Water ... No Fire

It surprises me every morning when I realize it rained most of the night.  This is the desert, right?  I guess I never read about monsoons, although I remember seeing something about that on the old Disney channel we got to watch for one hour each Sunday night when I was a kid on the ranch.  

Television was not a thing back in the day.  It was a small black and white set on a metal stand.  Rabbit ears with aluminum foil didn't work all that well for reception.  If you wanted color, you placed a piece of plastic on the front that had strips of color imbedded in it.  Not kidding ... it was a little weird to see pink animals.  

If we were lucky, we got to have half a soda.  On very special nights, we were allowed to make popcorn in the pot on the stove while standing on a chair.  If you fell off, you learned a lesson.  It was the highlight of the month.  No seconds were allowed, which means my parents ate all the leftovers.  

Back to Arizona, you can look at the weather radar and see it coming.  It's no joke about don't drive if you can help it and those signs you see everywhere about don't enter if water is present.  I've even heard the road from Parker to Quartzsite has several flooded sections.  In the past few years we haven't had that much rain, so Mother Nature is catching up.

So ... I've spent more time keeping Cooper entertained than I normally do.  This is why I can't have nice shoes.  There's a ball in there somewhere.  He very gently puts it IN my slippers or boots, then tears them up trying to get it back out.  He's such a funny kid, he keeps me laughing.

I did some on-line banking, paying seven or so bills, all the while knowing that TODAY would be THE day the bank changes over to a completely different system.  Yes, that's going to be fun.  You can no longer sign in and must jump threw many hoops to get it going, which includes setting up from scratch.  

I called the office for some expert help.  I think I knew more than the girl did.  I did find out that none of those bills I paid will go through, in spite of it saying so.  Today will be an epic day on the computer trying to straighten it all out.  I just love it when that happens.

And then the rains came.  You can't even see the mountains or the gully below.  My game camera from the night before didn't capture a single image.  The critters are smart enough to stay home when it rains.  I can't believe I haven't seen another spider or frog.

This is an interesting one I took awhile back.  The colors always fascinate me.

SO ... tired and bored with sewing, I took my sore knees (on the floor with Cooper you know) to the kitchen to whip up the latest version of ribs.  Sadly my Pig Powder order has not arrived, and these MUST be smoked before they spoil.  I mixed up my own version of a rub the night before and stuck them in the fridge to soak it up.  I took them out early in the morning to warm up a tad before going in the smoker.

I had a terrible time getting the smoker to smoke this time.  I don't know what I'm doing wrong.  The vent was open, the chips on the fire, but it seems they refused to burn.  These ribs were so thick ... unheard of nowadays ... that I left them in an extra hour.

They are edible, but not up to par.  I'm telling you, that Trim Tabbs Pig Powder makes all the difference in the world.  Yes it is expensive, but worth every penny.  Barbecue sauce helped out a bit ... I mean really, you can't go wrong with smoked ribs.  

This morning will be a treat ... I'm going to grab my ladder and see if I can clean out the gutters on the front of the house.  It appears two of them are completely plugged up.  The old adage ... a homeowners work is never done ... is completely true.