Blisters and Smoke!!

 Do you smell that?  Is it lovely morning coffee wafting in from the kitchen?  Nope ... it's the ever wonderful acrid horrible smell of chicken manure being spread on all the orchards around this area.  Boy does that stuff STINK!!!  

It made it very hard to enjoy my coffee and even harder to run when sucking in all that air.  Garlic from the local processor ... I can take that any time.  This .... this is a whole different kind of odiferous oddity.  I didn't run very far at all.  I barely made it to the mailbox.

My morning was spent loving on this guy.  He's such good company.  Instead of running, I spent an hour crawling around the floor as we played Moose Takeaway.  I take it away and throw it, he retrieves it so we can do it again.

Eventually I did have to get something done.  The more I thought about the cost of fuel, the less I was motivated to go looking for new clothes.  I hate always buying on-line, but it's my only alternative since there are only Dollar Stores in this area.  Oh, and Walmart, the Eves Saint Laurent of California.  

Has anyone looked at the labels on clothing lately?  Everything comes from China because U.S. manufacturers cannot make affordable clothing while paying $15.00 an hour wages.  China and Thailand put out clothing like rock stars while paying something like ten cents an hour.  I'm lucky if those shirts last through the first three washings.  

Instead, I clamored back up on the ladder for more gutter repairs.  The problem is this long section to the left does not have a downspout.   The water has to go around two corners before finding an outlet.  It's such a long run that there's no slope in the first fifteen feet.  

All that weight of water and mud had pulled it away from the eave.  Just what I love doing ... balancing on a ladder on the sixth step while drilling holes and tightening screws.  I found that the gutter was over half an inch away from the wood with the roof shingles BEHIND it.  No wonder it was leaking so badly!!

I dug the shingles out and tightened the clips that were holding it up, but it wasn't enough.  It needed a few more screws.  Pushing hard with a drill wasn't working, so I grabbed my smallest Phillips screwdriver to use as a punch and hammered a hole into the metal.  It worked perfectly ... a big surprise!!  Then I put in a deck screw to tighten it up.  

In fact, I put in FOUR deck screws, which is why I now have the biggest blister you've ever seen in the palm of my hand.  Every time I move my fingers it's like an electric shock!!  Gloves ... I should have used gloves!!  I'll check it again with the next rain and see if it's any better.

Next up, instead of shopping for clothes, I went for groceries again.  It's depressing to say the least.  I'm out of eggs for the two kids.  You're not going to believe this ... 1-1/2 dozens eggs cost me $5.29.  A dozen was $3.49.  Even the checker said he couldn't believe it when he saw the price.  This is just the tip of the iceberg he said ... everything is going through the roof.  

So here's my question of the day ... I'm supposed to go to a shindig for the Elks that's over an hours drive away.  I figured it out ... it will cost me $57 for fuel.  I'm sure the powers that be will be upset if I don't go, but honestly, I'm just filling a space to make someone look good.  So do I go or not???  

In the meantime, I'm working on this smaller quilt for one of the Lodge Officers.  She's a sweetheart teacher whose son loves everything American Flag.  I have a few more borders to sew on in order to get it wide enough, but I think he will love it.

Of course it had to be Cooper approved first!!

I'm still working on this one, though it's not my favorite.  It's funny how sometimes the fabric just does not work with the pattern.  Every time I make one, I swear I won't buy another jelly roll of fabric.  OH LOOK ... what a pretty jelly roll!!!!

In between all that, I actually bought a chicken for $8.00 ... a big 7 pounder ... and stuck it on the barbecue.  I almost forgot it, but lucked out that Cooper needed to go outside.  OH LOOK!!!  Smoke come out of the barbecue!!

It turned out just fine, but I completely forgot to take a picture.  I was concentrating on sewing.  I have to admit though, the skin never got crispy and brown.  It was rather pale looking.  What did I do wrong?

The good news it tasted just fine and was Cooper approved for his dinner.  I on the other hand, had these yummy pork cutlets, browned to perfection with a nice crunchy crust.  They were the cheapest meat at the market.

All that rather yellow chicken skin went out to the Foxy dinner table.  I'll check the camera this morning and see if he enjoyed his meal.  In the meantime, it's back to sewing while my hand heals up.