ready to go.

A few years back when I had enough time to think about it, I found a weird piece of black plastic specifically for taking eclipse images.  It's rather mangled now, but I was still able to rubber band it on the lens.  Initially it wasn't too bad, but the higher the sun got in the sky, the more tilted the camera had to be.  I was sure it would fall over.

Here's my neighbor's horses, all set for the viewing.  You can't be too careful!!

Even Cooper got in on the act.

Well that didn't last long, so he had to stay inside.  He was having none of it.

AND HERE IT IS ... THE ECLIPSE!!!  You have to squint your eyes a bit.

Surprisingly, the moon was right on time and began the show at 10:15 at my location.  I was a little distracted by the standoff being held on my fence.  Lots of kitty kitties hang out here, using my fence line as their personal highway.  

Only look here ... ACCIDENT!!  Looks like a rollover to me.  This baby was lounging in the sun in the middle of the highway.  We only had a 45% eclipse, so it was not that sunny and quite a bit colder.  The standoff lasted for over an hour.  No one came to clear the road, so the above kitty turned around and went back where he came from.

Two hours later, quite tired of standing and holding the tripod for the last 30 minutes for fear it would fall over ... I headed back inside for some photoshop.  I discovered I haven't done this in quite some time.  It took a few tries to get it going.  It looks like the bite of a Gila monster, yes?  Not near as dramatic as the media played it out to be (at least here), but fun to photograph none the less.

It was a nice sunny day with a very chilly wind.  Hopefully the weather guessers are right this week when we MAY get four days of 80 degree weather.  Won't that be amazing ... and then it's going to rain again.  Gosh, I sure wish Mother Nature would make up her mind.  I could use a little more grilling on the lounge chair.

AND ... it's going to be another rousing night of BINGO!!!!  Hopefully the Castle Counter can be there tonight and things go swimmingly.  Oh ... and we will see just how many people looked at the sun!

Short and Boring

What's the saying ... April showers bring May flowers?  🌺 🌸  There should be a passel of them coming up soon.  It looks nice and warm, but it was cold and windy enough that I stayed inside.  The sun just wasn't warm enough.  

I messed around the house doing my very best to tidy up, but discovered I was just moving stuff from one spot to another.  Mostly it went into the back rooms so I didn't see it any more.  I lost the book I was reading, along with my phone ... TWICE.  

I gave up and sat down on the couch.  That was a mistake.  Literally in two seconds I was asleep, passed out like Mr. Cooper here.  I did my best impression of him for an entire HOUR.

Wow ... that's just not me.  I finally got my act together and we went out in the cold for a nice long walk.  That didn't work out so well either.  Cooper wasn't having any of the cold wind.  I felt so bad when later I discovered a big sticker sticking him in the belly.  No wonder he didn't want to walk.

The rest of the day was boring city.  I did laundry, got a fantastic workout trying to get the sheets on my bed and ordered a small crockpot from Amazon, thanks to Elva.  I don't use the three that are in my closet, so I need a new one, don't ya know?  The others are WAY too big and hard to clean.  They will be donated to the Bingo crowd.

All that lack of exercise killed my appetite.  I pulled out one of the last dinner servings and cut it in half.  Why I keep eating WAY too much food when I'm not even hungry, is beyond me.  Oh wait ... there are starving children in the world.  We didn't have much on the ranch because the cattle came first.  If you didn't eat all the food on your plate, you sat there until you DID.  To this day, I clean my plate every single time, no matter what.

Dessert is of course mandatory.  Here's a picture of that pineapple upside down cake I devoured last time.  I got two freebies in that order ... and boy were they good!!  I savored every bite.  I might even have to get out my cast iron skillet and make my own.

I'm all set up for the solar eclipse today.  From the news I hear, Armageddon is going to happen.  It's interesting that it didn't happen last October when I took this photo.  Hopefully we will survive this one and the earthquakes caused by climate change.  Funny how everything is caused by climate change nowadays, and here I thought it was tectonic plates.

That's it folks ... a pretty boring day.  Let's hope tomorrow is better since it will be another day of rousing BINGO!!!

Dueling Pianos

The best part of the day was laying out in the sun.  Here's my view.  When I was younger and would actually wear a bathing suit, mostly because there were a lot of trips to Hawaii, I would lay out every day. I know, it's not good for you, but it was better than getting scorched in the sun while swimming and diving in the ocean all day.  Anyone remember the days of baby oil and iodine?  

Basting evenly is all important.  Here's my view when I turned over.  Here's my plan ... every day I will move the lounge chair a little further over so I can pull the weeds while I'm getting toasted.  I'm absolutely certain they will NEVER disappear at the hands of the gardeners, so I'm doing it myself.

It was a lovely day, but soon turned cold and breezy, not a fitting environment for a tan.  In no time I was off to the local fairgrounds for Dueling Pianos.  This is actually a dinner (or at least I thought it was) for CASA ... Court Appointed Special Advocates.  In case you were not aware, foster kids usually get taken in by people who are not that great at parenting.  It's all about the money.

Why the system is so bad, I've no idea, but this organization provides advocates for the kids, appointed by the courts, to be sure the kids are okay and get what they need, even if it means moving them to another home.  It's an awful situation, but these folks, mostly judges, are trying to make it better.

The Elks Lodge is all about donating for kids.  Bingo and our RV Park donate all their proceeds to charities ... and this one is a good one.  We paid for the Dueling Pianos entertainment, for which we received a table for eight.  That's so each of us can bid on other items up for auction.  Can you tell I arrived first?  I knew there was very little parking at this venue.

Ummm yeah, I thought this would be all about dueling pianos like the picture.  I was wrong.

In no time our table was a cluttered mess.  That's the list of items up for bid and my bid number on the right.  There was wine available, but honestly, no room to put anything, let alone a plate of food.

My bid number stayed upside down most of the night.  This is a pricey one.  Even the silent auction stuff (not all that great in my eyes) was going for $500 and up.  That's not in my budget.  About that time, a very weird looking guy came up, patted me on the shoulder and bowed, while pointing to the Elks logo.  What?  I didn't get it until later.

Here's the strange part.  I was expecting dinner.  Where's the food?  Four stations set up around the room had food that you went and got for yourself.  The one right next to us was pasta from the best restaurant in town.  It wasn't bad, but I kept tasting that stuff all night long.  My bad ... I ate the whole thing.

One station had mini tacos (I passed) and one had sliders.  I would have taken the pulled pork, but they were out when I was there, so I grabbed a barbecued tri-tip slider.  It was REALLY good, but I completely forgot it had a nice thick BUN.  Those don't like me at all.  Hey ... let's make it worse with the dessert auction.

Also different, your table decided how much they wanted to put in the envelope.  Whoever donated the most, got first choice of desserts.  We got second choice because Bingo donated yet again.  I won't tell you what this cake cost because you would rightly pass out instantly.  It was probably the best cake I've had in my life, 80% of which was frosting.  Cutting it made a pretty big mess.

I mean it was just amazing, but instantly began a fight with the pasta.  Oh my aching stomach.

The weird guy bowing?  That's him on the far piano.  Apparently he was thanking the Elks for paying for their performance.  You thought this would be some amazing pianists playing back and forth on baby grands?  Me too.  

Nope .... it was a rock band of two old(er) people playing electronic pianos under pink and blue flashing lights.  There was no dueling pianos, just rock and roll songs.  Oh my gosh ... they were so loud in this terrible-acoustic building that I had to cover my ears.  They took requests if you threw in at least a $20 bill (many tossed in $100 bills), all of which went to CASA.  They had people up dancing and singing like crazy.  Really, they were a great duo ... getting everyone to dance and sing along like that.

The funniest part ... I didn't know a single person there except my table mates.  Apparently I don't get out enough.  Here's some of what the auction brought in.  Four tickets to a Giants Baseball Game with the Los Angeles Dodgers ... $1100.  A party in a barn for 30 folks ... $1800.  A day at the gun range with the Police Chief ... $1600.  You're going to laugh at this one ... a hotel room in our tiny little Motel-6-town for one night, dinner and drinks, along with ice cream.  No kidding, it went for $1000.

Seven days in a mountain cabin ... $4000 and a chuck wagon meal with our Sheriff (you've heard me talk about his cooking) went for $4750.  That's WAY above my pay grade.  When they got down to the cash donations, on the MUCH lower end, I finally raised my bidding number.  

That's when I snuck out of the building while my ears were still semi intact.  They rang so much I didn't get any sleep.  It would have been so much nicer had they toned it down a LOT.  Still, it was a great night for a good cause.  

My stomach no longer complaineth!!  It's still going to be another recuperation day!!

Yup ... It's DEAD!

 It was another 42 degree day with blowing wind this morning.  I guess I'm pretty lucky not to live in the foothills.  The storm hit there with some ferocity.  This is at around 2,000 foot elevation.  Lots of snow and trees down everywhere.  I'm not surprised since we've had so much rain.  I think 3-4 inches of snow and the entire countryside shuts down.  Businesses closed, schools closed.  

It's funny that no one remembers this was the norm some years ago.  I don't remember anyone closing down over a little snow.  It was business as usual.  Like Dave mentioned ... I think it's because the media has become so DRAMATIC about everything ... including the upcoming eclipse.  THE SKY IS FALLING!!  They must have missed the last one because there was hardly a word.

Around here we just had lots of pretty clouds passing over.  I spent yet ANOTHER two hours going over the budget, trying to figure out the problem with the new report.  I finally got it, but could have saved myself HOURS if those two reports had the accounts in the same order.  Apparently in the NEW system, the account numbers are in a different order, depending on what report you print out.  What the heck????

With a big sigh of relief once again, Cooper and I lounged on the couch for a snuggle fest.  He just insists on sleeping right next to me.  I of course, don't want to wake him up.  If I'm lucky, I might catch a few Zzzz's too.

I had a lunch date with my friend from Sacramento, so I got all gussied up once again.  She was bringing her new "friend" and I was dressed to impress.  I didn't want him to think she had a homeless gal for a bestie.  It was all for naught.  Turns out they had breakfast at 10:00, so no use eating again at noon.  They headed home ... I headed to Walmart for some groceries.  

Let me just say .... leave your dog home.  Barking could be heard across the entire building.  LOUD barking.  Unfortunately I had to go down that aisle.  There was a basket with a big blanket inside and a big dog barking at everyone that walked by.  Not just little barks either ... crazy loud barking that didn't stop.  I could hear her saying hush ... hush ... but obviously that wasn't working.  I can't believe they let her continue shopping.  She didn't even PRETEND it was a service dog.

I also couldn't believe the price of this tri tip.  It's one of the cheapest pieces of meat on a cow.  It should be about ten bucks.  I was looking for a pork roast to smoke, but they were priced even higher.  Who can afford this?  I settled for cheap frozen hamburgers.  The cost of food is just out of sight.  I don't think I've ever seen inflation this high in my lifetime!

On the way back into my driveway, much lighter after that $90.00 grocery bill that got me very little in edible things, I thought to check out the weed killer.  Yup .... it's working quite nicely.  I don't know what they have in mind, but it better be sod.  I'm not going for the "here's some grass seeds".  This is about 50 feet worth of damage.  And how long will it remain in the soil?  There's a pre-emergent there.  Guess I better do some homework on how that stuff works.

In a flash, the afternoon was gone.  That's when I caught Jon red handed.  He chewed the end off his perch and fell to the floor with a crash.  He looks so innocent!  No worries, this one was only 3" off the floor, but his favorite place to hang out.  Yup their beaks are weapons of destruction.  It took all of five minutes to do this.  You can imagine what he could do to your furniture!!  I have a replacement somewhere .......

Time for another dinner that I have to actually cook.  I admit, it's not hard to prepare these, most taking a mere 30 minutes.  It does help if you read the recipe twelve times and remember to put in the last few ingredients ... which I did not.  This is pork meatloaf with parmesan ... something I've never tried before.  This picture is not a true representation because there are NO pieces of tomato in the sauce as shown here.

Of course there was a big cleanup when the spaghetti boiled all over the stove in spite of turning it down.  The meat loaves are formed individually and baked in the oven.  There's a lot of baking involved with these dishes, which is good ... less cleanup.  I made three instead of two.  I should have made four.

There was more than enough to feed four people from this one meal.  Not bad, yes?  This one was delicious and a keeper!!  I'll be having it again soon if I can figure out what was in that spice packet.

And so ended another nice day of good ... not burned ... food.  And then the storms came in once again.  Black clouds ... so black it was scary.  Tornado looking weather that passed by with no rain here.

Today I'll get gussied up once again ... not really, I'm wearing Levis ... for Dualing Pianos.  Seriously, this town is NOT into that kind of thing, but one of the local charities Bingo donates to has brought them to town.  

Bingo paid for the pianos and TWO tables for dinner, to benefit foster kids in our county.  This is a new one for us, so I'll report on the festivities tomorrow ... when I have NOTHING planned but to hang out on the couch!!

Seeing In The Dark

 AND ....... we are back to winter!!  We should be lounging out in the warm sunshine this time of year, but alas (BIG SIGH) we are back to the wet stuff.  Not only is it wet, but it's HARD.  Snow down to 2000 feet  and hailing like crazy here.  I didn't look at the thermometer ... I didn't want to know.

Locked inside once again, I picked up, reorganized and moved things from one spot to another.  I'm sure you know the drill.  I need to keep this, but really don't have a place for it.  What will happen is I will need it next week and I won't be able to find it!

What I DID discover, was all that budget work I did?  The copies have the wrong year noted at the top.  Our Keeper of the Books is now sick, as I once was.  She promised to fix it, but it seems her computer and the accounting system is the Wicked Sister of the West to my Infernal Machine.  She spent hours on it before forgetting what I REALLY asked for.

When I got to the lodge ... all gussied up in my blue jacket and gray skirt with a scarf tied around my neck like a noose ... there was a frantic note attached to a bundle of papers.  The numbers were NOT what they should be.  So much for the spiel I had written for the presentation of the budget at the meeting.  I cancelled it all.

I spent the next hour pouring over them one by one ... in the dark.  Why?  Because all I had were my sun glasses.  Somehow my reading glasses got left on the counter.  I hate it when that happens.  Seventy five minutes later ... TA DAH!!!  I found the three mistakes causing all the havoc.  We can fix them today.  Time for DINNER!

This is Law Enforcement Night.  Our good friend the Sheriff hauls out several of his deputies to cook for us.  It's always fabulous because he does things like cut up piles of onions and add them to the scalloped potatoes.  He also makes up a batch of his special sauce that makes steak taste better than steak.

Two hundred and nine Elks went through the line as I prayed there would be food left over.  I'm the ticket taker (incognito in my dark glasses), so I eat last.  There was also a nice salad that they forgot to put out on the table.  When I asked about it, a frenzy of men went running for the fridge.  Oops ... they forgot all about it.  I never did see it because I had to scarf down as much food as I could before the meeting started.  There was this much left over.  The Elks don't skimp on dinner.

Off with their heads!!!  I mean off to the meeting we went!!  Wasn't I surprised when the Boss asked for the budget report.  No no ... remember just an hour ago I told you we didn't have it ready?  I stood up, said WE HAVE A BUDGET, and clapped my hands.  I got a rousing ovation.  That was it ... I sat back down.  I'll save my speech for the next meeting when we vote on it.

Driving home in the dark with dark glasses was an experience.  I have to admit though ... my experimental eyes (the result of cataract surgery and needing to see student dive computers underwater) that are usually blinded by the light ... could see amazingly well because I wasn't blinded by the light!  I may have to use that trick again.

Speaking of blinded by the light ... on Monday another eclipse will appear.  Not as big as this one from last year because we are not in the sightline.  Sadly however, all my RV friends who took the cruise south to BE in the sightline may be disappointed.  It's supposed to be stormy with full cloud cover over there, while sunny and visible here.  Let's hope the weather guessers are wrong.

I'm recouping once again from a late night at the lodge while water falls from the sky.  Thirty miles up the road it's snowing and will continue all day.  Maybe ... just MAYBE ... the forecast for sunny and 80 degrees for the next nine days will come to fruition!!  I'm not holding my breath!

Recuperating .......

 Bingo nights always result in a lack of sleep.  I rarely get to bed before 11:30 and DING ... the alarm in my head goes off at 4:00.  I try to lay motionless until 4:30.  The slightest bit of movement proves I'm awake, which is followed by the kid digging holes under my arm.  

If I'm really lucky, I remember to turn the alarm off before opening the back door.  I even posted a HUGE note on the window ... ALARM ... so I don't forget in my morning foggy haze, sans coffee.

So here we are back at the lamby prize Cooper got from my foray into Marshalls.  I have to admit their prices are low and their products exceptional, considering todays economy.  Normally $10, this was $5.  Really nice cotton bath towels regularly $20 at any other store, were $7.  You can't beat that with a stick.

He smelled it the second I came in the door.  Mr. Cooper walked on his hind legs clear across the kitchen.

Maybe this was a mistake.  I listened to this squeaking for the next two hours.  When he pushes it with his nose, that's my cue to throw it.  Repeat ... repeat ... repeat ... you get the picture.  For a fourteen year old pup, he sure has a lot of energy!

At long last I throw my hands up and say NO MORE.  That's his cue to snuggle up with it on the couch.

By noon I was ready to greet the world.  But first ..... GAME CHANGER.  Whoever suggested I toast up the zucchini bread and smother it in butter ... though I'm not sure that last part was included ... is a genius! I'm pretty sure I'm going to eat all four loaves, not even sharing with Jonathan.  Please take a bow ... it was SO much better!!!  I may even make some more!

Since I had an afternoon appointment, I went to cooking up the next batch of Hello Fresh.  As you know, I'm all about easy.  This pork bowl dish was just that.  I have to admit, their ideas of adding grated ginger or lime zest to rice just adds so much more flavor.  This one had lime zest and a little butter added.  

The ground pork (you could easily substitute turkey) cooked up quickly, followed by soy sauce and veggie broth.  Add carrots (already cut up ... I like that part) and it was done.  It took less than 15 minutes. Of course this is the "pretty" picture.

It was topped with a mayo and sweet Thai chili sauce dressing, of which I didn't use much.  The mayo part kind of put me off, but it really wasn't bad after all.  Then came the crispy fried onions.  You can't see much of anything since I smothered it in onions!!  

A little lime juice and VOILA!  A mighty tasty dinner was served!  The best part, I have three more meals in the fridge from this one batch, meaning I don't have to cook for TWO days!!  To make it even better, I don't have to go shopping for ingredients!!  In case you were wondering, I pay $45 for the box.  There are  two meals per box, two servings for each meal.  Because their serving size is always big, that equates to 8 meals for me every time.  

Know what's even BETTER?  Isn't this just gorgeous?  A beautiful little pineapple upside down cake for dessert.  Obviously I inhaled it.  This is my something free for life.  Sometimes I pick breakfast things, sometimes I pick ..... okay MOSTLY I pick ... dessert items.  It was so good I ate it before I could even take a picture.  

Literally the rest of the afternoon, I spent at an appointment.  FINALLY my haircut gal got back from her Panama Canal vacation.  Yup she's that good that customers wait in line.  This is a BEAUTY shop, right?  They are supposed to make you BEAUTIFUL!

Well after three hours, I'm sad to say it didn't work.  When they spin you around in that chair, you expect to see magnificent long curly locks with the face of a 20 year old.  Well not so much!  It's always a shock!!

As usual, it's WAY too short, but as usual, it will grow out ... eventually.  

The rest of the day was spent mostly on the floor with my little old man Cooper.  He can be pretty demanding when it comes to play time.  I might possibly have recuperated just enough for the next Lodge meeting tonight.  When I took this job, I never realized just how much time is required.  I really can't complain I guess ... it's always for a good cause ... and tonight is Law Enforcement Night.  How could I miss that!!!

It Was One Of Those Nights

 It was a head shaking night at the Magic Castle of Bingo.  I'm a little worse for wear this morning as I sip my wonderful fake coffee.  This may even be a three-cup morning.  It's definitely going to be a three aspirin morning!!

But first, today is the day.  I tried out the latest bread craze.  Patsy and Dave both have sung the praises of this new Keto low carb seeded bread.  I admit, I do love BREAD!  Especially hot and smothered in butter.  I can't believe I paid that much for one small loaf ... $7.59 in fact.  I imagine it's probably cheaper other places, but there's only one store here that carries it.

I will definitely cut it down to one piece per day.  It was rather dry, especially with just scrambled eggs ... more butter please!!  Yes, the little pile off to the left is Cooper's.  Mom doesn't get to eat ANYTHING without sharing ... but ONLY good for him stuff.  

I skipped lunch.  I was off to the Castle to sign checks and pick up budget stuff.  An hour later I tiptoed down to the dungeon.  First up ... a trip to the Outhouse.  There was NO paper.  Not TP nor paper towels.  I of course called the King, who said to talk to the staff.  

No problem they said ... we are taking care of it now.  No they weren't.  Thirty minutes later there was a clamor in the Castle outhouse.  With no staff to be seen, one of the girls and I would have to fill them up, but for the life of us we could not figure out how to get the container open.  It was pretty hilarious for two seconds.  Finally the King had to come and fix it.  It was an omen.

My Lady in Waiting was not going to partake in the festivities on this night, so I had to shanghai a peasant.  I found a willing body, but she had never done it before.  I was very wary, but she was the only one I could drag to the table.  We got everything set up and waited.  I heard crickets in the back pull tab room.  No one showed up to work that section.  Soon I heard crickets in the Bingo room also.  Where is everyone?

I trekked out to see if the moat was closed.  Nope ... the drawbridge was down.  Apparently none of the 20 peasants outside the door actually thought to pull on the handle and OPEN the door.  They flooded in and headed to the NEXT barrier.

It was chaos for twenty minutes because they can't come in until the back room is ready to go.  At last the Knights showed up to save the day.  We opened late to pitchforks and flaming torches ... a definite NO NO in Bingoland.

That's when the next big fiasco hit.  The lady picked her cards and used the mini infernal machine to pay. Declined.  We tried again.  Declined ... whereupon she threw her cards at me and said she would be back.  She was holding a red dobber.  

I looked down at the table and her cards to see red spots.  Someone said HER DOBBER IS LEAKING.  No ... no it wasn't.  I grabbed some tissues to clean it up, only to find out it was blood.  Of course everyone panicked. I stopped the entire show and sent my new girl Friday after the King.  He brought back lots of cleaning supplies while I washed my hands three times before spraying them with sanitizer.  Update:  Apparently she had a nose bleed and eventually came back an hour later, not saying a word to anyone.

Here's my dinner.  Though I went to the kitchen and ordered my normal chicken tenders ... no fries ... somehow the scullery maid with purple hair forgot to PLACE the order.  When I went back 30 minutes later there was nothing with my name on it.  Chips ... I ate Lays chips for dinner.

The next two hours were spent trying to go over the budget with a fellow Elk while selling bingo cards and paying out winnings.  I finally gave up.  There was just no way to concentrate.  At long last I cashed out the infernal machine and locked everything up.  A very big long sigh of relief could be heard throughout the dungeon.

And so this morning, recovery begins.  That involves lots of coffee ... and maybe some Cooper puppy snuggles to make it all better, followed by FOOD ... I NEED FOOD!!

Alcohol and Honey

Yay for sun ... we are getting two whole days of the bright stuff.  Too bad I spent most of the first day inside.  It's time to do the MONTHLY inventory of supplies at the lodge.  Good grief ... they do this every single month?

Since I'm now 5th year Trustee, they say it's my job to watch.  Watch what I asked.  The counting of the bottles.  Are you kidding ... you mean every month they have to count every single bottle of alcohol, including wine and beer?  

As I drove up to the building at 8:30 in the morning, I thought for sure this was an April Fools joke.  Nope ... they actually do this.  If there is one full bottle and one maybe a third full, they call out 1.3 JD (for Jack Daniels).  

From here they went to the downstairs bar, and then to the locked alcohol storage room, and then to the kitchen pantry to count all the food, and then to the freezer ..... you get the picture.  Lets just say it was a  L. O. N. G. morning.  Just so you know, there were no sips taken.

By noon I was starving.  That gift card was burning a hole in my pocket, so I made a beeline for Habit Burger.  THIS time I got my all time favorite bacon char burger with cheese.  Oh look ... they have something different on the menu.  Garlic Parmesan fries.  I'm really not a fan of potato fries ... I prefer SWEET potato fries ... but let's give it a shot.  

I was rather surprised to find a cup of ugly looking stuff to go with them.  Is this a dip?  It was too liquidy for that, so I poured it over the fries to find an entire tablespoon of garlic at the bottom.  Oooohhh I love garlic.  

It was a mistake.  Do NOT ... I repeat, do NOT get these.  There wasn't even enough parmesan to taste, and though the garlic did taste good, it made the fries even more soggy than they were originally.  Save yourself some money and skip these ... your breath will thank you.

On the other hand, that strawberry limeade is AMAZING!!  Here's the kicker ... this meal was $17.59.  Not kidding.  This was an April fools joke on me.  That huge salad I had?  $10.99.  Next time I will make better choices.

Stuffed to the gills, it was time to venture back out.  I was on the hunt for local HONEY.  Yes, that magic elixir that will clear up all my allergies, or so they say.

First stop ... Marshalls.  I shouldn't go in these stores, but I was in dire need of a small frying pan since I overcooked mine.  I can't believe there were that many people there at 10:00 in the morning.  The place was PACKED!!  Definitely a sign of the current administration's inflation rate.

You can't beat the prices, though it is dangerous for me to walk around.  There's just too much fun stuff.  The blue thing is an ice tray.  It makes big round balls of ice and will actually fit in my RV freezer.  A huge bottle of basil was $3.00 and is good until Dec 2025.  

Next stop .... after several phone calls trying to find local honey, I headed off to the Mennonite bakery/sandwich shop.  I talked to a guy who is a bee keeper for the big orchards around here.  His honey must be pretty good because it's really hard to find.  I never knew there were so many flavors. 

There was orange blossom and floral mix, along with a very dark one .. almost black in color.  He told me the floral one has alfalfa and wildflowers in it.  The honey tastes like the area where he has the bees.  

On the ranch, we got honey in 5 gallon drums.  In order to get it OUT of the drum, we had to let it sit on the floor heater until it melted ... then pour it into jars.  I don't know who ate it, but it wasn't me.

I'm not a honey eater.  Can you believe it?  It's too sweet for me.  I gave these a taste test when I got home.  The orange blossom is very light, with light flavors ... NOT including oranges.  The floral mix is much stronger flavored and thicker.  Weird.  The final test will be when I mix it with oats, nuts and peanut butter to make some healthy bars for dessert.  

Oh yes ... there was one more thing I found at the discount store.  You can tell someone was REALLY happy ... more on that tomorrow.

BECAUSE ..... IT'S BINGO TIME!!

April fools!!!!

It was a very nice Easter day in not-so-sunny California.   I need some electric socks.  It's still chilly, down to the low 40's at night.  Morning looked like this.  Kind of eerie, so I double checked all the doors.  By the time the sun actually came up, the clouds had moved on for the most part and the sun peaked through.  The perfect weather for Easter egg hunting.  

Apparently that has been traced to Martin Luther, who had the men hide eggs for the women and children, to symbolize the hunt for the empty tomb of the risen Jesus.  In Germany it is said they hid them in thorny bushes and hard to reach places.  How fun for the kids. 

I had no idea.  I thought it was all about getting CANDY!!  Not that we got much as kids, but a few M&M's and jelly beans went a long way.  I was expecting a landslide of goodies on this day.  APRIL FOOL'S ... there were no Easter eggs or candy at this house!!  Here's my little bunny girl again.  She's just so darn cute!!

And so the day began with me laying out in the sun in my bikini for an hour while helicopters flew overhead.  April fools again ... you know THAT didn't happen!!  I have to admit though, I did sit out reading for quite some time, soaking up the warm sun.

I suppose I could have dyed and hidden some eggs, but I imagine they would be too easy to find.  Oh wait ... I could have hidden some for the foxy kids!!  Oh well ... too late now.

In between hand sewing, I did come up with a fabulous plan for Easter dinner.  I forgot the ham, but I found some smoked pork in the freezer.  Even better!!  Throw in a little refried beans and rice and I would be in like Flynn.  

My plan went up in smoke ... literally.  First off, there were no beans to be had.  Then I found this great recipe for Mexican rice, which I love.  I had to scrounge out in the rig for the ingredients, but find them I did.  Into the pot it all went.  When the timer went off, I opened the lid with great expectations of perfect rice.  

April fools once again.  Somehow the tomato paste and broth didn't get mixed in and it burned quite nicely. A beautiful color of black.  I don't care ... I'm eating it!!

That was a big mistake.  No matter what I ate after that first big bite, I could NOT get that burned taste out of my mouth.  Oh I ate some, but most of the plate, and ALL of the rice went in the trash.  So much for Easter Dinner!!

Maybe cookies will help.  While scrounging for rice in the rig, I found a package of cookie mix I got in Yuma at the $1.00 store.  I wasn't holding my breath on this one.  They were pumpkin ... perfect for Easter, yes?  I frosted them just like the picture on the package.  

Not a bad dinner ... with plenty of sugar to douse the burnt flavor.

I kept thinking this was not what I had planned for Easter, so I might as well head outside for the last of the sun.  This would be my first long walk since being sick.  For me, the best thing I can do is give my lungs a really good workout after being sick.  It cleans them out ... gives me energy and makes me feel better.  

The kitties agreed.  Obviously they don't particularly care for each other.  These are three of the five kids that roam the neighborhood.  I've never seen them so close together before.

In no time, I was running.  If you've ever been a runner, you know you just can't control that urge to run, no matter how you feel.  In a couple hundred feet, I was sucking down air like my vacuum.  Good grief I am out of shape.  The good news is I kept going, and soon my lungs opened up.  This morning I reap the benefits.  I can BREATHE!!!

That was it ... a totally boring but nice day.  I spent the evening watching some bull riding while Jonathan chewed his perch right off the side of the cage, landing in a big crash on the bottom.  I think he inherited my finesse.

Lastly, for those reading this morning, the brown and white quilt is called Hunter's Star Simplified by Calico Carriage Quilt Designs.  Let me know if you can't find it and I will pass it along.  And here's a picture of the purple one.  

This is an example of my bad color choices.  This was a jelly roll that I never liked because of the green fabric.  Then I made the big mistake of making it into a western design type quilt, the name of which escapes me.  I think it came from Missouri Star Quilt?

I'm off this morning way too early for an Elks alcohol inventory ... maybe I should take a swig or two ... before hunting down some local honey.  I'm not a fan of honey, but if it will help with the allergies, I'm all over it.