WHAT TO EAT ... WHAT TO EAT

 GOOD MORNING!  At least it's much better than the last three have been.  I'm surviving quite nicely on 7-Up and Pepsi.  Absolutely no energy however.  It's food I really need.  So after being lectured (not really) by Sweet Nurse Patty, my PERSONAL nurse who threatened to fly down here and force me to eat horrible things like bananas and yogurt, I just placed my Walmart order TO BE DELIVERED.  You can sign up for a year, but get 30 days free.  Cancel if you want.  

That yearly subscription runs $98.00, and I doubt I will use it much.  On the other hand, 30 days free should just about get me through the worst of SICK.

I was good ... I ordered Pacific Soup, which I love, some chicken noodle just in case, lots of crackers, oatmeal (not my favorite, but I'll suffer through if it helps my stomach) and some canned fruits for good measure.  

Both Kitters and Cooper just hung out all day long and slept.  If only I could sleep that good.

At one point Miss Kitters did bother me quite a bit.  I think it's harder to learn to speak KITTY than it is DOG.  So we played with the feather for a bit.  Rather hard to film with one hand, but you get the idea.  Watch out for those claws ... they are sharper than my quilting needles.

Here's half of the embroidery for the "missing" quilt, which has been relaxing on the counter for over a week now.  I finally moved it to the sewing room.  Not that I'm going to be doing any sewing for awhile, but at least it won't get damaged before I gain some strength back.

Maybe I could order this puzzle to keep me occupied.  BILL DUKE ... you gave me one big laugh this morning!  I could not even finish a REGULAR puzzle, let alone something like this.  It's just CRAZY!  On the other hand, it might be hilarious just to try!!  Thank you for the suggestion! I can hear Mr. Ed laughing out loud since I could only finish HALF of the puzzle he sent to me!!

Though I had all these plans for a lovely day of grazing on all things delicious for the Super Bowl ... like nachos, pretzels, a HUGE barbecued burger with all the fixings (including lots of bacon) and Lays potato chips ....... truly just the thought makes me sick to my stomach.  It's hard to think about eating anything, not to mention I'm actually AFRAID to eat now.  Afraid I will get sick again.

I did try a tad bit of ice cream last night.  BAD IDEA.  And so my FOOTBALL CELEBRATION will include oatmeal.  UGH!!!

Have a great day and GO PATRIOTS AND SEAHAWKS.  I do not have a dog in this fight!!

And The Pain Continues

Good Grief!!!  This is surely one of the most awful things that can happen to you.  I have never been able to sit still, even when sick.  Yesterday was a whole new experience.  I did nothing but sit and/or lay on the couch.  I hardly even picked up my phone.  The stomach grumbling even woke up Cooper it was so loud.

The worst part ... now I'm afraid to eat ANYTHING!!  I finally got five Ritz crackers down with an entire can of 7-Up.  That took all day to accomplish.

And then I SNEEZED!!  I thought I was going to croak!  The pain in my ribs is real.  A pulled muscle in the upper right side.  In other words, I'm a WRECK!!  

Kitters was a good girl and didn't bother me all morning.  She just slept in her latest spot.  She's funny how she sneaks around the house.  She hides under things ... the chair, my saddle rack, the quilting machine ... keeping an eye out I guess.

Even Cooper was a good boy and didn't bother me at all like normal.  He slept at one end, I slept at the other.  I kept thinking about what I might be able to eat, but alas, I have nothing.  Enchilada casserole?  Definitely not.  Salad?  I don't think so.  The only thing I could come up with was a grilled cheese sandwich, of which I took two bites.  Note to self ... go buy some Campbells chicken and noodle soup and leave it in the cupboard. 

I did finally get up the gumption to let Cooper out for all of five minutes.  YAY!!  Spring has arrived!  Dandelions are here.  It was a beautiful fairly warm sunny day, but I wasn't feeling it.  Back to the couch I went.  

Today I'll make a Walmart order and go pick up some soup and crackers.  I'm not going to get better or gain any strength unless I eat something.

That's it ... that's all I've got.  Thank you for all the good thoughts and prayers.  Hopefully I'll be up an at em soon!!

I'M ALIVE ... BARELY

Well, I survived the day, but it was one of the worst in my entire life.  Thank you so much to every one for the kind words.  

Whoever said food poisoning, NAILED IT.  I can't even begin to explain the pain it caused.  Not a nice picture, but I threw up for 20 hours straight, every 30-45 minutes.  The rolling stomach cramps were the worst.  

Where did that come from?  I think it was those frozen meatballs I bought at Walmart to make that sweet and sour dish.  I divided it into small containers and stuck it in the freezer.  When I ate one a few weeks ago, I got rather sick, but didn't pay it much mind. I should have.  I ate another one Wednesday night, and that caused all the havoc.

I finally called an on-line doc and he said 48 hours before I feel better.  Nothing to do but ride it out.

What saved me was finally being able to sip some liquids last night.  I tried Pepsi first since that's all I had.  Water only made it worse.  That's when I remembered I had offered a ride to an Elks member, so I called to tell him there was no way.  He asked if he could help. That wonderful man went and bought this 7-Up for me.  It made all the difference.

This morning I'm still a wreck, but think I will live.  My stomach is growling like crazy, so I nibbled a Ritz cracker.  Ummm not a great idea.  So today I'll be on the couch sipping soda.  

I have to say the kids helped ... they didn't bother me at all.  Kitters did find this feather toy and was very curious.

I moved it around a bit and she went crazy.  That's it ... that's all I did yesterday.

I'm exhausted and thirsty, so I'll be hanging out on the couch.  Maybe I can even get some sleep before I tear apart the freezer and throw all that food out!!!

SICK ... SO SICK

 I've been up all night long throwing up.  I'm guessing it's the new Chinese Flu.  I don't ever remember being this sick in my entire life.

If you don't hear from me tomorrow, call for a Welfare Check please ..........................

GETTING IN TROUBLE!

 A good California morning to ya!!  If I could see you, or anything for that matter, I would give you a big wave.  You've heard the saying ... you can't see your hand in front of your face?  Oh yeah ... that's my situation this morning.  I think it was even worse when I drove home last night at 10:00.

But first .... let's visit with Miss Kitters.  She has become a big pain in my patoo!!  Sweet SWEET kitty, which is the only reason she is still alive, is exceedingly good at GETTING IN TROUBLE with a capital T.

First thing in the morning, she jumped up on this not-so-steady table ... or whatever you call this thing I drug back from Tucson.  The lovely mirror is not attached ... it's just sitting there.  I heard the wobble and grabbed it just before it hit the floor.  

Then she made a beeline for my quilting machine, which had a quilt attached at one end and draped across at the other.  She jumped in the middle, thinking she was Tinkerbell!  Down she went ... her not-so-tiny body crashing to the floor, taking both the quilt and the longarm cover with her.  She went ballistic!!  Thankfully I was able to unwrap her before any damage was done ... except to her ego!!

She has become quite possessive too.  OH LOOK ... a STRANGER kitty.  NO ... this one is NOT coming in the house.  Kitters hit the glass running and Kitty #2 disappeared.  I think this is actually her buddy who lives in the garage next door.  Cooper was not impressed!

Once things settled down, I had the weird job of convincing my retirement people that I was still alive.  Anyone had to PROVE you were still breathing?  I've never heard of such a thing, but I made the call. Here's my tip of the day for kids looking for a good job.  Get hired by the State or County.

At any rate, I had to answer 25 questions, several of which I did not know the answer to.  Like who is my beneficiary.  Gee ... I didn't even know I had one!  That was a big FAIL!!  I guess I answered enough correctly however, because my checks will continue to arrive.   They ARE self-funded however, so no one will get my retirement money for months or years until they pass on.  In fact, I think they are hoping people die soon after retirement so they have enough money to actually PAY everyone else!  I know, morbid subject.

Unfortunately, because I AM STILL ALIVE, I had to go to Bingo.  I admit, I was not the least bit excited.  I even showed up an hour later than normal.  I set up the bingo machine and went upstairs without turning on one single TV.  Someone else can do that job from now on.  

That's when that someone else came in and tried to set up the marquee without checking first to see if it was already done.  That messed up the entire system and I had to reboot and do it all over again.

I spent 30 minutes (spending a lot of Lodge money) signing checks, before heading downstairs to set up MY station.  SURPRISE!!  My substitute showed up with bells on!  Truly, I thought she might disappear completely, but it appears she is working EVERY Tuesday.  I did a little happy dance.  

We had lots of new people on this night, so there was lots of explaining.  One couple came in dressed like they were homeless and wobbling like they downed a quart of Whistle Pig Bourbon (Jim, I love this name), before coming in the door.  They wanted to play, but thought it was your normal Kids Bingo.  They took the program and went to sit on the stairs.  Next thing I know, they are heading UPSTAIRS, which is a No-No.  They were brought back and escorted out.  Please come back when you are sober.

I was cranky all night long.  Maybe because the safe where we store everything was a complete disaster ... so much so that I could barely get the game cards out.  I left it the way I found it, adding a few empty boxes from the cards I used.  You would be proud!!  I AM NOT CLEANING THIS OUT!  Whoever puts it in there needs to put stuff away.  The King was as cranky as me because HE had to do it.  No more scullery maid for me!!

On the other hand, the only other complaint for the night came from one who thought she could pull a fast one.  There is always one who tries to get a free card or two.  That's why I always count OUT LOUD as  the cashier hits the cash register keys.  I'm sorry you lost one, but it cannot be replaced.  She stated loudly that I counted wrong.  Well then you should have told me as I counted them WHEN YOU BOUGHT THEM.  I actually ended up giving her one card, which she threw back on the table.  Okay, so I guess you didn't want it after all.

What can I say ... I'm a terrible meanie that wants everyone to have the same chance to win.  No one should get extra cards for free.

We put everything away, but I got distracted by the King on the way out as we discussed accounting problems.  He has been giving more money to one organization than any other.  I think we should spread it out a little more.  And so Nancy came home with a list of organizations to call and see if they would like some free money.  It's nice to have such a problem ... so much Bingo money that we have to LOOK for tax exempt organizations to give it to.  Not a bad problem to have I guess!!

The fog coming home was epic.  I haven't seen it like this in 30 years.  Hopefully I miss all of it today, as I'm headed out to pick up that Veterans quilt embroidery section so I can put it together. 

It's a new day ... so let's see what trouble we can get into NOW!

It's Groundhog Day!!!

 Wasn't I talking about that Snow Moon?  Here's what it looked like from my house at 8:00 night before last.  I imagine it was pretty spectacular coming up over a snow covered mountain.  Around here, not so much.  It was a cloudy foggy night with ONE star showing up for the party.  That usually means COLD.

Oh yes ... COLD, FOGGY AND WET!  Here's the thing ... If  Punxsutawney Phil had lived in California instead of back East, we would be having SPRING NOW!!  Instead of seeing his shadow, he would have been out eating grass on the lawn in the fog.  No sun, no shadow.  Sadly, he says we will be having 6 more weeks of winter cold.  By the way, Phil died last year, so there's that ........

There has been only once incident in my life where I saw a groundhog.  He looked like this one, whose picture I stole from the internet.  The one I took is buried deep in one of my last two computers.  I was going for a walk in Branson Missouri when I spotted a big creature, almost the size of Cooper, munching on grass in an open area.  What the heck is THAT?

Better known as Woodchucks, or Whistle Pigs back there, I guess they are quite prolific.  Let's hope Rookie Phil #14 got it wrong yesterday.  I really don't want 6 more weeks of fog.

I don't think Mr. Cooper much cares, because he will just sleep it away.  He was having a bad hair morning like his Mom.

Kitters thinks she likes it much more inside than outside now.  She went out at 2:00 am this time, returning at 4:00 and meowing at the door.  Lucky for her, Cooper and I were up.  Apparently this is HER chair now, where she parks for most of the day.  Out again at 3:00 in the afternoon, she's back pawing at the window around 5:00.  In other words, she is spending more time INSIDE than OUT.  She knows exactly where her bread is buttered.  AND she's a gopher/mouser extraordinaire.  It's a win-win situation.

I really didn't do much on this day.  I wandered in and out of the sewing room six times, trying to peak my interest and start another quilt.  I never got far.  It was too daunting, figuring out what fabric to use for what pattern.

I ended up outside spraying weeds instead.  At 1:30, the sun finally came out for a bit, so I got right to work.  I mean really ... aren't the gardeners supposed to take care of this part?  Once again, I'm pretty frustrated with the piles of leaves and the weeds.  Maybe I need a groundhog in my flowerbeds.

After an hour of that, I headed out down the road with my EarPods turned up high.  That was a lesson in trying to figure out electronics when they don't give you a brochure any more.  At first, I could not get them to work at all.  All those blue and white flashing lights on the box were code for THESE ARE TOAST!  

In the end, I was able to look up the problem online and get them working again, though the volume is half what it used to be.  I'm sure there is a cure for that, but I didn't want to waste my walking time.  HA!  You thought I just would not walk ... and you would be correct.  But I forced myself and hit the two mile mark.

Back at the house, I completely negated that walk in 30 minutes.  Oh yeah ... another FABULOUS internet recipe.  Cook sugar and butter on the stove until it looks right, pour it onto a pan, cover in nuts (though I did not have the stated variety of almonds), cover in chocolate chips (which melt), add a few more nuts and a sprinkling of sea salt.  

You won't believe it ... I actually HAVE sea salt ... a small decanter from the island of Hawaii.  This stuff could not be simpler to make and it tasted AMAZING!!  Who knew?  Yes ... you all did.  It's an English Toffee recipe ... but a quick and easy one.  Sadly, it didn't go with the potato salad I ate and instant heart burn was the reward.  I'm blaming the potato salad.

As I'm sure you all know, it's BINGO day ... and I am not the least bit excited about going back.  I have decided I will go back to my cashier only role.  They have been setting up for an entire month without me and can continue I'm sure.  I've been doing this for about ten years now ... it's someone's else's turn.

Nice thoughts anyway ......... Hey, does anyone have a crazy go-away-fog dance?  You know, like a rain dance, only the opposite?  I'm ready any time you are for either RAIN or SUN!!  Just no more fog please.

CHEF NANCY AND BUN #2

 Just another crazy foggy day in California.  You've seen the pictures before.  On this day, since there were no football games to keep me occupied I opted for a COOKING day.  I've no idea what got into me, because I paid for it substantially at the end of the day when I could hardly walk I was so full.

But first ... let's go to Wally World VERY early and miss the crowds.  Here's my tip of the day.  If you are ever stuck driving in tulle fog, and if you have polarized sun glasses ... put them on.  You can actually see almost twice as far ahead.  That's what I did at 7:30 in the morning.  Here's one more.  If your headlights are set on AUTO, turn them ON instead.  When ON, your taillights will show up and people will know you are there.  Leave it an AUTO and you might get smashed because your taillights do NOT turn on in that setting during the day.

I only came upon maybe four cars the entire way, and got a primo parking spot.  It was a little funny when I entered with just a shirt, to see people bundled up like they were in a North Dakota snow storm.  At any rate, I got my stuff and headed back home.

Here's number one for the day.  Quiche.  I love this Cowboy Quiche recipe ... and you can put anything in it you want. Trouble is, SHOCKER, Wally World did NOT have my premade froze pie shell.  What's up with THAT?  My veggies won't last any longer and require cooking .... so I'll make it myself.  

I don't remember the last time I made pie dough, but HEY ... I can do it.  I picked out a recipe that called for a FOOD PROCESSOR.  That's the name that escaped us in my phone conversation with Patty and Dan.

I cut up two cubes of butter into 1/4" chunks (what a pain that was) and dumped in the flour.  Who knew that when you turned it on, flour came blowing out the top cracks, even with the lid in place?  The counter, the floor and I were covered in white.    

This recipe has something like 10,000 five-star likes, so it can't be all bad.  I wrapped them in plastic wrap and into the fridge they went for an hour.

I only needed one ... and it came out hard as a rock.  I don't think this is going to work out so well for me.  But SURPRISE ... after some rolling with my 65 year old rolling pin, it came out pretty good.  Not my best, but not bad.  Back in the fridge it went while I cleaned up the mess of flour and pie dough on the counter and floor.

The ingredients ... I even fried up some mushrooms in a big pan of butter.  I mean really, how could this possibly go wrong!

IT DIDN'T!  That's why I love this recipe. Here's another tip of the day ... place a metal pan in the oven while it heats up.  Whether it's pie, pizza or casserole, placing the ready to bake pan on a HOT metal pan will give it the perfect crust on the bottom.  That's a tip from my mother.  Even if using a frozen pie shell, it will NOT be soggy.

I was on a roll, so I kept going.  I had a bag-o-little red potatoes that was going south faster than the folks trying to escape the snow.  Potato salad sounded pretty good, so I whipped up a batch for dinner.

OH BUT WAIT ... there's MORE!  This is what happens when you leave that ice cream bowl in the freezer.  You look at it every time you open the door, and you want to make MORE.  I was really curious to try peanut butter.  I called Patty.  Did we EVER make peanut butter ice cream?  Well we SHOULD have.

Milk (luckily not sour yet), cream, a little sugar and a big cup of peanut butter.  I used chunky.  Guess who got to lick the bowl?  Chef Nancy was in HEAVEN!  This is the best ice cream EVER.  Creamy smooth, crunchy peanut chunks and OH SO PEANUT BUTTERY!  It's probably a good thing I just discovered this, because I would be 40 pounds heavier.  

I put it in plastic containers in the freezer for later.  Okay, that didn't last more than an hour before I had it out taste testing once again.  You know, because I have to be absolutely SURE it's really THAT good.

On to the next one .... I've been trying for some time to replicate BILL'S BURGERS.  Every time I visit Patsy and Bill, they fix an amazing cheeseburger for me.  Let me just say, it's all in the hands of the cook.  

It took me 30 minutes to finally get the barbecue clean enough to use.  I even remembered to thaw out the meat this time.  It stuck to the grill like glue.  It took a good metal spatula to find freedom.  A little cheese on top and a toasted bun too.  Okay, a burned bun.  Bun #2 came out much better.

VOILA!!  Dinner was finally served.  A barbecue bacon cheeseburger with  tomatoes and avocado, alongside some homemade potato salad.  Before I even got halfway through, I was stuffed to the gills.  Probably because of all that ice cream tasting that went on.

Can you believe it?  An entire day of cooking and NO disasters ... well except for all the flour I had to clean up and one burned bun.  

It was a great day for Chef Nancy!!  I'm recounting it here because it will probably be the last good cooking day of my life and I want to remember it in my "later" years!!

What's for breakfast?  Why quiche of course ... with a side of potato salad, finished off with a palette cleansing bowl of PEANUT BUTER ICE CREAM!!!

About Your Car's Warranty

It's been a VERY busy day in Central FogLand.  My email account(s) have been closed four times, I missed out on that million dollar payment, I've been charged $5,629 for that contract I ordered, my Cloud account has been deleted including all my pictures, David at AOL.com wants to marry me, I have 4 UPS packages that they refuse to deliver until I verify my bank account, all my insurance has been canceled, Bed Bunny says I need new sheets and they have been trying to contact me about the warranty on my 2025 Honda.

Is it a full moon?  Why yes it is!  I KNEW IT!!!  Instead of my usual 50 junk mail messages, I received 129.  It would have been over 200 had I not deleted the account that ended up on the dark web.  Delete delete delete ... all in a good day's work.

This is the Snow Moon.  I'm sure everyone who lives back East appreciates THAT fact.  Also the hunger moon because people were hungry from lack of hunting due to the snow.  It's also the bear moon ... when bears would be having their cubs.  All in all, I'm glad I live where I do and in the century I do.

So is Kitters, except I question her judgment.  Here she has an entire chair to lay in, complete with blanket to catch all the kitty hair.

Instead, she hangs on to the edge of THIS chair, falling off when she gets rambunctious.  She's spending more time inside since she discovered how warm it is.  Not at night though ... we are still having to let her out at 3:00 am in spite of me putting her in the sand box three times a day.  She does not like the feel on her feeties.  She MUST have been an inside kitty at some point ... she's just too comfortable inside for a feral kitty.

Other than our foray out into the front yard so he gets some exercise, this is Mr. Cooper's favorite spot.  If only I could sleep as good as he does.

It was training day.  I found a sweet gal who wants to make a little more money working part time.  We spent most all day going over everything I have done, how it's set up, and what still needs to be accomplished.  I think this is going to work out well.  I don't have to go back to work and she makes more moolah.  It's a win-win.  Oh I'll still be around probably once a week to make sure it all goes well.

Same goes for the Elks Lodge.  I've truly enjoyed the last month of not dealing with all that STUFF.  It's just too much for someone who would rather travel, or better yet, stay at home with her fur kids.

Yes ... here we are in the bathroom again, brushing my teeth after my lunch of Cheetos.  I tell you, they follow me everywhere!!!

And this is how we get in trouble ... constantly.  I was lucky to grab the lamp before she pushed it over.  I suppose I COULD put things away a little better.

Here's an interesting little tidbit for the day.  The Honey Mustard Dot's Pretzels I LOVE ... someone mentioned they came from North Dakota ... so I looked it up.  WOW ... what a turn of events that must have been for Dot!!

Dot's Pretzels were founded by Dorothy "Dot" Henke in 2011–2012, starting in her home kitchen in Velva, North Dakota. She developed her signature seasoned pretzel recipe after being inspired by a snack at a wedding, initially selling them locally before they became a nationwide sensation. The company was acquired by The Hershey Company for $1.2 billion in 2021. 

Back home, I grabbed that jar of freeze dried spaghetti and added water.  I probably added a little too much, but it didn't matter one bit.  This was delicious!  Whoever invented freeze drying probably made a fortune also.  I've thought about it as a second hobby, but I would most likely forget a step and mess it up.  Besides, you have to have a good spot to put the thing, and my house is full to the brim.

And so ended another glorious day as I contemplated riding my bike a few miles.  Caution won out as the fog came in.  No use ending up in a 50 car pileup.  

It's Sunday and I'm all for relaxing on the couch with the kids.  Maybe another batch of ice cream will appear.  How about peanut butter.  I would go for coffee, but I don't have any of that flavor hanging around the house.  Only FAKE coffee, and that doesn't sound good.  

Oh wait ... the full moon just told me I needed to go to the store today!!  No use risking it ... let there be ICE CREAM!!  

We All Scream For Ice Cream!!

Good Morning from foggy California once again.  My crazy rain dancing has not resulted in anything but foggy morning fog.  It's hard to get things going when you look out and just see cold.

Same goes for Mr. Cooper.  Once I sit down, he snuggles up and goes straight to la-la-land.  

This one however ... is always into trouble with capital T.  Right now she's trying to get into the cupboards in the quilting room behind me.  This was her yesterday, looking all innocent.  This was BEFORE she shoved most all of this stuff off the table onto the floor.  

This morning she went to scratching on THIS chair ... so I moved the scratching post over to this side of the room, thinking maybe she didn't have enough room behind the other one.  We'll see how that goes, but I have a feeling it won't last.  What is up with CATS?  Always into TROUBLE!!

First things first ... after checking my credit card that only has three automatic payments on it every month, I discovered my Photoshop program was now $14.99 a month, versus the GUARANTEED $9.99 a month for LIFE.  

Of course I called, thinking I would get someone from India who didn't speak English.  What I got was an Australian accent.  Woohoo!!  I still couldn't understand him very well, but hey ... I can't turn down an accent like THAT!

Apparently they are short of money.  Here's the deal.  It's still $9.99 a month, but ONLY if you pay for one year at a time.  They always figure out a way to SCREW YOU!  Sorry, but I wasn't very happy about this.  I use that program a lot, which of course they KNOW, so they figure out ways to get your money faster.  I really don't want to be taking all my pictures with my phone instead of my expensive camera.  And so I caved and paid it for one year.

That's when I asked where he was from.  BELFAST he said.  WHAT?  He asked if I had ever been there.  Nope ... never been to Europe.  Went to China twice, Costa Rica, everywhere Mexico, Cancun and Mazatlan diving ... but never Europe.  Probably not a good idea now anyway, since they control everything you say online ... for which you can go to jail.  Next time I have to call Photoshop, I'm asking for the BELFAST accent!!

I spent the next two hours with this.  Anyone know what it is?  Patty Chance does.  We used to use this thing so much that I have TWO of them.  It's an ice cream machine.  I don't know what prompted me to drag it out of the far reaches of the cupboard, but drag it I did.

If you have ever read the ingredients on an ice cream box, you will know why, not to mention it's cheaper.  This particular variety I made has milk, cream, vanilla and sugar.  Of course I added candy to it ... I mean what's ice cream without CANDY!  The best part?  When it's done, you get to lick the bowl.  But use a spoon, because this thing will attach your tongue to the bowl in a millisecond.

I put it in small single serving containers and stuck it in the fridge.  YUM YUM!!!  This one has toffee pieces.  I admit, it's not quite as creamy as regular ice cream, but it's cheaper and better for you.  Next up ... BUTTER PECAN ... and my all time favorite COFFEE with toffee.

After that, I figured I needed to burn off some of that cream, so I went out for a walk.  That lasted half a mile before I returned and grabbed my bike instead.  No worries, I was able to save it when I looked over my shoulder and almost smashed into that mail box.  Note to self ... get a rear view mirror.  Looking over ones shoulder when your balance isn't great yet, is NOT a good idea.

I spent the rest of the afternoon working on this quilt.  See what I mean by I can't pick fabric colors?  It's awful!!  It's so bright and LOUD that you need sunglasses.  I haven't sewn the last border on yet because I don't like it one little bit, even after spending an hour cutting out pieces the long way so I didn't have to piece the border.  Maybe a white border would be better ... I don't know, but I really do NOT like it now.

Maybe I should call up Belfast for his opinion ... at least I could hear that accent again!!

And so my friends ... another whole month has gone by.  January just flashed by like a comet.  Maybe a nice bowl of homemade ice cream will make me feel better about that!!

Thanks for stopping by .........

OH LOOK ... A PRESENT!!

There's no use telling you what the weather is like, because you already know.  Cold with a lot of wet fog.  I really wasn't gung-ho to be getting up since I had an accounting appointment.  It doesn't help when you-know-who wants in and out, in and out.  Last night Kitters insisted on going out into the foggy night.  At 2:00 am she was knocking on the bedroom door.  At 3:00 she was knocking to get OUT!  At 3:30, she wanted back in.  This is not going well for MOI!

Just for kicks, I wanted to show you the lights I got for the back yard, which I admired every time I opened the door.  These are the ones Ray and Cindy have in Yuma, though theirs stand out much more because they have actual REAL light poles that illuminate them a bit more.

These are just stuck in the flower beds ... and it's pretty dark outside.  They are all solar and look like tiki lights that flicker.  Of course when it's foggy all day, they don't work so well.  Come summer, they will be VERY cool looking. 

Right off the bat, while still sipping my coffee, this kid pulled this heavy drawer out and crawled inside, after pulling most of the stuff out and dropping it unceremoniously on the floor.  Thank you for the mess I now have to clean up.  I had forgotten much of what I knew about kitties.  Outside she went.

Soon after, I heard the MEOWWWW.  Boy do I remember THAT tone of voice from my Mom's siamese kitty.  OH LOOK ... A PRESENT!  It's a darn good thing I saw that before I opened the door wide enough to let her in.  

Just a few minutes earlier, I saw a big hole by the fence.  She was on TOP of the fence looking down as I covered it up.  Apparently she went back out and somehow caught this gopher.  SO PROUD SHE WAS!!  Yes that's lovely, but no thank you!  I tried to take it away, but she was having none of it.  I finally distracted her, grabbed it quickly and tossed it in the trash.  She might have eaten it ... but that would mean I had to clean up the guts on the back step when she threw it up.  Sorry for the visual!!

I had forgotten all the times the siamese brought in rats, mice and snakes, to throw them against the wall in the hallway ... SO PROUD!

Time for bookkeeping.  When I called the main office, I hoped no one would answer.  They did ... so off I trekked for three hours of trying to manage so many accounts and sort out which could be combined.  It's daunting ... especially when I discovered several vehicles on the property were not currently registered.  YIKES!!  Truly, I am not looking for work ... I'm RETIRED.  I started making phone calls to see who might want a new well paid job.

When I got back home, I decided to try another one of those viral recipes from the internet.  Big mistake ... BIG.  Here it is ... cake mix, pudding, milk, chocolate chips and peanut butter cups.  Bake for 35 minutes.  

Wasn't I shocked when I opened the oven at the BEEP to smell BURNT CHOCOLATE.  Big sigh!  Yessiree ... burned black as could be on the bottom!!  I think 25 minutes would have been just fine (and yes, my oven temp was correct).  

I scraped off the top for a taste.  Meh ... it was okay, but nothing special, and not near as good as plain old box-made brownies.  Forget the cake mix part.  Half of it went in the trash.  Viral videos my foot!!  Or maybe THEIR oven is off!

So let's try another one!!  This is a surprise though ... I'll let you know tomorrow whether it worked or not.  It's been a long time since I made this one!!

Kitters is being a pain this morning, knocking everything off my quilting table.  What is it with CATS??  Mr. Cooper is never a problem ... mostly anyway.  

For my last trick ... I'll explain tomorrow ... I get to speak to someone in a foreign country about a charge on my credit card.  That should be FUN!!!  Hey, I'd rather do that than get a dead gopher present!!