Spending Like I've Got It!!

I've discovered something fascinating.  Well ... interesting to me at least.  At night when I'm tired, I write things down, usually in some kind of shorthand.  Anyone remember that?  As a female, I was not allowed to take any high school or college classes that related to veterinary medicine, which was my goal.  I was forced to either be a housewife or a secretary.  No other choices existed.  I became very good at shorthand just as it was discontinued in every office and court in the country.  Funny, those chicken scratches still hang on in my brain.  The problem is I'm not so good at READING those scratches now!!

This mornings writings were translated as "on roadside with cup".  Yeah, it doesn't make sense to me either.  

So ....... my little birdie friend came back, this time a little more in focus.  It's blurry because the camera is set for distance.  Apparently he's attracted to the four red infrared lights that come on when he flies by.  Thirty feet up the hill is the hummingbird feeder!!

I spent most of the morning packing things here and there.  Cleaning out the fridge and freezer is a big challenge now that I only have two square feet of freezer space, compared to the previous six!!  I hauled a few things over to the Chance household ... one a nice package of baby back ribs that won't even FIT in the freezer.  

Then I was off to town for one last run of fabric.  You know when you're driving down the road and someone pulls up beside you honking?  I ducked (force of habit since I spend so much time in California), only to be yelled at by a grey-haired lady.  WHAT??

I expected her to say something bad, but instead she said my rear brake light was out.  Oh ... Okay, thank you so much!!!  I had checked on it previously, but you just can't see those brake lights, even if you jam your purse into the brake pedal.  I called Dan who said he could help me when I got back home.

On to the fabric shop I went.  With the price of fuel, it would add about $48 to the price if I bought it in California since there are no shops close to me.  In case you were wondering why quilts are so outrageously expensive, this fabric cost $237.  Add to that $300 for quilting a queen (which is why I bought my own longarm) and $50 for batting and you have $587 before it's even sewn together.  Absolutely ridiculous, which is why fabric stores are going out of business right and left.  It definitely pays to shop the Arizona Marketplace where this would cost about $100.  No one said I had a cheap hobby!!  I'm spending money like I've got it!!!!

On the way back home, miracle of miracles, I remembered I had one lone light bulb in the cubby hole on the door.  Sure enough, Dan checked while I pushed on the brake pedal and there was no light.  He unscrewed the cover and pulled the old bulb out with great force ... and plugged the new one in.  Let there be light!!!  I'm good to go, but will purchase a couple more bulbs just for good measure.

Back home twiddling my thumbs, I packed a few more items and began the water fill scenario.  Honestly, I don't know why they make this so difficult.  There are five switches that must be turned the correction direction.  I hooked up to City water first, opened the hot water valve and turned on the faucet.  Previously I had an on-demand system, no hot water tank to deal with.  This is all Greek to me!  Lots of air came out and it made terrible noises, but eventually water came out the faucet.  Okay ... hot water tank filled ... I think.  

Next I changed the switches and filled the tank about half full.  I know, it adds weight, but there's nothing worse than getting stuck somewhere with NO water.  I'd rather pull the weight.

That's now about three things off my to-do list.  Next up will be turning the fridge on and checking my propane tanks.  I'm almost afraid to have them filled.  I imagine the price has skyrocketed on that also.  Little by little, I'll get everything packed and be ready for take-off.  

I'm still undecided about solar, but definitely getting an inverter.  I'll probably decide five minutes before my appointment time.