SCRUB A DUB DUB

 Does this tree say ALLERGIES?  Honestly, I don't know how it's still standing after yesterday's winds made it dance around and almost touch the ground.  The good news is neither it nor my cold made me sneeze yesterday.  PROGRESS!!  Morning coughing, yes, but for the most part I'm on the mend.

My body guards have been judicious about their jobs.  The black blob sits in wait of what, I don't know, since her food came out automatically 45 minutes ago.

This kid has already been outside, had treats, and is back in sleep mode.  Little do they both know, there was a delivery on my front porch at 5:14 this morning.  WOW!  Amazon now has overnight delivery here.  I placed that order at 7:00 last night.  

Breakfast was my normal Egg McAvocado Muffin.  Well yes, of course Mr. Cooper gets his toll road payment.  I can't walk around here unless I pay the piper.

If I don't, THIS is what I get.  Barking barking and MORE barking, whilst rolling up the rugs pawing the floor.  No kidding, he is really GOOD at that!!  That makes for more work for moi, so I try to be on time for the Master of the House!  I can't help it .... he so cute when he does this!!

And so as the hours counted down, it was time to head out on the road once again in the van.  Gee ... wouldn't it have been nice had they put SOMETHING in the programming that told you it was in Regen ... and when you might FINISH?  Nothing ... I've got nothing.  I guess today I'll spend some time on Facebook asking if anyone else has this problem.

It also decided yesterday that it did not want to tell me if the oil was okay.  It actually said DRIVE ME for a while and I'll let you know.  So off I went down the back roads, doing the speed up slow down stuff.  Luckily I spotted that Highway Patrol WAY ahead so I didn't get a ticket.  The guy passing me the other direction was not so lucky.

I tried my best to get a great picture of the gang on the roadside, but this is all I got.  Note to self ... put the REAL camera in the  van.  It's much easier to use than a cell phone.  

Down this road, I ran into a group of big burly men.  Around here we have what we call Clampers.  They are a group of men who join this drinking group, which also doubles as an historical marker kind of family.  Don't ask how I fit in to that picture.  

Most every historical marker in this part of the country was erected by them, and every year they go around to all of them and spiff them up.  They clean the markers and make repairs.  Really, a great group of guys if you know them when they are NOT involved in a drink fest or initiation.

Finally back home, I realized the van was exceptionally dirty.  I've rinsed it off a couple of times, but alas, I had no proper soap.  The finish on this thing is weird.  The hood and top parts are metal and shiny like a regular car.  The sides have some kind of coating that is almost sticky and looks like it was sprayed with something almost texture like.  The bottom plastic portions are the same, only worse. 

My washing actually did nothing at all.  I had to grab a towel and literally scrub the sides to get the dirt off.  That is why the Amazon order is expected this morning.  I ordered Meguiar's Golden something or other, new wash pads, a better nozzle for my hose since mine broke, and towels to dry it off.  The windows are the same ... sprayed and/or water spotted and somewhat sticky so they never look clean.  It's weird.  Maybe they put some kind of coating on it???

At any rate, 90 minutes later it was sort of cleaner.  

All that hard work deserved something special.  Here's the quickest dessert you've ever made, a recipe given to me by a Bingo friend.  Graham crackers, sugar and butter, spread it on the bottom of the pan and bake at 350 for 10 minutes.  Let cool completely.  Now comes the hard part.  Open a can of lemon pie filling and spread it around.  Put that in the fridge for an hour or two.  Now comes the even harder part ... smother it in Cool whip and DIVE IN!  

As usual, I actually put it in the freezer, taking a piece out and letting it thaw before diving in.  It's like those lemon bars, but better.

Mr. Cooper got a little antsy late in the day, so I spent a couple of hours in the sewing room where he lays quietly while I sew.  I made backing for this quilt and stitched borders on another.  Alas, I need to make a trip to the quilt store to keep from making them all exactly the same.  I want to try and match that camo in the central panel.  

Too bad it's Sunday and they are closed.  On the other hand, the INDY 500 starts this morning at 9:30.  I'll be glued to the couch eating that lemon dessert with a big spoon!!!

REMEMBER THE FALLEN ......   

I'll see you tomorrow!!

MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND

 And just like that .... it's once again cold in the mornings, as compared to the 92 degree day, just in time for Memorial Day Weekend.  It's time to remember those who never came back ... those who never made it out of their uniform. 

It is good to hear that all our cemeteries in this County will be having memorial services.  One of the best will be our local Honor Guard, all Elks Lodge Members, who will be at the National Cemetery.  Remember those who gave their lives for our freedom.

THIS one ... she thanks me for her life every single day.  Oh don't get me wrong, I appreciate it, but I just wish she would tone it down.  Yessireee ... I spent a full 20 minutes crawling around on the floor with a flashlight and a flyswatter trying to chase LIZARD #5 out from under my wardrobe.  The flyswatter was to try and get him to move onto it ... so I could slowly pull it out and grab him.  It didn't work.  He finally ran into my boot laying sideways on the floor.  GOT YOU!!  Out the front door he went.  I should have quite the colony out there now!

Then she comes sneaking onto the arm of the couch.  She's very still ... then barely touches my shoulder with one paw.  Nothing.  Tap again, a little harder.  Nothing.  That's when the claws come out ... but just enough to snag my shirt.  

Okay, that's enough!!  A few rubs and she is off the couch and back outside ... hunting!!!

Breakfast was quick and easy.  Cooper got a scrambled egg.  I got ........ ICE CREAM!!  I have to admit however, that those little peanut butter chips were a waste of money in peanut butter ice cream.  You can't taste them at all.  Maybe chocolate chip next time.

Since I seem to cough for the first three hours, the morning went by with a big sigh of boredom.  I just could not get motivated.  It was almost instantly too hot to walk outside.  I did make it all the way down to the Van to unplug the battery charger and make sure the solar was working on the house batteries.  At least I accomplished that much.  Otherwise, the heat kept us inside all day.

At long last the coughing subsided a bit and I got up the nerve to try quilting once again.  There's nothing like having a machine crash, to make you extra nervous about using it again.  It's been fine for the last three small quilts, but I'm not the least bit secure in that feeling.

I finally loaded this one up and gave it a shot.  There was lots of discussion with myself over exactly where to start at the top, to make sure the top and bottom pieces ended up the same length.  Fabric shrinks when you quilt it, so you never really know exactly where the bottom will end up.  

This one turned out just fine, with no horrible clanking or screeching sounds.  I do like the backing.  Adding the pieces top and bottom means wasting much less fabric.

On the other hand, this border fabric is awful.  All those white spots are from the needle going through cheap fabric.  Not cheap in price, but cheap in quality.  You can really see them in person, so I won't be using it again.  That's two yards down the drain!!  Sadly, it's already on one other quilt to be finished.  

Lunch was another WEIRD one.  Instead of making a meatloaf sandwich out of thick bread, or even thicker sourdough bread, I used a tortilla.  The smaller the better, so I eat less.  SO ... meatloaf, barbecue sauce and lettuce.  It was actually delicious!!  Weird, but delicious!!

I did spend a little more time in the sewing room putting borders on yet another quilt.  Alas, it was too hot in there to stay long and I'm too cheap to turn on the AC yet.  Today I'll check my solar true-up bill and see how it's going.  The good news is the forecast (not that they are ever correct) is for 74-85 degrees for the next week.  I can do that!!!

The coughing subsided slightly more, and Patsy says it should quit any day now, so I loaded another quilt on the machine.  Maybe I will even get TWO done today.

And so another BORING and SICKLY day passed by.  It's hard to appreciate it when you don't feel very good.  And hard to write about it too!!

It doesn't help sitting here thinking about driving the van to complete the regen.  Yup that is still on the menu, and I hope to head out soon.  The problem with that is the $7.69 a gallon diesel!!  Nothing makes me want to stay home more than that!!!

I hope you have a wonderful Memorial Day Weekend!!  Please remember those who are no longer with us but still wear their uniform.

I'M SCREAMING .......

Early morning in the Cooper household looks like this.   Every one of these rugs came from one type of RV or the other.  The bigger rugs from the Class A, the mid length from the Fifth Wheel and the small ones from all three, including the Van.  If it weren't for these, Mr. Cooper's leg would not be healing at all.   I tried booties, but they came off in seconds, not to mention how hard it is to get one on a hurt leg. 

Lucky for me, he pretty much sticks to the rugs, and so his leg is getting better, slowly but surely.  It probably won't ever be brand new, but like my cold, it's slow but sure progress.

Yesterday I even took his jammies off.  It was time for a trim since we are having much warmer 85-92 degree days.  Cooper tries to be good and sits very still.  Nope, that's a lie.  He's a squiggly butt, making it hard to trim his legs and belly.  I try using clippers, but alas scissors seem to work the best.  

This is why he wears the jammies.  This lymphoma or whatever is used to drive him crazy, and the licking didn't help one bit.  With the covering, he leaves it completely alone.  Wasn't I surprised when I let him down off the counter and watched for a few minutes.  He never touched it.  And so for the last whole day, he's been FREE!!  And cooler!!

The Queen of the House watched from her Royal Chair.  Every time she gets up, there's a pile of fur.  How can that be when I brush her constantly?  Let me just say it is the time of hairballs.  They are all over the back yard walkways!!  YUCK!!  She has also figured out it's much cooler INSIDE than outside.

She has now given up on patrolling the lawn ..... she sits just under the white fence and scans the entire corral area for mice and gophers.  I guess she is paying her way in that respect.

Sadly, about mid morning, having cleaned up all the puppy and kitty hair the best I could, I sat down to watch the news.

We lost a legend .... Kyle Busch passed very unexpectedly from a terminal ailment yet to be announced.  He was a go-cart racer at 13 and a driver at 16 in the Craftsman Truck Series for Roush Racing at Indianapolis.  He finished ninth, which truly began his career.

He won 263 overall NASCAR events ... I think that's a record.  What a loss for the racing world.  Prayers for his family.

The rest of my day was full of coughing and hacking, but at least the sneezes were minimal.  It's definitely better than it was, but my voice has not remained intact.  There's nothing like sounding like a growly bear when the driver bringing your groceries asks for the code number.  He backed up several steps. 

 Interestingly enough, he was NOT Indian or Sikh.  They are the hardest working folks around here and do most all deliveries.  This gentleman and I had a nice conversation, though about 15 feet apart, because he has the coolest little white car with black rims.  By the way, groceries mean ice cream in growly bear talk.  I've been screaming for ice cream for days!!

With all that food in my freezer, you would think I could easily find something to eat.  The problem seems to be that I have to actually COOK it, which requires I have to remember to take it OUT of the freezer.

I finally settled on one of those steaks I bought from the lodge.  The name escapes me at the moment.  There is only room in my brain for important stuff, like did I order everything I need to make ice cream.  Luckily, the answer was YES.

I threw the steak on the barbie even after realizing it was the dirtiest I've ever seen, mostly because I never look UNDER the grate.  Oh my gosh ... I'm surprised it hasn't caught on fire.  I scraped off some of the gunk, just enough for a ten minute char.  I do like my steak a little on the rare side.  So does Cooper for that matter, since as Jim puts it, I have to pay the FOOD TAX.

FINALLY ... the piece de resistance!!  I had whipped up the ice cream recipe and left it in the fridge for the required 60 minutes before freezing it.  Okay, that's not true, because I was already yawning at 8:30.  It was only 41 minutes before I grabbed the frozen vessel, dumped in the goods and hit the GO button.  Boy do I love that sound.

Fifteen minutes later I was sticking my spoon in the pot for a taste.  No worries, there's no one else around here that's going to eat this peanut butter, Reeses peanut butter chip deliciousness!!  I dumped it into two containers, leaving my share frozen to the sides of the bowl.  I stood at the kitchen sink and enjoyed every single bite ......... in between coughs!!

It was delicious ..... and I stopped the "I scream for ice cream" blues.  At least it's something I don't have to defrost!!

By the way, did you notice there was nothing about the Lodge meeting last night?  That's because I didn't go.  Any time I have a legit excuse, I'm staying HOME!!

As much as I have tried to get to quilting on the longarm, it hasn't happened.  I go over to the machine, stare at it for a few minutes and finally say NOPE ... not feeling it today.  I'm thinking maybe a walk in the cool morning air will clear my head and provide a bit of oomph to get me going.

I hope you all have a GREAT DAY!!

WEIRD STUFF!!

 Some days I think it's just a miracle that I'm still alive.  After all that hacking yesterday, I was sure my throat would have exploded.  By 10:00 I could only breathe through my mouth, so I finally got out the prescription from last time so my head would not split in two.  Slowly but surely, I could breathe through my nose, but I couldn't see.  The amount of water coming from my eyes, probably from those six bottles of water I drank yesterday, makes me feel like I'm underwater.  Another dash of pill and I actually slept a couple of hours.  Will wonders never cease.

I'm jealous because Mr. Cooper slept through the earthquakes every time I sneezed.

It was gardener day, but I did not go outside to complain about anything.  I figured one look and he would run away screaming.  I did take time to notice my roses are finally growing up to the sky.  All the better to hide the rude neighbors to the back.  Unfortunately, they don't block the sound much, so a concrete block wall is in the works.

As you have probably noticed in the past, single people eat weird.  Single SICK people are even MORE weird ... or maybe it's just ME.  This was yesterday's breakfast.  As you know, I don't like to throw food away if I can possibly eat it.  This is a breakfast taco.  Scalloped potatoes, a slice of cheese and half a scrambled egg on a flour tortilla.  It was actually quite good!  

The other little pieces of egg?  That's Cooper's share.  He gets a little egg along with his nasty tasting dry dog food.  He's probably lucky I don't do dog food!!

See what being sick gets you???  This is actually lunch, some of a huge carton of French fries that came home from the lodge with me because they were just going to dump them in the trash.  I chopped them up, smothered them with pizza toppings and slid it into the air fryer.  Looks disgusting, but tasted pretty darn good.  I'm a pushover for cheese and potatoes.

While absolutely nothing happened all day long, I did place an Amazon order for a couple more floor rugs, some puppy bath wipes and kitchen gloves.  I swear, the future of stores is coming to an end.  All my items were delivered not only overnight, but by 4:00 in the morning, barely 12 hours later.  We now have delivery between 4 am and 6 am.  

It's a good thing I have a membership, because I pay zero for deliveries.  I doubt what I pay in membership fees even comes CLOSE to covering their delivery expenses.  Besides that, everything is cheaper than buying it here in town.  It's the wave of the future I suppose.  If we had any Mom and Pop stores, I would buy local, but alas, they do not exist here.

The good news is that the critters will hopefully be here forever, you know, since they are now using paper bags instead of plastic ones.  You can tell this little guy hangs out here a lot.  He's there every morning and we talk.  No kidding ... he chirps out any number of different little tunes that I whistle back to him.  Yup ... that's where I am now ... sick and whistling to the birds.

I did finally go out to hook up the van to the battery charger since I haven't felt at all like driving.  No use taking a chance of falling asleep at the wheel.  I did finally take the large quilt off the longarm in order to work on the four small ones.  I might even have actually turned the machine on, but I'm just not feeling it.  

Besides, it takes a lot of concentration in order to make no mistakes.  This isn't a push the button and go project ... you have to push a gazillion buttons, not to mention programming the thing in the first place.  Better I do this when my head doesn't feel like it's going to fall off on the floor.

And so ended an absolutely BORING day.  This morning I'll scrounge around for a second box of Kleenex before plunking myself down on the couch.  Maybe I'll even make another taco with the leftover French fries!!!  

PLOP PLOP, FIZZ FIZZ, OH WHAT .......

WELP ... as my gramma used to say .... I'M STILL HERE!!!  You know the telltale signs of a cold when your chest feels like there's a big 15 pound rock laying on it?  I don't have that.  This is the strangest cold I've had.  It's 100% in my sinuses.  I'm coughing and sneezing, but there's nothing there.  If I'm going to have a cold ... apparently this one is a good one to pick up.

On the other hand, my brain isn't exactly in gear at all times.  You can tell by this first picture.

Yessiree ... after lounging on the couch all morning long, and finally getting up the gumption to get to Bingo, I forgot my phone. I never knew I was so addicted to that darn thing!!  There was not a picture to be had the entire evening.

To make matters worse, I was madder than a wet hen whose eggs just got stolen by the fox.  I haven't mentioned it thus far, but the kitchen crew got set up.  A person who shall remain nameless said the corn dogs were not done, so the wonderful gentleman who was cooking, set them on the counter and reached for two new ones to throw in the fryer.  Oh no, said the guy standing next to him ... just throw those back in the oil.

THREE days later, we were blindsided by a claim of unsanitary cooking in the kitchen.  I've been dealing with that ever since.  We all threatened to quit with me at the top of the list.  Especially since the guy who told him to do that has a Kitchen MANAGER'S certificate.  Just wait until I see him face to face.

At any rate, I felt we were not being backed up at all and I was screaming MAD!!  Truly, you don't ever want to make me that mad when I'm sick to boot.

And so before the games even began, I made sure there were a few BIG LOUD confrontations.  We are now getting some backup for our volunteer efforts.  

Bingo actually went very well considering we had 140 people on this night.  I think they could all feel my vibes and were watching their P's and Q's.  Even the two homeless guys who come to play were very nice.  It's always interesting that when they come in, they pay with $100 bills.  

The only time armor was needed, was when a lady yelled BINGO with number 56 in the monitor.  The crowd went WILD!  It has been almost four months since the $1199 pot has been won.  Too bad, so sad ... 56 was the number, but it doesn't count until it's CALLED.  Lots of BOOS ensued.

Too bad for me, I had to stay around until we closed out the sales desk.  My relatively new cashier does a fabulous job, but closing out is another animal altogether.  She thought she was $200 off, but when I was finally able to clear my head a tad and actually LOOK at the paperwork, she had forgotten a couple of items.  We fixed it ... we balanced ... and I was out the door seconds later.

Now home, I panicked looking for my phone.  Two trips to the garage ... did I drop it in my truck?  Round and round the house I went, looking everyplace I have ever left my phone.  At long last I looked over at my computer and there it sat.  So here's the moon and a couple of stars the last time I let Cooper out for the night.

My sweet boy ... it seems when he slips a bit or catches that foot on something, it hurts him, but at least it's less and less, so I'm hoping that means it's slowly getting better.  I had a lot of dark thoughts yesterday, but this morning he seems to be doing better.

This will be MY morning ... PLOP PLOP, FIZZ FIZZ, OH WHAT A RELIEF IT IS.  I bet you all know that one, but alas, I don't have any AlkaSelzer ... so hot tea with lemon and honey will do it.  Oh wait ... I don't have any tea ... maybe hot WATER with lemon and honey.

So now I won't be the only one singing that ditty in my head all day long!!  Maybe if I'm a really good girl, I can quilt one or two Veterans quilts.  

Or maybe I'll just be a big blob on the couch for the next 8 hours!!!  Hope you all have a GREAT DAY!  Plop plop .... sorry, it just won't go away!!

THE BIKER DUDE

 Well this is a fine how-do-you-do!  And not well, thank you!  I literally didn't sleep all night long.  That hasn't happened in a long time.  Can't breathe, runny nose, sneezing so loud it scared Kitters into the window.  No worries, she's fine!!

Maybe I was dreaming when I looked this up on my phone.  A friend just spent three days in Disneyland.  Oh how I remember those days of a $300 year round pass, enter as many times as you wanted.  I actually had the notion I just might go again ... until I read this!

Excuse me .... sneeze, sneeze ... 12 times in a row!!!

Here is your package price for the cheapest Disney hotel, including entry into ONE park.  You can go for two night's stay for a whopping $2,752.62.  That's $1375.00 PER NIGHT, and you STILL have to pay for food.  Who in the world can afford that?  I complain about the $100.00 a night stay at the RV park on the coast!!  My hopes were dashed!!

Oh wait ... that doesn't even count the fuel it takes to get there.  What a shock to realize my Disneyland days are over.  

With nothing else on the schedule since I'm not feeling well, I jumped in the truck and headed out to the SPCA.  

No worries about the machine sliding ... it's hooked onto the tailgate.  Besides that, I drove VERY carefully.  It never slid over even an inch.

I took the long way around and turned onto the street where the house number lived.  Yikes ... this is a very old subdivision with VERY narrow streets.  I was pretty shocked to see the state of the house.  I figured I was probably leaving this stuff for someone to steal since the neighborhood didn't look great at all.  Oh well, I guess if they need it that bad, they can have it.

Getting it unloaded would be the first problem.  My plan was to knock on a neighborhood door and ask for some muscle.  Amazingly, at the perfect time, that car on the left pulled up and parked.  The guy that got out was your local Biker Dude ... long hair, dirty jeans, wife beater t-shirt ... PERFECT!  I ran up to him and asked if he could PLEASE help me unload this thing.  

No problem he said!  I jumped up on the back of the truck, took the straps off without cutting my finger off and helped move it to the back.  I GOT IT he said.  YIKES!  He picked that thing up like it was light as a feather and walked it all the way to the back of the driveway.  DANG he was strong!!  He helped unload the dog crate and both cages before walking back to his car.  What a NICE guy!!

That was it ... I drove back home coughing and sniffing all the way.  Truly I don't feel that bad, just very tired.  Once home however, I did nothing but sit on the couch and watch James at work.

James can be a problem ... I have to go around and pick up everything he might wad up underneath ... and this time he decided to take the day off.  Empty the bin.  I did.  Empty the bin!!  Okay okay!  These dust bags cost a fortune, so instead of putting in a new one, I turned it upside down over the trash and pulled stuff out the bottom.  

Boy was I SHOCKED!  It was completed stuffed to the brim with guess what ..... CAR HAIR.  I could not believe my eyes.  I didn't know whether to throw the cat outside or thank James for his hard work!

The day passed by quickly it seemed.  Unfortunately I had a quick meeting at the lodge last night regarding the kitchen problems we have been having.  It resulted in us feeling completely unappreciated, so we will both resign the kitchen supervision next week.  It's a tough decision when you work so hard to make money for the lodge and some people do everything they can to sabotage your efforts so you won't succeed.

The best part ... it's a big relief for both of us not to have to do all that work.  They will find out soon enough.

So for now ... it's Bingo night ... and I'm sick, so I'm not sure I'm going in.  I'll be ON THE COUCH!!

I'M SICK AND SICK!!

Well of course I would get sick because it's just getting to be summer.  What could make you happier about warm weather than getting a nice ugly cold.  It's actually a weird one ... nose not really stuffed up, throat sore, but not really sore, no temperature ... maybe it's allergies, but I doubt it.  

I started the day out pretty good with a donation to the local SPCA.  They don't get ANY money for their "kids" on the streets.  I spotted their plea on Facebook ... I can do that!

I've had this rowing machine by the back door for a month.  Though I've tried to give it away, I've had no takers.  I had to use a little ingenuity to get it in the truck since it's rather heavy.  I lifted it onto a big box, then got in the truck and lifted it the rest of the way.  Of course it's too long and hangs over about 8" inches.  I'm taking no chances ... I attached a piece of old red fabric.  The other big thing is an old dog kennel.  I had two to donate, but could only get one in the truck.  By that time I was too tired to continue.

So a little while later, I took two of the four big bird cages from Jonathan, and loaded them inside.  I'm supposed to drive to the next town over ... and then some ... to deliver it for their yard sale.  I'm thinking this is the perfect way to clear out my garage for their next year's sale.

Since my throat wasn't happy, I googled "what are the best remedies for a cold/sore throat".  They said apple juice.  Well that's a new one on me, and I just happen to have a case of these things I bought to use in smoking meat in my smokers.  Small bottles mean I don't waste it.  

Who knew apple juice was so gosh darn tasty?  

Feeling a tad bit better, I brought out the pizza.  I was sure the air fryer would work perfectly, though Barbara Westerfield's frying pan idea has always been  my go to.  I picked wrong.  If I had waited for the air fryer to brown the bottom, the top would have been a gooey melted mess on the bottom of the pan.  I ate it, but not with RELISH!!  Next time for SURE I will use Barbara's tried and true recipe!  Use a frying pan to heat it up ... the crust gets nice and crispy, like a pizza should.

That's when I noticed the tiny turkey roll I had thawing in the fridge.  In spite of not really feeling it, I stuck it on a pan and into the oven.  I'm running out of Cooper food, and this rings his bell.  I chop it up in small pieces, put it in containers and into the freezer it goes.  VOILA!  Cooper dinner for several weeks.

While all this was going on, Kitters was just tucked into a ball watching everything in the vicinity of the open back door.  I find that if I leave it open, Mr. Cooper will go outside every single time.  Shut the door and I have a mess to clean up.

With no baseball or anything else to watch on television, I opted for NASCAR.  I don't watch often, but I do love a good race.  This one was hit with big pileups.  Everyone was racing so hard on not the best of tracks, that they were cording (running on tires that had no tread, just the cords coming through) which makes for great slides into the wall.

 

The phone rang.  It was Chef Patty playing the chicken dance birthday card in my ear.  I can't believe she still has that card after all these years.  It's a classic and soon to be an antique worth a fortune.  That's when I saw it.  SOMETHING ran under my feet and under the coffee table.  NOOOOOOO!  I jumped up, only to find you know who chasing it under the side table.  

I had no idea what it was, but I suspected a mouse.  OH GREAT!  I shooed her away and it ran under the draperies that hang down to the floor.  I finished my conversation with Patty before putting on my great white hunter hat and went looking.  At long last I found him ... halfway up the curtains.  I snagged him in one fell swoop!!  Outside you go little guy ... to the FRONT yard where Kitters does NOT live.  What am I going to do with this CAT!!!  I think that makes 3 gophers and five lizards!

By then Mr. Cooper would not settle down.  He wandered inside and out looking for I don't know what, until I finally got his attention and went into the sewing room.  There he laid down and went to sleep.  YAY!

And so I sewed and sewed.  Here's the problem.  If these were 42" wide, I could get away with using one piece of fabric for the backing.  Alas, they are from 48" to 52".  Anything smaller is just too small.  That means cutting TWO big pieces of fabric, which also means lots of waste.  So now I'm trying to cut them wide enough and sew a wide spacer piece in the middle to cut down on material waste.  

I finished two before starting on the next panel.  This border fabric is my all time favorite.  I've got one more border for this one and one more backing before having five ready to quilt.  If I'm feeling up to it, I'll start quilting them today.

I finished off the day watching a little drag racing.  Don't laugh, I used to do a little of this myself, back in the day.  When my high school girl friend bought a SUPER BEE, I upgraded to a GTO with two fours, four on the floor and dual exhaust.  With a Hurst shifter, I was hard to beat.  I had the record for getting from the valley to the Yosemite Valley floor faster than anyone.  

I've told you this story ... it even helped a BUNCH when the Ranger caught me speeding to work one day.  I outran him, drove around the opposite way and parked.  He found me, but I talked my way out of it.  Oh the memories of that car!!  VERY sadly, it was stolen when I lived in Denver, and stripped to the bone.  The insurance company totaled it.  Sniff sniff!  I was REALLY sick over THAT one!

Anyway, this is REAL racing.  I just can't imagine sitting in the drivers seat of one of these with that massive engine!!  What a rush!

That was it ... another day in the books.  I'm actually feeling a little better at the moment, so maybe I'll get that stuff over to the SPCA today after all.

LET'S HAVE COFFEE

Luckily the weather is holding out in my little corner of the world.  The mornings are perfect for coffee on the patio ... almost chilly in fact.  It's worth it however, for the peace and quiet ... well except for the garbage trucks that run an early morning route  ... and the train tracks one mile away that sound like they are 50 feet from my back door ... and the Air Force based turned into a UPS hub with huge planes taking off at 3:30 every morning.  Okay, so it's not so quiet after all!!

So when one of my bingo cashiers said let's have coffee ... which she has said probably 35 times and I always said no ... I finally agreed.  Grannies Pantry was the destination.

As you know I'm not a coffee person.  I arrived first and was instantly met with a huge cup of the strong stuff.  CREAM PLEASE.  Let's face it ... I don't get out much any more.  I could not find the sugar to save me.  I went through a bucket of six different kinds, all fake sugar.  Give me the REAL stuff please!  I need to make this as close to my fake coffee as I can.  

Suddenly it dawned on me ... that big container of white stuff is the sugar.  No, I don't get out often at all!

That's when they brought the menu.  I thought I might have a little breakfast until I read it.  Are you kidding me?  Breakfast was over $20 for two eggs, two pieces of bacon, hash browns and toast.  YIKES!!  When did THAT happen?  I finally settled for ONE ENGLISH MUFFIN to the tune of $5.75.  I can buy SIX for that!!  No kidding, I was really shocked.  This is a small town hangout of regulars.  I guess that's why when I came in there were six empty tables when normally on a Saturday you would wait for an hour to get a table.  The lunch menu wasn't any cheaper!

Anyway, we talked all things Bingo and how to remedy the current situation.  My only thought at this point is to quit the bingo kitchen, right behind my friend who wanted to quit yesterday!!  It's a dilemma I won't go in to.

Once home two hours later, the wind came up like gangbusters.  That made it cool enough to hang out on the patio for a while trying to change my skin color a bit.  Let me just say that TANNED OLD skin doesn't look much better than WHITE old skin.  What a revelation for someone who spent hours at the lake getting that perfect tan.

Of course Miss Kitters had to bother me the entire time. Meow meow meow ... purr purr purr!

Here's the bad news of the day.  I woke up with a scratchy throat and a runny nose yesterday.  It's not as bad this morning, so maybe it was the REAL coffee, but I was sure feeling like a cold was coming on.  So instead of heading out on a shopping spree for new summer clothes, which can only be found around here in the winter, I stayed home and did some bookwork of my own.  

I paid some bills ... my oh my how the prices of things have gone up ... and lamented over the three tops I bought from Amazon that were as thin as paper and were all too big.  Return, return, return!!  My 20 year old truck insurance is now as high as it was when I bought the thing.  I won't even mention the VAN insurance.  All I can say is thank God I have a good retirement or I would be selling stuff right and left, including the van.

I kept Mr. Cooper company on the couch and watched a little rodeo until dinner time.  I planned three trips, even going so far as to almost hit the reservation button, but I know Cooper won't be comfortable and I'm afraid of more damage to his leg, which by the way seems to be getting better, although slowly.  The rugs on the floor have made all the difference.

In no time, dinner rolled around.  I don't know why I keep trying to make pizza.  I suppose it's because I have the ingredients and it's a challenge.  I pulled the last frozen dough piece out of the fridge where it had thawed overnight.  Oh my Great Aunt Suzie ... something was certainly wrong the second I opened the package.  I can't even explain the smell.  It was so acrid and BAD that I immediately threw it in the trash can just so I could breathe.  What the heck happened to that??

Now what?? I remembered a recipe online for 15 minute pizza crust.  Okay, I'll bite.  I was thinking this wasn't going to be good at all ... and I was right.

Here's the problem.  I used amazing Miss Terry's recommendation for putting down provolone cheese first to keep the crust from getting soggy.  I then smothered it with sauce, more cheese and toppings.  After ten minutes in the oven, I looked in to see cheese melting and pepperonis floating off the top down onto the heating element.  Flames erupted!!  I think maybe I used too much baking powder.  The crust was almost an inch thick in the middle.

NOOOOO!!  I pulled it out, pushed all the cheese back up on top, placed it in another pan and stuck it back in.  That burned pepperoni smell will go away, I'm sure.  

So here's the final product.  It doesn't look all that bad, but a quick check of the bottom and I was sure it wasn't fully cooked.  Oh heck ... I'll just scrape off the toppings and eat that!!  Actually it turned out not to be TOO terrible, since the crust did get pretty much cooked, just not browned.  I instantly threw that recipe in the trash.  

I'm going to eat it because it has a lot of expensive cheese on top, but I'll reheat it in the air fryer.  That should make it MUCH better!!  On the other hand, I've given up.  There will never be another homemade pizza in my house EVER!  Ummm but I did see a recipe using tortillas ...........

And so ended another day as the three of us headed off to bed.  I'm trying all my homemade cold recipes today, though my throat is not sore at all.  We shall see how far I get!

HAVE A GREAT DAY!!!