I'm The Only One Awake

 Good Morning U.S.A.  Oh yeah ... we are still alive and kicking, though the temps have jumped back up to HOT.  Surprisingly, it doesn't seem to bother Kitters who slept soundly most of the day.  

As did Jonathan .........

And Cooper!  It seems I'm the only one not getting the ZZZ's!

 First things first ... that Vet appointment I had for Kitters.  She was very sweet .. as always .. and I had no problem getting her into the carrier.  Off we went just a few miles away.  She didn't yowl once.  When we got there, they took her back (without me) to check and see if she was fixed or not and does she have a chip.

The GOOD NEWS:  No chip ... and amazingly, after shaving her belly (I'm not sure how they accomplished that) ... SHE'S FIXED!  Yay!  No baby worries.  The gal did mention they clipped her nails ... which they didn't ask me about.  She's an outside kitty ... she NEEDS those knives on her paws!

The BAD NEWS:  She probably needs shots for distemper and leukemia, not to mention rabies.  When I asked what the cost was, the gal actually whispered it.  $75.00 EACH!  Yikes!!  I don't EVER remember vaccinating kitties before ... and we had lots of them.

She only got two for now, because they removed the $25 office charge (on sale this month) and gave me a senior discount.  I was sure upon release when I got home, that she would disappear into the field forever.  Wasn't I surprised when she just sat there purring.  This morning she's eating away, so I guess she decided not to run off and is feeling okay.  I'm not sure that will happen when I'm gone for 45 days.

That's when I discovered my first tomato plant picture.  Good grief .. I've been baby sitting these things for  SIX MONTHS!!  It's time to go bye bye since the biggest is not producing any more.  Now you see it ... the one on the left that is 6 feet across ........

Now you don't!  I kept the second one because it's still full of cherry tomatoes waiting to turn red.  Hallelujah ... half my watering job is done.  I'll keep this one around a little while longer.

Lunch was an OMG grilled cheese ... with tomatoes of course ... and the sourdough loaf I bought at the little vendor fair.  Here's my critique ... not that I'm good at making it at all ... it was tough as nails to eat by itself, but brown it up gorgeously in a pan over medium heat with cheese and fresh tomatoes ... and it was DELICIOUS!!  Admittedly small, but quite tasty.  

After checking on Kitters once again, I was on to the next project.  You can probably tell, this idea is from the horse corrals at the ranch.  This is what I used to water my horses.  It has a float in it that keeps it full at all times.  Though I could attach it to the boards, it's just sitting there for now.  Perfect for Kitters.

No I'm not leaving for a couple of months ... I just want to have everything well tested before I wander off.

I contemplated doing lots of stuff, but basically goofed off the rest of the day.  I was waiting for this delivery.  It's my new Apple Watch.  I have to give it up for their packaging.  Good grief ... there are little tabs to tear off, little flaps to open ... that's probably why they cost so much! 

This one is both GPS tracking for all the running I still do (cough cough) AND cellular, meaning I can take phone calls on it just like in the old spy movies.  It even gives me all the health information I never wanted to know, including defib and a crazy amount of other data.

The problem was instant.  The second I took it out of the box and held it next to my phone, my phone said it needed upgrading.  No surprise ... but it was a BIG update that completely revamped how my phone works.  I spent a hour trying to figure all that out before I even touched the watch!

In fact, I'm STILL trying to figure out how stuff works because it's completely different from before.  At long last, the watch connected, but once again, it too is SO different from the old one.  My favorite watch face is gone, as are all the settings I had on my old watch.

Another hour passed as I went through menu after menu, trying to set it up the way I want.  At long last, I wandered off to bed with Mr. Cooper in tow.  I decided to wear the watch since it has SO much Health data on it ... I might as well see if I'm awake or dead.

Awake would be the operative word here.  It told me I woke up EIGHT times last night and rarely hit deep sleep.  No wonder I'm so tired every morning.  I'm not sure that's a good thing to know, because now all I want to do is go crash on the couch.

It's BINGO night at the Magic Castle, so maybe I'll sneak in a nap or two this morning.  I'll set my watch up to vibrate me awake at the appropriate hour.  And yes ... everyone else is still sound asleep!

Two Down, One To Go

 Some days, you just don't want to look.  I guess it's good that I haven't bought a tomato in three months, but the blush is off the bloom.  It's a chore ... and with ten containers of spaghetti sauce in the freezer, I'm really not in need of any more,  I guess today will be another BACON day!

Here's what I didn't mention yesterday.  THIS is the new dog feeder for Kitters.  Cyndae and I spent about 30 minutes figuring out the 24 hour clock and the feeding settings.  You can set the time, the number (up to four a day) and the amount you feed.  You can even record yourself calling the kid to dinner.  Sadly, at 5:00 on this morning, it didn't seem to have worked.

Though you probably can't see the dramatic difference in the before (below) and after (above) pictures, I really can!!  Her face is shaped differently now, no bony legs and you can't see her ribs.  She has really turned into a love bug!

While I contemplated the feeder, I was also thinking about where to put the second Blink camera.  Be sure to put it high up the detective said.  Okay, but my two ladders are too short for that.  That means dragging this monster out of the garage.  It goes up TWICE this tall.  It's aluminum, so not too terribly heavy, it's just so AWKWARD!  

I finally moved it center of the window and worked between the rungs.  Crawling up was exciting, to say the least.  

Four times up and down and VOILA!!  That tiny black thing was installed.  It works great and gives a birds eye view of the garage and driveway.  I hope the batteries last the entire two years as advertised, because I'm not sure I want to crawl up there again!  I thought I broke the upper window trying to get it down when it slipped.  Whew ... that was a close one!   Two down, one to go!

I whiled away the afternoon making a Halloween wreath for the front door.  It needs more ribbon, and I ordered a witches hat for the top.  Note to self ... never EVER order glittered ribbon.  I made this on my fabric cutting mat in the sewing room.  No matter how many times I wipe it off, there is STILL glitter EVERYWHERE.  What a pain in the neck THAT is!!  I doubt those Veterans want glitter on their quilts!

It's not done yet ... I just have to find another place to work on it.

At 5:00 on the dot, I made a beeline for the back patio to see if the feeder worked THIS time.  YAY!!  Not only did it work, but when I called Kitters, she came running.  I may have to record something so she knows the food is there.  I'm not sure how long it will last, but I'm hoping for close to 30 days.  It will be feeding her from now on to test it out.  It's plugged into the wall and has battery backup ... no subscription required.

After having the last of the shrimp scampi for dinner, I went back to work on this quilt.  It looks much better than previously.  I would prefer more orange ones, but think it turned out pretty cute.  It still needs the 3 B's ... border, backing and binding.

That was it for the day.  Oh ... the automatic kitty waterer came too, but that requires a bit of installation, so maybe mid week I'll get to that.  Today Kitters is going to the (don't say it out loud) VET for a checkup.  I'm hoping when we get back that she doesn't run away after spending all this money on a feeder.  If she needs to be fixed ... that's going to be ANOTHER problem.  I'll report in tomorrow.

MERRY CHRISTMAS

 Oh yea OH YEA!  We are down to the 60's at night, with a high of 80.  That made the perfect day to go wandering around the countryside spending money.  What could be better!!

My watch pup kept a close eye on me for the first hour as I whipped through my morning computer routine.  Not so much actually since he was sound asleep.  If only I could sleep so good!!

Same here ... Kitters sleeping soundly on the table outside the window.  Her hearing is excellent though ... she jumps up every time she hears the slightest noise ... and paws the window.  FEED ME!!

I was pretty tired from too much action and too much food, but company had a cloth map of New Zealand she wanted to adhere to heavy poster board and frame.  So off we went to Michaels a couple of towns over.  I missed the turnoff, which ended up being an adventure.

The road was completely blocked with a vendor fair.  It took a bit to find a place to park ... I mean really, who would not stop to wander the street when they saw this!  I was more interested in the FOOD!  Cookies, brownies and the longest line I've ever seen (it was halfway down the block) for MATCHA.  It's finely ground tea leaves made into a drink.  

Originally from Japan, it appeared so were the sellers, as they used a weird little paintbrush looking thing to stir it into dust before making it into a drink.  It was definitely the drink of choice for the young crowd.

I of course went for the macadamia nut white chocolate homemade brownies sealed in a neat little plastic pouch.  The kid who made them was VERY young, but then I guess all kids are very young compared to us old fogies!!

This sweetheart wanted a bite of my cookie, which I was more than happy to share.  Her dad said cookies were her favorite.  Talk about a well mannered puppy ... she was a doll!!

In a flash, I zoomed in on this table.  Sourdough bread.  I mean really, I can barely make even ONE loaf, and this nice gal had about 6 left to sell.  They open at 8:00 ... it was 9:30 ... and most everyone was sold out.  Luckily I got this loaf ... for a pricey $10.00.  Hey ... it's good to support the local crafters and entrepreneurs.  Okay, I bought TWO loaves.

That's when I found out they do this every Saturday until the end of October.  I'll be BACK!!!  The other end of town has the same street closed for the Farmers Market, so maybe next time I'll go that direction instead.  What a GREAT town this is, supporting this kind of event.

Now loaded down, we headed back to the truck on our original mission.  We found Michaels and were able to get the cloth map set up for framing for less than half the cost she originally thought.  Not only that, but he said it would be ready that evening.  WOW ... that's service!

Then we were off to Hobby Lobby.  Why, I've no idea, but it's a HUGE store with amazing stuff, so why not.  Right in the door, we spotted this.  Now when was the last time you saw a FALL Christmas tree.

I have to admit, the quality of things in this store was much better than Michaels, even if the price is higher.  All I was looking for was patriotic fabric, of which there was none because ... well, we're basically PAST Thanksgiving and on to Christmas!

We discussed at great length how we had NO ROOM to store anything and NO INITIATIVE to decorate any more because then you had to take it all down and store it once again in closets already stuffed to the gills!  I mean really ... for such a big house, I can barely get the closet doors shut as it is.

Somehow, this came home with me.  He's got a platter full of cookies and all the parts to make more, not to mention he was on sale.  

I've had my eye on this Frosty hat for a couple of weeks now.  It might make a cute Door Opening Halloween costume!!  Also on sale.  Ok, truthfully, everything in the STORE was on sale.  You know how that goes.  

Back home with a pile of goodies, we hit the fridge and drug out the last of our shrimp scampi for dinner.  I'm finding that to be the secret to having company.  Take them out to dinner so you have leftovers for two days.  No cooking required.

It turned out to be a great day, full of fun and food.  That blondie brownie is going to taste WONDERFUL for breakfast.  For now however, it's back to hanging cameras and cleaning out closets to make room for new treasures!!

Not Much To See Here

 The weather could not be more perfect.  63 to 88 is right in my wheelhouse.  It's perfect for walking before the sun comes up, trying to work off a little of that 2.5 pounds Mr. Cooper has put on.  

Then, once I'm wide awake, HE goes back to sleep on the couch.  It's just not fair!!!

The rest of the day was less than exciting.  I tried to clean up the house a bit more since company was coming.  I checked the camera from the night before, catching this just as I got home.  Notice there are now TWO shadows following me across the patio.  I guess this is going to be the norm from now on.

Company arrived around 1:00.  The plan was ... well there WASN'T a plan.  I've got nothing.  There is absolutely nothing to see here.  I was way too tired to be the good hostess, so basically we just sat in the living room for four hours.  I watched a little rodeo, company spent time on her phone.

I tried not to be a clock watcher, but it's hard for me just sitting there.  At long last we headed out to the lodge for dinner.  She was thinking calamari ... I was thinking shrimp scampi.  As we arrived, a gentleman came out the door ... one who recently asked for a donation to a Civil War project ... and asked if I was a reader.  

Sure I said, as he handed me this book with a request to do a review when I was done.  Okay, though the subject is far from what I would EVER pick up to read. 

We got a drink from the bar and sat at our table.  From there on it was a blur from the food coma.  There's nothing to see here because I completely forgot to take a picture.  This is all you're getting today ... an ugly mess of food dumped into a to-go box.  I wasn't going to waste one WONDERFUL bite.  For our lodge to produce this kind of a meal is just amazing to me.

The scampi was over the top delicious, with the best baked potatoes, followed up with perfectly cooked asparagus.  The problem was I was stuffed to the gills from the huge salad bar with homemade potato salad, clam chowder soup and those garlic bread sticks I love.  

What's that piece of chicken laying there?  We met friends Kathy and Nick who had four huge pieces of chicken each.  They passed one on to me.  

I was full and miserable when we got home, so I sat on the couch and speed read the little book.  It's an interesting concept, though I'm not sure how safe hydrogen fuel would be.  Apparently he wrote it maybe two years ago?  Much of the world has now changed, so it's not as relevant.  

Add to that the cost of setting up fuel manufacturing, not to mention fuel stations across the entire country, and I think it would be a futile attempt at lowering costs. They say it is "safe" but highly flammable, meaning if there's a leak, your house will blow up?  They are not clear on that point.  

Hydrogen engines for trucks and cars would have to be built, hydrogen engine mechanics trained, it all seems a little crazy to switch over when we have more gas and oil reserves than most.  At least in my neighborhood, our current energy producing manufacturers will never switch over, causing themselves a huge loss of moolah.  They would have to charge us double or triple, just to come up with enough money to manufacture it, making the consumer price through the roof.  Maybe many moons in the future when I'm dead and gone.

That's it ... that's all I've got today.  I'll try to do a little better ... maybe even take a picture or two of Hobby Lobby, because that's where we are headed.  Yes, I've leaving my credit card home.

FIRST RAIN

 Lookie here ... lookie here!!  Those are RAIN CLOUDS hanging out overhead at 6:00 in the morning when Mr. Cooper and I went for our morning walk.  The sun wasn't even awake yet.  The good news is his foot has healed up nicely and he actually wants to check out the smells.  YAY!!  Next time he doesn't want to go out, I'll know something is wrong and I need to be more vigilant.

Even though it was looking like rain, it was still 73 degrees, making more tomatoes ripen on the vine.  I measured that thing yesterday ... one tomato plant is now 6 feet wide and still producing these chocolate ones.  Too bad they don't TASTE like chocolate.

Having had way too much stuff going on with little sleep, I didn't really get much more done, other than to prepare for company coming today.  I did boring laundry and returned two more Amazon buys.  Can you just imagine the amount of stuff returned to that place?  This is just small town America ... I can't imagine how much gets sent back in the big city, especially since covid shut down businesses everywhere.  We have little choice here, but to order on-line or drive 40 miles.

I spent most of the afternoon sewing binding on this quilt ... the second to last one.  Oh yeah oh yeah ... I only have ONE MORE TO GO!  The finally tally is 16.  Next year I'm voting for NO embroidery unless I can find a real company to do it at a reasonable price.  These ended up costing me twice the money I received to make them.  It's for Veterans ... so you know I can't really complain about that.  Next year I'll ask for more moolah!

I tried hard to veg out on the couch before the Lodge meeting.  I don't know why they have so many of these things ... twice a month and a Trustee Meeting makes three.  

It was an unusual night however.  Our Head Honcho's daughter was the chairman on this night, and thank the Good Lord above they decided NOT to have steak.  Truly, if they had reduced the price, they would have sold more, but this was some of the best Mexican food I've had in a long time.  

The appetizer, which I did not get a picture of, was something you may want to try.  It was Tostitos (those little cup tortilla chips) filled with smoked salmon, Mexican crema, a slice of jalapeno and a tiny piece of cilantro.  I think I ate six!!  WOW that was good!!  Who knew?

The homemade cabbage salsa was the BEST (I need to get a recipe for that) with the pico de gallo coming in a close second.  We had shrimp tacos, grilled chicken tacos and for #3, carnitas!!  And just how do they make that rice!!!  I brought most of it home, having OD'd on the appetizers.

Okay, I admit chocolate cake did not exactly go with dinner, but I ate it anyway!!

That came from this Costco cake for this wonderful Bingo volunteer's birthday.  AND they boxed up a piece for me to take home.  Not that I need any since I still have six months worth of dessert in my freezer from the shrimp feed!!!  I'll just add it to the pile.

Thank goodness the meeting afterwards was short and sweet.  We were out of there in 40 minutes.  I mean really, why do we go through all that for a meeting where we say ... yup ... nothing is going on.  Good night.  I suppose it's the get-together ... the talking ... the hanging out thing.  My bad, I prefer doing that with Mr. Cooper!!

Outside, I ran like the wind to my truck.  It was raining big drops heavily.  From right here, I have to make a big U turn out onto the street.  There's nothing like having a big diesel truck with absolutely NOTHING in the back for weight, spinning all four tires on a first rain wet road, trying not to get hit.  

I wasn't the only one, guys were gunning it right and left having a little fun spinning their tires.  

And so today I'm exhausted!  Little sleep and too much movement (not to mention food) has caused this body to complain ... and I have company coming in a few hours.  Hopefully that gives me enough time to crash on the couch before she gets here.  Then it's BACK to the lodge for dinner ... her request.  Maybe I can con her into helping set up my two remaining cameras!!

Oh, and by the way, automatic kitty feeder #2 is on its way.  Anyone taking bets if it works or not?

SAY YES TO BLINK!!

 Mr. Cooper says HOWDY on this gorgeous morning.  It's 72 degrees right now, which Mother Nature bestowed on us before two days of rain.  This should be fun!!

My day started out normal for me ... my watch died a horrible death.  There was a big red lightning bar before it went black as night.  Truthfully, I'm surprised it lasted this long.  Nine years was more than I expected.  I thought about getting a new battery put in, but no one around here wants to do that.

My choices that have been living in my bathroom drawer for literally 16 years, were few.  Elvis or Mickey Mouse.  Believe it or not, I purchased this Micky Mouse watch around 2007 or so.  It runs on kinetic energy.  I seriously had little hope it would still work, but I picked it up and waved it in the air for about 30 seconds.  The little wheel started spinning, so I waved it around some more.  

I am seriously SHOCKED to find that the wheel kept going.  I set the time.  An hour later it was still going and the time was exactly correct.  WOW!!!  So at least now I can tell time, but alas, it does not give me those verification codes constantly required by my computer.

In other GREAT news, I received the BLINK I ordered.  These are outside cameras that allow you not only to see who's there in real time, but you can talk to them also.  This came from the recommendation of a Deputy Sheriff/private detective.  He should know about surveillance cameras.  

Not only was it not all that pricey, but he says you do NOT have to have a subscription.  I'm not sure about that part yet.  I unboxed it and spent an hour trying to get the controller to log on to my internet.  It might have helped if I had written down that password!!

Getting the cameras logged on wasn't quite as bad.  I will say that NO electronic gadgets come with EASY instructions any more.  

Installing them outside was another lesson in how NOT to hang them from the ceiling.  Right outside the door .... OH LOOK!!!!  Kitters just had breakfast!  Just what I wanted to see right after eating myself.  Not a bird, so I'm guessing a gopher?  This relationship just might work out after all.

So this was my problem ... my house is covered in plaster.  When you try to drill, it makes a big hole and the screws don't hold.  What I ended up doing is putting it on the wooden door frame.  Kind of a tight fit.  

My first image was an upside down hand, followed by me standing horizontally.  Who knew there was an up and a down!  I finally got it straight .... and this is what it looks like.  Not bad ... not bad at all.  I even talked to Kitters.  I'm saying YES to BLINK!  It's not ON all the time, I can ARM it when I leave and turn it off when I return.  It can also sense humans and will send a loud bell to my phone along with a real time video.  Cool!!

At this point I have a free 30 day subscription.  They tried to get me to sign up, but eventually I bypassed that part.   No credit card number was given, so there's that.   I guess I'll see what happens in 30 days because I'm not paying for a PLAN.  

Next up ... the doggie feeder for Kitters.  This was MUCH worse than the cameras to set up.  I poured in a bunch of dog food and began the setup for it ... also on my WiFi.  I didn't get far before it required a SUBSCRIPTION at a cost of $15.99 PER WEEK.  Sorry China, that would be a bit fat NO.  Yup, made in China and connected directly to my WiFi.  

I dumped out the kitty food and boxed it back up for a return to Amazon.  I'll keep looking for a better option.  Too bad because this would have been perfect.

While gnashing my teeth over THAT one, I got a call that company was coming tomorrow.  YIKES!  This place is a mess.  I spent the next couple of hours cleaning up.  What could be better to work off all that China frustration than MOPPING THE FLOORS.  I admit, they haven't been done in ages.

This is my steam cleaner that for the life of me I could not get to work.  That tells you just how long it's been since I've used it.  I finally spotted the STEAM button and we were in business.  I quickly worked off all that bad juju and collapsed on the couch.

That brought about the Watch Search.  What can I say, I'm addicted to having all that information sitting on my wrist.  Just having the time isn't working for me.  Of course there are no stores around here that might have another Apple watch, so I went online.  Apparently the latest Series is coming out tomorrow for a whopping $500.  I'm not sure I want $500 sitting on my wrist, but I suppose it's not doing much sitting in the bank either.  At least this does not require a subscription.

I spent the next few hours playing with the BLINK camera.  I have two more to install sometime today after I figure out where to put them.  By the way, since they are wireless, you can put these on your rig when parked (maybe with velcro?) so you can see if anyone is about to try and break in.

More cleaning will ensue shortly, followed by a lodge meeting tonight and of course company.  That's okay though ... she's taking me out to the lodge for SHRIMP SCAMPI!  How can I say NO?