Another Month Disappears

 Well bless my soul, yet another month just vanished into thin air.  I just don't understand how that is happening in the snap of a finger.  Our weather has ratcheted up another notch for the next week, which means all of the campsites on the coast have been taken by people trying to escape the heat.  A few returned due to the tsunami warnings.

For those who were wondering, California is still here.  Sadly, I do NOT have oceanfront property.  The 8.8 earthquake has now officially been recorded as 8.3, causing a tsunami that hit Crescent City California.  Not as big as previous ones, but the high coastline there funnels water right into the harbor and the city.  

The harbor is known for its crab fishermen and their big boats.  Every time there was a tsunami warning or a big storm, my ex-father-in-law would take his big crab boat out a mile or two and ride out the storm.  Boy that would NOT be my idea of fun, but it worked every time.  The fishermen rarely lost a boat.  On the other hand, those smaller boats left at the dock are always thrashed about, causing lots of damage, not to mention sunken boats.  This time was no exception.  Otherwise, we are all still here, me with NO ocean waves in my back yard.

Kitters has moved in instead.  She usually greets me from the table top with a quiet mew every time I open the door. 

The morning went by very fast as I was back in the accounting business for the first two hours.  I'm hoping to consolidate ten accounts into four, making my life much easier.  The next hour went by nicely as I received a few RV camper items from Amazon.  This is supposed to be for things like socks ... but these two pair of shoes fit just perfectly.  The hangars were very inexpensive and may not last long, but there are two, so I have a spare.  If these die, I'll just sew up a couple myself, using these as a pattern.

With that done, I headed out to KILL KILL KILL the bugs I've been seeing scrambling around the outside.  I am not a fan of creepy crawlers.  Truly, I rarely have them, but this year is different.  Too bad that new huge bottle of Home Defense would not spray, no matter what I did.  

I took everything apart and put it back together.  The batteries are working just fine, but no matter what I did, I could not get anything to come out.  Anyone have any suggestions?  At this point, my only resolution would be to buy another jug, use it up and refill with this one.  An expensive proposition.

Company arrived late afternoon, and as usual, I had nothing in the fridge for dinner.  We sauntered on over to Applebees a few miles away.  Honestly, their food has gone downhill a lot here, maybe it's the Chef, I don't know.  

We walked into an ice box.  Their PG&E bill must be a whopping one!  Do peopler order and eat more when they are cold?  No kidding, I was shivering in no time.  We both ordered our usual salmon and broccoli.  I have to say, it was cooked MUCH better this time.  I threw caution and my diet out the window and had mashed potatoes.  YUM!! 

That was it ... a very quick day leading up to an employee meeting at the lodge early this morning, thus the short blog.  If there is a meeting between a male employee and a female employee, another female has to be present.  Of course I'm the only one presently in town.  RIGHT!!!!  

After that, we'll do some Dollar Tree shopping before heading back for Friday Night Dinner.  That garlic shrimp is screaming my name.  It's diet food, right????

Funerals ... Big Sigh

 It was a lovely 61 degrees when I went outside to find Kitters waiting on the table by the back door.  We seem to be getting braver and braver!!  

Oh yah ... look here ... can you feel the enthusiasm?  Is this ever going to stop?  I'm craving CAKE and these vegetables just aren't doing it for me!

Yes the tomatoes are nice and the bacon DELICIOUS, but BLC (cabbage) tacos just aren't the same as a big huge bite of sugary FROSTING!  I thought after a while, the hankering for sugar would stop, or at least calm down.  This was breakfast ... I should have had eggs instead.

I was really tired and just wanted to sleep, but it was not to be.  The funeral started in the morning.  Knowing I was going to be gone all day long, I threw together a quick grilled cheese that I ate while heading out the door.  This has to be the best one I've ever made.  

I scrounged in the fridge for some bread and came across a loaf I had forgotten about.  THIS my friends is made with chunks of butter-cooked GARLIC.  I'm hooked!!  Oh my goodness it was delicious!!!  There will definitely be more of THIS in my life!!

And so I was off to the funeral.  Let me just say that you must have been a pretty awesome human being to receive not one, not two, but FOUR funeral services in one day.  Little did I know this would be an all day affair.  It's okay though ... he deserved every minute of it.

It began at the Catholic Church in town and was a beautiful ceremony.  I always skip the viewing.  I wanted to remember Ken Henn's smiling face as he sat behind the bar at Bingo, selling Hot Ball stamps.  Always laughing and telling silly jokes.

From there the entourage went to the National Cemetery where he would be buried after three more ceremonies.

As our flag flew at half mast right above the shelter, the family arrived, and the second Catholic service was held.  

This is the third service, performed by our Elks Lodge Members.  It's one of the nicest I have ever attended.  These guys do a wonderful job.  By this time, we were all crying.

And finally, the fourth service performed by the County Honor Guard, all of whom are also Elks Lodge Members.  We support this group 100%, paying for everything they need, including lunches or dinners when they are out performing services for ANY Veterans who have passed.  Four additional members actually perform the service itself, which includes the folding of the flag ceremony and presentation to the family.  After that, this group performs a 21 gun salute and plays Taps.  

From there we all went to Ken's favorite little restaurant in town for dinner.  We were stuffed in that little room like sardines, but no one cared.  It was a nice sendoff for a really great guy.  I'm going to miss those jokes he used to text me ... they made me laugh every time!!

It was a very long day after a very long day.  I'm feeling pretty beat up ... but WAIT ... company is coming.   Lucky me, I get to clean the house and try to figure out what we are going to eat for three days.  Time to find out if Dominos will deliver this far out.

I better get to it ............. hope everyone has a lovely summer day!!

The Kings Last Night

 Good Morning!!  Do I sound all chipper?  Truth be told, I'm exhausted.  I did nothing but run around last night.  If nothing else, this next two weeks will be close to running a marathon by the time I'm done.  

But first ... Mr. Cooper wanted to hit the road.  I should have said no, forgetting just how much running around I would be doing at Bingo.  The sunflowers are still doing great ... a testament to their toughness.

Once back home, he fell fast asleep.  I should have done the same.  

Instead, I scouted out the garden once again, coming up with four cucumbers that were not the least bit visible the day before, along with a passel of hot peppers and one lone tomato.  BLT for breakfast is my new motto!!

I bagged up the peppers and the cucumbers to take with me to the lodge.  Might as well dump them ... I mean give them ... to someone who will eat them.  I'm not a big fan of the HEAT of chili peppers.  Off I went even EARLIER than I wanted for a meeting that didn't happen.  Don't you just love it?

I talked to the kitchen crew, talked to the kitchen boss, found we have yet another air conditioner that died,  discussed the automatic door locks, signed checks and drank a coke that was NOT on my list of good foods.  I won't mention the two sessions of "that guy did THIS" that I listened to.  I think I had "complaint department" stamped on my forehead!!  I ignored it all!

We had a new gal come in to the back room where all the money making pull tabs are handled, so I spent most of my time with her.  We got out box after box of games to be sold on the floor, making sure every one sold in total before I sent the new caller to the stage.  By the way, the King just sat back and said YOU'RE IN CHARGE for the entire night.  

That's because he's leaving today for a two week trip to Europe.  Must be nice!!  That's why I was panicking and trying to learn everything before he left.  

Add to that an entire new system of money handling in the back room to ensure no one can get their little pinky in the green stuff.  I have a new respect for the amount of work the King does.  

In no time, it was my turn to call the Early Bird games ... five of them.  Of course the computer gave me fits, not wanting to advance when I hit the button.  IF2 he's now called ... Infernal Machine TWO.  My Fairy Godmother came to the rescue since she's the one who sets the whole thing up.  She's a pro ... who sits up front and plays every game.  

The regular callers took over while I took care of a new player who tried to run a game on my cashier.  He quickly found out you don't do that with THIS gal ... ooooweeeee did she tell him!!!  

Next up .. I had to do an inventory of all the games we play, 30 in total, to be sure we had enough delivered to last two weeks.  Of course the King just said "tell me what we need to order".  I almost got it right!

The last hour I sat on the bar stool yawning, hoping it ended before 10:00.  The crowd cleared out quickly, except for that one gal.  There's always one, right?  I think she was in the bathroom for 15 minutes!

The last thing on my list was to set the alarm.  I tried, the King tried, the Knight tried ... nothing.  It was finally determined that one of the back doors was not shut tight enough.  The alarm was set and we raced out the door.  I checked my mileage counter on the way home ... 5.29 miles!!!  YIKES!!

It was 11:30 before I hit the sack.  I'm slow, sluggish and sleepy, but not TOO tired to have a BLT for breakfast.  I snagged these lovely fruits from my friends.  

It's going to be a tough one today ... the funeral for one of our best Knights will happen at the National Cemetery.  It's a shock that he's gone so quickly and will be terribly missed by all of the Bingo Crew.  

Here's to you Ken .....................

Exercising the A.C.

 I woke up to the smell of bacon.  No, there's not a person here cooking bacon, it was the leftover smell from ME cooking it yesterday.  It's funny how smells hang out in that particular part of the hallway.   And so began another day of looking all over the house for my Bingo armor.  I'm getting a little nervous about the King being gone for the next two weeks.

"MOM ... quit taking pictures that make my butt look BIG"!  Literally five minutes after I finish the morning blog, he's asleep on the couch.  It's hard work guarding Mom in the living room.

First things first, this was breakfast.  Grocery shopping is hard when you are single and on a diet.  I cruised through the vegetable section, finding nothing worth buying.  Their broccoli had sprouted, the squash was way too big, meaning tough and full of seeds and the asparagus was WAY over the top expensive.  I settled for an entire prefilled bag-o-green-beans.  

That means cooking the entire thing at once because veggies don't last long in the fridge any more at all.  This is enough for three days ..... oh boy!!  I added some of that bacon for flavor!  Yup, this was breakfast, lunch and dinner with leftovers.  

Knowing I needed a nice big calendar for the RV Park reservations, just in case something happens and I have to actually DO that, I headed off to the store I shop least.  Dollar Tree.  Of course nothing is a dollar any more.  Halloween and Christmas is in stock in case you were wondering.  

As I cruised the aisles, I actually found several items I could use.  Highlighter pens that I hope are not already dried out, along with some sticky notes.  I use those by the dozen!!

There were two plastic things that slide onto your fridge shelves to add more storage space along with dozens of plastic containers.  We shall see if those work.  I got two wire baskets to hold paper plates and bowls in the cupboard (taking up less space) and a box of envelopes, because there is always ONE check or letter you have to mail.  Lastly, not one, but TWO calendars, one to keep on my coffee table for me and one for the RV park.  All for $13.21.  I mean really, just the markers usually cost THAT much.  I think I like this store.

They don't have much in the way of brand name stuff any more, but they do have lots of canned food (if you check the dates) and more Halloween decorations than any other store in town.

Back home, I was reminded by the internet that I haven't run my generator in quite some time.  Months in fact.  Ummm that's probably not good, so out I trotted to give it a little exercise.  I took my time and thought about every move that was required.  

Wasn't I shocked when the generator started right up.  WOW!!!  Then it quit.  Okay, so you have to turn the propane button on first ... and it started in an instant.  Yup it's a propane generator.  So does that mean it only needs an oil check once in a blue moon?   I let it run for a few minutes before actually remembering how to turn on the AC unit.  Might as well give them both a workout.

I closed the van door and sat there enjoying the cool breeze.  I even stumbled upon a crocheting project under Coopers blanket.  Hey, I may have to come out here and chill more often!  Thirty minutes later I turned everything off with a big smile.  I remembered how to do it!!

The rest of the day was anti-climatic.  I took Arrowhead Gramma's advice and began to pick out the stitching on this quilt.  I actually found a way to do it so it wasn't one stitch at a time.  It's not taking as long as I thought ... I'm 3/4 done already.

Now the problem is all those holes in the fabric.  Anyone have an idea how I can get rid of them?  The internet said to scratch them with your fingernail, but that did nothing at all.  Maybe I'll be able to salvage it after all, though I'm not holding my breath.

Today is YIKES day.  Yikes I have to pay my truck registration, yikes I have to pay my Jeep insurance and YIKES my credit card bill for Amazon is through the roof this month.  Add to that YIKES my supplemental health insurance bill is up to $350.00 a month ... NOT including what I already pay for Medicare, which is a bunch.  Oh well ... easy come, easy go I guess!!

I also cancelled my Verizon MiFi which was costing $93.00 a month.  I haven't been using it at all since I'm not traveling so much.  I'm hoping if I need it again, that the Hotspot on my phone will work well enough.  Worst case, you will hear me asking for StarLink advice.  At least you can turn that off and not be charged when not using it.

Now .... where did I put that bulletproof armor?  I'm calling Early Bird Bingo again tonight.

RV Park Reservations

 It is another glorious morning in Central California.  Though rather warm during the day at 87 degrees, it's quite doable considering the alternative.  I'm glad I'm not in Florida where they had the hottest day on record, along with all that humidity.  Our little bit of humidity comes from the sprinklers in the early morning hours.

I was met at the back door by Kitters.  She is sneaking closer and closer to the door, become braver and braver, purring all the way.  How could I not give her lots of pets and rubs?  I don't see the other black one often ... only around 8:00 at night.  She isn't quite as afraid as she once was, and when I walk away, will run to the food.  The good news ... that gopher I saw making holes in the back yard?  No more holes!!

I had an appointment at 11:00 at the Elks RV Park, so I didn't want to get into anything like cleaning or vacuuming (that's my story and I'm sticking to it).  In no time I was off to our beautiful QUIET park.  

I pulled up to find this no-license plate car parked in the handicapped spot.  It looked like someone had been living inside it.  Oh gosh ... that's not allowed.  On the other hand, the Elks Lodge always tries to help people out.

Come to find out, this gentleman and his wife are Elk members who move around to different states, working part time.  Apparently she decided she didn't like the lifestyle (or him) and moved back to her family in Chile, taking their young son with her.  He just sold their RV so he can follow her, living in his car until he gets his last paycheck.  

Why am I here?  Because the gal who takes reservations for this building, kind of wants to retire.  She and her husband lived here also until he passed away.  She has since moved in with family, though she continues to do the reservations.  Since she is the only one who knows how it's handled, the head of the park thought someone else should know what's going on.  

So here I am, staring at the restroom building way over there.  It is the responsibility of the people who rent out the facilities, to CLEAN the bathrooms.  There was an event the night before, so this was the deposit return walkthrough, mostly so I could see what was required.  They did a fabulous job!  It was spotless!!  On the back side are two huge washing machines ($2.00 a load) and two dryers.  I might just bring my laundry HERE!

Here's the problem ... my appointment was at 1:00, not 11:00.  We ended up meeting at 2:00.  So much for getting things done on this day!  But what a wonderful lady she was!  A no-nonsense kind of gal who makes those folks renting the facilities toe the line!!  I love it!!

Let me be clear however ... there are NO quinceanas, no live Mariachi bands and no alcohol parties allowed.  If you want alcohol, you have to have a license, which you can only get if you are a non-profit organization.  That leaves baby showers, kids birthday parties, celebrations of life ... that kind of thing.  Everyone pays a big deposit.  If the Sheriff is called, you lose it ... simple as that!

Here's the kitchen ... a magnificent place to cook pancakes (I've done that for Father's Day), hamburgers (I've done THAT for Father's Day),  and anything else for your party.  There's refrigerators and freezers ... everything you need.  This too has to be cleaned if you use it.

We have also become well known for the place other Elks RV groups want to hang out.  They get the facilities for free, but of course they have to clean EXTRA well.  I gathered up copies of the paperwork just to keep on hand, and after saying thank you SO MUCH to Dee for doing this job, I headed out.  

This is just a quick shot of where you park your RV if you stay here.  The sites are pretty far apart, most with full hookups.  There's a sewer dump off to the left.  It's very quiet here since we're out in the country.  You don't have to be an Elk to stay here either, but call for reservations.  Merced Elks Lodge 1240 RV Park, located maybe three miles from Highway 99.

Back home thinking I bit off more than I can chew, even if they only have parties once or twice a month, I'll be looking for someone to take over this job.  I told Dee, she can do it as long as she wants!!

Dinner was parmesan chicken.  It's done a little more than I wanted since I got distracted watching the bull riding finals.  

Mr. Cooper hung over my shoulder making FEED ME cries until I shared with him.  He loved the chicken, but turned down the broccoli.  No surprise!

Kitters spent all afternoon under the shade of the rose bushes.  She cleaned up dinner in a flash, including the bowl I had set on the patio table for the other kitty.  I kept checking until I spotted it hiding behind a bush, then quietly walked up and set another bowl on the ground.  She made a beeline for it.  The good news is Kitters does not try to chase her off, but lets her eat in peace.  

Everyone was fed ... all were happy ... and I went to bed.  Today is another day!!!

PURRRRRRRRR!!

 The weather guessers have been surprisingly accurate this last week.  We've been rather chilly at night with lovely days that do not require air conditioning.  Yay for small electric bills!  New York (and back East) are getting our usual.  I scoffed at their HORRIBLE 88 degrees, but that has turned into 105 in several areas.  Pray for the East Coast.  Not really ... hasn't this happened before?  Do they even HAVE air conditioning?

This was my view the first trip outside for the day at 6:00.  Really?  You're waiting for breakfast now?  Thus far there has been no breakfast, only dinner.  I think I've been adopted.

The morning harvest brought this bounty to my table.  I ate the three cherry tomatoes, and picked a  cucumber that somehow hid right in plain sight until it was WAY too big.  But LOOK!  Really late Early Girl tomatoes!!  The pepper plants are also producing like crazy.  Too bad I don't eat hot peppers. I can't wait to taste those tomatoes though, so out of the freezer came another package of bacon.

And then it was time .... time to start that second quilt, having done every Help Me prayer and voodoo ceremony I could think of.  Please just let me get this one done.  I SHOULD have just taken it to the quilter out of town.  I don't care if I mess up one of MINE, but not one of the Veterans quilts.

I was SO ecstatic that it went well from row to row.  Oh my Great Aunt Clara (no, there's no Clara either) .... maybe, just MAYBE I'll get through this one with no problems.  

That's when the scream could be heard around the block.  It wasn't the machine this time .... it was MY mistake.  There are two important numbers ... the size of the quilt and the size of the backing.  I was so worried about the bobbin working that I did not double check my numbers.

I put in the wrong one.  BAD NANCY.  That means when I got to the bottom, I had space left over with no pattern.  I know how to do this ... I really do, but for some stupid reason, I tried something different.  Big mistake ... the BIGGEST!!  

So here it is, done and DONE.  DONE meaning it's going in the trash.  I spent the rest of the day trying to say it would be okay ... that 4" section above the writing at the bottom that does NOT have quilting ... but I knew I would never give it away.  So SO frustrating and no way to fix it.

And so I spent the rest of the afternoon making another quilt.  I cut the pieces for the embroidery and hope my gal can do yet another one.  The problem I foresee is that I gave her two to complete over a week ago and I have not heard a thing.  I'm hoping her work went better than mine and I won't get a bad phone call.

Into every life a little rain must fall I guess ... and I got drenched!!  It wasn't the only time on this day.

I took Cooper outside late in the afternoon, and what should I see?  AHA ... STILL waiting for dinner.  It looks like Kitters has decided to stay.  He must have known my quilting pain ... he walked right over to me, rubbed up against my legs and PURRED like a steam train going down the tracks.  Awww sweet kitty you made my day.

That was followed by some neck scratches and even MORE purring.  Now I can't get her to leave me alone!!  There was one incident however.  So far Mr. Cooper has not seen her, whether because she blends into the background so well or whether it's because Cooper's vision isn't all that great any more.

Luckily Coop was inside when he spotted the kitty and me on the patio.  TRAITOR!!  He barked so loud and angrily that it scared even ME!  

Apparently he has remembered just how much Jessie girl HATED cats in her yard.  Chased them up and over the fence every single time.  I'll have to be more careful ... you know, making sure there's no Kiss Cam in my yard causing me to duck behind the pillars.  

I finished the binding on the last quilt, and in spite of the spacing problem on that one, I've decided it's okay.  No one will notice that one ... but the OTHER one is going to be a dog blanket.  That's when my new doorbell rang for the very first time.  OH LOOK ... AMAZON!

I had ordered this specific sized wire ring for a wreath.  It came in a box so big you could have put twenty in and still had space left over.  Ugh ... another box to cut up.

Sadly, my OTHER order for two grapevine wreaths said it would be delivered in mid September.  WHAT?  My instant gratification alarm bells went off.  CANCEL CANCEL CANCEL!

So now I have two choices ... Hobby Lobby or drive to the foothills to cut wild vines and make my own.  Been there, done that ... and it's a lot of work.  Hobby Lobby it is.

But first, I'm meeting our RV Park Kitchen Building reservations gal.  Her husband passed away a few months ago ... so sad ... and she is probably leaving at the end of the year.  So far we have had a terrible time finding someone to replace her, so you guessed it ... Nancy has to learn how she rents out the building, all about deposits and how to do walk-throughs when it's over.  Just what I need ... MORE work.  

How could I say NO?  The Knight in charge of the RV Park is my go-to Handyman who has worked on my truck and who will weld my gate lock.  In the meantime, I'm looking for another dare I say VICTIM to take my place as soon as possible.

And so ended another glorious day!  I'm headed outside for some purring ... once Cooper falls asleep on the couch!

Magic .... It Was MAGIC

 Hallelujah!!  I woke up once again.  Actually I'm not sure I ever went to sleep last night.  Maybe it was all that exercise I got the morning before.  After Cooper's short walk, I donned my ear thingy that plays music as I walk along (isn't technology wonderful?) and headed out.  It's funny how much further you can walk when you are distracted by music instead of the discomfort of a creaky body.

Three miles later I was back in the garden looking for things to pick.  Sadly, there was not much in the way of cherry tomatoes.  I found only four and ate them all.  Then I went to check on the Early Girls.  They are obviously quite late.  Weird too, that they are just now taking off, growing lean and tall.  So tall in fact I had to add yet another tomato cage to prop them up.  

BUT LOOK ..... RED!!  Still not ready to pick, but there are FOUR red tomatoes.  Geeze Louise ... it's almost AUGUST and they are just getting ripe?  Obviously my soil is not the best and will require MUCH more preparation next year.  In the meantime, I'm anxiously waiting to taste one of these beauties.

Since I was on a roll ... and actually motivated for once ... I grabbed my box cutter and went to work.  Now you see them ..................

Now you don't ... well except they ARE laying on the ground because the bin is completely full, as is my other REAL trash can.  No appendages were lost in this endeavor, nor did any blood appear.  It's a miracle!

And THEN ..... the time had come to put on my big girl pants and wrestle with this quilt.  A week ago we were dead in the water with crunching noises and restarts right and left.  Nothing was working.  

I grabbed my biggest flashlight, but could see nothing in the way of a problem underneath the machine at the bobbin thread area ... which was definitely where all the noise was coming from.  I took the bobbin out once again, acted like I knew what I was doing and reset the entire thing after moving the quilt up on the bars. 

The bad thing was when I shut it all down, I had to restart from the beginning, resetting all the areas.  I held my breath as I hit the QUILT button.  To my amazement, it took off just fine.  No crunching or anything.  It was MAGIC.  Unfortunately, I didn't set up the area QUITE right, but luckily it's in a spot that I don't think anyone will notice ... much.  Of course to me it stands out like a sore thumb.

It was even worse when I got to the bottom. I had to quilt this small area while cropping off 3/4 of the pattern.  Another shocker ... that worked just fine too.  With a HUGE sigh of relief, I took it off the frame.

Sadly, this one is going to one of the nicest guys EVER at the lodge.  I see those glaring mistakes and it makes me feel bad.  I hope no one else notices.  At least it was made with lots of love and good intentions.  I messed up his name on the photo in case someone might read this and tell him about it.  This one is a surprise!!!  Today I'll bind the edges.

I watched more Cheyenne Frontier Days rodeo and relaxed knowing the longarm was working again.  That's only because I thought I was done.  While dusting the house, I found the OTHER quilt I still have to quilt on the longarm today.  I'm hoping that's not another lesson in patience.

Dinner was easy ... eating leftovers as usual.  While scrounging through the freezer, I found this package of ribs from a couple months ago.  They definitely hit the spot!!

Luckily I have this kid to distract me through thick and thin.  Every time I look at him, I smile!! 

And yes ... Kitters is still in the back yard.  He or she, I still don't know which, lays perfectly flat next to the zucchini, meowing every time I go outside.  As soon as he sees me now, he runs over and rubs up against my legs.  How could I turn him down?  Dinner was served.

NO ... I DO NOT NEED A HOUSE KITTY

 Well goodness gracious ... there went another month ... POOF ... just like that!  Oh we have a few days left, but they won't amount to much I'm afraid.  I'm feeling the doldrums of hot weather houseboundness (a new word).

Breakfast was less than great, but the good news ... soaking up the skinny aura has jump started the diet again.  WAWHOO!  So I tried to be good.  It didn't last long.

At 11:00 I had to be at the lodge to meet the new Safety Chairman.  I did that job for three years basically, and I was NOT doing it again.  I told them three times ... until finally another trustee stepped up and grumbled ... I'll do it.  Hey ... it takes about 20 minutes once a month.  It's no big deal.  If you really DON'T have the time, just sign the paper.  No one will know!

We spent the next 30 minutes going over all the inspections to be done.  He's so tall, he doesn't even need the ruler to push the "check lights" button.  Easy peasy, we were done.

It was probably a bad idea on my part to go at noon.  There sat two friends planning the Shrimp Feed we are having in September, while they ate lunch.  OH LOOK ... FOOD!!  I tried to be good by ordering a club sandwich and eating only half.  It was the onion rings that got me!!  The skinny aura faded quickly out of existence.

Still, we got an amazing amount of work done on the next event.  All except how to decorate the place.  I've been wracking my brain for something reasonably priced.  Anyone have any ideas for table decorations?  I have fish nets to hang on the wall ... no idea where they came from ... but they are appropriate I guess.  

Last night I thought about either a flat dish or a lantern-like thing with sand and seashells.  I'm completely out of ideas.

Next stop ... Hobby Lobby.  I should have looked for something there, but was distracted by my fall wreath ideas for my front door.  Actually, I'm hoping there are THREE wreaths here. My crafting ideas don't always work out so well, so I'll let you know if these materialize.  Pretty colors, don't you think?

In the afternoon, my barky doorbell began to ring.  That means someone is in the driveway.  How Cooper can see them and not the kitty kitty is a mystery.  Maybe he hears them.  SHE was delivering two boxes!  

For the last year I've had a way-too-stretchy fitted sheet on the couch.  I hated it, and so when I saw this on a Facebook group, I ordered them immediately.  Not sure how long they will last at $15.00 each, but they are couch cushion covers from Hokway (Amazon of course).  

The bottom and the top are two separate pieces ... a good start ... and though they were a little hard to get on, they fit PERFECTLY and are nice and tight.  The two side cushion pieces also fit perfectly ... two for $17.00. You certainly can't beat that price!  They are also thick enough to keep puppy nails from tearing the cushions, not to mention keeping the almost white furniture ... almost white.

Now half cooked from the couch cover struggle in the 105 degree oven, I sat outside in the cool breeze for a bit.  That's when I heard the MEOW.  Hmmm I may have created a monster here.  Kitty kitty ran right up to me ... looking for dinner I presumed.  

Wasn't I shocked when he rubbed up again my legs.  WAIT ... you're supposed to be WILD!  Honestly, I feel bad for saying this, but this is the ugliest kitty I've ever seen.  He head is weirdly shaped, it's too small for his tall body ... he's SO skinny ... so I caved and got him not one, but TWO scoops of food.  

This is him eating while I scratched his neck a bit.  In two seconds I knew I had made a mistake.  After eating, he followed me all around the yard as I checked out the garden ... meowing of course.  I think I have created a monster.  He never left the yard, and at 9:00 p.m., I heard him still meowing quietly.  Maybe I'll throw a couple of cardboard boxes out there.  After all, ALL kitties like boxes, yes?   NO ... I am NOT having a HOUSE KITTY.  I'm a puppy person!

There was one last walk outside for Cooper, when SURPRISE ... Kitty came running over once again ... but luckily Cooper didn't see him.  Truly, if he doesn't run, I don't think Cooper will care.  He's pretty chill about them as long as they don't stick their tongue out at him.

And so ended another rather quiet day.  It's time to hit the road walking this morning since I feel that sluggish feeling again.  Time to get this body moving.  AND time to tackle the longarm once more.  That and gutter repairs are still on my To-Do list!!

SOAKING UP SKINNY AURA

And the cool weather continues.  How can we be so lucky?  I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this September doesn't become an air fryer.  At least the veggies will be done by then and I won't have to constantly check on the garden, though I am loving the produce.  

 That little pickle cucumber was camouflaged magnificently.  I even picked the squash a little early so I didn't have to eat so much of it.  By the way, the CRISPER worked.  They are lasting much longer now, some because they froze.  My crisper isn't exactly evenly cooled.  Oh darn, I had to throw out a zucchini!

I'm laughing because I watched a video on my phone yesterday ... IF YOUR CHERRY TOMATOES ARE PRODUCING MORE THAN YOU CAN EAT!  It was a recipe to pickle cucumbers and little tomatoes in vinegar so they would last up to 4 weeks in the fridge.  I'm not a fan of vinegar, so I passed.  I can pretty much snack on these all day and make them disappear.

There was another two hours of accounting required, with many more to go, but I'm spacing them out.  On the other hand, I learned more than I ever wanted to know about tax free investments.  Not that I have any extra money to invest, but knowledge is always a good thing.

I came home, sneaking in the back door to find this guy sound asleep on the couch.  Even dogs can tell if someone is looking at them.  

He gave me this deer-in-the-headlights look before realizing it was Mom.  Lots of snuggles ensued.  

I was truly exhausted from lack of sleep, so I became a couch potato and watched the Cheyenne Frontier Days rodeo.  I think it lasts at least two weeks, if not more.  Then I was off to return an Amazon purchase to the UPS store.  If you buy a book on making Sourdough Bread and you can't even understand the directions in the book, you should return it.  Apparently it's an art ... possibly a FRENCH art ... that I have no talent for.

Next up ... the expensive grocery store.  I'm looking for every advantage to lose a few more pounds, so I sat in the Bingo chair of Cheryl.  Cheryl has lost 50 pounds.  I was hoping to soak up some of her skinny aura and gather a little intel.  She was kind enough to give me a couple of tips, all of which involved NO SUGAR.  RATS!!  So I bought even MORE veggies, some bacon and some lunch meat for Bingo night.  I was hoping she had some magic potion to WILL the pounds away, but alas, it's just self control, of which I have very little.

On the other hand, I'm trying to fatten up the kitty kitties.  I spotted this guy lounging in the squash, just waiting for dinner.  He didn't run like the other one, he even meowed a bit.  Okay buddy ... here's your dinner.

Certainly not the cutest kitty ever.  He looks weird because one eye is gold and the other yellow.  The markings on his chin make it look like he just drank a bowl of milk.  Though a little skittish, he knows where the food is coming from, so he didn't run away.

This guy showed up late to the party, so I did my best mime impression of a food truck and dropped off a cupful of Meow Mix.  He ran away at first, but soon came running back to eat.  Sadly, the dang ants got into the bottom before he could finish.  Thus the wooden boards above ... the ants seem to stay on the ground.

That was it ... my entire fascinating day of resting up.  I'm feeling much better this morning, so I'll be off to the Lodge to do my Safety Inspection.  Well not MINE ... I'm training someone else to do that job.  You said DELEGATE, so that's what I'm doing.  Actually, I had to DEMAND someone take it over, so there's that.

And NOW I have to make up a donation list.  The King forgot to tell me when they leave for the month of August, that I have to make the requests before the Board for Bingo donations to charities.  In the end, it amounts to around $80,000 a year.  Bingo is a pretty crazy cool thing, thanks to the 17-19 volunteers that show up every single week!!  

You've got to hand it to the Elks Lodges that run Bingo.  By the way, all of that money stays local ... going to schools, athletic organizations, hospitals, burn centers, veterans ... the list is long.  I'm proud to be a volunteer, even if I complain about it!!