The Magic Castle of Bingo!

 The wonderful magical world of Bingo is upon us again.  Me ... it's upon ME!  First off, I was NOT able to slip in a nap.  That makes for a VERY long day when you are up at 4 am and finally get to hit the sack at 11:00 at night.  At least our temperatures were cool enough to keep the hotheads from going crazy.  ALMOST .......

Let's get to it.  The morning light brought a tad bit of sunrise, along with a few clouds.  It certainly doesn't hold a candle to Arizona however.  

And so I was off and running to the land of enchantment.  Something was in the air.  It was 2:00 when I arrived and the parking lot was full.  That never happens.

I went to sign checks, but they were not done.  That never happens either.  Ummmm this doesn't bode well for Bingo!!  

I no more sat down to count the coins, when there was a flood of MEMBER peasants who came rushing in.  THAT LADY IS NOT A MEMBER.  Those are fighting words.  Here's the deal.  If you paid your $225 dues for the year, you can come in the door any time you want.  If not, you are only allowed in at 4:30.  It's hard to control.

In a flash, tempers rose and pitchforks came out.  I thought they were going to draw and quarter her.  She was unceremoniously escorted OUT the door.  Good grief folks ... be nice!  Maybe NO ONE should be allowed in before 4:30.

Ten minutes later it happened again.  I called the King.  This time a MEMBER brought in a GUEST.  So here's the question of the day.  Do you let them BOTH come in?  If we did that, every single member would be bribed to bring their FRIEND in early.  The ruckus went above and beyond as I sunk down in my chair.  I know when to disappear quickly.

That's when the chair rearrangement began.  I can only shake my head.  There are four chairs per 8' table.  They move the chairs to OTHER tables ... one ... so they can get not only their favorite spot at the table but two ... their favorite chair.  They must have their names stamped on the bottom.  The OTHER chairs get moved far far away so no one can sit next to them.  I know, it's head shaking!!

All this drama before the games even began.  Add to that the excitement of the election and it was wild.

CRAZY wild in fact because we had many new peasants that moved into the Kingdom who have no idea how to play.   In total there were 149 looking for big payouts of moolah.  I think that's a record.  It also meant sitting closer than normal, not being allowed your four square feet of space for good luck charms, and getting railed for calling BINGO when they didn't HAVE bingo.  

This went on all night long. Pitchforks, shovels, flaming torches, arrows of disdain ... if looks could kill it would have been a bloody mess!!

But wait ... my Fairy Godmother made a terrible mistake.  She forgot to plug in the mini infernal machines internet line.  It refused to work.  Yeah, it took me a few minutes to figure it out.  Finally plugged in, it declined peasants right and left.  You can just imagine how happy that made them.  I tried them once, twice and even three times.  DECLINED.  One lady said "oh I forgot I changed the pin number".  Nope ... there's no money in your treasure chest Ma'am!

After three tries I take their papers away and give them the bad news.  No cash, no sale.  Thirty minutes later they come back with cash.  Did they rob a bank?  I don't care ... I just sell the cards.

At long last, while yawning every three minutes, I finally closed the infernal machine, balanced to a "T" and headed out the door.  Oh to breathe in the cool air of peacefulness OUTSIDE the building.

That was it ... another rousing night of BINGO.  Notice I didn't mention the election.  I don't want to jinx it.

Until tomorrow ....... 

Star Trails ... Star Dots

It's really quite lovely at 3:45 in the morning when the kid needs to go outside.  It's quiet, only because the trains go by at 3:30 every morning.  Ask me how I know that!  This time change thing is really a pain in the patoo .. because while I USED to get out of Bingo at 10:00, it will now be 11:00 MY time.  Ugh!!!

I try not to dwell on that, but rather will schedule a nap for this morning.  Maybe that will help.

Just for fun, I checked on the rig batteries.  Leaving the panels off on the sunrise side of the building is just enough for the solar panels to keep it charged to 100%. I like that.  I only have to worry about the starting battery, for which I got a charger, I just haven't hooked it up yet.  

On the way back in, look what I see!  Yeah, it's a bird bath, but I've been putting seed in it for well over a year trying to coax the birds out.  This is the first time I've seen anyone eating at it.  There were five little sparrows (or whatever they are) each taking their turn at the trough.  Tiny little guys.

Back inside, it wasn't the most fun of days, but I got back to sewing a bit on this quilt.  It's more of a lap quilt.  Three more squares and two borders and it will be done.  On to better and prettier things, though I do like the bear paws.

Since I haven't been out hardly at ALL with my camera over the last year, I decided to try something new.  Learning anything on this beast is not easy.  The Menu consists of about 500 options, and 500 more if you want to add your own.  

Let's try some night photography ... STAR TRAILS.   It's complicated ... intervals, shots, timers, F-stops, shutter speed, ISO, White Balance and a myriad of other things.  I'm sure there is an instruction book around here somewhere, but it would take me hours to find it.  

I set it up the night before, not really having a clue .... and got this.  Looks good, yes?  I stood out in the cold for an hour to get this!!  I have to admit though, there are a LOT more stars up there than you can see with the naked eye.  I'm amazed.  Or maybe I shouldn't be because the wind was blowing up a storm, causing the tripod to move right and left. This is bad ... very bad ... not at all what I was trying to do.

This is what it SHOULD look like.  I grabbed this from the internet.  This actually requires you be on the top of a very cold mountain somewhere, not in my back yard three miles from town where light abounds.  It's supposed to be DARK.  You can see the town lights at the bottom of the above picture.

After spending an hour on the phone talking to someone who actually knows how to do this (but on a different brand of camera), I set up again last night .... on AUTO so I didn't have to stand out in the cold.  One hour of shooting later, it finally stopped.

I haven't processed those pictures yet.  It took 70 images (should have been 90 but I got really sleepy) before shutting down.  It takes quite a while to download all those images and STACK them one on top of another.  I'll try to do that today and see what shows up.  That process is just as frustrating if you don't know what you are doing on a brand new Photoshop program.  It makes my brain work overtime.

Mr. Sleepy Eyed Cooper was ready for bed WAY before the camera was done.  This was me two minutes later.

Ready for another rousing night of BINGO??  Me either, but it's going to be here in a few short hours.  Time to start gearing up in my suit of armor!!

I'm Gonna Kill The Robot

 Welcome to California.  Christmas is going to be a lovely 70 degrees, I just know it!  The earth's rotational movement is sending us a little closer to the sun this winter, causing that fabulous California sunny weather to continue.  Overnight ... 50 degrees.  I guess I can't complain!

Mr. Cooper greets me every morning with his old man grunts for treats.  Kind of like trick or treat, but growly.  The more I ignore him, the more he growls.

And THEN I get the BARK BARK BARK!!  He obviously rules the roost around here because he can be REALLY insistent!!  Treats ensued.  He gets three small pieces every morning without fail, unless I want to wake the neighbors.  Hey ........ that just might be a good idea!!!

I did a lot of computer work on this morning since the Golden Spike RV Group is still on my plate.  We are down to 24 members.  No one wants to plan rallies, the Secretary resigned and I am right behind her.  That means once again we require a vote.  Of course since the Treasurer is the one who has the membership roster, it is the Treasurer who has to handle the vote.  Big sigh!!

While I was otherwise occupied, I figured James, or Jeeves or whatever his name is, could help out with a little vacuuming.  Ten minutes later he called for help.  He went UNDER the saddle rack and got stuck in the cross straps.  

Ten minutes after that, he went under a big chair and could not find his way out.  I told you NOT to go under that chair.  I pulled him out, he stuck his tongue out at me and went RIGHT BACK UNDER!!  This time I kept hitting the side to make him turn around and head out.  Stubborn little guy he is.  

I SWEAR he went right back under it again just to spite me!  I grabbed him and threw him into the other room.  TAKE THAT!!!  Ha!!!  He was completely lost then, and had to reset.

Thirty minutes later I heard him yelling at me again.  BRUSH IS STUCK.  He had sucked up the electrical cord from the fan sitting on the floor.  Good grief!!!  Finally extracted from that, he went about his business for a few more minutes before sucking up the living room drapes that hang a little too low to the floor.  THAT'S IT DUDE!!!  I'M GOING TO KILL THE ROBOT!!  It's back to the charging station you go!  I'll try again another day.

A quick trip out to the mailbox did NOT result in a new credit card, but lookie here ... the leaves are finally starting to fall, if only because the wind came up like crazy in the afternoon.  

Sadly, football was not to be.  Every time I went to watch it, the station was OUT.  Seems most of the games are now aired on Peacock, YouTube TV or one of those other programs I refuse to pay for.  So what did I do?  I got completely hooked on Homestead Rescue.  

Has anyone watched that before?  I really didn't pay much attention at first, but the more I watched, the better it was.  It's people trying to live off the grid and not making it.  This guy and his family who have homesteaded in Alaska, go to properties and fix everything that is wrong, from animal pens, to bridges, to digging wells, solar setups ... they even took a trailer, tore everything off the top and made it into a movable predator proof chicken coop from scraps.  

If trees were in the way, they cut them down and made buildings out of them.  A garden makeover was done in every episode to grow their own food.  Interestingly enough, they did it the exact same way Patty and I used to grow our veggies.  All that stuff is right up my alley since living on the ranch and making do with whatever we had.  

That motivated me to actually make some rolls by hand ... no bread machine.  Looks pretty weird for bread, right?  This is gluten free and completely different from anything I have tried.  You actually put the batter in the pan with an ice cream scoop, it is so soft.  

Too soft in fact.  I was really afraid to taste it, but taste it I did.  It's truly more like biscuits than rolls, but the expected terrible taste did not materialize.  It's not exactly good, but it's not bad either.  Put enough melted butter on anything and it tastes good!!

Later in the afternoon, Amazon showed up with my latest order.  I already have eight of these blocks to level the rig, but really needed four more at my last stop.  These are perfectly NOT what I need.  Since they are not made the same, they will not fit into the other ones to keep them from sliding around.  Back to Amazon they go.  

I also ordered one of these pressure regulators.  I have a smaller one, but for whatever reason, after a year's use, I cannot turn the top to hook it up.  Not that I really need the gauge, but it was on sale.  Hopefully this will last more than one year.  Of course I have no idea how to set it up, but I'll figure it out I guess.

And so ended a lovely day of almost killing the robot, getting yelled at by my little shadow Cooper and learning how to set up a chicken coop for success.  How could it get any better!!!

A Very Quiet Day

 Spring has finally arrived in Central California.  It's November, you know, when cold and rain should be the talk of the day.  We will have lovely weather in the 50's, highs in the 60's for the next week.  Ugh ... that means all those things I have been putting off because it was too hot, can now be done.  

But on THIS day, we did absolutely nothing!!  As you know, that's not my thing, but it was easy to accomplish since here Mr. Cooper and I sit at 2:30 in the morning watching TV.  He's sleeping like a log.  Me, not so much.  That's me under the doggie blanket that I confiscated since it's so soft and warm!

So the California time change has taken affect once again, and instead of getting up at 4:30 this morning, it was a rocking 3:30.  3:56 by the time I took the picture.  It matters not because I stay on Arizona time ALL the time.  

Yes it does occasionally cause problems when I land at an appointment an hour early, but at least I'm not LATE.  Is that right?  This stuff confuses me.  I've actually been up since 2:00 am or was it 1:00 when the neighbor came home blasting his car radio loud enough to wake the dead, while he listened to the song to the very end, before slamming the door four times.  

It rained nicely, though barely, for about three hours before the clouds moved on to better pastures.  I do miss the rain, especially since I've now figured out how to turn the windshield wipers on in the van.  Hopefully I don't forget by the next rain.

Mr. Cooper and I snuggled for quite some time before I checked my credit card account once again.  All of the charges were removed PRIOR to them getting the moolah.  So sorry Charlie!!  It didn't work this time, but can you imagine how many times it DOES work?  

How many card numbers are stolen daily?  Here's a few facts and figures.  52 MILLION Americans had fraudulent charges on their cards in 2023, that added up to $5 BILLION stolen.  Surprised?  Me too, and only 7% of that came from lost or stolen cards.  It's all from personal data and account info accessed by computers online.  Pretty crazy.

There have been several big ones lately that surprised me ... AT&T was hacked, T-Mobile twice, National Public Data, Disney, Truist Bank, Tile (the device tracker), Ticketmaster, JP Morgan Chase Bank, Dell Computers, the U. S. Department of Justice and Homeland Security (????), Roku, Bank of America and hundreds more.  The latest and not so great AI makes it all the easier for them to hack and all the harder for the banks to protect their accounts.  

So when they say they want to go to a cashless society, you better watch out for your money, because it is easily sucked out of your account by criminals who will never be caught.  

That's it for today.  I've got nothing!!  Sometimes that a good thing, as it's Sunday, time to catch up on the rest I didn't get last night.  And maybe watch a little FOOTBALL!!!

I HATE THIEVES!!

The weather guessers finally got it right.  It wasn't a gully washer, but at 4:00 this morning some rain fell from the sky.  NICE!!  Although just enough to make it muddy everywhere, it's late this year and much needed.

Yesterday could have been better.  On Thursday I got the dreaded DING:  Did you just purchase a moneygram for $108.00?  Nope!

DING:  Did you just purchase a moneygram for $700.00?

DING:  Did you just purchase a money gram for ANOTHER $108.00?  

DING:  $55.25 was charged for the PURCHASE of said moneygrams!!

No, NO and NOOOOO!  I called the bank.  Sure enough, someone in Dallas Texas was purchasing moneygrams right and left to send to Mexico .... on MY dime!  How in the world they got my card number is beyond me.  I haven't used it in over two months, nor have I been hacked on my phone or my computer, neither of which have that card number IN them anyway.

The only thing I can think of is I used it at Phil's Fish Market for that clam chowder.  Guess I won't be doing THAT again!  Now I wait four days for the new card to be delivered.  The worst part ... I just FINALLY memorized that card number and now I have to start all over again!  DARN THIEVES!!!

Thankfully, the rest of the day was uneventful, though apparently they tried three more times. By then, the card had been cancelled.  I'll have to keep checking to be sure they don't stick their fingers into anything else.

With nothing else to do, I whipped up some spaghetti with meat sauce for the freezer and found two lone potatoes hiding in the drawer.

Not wanting to be wasteful, I forced myself to make not one, but TWO small casseroles of you-guessed-it ... scalloped potatoes. They too will go in the freezer ... okay, so ONE will go in the freezer because I'm eating the second one.

The only other constructive thing I did all day was hang up this folding bag in the rig.  I took your advice and attached a ring to it, which fits perfectly over the hook.  I love those command strip hooks.  

Oh I did some exciting things like the laundry, but only because I forgot that load of sheets in the washer the day before, and had to not only rewash everything, but sanitize the washing machine.  I hate it when I do that.  

The rest of the evening was spent cuddling with Cooper.  It's my favorite pastime ... and you know once you sit down, you are not allowed up for at least two hours.  It's the rules!!

OH DARN ... it's supposed to rain most of the morning and into the afternoon, so I guess all that outside work I was going to do has to be put off to another day.  Coop and Jonathan think that is just fine!!  And lucky me .... I actually get TWO days off with absolutely NOTHING on my schedule!!  Woohoo!!

Here's to a wonderful weekend for everyone!!!

HALLOWEEN KNOCKERS!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN once again.  Did you survive the snow that seems to have visited half the nation?  None here and in fact it was a gorgeous night to celebrate the dead.  Here's MRS Jack Skellington, compliments of Mr. Ed. 

There was no time to celebrate.  I had to be an hour away by 9:00 and once again the key fob was full of gremlins.  Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.  I finally figured out it worked more OFTEN if I hit the unlock-the-doors button every time it told me it didn't recognize that fob.  

Here's the problem child -- a broken pull down shade on the sliding door.  Not even 3 months old and it broke.  

I would have arrived right on time had I remembered to close the freezer door.  That and rain caused a slight delay.  RAIN??  Oh yes, a nice mud-making sprinkle that caused me to panic because I had no idea where the windshield wiper gizzy was.  

Luckily I remembered that many times when I hit the turn signals, the wipers come on.  GOT IT!  Well sort of ... the button on the end makes it go one time.  I just kept hitting the button until the rain quit.  I did find the twisty thingy an hour later when it quit raining.

The place was packed with men picking up their rigs for duck hunting, but I got in, in record time.  This place is a time capsule.  Someone is a collector of antiques, not to mention old pictures, maps, equipment and trophies.  

They removed the shade, got all the numbers they needed to order a new one (who knows how long THAT will take) and I was off in less than 30 minutes.  These guys ..... their middle name is SERVICE.  With a handshake I was out the door and headed home, still pushing the little button each time it was needed.

I was rewarded with a nice little rainbow for about 3 miles.

Back home, I parked the Big Kid and grabbed the Jeep for a quick trip to town.  It would have been quicker, but I was almost out of fuel.  The cheapest around was Costco at $4.16 if you wanted to wait in the very long line.  I went to one closer to home for $4.19.  Diesel at the moment is $4.69, though many stations have both for $5.50 and up.  Why anyone would go to those stations is beyond me.

That pumpkin crunch cake was on my brain, so I stopped for a few ingredients.  Yes it is a little overdone.  I don't use my big ovens any more, mostly because the temps are way off, so I bake in my Breville oven.  Things cook faster.  It's okay though cuz I'll just cover it up with lots of Cool Whip!!

It was DELICIOUS!  It's like pumpkin pie with a sweet crunchy top.  Nancy was a BAD girl and ate not one, but TWO servings.  Yes, I definitely suffered for it a few hours later.  I won't be doing that again!

At long last I heard it ... a knock at the door!  I'VE GOT TRICK OR TREATERS!!  My box of candy was at the ready.  There stood three cute little kids while Mom waited on the street with the flashlight.  I gave them all one bar and an extra one for Mom.  They were so excited to give it to her ... and she thanked me profusely.  Well that was fun.

Next up, I saw the kids next door, so I hid beside the door ... and when they rang the doorbell, I smashed my face against the glass panel, adding extra scare by slapping the glass with my hands and yelling BOO!!!  Oh my gosh ... I scared that poor girl ... the look on her face made me feel terrible!!  I apologized for scaring her and her friends ... SEVEN of them ... but after all, it is HALLOWEEN.  They laughed!!

Cooper of course went crazy every time he heard the knock on the door.  He was in his Policeman costume, without the hat because he refused to wear it even for a picture.  

There were not a lot of costumes this year, but I gave out 26 candy bars (many more than last year) to kids and adults alike.  

The last one I scared was the best however.  I saw the headlights and figured it was someone watching the kids as they walked to the door.  I swung it open with a loud BOOO and scared the heck out of the UPS driver delivering a package to me.  I gave him a Happy Halloween snickers bar.  Sorry about that ......... not sorry!  The look on his face was priceless!

That was it ... by 8:00 there were no more knockers at the door, Cooper had wiggled out of his costume and was sound asleep on the couch.  I was not far behind him.  

And so ended another year of Halloween fun!!  Maybe next year will be even BETTER!!

HAPPY HALLOWEEEEEEEEN!!

Boohaaaaahhhh BOO!!  Oh yeah, it's my favorite holiday ... HALLOWEEN!!  I admit, I usually do it up to the nines on this day every year, but this time I passed.  For several years now everyone is doing the trunk or treat thing.  What a letdown for the kids who don't get to go door to door and say BOO!  They just collect candy from the trunk of your car.  That's no fun at all. 

Up until the day I retired, we celebrated Halloween every year at work.  Everyone in the office was required to dress accordingly ... from witches, to ghost brides, to Stepford Wives ... you name it, we did it.  On this particular year I was Jack Skellington.  

This year there isn't even a pumpkin sitting outside anyone's door.  On the other hand, it's supposed to rain.  Have you ever trick or treated in the rain in a gunny sack that held itchy oats for the horses?  With chicken feathers stuck in your hair?  Oh yeah .... fun I tell you!!

Here's my costume of the year ... and if I ever dress up again, this is what I'm doing.  Cutest costume EVER!!

I forgot to mention at Bingo on Tuesday, we were treated by one of the volunteers to a dessert extraordinaire.  I love pumpkin desserts, and this Pumpkin Crunch Cake was AMAZING.  I found the recipe today and will try to recreate it in the next day or two.  

Maybe I'll get lucky this time!!

In the meantime, because I had to wait for a trip to the store for pumpkin, I whipped up a batch of white chocolate macadamia nut cookies.  Oh yes ... there's an entire $11.00 bottle of nuts in there!!  No one said they would be cheap.  I also found these Nonni's biscotti ... salted caramel.  They probably have fewer calories than these cookies!!!

I spent the rest of the morning at the Senior Center deciding on the menu for our Senior Christmas Dinner.  110 of them to be exact, so I will once again be manning the ovens in December.  The problem remains that no one likes green bean casserole, or carrots, or corn, or anything considered a vegetable.  Seniors can be picky!  Unless it's the pumpkin pie .. they LOVE that!!

Next up a haircut appointment, where I once again got scalped.  Honestly, when you say just a little, it means two inches disappear behind you before you can throw up your hands.  

This morning I am once again off in the rig to the RV Repair Shop.  That shade I pulled down that unraveled all the way to the floor requires repair.  Hopefully they will remove it, get the numbers they need and I can return home until the order comes in.  No telling how long that will be.  Maybe before Christmas?

So steer clear of those ghouls and goblins, and don't let the bed bugs bite ... or is it vampires?  Maybe put on the Corpse Bride or Beetlejuice to get in the mood for the candy giveaway.  Oh yes, I got candy just in case ... full size Snickers Bars.  With my lack of trick or treaters however, they will be mighty tasty from the freezer as the year goes by!!

Another Rousing Night of BINGO!

 Ooooweeee it's a chilly 42 degrees this morning here in cloudy overcast California.  There was no transition period ... just BANG and it was winter.  Time to turn up the heat a bit.

Basically I did nothing all day long in preparation for the return to huge crowds moaning and groaning over their loss of cash.  I would do the same.

I arrived in time to sign checks like I was Rockefeller.  I expected lots of Halloween costumes, but alas, the King put the quash on that idea.  There were a few flashing light necklaces hanging around, but no ghouls or ghosts.  It's enough that the peasants have pitchforks and flaming torches.

Sadly for me, my Lady in Waiting, though she said she would be late, did not show up at all.  It's okay because my Fairy Godmother gets me through the worst of the line in record time.  She can count faster than I can tap buttons on the infernal machine.  The problem arises when she leaves to play some of the early games for big bucks.

Thankfully my previous replacement came in to help out.  She said if I ever took off again I would be drawn and quartered.  It seems the infernal machine did its magic on her fingers, causing a $500 received on account, which amounts to a $1,000 shortage.  Yeah, that would make me panic too!!

Here's our setup ... the pink packets on the right are Early Birds, five games.  Then comes the blue packets with twelve games, interspersed with the big green meanies (a hard one to play), the big blue borders where you get twice as many chances to win, followed up by the small green ones closest to me and two even smaller speed games.  These are called much faster, so you better be on your toes.

For $34 you can play every single game.  Most folks spend an average of $60 with some going up as high as $95+.  That's right ... every single Tuesday the peasants dump money on us in the hopes of winning  the $250 prize for each game.  

The OTHER game going on is called Hot Ball.  Each person pays $1.00 for each hot ball game we have (which is two), and they get their hand stamped.  The Hot Ball Number is picked before the game starts and posted on the board.  If you win any Bingo game with THAT NUMBER, you win my $250 pot and the Hot Ball Pot, which can vary in amount up to $1,199.  Never EVER wash your hands, because without that stamp, you do not get the molaah!!

It happens that for the last five weeks, no one has won the Hot Ball pot.  It's unheard of.  Until tonight.  $1,449 was handed out to the screams of the peasants.  I'm not sure if that was happy screams or MAD screams because it wasn't them.  No worries, our SECOND Hot Ball pot is ALSO $1,199.

The screams erupted before the number was even called.  The SECOND pot went bye-bye and another $1,449 was handed out.  Suddenly there were even MORE screams when the first winner won yet ANOTHER GAME!!  You can imagine these were not happy screams.  

Winner winner chicken dinner!  That gal took home $1,699.  Can you imagine?  She probably spent much more than that over the previous weeks, but it's a nice haul just in time for Thanksgiving dinner and Christmas.

I finished out the night showing my stand-in what caused her infernal machine problem and how to fix it.  I cleared the machine and asked for a grand total.  WAIT!!  WHAT??  It said I should have made $1,999 dollars?  That CANNOT BE!  I hate this machine!!

Further investigation into its guts determined that my stand-in did not erase its memory from last week.  Whew!!  That was scary!!  No problemo .... I erased it with relish and mustard!!!  TAKE THAT!!  I also showed her how to do the same should it happen again.  

And so ended another night of peasants screaming and crying over lost milk.  The good news is they were also smiling, so we were safe ..... until next time!!