LEARNING NEW ELECTRONICS

 It looks like our skies might be clearing up a bit, though that means our temps will be going up to the 100's.  I've never been a fan of anything over 78.  Being over 100 makes for a dull girl since I'd rather just sit on the couch than go out and come back soaking wet!!

The first order of business ... drive the van.  What a pain this has become.  At least once (better if it's twice) every ten days I have to drive it.  I could take it to town except finding a parking spot at the store for such a long rig is not easy.  Truly, I'm a run in, run out girl.  I never want to spend any time perusing the aisles.  

On the other hand, I am realizing that I have no puppy at home who is missing me.  I don't have to rush home any more.  The route I take is a 45 minute drive on the back roads, using up more diesel for nothing.  Whoever said Mercedes was a GREAT company, wasn't telling the truth.  Anyway, the battery should now last until I get back from my trip.

I arrived back home to the telltale signs of rain.  Big drops these, but it ended up being just enough to wet the concrete and make it muggy.

Miss Kitters met me at the door.  Why she choses to hang out on the patio in the heat, is beyond me.  She has become quite territorial since Cooper is gone, fuzzing up and chasing off two cats who wandered through the corrals.  She also doesn't seem to mind 98 degrees.

This is me staring up at the sky while trying to gather up a bit of tan before landing in Maui.  It was actually not bad with the clouds, but when they went away ..... OH MOMMA ... that sun was HOT!!!  Needless to say, I didn't last long in this endeavor.

With my routine completely dismantled, I wandered the halls until I remembered this quilt still needed one last border.  It's now ready for quilting.  I did make one mistake ... this is NOT the last one, I still have ONE to go.  If they all look the same, they basically ARE all the same.  They don't make that many patriotic fabrics around here and I'm running out of border ideas.

Breakfast and lunch were the same ... trying to clean out the fridge before I take off.  That's when I remembered my underwater camera.  I definitely want to take that to Maui for snorkeling.  I searched through every single cupboard and closet in the house.  Nothing.  I have no idea where I might have put it and even Saint Anthony couldn't help me.  

So I did a thing .... I ordered a cheap underwater Go-Pro-like camera from Amazon.  It's always so much fun trying to figure out how to use a new electronic device.  Of course it did not come with a mini memory card, so I had to make a quick run to Walmart.  

I'm truly not sure how to put this thing together since there are of course no directions.  You have to go online to find a 239 page users manual in twelve languages.  I was able to charge the batteries ... they give you two ... but it took forever to figure out which button actually turned it ON.  

The "format the card" part completely slipped by me, but eventually I even got the DATE programmed.  This thing is 2.5" x 2" x 1".  Rather small to be handling. Add to that the twelve little extension thingies to attach underneath that have no rhyme or reason, and no directions.  Apparently this is really made for the top of your bicycle helmet ... which begs the question "why the waterproof case"? 

So late last might I ordered a handle that I can hopefully attach that has a wrist lanyard.  No use losing a cheap Chinese camera in the ocean.  We'll see how it goes once I get there.  If it works well, I just might have to get another Go-Pro.

I spent the rest of the night changing passwords on nine accounts.  Apparently CHASE BANK has had another major information leak including everyone's passwords, so if you have an account there, change your passwords immediately.

Today will be a packing day ... you will be amazed to hear I am NOT going to Bingo!!  I'm sure they will survive, though they were pretty shocked when I told them I would be gone.  I just need a break from the chaos!!  

Now to figure out how to get 5 outfits, one camera, one computer, one iPad and two pair of shoes, not to mention all the toiletries, in one little carryon bag!!!

Mr. Cooper and another of his 55 toys.

SILVER PLUMS

 It's 75 degrees this lovely morning and spitting rain.  What's up with that??  I just don't ever remember it raining in July before.  Anyhoo ... I took off early and headed out on a run.  My run versus walk time is getting better, but my sore versus stiff body is getting worse.  It's all good until you sit down for an hour ... then it's a groaning match to stand up.  I'm a little better this morning, but was hoping for some nice warm sun to lay out in.  So far it STILL looks like this.

Which turned into this, before returning to complete cloud cover for the rest of the day.  That's okay I guess because it kept the temperature down while I ran a couple of errands in town.  

I needed fuel in the Jeep for my trip north.  Though stations get advertised on GasBuddy at $4.40, the one I had to stop at was $5.00 ... for regular gas!!  I could have driven 20 miles for $4.29 I suppose.  I see a big credit card bill in my future.

The main reason for the trip out was to pick up a big box of fancy plums.  The Sourdough Gal that got me going, also cans everything she can.  She has a Simca Plum tree (at least I think that's what she called it) and offered to share.  I never say no.

They were silvery on the outside and super dark purple on the inside.  A freestone variety, meaning you can get the pit out fairly easily, they made my fingers purple in no time.  Into the pot they went to cook.  

This is not your normal recipe.  This one only has plums, sugar and lemon juice.  I cooked them up, hit them with an immersion blender and boiled them for 18 minutes.  No pectin required.  I really didn't expect it to set up without it, but I decided to try it anyway.

Once it was packed in the jars, she called.  She asked if I double stacked the boiling water bath.  Yeah ....... and then she said I should do that when I water bath them.  But wait ... the recipe doesn't say I have to do that.  I better do what she said, so inside this canner are 13 jars of jam.  I'm hoping that doesn't turn the jam into syrup since the recipe did not call for it.

So here we are ... 13 jars.  How in the world am I EVER going to eat all this?  I've already earmarked three jars for donation to people who probably don't really want it.  Everyone clamored for homemade jams and jellies in the past, but nowadays I think they are afraid of getting food poisoning.  Me included, if I'm not satisfied they know what they are doing!!

I did a taste test ... this stuff is AMAZING!!!!!  I'm going to put it on everything!

That took up all morning.  By noon, it was time for the Calgary Stampede finals.  It was a weird year.  Hardly any of the best in the world guys won.  It was all new up and coming kids.  I have to admit I really like the rodeo attitude though ..... if God meant for me to win, I would win.  

Almost five hours later I got off the couch with a big groan.  No pain, no gain!!  Overall, I feel much stronger since I went back to running.  I admit however that I get UP much slower.  

The day ended with huge clouds hovering over.  I suppose that kept us cooler, but it ruined my suntan plans.  No one wants to see a white girl in a bathing suit in Hawaii.

In no tine, it looked like this.

We rarely get sunsets here, and definitely NOT in summer.  When you look out and see these colors, you run to see what's up.  It was most unusual on this night ... a nice way to end the day.

I of course end every day with pictures of my Cooper boy.  Oh how I miss this sweet face sleeping on the end of the couch.  Absolutely nothing is the same without him.

By the way, it seems many of the blogs I read have discontinued writing.  What blogs do you read????

PALM TREES AND HORSES

 This is how I used to spend my mornings, trying to corral two sweet puppies.  That's Jessie on the left and of course Mr. Cooper.  Most every morning while traveling with the Chance family, these two would be parked at their doorstep because there was a KITTY that lived there.  Jessie didn't like kitties, and one day while on a trip to Maine, she chased one underneath an RV, got the harness hooked on something and escaped to run rampant across the huge campground with me screaming after her.  

I figured she was gone and would never return, but luckily she got stopped by a concrete barrier just a little taller than her.  From then on, she could hardly breathe because I kept the harness so tight when we walked!!!  I loved these two kids so much, and sadly, they are both gone now.  I'm heartbroken.

Life goes on I guess, but it will never be the same for me.  I woke up to a weird sky yesterday, with this mornings temperature sitting at 75 and it's sprinkling.  Is this Florida?  Or maybe Arizona?  It's surely not California.

This is a pretty nice view ... I wonder if the weather is the same at this location?  I guess I'll be finding out pretty soon, because Wednesday I'll be off to the sunny oh-so-warm skies of Maui.  Yes, Nurse Patty and Cyndae have talked me into returning to the days of old when we spent many weeks a year on the island.

It's not the right time of year to take pictures like I did in the past, nor do I still have the camera OR the case any more, but we can have a great time snorkeling.  Maybe it will ease the pain a bit.

So while we talked all things traveling like we used to, we stopped in at Habit Burger for a salad this time.   It's a little late to try and fit into that bathing suit, but better late than never.  This is what I ordered.  Looks good with all that chicken, yes?

This is what I got.  There are more croutons on this salad than pieces of chicken.  This was a BIG disappointment.  Besides that, it is half the size of the salads they used to serve just a few weeks ago.  It's a caesar salad, and you could count the pieces of parm as well.  Two salads and one fried green beans came to over $30.00.  I'm pretty sure this is false advertisement!!!

After eating, Cyndae took off for home and I headed to Walmart.  Why you ask?  Because I've been looking for a couple paperback books to take to Maui.  Did you know they have changed the size of those books?  Instead of the 3" x 6" version, they are now 8" x 6".  That doesn't fit in a purse well at all.  Who wants to carry a full sized book on the airplane?

I could use my phone I guess, but staring at a phone for 5 hours hurts my eyes a LOT, not to mention is probably making me go blind.  Cyndae says she uses an iPad ... and Walmart had them on sale.  

I brought it home, plugged it and looked for the instructions.  There were none.  No kidding ... not even a single tiny piece of paper about how to set one up.  It's a good thing I'm a little computer literate.  That's when I discovered they now basically mirror your phone.  Back in the old days, you had to have a separate subscription to an internet to work.  Now it works off my wi-fi and even off my phone's hot spot.  

I downloaded a few books, played a couple of my games and deleted everything iCloud.  I am not a "cloud" person.  I like my data kept closer to home.  How I'm going to carry this on a plane any easier than a book, I've no idea, but I guess I'll come up with something!

The rest of the afternoon was spent watching rodeo.  I was waiting for this ride to happen.  THIS is Black Tie ... probably one of the best bucking horses ever, not to mention he has gone down in history as the first horse EVER to have arthroscopic joint surgery.  No kidding ... in years past, those horses that had joint injuries had to be put down.  

In this case, though all the Vets said no, ONE of them said I think I can fix it.  Let's try.  The surgery removed loose tissue, just like you would have done to your knee, and he made a full recovery.  Basically, if you draw this horse at a rodeo, you are going to win.  He pulls a 90+ every single time he bucks, and you can see why in this picture.  What an amazing horse!!  Kudos to the Vet who said I can do it when everyone else said no ... and saved this horses life. 

That was it for the day.  I'm packing up my mask, snorkel and fins and not eating for the next three days so I can fit in that bathing suit.  It's a losing proposition, but I'll try anyway.  Wish me luck.

SMELLS LIKE GARLIC

 Oh what a difference a day makes!  It's HOT with a capital H!!  The overnight low was 75 degrees, so the back door is open and the fan in place to bring in a little cool.  It smells like garlic!

This is the time of year they process garlic at a facility not far from my back door.  I do love that smell, but in no time you can smell it on your clothes.  Everyone thinks you've been cooking some great Italian meal, but no such luck!  

Here's my view with a tiny little sliver of moon hanging in the sky.

Kitters must have had a tough night.  She doesn't usually sleep this early in the morning.  

With company coming, I tried to tidy up a bit.  I made the rounds with the duster and set Jeeves to work sucking up kitty hair.  I checked under the bed and in every corner to make sure there were no outside critters that escaped kitty.  

Sometimes it's hard to think of stuff to do to keep busy while you are waiting.  In a flash, it was WAY too hot to go outside, but I did to check if the gardener had repaired the split drip line.  NOPE ... not yet.

Finally in desperation, mostly because there was nothing on TV worth watching, I hit the sewing room.  I have two more of these quilts to stitch up.  At least I got this far.  One more border and it will be ready to quilt.  I should have continued on with the binding on the last two, but I just wasn't motivated.  I had a routine when Cooper was here, and that has completely gone down the tubes.

Sometimes I just wander around with no direction.  Nothing is the same, so every single minute is a "what do I do now" moment.  

Cyndae finally arrived from her appointment, so we went to Applebees for lunch.  Honestly, I haven't been the least bit impressed with their food lately.  I don't think it's the cook, I think it's whoever sets their menu items.  

On this day however, things changed.  They have a $12.99 lunch special now.  Cyndae ordered a huge burger at the top of the picture, and I got a REALLY huge crispy chicken sandwich.  I have to admit, their fries were delicious.  Their service ... not so much.  

I ate half of the greasy chicken (their fry oil should be a LOT hotter) and it was pretty tasty.  There was enough for four people here!

It took at least ten minutes to finally get the attention of the waitress so we could order this little calorie loaded delight!

You could add this simple dessert for $1.00.  I'M IN!!  This was seriously the best brownie I've ever had in my life!  It was soft, ooey gooey and amazing!!!  I'm going back again just so I can order lunch and get the dessert!

We spent the rest of the afternoon just chillin' in front of the TV.  Cyndae wasn't feeling all that great and we were both falling asleep.  That's when I remembered to check the drip line again.  NOPE, not repaired, so I sent out a text message.  You guessed it, he forgot, but showed up in ten minutes to make the repair.  My poor flower beds ... I ran it extra long hoping nothing dies.

At long last, it was RODEO time at the Calgary Stampede!  Something to keep me occupied for a couple of hours.

I had to stay up pretty late and watch the ALL of the bull riding.  The finale will be held tomorrow and you know I will be glued to the TV!!

That's it .... an entire day of wandering the hallways and wondering what to do next.  I miss this sweet face so very much ...........

LIZARDS, BUGS AND BIRDS, OH MY!!!

Chip-chip-CHIP, tweet tweet, whistle-eee, chirp chirp ....... if I had a baseball, I'd be having mockingbird for lunch.  Oh my great Aunt Suzie ... this thing was so LOUD this morning at 3:00 A.M.!!!!!  Add to that the cat fight at 11:00 and the air conditioner coming on at 3:45 and you can imagine my mood this morning!  But I'm getting ahead of myself. 

It was morning and I had nothing on the menu.  YAY!  So I thought I would load the last Veterans quilt I have ready to stitch.  I knew the second I saw a black spot on the carpet, it wasn't going to be good.  This is a tiny baby lizard, maybe 2.5 inches long.  He was an easy grab, and out the front door to the green grass he went.  

Let me just say, lizards are dumb as dirt.  When they see you, they freeze.  What better way for a kitty to catch you!!!  I started the quilt loading, but got distracted once again.

Another black spot on the carpet caught my eye.  NOOOOO ... now there are not one, but TWO big nasty bugs.  At least this one is dead!  The other one, not so much.  He went down the toilet.  

And THIS is the culprit!!!  Lying there like she's SOME BODY!!!!  I may have to close the doggy door.  She went outside and got into a fight with something ... I'm guessing another cat or maybe a fox ... right at the doggy door entrance.  I thought she somehow got caught in the door there was so much screaming.  I raced clear across the house to turn the alarm off, then raced back to open the door and find her all frizzed up and looking like she saw a ghost.  I'm wondering if maybe it was a fox looking for dinner?  Or maybe just another cat, but by midnight I was still wide awake.  I'm getting ahead of myself again ......

I got distracted by all the house creepy crawlies, so the quilt had to wait.  Instead, company is coming for one night, so I had to take the heavy comforters off the bed.  Unfortunately, there was no room in the closet, so I drug out the ladder and went to organizing.  Truly, this is all stuff I probably won't ever use again, including glasses for a New Year's party that I never had nine years ago.

These, and one more which is the biggest of course, were all wrapped up with bungies to make them smaller.  Absolutely nothing got thrown away or donated since Goodwill is our only choice and they have become WAY too picky.  They will only take SOME clothes.

The bedroom got spruced up and the closet is at least better than it was.  That was good enough for me.   I'll just close the door so company can't see inside. 

That's when I spotted this.  Yet another light that has fallen from the ceiling.  I let the company talk me into these "wafer" led lights that aren't worth a darn.  I told them to replace the can lights, and I got this instead.  I wasn't too happy with the guy who answered the phone.  He thought I would be thrilled to know they were still under warranty.  GREAT I said ... you put caulking around the last one, so make sure when you come this time, you put caulking around ALL TWELVE of them!!

Lunch followed, that being the stew that has a rather mineraly taste.  It wasn't the worst I've ever had, but maybe I'll do better next time.  I went back to the quilting machine, checking all around the floor for lizards and bugs first, since I was barefoot.  I got the backing and the top loaded before I heard the DING.

That means the reports for the Trustee, House and Board meetings had arrived for tonight's fight fest.  Oh yes, and THAT was followed by a lodge meeting.  You can just imagine how excited I was about all this!!

It was a very long night.  The four new folks don't know the rules ... things like the Board makes the money decisions, not YOU.  If looks could kill, I'd be dead eight times.  They actually stated THEY get to decide.  I'm sorry, but you have been very misinformed!  The newest Trustee yelled something and just walked out the door.  It was a long night before I finally escaped.  

I try to get that stuff out of my head, but it never works.  I got to bed very late thanks to Kitters screaming like her tail was on fire, followed by a horrible restless night full of nightmares, only to wake up to chirping chirp chirp singing his heart out.  It's 3:00 you idiot and DARK outside.  No sweet young thing is going to come and visit you this early in the morning.

And so I will have another cup of coffee because in two short hours, company will be here.  Hopefully I can pull myself together before then!!!

When Cooper was younger, he used to sleep with this toy puppy every night.  This isn't a staged picture, he would put his legs around it to be sure no one took it from him while he slept.  My sweet sweet boy.

CANNING THE OLD FASHIONED WAY

 It's a lovely 63 degrees in sunny California, soon to become exactly like my pot of stew ... boiling!

First however, it's garbage pickup day, meaning it's also gardener morning.  Having pruned this tree, I had chopped up some of the branches and stuck them in the bin, leaving enough room for the grass from the mowed lawn.  That's when he called to say he was not coming today.  I spent the morning frantically cutting up as many branches as I could and stuffing them into the bin that I hauled to the curb.  Kitters just watched after she completely missed the first jump into the tree.  

With that done, I was on to cooking.  I needed to use up some of the meat in the freezer, so beef stew it was.  However, stuffing an entire pot roast (cut up into pieces) into a small crock pot because I gave all my big ones away, was harder than I thought it would be.  Add mushrooms, onions, carrots and potatoes, and it was overflowing.  I stuck it in the pot and turned it on low before heading off to accounting work. 

Once back home, I began the next project ... JAM!  Remember these two bowls full of fruit?  I grabbed one of the nectarines on the right, only to have it squish completely in my hand.  OH YUCKY POO!!!  In three short days, instead of just getting ripe, they had rotted to the point of mold and mush.  The smell was more than I could handle.

That's why you only see peaches in this picture.  They are not exactly ripe at this point, but I'm not taking any chances.  I peeled them, put them through my food processor and dumped them in the pot.  Only four cups went into this very old pressure cooker.  I've learned over the years that this stuff, when boiling, will quadruple in size, so bigger is always better.

Next up, sterilize the jars the old fashioned way.  Wash, turn upside down and place in 1/2 an inch of water.  Place the pan on the burner and let it boil for a while.  By the way, these are new Azure glassware jars.  I have used Ball jars my entire life, until I figured out their seals don't seal very well.  These are actually cheaper than the Ball jars, but made oh-so-much better.

The lids are Superior lids.  Here's another reason to switch.  Ball has started putting much less rubber on the jar lids, so they often do not seal at all.  I noticed that on several jars the last time I made jam, so I have switched to Superior.  Same goes for the lids as the jars.  Put them in a pan, pour boiling water over and let them sit while you prepare the jam.

That's my huge pressure canner on the left, the one I've had for 36 years that has canned everything from veggies to tuna and salmon.  I'm using it today for a boiling water bath.  In the dinosaur days, we never did that.  Jars were filled with jam, capped and sealed, then left on the counter to cool.  I don't think we ever had a lid that did not seal.  Nowadays, they tell you not to can anything because you'll die from food poisoning.  As far as I know, no one in my small family ever died from eating our canned foods.

Here's the final product after boiling in the canner for 5 minutes ... no pressure involved.  The first lid pop on these jars was so loud it scared me half to death.  I ran into the kitchen, thinking one had exploded.  Nope ... just a nice LOUD tight seal.  Boy do I love these new jars and lids!!  Now for the taste test.  Boy oh boy this stuff is DELICIOUS!!  I'm sure it's made much better by the fact that these peaches were poached (but not by me) from the Dole peach orchard on the other side of town.

By this time, the stew wasn't stewing.  I turned it on high for the next five hours.  Will this stuff EVER get done?  So let's make some salad dressing.  Our Elks Lodge makes all their own dressings, and they are delicious!  I talked the Chef into giving me his recipe because salad dressing is expensive, and I never seem to like what I buy off the shelf.  

This could not be easier.  Mayo, Heinz chili sauce, pickle relish and garlic to taste.  No kidding .... it's like the Thousand Island dressing of old, and a whole lot cheaper.  

By now this stew has been cooking for almost 8 hours.  FINALLY the meat is tender.  That's what I was waiting for!  I have to say it's not Dan Chance's stew ... no one makes it better than he does ... but it was edible, except for that little weird after taste.  I think I finally figured out it is the one cup of canned beef broth taste that I don't like.  Too bad, so sad, it's too late to fix it.  It's edible, just not like what Dan whips up.  Next time I'm in Arizona, I'm secretly going to watch him make his famous recipe so I can make it too.

Toys toys everywhere.  If my kid wasn't sleeping, he was barking at me to play the steal-the-toy game.  This little lamb was his favorite.