CALIFORNIA DMV REPORT CARD

LIZARD COUNTER:  18 

I just KNOW you were waiting for THIS report.  Everyone in the world knows that California's DMV office is the worst in the U.S.  Too bad for me, after all that I went through to get the van smogged, I never did receive the tags.  They did NOT mail them out.  Yup ... a trip to the DMV was required.

I made an appointment online, but all that does is get you in the door.  You STILL have to wait for everyone ELSE to go ahead of you.  The wait is usually over an hour long.

I made my appointment for 10:00.  I got a text message saying to CLICK HERE ten minutes before your appointment time.  I clicked it 12 minutes before and immediately got a text back saying to come back later.  I was too early.  Really?

It finally let me click the icon and I got ANOTHER text message that my number was A387.  I took a seat and looked up at the board.   My number was nowhere to be seen.  G022 was up there FOUR times.  I can tell how this is going to go.

SURPRISE!!  My number never showed up on the board, but at 10:06 they called me to a window.  The "A" means appointment I guess ... and apparently you actually get called up before anyone that does NOT have an appointment.  Well that's a shocker.  They finally got something right.

I explained to the gal about the van, she laughed and gave me the sticker, taking all of three seconds.  I was out the door in ten seconds later.  I don't know about any of their other services, but maybe ... JUST MAYBE ... they finally figured something out.  What a difference a year makes!!!  This catches in my throat, but I will have to give them an "A" grade.

Next up it was a stop at the Tire Shop, owned by an Elks Member.  I bought my Jeep tires from him ten years ago.  I can't believe they have lasted this long.  Goodyears they are, and there was hardly any cracking at all.  I'm still getting new tires to the tune of $1,000 because of the long drive to the airport, which I plan on doing often!!

By the way, you have heard of California only allowing CERTAIN tires now .... so I asked the question 

WHY.  Seems they are keeping all the big name brands and getting rid of some of the China bombs.  I can't disagree with that.  The best part, I got to pet the gorgeous Siamese Kitty while Cory looked at the Jeep.  It was a win-win. 

One more stop and it wasn't even 11:00.  I don't know how that happened.  I finally stopped at the repair shop I take my vehicles to.  They changed the oil in the Jeep three months ago and forgot to get rid of the ding ding ding OIL CHANGE -- every single time I started it up.

This is weird too.  I parked the Jeep where I could see it.  The kid took the key fob into the back room and brought it back a couple minutes later.  I never saw him go to the Jeep.  How can that be?  Don't you have to turn it on, hit the brakes, turn it off and spin around 3 times to get it to quit?  It appeared he just reprogramed the KEY FOB?  

At any rate, I was out of there and home by 11:30.  That's just downright crazy to get all that done.

Well not quite ALL ... the tires will be put on next Tuesday.  I know, it's BINGO day.  You come here he said, I'll drop you off at bingo, replace the tires and I'll drive it back to the lodge for you.  WOW!!  Now that's service.  

Next up ... a 3:00 appointment with a contractor to replace some rotten facia, fix all the leaking gutters and repaint the window sills the last guy messed up,  AND I'm adding in refinishing my front door for good measure.  

What a nice guy.  He's Portuguese, emigrated here with his family and became citizens.  He's going to repair it all.  To make it even better, he's an RV guy!  No price yet ... that will come next week.  

Lastly, there was an emergency board meeting at the Elks Lodge.  When I found out it wasn't really an emergency, it hit the wrong side of my brain.  I have no use for things like this!

By the time I got there, I was NOT in a good mood.  Hwy 99 had a big wreck, with traffic backed up for 5-6 miles.  The other road into town had 21 cars trying to make a left turn where there was ALSO a big wreck.  I quickly turned around and went all of the three ways around traffic, only to find the lines there were half to one mile long.  This is me after sitting for a little over 60 minutes just to get UP to the road where I would turn left.  

I laughed because I'm not the only impatient one.  People were driving into the fields to try and bypass the line.  One guy drove his truck across a ditch and got high centered.  

I made it to the meeting (a measly 7 miles from my house), in 78 minutes.  The meeting turned out to be a complete waste of time.  I was not alone in that thought.   Two people got so mad they stormed out of the room.  As I drove home, I tried to rearrange my head so I would be able to sleep, but that didn't happen. 

I am SO glad that day is over.  I see a nap in my future.  If this little guy was still here, he would have snuggled with me enough to make it all go away.  

A SUNRISE LIKE THIS!!

 LIZARD COUNTER:  18

GOOD MORNING on this gorgeous day.  What a sunrise to wake up to.  Little did I know what this was really from.  Well I knew actually, but it just took me a moment to figure it out.  Rarely do we EVER get a sunrise like this.  I walked outside and instantly knew exactly what caused it.

One smell and it hit you in the face!!  I never opened my doors or windows all day.  It looked much worse than the picture ... it looked like fog!!

THIS is the culprit.  Pretty ugly, right?  Twelve miles away from me is a tire recycle place.  You know what happens when tires catch on fire?  You almost can't put them out.  Here's the worst part ... instead of using a piece of heavy equipment to drag the not-yet-burning tires away, meaning less to burn, they just LET IT BURN.  

It went on half a day Monday, all Monday night and all day Tuesday.  When I went outside to check, the air was so bad I found it hard to breathe.  The smell of burning rubber, didn't help.  It was REALLY horrible.  I did not go outside again until time for Bingo.  You could actually see the particulates in the air and on the ground.

I tried to catch a few winks of sleep on the couch, but I got too many text messages.  So I got up, dusted myself off and RAN to my truck.  I hit the recirculate button so I got no outside air and drove to the lodge.  Luckily the air there wasn't near as bad, but you sure could smell it.

I was hit right off the bat about an "employee" problem that made me mad as a wet hen.  There's absolutely NO reason for this nonsense and I plan on giving them an earful tonight.  Let's act like adults, okay????

I pulled my armor a little tighter around me and began my setup.  Wasn't I surprised to find my old Fairy Godmother was there to help.  She has a full time job now and cannot come in early, but there she was.  I let her set up the entire thing for old times sake.  We laughed and laughed at the Bingo shenanigans!

I think the joke was on us, because we start at 4:30 and are never done selling until 6:30.  On this night by 5:15 there was NO ONE in line.  WHAT?  Everyone was asking why.

It's the tire fire.  They put out several notices throughout the day warning folks to stay inside, especially the elderly.  Well you know 3/4 of our group is elderly!!  An hour later. we only had 78 people instead of our normal 125.  

That meant the infernal machine became sick when he spit out a tab with a NEGATIVE number on it.  We pay the minimum amount when this happens, but with only 78 people, it did not cover the jackpots.  Bingo lost $133.00 last night.  No big deal really, it was covered by the pull tab sales, but they made less than half their normal amount.  You wouldn't think a fire would deter these people, but it sure did on this night.  

It doesn't happen often, but when 8 people have to share $250, or 5 people have to share $100, it doesn't go over well.  Hopefully next week we should be back in business.

Miss Kitters was sleeping when I got home, barely able to hold her head up.  I crashed immediately since I have a dreaded (can you hear the shark music?) DMV appointment this morning to find out why in two months I have not received my tags for the Van.  I think I need a priest to come and bless it to get rid of the bad JuJu.  

This is Jessie girl.  She was 16 when I lost her to doggie dementia.  She liked playing the ball game as much as Cooper, except she would not give the ball back.  I miss them terribly.

Thank the Good Lord there were NO lizards on this day!!!

PROGRESS .......

LIZARD COUNTER:  18

 Sometimes you just have to throw caution to the wind and finish the job.  I've been walking by the sewing room faster and faster so as not to go in.  There was lots of work to be done in there and I wasn't in the mood.

However ... since my finger is better and the ants have stayed away, I could not come up with a reason not to GET TO WORK!

This is the first of the embroidered quilts.  I covered up his name, even though I doubt this will be a surprise.  I took the bottom off because it was too long, cut off a portion and sewed it back on.  I then cut two huge pieces to sew together to make the background.  At this point, I'm pretty sure I'm taking these four quilts to the Quilt Shop for quilting.  I just don't trust my machine.

Even if it messed up on these, I can usually fix it so it's not noticeable.  This one got the binding completed today.  Hand sewing is not my FAV, but it looks nicer.  This one is also "puffier", thus the weird look.

And another one ... binding complete.  I just took a picture of the back so you can see what they look like.

Lunch came around rather quickly, I suppose because I was so busy.  I picked these up at Wally World for when I hate to cook ... which is often.  I think it was $2.94 and only 360 calories.  The test was "does it look the box when cooked".

NO ... the answer is always NO.  I added parmesan for more flavor, and to be hones, it was quite good.  Big chunks of chicken and broccoli in a cheesy sauce, though it could have used MORE cheese.

Back to the coal mine I went.  I cut and sewed binding on this quilt and actually stitched it down by hand once again.  Yessiree, I was busy!!  

Last one for the day.  No I didn't stitch it down, I just sewed it on.  By this time I had had enough!!!  This is the LAST of twelve quilts, not counting the embroidered ones.  Just for the record, I'm not doing this any more.  It's just too much work.

I got a lot accomplished in one day as far as quilts go.  I still have three of four embroidered ones to do when I get the panels on Thursday.  Hopefully by then I won't have lost my get up and go!!

Dinner was simple ... cheesecake.  This time with boysenberry syrup which was supposed to be jam.  I still vote for the plum.

The finger looks good .... almost perfect .... except I have to take those horse pills for SEVEN more days.  I'm pretending I'm Cooper.  For every pill I have to take, I get a Reese's pumpkin peanut butter cup treat because I was a good girl.  

That's when I noticed Kitters acting weird.  Sure enough ... she is SO territorial ... she spotted this guy cleaning up some scraps.  NO ... it is NOT coming in the house.  I'm sure Kitters would not allow it and truly, I don't want any more critters.

The sun went down and gave us a little color on this day, but the temps are still very high in the sky.

Anyone want to play the ball game?????

YOU WANT ME TO DO WHAT?

LIZARD COUNTER:  18 

Type A personalities should never be told to be still.  It is just not in our genes OR jeans.  I'm sure the antibiotics are working and being told to hold my hand up to the sky was the best thing I could have done.  The "be still" part was incomprehensible.  You want me to sit all day on the couch???

I ended up doing pretty much that.  Tendonitis set in quickly in the left arm that I was using to do absolutely everything.  Ice didn't work, heating pad didn't work ... so I took two Tylenol and sat on the couch all morning long.  How boring could that possibly be!!  I am just not a "sitter".

The good news is the ring finger is almost back to normal coloring.  Purple just doesn't do it for me.  There still seems to be a tiny bit on the sides, but I think it's in arrested development.  I'll keep taking the pills.  I've no idea how it happened.  Could be when I was stuck by a quilting pin stuck in cheap dyed fabric ... could be a knick by Kitters claw or even a spider in the middle of the night.  I've really no idea.

As you can see, Kitters stayed in her appointed position as Guard Dog for most of the morning.

No really .... she spies on me all day long.  This time it was pretty suspicious behavior.  That was evidenced by the lizard she brought to me two seconds later.  BIG SIGH ... another poor guy pretending to be dead.  I grabbed him and headed for the front door.  When I set him down, he raced off like he was on fire!!!  Yup ... number 17.

While I sat on the couch bored to tears (hand up in the air, left arm on a pillow not moving) I spotted this out the window.  Man oh man ..... I see another gopher in my future.

My plan had been to bake a nice loaf of sourdough bread on this day, but alas, I'm armless.  Instead I did the discard thing and fed it flour and water to make it happy for another week.

Since I had not checked on the house batteries and the solar charger, I made a quick trip out to the van.  I had read on Facebook a note complaining about the exhaust fan either being open or shut.  Nothing in between.  Wasn't I surprised when I tried the hack .... and now I can open it as much or as little as I want.  Who knew?  It has to do with how many times you tap the icon on the control panel.

By noon I forced myself to sit down and watch the Freedom Grand Prix in D.C.  Truly, the course was quite good and the roster full of the best of the best.  They have cameras inside the cars so you can see what they see AND the dashboard.  Pretty cool.  That 145 is how fast he was going.

There were some mistakes here and there ... like not getting that wheel bolted on right and dumping fuel everywhere ... but for the most part it was a good race.

There were a few lead changes, but when Kyle Kirkwood got in front, he stayed there.  He was driving for the great Mario Andretti who was in attendance.  Mario said this was a great honor to race in the United States.  He loved the people and what we stood for.

Kyle practically ran the last five laps by himself.  No one was even close to him.  He will probably be the only person ever to win this race, unless they decide to add it to the schedule.

I guess Kitters wanted in on the attention too.  Good grief!!!!  She walked out behind the chair, when I saw her quickly glance back.  OH NO ... I know THAT look!!  Sure enough, there was another poor tailless lizard laying on the floor.  Number 18 will live another day out in the front flower bed. 

Dinner was dessert.  I thought I'd try caramel sauce this time.  That would be a no.  It's WAY too sweet.  Better luck next time with the plum jam.

I've got one more day for my finger to heal up.  Bingo is on the horizon.  No worries, I will take SEVEN more days of pills just to be sure.    

In the meantime .........  He was just the cutest ever!!

MY BEST BEAUTY QUEEN WAVE

 LIZARD COUNTER:  16

A good hot morning to y'all.  We've been roasting for a while, and now we are in the melting stage.  It's a good thing my plan was to stay home all day.  

Breakfast was the last of that fabulous cantaloupe.  I've never been good at picking ripe fruit, so I was happy Dole made the choice for me.

Remember how Cooper used to follow me everywhere?  This one is even worse.  She's taken to patting me on the head when I don't pay her enough attention.  Kind of a weird picture with the window light on her back.

On this day she didn't get much in the way of pets.  I had those plums in the freezer since last week and they needed to be cooked.  I'm setting up here.  What you can't see are the two pans of jars in water on the stove and the pot boiling water to pour over the lids in the middle.  

I used a different recipe this time, which was okay I suppose.  I don't use pectin, so it cooked and cooked until 220 degrees.  Of course that depends if you remember how to use the fancy thermometer I have.

Almost an hour later, having used a hand held blender, I turned the heat up high to start the boil.  That caused enough burned spots on my hand from boiling liquid spitting over the top that I required gloves.  In no time, it was ready for the jars.  I just love these small jars and the new lids.  

After filling, they go into the boiling water bath (the big canner) for ten minutes ... and VOILA!  You have jam.  It's not as sweet as the last version, but quite tasty.  It's funny how no two batches ever come out the same.  Those lids popping when they seal ... they scare me every time they are so LOUD!

That's when I got a call from the Doc.  Doc Chef Patty that is.  After all, she was an ER nurse most all of her life and probably knows more than the doctors.  She said I needed to keep my arm UP.  Okay, I promise I will follow Doctors orders.

That lasted until I remembered the Reese's in the fridge.  Pumpkin faces, right?

Well that would be a big fat NO!  I ate THREE just to be sure ... and there were none to be seen. RATS ... I'm back on the couch with my hand up in the air, doing my best impression of a Beauty Queen Wave.  You know the one ... sweep left, sweep right.  I actually did that for real once, I think a hundred years ago.   Just imagine ... a cowgirl in a prom dress with ..... wait for it ..... cowboy boots.  Sadly, I didn't win, but at least I made the top three.  

Yup here I am in the outfit I made on my sewing machine, just for the occasion.  Obviously I didn't eat many Reese's peanut butter cups back then!!

Here's another one ....  you know, just checking for the Halloween face that wasn't to be.

So how is my finger doing?  Not so great on this afternoon, but the beauty pageant wave seems to have helped this evening.  Looks like it's dead, YES?   Pill number three coming up.  This stuff better start working SOON!!!!  I'm on the verge of panicking once again!!  The interesting part is it doesn't hurt at all.  Weird.

I was still home when Amazon delivered this stuff everyone recommended.  Here's the problem.  I cut the top off of two before I read the directions.  DO NOT USE AROUND PETS.  Well shoot ... I've got a cat inside and multiple cats outside, so I'm not sure where I can put it.  I finally dumped it down the wall between the walkway and the office.  Maybe the ants will find it there.  

I pretty much never left the couch from noon until bedtime, with my hand up in the air.  AND I propped it up all night long.  Surprisingly it doesn't hurt at all, but is still rather swollen.  I'm just so excited to see what color it will be today!!   

And so ended the day with me still wishing my sweet boy was here to make my boo-boo all better.  He was really good at that!!

YESSIRREE ... IT CAN GET WORSE!

LIZARD COUNTER: 16  

You know how when you go through something like locking yourself out of the truck ... and you think WHEW ... I'm glad that's over.  Now I can get back to normal.  Well that doesn't always happen.  It can always get worse.  Add my luck to that and I was in trouble before I even knew it!!

I started the day out at the Elks Lodge, signing checks, reviewing expenditures and stopping a couple incorrect payments.  Then I was off to Turlock to deliver the fabric to the embroidery gal.  No problems there that I knew of.

When I got home, I ate the last of the chicken parm and figured I had enough motivation to finish quilting this quilt.  It was touch and go, but VOILA ... it's done.  

Though I wanted to make more plum jam, they were too frozen.  I stuck them in the fridge and made more cheesecake instead.  I never noticed the signs, probably because I was too busy licking the bowl.

By now it was about 1:00.  I loaded this quilt on the machine, but got a pin stick from those long pins with the large white heads.  That's when I found three ants ON MY QUILT.  What the heck?  Where are they coming from and what on earth are they doing on my machine?  I looked underneath to find them crawling all over the batting.  This is just crazy.  But it GOT WORSE.

 

My right hand ring finger felt funny.  I looked down to see it turning black and blue and swelling up.  What the heck is THAT?  

It began throbbing with little shooting pains.  Well this has never happened before ... and suddenly I began to worry big time.  I grabbed my keys and headed off to the local Urgent Care.  I'm pretty sure I was the only English speaking person in the huge waiting room.  Boy was it crowded.  This is going to be an all night affair.

The longer I sat there, the worse my finger got.  I waited about 70 minutes for them to call my name.  Dr. Don came in with a big smile and said HI ... what's up?  I showed him my finger.  No idea where this came from Doc ... it could have been a pin stick yesterday and I didn't notice it, or it could have been just three hours ago.  Please tell me my finger isn't going to fall off.

Yup it's infected he stated.  I'm sending a prescription for antibiotics in to your pharmacy.  Take them immediately and twice a day for ten days.  He said my finger would stay intact, but get the meds TONIGHT.  I told him he got a ten star rating for taking care of all those people in the waiting room.  We laughed and I got a high five as I headed out the door.

So off I went to the pharmacy where they already had the prescription.  I told them THE DOC SAID GET THESE NOW SO YOUR FINGER DOESN'T FALL OFF.  She laughed and said she would get it done immediately.  How cool is that?  No 30 minute wait.

I walked down one aisle and around the corner.  There should be a law that candy cannot be in the center aisle.  The gal laughed when I plunked them down on the counter to pay for my pills.  I'm pretty sure these will do more for my finger!!

And so I drove home, whereupon I called Nurse Patty to make double dog SURE my finger wasn't going to fall off.  She said TAKE THE MEDICINE TO THE LAST PILL and keep it elevated.  Okay, but can I finish this quilt that was now on the machine?  With only two rows to go, I didn't want to go through the hassle of restarting the machine and getting the pattern in the right place.  I held my right hand up in the air the entire time.

The sunset was rather nice ... making me forget all about my finger for two minutes.  I took the first horse pill before hitting the bed.  No kidding ... these things are made for GIANTS!

Seems my luck has gone south since losing my Cooper Boy .........  Here's hoping the pills work quickly so I can quit worrying about blood poisoning ... or having my finger fall off!!!!  (It will be fine, I'm just being dramatic!!)