FULL MOON ECLIPSE BINGO!

 Could there be nothing worse on Bingo night than a full moon with an eclipse?  NO ... no there could not be!!  It started out not so good and got worse as time went on.

So here we go ....... the very end of the eclipse as the moon fell down behind the trees.  You can barely see the moon, but it's there in the middle.  The sun was coming up ... it was going to be a beautiful 50 degree morning.

And then THIS happened.  Oh this is not good ... it's a SIGN.  It got foggier and foggier until I couldn't see past the patio.  I truly tried to sneak in a nap or two, but it was not to be.  Some black and tan kitty thing kept getting in my face for scratches and rubs.  Truly, I don't know what is up with this cat.  It's taken me 16 years to learn DOG ... and now I have to start all over and learn CAT.

Lunch was VERY early ... the last piece of chicken and whatever I could find in the fridge.  The freezer is empty, having tossed all of those containers of meatballs that made me sick.  I should get to the store for supplies and actually COOK something, but I'm just not in the mood.  Funny how the older I get, the less I want to cook.

And THEN ... THE FULL MOON EFFECT.  My couch is very tall, so I had two long steps made from quilting boxes with heavy quilts on top for traction.  That was so Mr. Cooper could get up and down easily without falling.  Until ... DISASTER STRUCT.

He tried to come up the steps and missed the top one altogether, falling to the hardwood floor.  I jumped up instantly to find him frozen in place.  I panicked, thinking he had broken something.  I carefully stood him up straight and held him.  He didn't move a muscle.  I think he hit his head and was dazed.  Finally he took a step ... and another.  It didn't appear anything was broken, thank the Good Lord.  

After resting on the floor for a time, he followed me into my bedroom and took a few trotting steps back out, so I'm guessing he's okay.  We laid on the couch for awhile, while I contemplated what I was going to do.  He LOVES being on the couch with me, but I know he can no longer be up so high.  

This was my solution.  I threw all the couch cushions on the floor, put down a nice comfy blanket and HIS blanket.  Now we sit on the springs.  I know ... crazy of me to do that, but he will continually try to jump up if I don't.  Now he can get on the couch easily, and if he falls, it will only be about 6 inches.  Even better, now he can't perch himself on the very top of the back cushions where it's even easier to fall off.

I blame the FULL MOON ... and it only got worse!  This is it ... the only picture of the night.  The guy who usually sets up the machine, or at least puts it in its spot ... did not show up.  That means I had to set up the entire thing ... screens and all.  I did not come early enough for that.

One volunteer just kept bugging me the entire time.  I'm trying to set up MY table first, and she's asking me a million questions.  Next I got hit up by two more wanting in the safe so they could set out the trash bags.  I love our volunteers, but goodness gracious!  Trash bags are the least of my worries.

To make it worse, the entire back room that sells the pull tabs (and makes all the money) did NOT show up.  I put out a few boxes of their games ... but really, that's not my job.  In a full moon instant ... they let people in the door and we were not even HALF set up.  The next thing I know, while my back is turned, someone came in and began rummaging through my bingo cards.  THAT is a No-No!  We are NOT OPEN!  I chased her off, finding out she should not have even been IN the building at all because she was not a member.

Big sigh ... Still no one showed up for the back room and we were 15 minutes from opening.  By now MY line is clear around the entire room.  What the heck is going on?  Oh wait ... it's a FULL MOON.  They could not even find people to WORK the back room and the head gal was nowhere in sight.

At long last she shows up and we start selling ten minutes late.  I knew I had my trainee coming, but I stayed on the infernal machine the entire time.  I knew if we didn't go fast enough, we would not be done selling before the games started.  ALSO a no-no.  My fingers flew across those keys!

No kidding ... for two solid hours I banged on that cash register as fast as I could possibly go.  It was two hours and ten minutes later before I got a break.  I don't know where they all came from, but we had a record breaking 159 people play bingo.  We haven't had that many in 20 years.  Thankfully I didn't have to deal with scrunching folks into tables where there was little to no room.  

Tempers flared several times, mostly because of newbies calling Bingo when they didn't have one.  SO many new players on this night that didn't know this is not your kids bingo where one line of five numbers wins.  It was pandemonium right and left.

MY temper flared because in spite of two HUGE signs saying NO TAPPING AND DEBIT CARD ONLY, I had people tell me it was a debit card when it was a CREDIT card.  I even said most every time ... NO TAPPING ... and they did it anyway.  

I was exhausted by the end of the night.  Of course we did not balance because the infernal machine stuck in $48 when I wasn't looking.  My trainee added to that with $17 worth of checks that we did not have because ... well ... we don't accept checks.  In the end we balanced ... sort of.  

Luckily when I got home, my Kid was waiting at the door.  Apparently he navigated the couch okay and was all in one piece.  

Thank goodness the full moon madness is over with!!  I will be reminded every day however as I sit ten inches off the floor on the nice not-so-soft springs of my couch.  Obviously, I will do anything for Mr. Cooper!!

Have a GREAT day everyone!!!

A Bloody Full Moon!

 Well good morning MARCH!!  Nothing like starting out the month with a full moon, and an eclipse to boot.  You would think I could just sleep right through that, but anyone who knows me and my camera, knows I'll be up.  Not awake really, but up.

The day began quite nicely with a quick trip to the quilt store to pick up this one.  I'm very much NOT happy since discovering the embroidery gal left off one line on the top.  Good grief ... I should have checked before sending it to the quilter.  This one has caused me SO many headaches.

On the way back, I stopped in at my favorite local used-to-be Mexica grocery store, to find that it now sells all things Taiwan.  Every shelf has an American version and a weird version, mostly flavored with shrimp and really hot stuff.  Not my cup of tea. 

We won't discuss what ELSE I found at the quilt store.  Maybe tomorrow.  The first order of business was to finish the binding on this quilt ... the second in a line of six required for this year's Veterans lunch.

All the while, Miss Kitters bothered me incessantly for pets and rubs.  I finally had to push her off on the floor three times before she gave up.  This girl ... she LOVES attention.  

I finally got out my camera and big lens in readiness for the full moon eclipse to be happening at 3:30 a.m.  I really wasn't excited about this one because getting up in the middle of the night isn't anything to celebrate.  

Lunch was easy ... and I am SO loving that air fryer ... CHICKEN THIGHS.  Bone in.  I'm pleasantly surprised at how tender and juicy they turn out.  AND they are Cooper approved, not that he gets more than a tiny little taste.  The best part?  This is THREE meals for me!

And then THIS happened.  We won't talk about it.  Okay, we will.  The stop at the now weird grocery store was for milk.  100% good old cow juice.  Literally twenty minutes later I was in Heaven cleaning out the bowl, small spoonful by spoonful.  I mean really, SOMEONE has to do it!  Who knew peanut butter ice cream could be so good!!

More camera work ensued, making sure the dead battery was back to normal.  Putting on the long lens is a project in coordination, but I got it done.  I did a few test shots to see where to put the settings and be able to get a picture in the dark, but I could not find my remote.  Even the tiny pressure of the button to take the picture, makes for blurry images in the dark.  

Dinner was a barbecue bacon cheeseburger.  Truly, I don't know if it's me or the food nowadays.  I smashed the burger this time and it looked delicious, but honestly, I could not taste the bacon OR the cheese.  Big mistake this time, I used a REAL bun ... and I was definitely sorry for that an hour later.  Apparently gluten and I don't get along any more.  

So here we go ... the full moon BEFORE she got very high in the sky.  The dark areas always fascinate me, but no way would I EVER think "let's fly in a cramped tiny little thimble 238,856 miles away and land on another planet, hoping and praying we can get back in one piece".  

With my luck we would crash and I'd starve to death, that is if I lived long enough without oxygen.  Oh the moon HAS oxygen, but it only lives in the rock and dust on the surface.  

And so yes, I DID get up at 3:30, but only because Kitters wanted outside.  It was 4:00 before I actually got out to take a few pictures.  The worm moon is the signal for what else ... worms ... to come out of the ground due to thawing and warming of our little planet.  

Because of the eclipse, it is also called the Blood Moon, the last full moon of the winter.  And we are happy for THAT!  Unfortunately, it is very hard to get a picture when half of it is lit up with a spotlight and the other half is in the dark.  This is the best I could do before I gave up and came back in the house.

Definitely not as exciting as an eclipse of the sun, but it was fun to watch, only because I am normally UP at this hour.  

And so we move on to BINGO!!  One of my stand-ins is not returning any messages and I've no idea if anyone will show up.  It's a sign ....... full moon and all!!  I'm crossing my fingers for a LOVELY night.

ANOTHER SIGN?  I forgot to post the announcement on Facebook of the Hot Ball Payout amount.  Big sigh ... I'm now making a big sign to nail to my fireplace that says POST BINGO.  

See you tomorrow if I survive!!!

WELL HELLO HIP FLEXOR!

 There must be something in the air.  It's a lovely 54 degrees this morning.  I've no idea what got into me, but at 6:30 I was out in the farmland walking like I knew what I was doing.

Suddenly I remembered the days of old when I was running in preparation for the next marathon.  Hmmm I wonder if I can still do that.  Something in my head should have said H-E-Q-Q NO ... but that didn't happen.  Instead, I began to run.  More like jogging actually, until my breathing became short.  That's when you take one HUGE breath and begin to feel like you can run forever. 

I distinctly remember my legs saying NO NO NO, but I kept going anyway.  I don't know what got into me, other than to say I just had to see if I could still do it.  

Two miles later, I had a long shadow heading back home.  Well, I DID IT, but a few hours after than, I got the wake up call.  HELLO HIP FLEXORS!!!  My how you are complaining and wreaking your revenge on me.  I was okay as long as I stayed SAT on the couch, but standing up was another story.  Advil was my friend.

Kitters could have cared less.  She slept most of the day, having confiscated her chair back from company.  She could barely keep her eyes open.  It must have been a fun night between 10:00 when she went out, and 4:00 when she came back in.  Cooper goes out at 4, so it was a win win!!

Though I really wanted to go to Costco and get my cash-back cash, I had to wait at home for this delivery.  I placed an order on Saturday, and received all of it except the oil.  I followed my phone app which showed the guys car coming my direction.  Suddenly it changed directions and went off roading.  What the heck?  

I better wait outside to be sure he doesn't leave it down the street.  He got here ... I saw the bag full of oil ... but he didn't want to relinquish it.  He spoke VERY little English.  I think it was some Indian language, or maybe Punjabi ... I've no idea, but truly I could not understand a word he said.  

He could not get his phone to work to say it was delivered.  No kidding ... his phone had a screen that was so badly damaged, I'm surprised it worked at all ... and he just would not give up the package until he could get the app to work.  Finally he called his boss ... and there was not an English word spoken.  At long last they told him to take it to the back door.  Well ... I'm right here, but okay.  He laughed and said something, but all I got out of it was 5-star review.  Okay, that's what I did because he was really trying hard and I DID end up with the oil.

By then it was lunchtime, and I had this brilliant idea to make a Taco Bell crunch wrap with a hamburger.  Surprisingly, I barbecued the burger to perfection.  Almost.  I should have flattened it like a pancake.  I added cheese, tomatoes, lettuce and avocado, then fried it up.  The mustard and ketchup on top was a BIG mistake.  The thing came out HUGE with condiments dripping all over the table when I tried to eat it.  Not bad really, but better luck next time.

Trying not to stiffen up so I couldn't walk at all, I grabbed the box of Blue Def.  You all know what this is ... diesel engine juice.  I swear these boxes used to be MUCH bigger.  

I was a little concerned about holding it up this high to fill the money guzzling tank.  It was weird that I got a dashboard message the last time I drove that it needed a drink when the gauge said it was HALF FULL.  Thankfully they have changed the fill spout and I was able to lift it with no problem.  Glug glug glug.

I checked the gauges and it now said 3/4 full.  So 2.5 gallons is only 1/4 of a tank?  That can't be right.  I do keep a two quart container full in the back just in case I run out completely, since it appears the gauge is wrong.

With that done, I took more Advil and cursed my hip flexors ... and my stupidity for running WAY too far ... before cuddling with Mr. Cooper on the couch.  

The moon came out early with another weird ring around it.  I grabbed my camera for a FABULOUS picture, only to find yet another battery dead as a doornail.  What is it with me and batteries?

I grabbed my phone, so this is the best I got.  The battery is charging and maybe I'll get another chance tonight.

On BINGO night, there should be an amazing RARE full worm moon with a full eclipse.  Lucky for the East Coast, that will happen between 6 and 7 in the morning.  Here, it will be at 3:33 am they say, so unless Kitters is crying at the door, I doubt I will have a change to photograph it.  Especially considering it's on BINGO night.  

Yes that's right ... the worst kind of full moon will be experienced at the Magic Castle Tuesday night.  Pray for me!!!!!

YOU ARE WATCHING HISTORY

 March has officially arrived.  In like a lion with lots of rain, out like a lamb with 70 degrees days and strange looking skies.   Better to be here than on the other side of the world.  I try to remain non-political as much as possible, but on the other side of the globe, history is being made.  

I remember when the Berlin Wall was torn down.  We watched it on television for days.  On this day, Cyndae and I watched for hours as the most evil man in the world was taken down.  I am not about war, but he brazenly killed over 30,000 of his own people who only wanted freedom, and he just came to a fitting end.  The people who left their country in order to stay alive, are scattered all across the globe and are celebrating today.  Hopefully they will know the freedom we experience very soon.

WE on the other hand ... we sat glued to the couch all morning.  This is truly a familiar picture.  I did a few little things ... like sneak a bag-o-Sees candy into Cyndae's to-go bag so I wouldn't eat it, followed by her Costco purchases of butter and ribs.  I've eaten WAY too much on these two days to try and finish up an entire rack of ribs.

I'm not sure whose idea it was to head out to THIS place at noon.  I was positive it would be packed to the gills.  I mean truly, Habit Burger has the best food around.  It seems however, that everyone heads to the next town over for the new Whataburger or In-and-Out.  This place was EMPTY.  

How can that be?  They have BY FAR, the best burgers in the country, not to mention the best onion rings and sweet potato fries!  I'm not one to branch out and order something different, but we decided it would be better to order one sandwich and split it.  That was the best idea ever!

There was a little trouble ordering.  With only TWO employees in the entire building and one dumb walk-up computer to order with, things came to a screeching halt.  Maybe that's why no one is here.  Cyndae put in HER phone number to be notified of our order, but she left her phone home.

Instead of one sandwich and two sides, we got three sides and no burger.  I finally walked right up to the gal at the drive up window because they were ignoring us completely, and asked for help.  She had just as much trouble getting the burger to show up as we did. 

Anyhoo ... here is the Santa Barbara Char burger.  Two patties, avocado, caramelized onions, cheese and all the fixings.  It was HUGE!!  The only thing we did NOT get (because this picture came from the internet) was the onion rings.  Who knew deep fried green beans were rather tasty?  

And that burger?  It's my new favorite!!  No big bready bun, but sourdough grilled to perfection.  Those sweet potato fries?  They were on my side of the table and disappeared in a flash.  

Sadly, there were only six people in the entire place, including us.  I expected it to be crazy busy at noon.  What is going on?  I'm guessing it's not the cheapest place around.  This lunch cost me $21.00, the burger being $10.99 of that price.  I guess nothing is cheap any more, but maybe that's why everyone goes to In-and-Out because they are less expensive.

And so ended a very nice day of great food with a little bit of amazing history thrown in.  It ended with a crazy looking not-quite-full moon, but a spectacular Moon Dog.  I'm sure this is to make up for the Bingo full moon that is soon to create havoc at the Castle.  Even weirder, I have never seen clouds that looked like this.

It's Sunday and time for a little cleaning.  James the robot vacuum lost its mind last week, and went around in circles caught on a piece of paper.  After beating him half to death, I finally discovered he would not run unless my phone WiFi was turned on ... which I NEVER do.  Maybe I'll even drag out the REAL vacuum for one dance around the carpeted floors today.

We did not pick up the quilt because luckily I discovered it was End Bolt day a the quilt shop.  That means if you buy all the fabric on the bolt (no matter how big or how small), you get 40% off the price.  I mistakenly stopped in there once on that day and literally could not even get in the door because of the 50 ladies standing at the counter trying to get checked out.  No thank you ... I'll go this some time this week.

Time to take Mr. Cooper for a walk.  Have a great Sunday!!

Applebees is OUT!!

 Oh my Great Aunt Jane!  Another month has flown by in less than three days.  How can that be?  This time I actually HAVE a Great Aunt Jane ... or at least I DID HAVE.  Sadly, I never met her in person.

This day started out at a lovely 60 degrees.  Wow how the weather has changed.  I would put my electric blanket away, but I'm sure at some point Mother Nature will change her mind.  I mean really, we went from winter straight into summer!

Here's Miss Kitters who has decided MY couch is the place for her.  Company has taken up HER chair, and she is not happy about it.  Me either since she is laying on one of my "extra" Veterans Quilts.  

I did not work on it at all on this day.  We were both lazy as could be.  Cyndae was recovering from a return trip from Hawaii.  I think I've mentioned before that her daughter is a Pilot for Southwest.  That means she gets employee parking and standby flights for pennies, but they may not be the flight you really wanted to take.  She had jet lag big time.  We struggled to keep both of us awake all day so we could sleep at night.  Coffee and Sees candy did the trick.

Cyndae was off to her hair appointment while I finished up more accounting, including my own.  Sadly, my check register still sits beside me on the desk ... UN-BALANCED.  I hate it when that happens.  How can the bank be $3,000 off when 28 days ago it was perfect?  It's probably my fat finger calculating.

The plan was to pick up that quilt at the quilt store BEFORE her appointment, but I didn't think we had time.  Maybe later.

It was 2:30 by the time we headed out to lunch.  Applebees just got scratched off our list.  I was wanting to try out the Tri-Tippery sandwich shop until I discovered their sandwiches are $23.50 EACH.  That's a little high for a sandwich ... so we went to Applebee's instead.  A nice kid greeted us and we sat down to two huge menus.  

Doesn't this look good?  $11.99 for a big bowl of deliciousness.  We ordered the shrimp.  

First off, this is false advertisement if you ask me.  Look at the shrimp in the above picture ... as big as the little cup of dressing.  Look at the shrimp we GOT!  The dressing was some kind of cheesy pasta sauce ... not really conducive to the shrimp and andouille sausage.  Truly, you could not even taste the shrimp.

When we got the bill, it had two BEERS on it.  Ummm we didn't have beer.  We had water.  After 10 minutes of three people running back and forth, they decided we had been given the wrong ticket along with OUR ticket.  I told Cyndae to check and see if that was HER credit card on the receipt.  

Why is this picture here again?  Because they charged us $18.99 for that shrimp bowl.  Doesn't it look like both of these bowls are $11.99?  VERY deceptive if you ask me, both the picture and the price.  I'm absolutely SURE I won't be eating there ever again.

By the time we got out of there, it was too late to head to the quilt shop, so we came back home for more Sees candy.  I'm sneaking a bag into Cyndae's luggage when she leaves this morning so I don't have to eat it all.

That's it ... not a very exciting day, but a good one since we got to chat most of the day.  It's good to catch up, trade secrets and relax.  

Today I'll hit the quilt store, bypass Applebees and try to think up something I can air fry.  I suppose that would be chicken ... but maybe I can find something else more exciting.  

Hope everyone has a GREAT DAY!!

Company and Kids

 Something is wrong with this picture.  Every morning I have to get up at 3 am to let Kitters out, 4 am to let Cooper out and 4:02 to let ME out.  There is NO going back to sleep for me, but Kitters and Cooper go right back to LaLa Land while I sit on the couch and wonder how they programmed me so well.  Actually, I have no choice because I don't have a cleanup crew if I'm even 5 minutes late.

With company coming, I made the bed, added a heavy comforter because I don't keep the heat up very high and otherwise tried to make the house look a little more organized.  Okay, mostly I just hide stuff in the cupboards and the sewing room, out of sight.

There was an accounting problem called Employment Development Department who wanted my clients first born child or they were going to jail.  Weirdly, the company they sent the letter to has never HAD employees or payroll to report.  Did I mention there are now 12 companies under one roof?  

I ran back and forth for the first four hours, finally pawning it off on the NEW accountants.  I'll let them figure out that mess so I'm not stuck deep in the mud of explanations and penalties.  Besides, my company was on their way.

Back home I fixed a quick lunch of leftover potatoes and air fried chicken.  Thank you Patsy for posting pictures of your chicken, which prompted this meal.  The first problem however, was that Walmart gave me BONE IN chicken thighs instead of the BONELESS I ordered.  

I whipped up my own batch of shake-n-bake and hit the GO button.  Not sure how long to cook it, I went for 15 minutes, turned it over and gave it 15 more.  I like my chicken DONE.  

I will never fry chicken again.  This was THE BEST!!  Crispy outside (who knew?) and so tender inside.  This is my GO TO from now on.  This is actually a VERY small plate, so just ignore those potatoes.

Company arrived and we watched television for most of the afternoon.  We were both pretty tired, but trying our best to stay awake.  Kitters was NOT a happy camper when she found someone was sitting in HER chair, not to mention she is afraid of any other human except me.  She promptly disappeared.

I try to keep close tabs on her because despite the expensive kitty litter box, she refuses to use it.  I finally found her in the Red Whorehouse Couch room.  If you remember, this gorgeous furniture came from Jan and Bill Mains.  Obviously Kitters likes it too!!

Lucky for me, Cyndae brought a huge rack of ribs from Costco for our dinner.  That was accompanied by the last of the potatoes and the last of a bag-o-salad.  That almost put us both to sleep by 5:00.  I brought out the Sees candy ... maybe that will keep us awake ... and finally coffee because nothing else was working.  We both crashed at 8:00.  It's terrible getting OLD.

The good news is the weather is cooperating quite nicely.  It's looking like I even may have to turn the sprinklers on the lawn.  No doubt many will need repair.  I am NOT looking forward to that at all, but there's only two days left in February and we have only had maybe 9 days of rain all season.

I'm sure that will be accompanied by lots of frustration as I find things like my drip lines not working because they have been hacked in half by the weedeater.  C'est la vie!!

While company has an appointment today, I'll be heading off to the quilt shop.  They called to say my Veterans quilt is done.  Hurray ... now I can start on twelve new ones for this year!!  Still no word on my longarm quilting machine computer.  It's been 8 weeks, so their 6-8 week return time estimate is in the trash.

It's okay ... all of it ... because even though I live in California, I DON'T live in New York City!!!

Have a WONDERFUL day!!!

No Diet Food Was Eaten On This Day

 Summer has arrived in sunny California.  We have a low of 58 degrees this morning with a high of 74.  I don't know what happened to spring, but I guess we skipped right over it.  Still cloudy every day with weird looking patterns, but at least my electric bill will cease to climb.  This is my chance to lower my PGE true-up bill.  

Sadly, it doesn't help with the natural gas part, which is now up to $260 a month.  Heck, ten years ago my ENTIRE bill never went over $150, and that was BEFORE solar.  Just goes to show you how much we native folks have to pay to rebuild from all those fires they had because they refused to manage the forests.

Step DOWN from the soap box Nancy!!

Breakfast was pretty simple.  Ice cream!  I know, it's not good for the diet, but I made it, so I should eat it.  This is the last little bit of vanilla.  My advice on this one is to NOT use Mexican vanilla.  The flavor is a little strong.

I had lots of things to do today, but sleep deprivation got the best of me.  I crashed on the couch with the kids for over an hour.  I was rudely awakened by the gardener's weed eater.  It's been three weeks since he's been here due to the rain and not one, but two bouts with the flu.  Poor guy looked a little worse for wear, so I told him to just mow the lawns and take off.  I'll put that money towards the electric bill.

No kidding, I was a slug most of the day.  I did clean the house since I have company coming today.  The Kissack Hotel will only be open for two days.  I still have one whole sheet of accounting questions to answer, so I cannot take too much time off at the moment.  Sometimes it's hard to get the answers when the ANSWER person doesn't know what you are talking about.  I will surely celebrate when tax season is over.

While looking for cleaning supplies, I discovered a bag-o-potatoes living in my toolbox drawer.  How did THAT happen?  Oh I remember ... I thought it would be good to keep them in the dark to delay potato eyes from growing.  I guess that wasn't such a good idea.  I cooked up the entire sack and had mashed potatoes for lunch.  Not exactly diet friendly, but I hate being wasteful.

Dessert was Sees candy.  I know, I know ... I was a bad girl.  Here's the thing ... when Bingo receives a donation from the local Sees Candy store, because they are wonderful members who also need a write-off, we take full advantage.  I think we got something like TEN huge bulk boxes of five varieties.  Five of the boxes were given out to the kids at the children's Valentines dance.  The rest ended up in the safe on top of my bingo cards.

Hey ... someone has to eat it!  I grabbed zip-lok bags and filled them to the brim, passing them out to any volunteers that would take them.  I ended up with two bags.  Now really ... you just can't throw away Sees Candy.  It's sacrilegious!!  I stuffed it in the freezer and limited myself to ONE piece a day.  Except yesterday when I had TWO.  No worries, I hid it in the far back reaches of the freezer so I can't see it.  Hopefully that works.

That's about it ... I really didn't do anything worth talking about.  The kids are driving me cray-cray, especially the black one who likes to crawl over everything in the early morning, knocking things to the floor, including herself.  She is obsessed with getting in the cupboards and demanding attention.  I thought cats were aloof ... never coming around when you wanted to pet them.  This one, it's hard to keep her out of my face!!

My watch pup on the other hand, just loves to sit on the couch with his Mom.  Sadly, his eyesight is failing and I have to lift him up and down a lot, in spite of the now TWO steps I made going up to the couch.  I imagine I will be in the same spot in a few years!!

The good news of the day came via phone call.  The lost car keys were finally found the next day, wedged underneath the big rolling pull tab table in the back room.  It saved him a chunk-o-money by not having to get all new ones from Toyota.  Not that it matters, because that particular bingo volunteer loves to play the slot machines once a week in a nearby Indian casino.  He rarely brings home less than $4,000, and last week he won $15,000.  ARE YOU KIDDING ME?  Oh yes ... I'm definitely going with him to learn the secrets of slot machine playing!!!!!

BINGO 2.0

 Oh my goodness ... it's morning and I think I only got about three hours of sleep.  Things can really go south quickly when you are on the cusp of a full moon which will happen NEXT Tuesday.  I think last night there was a little early bleed over!

The day started off looking like this.  Quite cold it was, meaning Miss Kitty Kitty wanted in at the terrible hour of 2:00.  It was very cold, so what could I do.  It didn't take long for the rain to come down.  

While Mr. Cooper slept on the couch, I fielded a few phone calls.  What about the Lodge Budget?  Yes ... what about it?  It's not done yet.  Oh GEE ... that's too bad!!  I guess you should call the other trustees.  See, I AM LEARNING!!

Then I got the text message that my right hand gal didn't feel good, so she was staying home.  I immediately called the NEW Lady In Waiting and asked if she was available.  She said YES.  Boy am I liking this!

Unfortunately, the good feeling didn't last long once I got to the lodge.  Right off the bat, one of the Knights in Waiting (new guy volunteer) decided he should run the show.  He volunteers, but also plays.  He thought he could charge his way to the front of the line and buy all his bingo cards FIRST.  We are not set up for that, and I asked him to wait.  He wanted to argue.  Is it a full moon?  It's not like he has to work right up until the games start.  

Next up, we have a rule.  NO SAVING SEATS.  I walk out into the main room and I see three tables with dobbers in front of every chair.  That's a NO-NO and they know it!  The dobbers were removed.  We are just SO MEAN!!

That's when the kitchen crew came up with a complaint.  Instead of leaving our nacho chips in the Bingo cupboard, they have been leaving them in the kitchen ... on a rack ... right next to the oh-so-hot ovens.  Apparently they have been snitching bucket loads and NOT closing the bags up tight.  STALE chips did not go over well with the peasants.  They were brought back, and refunds made.  Note to self:  Talk to the kitchen staff.

Not to be outdone, the Bingo players and the Mini Me Debit Card Machine went toe to toe!  It didn't like their card, so it locked itself up.  We rebooted.  Next card ... decline, decline, decline!  It locked up again.  The THIRD time, we told that guy NO TAPPING, as evidenced by not one, but TWO signs this big.  He did it anyway.  It took me 10 minutes to get it to reboot once again.  Is it a full moon?

The rest of the night went sort of smoothly.  There were the normal flaming torches and pitchforks that appear out of nowhere when someone calls BINGO and they don't HAVE a bingo!  That makes the peasants MAD!!  They have to RESET and begin calling numbers once again.  A delay that put us 30 minutes later in the game.  Folks were not happy ... me included.

The infernal machine ran one on me at the end of the night.  It didn't print out the total number of bingo payouts.  The problem was mine since I was paying more attention to training the new girl than watching the payouts.  Okay, I was really not paying attention at all because I wanted to go home!

I finally yelled UNCLE and sent the cash box to the safe $250 short.  It's just too noisy to be able to concentrate and figure things out.  That's when disaster hit! 

One of the volunteers ... a very nice guy, but a little "out there" ... lost his car keys.  Really?  Where have you been in the building?  Well, OUTSIDE.  Three of us spent the next 30 minutes trying to find his keys in the parking lot across the street.  We found nothing.  

Almost an hour late now, you-know-who had to give him a ride home.  Not that that helped much, because apparently six months ago, he lost the OTHER set of keys.  It was a long drive because he lives on the other side of Timbucktu!  

Midnight ... it was midnight before I got home, and suddenly it dawned on me.  The cash box balanced after all, because of the amounts we paid out all night changed.  I'll call the Bookkeeper today.

Lucky for me, it was a very weird, very warm night and Miss Kitters spent the entire time outside.  Cooper on the other hand was up at 3:54.  It's okay, hopefully I'll catch up on sleep this afternoon.

This is this morning's sky at a lovely 60 degrees at 4:00 am.  What's up with THAT!!  And so ended another night of rousing Bingo!  I am NOT looking forward to next Tuesday and the Egg Moon slash Fish Moon slash Breaking Ice Moon that's coming.  I can feel it in my bones and it's NOT good.

I'll be on the couch trying to catch up on some ZZZZZ's.