You Really Should Enjoy The Journey

This was my thought the entire trip yesterday.  Rather than be frustrated by traffic, I should enjoy the opportunity to look around and see the sights.  It's also a great opportunity for Jonathan to loosen his grip on the cage.

Yes there's quite the smog layer going on, but look at the two trains passing near Mojave.  Okay, maybe that was the most exciting thing to happen on this drive.  Next time I'm making this into a four or five day trip.  I DO like to get there, but 6-7 hours driving three days in a row is too much for little old me.

Heading south on 395, the first ten miles or so is now divided.  That's a good thing unless you're in a car trying to go fast.  At least you won't end up dead on the side of the road while passing someone at an unreasonable rate of speed.  There is only one small section left that allows passing.  I was happy for THIS construction work.

Is it me or are the wind turbine companies exploding with their installations.  I don't remember quite so many windmills.  

Cruising right along, I was in Indio in no time.  Actually it took 4-1/2 hours, but who's counting?  Wait ... what's this??  Tail lights again!!  From here on, traffic was unreasonable.  We never got over 40 mph all the way through town and up the big hill at the East.  

I might say I rather enjoyed the fact that my rig passed all those trucks and cars without overheating.   Thank goodness for fourth gear.  For you truckers that thanked me with a flash of your lights (I flashed mine so they knew when to pull over) you are welcome.  For the rest of you, where are your manners?  That's been a courtesy all my life.  Seems it's going by the wayside.

Click on this picture and you will see just how the traffic was the entire rest of the way to Quartzsite. I've never seen anything like it.  Maybe it's the July Fourth hoard heading to Havasu, but they are going both ways!  Just enjoy the journey Nancy.

I certainly enjoyed crossing the State line, even though it was 84 degrees in the rig.  I even fueled up so I'd have enough diesel to run the generator the entire trip.

At long last, hot and tired, we arrived in Quartzsite.  It was only 102, better than the 106 predicted.  We literally hunkered down with both AC units blasting away until it was cool enough for the puppies to go outside.  I was rewarded with this amazing sunset.

On the trip back, I'm taking four days to travel.  That means I'll have to spend a night in Indio.  It's a shame there's a quilt shop there, but in the interest of enjoying the journey, I'll take a hit for the team.

And we are off to Tucson ... after I get fuel to make sure I STILL have enough diesel for the AC units.

So Close, Yet So Far

It was almost the perfect trip.  Traffic wasn't terrible, the sun was shining and the first three hours went by without incident.  That's when all the tail lights lit up.  I hit my emergency flashers so no one would play tag with me, and slowed to a stop.

It took 30 minutes just to get to the sign.  The lovely town of Bakersfield was within reach.  

A very LONG reach, since it took over an hour to get even close to my turnoff.  Here it is a Friday afternoon with everyone and their brother on the freeway, and they decide to shut the highway down to do repair work.  

That's Bakersfield.  For the last six years, I've been driving Highway 58 over Tehachapi Pass through a construction zone.  Will they EVER get it finished?  I doubt it.  Just when they get one side of the three lanes fixed, they have to go back and fix the other two again.  It's just crazy!!

Finally, I had a lovely look see at my path through the mountains.  It was so smoggy, I could barely SEE the mountains, but that was okay ..... I've got clear sailing and only 25 miles to go.

Until just out of town, I saw those red tail lights again.  I quickly jumped in the left lane so I'd miss the accident that I was sure would be blocking the right hand side.  The good thing was at less than 5 mph, the engine cooled down nicely in the 99 degree heat.  This was the view in my rear view mirror.

Thirty minutes passed before coming upon this sign.  It says Your Tax Dollars At Work .. Rebuilding California.  Seriously?  Another 30 minutes passed before I finally got to the construction zone where we were squished into one lane.  Again, on a Friday afternoon, they have chosen to shut down a major highway in order to pour tar on the cracks in the road.   No construction, just tar.

I was SO CLOSE, yet so far away.  My four hour tour ended up being six before I pulled in to the RV park.  Not my usual Orange Grove, I'm staying in Tehachapi because it's much cooler.  In fact, it's a chilly 48 degrees.   I'm LOVIN' IT!!

Done With Pinwheels!!!

I've just been passing the time while waiting for my takeoff date.  The weather guessers had me in a holding pattern this entire week.  Big winds over Tehachapi Pass and down into the Palm Springs area always make me shy away.

They turned out to be not so big after all, but in exchange turned into 106 degree days.  It's probably a good thing I held out because now it's down to 100, a much more palatable temperature.

In the meantime, I've been working on this quilt.  See those lovely pinwheels in the corners?  They are definitely a pain in the patoo, even if they are kind of pretty.  By the end, you have six layers piled up in the middle, making a huge bump that defies trimming.  After 24 of them, I was done and just used regular fabric for the rest of the border.  Two MORE borders and it will be finished.

In the meantime, here's the latest hair color.  This is a test.  I'm going to take one picture a week and see just how long this color lasts.  I have to admit it does take 10 years off.  That may be worth all the effort!!

Here's Mr. Cooper snoozing away.  This is what you do when you don't want anyone to steal your toy.  

This morning I'll be doing the last of the packing and heading out on the road.  It's a cool 59 degrees and just like McDonalds, I'M LOVING IT!!!   

I Won!! ... I Won!!! .....

Just kidding ..... no I didn't!  How could that be?  The lottery ticket said there was a one in three chance to win.  I got nothing ..... nada.  Now you know why I don't gamble.

I decided to scratch it off yesterday.  I never do this sort of thing so I had to read the directions on the back first.  At least they were in English.  Did you notice the most important part of the front was in Spanish?  I took French in school.  Not much help.  Since when do lottery tickets come in Spanish?

One by one I scratched them with a spoon.  One by one I was disappointed.  Now I know why this particular ticket was purchased.  It's a Bingo card.  Scratch off everything in one row matching the images below and you're a winner.

Not me however.  I had three chances to uncover an entire row and missed the boat.  At least I saved whoever owned it the disappointment of losing.  C'est la vie!!!

Next up I gathered several dog toys for the Zoo.  The Coyote should love the Seek-A-Treat.  Same with the raccoons.  I'm sure they'll figure it out in a flash. 

This one is for the fast eater who gobbles their food down.  I dropped off a big box of "toys" for the zoo kids, but completely forgot the box of ice cream in my freezer for the human critters.  It's not on my "eat" list.  No worries, I'll find someone to pawn it off on before I leave.

I packed a few things up before heading off to my hair appointment.  I'd show you a picture, but you would be just as shocked as I was.  Just a little color was interpreted as "let's dye the heck out of her and get rid of ALL that gray"!!!  

That wasn't what I had in mind AT ALL!!!  I made her reveal her color secrets before I left so I could buy something at the store for upkeep until I return in October, when I totally expect her to fix it.  It's not that I don't like the color, it's the every-six-weeks upkeep I don't want to pay for or deal with!!!

Now that I'm incognito, I thought maybe I could cook something that would turn out wonderful.  Stuffed bell peppers were on the menu when I was a kid.  I think I was the only one in the house who ate them.  Usually filled to the brim with rice and tasty hamburger, I left out the rice and added cheese.  

Know what?  They were pretty yummy ... especially since I added some of that cajun spice.  This fills my meal requirements until I leave.  In the meantime, I guess I better get packing.

Just a quick note and a few tears for my friends Patsy and Bill Richards who just lost the best little puppy ever at 15 years of age.  Mr. Clemson was a sweetheart, a puppy beyond compare.  I consider myself lucky I got to pet him a few times before he went to Heaven.  I just know he's up there playing with Mandy, my little black schnauzer, the love of my life.  Happy play time you two!!!

Let The Celebrations Begin!!

The King, as well as several Knights have returned to the Kingdom.  There were cheers all around.  Now I know what they feel like when I'm gone for three months at a time!!

We were so short handed last week everyone was doing triple duty trying to keep the peasants at bay. Our meager crew of nine (including two cooks) had trouble fielding the problems of the night.

THIS time everything went much smoother with 19 .. count them ... 19 Knights in attendance.  The peasants are now allowed in at 4:00, but they must stay in the anti-chamber until everyone else arrives by chariot or horseback.  Although there's a mad dash for the best seat in the castle, at least there are no fights about letting someone in early.

It's so nice when they say they lost their playing cards (and want more free), to say NO EXTRA CARDS and send them crying to the King.  I say after every transaction ... hang on to your cards and red ticket.  Do not set them down and walk away, because they will magically disappear into thin air ... or someone else's pocket.  Yes, sadly it happens every single night.

Magic was in the air however!!  I rather like magic because sometimes crazy things happen that you cannot account to anything else.  I looked down at my feet to see this card laying on the floor.  I ignored it for awhile, thinking it was a throwaway pull tab.  

Suddenly it dawned on me.  It was a lottery card.  A fresh, brand new MAGIC lottery card ... UNSCRATCHED.  Finders keepers!!  I thought to have my find announced over the loudspeaker, but decided that would result in a rush of 118 people to my table to claim their lost ticket.

Instead, I kept quiet, thinking someone would come inquire about their lost $30,000.  By the end of the night, I completely forgot about it.  No one mentioned a thing.  The Castle Lawyer said if I found it, it's mine.  Okie dokie .... but I'm not scratching it off right away.  I'll wait and see if she hears anything next week.  Who knows, this just might pay for that RV cover.  Wouldn't THAT be magic!!

Which reminds me ... after measuring my space, Mr. Chance says it's not big enough for a 40 foot cover.  RATS!!  I may have to shorten it to 36.  Even that may not work.  I'm back to square one!!  I actually WAS thinking about downsizing.

The good news is I might get my new kitchen counters instead.  We shall see.

With barely five hours of sleep last night, I think I'll snooze on the couch for an extra hour or so before I start packing up in earnest.

Dive Bomber

There's a new Sheriff in town and you better watch out.  He doesn't like just anyone wandering around the neighborhood.  His territory is HIS territory!!  He struts around like he's someBODY patrolling his hard fought grubstake.

And he doesn't even need a six shooter.  This no-name guy is the loudest I've ever heard.  Not just a tweet, but a scream the likes of which will make you look every time.

I've noticed of late that when I go outside, he flies around squawking until I go back inside.  The entire time I was washing the rig, he kept me company.

Yesterday when I let the puppies out, I watched him take a swipe at Cooper.  He actually flew right down and bit him on the butt!!  Wait you little rascal ... these cowhands were here first!!  Jessie was oblivious.  He missed her on the first pass.

He quickly turned around and swooped in for the coup de gras!!  Well you little blankety-blank!  He nailed her right on the backside.  What the heck?  Obviously she wasn't doing a thing!!  He came around for the third time when I stepped in and yelled.  He flew back to the roofline and squawked at us even louder.  

I've no idea what kind of bird it is.  At first I thought magpie, but those are much larger and black.  We stayed out another ten minutes and he made four more passes.  Apparently he has homesteaded my back yard.  I thought there might be a nest around, but couldn't find even one little stick in the tree.  Beware the new Sheriff!!!

Otherwise, I've been busy packing boxes of quilting material.  I SWEAR I'm not buying ANY MORE FABRIC!!!  I loaded up the Def fluid, the barbecue and my clothes.  That leaves the fridge and freezer, a task I always hate.   I try to eat up everything I can before I go, but it's hard to schedule everything out.  If I run short, maybe I'll have "bird" for dinner!!!

Wash And Wax

Okay, that's not exactly true.  Wash would be more correct.  I was up early the last couple of mornings trying to wash Utah off the rig.  They have a white clay-like substance, that in spite of the torrential rain I drove through, sticks to the sides like glue.

I was outside by 5:00 am with bucket in hand trying to beat the heat ... and the sun.  There's no way you can wash this beast in the sun.  The sides heat up so fast steam comes off when I hit it with the water hose.

Yesterday was the last day I was out really early.  I even went so far as to drag my tall ladder out and wax some of the worst spots along the black top.  It's not perfect, but it will do.  This morning I'll be waxing the front again, just to help keep the bugs at bay.  Isn't she purdy??

I seem to have a problem with one leveler jack in the back.  It doesn't want to stay up under weight.  I'm not sure if that's due to not enough hydraulic fluid or a bad jack.  While in Tucson, I will take it in to LaMesa RV and have them take a look.  I've no doubt you will hear me scream in Canada when I get the bill for that one.  Sorry if I wake you up.

Sadly, my extended warranty expired.  This will be me if more repairs are required!  Hahaha not really.  Some of you may remember this image from a few years ago.  No, I wasn't really homeless, but I was on the streets LOOKING like I was for my Photography Instructor who couldn't find a model willing to look like crap.  Photo shoots are ALWAYS a kick in the pants!!

It all went south when someone reported a man harassing a homeless woman to the police, who showed up in record time.  It took some talking to get out of that little situation and convince him I wasn't really homeless!!  Kudos to the Police Department who promptly chased us off. 

I'm checking and rechecking my honey-do list.  Some days I can't seem to decide whether to go to town or not.  Go to town and spend money or stay home and watch a Giant's baseball game.  Neither one was a good choice yesterday.  Maybe packing up the rig will be a good alternative!!  Time is getting short!

I Missed The Summer Solstice!!

As a runner, I always liked the long days marking the beginning of summer.  I could run late into the evening when it was cooler, but still have lots of light.  Nowadays, I just wish it would get on with it so I could go to sleep earlier!!!

Apparently I missed it Friday night, what with the explosion and all.  I have to admit I've learned a new skill.  Sleeping in the middle of the day.  Cooper sees no problem with that at all!!!

The pump is still pumping and water is still flowing.  This morning was the big test ... the sprinklers came on and are still going.  It takes about 3-1/2 hours to finish up.  Seems pretty crazy to me.  In the old days of PG&E, it didn't matter.  Now it's a different story.  Today I'll go around and make a few more adjustments in the downward direction!!

It's not all fun and games around here ... it's spider time.  There's nothing dangerous except black widows, which don't come out until after dark.  These guys make me crazy!  They can jump three feet!!  As I opened the back door yesterday, one fell from the upper casing.  I did the best spider dance you've ever seen!!  Just what I needed ..... more adrenaline!!  

This is a Regal Jumping Spider.  They didn't get that name for nothing ... they really do jump.

They also spin crazy webs where they lay eggs.  Here's one by my front door.  Well here WAS one by my front door.  Isn't it interesting how the webs are attached by little dots.  Her legs and mouth parts were very visible until I got too close.  

For my last barbecue hurrah before packing it away, I picked up some pork chops.  You know, the really thick kind that always turn out tough and chewy.  I actually looked up "how to" this time, keeping them on low.  It said pork was done at 145 ... done enough anyway, to kill anything it might be harboring.  

Oops .... I left them a little too long.  It didn't matter though, they came out perfect!  I can't believe how tender and delicious they were.  The best part was I had enough for three meals with one cooking.  I think I'm going to like this barbecue thing after all!!

Right now I'm practicing summer.  There are yellow sticky notes resembling flowers, all over my house, along with my regular long list I print from the computer.  It's getting close to takeoff time.  

No Skydiving For Me!!

I can tell you for a fact, that I am NOT an adrenaline junkie.  I do crave a little adventure in life, but jumping out of an airplane just to have that hit of adrenaline will NOT happen.  I'm not a fan of adrenaline.

When I was maybe 10 years old, a man broke into the house my cousin and I were staying at.  I completely froze on the couch.  She ran to the front door and abandoned me.  Turns out it was the owner's son or I might have been dead.

Nope ... adrenaline is not for me.  It took the entire day for me to recover from that blast in the morning, helped along by the reading of a home invasion rape not far away the day before.  At least this time I didn't freeze up completely.

At any rate, here's what happened.  The hose bid on the well pipe exploded, releasing all the water and pressure, causing the big bang in the house.

I chose San Luis Pump company because they had an emergency number to call.   Gabe was very nice, although I doubt he's rich.  Handsome maybe, but he's grandson age.  I don't mind robbing the cradle, but this was a little beyond that.  

As he got out his tools and started taking everything apart, he explained it all to me ... how the well worked and in fact, what all that stuff was hanging on the side of my house.  I knew it had something to do with the well, but had no idea what.

He removed the coupling and took the pipes apart, then I hit the circuit breaker.  He wanted to be sure the pump was still attached and working.  Sure enough, water came out with no problem.  

All this time, I could still sense that awful feeling of adrenaline in my chest.  He had another hose bib, but not the right size coupler.  Honestly, I don't know why there is a faucet on the well pipes anyway.  I've never used it for anything.  We decided to leave it off and just plug the hole.

Here's the real culprit.  Rust almost completely blocking the pipe.  Apparently it rusted out enough that the water pressure split the coupling entirely.  Maybe it was hit by a lawnmower?  Who knows.

While he was at it, Gabe checked the pressure, the "bladder" tank and even the water depth.  That little black plug comes out.  He inserted a long metal rod attached to a wire until the bells rang.  Seventy five feet he said ... that's where my water table is.  Gosh, many years ago at the ranch, our water table was at three feet.

After Gabe left, I tried to get things back to normal, but it wasn't happening.  I'm sure it was all that adrenaline still hanging around.  I was exhausted, hungry and sleepy.  I couldn't concentrate on anything.  At noon I fell asleep for almost two hours.  What's up with that??  

I was pretty hesitant to hit the bed, thinking there might be a repeat, but I slept pretty well.  Finally this morning the adrenaline hit has subsided.  There will be no skydiving for me.  Climbing a rock wall or ziplining ... yes ... but nothing BIG.  My body can't take it!!

Here's my tip of the day.  If anything like this ever happens to you, hit the circuit breaker for the well.  If you have city water, you could just turn the valve off.  If it's in your motorhome, I have no clue!!!  At the very least, I now know more about my well than I ever wanted to.

BANG!!!!!!! In The Middle Of The Night

You're not going to believe this one folks!!  There's nothing like a little panic in the morning to wake you up.  I was sleeping restlessly for about an hour when all of a sudden there was such a huge BANG it shook the doors of the house.  I seriously thought it was a home invasion!

I grabbed my gun and the puppies before heading for my closet.  It was quiet.  That's funny, the dogs didn't even bark.  I sat in the dark waiting.

Hearing no other noise except something out front, I snuck out and crept through the house, my heart in my throat.  You cannot imagine the blood pumping in my ears.

Nothing.

There's that funny noise again.  I finally screwed up my courage and opened the front door to find a geyser of water on my front lawn.  OMG!!!  My well exploded!!!!

It took my brain a minute to kick in.  Actually, it took five minutes after being flooded with adrenaline.  I called the Pump Company.  Busy signal.  At 2:50 in the morning????

I called the second company who had an after hours number.  Poor guy ... obviously I woke him up.  I apologized, then explained my problem.  Turn off the circuit breaker for the well he said.  OH ... now THAT'S a good idea!!  I seriously had no clue!!

Send me a picture he said, so I did.  It appears the hose spigot is what exploded.  He said he could come fix it now or when they open.  When you open please, as the screaming headache began to raise it's ugly head.  

Here's the best part of all.  My neighbor says hello from the dark recesses of his garage.  I'm not surprised because I know he works graveyard shift.  I WAS a little surprised when he told me he was just out smoking marijuana.  Really?  Sadly, he looks like he's lost 50 pounds.  

Marijuana makes you talkative, in case you were wondering.  I've never tried it myself, but spent many a night listening to others when I worked in Yosemite National Park.  Way back in the 60's while employed by the Health Department, they burned some in an ashtray so we would know what it smelled like.  I got VERY sick just from the smell, so it's something I never wanted to even get close to.

He couldn't talk fast enough and went on to explain how our neighbor down the street chewed him out about bringing riff raff into our neighborhood with all his "buddies" who came to smoke with him.  I suspect there is more than just marijuana.  

By now my headache is screaming in my brain and I'm still so full of adrenaline, I'm shaking.  Hopefully this will all subside soon and things will get back to normal.  Yes, there's probably going to be a hefty bill in my near future, especially if that explosion damaged anything else.  It's a good thing it happened before I left.

I'll be on the couch trying to calm myself down.

R and R

After all the crazy stuff that's been going on around here, I decided to opt for some R and R. I admit, I'm not very good at that activity.  I forced myself to pick up a crochet hook and start on an old fashioned granny square quilt for the puppies.  You might think they are round now, but in the end, they will be squares.  At least it's easier on my wallet than shopping for quilt fabric.

Temperatures are on the rise, so every morning I open the back door and turn on the fans to circulate cool air through the house.  It's working like a charm.  In spite of 100 degree temperatures, I only use the air conditioner in the evening to cool down my bedroom.

PG&E is on the move again.  For some weird reason, my $350 a month summer bill has only been $150.  I've said all along that their smart meters were set wrong.  It appears they have fixed that problem, at least for me.  

On the other hand, they have now sent out notices to everyone that should there be a fire anywhere near your residence, they will shut off the power to everyone, including entire towns, until they deem it safe to turn it back on.  That could be a couple of hours or as long as 24 hours or even longer.  

Their answer to the outrage is "you'll just have to go buy generators to keep your fridge and freezer going.  So sorry charlie."  The little town of Manteca isn't anywhere near a fire district, but has received notice they will be shut down.  THE ENTIRE TOWN!!  In the meantime, everyone in California will be paying for all the destruction from the Paradise fire, which now appears to have been PG&E's fault. 

In the meantime while I still have electricity, I gave Cooper a quick haircut.  Every time he went outside, he came back in panting from the heat.  

That's about it.  I crocheted, watched baseball (the Giants lost yet another game, no surprise), adjusted the lawn sprinklers for the umpteenth time and ate TWO fat bombs.  I even sat on the patio and watched the sunset out of pure boredom.  This made me smile!!

When I look at these pictures, I imagine myself in a cabin out in the woods of Montana, without the snow and cold of course, nor the 100 mile drive to the grocery store.  Doesn't it look inviting?

So today I'm off to deliver some things to our little zoo.  I happy to say I discovered a group of those young dressed-to-the-nines kids that knock on doors (they are from the LDS church) spend several hours every week helping out at the zoo.  How cool is that?  

Next up ... washing Utah off the motorhome.

If It Can, It Will

You know how weird it can get with a full moon?  Imagine THREE full moons in a row.  I read that the Strawberry moon would be full for three days.  Wouldn't you know, day three would fall on Magic Kingdom night.

I started off right ... I got out of my truck without falling down.  That was AFTER I tried to move my garbage can.  It fell with my hand still attached, scraping all the skin off the back and wrenching my already arthritis-ridden knuckle.  It was a sign.

Prince Charming never showed up, which meant we all had to pay for our own libation.  At least pepsi is free for members.  It also meant we were going to be short handed.  Little did I know just HOW short, because 6 more people didn't show up.  This is a 17 person party.  We were in trouble from the beginning.

There are two sides to Bingo.  I work the "Bingo" side and a crew of six work the pull tab side.  They had two people, and neither was a money counter.  They asked me to do the end-of-night count.  No problemo I said, but I have no idea how to balance it out.  

Immediately thereafter, we discovered someone had dropped our cash box on the floor, making it impossible to open.  I hit the tool room for some help.  A screwdriver and pliers did the job, which impressed the Castle Lawyer.  I just bent everything back to where we could get it opened and closed.

In no time we were ready to start the game, except there was no caller.  A frantic phone call was made to a town 30 miles away.  You cannot imagine how rowdy this group can get.  Luckily we slipped right by that one.

With no one to watch the cash box in the Pull Tab room, I spent most of the night in between.  I asked the guy that opens to let me know when he was leaving.  NOW he said.  Okay, I ran in to count the cash, making a couple of corrections.  That's when things went south.  Just like Elvis, he left the building.

Wait .... aren't we supposed to stay open and pay out all the pull tabs turned in for cash?  Let me tell you just how important that $1.50 is.  A riot of angry peasants was in the making.  We had a frantic meeting in the closet.  You announce we will pay them at the break and I'll pay out dollar bills, because there was 300 of them.  That way I'll only have to count those the second time.

I was backed up for an hour and ended up having to count the entire cash box over again.  That's when I discovered all the $10 and over tags had disappeared.  They told me I HAD to save them.  Is it a full moon?????

About that time, the infernal machine decided to eat the receipt paper.  It's my specialty, with which I've had lots of experience.  I ran out to fix that, then went back to counting.  What else is going to happen?  I should have kept my mouth shut.

One more thing, just to put the cherry on top .... the very last entry in our infernal machine went in wrong, just a missed key, making the Bingo side balance off by $25.  It wasn't fixable since the resetting keys had been activated.  Oh well ..... blame it on the full moon!!  If it could go wrong last night, it did!!!  

I'm now left handed since my right hand is swollen and very sore.  I'm a left handed klutz and already had to change my shirt that was soaked with coffee.  I'm really hoping that was the end of it.  I'll be recovering on the couch!!

Feeling Like A Dummy

I don't think there is an emoji for that one.  Maybe the crazy eyed guy!!  It's bad enough when you make a really dumb mistake, but to make it in front of several people, makes it even worse.  In this case, they didn't laugh WITH me but AT me.  I can't say I blame them.

It was too early to be out and about at Walmart, but Cooper needed chicken and I needed yarn.  You've got to love that one stop shopping.  I got everything ... no dawdling here ... and raced to the self-checkout, only because the other three lines had eight people in each one.

I rarely get cash back at Walmart, but on this day I thought I might need a little extra since I would be exiting the area soon.  $100 was the magic number.  The wretched machine beeped at me while I was trying to get the too big chicken into the too small bag.  I grabbed the card and put it away.

In a flash, it beeped again and again as it spit out the receipt.  Okay ... Okay ... I grabbed the receipt and walked out.  Yup ... I'm a dummy.  I walked out WITHOUT the cash.  It struck me like a lightning bolt when I pulled into the garage.

Well .... I guess I just made someone's day!!  I felt better thinking about it in those terms.  Hopefully it's a Mom with eight kids.  I called anyway, just because I could.  It was the hand of God that said Nancy ... I'm going to give you a miracle today.  The salesgirl picked up the cash and turned it in.

I went back to Walmart feeling like a real dummy ... which I was.  It just never pays to be in a hurry.  Come to find out, she was a new employee, on the job only two days.  Maricruz heard the machine say "take your change" several times, before going over to check it out.  She instantly called her manager, who took the cash to the office.

Good ... now I'm embarrassed in front of not one or two but an entire OFFICE.  In my defense, the machine is not supposed to give you a receipt until you take the cash (said the manager).  They finally returned my cash ... all of it.  I promptly turned to Maricruz and handed her $40, but the Manager intervened.  Employees canNOT take any cash or reward.  Well that sucks!!

I discovered she's a young mother and could probably use the extra money.  Today I'm headed BACK to ask for her address so I can mail her a check.  Honesty and responsibility in the younger generation should be rewarded.  I STILL feel like a dummy however!!  The good news is I GUARANTEE that won't happen again!  Once burned, twice shy!

On Sunday night, I went out to find the infamous Strawberry Moon.  Is is just me or are there more crazy moons this year than normal.  There was the harvest moon, the blood moon, all kinds of moons I've never heard of before.  In an effort to find it, I pulled up my MOON app.  This is so cool.  It shows you every planet in real time.  I think that's saturn behind the gray moon.  The red line up top is the horizon.

Too bad for me the skies were covered with clouds and I didn't get one single picture.  I stole this one from the internet.  It was apparently huge and beautiful, but not visible from my location.

While wandering in the back yard with my camera however, I did find my hydrangea (Ha!!  I remembered what it was!) blooming gloriously.  My garage isn't really pink ... it's white.  That color is the result of the golden hour of light from the setting sun.  

It's Magic Kingdom night at the Castle, so I'm gearing up by napping on the couch this morning.  I'm going to need all the strength I can muster!!!

Bag Brawls ... Who Knew?

After a nice breakfast burrito filled with bacon (only one piece), egg and cheese (how can you beat that?), I immediately got to work on my "list".  It was cool ... almost cold in fact ... as I drug out the ladder to take care of the first problem.

Rarely do I look up.  From now on, I'll make it a habit.  Here's what I found in one of my ten patio lights.  Whoever built this house wanted LOTS of light.  Since I leave these on most of the time, I removed most of the bulbs.

Apparently that was an invitation to build a condo.  How in the world did they not get electrocuted??  Or worse yet, start a fire?  Thankfully they vacated the building.  It's time for demolition.

So just what do you use to reach into a "hot" light socket and not get electrocuted yourself?  My first thought was tongs, but instead, I went for a screwdriver with a plastic handle ... not that that really would have helped.

Come to find out, it was barely attached to the bottom of the ring and nowhere near the current.  I replaced it with a nice LED floodlight.  I may have to buy seven more to fill up the other currently condo-less sockets.

With that done, I headed out to the garage area to clean this light of more spider webs and dead bug carcasses than I've ever seen.  How do they get in there??  Talk about a fire hazard!!  I used a swiffer duster and was able to get it clean as a whistle, except for a few carcasses at the bottom.  

While I was out and about at 6:00, I grabbed my handy dandy bottle of insect killer and sprayed outside the house and inside the garage.  This stuff works pretty good.  I should probably spray the light fixtures!!

By 7:00 I was done.  Rather than overdo quilting, I plopped on the couch for some Sunday TV.  Unfortunately I'm on a Tucson satellite for the baseball games, so I didn't get to watch Sunday Morning's train story about UP 4014 and it's trip to Ogden Utah.  

Instead, I watched the Bouldering National Championships.  That's solving rock climbing problems on crazy walls with holds the size of your fingernail while upside down.  Talk about Spiderman, these kids are BETTER than Spiderman!  I wouldn't even be able to get up on the first hold!!  These "rocks" don't have places to grab on to, they only have flat sides.

This is me about eight years ago.  This wall had lots of hand holds in all different sizes.  You try to hit the holds with the same color tags.  Different tags mark different routes and difficulty.  I'm free climbing but am actually tethered to a rope in case I fall.  I really wasn't very confident in the 98 pound person on the other end.

Next up ... the bag brawl.  Who's heard of that?  How about Cornhole?  Maybe in the Midwest.  I never knew it was so popular.  These guys look like Indy 500 drivers!!  I had no idea there was a National Finals for Cornhole, a game I've never played before.  

Throw the bag into the hole.  It's called Cornhole because the bags used to be filled with corn.  Now they have suitcases of special varieties of bags, some with felt on one side to make them go slower and some with slick material to make them zing into the hole.  

Then there are air shots.  Most guys hit the board and let it slide into the hole.  The guy on the right threw almost exclusively air shots ... toss it way up in the air and have it go straight down into the hole.  I was amazed at his accuracy.  So was everyone else, and of course he and his partner won.

So the next time you're sitting around on a Sunday, check out the weird channels you never watch and see what crazy new things you can learn.  Bag brawls, cornhole and bouldering just might be on the schedule.