IT'S PARTY TIME !!!!

 Here we go again!  I think it was just last week that I finally remembered to write 2023 on my checks.  It's because I probably only write 20 a year.  That's my story and I'm sticking to it!  So now we all have to remember to write in 2024!!  Honestly, with all the crazy stuff I've done in my life, I'm just happy to still be around.  And surprised ... SO surprised (and very thankful) that I made it this far!!

It was a nice relaxing morning, so of course we had to play the ball game.  I toss it on the couch ......

He catches it and rolls it back off the edge.  I throw it again .... and on and on and on!  I'm pretty sure this is why I'm still agile enough to get up off the floor.

I decided on an old throwback for breakfast.  When you are mule packing in the mountains, there is no supply of fresh (or even sour) milk.  Good old canned Carnation Evaporated Milk was what we used in all our cooking because if the mules bucked the packs off, it remained in tact.  Anyone remember the old can opener that would only punch a hole in one side?  Worst case, if you forgot it, your pocketknife would work too.  You know, the same one you used to clean out your horses hooves.  

That canned milk held over to our kitchen also, when the cow wasn't producing enough for drinking AND cooking.  This is our Christmas breakfast casserole ... eggs, canned milk, grated cheese and canned chili peppers.  It was baked in a loaf pan for almost an hour.  I think that was to get the canned milk taste to dissipate.

This being much thinner, I probably over baked it, but it tasted like Christmas on the ranch.  Add a few pieces of bacon and we were in Heaven.  There was NEVER cold cereal on Christmas!!!

Full to the brim, it was time to hit the road.  I had two more sets of books to finish off for 2023.  Do I mind all that work?  Heck no ... I get paid well and I love my clients.  I even got a bonus that I decided I should pass on.  Let me just say I am NOT a Starbucks fan ... however, some of my Bingo girls ARE.  

Too bad this doesn't say Merry Christmas like in the old days, but it's okay.  In fact, in the REALLY old days we used to go from state to state and collect these cards, to be used again and again.  Hawaii was the favorite design, and I still have it around here somewhere.  

Anywho .... I'm spreading Christmas and New Year's cheer!!

A stop at the Pet Store garnered a bag of filet mignon for Cooper.  People wonder why no one shops the stores any more ... all ordering on Amazon.  Here's one reason ... that small 5# bag of dog food cost me $22.00.  I can get a 15# bag on Amazon for $30.  I just needed a little more to last Cooper for the next month and I didn't want to carry a big bag around.  I'll know better next time.

Last stop ... a Walmart order.  It kills me to admit I love this store.  I hate the self checkouts however, so I've been buying most everything on-line.  The problem with that is you can be fooled by the size.  This looks like a normal sized bottle of wine, yes?  Wasn't I surprised when I went to pick it up and almost dropped the bottle.  These are TWICE the size of a regular bottle of wine.  AND ONLY $3.28 each!!

WOOHOO!!!  WE'RE HAVING A PARTY!!  Actually, I'm saving this for Quartzsite, if I ever get there.

In case you were wondering what my evening plans are ..... this is it!!  I'm pretty sure I won't be sleeping however, since this is Fireworks Central.  I expect it to go on all night long, followed by 25 missing dogs because people just won't put them inside the house.  

And so my friends, another year ends in success because I'm still kicking.  I can't thank you enough for reading my blog and responding to all my questions.  As you know, I'm always in need of expertise.  Hopefully it brings out a few laughs here and there because we can always use more of that!!!   I hope everyone has a happy and safe New Year!!!  SEE YOU IN 2024!!!!

What's That SMELL??

It's raining, it's pouring, the old man is snoring while Nancy is wide awake.  There's nothing like a downpour on your roof all night long, along with a drain pipe four feet from your head that sounds like someone is tapping on it with a hammer.  I've no clue what that is all about, but if I want to get any sleep at all, I better find out.  Jim ... you nailed that forecast!  

Lucky for me, my package of the latest and greatest food arrived before it got wet.  That might have explained how this box happened if it got left in the rain, but it was perfectly dry.  You've seen this on my blog in the past .... Hello Fresh.  

They make lots of meal decisions for you, do all the shopping and send it along with recipes and instructions on how to amaze your family and friends.  The box is well insulated and there are freezer packs inside.

This time there were also some extras.  Once signed up, you get free breakfast for life, or until you cancel.  They were pretty smart here, because after eating these egg bites with stinky feta cheese, you have orange flavored Mentos gum to chew.  Yeah, I admit those eggs were NOT all that tasty.

You can pick as many meals as you like for as many people as you want to cook for ... or a minimum of two.  Since I'm just one, I get two meals from each recipe.  So here we go .. into the world of gourmet cooking.  By the way, you get to pick what meals you want to cook.  

Why am I doing this?  Because that shepherds pie Barbara made was so delicious, I had to try their new menus.  Sadly, I did not find any shepherds pie on the list, so I settled on this wonderful looking dinner.

I had forgotten just how much work it is to prepare a REAL meal.  Chop the onions, chop the tomatoes, zest the lime ... it took so much longer than my air fry corn dog.  So this is what it SHOULD look like.

This is what it DID look like when I finally finished it an hour later.  These are made with ground pork and an indigestion inducing red sauce that could dissolve a piece of metal.  They said to bake them in the oven, but it appears to me that they pan fried theirs. 

Time for a taste test.  Tortilla ... good and crispy.  Ground pork and onion filling ... quite tasty.  The guacamole would have been better without the added sour cream and I should have left off the not-quite-ripe tomatoes.  The lime zest was a nice added touch of flavor.  

I barely got two down the hatch before crying uncle.  The red sauce acid was already eating away my stomach lining.  Good stuff!!!!  I got a stomach burning reminder of this meal about every two hours all night long.  Maybe this wasn't such a good choice after all.

About that time I got a phone message.  My neighbors apparently had a GREAT Christmas dinner, followed by a septic system backup of huge proportions.  They were asking if the pump truck could park in my driveway.  

This sort of thing is normal for me.  When in the construction business, we installed new systems, repaired old ones and pumped tanks.  I always get HOW COULD YOU?  Because I was raised on a ranch and bad smells were the norm.  We got paid lots of green moola to haul away all those political promises they voted for.

Lucky for my neighbors, their tank is in the front yard and an easy find.  I explained the workings and how to find the lids.  In no time it was pumped out and the truck was gone.  Now comes the good part.  I had to explain to them just how and why this happened.  They had no idea.

If you have a septic system, you should never EVER use your garbage disposal.  Food does not dissolve for a very long time.  It goes through both sides of the tank, out into your leach lines and plugs them up quite nicely.  Apparently a large portion of the vegetable aisle in the grocery store went down the garbage disposal for both Thanksgiving AND Christmas.  One more thing ..... no grease EVER goes down the sink.

And there you have it ... your septic system lesson for the day.  If you live in the city, with a city sewer system, it's not a problem.  Sadly for my neighbor, I think it's too late and they will have to add on to their leach lines.  Old lines are left intact because they will continue to work a little bit.  New lines will take up their entire front yard and they will lose a lot of their landscaping.

Which reminds me ... you should have your tank pumped every 3-5 years, depending on how many people live there.  I guess I'll be making that phone call pretty soon myself.

Is It Just ME?

Good morning not so sunny California. We've got rain coming in for the next three days.  It's okay though, I would rather it get it all out of its system before I take off south.  Of course I've no idea when that's going to happen yet, but hopefully before the end of January.

Cooper and I both survived the Vet visit, but just barely.  When you call and make an appointment to meet with a Vet to give Cooper the once over and check his fire ant bites that he constantly licks, you rather expect to see the VET, yes?

All the gal wrote down was a heart worm test.  What about the arthritis meds?  What about the nail trim?  What about the ant bites?  There was silence.  Is it just me or does that happen to everyone?  All I got was a technician to take him to the back for the blood test and the nail trim, and only after complaining.  

Six months of heart worm meds were included, though they have completely changed up the brand and type, so no telling how Cooper will deal with that ... and six months of his arthritis meds.  For that, I paid a whopping $170.00 ... AFTER a $25.00 reward discount and a SENIOR discount, and we didn't even see the Vet.  Yes I did try to get his meds in Mexico for cheap, but they do not carry them.

I know prices have gone up everywhere, but WOW!!  Maybe it's the high PG&E bill.  This visit used to run me $100.00.  Cooper was catatonic by the time I put him in the truck.  Poor baby hates going to the doctor as much as I do.  Once home, he passed out on the couch immediately.

I on the other hand, required sustenance ... something sweet to take my mind off how sad he was.  I mean since I'm cleaning out the fridge and freezer, I might as well use up that last can of whipped cream.  And so we both survived the Doc-tor-A.

That sugar rush spurred me on to this.  It's time to take the tree down.  I don't have any idea why I used to think this was just the bees knees .... putting up a Christmas tree.  Next year I think I'll just buy a posterboard picture tree and stick it in the corner.

Those little glitter covered ornaments that say they won't break?  Well ... that's not exactly true.  Two bit the dust because those fancy little hooks I bought just did not want to let go.  The silver spray thingies ... half of the glitter pieces on that were gone before it even got ON the tree.  They don't make them like they used to!

TA-DA!!  It is done!!  And so was I.  Next time I'm tying a piece of bright red yarn on the light pieces that plug together so I can find them.  Now to smash it up enough, without ripping any lights off, and stuff it in the box.  Sadly, I don't remember how it came OUT of the box.  The stand folds flat, but it took me ten minutes to figure that one out.  Oh the joys of Christmas trees!!!

I looked down to find myself staring at the biggest pile of glitter EVER.  I'm not sure what's worse ... pine needles or tiny pieces of glitter you only see when the light is right, or you find one on Cooper's nose when he touches them to see if they are edible.

Out came the vacuum cleaner.  There were no little nighttime fairies this time.  It took an hour to clean up the mess.  While I was at it, I sucked up all the dust bunnies that were attacking my slippers.  They kept appearing out of nowhere!!  The vacuum went into its closet hiding spot.

I hauled the box out to the garage, and upon my return, what to my wondering eyes did appear?  A big line of glitter from the living room all the way out the back door.  Oh good grief.  I drug the vacuum out once again, reminding myself how much I LOVE vacuuming and cleaned up the mess.  

Ahhhhh at long last I can relax.  Well not really ... Cooper was now wide awake and it was play time.  

I can't believe this kid is going on 15 years.  How did that happen so fast?  I feel like I just got him yesterday and haven't given him nearly enough love and attention.  And so we played this game for about an hour.  He rolls the ball to me, I throw it back on the couch.  He rolls it again and again until he finally lays down on it.  That means the game is over.  YAY!!!

Dinner was another foray into the land of What The Heck Is She Cooking NOW!!  I'll tell you all about it tomorrow.  Today I'm back bean counting for probably 6-7 hours.  That should pay for the Doc-tor-A.

Off To The Doc-TOR-a .........

 It's been weird weather this year.  We usually have nothing but dull overcast skies with no personality whatsoever!  Last night it looked like this, just before pouring out buckets of water, followed by lightning akin to Arizona.  That rarely ever happens here.  It lit up my entire house ... INSIDE!  

Sadly, today we have a trip to the Vet on tap.  Nothing bad ... just his normal shots and a blood sample.  Just like regular doctors, all his appointments seem to be at 8:00 in the morning.  I hate it as much as he does.  It meant a bath was in order for him ... his least favorite activity.

Cooper thinks it's just fine to run in the ocean water, or in mud puddles (like any little kid), but stick him in a bathtub with an inch of water in the bottom and he goes into "I'm dying" mode.  I do my best ... I even turned the heat up to 72 degrees ahead of time so he wouldn't be cold.  

Maybe it was the 30 minutes of the blow drying.  You've never seen such a happy dog as when he's finally put back on the floor.  He's still a little damp around the edges, but as you can see ... he made a beeline for his ball.  If I'm going to torture him with a bath, he's going to torture me with an hour of ball play.

Sadly that's it for this mornings blog.  I'm up a tad bit late and have to get my butt in gear.  The good news is the nori popcorn is now gone ... it magically disappeared over night ... and my house is clean.  Bet you didn't see THAT coming!!!

The Time To Return Stuff

There should be a name for the day after Christmas.  Oh wait ... there IS!  It's Boxing Day.  Is that because all the relatives are fighting or because people are returning all the boxes they got for Christmas?  

It was December 26 and time for the Cold Moon rising.  Apparently all the moon names were given by the Mohawk people.  This last "cold moon" denotes the freezing icy weather of December, also known as the Frost or Winter moon.  Lucky for us it's not snowing, but a lovely 55 degrees.

Here's the Cold Moon at 4:00 in the morning.  Yes, it really is pitch black outside, but the neighbor's Christmas lights light up the entire neighborhood.  Obviously they make a lot more money than I do!!!

And so it begins ... the mad dash to return all that stuff they got for Christmas that didn't fit, but really they just didn't like.  I knew better, but I had all this time I was wasting.  I'm not good at that, though I did sit on the couch for an hour or two.

I decided to take that infamous lost box to be mailed.  I thought it was too big for the post office, so I went to the Mailing Store.  NOT a good idea.  Traffic was at an all time high.  I can't say what is IN the box ... it's a secret for now.  However, the box is quite big.  $86.00 BIG!!  No kidding ... that's what they wanted to mail it off.  It's not like it weighs in at 50 pounds, nor is it going to China on a slow boat!  Come ON!!!

I drove back home.  Smaller boxes are in short supply, but I finally found one in the garage.  I repacked everything and tried a second time.  AHA ..... MUCH cheaper.  I have to say though, I'm positive if I took it to the post office it probably would have cost HALF as much.  These Postal Stores rip you off big time.  To make it worse, I know it's being put on a slow dogsled to the North Pole, so I'm not holding my breath. All will be revealed in a month or two when it arrives .... IF it arrives.

The best part of the day was actually DRIVING to the mail station.  I got to check out my "new" truck.  No kidding, I cannot believe the difference in the feel and ride of the truck.  That first step is a doozy, but I love it!!  It's a miracle how much better it rides and drives, not to mention the brakes, which will take some getting used to.

Here's what they did.  Yes it was pricey, but probably half what the dealer would have charged for the same work.  It was worth every penny in my book.  Hopefully we are all good when towing.

It was Ho Hum the rest of the day.  I decided to give my back a rest and not sew.  It's getting better, but it's slow.  I really have no patience for this sort of thing.  Cooper and I snuggled while he kept a close eye on his ball.  Don't touch it or you will be subject to the wrath of Khan!!!

For you adventurous type, here's the latest and greatest food adventure.  I received a big gift of popcorn for Christmas.  It came in a fabulously decorated box from Hawaii.  I ... LOVE  ... POPCORN.  I was a little nervous about the words MOCHI and NORI on the box.  I know what that is .... do you?

I carefully opened the first little package and saw little crunchy cracker-like things.  Ok, I can do that.  The directions said to pop the corn, then dump in the package of goodies along with a package of something akin to butter, but it wasn't.  Oil maybe?  They even give you this nice bag in which to "shake it up".  

Here's it is folks ... the latest Hawaiian craze ... SEAWEED POPCORN!!  Yup ... that's what Nori is .... Japanese edible seaweed.  I have to admit it wasn't my all time favorite.  I ate every bit however since it was after all, a present from a very sweet friend!!  I now know I'm not a nori fan.

I tried to wash it down with a little ham, but decided this chocolate mousse would be a better choice.  This is a bag of chocolate chips, melted in a blender with a cup of hot cream.  Let cool a bit, then fold in 3 cups of whipped cream (made with 1/4 cup sugar).  

Do NOT let the chocolate sit on the counter until it hardens up again in the cold kitchen air.  It doesn't fold in so well when that happens.  I could eat the entire bowl of this stuff in one sitting, but I went with one cup smothered in more whipped cream instead.  You don't even need dinner when you eat this!!  It took some time, but the nori flavor dissipated.  

I did have things to return, but after two trips to the store to see a million people in the parking lot, I decided to go another day.  Everyone is after the Christmas leftover sales.  I'll pass.  Somehow or other my house insurance bill comes due at Christmas ... and insurance companies are trying to make up for all their losses on fires and floods this last year.  OWIEEE!!!

The New Year is sneaking up on us fast!!  That means BINGO will be back in action next week!!!  OH BOY!!!!!  

A Foggy Christmas Day

 IT'S HERE!!  Christmas Day has finally arrived!!  It didn't snow here, but the thermometer was down in the 30's.  Apparently it doesn't work any better than my oven thermometer.  My house thermometer is the same.  It reads 72, but when I test it with my handy dandy hand-held, it reads 67.  My oven?  I set it at 400 to get somewhere in the neighborhood of 325.  I think I need a repairman!!

It was probably very nice somewhere, but it was very foggy here.  By 8:00 you couldn't see the fence.  That made it rather hard for the kids down the block to be riding their new four-wheelers.  You know, the Barbie and Ken kind.  At least they didn't make any noise and I didn't hear any sirens!!

Mr. Cooper ate his breakfast and went right back to sleep.  It's not fair ... how he can sleep all night long, wake up, then 30 minutes later go back to sleep.  He wasn't even interested in his stocking.

Jonathan doesn't care much for Christmas.  He gets his favorite meal every day of the week, so it's nothing special.  He did want to get in on the act however ... so turn up your volume.  The loudest one is me of course.  He went on for about an hour before also going back to sleep.  These guys sleep mostly during the day, as do the bird predators.  They stay awake at night hoping not to be someones dinner.

I finally got Cooper's stocking down for a look see.  It took him two seconds to stick his nose in the end.  This kid can smell a ball a mile away!!

Apparently he was looking for a snack, not toys.  Like any kid on Christmas, he didn't want to play with anything.  He just wanted a treat!!

He got one when we had ham and eggs for breakfast, and again (same picture) ham for lunch, and yet AGAIN ... ham for dinner.  At least I don't have to think two seconds about what there is to eat.  It's HAM.  Even the cold leftovers are REALLY good, so I can't complain.

That's it ... that was pretty much Christmas in this house.  I sewed yet another border on my quilt, picked up the house a bit and watched silly Christmas movies all day long.  At long last there are some new ones which weren't too bad.  At least they changed up the story lines a tad.

As you know, I'm not one to sit, so I finally decided to put my new California plates on the truck.  Y'all know my luck, so I did not keep them registered in Arizona.  

Here's the problem ... the fillers for my air bags come through the holes in the license plate.  I very carefully took the old plate off.  Wouldn't you know, the valve stem is too big for the hole.  RATS!!  I put the Arizona plate back on.

I contemplated that for awhile and decided I could drill it out myself.  You've got to love those Ryobi drills and batteries.  I'm pretty sure this one was charged up over a year ago and it still worked like a charm.  I set the plate over the edge of the concrete and stepped on it, before drilling away.  IT WORKED!

And here we are, all back together.  Of course I have no idea if the air bags are holding air now.  Hopefully they won't be a problem.  In retrospect, I probably don't need them anyway since I now have new springs for a cushier ride.

I spent the rest of the day watching football.  30 seemed to be the score of the day, while the 49ers lost 33-19.  Honestly, I'm looking forward to more RODEO!!

Time to gear up for the New Years all-night-long fireworks show and all the dogs running loose afterwards.  It's going to be like the Fourth of July around here.  Time to see how many earplugs I can stuff in my ears!!!

No Smoke Alarms Were Damaged

MERRY MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! 

The real reason for the season ... He is born.

Good morning ... yes I'm up at the normal hour.  The fireworks that were set off last night woke me from a nice sleep.  Why oh WHY do you think it's necessary to set off fireworks and scare the heck out of all the critters in the neighborhood.  Sadly, no one will give up the culprit, and so it continues.  

Luckily, I fell back to sleep.  That's when I heard it.  VOICES!!  YAY!!!  It MUST be none other than SANTA CLAUS flying over my rooftop.  Wait ..... I don't think Santa Claus uses that kind of language.  The fight went on for an hour before it was completely silent.  I should probably have gone outside to see if anyone was dead, but my bed was too nice and warm.  No other peeps were heard.

And so I'm out on the dark patio with my morning cup of Joe, sucking in the fog that is blanketing the countryside. It's nice and quiet .... cold, but quiet.

I donned my running gear (not that I had any plans of actually RUNNING) and grabbed Cooper's leash.  He loves nothing more than a cruise through the neighborhood.  Looky here!  Santa has come to visit and brought all his friends with him.  How cute is that!

And then there's this ... Santa and his reindeer taking off into the sky.  Well, not quite.  That first reindeer is chained to the tree!!!  Cute idea and I'm sure it keeps the thieves from stealing him!!  

When Cooper was completely empty, we headed back to the house.  It's time to cook my Christmas dinner ... one day early.

I know, it's not Christmas yet ... but my plan was to at least have something to do Christmas Eve.  I knew it would take me all day to prepare and I couldn't wait any longer.  This is what I got from Walmart.  A twelve pounder for $29.00. Not so cheap, but it was Christmas Eve and I was splurging.  Actually, I had no idea whether this was good or bad, I just clicked on the picture because it was medium priced.

I followed the instructions to the letter.  Wrap it in foil and place in a pan.  Bake at 325 degrees.  Therein lies the problem.  I have no clue just how hot my oven is.  In spite of the little thing on the shelf, I'm completely guessing because it never reads above 250 degrees.  

Once done, take it OUT of the foil.  Ummmm with what?  I got it unwrapped but couldn't get it out of the pan.  It's hard to balance that much weight on two spoons.  Lucky for me all that juice did not runneth over the pan and all over the oven.

No smoke alarms were damaged during this process.  Pour drippings over the ham and sprinkle on the honey sugar glaze.  Broil for 8 minutes.  Broil means FIRE in my kitchen. 

As you can tell, I probably overcooked it a tad, in spite of that red letter warning in the instructions, but boy oh boy did it smell good!!!!!  

Here we go ... honey glazed ham with mashed red potatoes and asparagus smothered in butter.  WOW!!  That's the best meal I've cooked in a LONG time.  Cooper was shocked and dismayed at the tiny pieces I gave him.  He barked for more!!  I think this is the best ham I've ever had!!!  

I now have six packages in the freezer and two in the fridge.  Gosh ... that was a LOT of ham.  I better start gathering up some "ham" recipes.  A nice food coma ensued.  I didn't even eat dinner ... not one bite.  I did partake of some chocolate mousse ... one of the easier recipes ever.  I'll tell you about that one tomorrow, because right now ... we need to check our stockings.

I don't know how Santa arrived at YOUR house last night, but this is how he got to MINE!!!  On thundering hooves!!  I think there's a little surprise for Cooper, so off we go!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL AND TO ALL A GOOD NIGHT!

Well not quite yet .... we are having HAM AND EGGS for breakfast ... and ham for lunch ... and ham for dinner!!!  It's going to be a HAMFUL good day!!

Merry Christmas Eve

Here's hoping all your Christmas shopping is done and you are having a glass of cheer around the fireplace with all the family, including some of those cousins you might wish were NOT there.  Just relax and have some fun, maybe throw tinsel and glitter at everyone.  Santa is on his way!!!

 I'm ensconced on the couch in front of the fire.  Yes it is rather dark at 4:30.  I had just walked out to the mailbox to get my Christmas present.  Those checks I ordered a month ago for the RV group account finally showed up, so I don't have to fight with the bank.  Just one more thing checked off my list.

That's my stocking on the right, hung with lots of care because it's so old .... like me.  Cooper of course gets the other one.

Number one, I can't believe I still HAVE it ... and number two, I can't believe it hasn't been eaten by moths and fallen apart.  I've posted this before.  My Grandmother made this for me when I was a baby.  I know, it's hard to believe I was ever that young.  Yessirree ... those jingle bells still work like they did when brand new.  I even happen to know there is a package of peanut M&M's hidden in there.  My Christmas morning treat!  Hey ... Cooper gets treats, so Mom should too.

Here is the picture of the little girl who passed away on either November or December 27th (it's hard to read) of 1852.  This is the one where Barbara and Tom actually have that little dress she was wearing. What a piece of history to keep for their family.  

Mostly I have things that will end up in the trash.  Like these Christmas lights.  It's hard to see, but that green box in the bottom corner?  That's where the two plugs were living when we had that downpour for two days.  All those cords were lounging out in the flower bed.  I guess electricity and water don't mix.  

The gardeners moved the box and laid it upright, to allow all the rain to FLOOD the box and kill everything.  Had the little tree plugs been normal size, it would not have mattered.  But NO ... they are 2" long, meaning the water tight door would not close.  You know what happened ... POWEY!  The lights went out forever.

I finally drug all the cords into the entryway, plugged in a multi cord thingy to the extension cord and plugged in the tree lights.  

LET THERE BE LIGHT!!  Yay ... my jury rigging worked and the lights came back on just in time for Christmas Eve.

Basically I did nothing for the rest of the day.  Oh I sewed a little, read a little and played with Cooper a lot.  I also took a gander at the big rains that have been hitting Quartzsite.  You wouldn't think this much rain would fall in the desert, but believe me, it does.  In Tucson there is a huge riverbed that remains dry for usually 361 days a year.  If they have a big rain however, it flows like the Colorado River for four days.

The same goes for Quartzsite.  This is Tyson Wash ... you know, that place where everyone parks during the Big Tent?  It will probably be flowing for a few days.  This was taken by the guy who flies around with the lawnmower engine ... you can see the parachute in the mirror.

With a little bit of time on my hands, I whipped up another batch of cookies.  These have several names, from Snowballs to Russian Tea Cakes to Mexican Wedding Cookies.  I love them all.  I have to admit they are a little messy when it comes to rolling them in powdered sugar, not once, but TWICE.  I had white stuff all over me, the counter, the stove, the floor, Cooper ... yeah, he wasn't to happy about that!

So that was it for Saturday night ... exciting stuff, yes?  Here's hoping everyone remembers the reason for the season and that you have a great Christmas Eve with family and friends.  

Now where did I put that big roasting pan?  I'm starting my Christmas dinner early by cooking a 12 pound ham today.  This way if it catches fire, I can hit up Panda Express before everyone closes for Christmas.

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVE!