Finally ... On The Road Again!

 It wasn't quick ... me getting up on this day with a still miserably full stomach from eating too much!!  Lesson learned .... once again!  

The list was short.  Pack everything in readiness to leave, fuel up the rig and wash the window so I could at least see the driveway on my way out.  Good grief it was dirty.  It's like there's a nice layer of grease attracting every speck of dust, not to mention bug butts.  Unlike duck butts, bug butts are a detriment to visual acuity.

I admit, I did a terrible job.  Just down the street there's a big fancy truck that gets a bath about once a month.  I'm going to shanghai the crew and have them wash this kid every other month.  

Once I could actually SEE, I headed off for fuel.  Just a note here ... one of my very good friends husband bought a new Ford truck.  He traded between B5 and B20 fuel because it was cheaper.  Little did he know the damage that was being inflicted on his engine.  $10,000 later, he has a new engine and will no longer use B20 diesel.  

Since I didn't know exactly which fuel was being sold closest to my house, I chose to head on down the road to my favorite station.  I think it was $4.89 a gallon, up from just a couple weeks ago when I filled up my truck.  

At least with a full tank, I won't have to worry about getting more any time soon!  I'm not staying long, just enough to get my feet wet and get the hang of actually living in the new rig.   

And so we are loading up to take off this morning into the wild blue yonder of the ocean.  I've got sleeping pills and ear plugs packed, along with Mr. Cooper and his newest toy.  This will be a good test if I can keep Jonathan warm enough in his new ride.

By the way, just for info ... my mouse batteries are installed correctly.  Leave it to Apple to go against the grain.  Inside the mouse, it shows exactly how to install them ... the opposite of any other device I have ever used.  Put them in the normal way and it does not work at all.  Weird, huh?

We will look at the rest of the bird refuge pictures another day!!!

Meet The K-9's

 Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose ... and sometimes you get to do BOTH at the same time.  We are one of the counties in the State that are rednecked, shoot em up cowboy types that love our flag and our country.  We believe in protecting ourselves however we can and we believe in our Sheriff's Department.

Here's how we do it.  Not too many years ago our Department began a K-9 section to help handle the problem adults in our County, as well as to help FIND lost children and adults.  You would be surprised just how many go missing.  

Though most of these handsome guys and gorgeous gals are for drug and bomb sniffing (you would be surprised how often they work), OUR favorite is Bingo.

So when the Sheriff's Department has their annual fund raiser for their K-9 pals, we all go to the dogs in spades!!  Almost 300 folks showed up to show their support.  Here's Nala and Bingo on the front page!

So why am "I" there?  Because the Elks Lodge Bingo crew donated the money to purchase Miss Bingo, a beautiful bloodhound ... and she was aptly named.  Support your local Sheriff is our motto, as he is one of the few who will stand up to the Governor at every turn.

We even got six bottles of wine, all of which we absconded with to include in our Veterans Dinner raffle coming up.  Don't tell anyone!!

So while we were buying raffle tickets for the "drop one in the bucket" table, bidding on the silent auction items and snacking on a charcuterie table 8 foot wide, Miss Bingo sat quietly with her handler.  Yup he's a hunk!!

He knew where she came from, so he brought her over for a visit.  OMG such a sweetheart she is!!  But here's the best part.  She has so far found 32 people in her short two year career, a record for most departments, and certainly for this one.  From children to lost adults, she's really good with her nose!!  Of course she was sniffing Cooper on me!

I wish I had taken a picture of the food.  Good grief ... the portions were epic.  Smoked tri-tip (some of the best I've ever had), smoked chicken, Mac 'n cheese, smoked bbq beans and cornbread filled me to the brim.  In no time I was miserable ... and I brought enough home to feed three more people.  No kidding ... the portions were gigantic!  

Time for the dessert auction!  Yikes ... the first one went for $500.  The problem was they were showing the desserts at the farthest side of the room from us.  I had no idea what I was bidding on, but bid I did!!  $325 later, this is what was presented to us.  

Ohhhhhhh ..... ummmm ..... it's blueberry cheesecake.  That was kind of a let down.  Since the next item was 2 dozen cupcakes sold for $1250, I figured the cheesecake was just dandy.  I was wrong.  This was just awful ... the worst thing I've ever eaten and believe it or not, I can still taste this morning.  UGH!!!  No worries though, it went for a good cause.  We tried to give it away at the other tables, but no one was a taker.  

Later, come to find out they gave us the wrong dessert.  This was not the one I was bidding on, which made it even worse!!!  Oh well ... so sorry Charlie.

By now it's WAY past our bedtime ... us old folks ... and they had just begun the gun games.  Some were won by buying cards, tearing them in half and waiting for the draw of the second half of your card.  I passed.  

Next up was a good one ... you bid on one of SIX bottles of really good alcohol, on the bottom of which was a number from 1 to 6.  Once all six were won, they rolled one dice to see who won the rifle.  So just because you had the most money, didn't mean you were going to win.  The suspense was awesome.  As you can imagine, no one gets out the door with one until you are registered and vetted next week.

Surprisingly, I actually won one of the raffle prizes.  This is the kind where you put the ticket in a box.  One ticket is drawn for the winner.  I put all my eggs in one basket and won this doggy bag for Cooper.  Yes, everything is for a dog ten times his size, so I'm saving several of the items for Mr. Gibbs.  Just so you know, I stole the blanket for myself!!!

Almost bigger than him, Coop had a hard time playing with this one, but play he did.  I think this one might be just right for Gibbs.  

And so I came home so miserable from eating WAY too much that I'm still miserable this morning.  I'm pretty sure I won't have to eat a single meal today.  

It was worth it though ... the K-9's made a lot of money ... enough to feed and care for them for a year and maybe even add to the kennel.  Three cheers for the DOGS!!!

Duck Butts

With the wind chill in the air yesterday, it really wasn't comfortable to be out early in the day.  A few cups of coffee remedied that and I hit the road to see how many birds have migrated this direction.  I know I've mentioned this before, but when the cattle business got tough, my dad went to work at the newly created Wildlife Refuge running caterpillars (and not even big ones that long ago) that shaped 10,200 acres of rice and grass land into a waterfowl refuge.

Back in 1951, the enormous number of migrating birds that would land on local farmland was unbelievable.  They would completely cover up 200 acres of pasture grass on our ranch and leave nothing for the cattle to eat.  You cannot imagine walking out to see the entire field moving like a ball of worms.  The noise was defeafening!  If you made a run at them, thousand would take to the skies, fly around two turns and land again.

For the farmers trying to grow rice and corn, it was devastating.  The Lea Act was created to make a refuge that would attract the waterfowl away from the farmland.  It pretty much worked because they took all the end-of-the-season irrigation water and diverted it to this area, which attracted all the waterfowl flying south.

This entire area will soon be flooded with about a foot of water.  They were just turning the pumps on when I arrived.  Really, someone should talk to those guys about how fast they drive on this dirt/gravel road throwing up so much dust and rock that I had to stop so I didn't drive off the roadway.

It's easily accessible every day of the year, with an audio tour if you want, as you drive around the narrow roads.  I was surprised there were quite a few mud hens.  There are so many different kinds, I couldn't even begin to name them all.

Mr. Cooper went with me and he was not impressed.  Though the snow geese and swans have not arrived yet, the first couple hundred of the expected 15-20,000 sandhill cranes have arrived.  By next month you will not be able to see any grass or water.  The land will be covered with them.

It was a pretty windy day and you can see the water coming in while this guy was digging for critters in the mud.  Oh by the way, it's time for the baby snake hatch also.  I stayed in my truck.  No rattlers here, but they can give you a nasty bite.

All of the ducks not feeding were gathered against this little island for protection from the wind.  This was taken from so far away that I did not see the cranes in the distance flying around until I loaded the image on my computer.  Early arrivals get the best and most distance nest sites.

Duck butts!!  Everywhere you look ... duck butts.  

I think this is an American Coot.  They should have a handout with a picture and a name.  These guys have arrived first and are everywhere!!

But it was these guys I was after. They are pretty wary and stay far away from vehicles and people.

You can definitely see the difference between the males and females.  He was following these two around the entire area.  These kids are four foot tall and have a wingspan of about 6-1/2 feet.  

I'll have a few more pictures tomorrow after I finish going through the 151 I took.  As for now, I have to figure out how to make the new AC/Heater control change from cold to warm.  It sure seems like the old turn-the-dial-up kind were easier to operate than the magic push button, turn, push button three times, turn thingy they have now.  

We are down to 50 degrees at night and Cooper is cold, not to mention ME!!  I think fall lasted one week and winter has arrived.

And Just Like THAT -- WINTER!

 Ooohhheeeeee!!!  It just turned to winter overnight in Central Cal.  57 degrees this morning with a wind chill of 32!!  It's blasting through my back yard, probably killing all three of my flowers.  

It brought in quite a few strange looking clouds, but no water fell from the sky.  Hopefully it wiped out the flies and mosquitos that have been hanging out on my patio.

This is pretty much how yesterday went!!

It started out with these Kirkland (Costco) batteries.  Don't buy these.  I put them in my computer mouse a short week ago and they are already dead.  I usually buy Duracell which last for a LONG time.  They didn't have any this last trip, so I got the cheapies.  I won't be doing that again!  By the way Terry ... it's still working just fine!!!

By noon the clouds had turned to this, even more threatening of rain, but still not a drop.

That's when I was almost throttled by my local spider population.  Clotheslined as it were!!  When I opened the door, this nice long web reminded me it's time to go on the hunt.  Good grief, those guys have been busy little spinners.  

I can't be too mad though, since I saw a few mosquitos had become dinner.  In the old days we had mosquitos like you cannot imagine.  Totally covering our horses shoulders and backs.  Luckily we lived in a eucalyptus grove, which they didn't like too much.  There was no way to kill them back in the day.  

Nowadays, with the Eastern equine encephalitis virus having hit the West coast, they spray quite often.  Apparently they didn't do such a good job because this is the first time I've seen mosquitos here in 15 years.  Hats off to the spiders!!!

Here is another good mosquito deterrent.  Yup Jonathan HATES anything flying around his head and can catch them mid air.  I also had to put his heater back up for warmth. 

It's Thursday, lodge night ... meaning I had to get all dressed up.  Why they don't allow Levis is beyond me!!  If you are an officer and not dressed according to the "rules", you will be fined.  It's all in fun they tell me, but sometimes it can cost you $20 for that FUN!!  It's almost worth it for me!!  I always was the rabble rouser!!

Dinner was once again amazing.  Actually, one of the best I've had.  This is a full sized restaurant dinner plate.  Just look at the size of that rib eye steak!!  Ewww peas you say?  Oh man ... they were so darn good, mostly because they were NOT green beans.  Full of bacon and onions ... how could you go wrong?  I brought the entire steak home to share with Cooper.

The meeting was same-o same-o, but I'm going to brag a bit.  We approved donations to various organizations (high school water polo, high school football, grammar school soccer, two flooded lodges back East, on and on) to the tune of $16,000.00.  The money comes from our RV Park and Bingo.

We have become the largest donation entity in our County and pretty much in Central California.  Yup pretty proud of that!!

I got home too late to catch the moon rise, so here's one pulled off the internet.  It always looks largest just above the horizon.

This is one from a couple years ago.  It was too late and WAY too cold to stand outside with my camera last night.  Supermoons happen when the moon is closest to the earth, which is this time of year.  The Nez Perce called this the falling leaf moon.  I would have to agree with that one because my lawn is now covered in leaves.  The harvest is in and it's time to go hunting.  Aren't you glad we just go to the grocery store?

I would like this to be a day of rest, but once again an ugly problem arises.  We mailed a check to a vendor in August.  They just called to say they never got paid.  Come to find out, someone stole the check, washed it, typed in a new name with address (?) and cashed it electronically at a Chase Bank in Texas.  

Too bad for Chase, they did not make sure there was a deposit account number on the check.  It's going to take some time on this one because we have to file a police report in Texas.  How much was the check?  Felony worthy ... $1,275.00.  

Little do they know they barked up the wrong tree.  We have MANY Sheriff and Police Department members, along with Private Detectives who just LOVE this kind of thing!!  Stay tuned ........... I'll let you know what happens.

Just Hanging Out

Fall has finally arrived in Central California.  This is usually September weather for us, but things keep getting pushed further and further along the seasonal highway.  On the other hand, I see it's down to the -40's in Alaska with the first big snowfall.  It's why I live here ... not a lot of rain, no snow, never below zero degrees, usually sunny and no deadly critters hanging out.  How can you beat that?

Mr. Cooper and I lounged on the patio for coffee, watching the clouds do their dance in the sky.  I don't throw the ball as much as I used too since his eyesight isn't what it used to be.  It means I have to go get it MYSELF and toss it right to his feet.  

With not much going on except an afternoon meeting ... nothing like ruining a perfectly good day ... I spent another hour or so playing with the control panel in the van.  Instead of a nice expensive quilt, I opted for a magnet connected cover to keep the dust off the windshield.  It was so bad last time that it took me an hour to clean off all the dirt so I could see.  

This way I can see while I'm driving really fast to blow off all the dirt on the REST of the thing.  By the way, here's an interesting tidbit I found out at Bingo from a long time RV repair guy.  They tell you when you buy this rig NOT to let it idle for any length of time.  I never could understand that, since it's a diesel engine.  

Come to find out, the catalytic converters of today can be "killed" if you let the engine idle for hours trying to recharge the house batteries.  Why, I've no idea.  I didn't get the particulars, but apparently many have had to be replaced at shock-inducing prices and on all kinds of vehicles!  

First test on this day ... unplug, turn the charger off and see if the gas heater will work.  Oh yeah!!!!  It runs off the battery while the inverter is OFF.  That's good news ... Jonathan will be toasty warm when I'm NOT plugged in.  At this particular moment, I had plugged BACK in and the charger/inverter was roaring.  I have to admit, I like all the little green arrows that tell you where the power is going and what you can run.  You just need a degree in engineering to figure it out what to turn on when.

Back inside, with a pan full of enchiladas sitting in the fridge, I once again tried the rice.  As Shirley said, try try again!  This time I toasted it in a cast iron skillet.  MUCH better!  

Looks like the Hunter Moon, yes?  I love this old Aroma rice cooker.  It makes it perfect every time, no matter how much you make.  YUM!!!  It hit the spot.  

I did absolutely nothing the rest of the morning, since yet another meeting was in the works.  I have to admit, I'm getting rather tired of these meetings.  Sometimes I think it's better to ignore the questionable things and just trot on by.  

Anyhoo, I was pretty surprised when I arrived back home and no one met me at the door jumping up and down.  WHERE IS HE?  I snuck over to the couch to find him fast asleep.  I mean REALLY asleep.  I put my hand by his nose and watched it wiggle as he began to smell.  He stood up and looked at me with the sleepiest of eyes before beginning his happy dance.  I just love this kid!!

It finally dawned on me that he knows I'm home when he hears the driveway alarm.  I had turned it off on this day because the gardener was here.  

I leave you with yet another Hunters Moon image ... the biggest moon of the year.  None of these pictures were mine.  

Unfortunately there's ANOTHER lodge meeting tonight that I have to attend, so I'll probably miss the moonrise at 6:30 tonight.  It's going to be a good one, so get out your cameras.  The moon is closest to the earth this time of year and should be fabulous to view.

Full Moon Exposure

Happy HUMP Day!!  It's the morning after for me.  I'm drug out and brain fried after only a few hours sleep.  It's like having a big hangover, but without all the fun of drinking in order to get there.

Tomorrow is the full Hunter's moon ... the biggest of the year.  I know you know what that means for Bingo.  All creatures big and small come out of the woodwork to regale us with their bad habits.

Let's get to it!

This is a quick respite before the melee, hiding in the upstairs hallway where it's quiet and peaceful.

First, let's have a policy meeting with he that knows everything about it.  My brain was swimming when I left the room and headed downstairs to meet and greet the infernal machine.  He always gives me trouble just for fun.  Although at least the cash drawer opened, it did so with a hitch, every single time.  This guy gets so much extra work, we probably need to acquire a new one.

While quietly counting the jackpots, a lady came in yelling HE ALMOST HIT ME!  It seems one of our players who sadly has had several strokes and can barely (and I mean BARELY) walk with a cane, DROVE himself to Bingo.  Really?  How can you drive when you cannot lift your legs up???  He almost ran over her as she crossed the alley.  It's a good thing she can run fast.  It was a sign.

We continued on.  One of the benefits of becoming a member is so you can get in to the Dungeon early and save your special seat.  We initiated 4 folks 2 weeks ago and their codes have not been entered into the system.  I pled the fifth ... it's not my job.  I gave them my code so next week they could come in early and rearrange all the chairs around the tables to their liking.

No kidding ... it's a madhouse from 2:00 on (we open at 4:30) because people are moving chairs all around the room.  They don't want anyone sitting too close to them and DEFINITELY NOT across from them.  They all carry burning torches and pitchforks, so I try to stay out of it.

There were a few miss-calls for the money on this night.  I'm sure they were affected by the golden rays of Hunter Moons.  I can't believe we have so many new players showing up who are not aware of the RULES of the game.  SO many boos and hisses went off every single time!  At least they weren't directed at me, so no Knights were called.

I was sure there would be some hair pulling when someone at my table made a comment about the next person in line.  Why oh WHY?  Just ignore them!!  Apparently she got a little too close while peasant number one was picking out her speed coverall cards.  A bump was made, a slammed fist on the table and the fight was on!  

Come to find out, they knew each other and it was a teasing gesture ... but the second one never looked up to see who it was.  I expected a bloody nose and was ready to run, but alas they finally laughed it off.  Whew ... that was a close one.

I couldn't take any pictures of the current fashions because ... well ... you know, privacy and all that.  If only you could see the fashionistas in person.  I cannot for the life of me figure out how they get all that into a 12" wide piece of stretchy material.  There is nothing that doesn't show, if you know what I mean.  Short shorts does not describe it even a little bit.  Add to that a crop top made from a head band and you may get the picture.  

I'm pretty sure I never owned a onesie, even when I was a baby, but they are very popular now, especially with the over endowed.  It's blinding when it's WHITE in color.  I should have worn my sunglasses.  Please oh please let them win a jackpot and buy a new wardrobe.  

If you think plumbers crack only belongs to male plumbers, you would be wrong.  Truly, it's hard to sit and look at that, but sit there I did until the end of the night. 

The fact that we had TWO $1199 pots to give away did not go unnoticed.  Piggy banks were broken and pennies spent.  On nights like this, we rake in lots of moola, even if they don't have it to spend.  We do allow debit cards, and I'm sure some are going to go without food for the rest of the week.  

Many were rejected by the mini me infernal machine for lack of cash.  One for a measly $4.00 said I would receive 51 cents, the rest to be collected at a future day.  NOPE ... cancel cancel cancel.  We don't do that here.  The second card had the same problem.  It took three cards to get the $4.00 bill paid. 

 At long last it was time to talk sweetly to the infernal machine.  It worked ... he spit out a tape that matched my count exactly.  Maybe the coming full moon didn't have all its strength yet.

And so ended another lovely night of BINGO with me wondering what their kids will have for breakfast and dinner today.  I was on high alert as I walked across the alley to my truck.  No worries, he's still inside playing bingo.  I prayed he would be the last to leave the parking lot and not run over anyone.  

Happy Hump Day!!!  It's recovery day for me!

Never Count Your Chickens

 Happy COLUMBUS DAY to one and all.  There wasn't much celebrating going on around here.  No fried chicken or potato salad, just some leftover enchiladas.  I did however count my chickens ... five roosters crowing the morning away.  You have to listen closely because it sounds like someone screaming for help.  

I crawled out of bed hefting Mr. Cooper to the floor.  There's no asking this old guy to "hold it"!

This is pretty much my view ... blurry eyed and STILL thinking about how to turn the noise off.  Yessiree ... it's still humming away like a jet engine cruising through the sky.  It just refuses to land.  I finally had to unplug once again.  Funny how I can fall asleep on the couch with the TV blasting away, but I cannot fall asleep with the inverter fans running constantly.

At least outside the mornings are calm and quiet.  I even got a shot of the Big Dipper.  When I was a kid sleeping outside all summer long on an old metal spring army cot in my very old sleeping bag, I would look up at the stars in amazement until I heard GET UP ... CATTLE NEED TO BE MOVED!  Okay, that part wasn't all that much fun!!

After breakfast I went back outside doing a few more test things, only confusing myself even more.  I finally just gave it up.  I'll unplug from electricity and turn the inverter off at the main switch at night.  The good news is I'm not the only one with this problem.  I googled it and found a few more, none of whom have been able to come up with a solution either.  That makes me feel a little better!!

I did a little more work on this quilt ... adding the flying geese border.  One more border of the dark blue and it will be ready to quilt.

Since there's not much rodeo until the National Finals in December, I was forced to watch a little baseball and a little more football.  No offense, but boy are those games LONG and BORING.  I suppose it's because I don't have a favorite in the bunch.  

What do we do when we're bored?  We cook of course!!  I don't know if any of you have seen this stuff before, but it comes from our Mexican construction crew.  They swear by the stuff when it comes to the rice you see in restaurants.  

Here's the problem.  There's no pull date.  Does that mean it's nuclear?  I have my doubts, but it's just dry ingredients, so it can't be THAT bad, right?

I fried the rice in avocado oil (is that where I went wrong?), added onion, water and the Sazon to my old rice cooker.  This thing is HUGE and ANCIENT.  Maybe 39 years old?  Can you believe it still works?

I hit the GO button and waited in anticipation.  Finally ... Mexican fried rice!  YUM!!!!  As I said, never count your chickens until you open the pot.

That first taste test went right out of my mouth faster than it went in.  What the heck?  It tastes like burnt metal.  Nooooooo I can't have wasted all this beautiful rice!  I tried it again.  It tasted worse than the first time.  

The only thing I can think of is I fried it in a too hot non-stick pan and it picked up the taste from the metal.  It was so awful, the entire pot went in the trash!!  Lesson learned ... from now on, fry the rice in a cast iron skillet!!

Too bad, so sad ... I was forced to eat those taquitos by themselves, thinking about all the rice I had wasted.  Better luck next time!!

I spent the afternoon STILL working on this quilt.  So many little areas to quilt separately.  I was finally at the end where I take it off, turn it around and put it back on in order to do the sides evenly.  That was it ... that's all I did.  No quilting was involved.  Maybe tomorrow.

Why tomorrow you ask?  Because TODAY IS BINGO DAY!!  I'm praying it's not a full moon, because I know one is coming up.  My Moon Calendar says in TWO DAYS, so you KNOW there's going to be lots of bleed over with hopefully NO BLOOD spilled.  I'll let you know tomorrow!!  It can't be THAT bad, right?  The biggest full moon of the year??