Hits And Misses

Welcome to sunny California.  I guess we begrudgingly have to admit it's winter.  I looked out this morning to see water everywhere.  The is what tule fog looks like.  It's heavy and very WET.  Walk around outside the house and you will have to change your shirt.   If we're lucky, it lifts and/or disappears around 10 or 11:00.  Sometimes it can last all day and all night for a week.

This is me in the morning.  Okay, I'm not quite THAT old, but my slippers are huge and my coffee cup full.

After feeding everyone breakfast, including me, I got busy on this log cabin quilt block.  I decided to make one out of scrap material to check the size.  It is of course not correct.  It came out 8-1/2 instead of 9-1/2.  BUT ... my circle cutter worked great.  Okay, not really, since I had no idea where to put it on the square.  

Yay I got it.  NOPE ... this was a MISS.  This is why I only do things with a pattern to follow.  I had to laugh ... better luck next time buttercup!  No kidding, I watched that video of how to do this twelve times and I STILL didn't get it right.  Maybe another day.  On to more exciting things.

I'm studying to become a plumber.  I'm not paying anyone $150 to take off the handle and insert a cartridge.  I called Delta and got a lady this time.  Ummm Delta ... I know more than she did.  She gave me a part number, but even after sending her pictures, she gave me the WRONG part number.  I know because I took the handle off, and it looks nothing like what she said was the cure.  A big MISS on this one.

I called back to get another really nice guy ... also sent pictures ... and he said OH YES, you need a ball valve, not a stem cartridge.  I'm learning the lingo.  To my shock and amazement, they are sending me not only the valve, but all the springs and whatevers to fix it, along with complete directions.  Well thank you DELTA!!  This was a HUGE HIT!!

Hey ... might as well fix this one too.  The shower leaks, causing drips that sound like the smoke alarm batteries need to be replaced.  No kidding ... lots of sleepless nights.  He had to transfer me over to the "Shower Department" for that one.  Another picture and this time springs and rings are in the mail ... FREE.  They are even paying for shipping.  HIT #2!!  I'll be a full fledged plumber in no time!  

Not really, but I think I COULD become a flag pole installer.  I don't know where it came from ... probably the thought of drilling through my sprinkler lines ... but I got a surge of energy to go out and dig the hole myself.  I wield a pretty mean shovel from my years of fixing irrigation boxes and pipes on the ranch.  

I cut the weed barrier back and started digging.  We've had so much rain that it was fairly easy to do.  I got down about 18 inches before hitting hard pan.  Luckily there were no sprinkler lines, but quite a few tree roots. 

My sniper friend who got the quilt had ordered this pole for me upon my request.  We mixed up some concrete in his 1964 wheel barrel (they made things to last back in the day) and shoveled it in the hole.  It was a tad bit wet, but we waited and threw in another batch.  He shoveled, I leveled.

And here we are ... done with the bottom.  Should it have been deeper?  Heck if I know, I'm not a flagpole installer.  There are four or five pieces that slip together, along with cords to raise the flag.  Do I know what I'm doing?  That would be a no, but we'll find out on Sunday when we set the thing up.  He even ordered a big Eagle to sit on top with a large solar light.  I can't wait.  Hoping this is another BIG HIT!

That was pretty much my day.  I've decided it's to my benefit to stick my head in the sand when it comes to the news.  I turned it off and deleted most all of it from my phone.  It was a nice day not getting nervous about communist New York City.  I watched three hours of Genghis Khan's life instead.  It was fascinating to say the least.  Maybe because they all rode horses.

I've got three quilts to quilt on my longarm today, so let's get to it.  I'm hoping for three more HITS!!!

Quilts For Veterans

 GOOD MORNING from now FOGGY Central California.  I think we skipped right over autumn into winter.  Though our days have been lovely, our mornings and evenings are now smothered in fog.

It was a lazy day, to be sure.  In spite of having lots to do, I spent a lot of time on the couch with Cooper once again.  He has a small growth on his foot that he wants to chew on constantly.  Boy do I hate this part of getting older.  He's become obsessed with it and now has to have it covered.  I'm pretty sure there is nothing they can do, but I'm calling the Vet today.  

I picked up and cleaned up a bit since my friend is coming to install my flagpole.  I'm a little leery, so I'm hoping it goes okay.  I'm so appreciative of the thought, but I'm not sure of the skills, if you know what I mean.

It didn't take long to get a text message.  Please come to the lodge ... checks to sign, very short on cash.  Ummm that's not good!  And so off I went, not that I could do anything about it.  We are usually slow in July, August and September because of the heat.  Here it is November and folks are not coming back to events like normal.  

The price of everything in California is through the roof and folks just don't have the money to throw away.  Thanks to our Governor, the high cost of fuel tax is adding on to the price of everything.  Inflation, even at 2%, isn't helping.  Our food bills are double what they were two years ago.

Anyway, after an hour of hashing over the same old problem, I needed a drink.  A short glass of wine please.  Here I sit waiting for the folks to arrive for Lodge Night.  You get a New York steak dinner for $20.00.  Steaks the size of your plate, baked potato, green beans with bacon and a roll, followed up by ICE CREAM.  You can't beat that with a stick!!  Oh and add in meatballs and shrimp cocktail for appetizers.

Finally the time arrived to give out the first six quilts.  Three gentlemen were not there, but we held up their quilts and recognized them anyway.  Then came this amazing guy ... meet Glen.  He was the top Commander of the Coast Guard in the U.S. until retirement.  He doesn't look older than 25.  He's just finishing up his PhD in psychology.  One of the nicest guys you could ever meet.

These quilts probably look a little familiar to you.  This is Nick, a sharpshooter sniper who served in the Army.  I almost cried when we gave him this quilt.  He looked at his wife and said "this is gorgeous .. I want to be buried with this quilt".  Ummm yeah ... tears all around.

Then it was dinner time!  I mean look at this ... the green beans and roll are on TOP of the steak.  We don't mess around when it comes to Lodge night dinners ... which happen twice a month.  One time they had chicken, just because.  The backlash was extreme.  As long as we at least break even, it will be $20 steaks for the duration.

The meeting afterwards was anticlimactic.  Thank goodness we were out of there in 35 minutes.  No one really likes that part of the dinner.  Lucky for me, I made an RV reservation for the same date as the next meeting ... totally by mistake of course (that's my story and I'm sticking to it) ... so I will be gone for the 90 minute initiation of new members.  Oh so sad.  Not really.

I'll be whipping up a quick breakfast this morning before heading out to hole digging 101.  The best part ... my friend just bought a small electric auger that will do most of the digging.  Here's to my new flag pole.  Please pray all goes well and we don't hit any sprinkler lines!!!

Moons and A Rainy Day

Well ... that was another rousing night of screaming loud music from the house behind me.  I just don't get it.  They obviously know the neighbors don't like it from the FOUR visits from the Sheriff's Department.  Does that deter them?  Not one bit.  I'm sure they do it now to spite their neighbors.

It went on until 11:00 when someone (not me this time) called again to shut them up.  They stay quiet for about 20 minutes until they are sure the Deputy is gone, then they crank it up again.  I guess we will keep calling until they get fined, but I doubt that will have any effect on their "I don't give a $hit" attitude. 

Big sigh .... at any rate, it's been a little weird out here in sunny California.  It was early morning when I noticed the pink light coming through the windows.  These two pictures are right out of the camera.  

Literally five minutes later, it looked like this.  We don't usually get clouds this weird ... ours are solid grey over the entire sky.  In an hour, it was raining.  Not a bad rain, just a drizzle that went on all day long.  That meant no walk for Cooper and no bike ride for Nancy.

It also meant I had to put up with this for the hour I was on my computer.  There's no picture, just sound.  Miss Kitters is driving me cray-cray again.  Once inside, I constantly hear her sneaking around the house until she lands in my face for some pets and scratches.  

To be honest, I think all she wants is more FOOD!  She is once again obsessed!!  And I am happy she is feeling better.

I tried to be a little productive for the day, cleaning out two small cupboards in the living room.  Why oh why do I have seven bags of electronic cords and no idea where any of them go .. or where any of them COULD go.  You know if I throw them away, something will break and the repair guy will say ... WHERE'S THE CORD?  Well ... I threw it away.  Okay, that will be $120.00 extra.

That was followed up by gathering up these six quilts for our Veterans Dinner tonight.  I hope they like them, and I hope they listen to my little spiel about WASH IN COLD WATER ONLY.  You don't want everyone laughing at your pink skivvies.

That was actually pretty much it for the day.  I worked on a quilt pattern for two hours before giving up.  Maybe today I'll just cut out some fabric and sew it together to see if I can make it the right size.  I need 9-1/2 inches for the fancy ruler, but the patterns I've found are for 12-14 inches.  There is WAY too much math involved in this!!

I was all excited to get some pictures of the full moon, but alas, as is usual this time of year, the clouds kept it hidden all night long.  Only this morning did I get a glimpse of it through the fog, circled in ring after ring.  Better luck next time.

This is what it SHOULD look like.  Of course this is not a real picture.  It's photoshopped to the moon and back!  This is the Beaver Moon because it's when the Native Indians noticed the beavers building their dams and condos in which to hang out during the snowy winter.  This also shows next months full moon ... the COLD moon ... I'm guessing because it's COLD in December when there's snow.  We'll look at that next month.

That's it.  That's all I did.  I didn't even sneak in a nap.  I'll try to make up for that today since I only got about three hours sleep last night thanks to the disgusting neighbors, because you know, they are the only ones on the planet!!

Time to go find out what Kitters is into!!!  I hear noises in the other room!!!

Full Moon Adventures!

 I don't know what it is about the full moon.  I would like to get a little desktop model that shows the movement of the planets when you push a button.  There must be SOMETHING different that happens to bring out the crazy in people.

But first .... here's Kitters in her appointed spot on the patio.  She's back to be downright obnoxious when it comes to getting pets and food.  Her time clock is amazing because no matter what time I get to the door, there she is ..... waiting to get in.  Not that she stays long inside ... she's there just long enough to be annoying until I finally give her a snack while she waits for the feeder to turn on.

I think I let her in and out six times yesterday morning.  Yes, I too am happy she's back to feeling better.  It is ALL about the food, in spite of their over abundance in the body department.  

I tried to rest up, knowing it was going to be a VERY long night.  That didn't happen, and I can't come up with one single thing I accomplished.  Oh wait ... the garbage.  I remembered to take the garbage out.  Woohoo!!

I also spent about 30 minutes digging a hole in the front yard for the flag pole.  Well not really a hole ... it was more work than that!  Moving 2" crushed rock out of the way in order to dig a hole for the new flagpole, turned out to be much harder than I expected.  This is as far as I got.    

The hole is actually about 3 feet across.  I'll be filling it with water for the next two days in the hopes of softening things up.  I'm thinking this isn't going to be as easy as I thought.  Time will tell.

That's when I began getting the text messages.  You know the ones ... these six people will be working tonight. That was followed by 35 texts of "not me, I'm sick" ... "oh I'm so sorry you're sick" ... "oh we will miss you" ... "is it the flu?" ... "hope you feel better" ... and on and on.  Why can't people just be quiet, or at least send a PERSONAL text message.  I need to get off that list.

 On the other hand, the second actual phone call was great news to my overtaxed body.  My Fairy Godmother was called to Jury Duty, meaning she would actually be in to set up the entire place.  YAHOO!!  She hasn't been working (or playing Bingo) because she had to get a REAL job.  I got a reprieve for one night.  So maybe the moon isn't so bad after all?  Ummmm that would be a NO.

It was a crazy house!  Our usual numbers have been running around 100 folks.  On this night there were 135, making the place look like a sardine can.  That brought about several arguments about whose table that was and just HOW MUCH SPACE DO YOU NEED? 

Then disaster struck.  I was walking upstairs when I heard something ... I didn't know what.  I went around the back side, down the stairs, and around the corner to the BOTTOM of the second stairway.  There lay one of my bestest buddies.  He had fallen down and was on the steps.  Well of course that brought about a flurry of excitement.  He insisted he was okay, so we walked him to a table to sit down.  

We checked to be sure all his parts and pieces were intact, and let him stay since he insisted.  Later, one of our Knights went with him to be sure he got home safely.  All is good today ... just a bruised arm.  Whew ... that was a close one.  We have an automatic chair on those stairs, but of course you men ... you refuse to use it.

On with the games ... not once, but THREE times people called BINGO when they didn't have it.  It's amazing just how fast those pitchforks can appear.  The natives were restless, hollering out DON'T CALL IT IF YOU DON'T HAVE IT!!  At least this time they were pointing at someone else other than me!!

I ran my butt off ... Nancy, we need ONES ... Nancy we need a money pickup ... Nancy SHE'S GOT MY TABLE!!  Followed by Nancy I need an order for supplies, Nancy we are out of CHILI!  That was a big one!  That lasted until the New Cashier said she had to leave at 6:30.  Ummm you forgot to mention that.

It's not really a good idea to take over a cash register someone else has been using, but I had no choice.  In spite of my training, she only got part of it right.  Apparently I'm not a good teacher.  Either that or she's just doing it HER way.  I found a charge receipt for $34.53.  We don't do cents.  That means they didn't have enough in their bank account, so the bank gave us what there was.  In other words, we were shorted anywhere up to possibly $80.00

In the end, the full moon took over completely.  Instead of being short ... we were $243.00 OVER!  At least the full moon was in our favor this time.  I was too tired to try and figure it out.  I told the King we should just go out to dinner to make it come out even.

Lucky for me, I was done for the night.  Overcooked to be exact.  I fell into bed exhausted at 11:00 having gotten up at 4:00 am.  I'm pretty sure today will be a COUCH DAY!!!  And it wasn't even a FULL full moon night.  THAT will happen tonight if you want to take pictures.

I'll be on the couch!!!

Just A Normal Day

 And here we are once again ... alive and kicking, thank goodness!!  I complain about the time change, but really, I'm just glad to continue to breathe.  That brought about an OH NO this morning when I took in a nice big breath to smell ..... you guessed it ..... SKUNKOLA.  I'm hoping they are hanging out at THE neighbor's house ... the one with the soothing music.  I know that's their hangout because all the holes under the fence were on that side.

I made a beeline for Kitters, but I think she's too smart for that.  Cooper was relegated to the house while I searched.  I didn't find the culprit, so thankfully it is on someone else's property since the Skunk Catcher  in me has retired.

Kitters is back to her old self now, following me around like a puppy dog, rubbing and purring.  Apparently that means I'm part of her "clan".  She truly prefers to be outside, which is fine with me.  She's really not sleeping here ... she's guarding the feeder.  

The big black and white kitty that I have not caught on camera yet, is trying to steal all her food.  That's not happening Kitters says.  Though I haven't seen her go after the other cat, there are apparently ear flicks that relate NOT TODAY, so the interloper does not jump up on the table.  

Though I spent hours on the internet looking for that quilt pattern, nothing showed up.  There are lots of pictures and even a video of how to do it.  That's great but I need cutting directions.  How many pieces of each size and what size!!  I looked up just a plain log cabin block, but weirdly, it's not put together the same.  

So hey ... let's spend two hours trying to make up our OWN pattern.  Yeah, that didn't go quite as planned.  Six pieces of paper later, I had nothing.  

I finally grabbed this second panel and whipped up another one.  I like this one better, but NONE of these panels are the same size.  It's always a math trick to get them to an appropriate size without requiring yards of backing fabric that will be wasted.  

The good news is the roll of thread I needed for the Halloween quilt was delivered late in the afternoon.  Too bad it's Bingo night or I would quilt it today.  I added that to the list.  

Tomorrow will be DIG A HOLE DAY.  When I mentioned wanting a flagpole, one of the Honor Guard guys volunteered his time by going and BUYING a flagpole.  He said we would install it Friday.  I appreciate him so much, but he's not able to dig the hole.  So that means I need to get my shovel out and get started.  My bad, I'm kind of hoping for rain to soften the soil a bit and delay the installation.

Suddenly, there was a lot of yelling around 3:00.  Yeah, it was just me.  I have two very old email accounts that bring in around 200 scam emails every day.  I've used them since 1994, so they are attached to many things I need access to.  That means spending hours trying to set up a NEW email address and change all the old ones.  If I ever get that done, I'll delete them from my computer.  Take THAT you scammers ... I won't even have to read your name any more.

That's it ... that's all I did yesterday.  There was nothing exciting on the food front since I don't have tomatoes any more.  In fact, I stood at the freezer door wondering WHAT I was going to eat.  Everything was frozen hard as a rock.  Note to self ... you better get to the store for casserole ingredients.  

This beauty was shining down this morning in the Standard Time DARK.  It's a BAD SIGN.  It's BINGO night and we have a full moon rising.  Oh how I am not looking forward to THAT!!

And so I put on my chainmaille girdle, my steel chestplate, by knee knockers and motorcycle helmet, getting ready for the onslaught of peasants with torches, flaming arrows and pitchforks for another night of fun.  I'm OFF TO BINGO!!

No Saving Time, I'm Using It!!

 

OH MY GREAT AUNT SALLY!  I am NOT cut out for time changes.  Yesterday was the longest day of my life.  Of course the critters think everything is normal, so we were up at what is now 3:30 in the morning.  Ugh!  What makes it bad is when Bingo comes around and I have to work an hour later!!

I didn't save any time, I used up more than the 24 hours allotted.  On THIS morning, I got up because Cooper needed to go out at his usual time.  I then plunked him on the bed and said IT'S NOT TIME TO GET UP.  He went back to sleep.  I laid there with my eyes open until the clock said 4:30. That harkens back to the days of old, gathering cattle in the dark, loading them up in cattle trucks and driving them into the mountains to winter pasture.  

It was never pleasant.  From freezing cold, followed by wet from walking through the grass, to standing in the middle of the main highway because your truck broke down and you had to back another truck up next to it ... at a 90 degree angle ... to load the cattle into the second truck, while flagging down cars so they didn't run into you.  It was not fun.  I was happy when the lease ran out on that property.

Oh and did I mention the fog?  That line of white is tule fog, though back then it covered the fields like a blanket, making it impossible to see anything.  That meant riding to the far reaches of every pasture to be sure you got all the cattle.  

And it moved across the landscape like water.  You can see it hitting the road here.  It's good it isn't as bad as 30 or 40 years ago when you couldn't even see the sky OR the road.  It would roll over you soaking you to the skin ... and it was COLD!!!

After Mr. Cooper and I went for a walk, we came back to find Kitters asleep on the patio.  This is her DAY spot.  Yes, at 3:30 am she was waiting at the door to come in.  Not that she wants to stay long.  She just wants lots of pets and rubs, then straight to the door she goes.  It's like she can't make up her mind if she wants in or out.  Is that a "cat" thing?

On this morning, she decided the hard coffee table was the perfect spot, with a controller pillow.  She's weird, but I'm oh so happy she is feeling better.

So now it's like 6:00 and my morning routine, usually finished around 7:30, has left me wondering what to do.  This day quickly became four hours longer than normal.  By 8:00 am, I had checked my watch six times.  

Surprisingly, Amazon decided to deliver two big packages on a Sunday.  The first huge one contained this tiny little box.  Moen sent an entire new sprayer for the faucet.  I gently tried to remove the same screen that is causing the problems with the other one, to no avail.  At least this time I didn't break anything.  I decided to just put it away ... and when the existing one won't let any water out at ALL, I'll throw it away and put this one on.

That reminded me of the Delta problem.  Big sigh.  At 3:00 this morning I was awakened by drip ..... DRIP ........... oh yeah ... now the shower faucet needs a new cartridge also.  Geez ... I guess I should just order new ones for every Delta faucet in the house.  Moen's last a lifetime ... Deltas MAYBE 15 years.  I guess a trip to Lowes is in my near future.

In the meantime, while doing nothing on the couch for four hours, I did find this quilt square that I would like to make.  I'm just throwing this out there ... does anyone happen to have this pattern?  I've look online where they said ... YES ... this store has it, but in fact, they do NOT.  The fancy ruler is available, but I can't seem to locate the pattern.  It's called Curve It Up Log Cabin block.

In a last ditch effort to make the day go faster, I went out for a bike ride.  A nice slow 8 mph for about 4 miles.  I got back in time for lunch.  Usually my days go by in what seems like 6 hours ... but not this one!!

I finally pulled out this quilt and began the binding.  I literally worked on it all day until it was done.

VOILA!!  Another one down.  I really like this one.  You can't see it in the picture, but the back has tiny shiny silver thread in it.  It's already sold!!

During all that sewing, I watched a marathon of football.  I watched the Bears beat the Bengals ... what a game THAT was, the 49ers beat the Giants and some other game that was so exciting I don't even remember who was playing.  

I finally got out my phone and began a search:  What states do NOT have a time change.  Oh I have an idea ... I'll start cleaning out cupboards in the house ... maybe that will keep my mind OFF this unwanted scheduling change.  I can deal with 3:30 mornings by having lunch at 11:00 and dinner at 4:00 ... it's going to bed at 8:00 that doesn't seem to work for me.  How about you???

Kitters and the Sheriff

 Good morning from lovely warm California.  It was a nice 77 degrees yesterday, probably why they call it sunny California when it's November 2.  

I missed this picture on Halloween.  This is how they trick or treat around here now.  Sadly, they have taken the fun out of Halloween for most people by having trunk or treat events in parking lots.  Luckily we get one or two trucks pulling big trailers full of bright lights and kids.  The adults walk along the road just in case cars come by.

What was that about the Sheriff you ask?  Well once the kiddies were gone about 7:30, the music began from the new house behind me.  You would think they got the message the FIRST TWO TIMES they did that.  

It wasn't Halloween music, which I might have been able to accommodate until at least 9:30, but NO ... it was the head banging loud mariachi music with a bass that literally shakes my windows.  My neighbor sent me a text message .... is that your new neighbor?  Why yes it is.  She had just called the Sheriff.  I did the same since I now have their address. 

It took twenty minutes this time for them to arrive.  The music stopped.  Ten minutes after the Sheriff left, they started it up again even louder.  I called a SECOND time and thanks to the nice dispatcher, the same Deputy came back.  That finally put a stop to the music.  You would think they learned their lesson.  Just turn the music DOWN!  

But NO .... last night they started up again at around 7:00.  The loudest yet.  Not because they were having a party, but just to see if anyone would call the Sheriff again.  We fooled them however .. we waited this time, and the music stopped within the hour.  I've no doubt they did it on purpose.  Seriously, if they just unplugged that BASS, the music might be tolerable.  

And so with Halloween over, I took down all the decorations and stored them in the garage.  Thanksgiving has returned.

Except .... uh oh .... I forgot the EYES.  I knew this was going to be a problem because this side of the house gets lots of sun.  It took two sharp knives to dig under far enough to get a hand hold and peel them off in three pieces.  This is what I'm left with.  A sticky substance that I'm sure wouldn't even melt with boiling water.  I have some Goo Be Gone ... I'll try that first.

On to Kitters.  I found her sleeping in the cat carrier with the heating pad mat she previously would not step foot on.  When she got down, she was limping quite a bit on her back leg, but made a beeline for the door.  Okay Kitters, you can come in.  She ate a tiny bit and drank some water ... a good sign ... and promptly took up her spot on the chair where she stayed all day long.

In the meantime, I picked up around the house, putting things away that have been hanging out for a month or more.  Lunch was the very last tomato I found while hacking up the plants.  A BLT taco as it were because I couldn't find the bread.

With Kitters still sleeping, and Cooper too, I pulled this panel from the pile and stitched up a quick Veterans quilt.  This will begin next years pile of 15.  I would have quilted it except I put my Halloween quilt on the longarm.  That's when I discovered I had no matching THREAD.  It's on order now.  It's too much work to take that quilt off and put this one on, and so I wait!!

Dinner was another one of my flat iron steaks.  It takes about ten minutes to cook these to perfection.  

The best part ... they are big enough to make up TWO meals.  Throw in some air fried sweet potato fries and dinner is served.  

Hopefully today will be a little more entertaining.  I wanted to hit the road on my bike again, but alas, my hip flexors are NOT happy campers.  I remember them from my early running days.  I just have to take it easy and not try to pedal to Arizona.  

Yes I did watch the last game of the World Series, and I don't even want to mention the winner.  I'm bummed, but I guess that's what you get every time when you have the highest expenditures of any team ... over $300 million a year ... to BUY the best players. 

Kitters spent all night sleeping on the patio and ran in the door the second I opened it this morning.  Apparently she is feeling much better, and NOT limping.  We are back to kitty purrs and rubs.  I'm not kidding myself however ... she is still an outside cat!!

POOF - HALLOWEEN IS GONE!

 And JUST LIKE THAT!!!!  Halloween is gone.  Time to take down the ghosts and witches so I can put up Christmas decorations.  Yup ... I just jump right on over to Christmas with no hesitation.

First things first.  A walk with Mr. Cooper.  Having discovered that I was late to the party when it came to monitoring his food, we are now BOTH on a diet.  Unlike me, he's still in the OH NO stage, and not up to Rolly Polly.  Of course he's not the least bit happy his food has been cut in half.  Not all at once mind you, I'm not THAT terrible.

After a couple of morning chores, I took off for MY session of exercise.  It's always a hassle getting out the door, but I love it when I'm on the road.  There are a couple of hazards trying to get it out of the spare bathroom where it lives.  It's a 90 degree turn right out the door.  No worries, those black marks on the wall will come off, right?

On my return, I got to work cleaning up the rest of the tomato vines.  YES!!!  They are finally GONE!  And yes, probably 20 small tomatoes were hurt in this endeavor.  Into the bin they went.  I'm going to think twice about doing this next year.

About halfway through the afternoon, I decided to try on the witches costumes and see which one was the most comfortable.  Hanging out in one of these for three hours would turn out NOT to be the experience I was hoping for.  This is actually a vampire costume, but no one will know.

Here's the second one ... similar to what I wore to one of the last Halloween days at the County where I worked.  It was an easy choice.  Even with the extra high RUBY RED SLIPPERS I was wearing, the top one was a no-go.  Apparently vampires are 7 feet tall because I tripped over the dress four times just getting to the mirror.  

Let the door bell ringing begin.  Actually, I decided to sit outside in my rocking chair, not moving, then scare the kids when they came up.  That lasted all of 30 seconds when I got bitten by at last a dozen mosquitos.  

Instead, I sat inside watching what I hoped would be the final World Series game.  Sadly, Toronto lost, so now it's 3 to 3.  One more game today.

Alas, there was only ONE door bell ring.  Even my usual neighborhood kids didn't show up.  We got one trailer full of the cutest kids ever, one who was fascinated (and possibly very scared) by the ghosts flying on the house.  Mom tried to explain, but it was a no-go.  He headed straight back to the trailer.  

In all I had only NINE trick or treaters.  TEN if you count the one snickers bar I ate to sooth the mosquito bites.  Oh yes ... it works.  Okay, no it doesn't.  The worst part is I now have 38 large snickers bars to eat.  I think I'll take them to Bingo and give them out to jackpot winners.  Cooper slept through the entire thing.

So here's where I'm at with Kitters.  She came back in the afternoon, apparently feeling much better.  She rubbed a little and purred almost like normal.  I offered food, but she didn't eat it, nor was I able to catch her.  

Surprisingly, she was in her sleeping box this morning, almost back to her old self.  She was rubbing up against my legs, purring like normal and even wanted inside.  Okay, we're making progress here.  The bad news is now she's limping.  Good grief ... this kitty is going through it.  I've no idea what happened, but she's limping on one hind leg.  Not terrible, but limping nonetheless.

I'll leave her inside as long as she wants.  Hopefully she stays for the day so her leg will get a little better.  She's an outside wild kitty and I'm not going to be able to change that.  Best I can do is keep her quiet as long as I can.  I will tell you one thing though ... no more shots for this one.  I can't take the stress!!

Lastly, I had a horrible night and it involved the Sheriff.  I'll relate that story tomorrow.

So who's up for taking down Halloween decorations?????