Eau De Parfuuume ........

I smelled it before I even got out of bed.  Eau de Black Tie.  Am I the only one around who is constantly battered by the smell of all smells?  I'm pretty sure I told you the tale from the ranch.  Back in the post depression ages, you saved absolutely everything.  Tin foil, broken ropes, barbed wire, pieces of leather and old concrete pipes.

We would switch the valves in the big irrigation ditches full of water, letting it run down our big ditch, into our smaller ditch, then into the 12" x 36" concrete pipes to flow water onto the fields.  It's called irrigating the pastures, and at 12 years old, was many times my job.  When we switched from cattle to rice ... rather a shock to our system ... we had to pull out all those pipes to allow for flood irrigation.

On this day, Dad drove the tractor with the hydraulic lift.  I rammed a 2" thick 6 foot long steel pole into the pipe and hooked up the chains.  Up came the pipe, which someone else loaded onto the truck.  I had a little trouble getting the steel rod through ... I thought maybe it was full of dirt.  Up went the lift to about my chest height when all of a sudden I smelled exhaust so strong I began coughing.  Only it wasn't exhaust.  Turns out there was a skunk hiding in that pipe and he got me square in the face.  

I got pretty sick from that one, even throwing up.  The skunk ran off happy as a clam.  They made me ride in the back of the truck all the way home.  It took a week to get rid of the smell from me.  Instead of burning my clothes, since they were too expensive to replace, they were laid out in the sun for two weeks, then washed.  MOST of the smell was gone.

So this morning ... I instantly jumped up.  I heard both of my heaters come on at the same time.  I scared Cooper half to death as I ran down the hall hitting the control as fast as I could.  The two big returns in my house suck in extra air from the outside.

Too late ... the smell now permeates the house.  It's not that the skunks are in my back yard again like last year (that's the picture here), but the neighbor behind me has set kill traps in the empty lot behind my fence.  Yessiree, he just got another one.  I'm hoping he had his heat turned on high!!

I spent most of the morning trying to get money appropriated for the painter.  I wrote the checks, but had to move some money around.  Wasn't I surprised when my main bank said I couldn't access their system because my browser was not up to date, something about their new security system.  Unfortunately, it's not a scam, as I was directly on their site.  

I have the same problem as in the past ... I have no internet service that can update my computer and therefore my browser.  I've tried Apple, but you have to leave your computer with them for a week.  How convenient for them ... my computer saves my passwords and has too much financial information on it to take a chance.  

At this point I think my only solution is to download Firefox ... a different browser ... and see if that works.  It should take about two days to download.  Get a computer they said ... it will be FUN and EASY!!!  It took me another 30 minutes to access my account with my phone, but at least the painter got paid.

Next ... trying to come up with an ice cream solution.  Donuts is a very good idea, though I'm not sure they can provide 1500 of them for one day.  I called Smart and Final, who said that with 7 days notice they can provide 40 - 3 gallon containers of ice cream, requiring us to do the scoop thing again.  It's a possibility I guess, but it's a pain, and I would have to buy spoons, bowls, syrup ... all the other stuff.  And so I wait .........

I think there must have been a disagreement, most likely over price, between Costco and whoever is making these bars for them.  I think it is Haagen Daz, since these bars look and taste exactly like theirs.  They came to an agreement, it's just that they were not going to make the first delivery until January 16.  I need them by the 10th.  I guess we shall see just how much pull Costco has.

In the meantime, maybe I can get just ONE good Cooper Christmas photo.  He was laying in his red puppy bed with his favorite chew toy until I picked up the camera.  He's such a happy puppy!!

Seems like I did nothing the rest of the day but make up lists so I wouldn't forget anything for the Rally.  I loaded a couple of things in the truck before deciding I better get propane before everyone closes up between Christmas and New Years.  

Surprisingly, we have an RV repair place here that provides propane.  I hate doing this ... it scares me to be carrying something in my truck that can blow up.  I got it out with little trouble because it's empty.  I tied it in my truck and ever so slowly drove the four miles to the shop.  I can tell you it's not cheap.  It was $30.00 to fill this 7 gallon tank.  

I drove even SLOWER getting home, then backed right up to the trailer for unloading.  I knew it would be heavy ... and it was.  I struggled a bit to get it in there, but she's all strapped in ready to help me bake a breakfast casserole in Indio.  

Trying not to be wasteful, I took out one more burger patty to cook for dinner.  This time I stabbed a hole in the middle until I could see the plate below.  Wait ... I can't open the lid to my BBQ.  What the heck?  I swear, if it can happen, it will happen to me.  

I finally grabbed a screwdriver and pried it open.  Apparently there was so much grease and fire from the last one, it glued the lid shut.  I scrubbed and scrubbed with a steel brush, then started the fire.  At least it will open for the cooking of one burger.  To be honest, I'm not liking the taste of these at all.  Bacon doesn't quite hide the "choice" flavor.  If you weren't raised on a cattle ranch, you would never know.

On a completely different note, I missed a very important event since there was no Bingo.  I forgot to put the garbage out.  Bingo is always my reminder.  No big deal, the gardeners forgot it was Bingo night too and didn't show up the next day at all.  Cha-ching!!  I've got $35 to spend on groceries this morning!!

Only THREE more days till Christmas!!!