Accidental Syrup and BINGO!!

 It's Tuesday ... and you know what THAT means!  The Magic Kingdom of BINGO is once again in business.  But first ... a quick lesson in jam/jelly making.  Truly, I was happy with the syrup, but since I have another batch to make and prefer jam, I called one of the Elks Lodge gals.  I know SHE knows because once a year at our Vendor Fair, she sells jam.

She asked me a hundred questions ... but the final result was TOO MANY BERRIES and NOT ENOUGH PECTIN.  It doesn't help that there are very few recipes around for boysenberries ... and every type of berry has a different recipe.

We're talking old time here, so truly, there are hardly any recipes to be had in the first place!!  Sure-Jell used to have an insert ... but not any more.  The good news is I can reprocess that if I want, but by the time I HAVE time, I think it will be too late.  Better luck next time which will probably be Saturday!

And so .... on to the Magic Castle!

SO MUCH work today ... sign checks, figure out how much we pay in credit card fees, do a safety inspection because .... oh yes .... once again we have no one to do it, so I'm stuck!  Funny how they only want to volunteer for the FUN things!

The best part was I got to set up the Bingo machine and pull the balls for the Bonanza game.  This is a blackout game where we pull up 50 balls and place them on the board, which projects them onto the screen.  When the game is called, they only have to get what remains on their card to win.  I actually got a feel for the placement and discovered it was easier than I thought ... they are color coded.  Who knew??

Too bad I didn't get the pleasure of calling on this night (or maybe lucky since it's going to be pretty nerve wracking) because there was no one to operate the infernal cashier machine.

It all went pretty well.  I have to admit, I get frustrated with some of them.  We have one lady who comes in with a mask every single time and has to spread out fifteen cards on the table, staring at them for at least five minutes before finally actually making a decision about which ONE to buy.  Then she walks away leaving the table an absolute mess.  Why do you do that??

We try to run folks through as fast as possible so they all get their cards and have a chance to find a table and sit down before the calling begins.  There are TWO ladies who just take their own sweet time.  I could run FOUR through in the time it takes them to pick their four cards.  Everyone gets antsy .. including me!  Then she comes back for four more ... and back a third time for cash ... and back a fourth time for two more!

Is it a full moon?  Three ladies ... it's ALWAYS the women ... cut into the front of the line.  "I only want a dobber" ... and they hand me a $20 bill so they require change.  I'm sorry, but you have to go to the end of the line.  I get the DEATH STARE instantly!  I'm sorry, but DON'T CUT IN LINE.  You know better!!  Oh my gosh ... you should hear the ranting and raving!  I just ruined their chances of winning they yell!!

With no way to get a break, I have to eat on the go.  This time I ordered a BLT from the kitchen at noon, and left it in the walk-in until 7:00.  Oh yeah ... the bread was so tough I actually could not take a bite.  I had to tear off the crust and grind my teeth to get through it.  Note to self ... order something else next time.

Then it happened ... I could hear the ruckus.  Too bad the King was calling Bingo and the Vice King was in Hawaii.  SPLITTING CARDS!!  That's all I heard for twenty minutes.  Good grief!  If they aren't complaining about their OWN cards, they are complaining about someone ELSE'S cards.  

You have to buy two packs of regular games each.  That's not true of Early Bird games.  These two nice ladies were playing one each Early Bird ... and so were instantly accused of splitting their packs.  Even if they did, they were already on game five of five.  It's a little late.  And even if they DID ... it meant a whole $3.00 expense.  I looked at their receipt, said they were just fine and I put in $3.00.  These players ... they are BRUTAL to newcomers!!

All went well until one lady paid for her cards with ALL QUARTERS.  I hate change!  So I had to sit there and count out $22.00 in quarters.  Yeah, that was fun.  

At long last the appointed hour arrived ... 30 minutes late once again because our caller thinks we all just LOVE being there.  Lucky for me, I balanced to a T and was out the door as fast as I could run!!

Today is a hair appointment ... and company ... but no jam making.  I'm just too tired.  There's stuff going on every day and I have to take my big sewing machine for a boat ride.  More on that later.

Have a great day everyone ... I'll be in the garden trying to reclaim my patience and not be such a grump!!

Sometimes You Win BIG!!

 Good Morning World!!  It's been fabulous weather each and every day.  Lows around 60 and highs of only 85 with breezes in the afternoon.  Not a bad summer so far ... not bad at all.

This is my view every morning.  This kid has me so well trained .... he scratches the bowl loudly, sometimes flipping it over, to let me know he's out of food.  

In no time, the bowl is halfway across the kitchen.  Truly, all he wants is snacks, not REAL food.  Unlike me, it's a challenge to get him to eat what he's supposed to.  Okay, I admit it's a challenge for ME to eat what I'm supposed to also!

That does NOT include jam or jelly ... but here we are.  You probably won't believe this, but I have had this berry crushing cone for 64 years.  I guess that makes it an antique, just like me.  Too bad I forgot most all I knew about jam making.  

At least I did remember the gloves to keep my hands from turning purple, but I forgot about donning an old T-shirt.  AND I completely forgot how much WORK it is too.  First off, I could not for the life of me find my old recipe, so I hit the internet.  That was my FIRST big mistake.  

No two recipes are the same, and sadly those that are out there now, don't seem familiar to me.  I apparently didn't exactly measure out the berries and juice correctly.  One recipe said 7 cups of fruit and 8 cups of sugar.  Yup that's a LOT of sugar!

Into the pot it went.  One recipe said to heat the berries first, the other said sugar first.  It went on like that until they were in a hard rolling boil.  One said add pectin first, the other said add it later.  Good grief ... 

Amazingly, I still had my funnel from the old days and remembered exactly how to fill and seal.  Into the water they went for a boiling water bath.  We never did that in the old days ... we just left the filled jars on the counter until the lids popped.  

I boiled them anyway for the appointed 5 minutes before lifting them out.  That was one thing I could not find ... the jar lifter ... so I used a long pair of tongs.  The lid popping began, and was music to my ears.  It means the lids are tight and sealed.

So here we are ... two different sized jars because I had MUCH more product than I had jars.  Of course later I found the jars I needed sitting on my washing machine.  A good place for them, no?

And then came the test.  Sometimes you win BIG!  And sometimes NOT!  I think I now have a good supply of boysenberry syrup!!  So far it has not set up.  I'm guessing I had too much juice and berries for the one packet of pectin.  I just could not make myself throw it away.  

One thing however ... there is absolutely NOTHING like the taste of fresh boysenberry syrup.  Oh my Great Aunt Carry ... this stuff is DELICIOUS!!

And SO ... better luck next time, which will be in two days.  I have yet another 6 boxes of berries to process when I receive the case of jars I ordered.  Hopefully I end up with JAM next time.  Oh there's still hope it might set up a little ... but I'm not holding my breath!

So to make myself feel better about my cooking skills, I threw together these bird biscuits for Jonathan.  

And I made another haul of tomatoes from the vines.  This gardening stuff is a LOT of work!!

Oh and WAIT ... I have yet ANOTHER batch of jam to make with the olallieberries that are in the freezer.  By the way, those were invented by the University of Oregon in 1949 and grow mostly along the coast.  They are even harder to get than the boysenberries.  

I hope everyone knows what they are getting for Christmas!  Next year I'll only buy ONE box of berries.  Oh, and I snuck onto my neighbor's porch, leaving zucchini and tomatoes.  They'll never know!!!!  Next time they are gone, I'll leave a couple jars of syrup!!

A Day At The Park

 Happy Father's Day at the Elks RV Park in Merced.  Located not far off Highway 99, it's the perfect spot for peace and quiet.  Probably even better than at MY house.  Anyone can stay here, but Elk Member prices are a little less.  Call for reservations.

We have quite a few events out here, including our Stag picnic (ribeye steaks for Elks members only) which just happened last month, and now our Father's Day Picnic.  Here's our latest addition ... the ELK.  A little hard to see since he's black metal.  Behind him are I think 35 spaces with 50 amp, most all of which have full hookups.  There is a dump station at the entrance if you need it.   

They have horseshoe pits and just put in a bocce ball court past these trees.  There's also nice bathrooms and a laundry room if you need it.  This picture is before the crowd came.  

Since everything except the drinks was free for your entire family, they cooked up hamburgers and hot dogs with all the fixings, along with whatever salads people brought.  

Just a note here, do you know how long it takes to peel ten pounds of potatoes?  I just found out.  The only thing I had big enough to cook in was my gigantic canner.  I knew there was a reason I kept that thing.  It also took an ENTIRE huge bottle of mayonnaise, 18 eggs, a whole bottle of pickles,  3 cans of olives and 2 bundles of green onions. 

Many people bring their own easy-ups and even tables, setting them up under the trees for shade.  

Our little group stayed under the two sided building where the overhead fans were.  We also pick the last table on the end because it's gets the breeze.  Not that it was that hot, it wasn't.  Remove the tables and you have a pickle ball court.

In the end, lunch wasn't all that great, but as I said, it was free.  They didn't heat up the buns, so they were not the least bit soft, the hamburgers were barely 1/4" thick and my nice big hot dog was cold in the middle in spite of being barbecued.  

It was okay though, since we filled up on deviled eggs and potato salad.  This is just a bit I kept at the house.  Note to self ... don't do that again.  Good grief ... I was so full of potato salad that I was miserable all night long.  It brought on terrible dreams of Cooper and Jessie running away in the mountains and I couldn't find them.  I woke up crying.  Well that wasn't fun!!  No more potato salad for YOU!

Is this not the funniest picture of him you have seen?  I laughed as I gave him a GREAT BIG HUG!!  

As the sun began to set and it cooled off a bit, we both went outside to check the garden.

MORE bounty.  Good grief ... I have so many little tomatoes, I can't eat them all.  I knocked on my neighbor's door, set them on the ground and RAN!!  They called later to say they KNEW who left them and thanked me profusely.  YAY!!  I won't have to throw any away if I can pawn them off on my neighbor!

The night ended with weird skies and I pondered my next project.  I've got twelve boxes of boysenberries to squish, along with 3 pounds of olallieberries in the freezer.  

I haven't done this in AGES ... making jam that is.  I remember juicing berries when I was a kid ... pomegranates I think it was.  Oh I've made lots of jam, but not from berries I had to crush.  

It's okay ..... it's an EXPERIMENT!!!  Wish me luck!

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY

 A VERY BIG HAPPY FATHER'S DAY TO ALL THE DADS OUT THERE!!  It's your day to get waited on and pampered, so be sure and get your recliner ready.  Of course you will probably also have to do all the barbecuing and take out the garbage, but here's hoping it's a wonderful day anyway!

Before we get into the preparations I'm making for the Elks Father's Day at our RV park, I'll finish up yesterday's blog with this.  THIS was dinner after the Flag Ceremony.  Truly, I asked to skip the peas, since being an Elks Kitchen Rat, I knew where they came from ... a can.  

However ... this shrimp scampi is the best I've had in my entire life.  How did I not know about this?  To make it even better, one of my favorite GUYS is the "fish" Chef.  He cooks this individually, in a mixture of butter, garlic, lemon juice and capers.  Sprinkle on a little parmesan and WOW ... it was amazing.  I ate half the potato and half the shrimp ... having the rest for breakfast.  Now I'm on the hunt for shrimp.

And Mr. Cooper was on the hunt for SMELLS.  We were out even before the sun came up.

The sky was weird, but no rain fell.  It was perfect walking weather until he smelled something on the breeze.  That was it for walking.  I never saw anything, but he got very scared, so we literally RAN all the way back home.  The good news is that even though he doesn't see well, he knows right where HOME is.

This little guy brightened our morning on the way back.  It's growing right up out of the pavement, having been watered by every dog in the neighborhood.  You've got to give him credit!  Maybe I should transplant him to my yard.

Once back home, I made the garden rounds.  Here's my very first Early Girl tomato, that appears to be the exact same size it has been for three weeks.  My stash of cherry tomatoes grew once again, since I can't seem to eat them as fast as they are growing.  

I was just cutting off the next zucchini when I got a phone call.  Thinking it was spam, I hit the go-away button.  But WAIT ... there was a message saying (in very broken English) that the barwies I ordered were ready.  Call.

So I called back, to be serenaded by a two minute song straight from Thailand.  You know, the ones with the high-pitched voice singing words you've never heard before in your life?  I listened to the entire thing.  There was no message, unless it was in the song, which I couldn't understand anyway.  I was sure it was the nice lady with my BERRIES, so off I went.

Sure enough, here are twelve containers of boysenberries ... extremely difficult to find around here, and not cheap at $50, about the same price as blackberries.  There won't be any jam making today, but maybe tomorrow if I have time.

With nothing else going on, I decided to try THIS new recipe.  It's pineapple upside down cake muffins ... kinda sorta.  It would be a little more realistic if I had a maraschino cherry in the middle of each one, but they are not my favorite so I left them out.

It's easy ... melted butter in the pan, brown sugar (note to self, add MUCH more brown sugar than the recipe calls for) and white cake mix.  Oh my goodness ... they are SO good!!  No, this is not on my diet, but I've decided every Saturday, I get to splurge on something.  This will get me through FOUR months!

Unfortunately, it also got me two very nice burns on my arm.  I'm sure this is the last of Friday the 13th.  It's hard getting those big pans out of my much smaller oven, even though I had two big oven mitts.

Now limping around in DAMAGE CONTROL mode with ice cubes and burn cream, I sat down to watch the Army Parade.  It made me so proud that they honored our Veterans and the 250th Anniversary of the Army.  These guys that protect us every single day of the year, do NOT get enough credit.  

In the last few hours of the day, I began prep for today's event at the RV Park.  We are hailing back to the old days of celebrating Fathers in style.  It's going to be a big picnic for everyone and it's all free.  Guys even get FREE beer.  It's a big barbecue, hamburgers and hotdogs, with sides brought by the ladies, and tons of games for the kids.  This is FAMILY DAY.  

I'm making potato salad for 50 this morning, so I need to get cooking.  

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY TO ALL THE GUYS!!!

FRIDAY THE 13th!

 Some days I should just stay in bed.  Any Friday that lands on the 13th day of the month can cause all sorts of things to happen.  It began with the bacon.

By the way, it's a lovely 55 degrees this morning ... chilly in fact.  We are usually hot this time of year.  My only guess is that the "weird" cycle of weather has arrived.  About every ten years, spring lasts all the way through June.  Either that or I became WAY too acclimated to Arizona's weather.  

Back to the bacon.  With all these tomatoes now overflowing the container on the table, I had to do something.  If I had remembered it was the 13th ... and FRIDAY ... I would have waited for this.  The bacon just did not want to cooperate.  It flopped around and folded up, no matter what I tried.  I dropped two pieces on the stove trying to get them in the pan.

THEN I dropped one piece on the FLOOR.  Grease went everywhere.  It was sacrilege!  I am NOT wasting this expensive bacon, so I picked it up, washed it off and threw it unceremoniously back in the pan.  

Big sigh ... I forgot that water and grease don't mix.  Grease came flying back out of the pan like a fireworks show!  I slapped on the screen.  TOO LATE!  Hot grease and skin don't play well together.  I wiped it off as quick as I could, but not before the holes appeared.  My shirt?  Splattered nicely.  The floor?  Once again covered in grease.  

After the epic cleanup, because cold grease just does NOT come up easily, I tried the latest trick for leftover grease.  In the old days, we kept every drop, using it to fry pork chops, potatoes, to make gravy ... every spec of grease was consumed.  Then we were told it was bad for us.  I think now they are changing their minds.  Still trying to stick to my diet, I tried out the latest grease hack.  

Instead of leaving it in the pan to cool, making it hard to get out, I put a piece of foil (very carefully) into the kitchen sink drain.  Pour in the grease and wait for it to cool, then toss it in the trash.  It worked perfectly, but I didn't wait QUITE long enough.  When I squished it up and went for the trash can, it leaked.  OH MY how it leaked.  There was another 30 minutes of hot washcloths trying to wash the REST of the kitchen floor and the trash can.

I ate in silence and savored every bite of that beautiful bacon, trying to use up the tomatoes.  I love that they are growing like crazy, but tomato overload is quickly approaching.

After an hour in the garden, here is the bounty for the day.  Friday the 13th wasn't going to let me get away that easily.  At the edge of the concrete were WAY too many weeds that I didn't spray because they were too close to the squash.  I grabbed them by hand, ripping them out.  Little did I know, all of those weeds had become the Cabo San Lucas of my garden.  Who knew?

Quicker than you can say OH HELL NO ... they had bit me multiple times on my hands and arms.  I'm covered in big red welts that will have to be scrubbed off.  Next time I'll use the weed spray.

BUT ... look here!  My very first zucchini, with four more on the vine, looking quite ripe.  I think these would be very tasty with a pan full of pasta!!

What about the gate guy?  He was a no show.  I waited all day Wednesday for him to get here, and he ghosted me.  SURPRISE ... he called me out of the blue on Friday and wanted to stop by.  Of course the gate controller is over 20 years old and they don't make parts for it any more.  A new Powermaster controller almost had me on the ground when he said $7,000.  

He promised to have a price on another brand by the end of the day.  Worst case, they can weld a piece on the side post so I can open it manually.  That's a pain in the butt because I'm spoiled by my clicker.  Of course he never sent me anything.  

Not wanting to get into any more trouble from the effects of the day, and not wanting to see Jason from Friday the 13th coming across the lawn, I went back inside to the puzzle.  Thirteen more pieces were put in place.  Well actually, 23 because I found ten that were in the wrong spot.  They may look like they fit, but they lie.

In no time I had to clean up and get the bacon grease smell out of my hair.  It was time for the Flag Ceremony at the Elks Lodge.  Truly, I did not want to go.  I just wanted to stay in my safe house for the rest of the day.  Instead, I got my act together and headed off.  

First things first, check the attic.  We seem to have a nice little family of mice causing havoc with the bingo machine wiring in the walls.  My solution was simple ... we need a BINGO KITTY.  I was voted down.  They called Pest Control.

And so began the hour long ceremony singing our National Anthem.  Have you ever heard a bunch of old folks singing THAT song?  I cheat ... I move my mouth, but no sound comes out.

Our Honor Guard ... a fabulous group of Veterans ... carry all of the flags that have flown over our country.  

One by one, they are placed in the bench and saluted while someone reads the history of how it came about and who flew it first.  It's really quite interesting.

There was more singing, the Pledge of Allegiance, and more saluting.  I think the Elks Lodge is the only entity that has this ceremony every year.  Luckily Friday the 13th was not allowed in the room, other than I was freezing to death from the big fan right over my head.  

Afterwards, we all headed downstairs to dinner.  The lodge pays for anything the Veterans want to order from our Friday Night Dinner menu.  But that's tomorrow's story because these darn ant bites are driving me crazy.  It's time to get skin scrubbing!!!

The good news ... I survived yet another Friday the 13th!!!

Full Moon Hangover

 Woohoo!!  I usually check the weather app for temperatures, but I never think to check for wind in the summer.  We rarely ever have any.  Last night however, it was whipping around the corners of the patio and howling like a wolf.  That caused me to get up twice ... not that I was sleeping anyway ... to see what crashed.  Luckily just my soapy water bottle to kill the aphid that are attacking only SOME of my plants.  

I skip breakfast now, trying to head on down into "burning ketones" mode, whatever that is.  I've finally lost what I gained last month from all that cake!  Lunch was just another weird one.  This bread ... it is SO good.  I'm sure it's just because I've been addicted to bread all my life.  But avocado toast?  It's never been on my menu.

And it probably won't be again.  I suppose you shouldn't just slap it on there ... maybe mix in something else, but it did use up the last of the avocados that were lounging in the swimming pool in my fridge.  

First things first, check the garden.  This growing thing has caused my time schedule to change completely.  I'm out by 6:00 at the latest, trying to get everything done in cool weather.  I have watered with the epsom salts twice now, and I have to say, the tomatoes are SO much sweeter than the first ones harvested.  Maybe it's just the heat, but they are MUCH better tasting.

Every day now, Lizzie II comes out from under the rosemary to catch some rays (and maybe some ants) on the block.  

Not that I had a FREE day, I didn't, but I sat around until noon before getting my act together.  I have all those olallieberries in the fridge that need to be made into jelly.  Those of us who have done this kind of thing for years (you know who you are), have shelves full of jars.  I can't believe I had absolutely NO jars in any cupboard or in the entire garage.  That's actually a sin!!  

So off to the only store in town that had them, which was of course THE most expensive one around.  It's pretty sad that while prices are going down everywhere, it's cheaper for us to drive 30 miles north to SAFEWAY (which was always the most expensive), instead of shopping locally.  These jars were $22.00.

The other item on my list was a cheap pot roast that I could share with Mr. Cooper.  I almost had a heart attack.  $11.00 a pound ... $30.88 for this one piece of meat worth $10.00.  The shelf was full of them, mostly because who in the world can afford THIS?  I'm not broke, but I'm not paying this price for CHOICE beef.  I probably would not even pay this much for PRIME!

Oh but WAIT ... Tri-Tip was the same price, this one costing $42.00.  The two cheapest pieces of meat on a cow and they are THE most expensive.  I passed.  Mr. Cooper and I will just eat chicken!!  Here's the thing I wonder about.  NO ONE in this area is well off.  Probably half the town is on welfare, so this is not going to be a big seller.

So what do they do with all this meat when no one buys it?  Anyone know?  I mean the case was full to the brim.  I guess they expect folks to barbecue for Fathers Day, but no one here can afford to pay this price.  So what happens to all that meat one week from now???  Inquiring minds want to know.

One grocery bag ... just ONE ... came to $113.00, the most expensive of which was the jars, followed by some dog food for Cooper.  I was tempted to try it since it's cheaper than a pot roast!

Here he is this morning.  Every time I get up, he follows me.  My little watch pup lays down and keeps watch at the door of every room I enter.  

Here he is at the moment ... such a good boy.  Yes that's a saddle stacked up on the right, and a nice cardboard box for my tax papers.  The child gates?  To keep the Watch Pup off the new carpet.  You can see how well that works.

The day ended with a Trustee meeting at the Elks Lodge.  At least on this night I wasn't yelled at regarding the fact that I did the budget by myself when no one else showed up to the budget meeting.  It's a delicate balance between being as conservative as possible, in order to break even and NOT pass on needless expenses to the members, since we are here to BENEFIT the members.  I seem to be the only one who understands that concept.

And so ... it's Friday the 13th, making this full moon hangover all the worse.  This is one of those days I would rather just stay stapled to the couch.  Alas, there is a Flag Ceremony at the lodge honoring our National flag, followed by dinner that I am supposed to attend.  I would rather walk through hot coals, but duty calls.  The good part is those folks are good company!!

I Counted Too Soon

Here we are once again in sunny California.  It's strawberry picking time, thus we look forward to this beauty ... the Strawberry Moon.  Unfortunately, the picture lies.  It's not raspberry, it's not red, nor is it even PINK.  This came from someone with photoshop.

I use this app in order to find the moon before it rises so I know where to set up.  It's called Skyview Lite.  Click on the icon, then move your phone around and it will show you every single star in the sky, what its name is, and what astrological sign it is.  As you move around and point the phone, that's where that star or moon actually is in the sky, whether above or below the horizon line.    

On this night, the moon was way below the horizon line and not visible in the sky.  I waited until I just could not keep my eyes open.  So here it is early this morning, just about to set back below the horizon once again.  Nope ... not pink.

This is how we start every day.  Me catching up on emails and schedules while the pup snuggles.

Since I was stuck home all day waiting for the gate guy, I reminded myself to tend to the garden.  Hmmm maybe this wasn't such a great idea after all.  Gardening requires a LOT of work.

I pounded in two fence posts and set up a gate panel to hold the trellis.  It's rather old and saggy, like me.  I won't need it much longer because the plants are getting established and shouldn't need any cover from the sun.  Though you can barely see them, I put up the tomato cages also.

I'm very happy to say the gypsum is working!!  The zucchini is looking VERY good with no more blossom end rot.  I should be harvesting some soon.  I guess I'm going to become a vegetarian, because I spoke with my neighbor about leaving extras on her porch, and this is not their family favorite.  RATS!  

My bounty for the day!!  I think I'm going to starve.  That's my bell pepper on the right.  It smells HOT.  I've no idea what to do with it other than maybe add it to salsa?  But first, I'll have to buy tomatoes from the store.  Yup ... this was SUCH a good idea!

Worse yet ... it has turned me into a vegetarian!!  This was dinner.  That little yellow squash, along with three STORE BOUGHT zuccs!  

I told you I ate weird.  I tried out a new kind of low carb bread while using up the last of one sad avocado.  It wasn't big enough, so I threw on some butter for extra flavor.

Here it is ... the absolute best low card bread I've ever eaten.  It's full of yummy seeds and has zero sugar.  I found it at Safeway and THINK it cost $9.00 for the loaf.  When I looked it up online, I found it on Amazon for $34.00 ... two loaves.  YIKES!!  So much for THAT!!  I'll be savoring every single piece of the loaf I bought!

What about the gate guy?  I guess I counted my chickens too soon.  I waited all day long and he never showed up.  Nothing I hate worse than a NO-SHOW.  The worst part ... no one else around here works on these Powermaster gates.  

SO ... I placated myself with this.  No I didn't eat it, I got Meow Mix for the stray black kitty kitty who hides in my back yard.  He sneaks in every night ... sometimes around 8:00 and sometimes after midnight.  Yup I'm a softie for critters.

I'm not waiting around today ... I need some gutter repair goop, some sandpaper and a few more jelly jars.   A woman's work is never done!!