I NEED A CIGARETTE!!!

 AND I'M OFF!!  It was a busy morning as I quickly packed just a few things, including Cooper and Jonathan.  It's my own fault ... I was SURE I was leaving on Thursday morning for my reservation at the Moss Landing KOA over on the coast.  When I checked my phone, I did a double take.  The reservation started TODAY.  

Well that's not good because I just put in an order for a remote temperature gauge so I would know if Cooper and Jonathan were ok when I was out of the rig.  Big mistake Nancy, because it's being delivered on this day, and I won't be here.  RATS!

I started up the fridge and threw stuff in.  Not much mind you, because my plan was to stop and get clam chowder on the way.  

Time to take off ... and this is what I see.  I knew I didn't have time to throw my bike on, but no problem, I can walk.  Oh there was a problem anyway ... the rack covers the backup sensors ... and they are angry!!  That thing yelled at me like crazy, just getting out of the back yard ... and I was going FORWARD.  

I got on Facebook and asked for a fix.  It's simple they said ... either hit the P button (I've never seen a P button anywhere on my dashboard) or disconnect the switches.  Big sigh!  Maybe later.

50 miles out of town I got the message ... your package has been delivered.  I called the best neighbor in the world and she ran over to grab it.  This is an expensive box full of kitty house and temperature gauge.

On we went, me staying under the speed limit for a nice relaxing drive.  I made my usual stop in Castroville for clam chowder, along with an order of fish and chips.  My parking spot was not to be had, so I landed in back of the restaurant with very little space to maneuver.  Too bad for me, just as I was walking in to the restaurant, two ladies ordered $200 worth of food.  The wait would be long for anything other than chowder.  

Everything went crazy on the way out because the backup alarms caused havoc once again.  It's a good thing I can still see the camera image.

You have arrived at your destination.  Anyone who has been around the coast much, knows the twin towers of the electric plant.  

Here's the thing ... I bet no one knows just how noisy they are in the wee hours of the morning.  No problem for me, I'm up, but boy are they LOUD!

The sites are nice ... paved ... wide apart ... but the whole thing is quite small.  The best part, you are surrounded by fishing boats, places to eat and you can walk to the ocean.  The camp hosts are two very young people who booked me in before giving me the bad news.

It seems they have decided to dredge the harbor under the boats, that is MAYBE 150 feet from the park.  Want MORE bad news?  They will be working day and night until mid December.  I see lots of Advil PM in my future.  Truly, they are the quietest right now.

Hooking up wasn't too bad, except for the Open Ground error on my EMS system.  Nope ... not plugging into that.  I got out my 50 amp connection and tested it.  Whew ... no error messages.  I didn't want to tell the camp hosts about their problem, because they always say you are wrong.  

The satellite dish was its usual PIA self.  It took three times of resetting and waiting for it to finally reach into space and grab my television programs.  Please PLEASE work!

I will say this for "camping".  Every time I go out, I have to relearn everything.  Where to stand, how to move around, where everything lives, where to plug in all these cords!!  It was all made worse by deciding where Mr. Jonathan would live for three days.  The chair wasn't working because he needed the heating pad, so on to the counter he went, taking up valuable real estate.  

I finally gave up and ate a good portion of my chowder while cooking some pasta for Cooper.  

This is just a test.  Surprisingly ... he ate it, if just the tip was dipped in fish soup.  This may be the solution to too much meat.  I've tried rice before and he refuses to eat it.

Next problem please ... the heater.  After buying a new mini heater for the rig, I saw a program on how they are so dangerous in an RV.  The plugs in most, if not all RV's, are cheap plastic.  If you run your 1500 watt heat constantly, those plugs can heat up and catch fire.  They showed it happening.  Well darn ... that was my plan to keep Jonathan warm along with a heating pad.

Everyone knows just how noisy heaters can be in rigs ... and mine is no exception because the rig is so small.  I guess I will use it anyway, coupled with MORE Advil PM.  

I hit the button to hear lots of popping and cracking.  I quickly turned it off.  This is getting just too stressful.  I tried it again.  Please PLEASE work!   Nothing.  I need a cigarette!!!  

No I don't smoke ... haven't for 60 years, but it sure sounded good at this moment!!

At long last after four tries, I have heat ... noisy heat, but heat nonetheless.  That's when it started raining.  Mother Nature just thought it wasn't noisy ENOUGH!  All night long as I got up and down to turn the heat up, it rained.  I'm sure I got two hours of sleep however, so that will do me for awhile.

I guess it's going to be an INSIDE day as rain is falling once again.  Maybe Cooper and I will get out for a walk around the park.  There are lots of pups here and he seems very excited to check out all the smells.  That makes Mom happy.  And yes, Jonathan is still alive!!!  YAY!!!

The Magic Castle of Bingo

 

OH NO!!!!!  The party is over.  Fall just left the building.  We are a freezing cold 43 degrees this morning, a big SHOCK to the system.  If Mr. Cooper didn't want to walk outside before, he sure wasn't going to walk anywhere NOW.

It's out and back in a flash.  It's Doctor day, which he doesn't realize yet, thus the happy face.

This one ... she's bugging me to death to come inside.  Why Nancy, isn't that a different table?  Yes, yes it is.  I folded ... caved as it were.  I ordered the heated kitty house.  One big problem however, it's going to be delivered while I'm gone.  That was a big mistake on my part.  I've no doubt this will be the first time Amazon has delivered on the day they said they would.  I'll have to call the neighbor.

Yes, I'm actually playing hookey once again and bugging out for three days.  It's a secret I'll tell you tomorrow.

But first ... the Vet.  So I've known this vet since she first went in business about 50 years ago.  My favorite Vet of all time who worked for her for the last 17 years, has left for a teaching position, leaving her to take up the slack.  Truly, I was not impressed.  At any rate, Mr. Cooper has moles and basically warts growing all over.  There is nothing to be done since they cannot be removed without anesthesia, which he would most likely not survive.

After a couple of requests, I finally got a prescription for allergy pills to last 3 months.  Those help, but obviously do nothing for the foot.  The only alternative is to keep the foot wrapped because the growth won't heal and he will no doubt keep licking it.  It probably bothers me more than him.  So for $173.00, there was little help to be had.

Oh one thing ... he is two pounds overweight.  I knew that, but what I didn't know was all this chicken and pork I've been feeding him (which he loves) is WAY too much protein.  You should feed your pup MUCH less meat she said ... it will affect their kidneys badly.  Well this should be fun ... he refuses to eat veggies or just plain dog food.  Rice is out, we tried that.  Maybe pasta????  I'm grabbing at straws here!!

I rushed back home, dropped him off and headed back to the lodge.  This was my first indication of havoc.  It's THE BIRDS!!  Don't look up ... they'll see you.  

And DEFINITELY don't walk under the power lines.  It was an omen!!  Here it was 4:00 (we start at 4:30) and nothing is set up.  NOTHING.  I walked in to find one guy at the Bingo table trying to start the computer.  I'll finish it ......... thank you.

Big sigh ... he had pulled all the wrong cables out from underneath, unplugged everything and messed up the programming.  It took me 15 minutes to figure it out and repair one wire.  The microphone system had not been turned on ... it takes at least 15 minutes to warm up ... and the machine had to be completely reset.  

It was the birds I tell you!!  There are SIX televisions, all of which were scrambled from someone who didn't know what they were doing when trying to turn them on.  I finally got everything up and running and set the payouts on the marquee.  As soon as I turned around, they disappeared and I had to start from scratch once again.  It's the birds I tell you!!

Tonight is turkey giveaway night, so I set my Lady in Waiting up to give out tickets.  Little did I know, the King came by and said the CASHIER needed to give them out.  She of course, jumped on that, but that means the line will go THREE TIMES as slow.  I felt the knives in my heart from the looks of the players who were complaining LOUDLY that the line was taking forever.  I grabbed the tickets and gave them BACK to my girl.

Nancy ... you have to sign checks.  Up the stairs I ran, where three problems hit me in the face.  Hey .... I'm not in charge of all this stuff!!!  

Let the games begin.  We started out by giving away ten turkeys using the red tickets.  These are from Target, who is now selling them for 79 cents a pound.  That's CHEAP for around here!  

All the volunteers get one too.  Last year I found out too late that they had included some Butterball turkeys.  Please PLEASE grab a butterball for me Sire King Sir.  AND HE DID!!  If you need a turkey, rush on down to Target, because THIS beauty was only 99 cents a pound!  I think they are $2.00 at the other store.  TARGET FOR THE WIN!!

It went pretty smoothly after that as we gave away another ten turkeys.  That was twenty for the players and 40 .... yes 40 for the volunteers.  We generally have 20 per night, and most are scheduled only once a month.  Lucky them!!

And so ended another lovely night at Bingo.  The cashier said we balanced ... I didn't check.  I did not want to spend another hour if she was wrong.  I made sure my two girls had their turkeys ... 15 pounders I think ... and headed out the door.

Little did I know, I had my dates wrong for this little jaunt.  I have to check in today, so I'm going to be rushing around trying to get my act together.  I'll let you know where I am tomorrow, hopefully NOT in the rain which is predicted.  

A Bad Food Day

 One last can of Pillsbury cinnamon rolls has been staring me in the face every time I opened the fridge.  I wasn't all that happy with the other can, but maybe these will be better.  I doctored them up a bit with more brown sugar and cinnamon, hoping to be rid of the canned-dough flavor.  

It was not to be.  I ate it, but they are just not like homemade. Imagine if you never HAD homemade and you thought these were amazing!  I'll try to force down the last four and not EVER buy them again.  Truly, I think the little ones have MUCH better flavor!!

There was not much going on but rain.  It literally poured all day long once again.  My flower beds are swimming pools and my lawn squishy.  It turned quite cold in the afternoon, forcing me to turn on the heater after checking my bank account.  

Our natural gas in California is now twice the price.  I think it will be okay however, since I switched grocery stores.  Be glad if you don't live here on a single income.  I can't tell you how lucky I was to find this house in bankruptcy 16 years ago.  Otherwise, I would not be able to afford living here.

I really wasn't motivated to do much, though I think I got in 2 miles walking around the house looking for something to do.  I actually got out a few small Christmas decorations.

I know ... it's not even Thanksgiving yet, but it kept me out of the fridge on four occasions.

Mr. Cooper got a bath, one of his LEAST favorite pastimes.  He has a Vet appointment today to see if there is anything we can do to stop the itching on that hind foot.  He got one of those bumps that cannot be removed and unless he's sleeping, he's obsessed with chewing on it.  I have to keep it wrapped all day.  

The kind-of good news is the appointment will keep me from Bingo until 5:00.  YAY!!  Someone else has to set up.  I hope to get there in time to cashier ... we'll see how that works out.

That's when I came across this.  I've been wanting to try this recipe for a long time.  Ritz Crackers toffee.  It's super simple ... and delicious they said.  

Let's face it ... it's ME trying this recipe ... and I have never EVER been able to make toffee that turned out anything but burnt.  Cook it until it's dark caramel color they said ... then bake it in the oven for 13 more minutes, making it even DARKER.  

I did not really feel good about this one.  The temptation to toss it in the trash was BIG.  Instead, I wasted an entire package of chocolate chips.  

I missed that part about milk chocolate and used semi sweet instead.  The flavor of dark chocolate and burned caramel is not my choice at all.  Had I used milk chocolate with lots of sugar, it might have been tolerable.  

My record stands .. I have NEVER made a decent toffee my entire life.

While scrounging through the freezer, I found these UGLY steaks.  Knowing I've had them frozen way too long, I thawed them out, praying I had enough propane to barbecue them sufficiently.  

I think I left them on a tad bit too long, but still ... they look delicious.  Well ... that would be a NO.  I struck out big time all day long in the cooking department.

They were overdone and tough.  Still ... I ate it.  Hmmm there's a funny aftertaste there.  I wonder .........

Sure enough, I was up most of the night with a stomach ache.  I you've ever had bad meat, you know the taste and the after effects.  The good news is I think I lost two pounds!!  That aching feeling will go away eventually!!

I think I'll go find some takeout today.  Better to let someone ELSE do the cooking in this house for a few days while I recover.

Faucet Woes

 A GREAT morning from rainy California.  Oh yes ... once again it rained all day, stopping for a quick breather around 9:00 p.m.  That's when it ramped up again and rained all night long.  

Just for kicks, I looked up online to see just how much rain we have received.  Here's what it said, and I quote:  Merced California has received ZERO rainfall this week and there have been no reports of precipitation in the past seven days.  The area is experiencing a dry spell. 

Now I've heard of bad weathermen, but these guys must be living on another planet.  After considerable web surfing, I finally found we have received 2.94 inches in the last 15 days.  That's good ... the farmers need it.

Mr. Cooper doesn't like the rain much at all.  I have to wait for a slow drip before he goes outside, which is why he looks a little wet behind the ears.

The wind doesn't help, but I admit it makes my flag look nice!!  I'm very happy it's still up there and not three houses over.

Kitters is not a fan either, but lookie here!  The heated pad she previously would not lay on, has now become her favorite.  Yes she has a nice warm HOUSE to sleep in, but she refuses to go inside.  This is her spot and she's sticking to it.

It was a slow morning.  I just could NOT get my act together.  Gin (or vodka in this case) fizzes are not on my Christmas list.  It's mostly half and half cream ... and I just can't go there.  When I found out I would be watching people drink for two hours before breakfast would be served, I sank a little further into the couch.  Oh gee ... it's too late to go now!!  I think my party animal got up and left ten years ago.  Football on the couch it is!!

Until there was a knock at the door.  My Delta faucet parts came.  I read the instructions, laid them quietly on the counter and went back to watching football.

This does not look fun or easy at all.  I finally had to watch a video on my phone to figure it out.  Nope ... not today Delta.  I just had a bad feeling about this.

An hour later I thought to just take the handle off and see what there was to see.  It's a good thing I watched the video.  Yes I did turn the water off below the sink.

But not tight enough.  When I finally removed this ball valve, water came flowing out.  I tightened the valve three more time and water STILL came out.  Oh I see this going in the wrong direction .......

Down inside were two washers with springs to be replaced.  It would have helped if I wasn't dealing with water running over, not to mention that I couldn't see anything and my fat fingers would not fit inside.  I tried needle nosed pliers, but it wasn't happening.  

It got worse.  I thought I had them in correctly, replaced the ball valve with a new one and screwed the lid back on.  The ball valve would not move.  I put the handle back on.  Nope!!  I took it apart again, only to find I couldn't get the thing back together.  I'm just not cut out for this stuff.  

Finally ..... SUCCESS!  Ummmm that would be a no.  I put the handle back on and the ball valve moved,  but alas, after all that hour's work, there is STILL NO HOT WATER.  So it's not the valve, it's the supply.  I'm not going there ... I'm just not.  No doubt I would flood the house.  I'll have to find a plumber.

And so I went back to watch football, where my favorite Kansas City LOST to Denver.  Rats!!

Dinner was a quick quesadilla with leftovers.  I went to barbecue the UGLY STEAKS I found in the freezer, only to find I had no propane.  Yup ... it was just that kind of day.

Turns out the best part was missing the breakfast.  Apparently they had the same kind of day I did, with burned hash browns, dried out ham and lumpy gravy.  Maybe next year guys .............. maybe next year.

The River Atmospheric

 Good Morning across the great USA!  Here's one last HURRAH to our Veterans.  It's quite the picture, yes?  Not taken by me, but another photographer in town who happened to be in the right spot at the right time.  Pretty amazing photo of a fabulous rainbow.  This has the telltale signs of being photoshopped, but that's considered art too.  Nowadays with AI, you don't know what's real and what's not anyway.

I had several errands to run, so off I went in my truck for some accounting.  I probably never told you it's down a long dirt road out in the country.  We have had LOTS of rain.  Rain and dirt don't mix too well.  They had closed off the main entrance, meaning I was on a not-so-packed and muddy MILE LONG driveway.  

I was slipping and sliding all over from one side to the other, wheels spinning and mud flying!  Okay, maybe I went a little too fast while playing Mud Bog race car driver from side to side.  It's fun ... until you get stuck.  Good grief ... I put it in 4 WD, luckily got unstuck, and went slipping and sliding the rest of the way.  My mud tires seem to work better in snow!  

When I got to the end to open the closed gate, I was knee deep in gushy sticky gunk.  My truck!!!  Oh gosh ... it's really good at throwing mud up everywhere!  The further I walked, the heavier my feet became.  The good news ... no one was there to see the big mess I made.  

Once done, I headed out to the car wash.  Too bad they couldn't do my feet!  I'll scrub my boots off later.

I didn't get any before pictures, but the after looked GREAT to me.  Yeah, there's still sticky mud on the side steps, and a bit in the wheel well, but for $14.00 it did a pretty good job.

Drivers side was a little worse, but just look at those CLEAN WHEELS!!  I'm never going over there again if it's raining.

From there it was on to the bank to get money for the hairdresser who accepted half payment.  After getting stopped at 3 red lights ... what's with all the red lights on Saturday?? ... I started counting.  I hit 13 lights trying to get out of town and 12 of them were red!!  We have become a BIG city with WAY too many stop lights.  I mean really, most all the University kids run them anyway because no one ever gets stopped by the police.  Come to think of it, you never SEE any police.

Back home, it was time to check the mailbox for those checks I've been waiting for.  Woohoo ... I'm back in business!  Here's my tip of the day.  I think I already mentioned this, but here's the rest of the story.

I tried ordering checks from my bank.  $65.00 for 100 checks.  That's ridiculous!  Since a friend mentioned Costco, I went online and ordered what I thought was the same amount, for $35.00.  Gosh, this package is HEAVY.  Why?  Because inside were 400 ... count them, 400 ... checks for $35.00.  I was pretty shocked.  I'll probably die before I use them all up since I actually use very few.  If you need checks, go to Costco!!

Since it rained continually all day long, I never went back out, in spite of craving a Habit Burger.  Instead, I made guacamole tacos.  I had two large ones that wouldn't last much longer, so I whipped up a nice batch of guac ... a HUGE batch.  Now I have to eat it, so I overloaded my two little pork loin tacos.  

Having eaten WAY too much, I was a couch potato the rest of the day.  It rained all night long, as in never let up, and continues this morning.  Dave is right ... it used to be called a RAIN STORM.  Now it's all fancy being an ATMOSPHERIC RIVER.  Come on guys ... it's just raining, you know, like it used to in the old days.

Today is the big Fizz Brunch at the Elks Lodge, to which I have been harassed into attending.  The King of Bingo is in charge of the Fizzes, so how could I refuse, even if NO fizz will touch my lips.  Hopefully the rain lets up a bit ... BUT ... it just might help clean out the wheels wells of my truck!!

Bit Of A Slow Day

 And then there was rain ... and MORE rain.  In fact, it continued all day long.  There's nothing like fiddling with an umbrella everywhere you go.

There wasn't much on the calendar for this day, which is a relief.  I'm becoming more and more averse to actually getting dressed in acceptable TOWN wear.  Levis with holes in the knees big enough for the cat to crawl through, along with a 12 year old raggedy marathon shirt suits me just fine.

Alas, I did actually have to get my behind in gear for a 9:00 haircut appointment.  Who made it so early???  I may get up at 4 am, but I have a rule to NEVER leave the house before 10:00.  That is Cooper approved so he gets in a nap before his Watchdog duties begin.  He has taken to chewing on his foot, thus the blue tape, and the upcoming Dr. appointment.

Here's Kitters in her appointed position, just waiting for the crinkle noise of food coming down the chute of her feeder.  I just can't get over how affectionate this cat is, though those fleaps are keeping me at bay for the moment.

And I was OFF ... for a 3 hour marathon haircut.  Truthfully we are good friends that spend most of that time talking.  But first, a quick stop at the Lodge to deposit paperwork I should have left there on Thursday.  It was a madhouse of old guys making the whatever-it's-called mix for the Gin Fizzes.  

The big party is Sunday.  But here's the secret part.  Those GIN fizzes are made with VODKA and half and half, plus a little lemony syrup.  Just the thought makes me a little queazy.  You actually drink half and half?  If you slug it down, it might be okay, but let it sit and that stuff separates into some ugly layers.  I'll pass thank you!  I'm truly not in the mood, but I suspect I should go, if only to drop my dollars at the door.

Wasn't I mortified when the haircut was done.  I looked in my wallet to find NO checks.  I ordered them a couple of weeks ago, but so far nothing.  CASH?  Big sigh ... it's a good thing she's a friend, because I only had half.  Oh yes ... another trip to town today.   

 I headed back home in terrible traffic.  Doesn't anyone work during the day any more?  

I finally got my act together and cut the binding for the pumpkin quilt.  I debated sewing it on by machine, but this one is rather special, so I'll hand sew.

While Kitters and Cooper slept, I started stitching the spider web black around the edges.  It will fit right in with the spider webs hanging on my ceilings.  It makes you wonder who's up there when you find one hanging three feet down from the beams.  

I have two things today, in spite of my effort to make sure I had NOTHING on the books.  Return to the hairdresser to pay her and get in a few more accounting hours.  I prefer COUCH hours, but that's not happening.

The good news is that I remembered I needed a bike cover and vibration alarm for my bicycle.  I'll be searching Amazon for the next hour before heading out.

Hope everyone has a WONDERFUL Saturday!!!

PIE MAKES IT ALL BETTER

 Aurora Borealis ROUND TWO.  Isn't it gorgeous?  Oh yeah ... they said the second night would be the best in HISTORY.  Amazing ... just amazing!!  Yeah, the second night was worse than the first.  Just cloudy and dark.  Not even the teeniest spec of any color, so I thought I would color it up for you.

The day started out with a bang.  Rain, rain and more rain.  I'm good with that since I turned my sprinklers off last week.  Mr. Cooper wasn't too happy about it though.  He is NOT a fan.  Five times a day I have to let him out, and five times a day dry him off from head to toe.

Kitters ... well she is just weird.  There's that brand new huge cat bed I bought for her to lay on, and she choses to hold on to 4 inches of hard wood instead.  The yellow is a refection from the kitchen light.  

I wielded phone calls all morning long, mostly complaints about everything at the lodge.  Unless I see a problem, I don't do anything but listen to them rant.  It makes them feel better.  Little did I know what was to come.   

It was a day of false starts.  I started cleaning, but that didn't last long before I remembered to check the battery charger on the van.  So far so good.  Then there was that bush that didn't get trimmed and the garbage that didn't get picked up.  

On the way back from checking that, I found a cute little soaking wet dog in my flowerbed, doing you-know-what.  I ran inside and grabbed a leash.  If he's lost, I'll find his people.  Ummm yes he looks suspiciously like the one from next door whose owner lets him out into MY yard to do his duty.  

I banged on their door.  It was a young gal who said "OH NO ... I'm just the doggie babysitter".  Well you're not doing such a great job because this dog has been running around outside for some time.  He's soaking wet.  She took him inside and shut the door.  I turned around just in time to see the SECOND dog from next door coming around the corner.  I banged on the door again.  I think she's going to get an "F" in dog sitting.

Knowing I had a big Elks board meeting, I decided to fortify myself with lots of sugar.  I tried a brand new recipe for Caramel Pecan Pie.  I mean really, who could turn THAT down.  It was easy peasy, poured into a Marie Callender FROZEN pie shell.  Here's the secret ... place a metal pan in the oven when you preheat it, on which to place the pie pan to bake, and you will have a perfectly cooked crunchy crust on the bottom.

I'm never making any other pie as long as I live.  No kidding .... this was DELICIOUS!  Yes, I overbeat the whipped cream.  I've never had cream whip up that fast in my life.  If you want to try it, look up Bigger Bolder Baking on the internet.  This gal is from Ireland and has some great recipes.

Sugared to the brim, I was off to the lodge after a frantic phone call.  The reports say we are $$$$$$$ in the hole.  That can't be!  Oh yes ... yes it can.  It didn't take long for me to find it.  There are three pay periods in October.  Weren't they shocked to actually look at some numbers and realize just how much the 20 employees cost the lodge.  

Honestly, I'm just so surprised at how many people spend every dime without thinking about that property tax bill coming up ... or that insurance bill due next month.  My little no vote against 4 others didn't hold water.     

Then there was the hour long marathon discussing year end employee bonuses.  Apparently no one has ever run a business either.  Bad Nancy ... I played solitaire on my phone while they argued.  At some point, it will sink in I guess!

It was 10:30 when I got home and tried to sleep to the sound of pouring rain, thankful there was no blasting music to go along with it.  It's another day ..... and that piece of caramel pecan pie for breakfast is going to make it all better.