Sunday, October 1, 2023

Never Count Your Chickens

 Fall has arrived like a lamb.  Although once in a blue moon she comes in like gang busters, this year Fall took the quiet approach.  It began with a soft rain about 7:00 and continued until about 10.  Darn ... I never did get my gutter leaks sealed.  Hopefully it will dry up this week as Mother Nature tries on her skimpy dress, heating up the countryside to the 90's.  I'm hoping it's her last hurrah.


I have some sad news this morning.  Remember Frank Paredes, our 103 year old Apache Veteran Elk?  He passed away September 29th, 103 years 7 months old.  


What a guy he was ... and the stories he could tell.  He will be telling them up in Heaven now, how he survived Pearl Harbor and barely escaped the Bataan Death March in 1942.  May you Rest In Peace Frank, with lots of Apache Warriors to keep you company.


More cleaning ... more organizing ... but no getting rid of stuff because my bin is full and overflowing.  Be careful where you walk, there are stacks of stuff EVERYWHERE!!  Heavens to Betsy!!  Start purging now folks, because it's a monumental task!!

Sadly the rain stopped, followed by some gorgeous clouds.  Darn ... there went my excuse to sit on the couch and watch South Dakota's Governors Cup Rodeo ... one of the biggest EVER.  If you win first place, you get $25,000, not to mention all the day money that came before.  It sure makes the finals crazy exciting because someone in 18th place can win and jump up to 15th ... just in time for the National Finals (only the top 15 get to go).    South Dakota ... you have an AWESOME Governor!!

Suddenly I was inundated with emails.  Our little Golden Spike RV Group is trying to make a comeback.  We have 11 rigs headed for the Verde Valley Railroad and the Grand Canyon Railroad.  That meant I spent hours talking on the phone about potlucks and such, even though I'm not involved in this rally.  I don't think my back will appreciate driving that far so soon.  I'm glad someone stood up and planned a rally, but the club cannot go forward without officers.  I hope I impressed upon them they must VOLUNTEER!!  I've already done my share.

Still trying not to overdo the dirty jobs around the house and becoming bored to tears, I whipped up another loaf of bread.  I have recipes for dozens of different flavors, but no ingredients.  Buying an entire box of instant milk just to get 3 tablespoons just isn't cost effective.  Isn't she a pretty loaf??

And the inside .... WOW!!  This is wheat bread with a little honey thrown in.  It's interesting to note that bread doesn't like me one little bit.  But THIS bread doesn't bother me at all.  Maybe it's all the preservatives and crazy ingredients they put in it ... and not the gluten as I previously thought.  Oh boy ... nice out-of-the-oven HOT bread smothered in butter!!  

Seriously, with a bread machine, you just dump it all in and it does everything.  Mixes, kneads, rises three times .... you should try it!!  This is not your old fashioned way to make bread.


I finally took the time to cut and sew another binding on a much bigger quilt.  I have to admit, my back didn't last but about 15 minutes before I had to rest.  This sewing stuff requires arms and backs of steel.

AND THEN IT HAPPENED.  At 8:30 I got a text message from my Realtor.  They accepted (in writing) my refusal to replace the pipes.  They cannot add anything to that list, meaning I don't have to fix anything  ... like the patio roof.  All the discussions between us are DONE!!!  

I can't thank you enough for all the prayers .... THEY ARE WORKING!!  So now all I have to do is wait for the lendor's appraisal.  If we get that in a timely manner, it will close escrow October 19th.  Jonathan did a happy dance!!


Cooper barely woke up to my YES resounding throughout the house.  It's time to make up my list of things to shut off ... the gas bill, the water bill, the electric bill.  I'll be making LOTS of phone calls soon.


Have I been thinking how I can spend that money?  OF COURSE!!!  Another smaller house, maybe just an RV lot (much less expensive), a horse trailer, accompanied by a horse of course ... getting rid of old nasty carpet in this house ... the list is endless.  Sadly my penny pinching nature won't let me just blow it!!  Besides ... never count your chickens before they hatch!!!  






21 comments:

  1. Congrats, that does sound like a win-win regarding the pipes! YES!! Sorry, Cooper, go back to sleep. ♥

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  2. Congrats Nancy on the Az. house...one less thing to think about.
    Sue

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    1. Thank you Sue. It's nice not to have the worry about where the next repair $$$$ are coming from.

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  3. YES!!! An answer to prayer, so glad the house is sold. One less headache for you. Congratulations!!
    Frances:)

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  4. I have the same bread maker and use it all the time although I don't bake it in the machine , not fond of the large square bread with the hole in the bottom. I use the dough program #8 and then put it into a bread pan for a final rise and bake it in the oven. I have also found out you can use liquid milk instead of powdered. 2TBS of powdered milk is replaced by 1/2 cup of liquid milk and you reduce the amount of water in your recipe by 1/2 cup, works perfectly....I also couldn't justify buying powdered milk for a couple of tablespoons. When did powdered milk become so expensive!

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    1. Angela ... I'm copying this down and putting it in my recipe drawer. I never knew you could switch for regular milk. Now I can finally make that recipe. Thank you so much!!!

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  5. There's nothing like fresh baked bread smothered with Butter.
    Glad things are moving along with the house.
    Be Safe and Enjoy!

    It's about time.

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    1. That's my thought Rick ... and it's so much better for you without all the additives!

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  6. My bread maker has been in the basement for years. Maybe it's time to haul it out. What recipe did you use for this wheat bread?

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    1. I downloaded the Cuisinart recipe book from the internet and used their Wheat Bread recipe, 1.5 pound loaf. You also need a good bread knife for ease of cutting. SO good!

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  7. Congrats to the sale of your house. I'm sure it will close no problem. While cruising on "Diesel Duck" I used a bread maker and I left it behind when she sold. Don't know if the new owner even used it, but it was great to have and the bread always tuned out great. (Had to make sure we stayed on power during the bake/mix/rise) If interrupted the half baked bread started mixing again.

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    1. Oh yikes ... that's good info to know about interrupted power. I rarely used mine since it was in Arizona, but now I'm going to give it a workout! Jonathon absolutely LOVES it!!

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  8. Your bread looks wonderful. Many years ago I tried making bread by hand. Lord I had a mess, hubby said buy them next time. lol

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    1. Hahaha Cheryl!!! On the ranch, we made ALL the bread by hand. It's a workout for sure, and the texture wasn't always great. These machines ... you can't mess it up.

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  9. Sounds like your house sale is moving along. That's great! Enjoy the dough. 😁

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    1. I am definitely enjoying the DOUGH!! I can make rolls, pizza ... just about anything without all the hassle of kneading and rising. As for the other DOUGH, the IRS is going to get a chunk.

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  10. I have to admit it's the perfect time to sell and it looks like I made a bundle, but in reality, most of it's going to taxes and repaying all the repairs I had to make. I could probably reinvest, but then I'd have yet another headache to deal with. Better for me to bite the bullet.

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