HAPPY 250th AMERICA!

 HAPPY 250TH BIRTHDAY AMERICA!!  What a celebration it was!!  Of course you know me, I would have been happy to have spent it in an underground bunker where it was quiet.  I love celebrations, but this was ridiculous.  It sounded and felt like there was a war in my back yard!  

A big thank you to all the Veterans out there, and our troops who keep us free.  Without them, we would not be celebrating!

I was pretty much exhausted from putting up all those easy ups and chairs, so I spent the morning watching COWBOY CHRISTMAS.  Beginning just a few days ago, it  continues for over a week.  This is when all the big rodeos are held ... including the Calgary Stampede ... which means big moolah in their attempt to qualify for the National Finals Rodeo.  The top 15 money winners get to compete in the biggest money making rodeo ever.

Here's my fav Stetson Wright winning the first day saddle bronc category with a 90 point ride.  This horse was HUGE!!  He better watch out though ... his brother Rusty was right behind him by just a couple of points.

On to the bull riding.  Look how high this bull gets ... and he's a mean bugger!!  They told Stetson the second he got off, to RUN!!  

It's fun to watch these very respectful kids rodeo ... and it kept me out of the fridge.

Mostly anyway ... since it was my job today to make chili-cheese bread bites for the party.   But first ... Kitters toys were delivered.  Let's try THIS one.  Okay, it was a big fail.  This thing moves around so fast she didn't know what to do, but she did follow it as it made the rounds of the entire house!

I finally turned it off.  It might be better if it went in slow motion.  Kitters was not impressed.

Instead she laid on the well used coffee table and moved the feathers around while I baked the little pieces of bread in the oven.  I let them cool, then placed them in bags.  Time for the cheese topping.

True to my luck, I could not find the recipe to save me.  I thought she said it was one cup mayo, one cup cheese and one can of Ortega chilis.  Simple.  Except that was WAY too much mayo!!  I kept adding cheese until 3/4 of the block was gone, meaning I had to add more chilis too.  

I think my good luck has found me again.  I tested one and it was a fail.  NOT the look or flavor I was going for, but it's too late now.

To make it ever MORE interesting, I had a safety pin in my hand while walking to the bathroom, tripped over Kitters and stuck myself in the eye.  Just a tiny stick, thank goodness, but good grief!!!  There was no blood ... it was just a knick, but really?  Now my eye is throbbing.  

So let's see if we can make anything WORSE!  I grabbed my thermal cup out of the cupboard and dumped not one, but TWO boxes of toothpicks all over the counter and floor.  Kitters ran for her life.  Please Lord, I'm just trying to get out the door.

Finally at the party ... I'm the only one there ... I took one look at my friend and said YOU SHOULD CANCEL THIS before you make everyone sick (as I moved my chair much further back).  Besides, it was so hot outside that 12 people cancelled.  It's too bad they bought so much food, but I'll buy two of those tri-tips from them for my smoker.  We made the phone calls together, I grabbed my stuff and headed back home.

So what am I going to do with 3 pounds of cheese sauce!!!  Dinner was cheese appetizers.  They were terrible.  The sauce was okay, but the bread was tough as nails.  What did I do wrong?  It was barely chewable.    

Lucky for me, as I walked into the house, there was a bag full of gorgeous yellow squash and tomatoes by the back door.  Someone really knows how to grow veggies, and it's not me.  Maybe some of that sauce will go on the squash.  

That's when the booms began.  Four of my five neighbors were out screaming in their pools and lighting off fireworks, along with Mexican music so loud it shook the windows.  I know you like to have fun, but could you be just a little respectful to your neighbors?

This was the calm before the storm.  Luckily the guy who used to set off the M80's has moved, or as I mentioned, is in jail.  The big fireworks party was out at Castle Air Force Base.  It was lovely to SEE bits and pieces but not HEAR anything.  But wait until dark ... it got pretty crazy for about two hours.  Even poor Kitters refused to go outside.  

By midnight it was mostly quiet, but that didn't last long.  The guns came out at 2 am and went off for an hour.  Who has the money for that much ammo????  If I had any fireworks, I'd be lighting them off at 4 am.

So ended our 250th birthday celebration.  Very early this morning, I'll be going over to take own all those easy-ups we put up.  Neither of them are in good enough shape to do it alone.  I'll just make sure I stay far far away so I don't catch anything.

My eye?  It's better this morning, but I can still feel it just a tiny bit.  I think a two hour nap might make it better.

And just because I love him so much, here's my Cooper enjoying the ocean.

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!!!

 LET THE FIREWORKS BEGIN!!  Yeah, not so much since nowadays instead of sparklers they set off M80 explosions, enough to rattle your windows and scare the heck out of any critters.  I think this year however, those people must have either moved out of my area or are in jail.  Hopefully the latter.

There were a few here and there, but mostly in this area you hear gunfire.  It quit about 10:00, so not too bad.  Tonight will be a completely different story, I'm sure.

I began yesterday with a breakfast of champions.  Cheesecake!! That's the one good thing about getting old.  You can eat any darn thing you want and no one yells at you.  On the ranch we rarely had dessert.   It was too expensive to make, but when we did, you were only allowed a small portion and only AFTER dinner.  I don't think that was because it wasn't good for you, I think we couldn't afford it.  Besides that, everything was from scratch, and even a small cake took forever to make.

First up ... drive the van one last time.  I'm hoping this makes 15 cold starts.  Oh but WAIT ... I check the particulate level and I'm at 96%. AAAGGGGHHHHH!!!  It's going to go into regen mode and I won't be able to smog it again until I do all that driving.  This stupid smog stuff is causing me an ENTIRE TANK OF FUEL!!!  I kicked the tires and went inside.

That's when I found Kitters latest Amazon delivery.  I'm surprised she was not more interested.  I gave her the catnip filled mouse and all she was interested in was the tail.  Finally she got a whiff and paid more attention.

She rubbed her face on it a bit, but really could care less.  It's still on the floor where she dropped it.  So much for those $$$.

It got hot pretty quickly, so I hung out inside and watched the Calgary Stampede Rodeo.  It's worth it just to watch these kids.  This is something I would have done if they had this contest when I was young.  These kids are maybe 8 to 13 years old and have to wrangle a wild pony until one jumps on and rides for two seconds.  

Completely wild and crazy these ponies.  The biggest kid tries to control the head so the second in line can jump on.  

But first, they have to STOP the pony.  Not the best pictures of my TV, but this team got him wrangled ......

While the second kid jumped on ... not the easiest thing to do when you are short ......

Then try to RIDE the bucking pony for two seconds with nothing to hold on to but a little mane.  Only three teams rode the pony, and this team won.  It will make you laugh a LOT!  Worst case, they hang on to the rope for dear life and get drug around the entire arena.  That brings a standing ovation from the crowd and the kids love it!!

That's when I got to work.  I've been looking for someone to prune this tree so long the branches were touching the ground.  I finally got out my big pruning shears and went to work.  Won't the gardener be surprised to find all the trimmings on the lawn.

And there's more back by the fence.  There's still more work to do, but I can't reach it.  I spent the next hour in the sweltering sun cutting about 1/4 of the branches up into tiny pieces so they would fit in my bin.  No worries, that HUGE blister will go away in six months or so.

That's when I got the phone call.  I'm going to a Fourth of July barbecue late today and they need help ASAP setting up all the tables and chairs.  This gal and her husband are great friends, and I would do anything to help them.  

It took about 90 minutes to set up five big easy-ups, six tables and 36 chairs.  I think I was hotter than ever in my life by the time I got home.  The oven in Central Cal has been turned on and is heating up to broiling.  I'm thinking the party tonight won't last long.

In the meantime, I have to make dozens of appetizers ... Ortega chilis, cheese and mayo spread on crusty bread pieces and broiled.  It's delicious!!

And so ended another day.  I only cried maybe four times.  Just when I think it might be getting better, it's not.

So Happy Fourth of July!!!  We The People need to continue to keep our country free from the communism that seems to be raising its ugly head.  We need to fight this my friends, or we will be in the same boat as Venezuela was.  

Say a prayer and raise your glass to 250 years of FREEDOM .... where nothing is free and you have to WORK for everything you have and hold dear.  Happy 4th!!!  

OH SO BOSSY!!

 Obsessed .. that's the word of the day.  Cooper was obsessed with his balls that he played with for at least six hours every single day.  And I was obsessed with him.  His happiness was contagious.  Thanks for hanging in there with me ... I keep hoping it will get better.

Kitters tries her best I think, though she is mostly good at getting in trouble.  No I shouldn't have that big stack of papers sitting there, and yes, she dumped them right on the floor.  She is always where she should not be, and getting into something!

Maybe this is why.  I googled tortie cats yesterday, and this is what I found.  You may have to click on the pictures to read it.  Strong will, quick temper, very vocal .... and BOSSY!  Yup, that is this cat in a nutshell.  She is definitely a DIVA who rules the house at this point.  And TALK!  She is constantly talking to me, from the second she comes in the house until she falls asleep on the chair.  I've never known any cat to be like this one.

At least there have not been any lizards or giant moths since I now keep the patio lights off at night.  I think they are attracted to the lights because the bug cafe opens when the lights go on.  

I'd rather have a croissant with scrambled egg and tomato.  If you would ever have said put mustard on it, I would have said YUCK ... but it gives it just enough zingy flavor.  

In the meantime, there was a Walmart order that caused me to stress out a little.  A gal was driving ... a first for my deliveries ... along with some guy who got out of the car immediately.  He helped unload, then walked quickly to my big entry gate into the back yard, straining his neck to see.  Ummm excuse me?  You are looking for something?

For whatever reason, real or otherwise, the gals phone would not link to my address so she could input the code.  Maybe it was to give him time to look while she fussed with it.  He walked to the OTHER side of the garage to look through that gate into the back yard.  WHAT ARE YOU DOING?  Oh I know ... looking for something to steal!!

I mulled it over for a day, then called Walmart to file a complaint.  They are not supposed to have anyone else in their car when delivering.  Though the delivery service is not Walmart owned, the nice gal I talked to said she would immediately file a report with the company AND Walmart, so the gal would basically be fired and not allowed to deliver again.  So BEWARE of Walmart delivery people.

I had nothing on the menu for this day, so it was hard to do anything.  I just could not get interested in anything.  I finally DROVE to Walmart to pick up some cream cheese since I found a new no-bake simple recipe.  And boy is it DELICIOUS!  

Cream cheese, powdered sugar and whipped cream ... does it get any better?  It should have cherries or strawberries on top .......

But all I could find was lemon pie filling.  I think this is the best I've ever had.  To make it even better, graham cracker crusts have always had white sugar mixed in.  This one called for brown sugar ... what a big difference!!  And it kept me occupied for an hour ... a win-win.

Next thing I know, the phone rings and I get a call from Barbara and Tom Westerfield, long time Golden Spike RV friends.  This is the amazing couple that let me follow them to Maine and back.  They were very involved in SPCA and all things kitties for years.  Besides letting me know of a Doctor place not far away, we talked all about kitties.  They have a new little rambunctious one that is being ever so entertaining for them.

Kitters needs to play they said ... though I haven't much felt like it.  After hanging up, I got out her feather toy, the one with originally ten feathers attached to the end of the string.

The ten are now two since she pulled them all out.  She was more interested in chewing on the string than the feathers.  We must have played for 30 minutes before she said UNCLE.  Maybe if she is tired enough, she won't bother me so much.  When she wants to be petted, you never say no unless you want a bop on the head from THE PAW.   When they say these cats are bossy, they are SO right.

At Barbara's suggestion, I ordered a few more toys from Amazon.

We are heading into Fireworks night, so I hope all your fur kids will be locked up tight.  I find it pretty UN-SMART of folks to leave their critters outside, then put out notice after notice on Facebook the next day about their missing pets.  Please keep them inside at least until Monday when hopefully the last M80 BANG will be over.  

By the way, what's on your menu for the fourth??

SOCCER AND TOMATOES

Another day is in the books.  It's perfect running weather this morning ... a lovely 57 degrees.   I should at least try to gather up SOME energy and go for a bike ride.  If I'm going to get an electric bike, even though they do most of the work, I should at least get some balancing experience under my belt once again.  It's muscles that keep you upright, and mine are losing their elasticity.  I'm a little sore from yesterday.

I should take a note from Kitters.  I don't know what she does at night, but she sure sleeps a lot during the day to recover from it.  The cool patio is one of her favorite spots.

I spent the next two hours on the phone.  I didn't stay in Arizona long enough last year to hit Algodones for my prescriptions.  The problem is I have no doctor.  They have either left the country or retired.  The last clinic I went to, the guy grabbed my phone, pulled up MY Amazon account and told me I needed another blood pressure machine.  No thank you, I have two.  He was ever so rude, telling me NOT to get my meds in Mexico, but to go to THIS website so he could get a kickback.  I won't be going back there.

I called five doctor's offices to no avail.  They are (admittedly) all so busy with immigrants, I can't get in to see a single doctor for a prescription renewal.  I finally located one who said they could see me, but not until September ... after my prescription expires and I'm out of pills.  I guess I'll keep calling around.  Oh there is one alternative now ... you can pay one local doctor $1600 a year, a concierge service they call it, and they will "fit you in" if you need anything.  I think I need a trip to Arizona.

That's when I got the call .... after two failed "I have the ink" episodes, this time it was "I have a new printer".  We can't get it to print a check.  Can you come fix it?  Okay, but can't it wait?  I'll be there in 90 minutes.  NO.  So off I went to print one check before returning home.  No use sitting there waiting for the bookkeeper.  

An hour later, I was back.  Remember this field?

This is what it looks like now.  I've no idea what's planted here, but this California soil grows things like crazy.

Though I wish they did, they do NOT grow tomatoes here.  These came from the bookkeeper, and let me tell you, they are the sweetest BEST tomatoes I've had in probably 40 years.  I'm going to find out what kind they are and grow my own!

With accounting done, I really didn't have anywhere to be.  There's no Mr. Cooper to rush home and check on, or to meet me at the door with his happy face.  So I drove all the way to town for some makeup.  I probably shouldn't waste the money, but it's better than crying.  

If you think prices are high for everything else, you should try buying some of this stuff.  Mascara that used to be $10 is now $30.  $3.00 nail polish, is now $10.  Here sits $180.00 worth of cosmetics.  It's all really nice stuff, but I won't be buying it again.  It's claim to make you look younger and beautiful, never works anyway!  

Back home, I looked at a few more bikes online, but keep coming back to this one.  It's 31 pounds is a big plus, AND the foldability.  It may still be too big for the inside of the van.  I would love to test drive it first, but so far have not been able to find a dealer with one in stock.  Just to test the weight, I got on my scales holding my road bike.  Wow ... it's only 21 pounds!!  My mountain bike rang in at 36 pounds, which is just a little too heavy to be lifting up onto a rack.  I would have to get a ramp.  Anyway, still looking.

At 5:00, I turned the TV to the soccer game.  I am NOT a soccer fan, but since the World Cup is such a big deal, I thought I would watch it this time.  It was pretty boring .... but the excitement of those men playing was contagious.  You could not have fit two more people in the stands ... and the USA outfits people were wearing was worth the watch.

Though I found their rules kind of weird, and that last ten minute add-on was excruciating, I yelled right along with them when the U.S. won the game.  This is not your local hockey game ... they are playing the best in the world!!  GO U.S.A.!!!!!

Dinner was quick and easy.  One small smoked pork taco with a huge pile of tomatoes and lettuce.  Gosh this was good!  Though I could smoke some pork myself, it always tastes better when someone else cooks it.

As I do every night, I talked to Cooper for awhile.  I haven't been able to talk about it, but here is why I have been so devastated.  Cooper went into the back yard and got under a rose bush where all the thorns and stems lay, to eat cat poop.  He's never done that before.  I yelled at him, and when he can out, he was coughing.  He coughed every time I picked him up the next day.  

I didn't realize it until much later, but I think he swallowed a thorn or piece of stick because the next day he had blood in this stool.  He went downhill fast, and two days later, I took him to the vet, not having any idea what was wrong at the time.  The vet said immediately that he could tell by his breathing he was in heart failure.  There was nothing he could do.

I'm crying again of course, so I'll go walk aimlessly around the house.  Maybe I'll go for a run after all.

Say Hello To July

It's a cool and surprising 57 degrees on this July 1st.  When I stepped outside this morning, I finally got my first look at the pink moon.  Between early nights and cloudy skies, it has remained hidden.  I didn't even drag out my big camera.  

I did go for a run however, a little over two miles almost without walking.  I admit, it's not pain free.  The old saying no pain, no gain, is exactly correct.  Those old hip flexors were screaming at me.  It does however, get me out of the house and tear free for at least 30 minutes.

I'm definitely short of pictures today.  My get up and go just got up and went.  There's no need to cook, no want to bake and no one to share breakfast with.  I did finally give Kitters a shot at pork loin and she scarfed it up.  Apparently that's better than chicken.

Finally, though it seemed like forever, I was off to the Magic Castle.  The magic has pretty much disappeared with so much dissension going on.  It's too bad so few can cause such problems that no one will address.  It means people have quit coming to the lodge and are not volunteering any more.  Bingo alone has lost 5 volunteers and I've no doubt more will follow.  I guess everything changes, sometimes not for the better.

I'm trying hard not to be the next dropout!  I was lucky enough to have one of our all time best people return to play, and she comes early to help me set up.  She lost her husband a few years ago, followed by her puppy.  The perfect person to show up and help me out.  

With 133 folks racing in for their favorite Bingo winning seat, there were a few pushing and shoving incidents.  The problem is several of the member players will set up big wooden card holders, taking up an entire table just for themselves.  Getting them to move over and let new folks sit down, is a challenge.  They just refuse to have anyone sit on the other side of the table because "I can't SEE".  Hey, if I can see, YOU can see.  Let this nice man roll his wheelchair up to this table.  Maybe it will bring you good luck.  That never goes over so well.

The next lady came up saying she didn't get her change OR her receipt.  I am very conscientious about everything I do at that cash register (just for this reason), and I KNOW I gave it to her.  She came back three times and complained.  I told her to check in every pocket she had and not only her purse, but the purse of the gal she was with.  No need for the receipt, if you win, I will tell them you paid.

Thirty minutes later, she came back with receipt and cash in hand.  It was in her FRIENDS purse.  Yessiree ... bingo can be SO much fun!!

Lucky for us, there were no knock down drag out fights, and BOTH bingo callers showed up, meaning there were no boos or expletives thrown about because "he doesn't call right".  At the end of the night, I threw everything in the safe and raced out the door before anyone could stab me in the back.  

Oh wait ... I did make one quick trip to the walk-in.  I was given a box of deliciousness that I left in there so no one would steal them.  Here's a new recipe for you.  Anyone like tater tots?  I love them!  So our Chef fried up a bunch and dusted them with barbecue flavored salt.  No kidding, they were DELICIOUS!  Who would have thought of doing that?  In fact, any flavoring or seasoning you really like might be perfect on tater tots.  Even BACON SALT, which I just happen to have in my pantry.

That was it for the day ... not so exciting and still full of tears, but maybe just a bit better.  At least I'm not crying all day long.  Today I'm going to try and find a Urtopia folding electric bike to test drive.  I know there are none within 100 miles, so maybe that will keep me occupied for a time.  At only 31 pounds, I'm hoping it will fit in the front seat of the van when I travel, so no need for a bike rack.

Here's my happy boy's sweet face.  Oh how I miss him.

A Quick Trip South

 Another day, another dollar.  Which reminds me, I don't think I have balanced my accounts in two months.  That is probably NOT a good thing to skip out on.  Here it is June 30th and another month has slipped by in the blink of an eye.  And boy do I miss this face!

This weird kitty tries to make up for it, for it's not the same.  Chasing critters around the house at midnight isn't my thing, though it sure seems to be hers.  She's not the least bit cuddly either.  She wants to be petted when SHE wants to be petted, and otherwise can be found sleeping on one of two chairs during the day with a Don't Touch Me sign on her back.

So after making sure she had food, I was off yesterday to Office Depot.  It was an hours drive away.  Why would I do that?  Because I had to go to a TSA PreCheck station to get fingerprinted and photographed.  Yes it's different, but it's the only way to skip all the long lines at the airport and not unpack anything.  

This morning at 2:00 am I was officially BEEPED by my phone, meaning I'm not a security risk.  There's another word for that, but I won't put it in writing.  It appears there is a trip coming up, but I'm not mentioning it because ..... well ..... I seem to have acquired a slight fear of flying.  I know, safer than riding in a car.  Luckily I know a very good pilot who says it will be okay.  More on that later.

On the way back, I stopped in at Habit Burger for the usual ... Santa Barbara Char with sweet potato fries.  WAY too much food for me to finish in one sitting.  I found they also have this thing called a salted caramel milkshake.

The advertisement says it looks like this.  The one I got looks nothing like it, though it does taste like fake salted caramel.  I'll skip this one next time.

I try to keep my mind occupied, but it's not working.  Thinking I only had one more quilt to finish up, I loaded this one on the longarm.  SURPRISE ... there was yet another one underneath.  These are the generic ones that will be given to Veterans by their branch of service.  I've got my fingers crossed this one goes as good as the last one.

Later in the day while scrounging through a drawer in the back room, I came upon this.  More tears ensued.  I bought this many years ago when Cooper was a baby because it looked like him.  I remember putting it away because he thought it was his new toy and he was chewing on it all the time.  I switched the toy out for some brand new balls .... his FAVORITE!

We played this game by the hour.  And it wasn't just for me.  If anyone rolled a ball to him, he went after it like a crazy boy.  Many times while traveling, I would find little kids walking around, drop the ball and tell them to push it with the toe of their shoe ..... and off he would go to their squeals and laughs.  

I miss him so much!