Good News ... Bad News

Beware my friends ... there's a FULL MOON in three days.  I'm sure that's going to spill over into the Elks Lodge audit meeting tonight.  I tried to sleep in, but even with the outside lights turned out, it was too bright to catch any Zzzz's.

The good news is I think just MAYBE fall has arrived.  We are down to the 60's at night ... WOOHOO ... and the air conditioning is not running all day long.  Interestingly enough, in spite of all the increases in electrical and gas prices, my solar is holding me right at a zero bill every month this summer.  This is a first!  I won't count on that for winter.

In other good news ... lookie here ... they DID turn red while sitting on the counter.  One more day and I'll be chowing down on BLT's once again!! 

One quick throwback to Bingo ... I took pictures of every machine hookup so hopefully I remember how to do it when the time comes.  Setting up the computer?  That's another story altogether, along with turning on EIGHT televisions, all of which are a different brand, with a different controller, and all of which operate differently.  As soon as I can teach this to someone else, I'm OUT.

Yesterday was a simple day.  I was off to play accountant and pay the company bills, to the excited look on the face of the insurance guy who came to pick up their check.  There is something to be said for paying your bills on time.

Three hours later I was back home for a snooze on the couch.  Those 20 hours days are killer!  After eating one of my fabulous chili verde burritos (not to self ... use less refried beans) I went back to binding this quilt.  It will take a few days to finish the hand sewing.  

And then the bad news.  I live very near to Gold Country.  Back in the day, people covered this part of the state looking for their fame and fortune in gold.  Many of these little towns still exist, including this one called Chinese Camp.  

In 1849, some Englishmen came here along with thousands of Chinese looking for wealth.  The Englishmen hired the Chinese to work the mines.  Originally known as Camp Washington, the Chinese built Chinee Camp.  There soon developed Chinese "companies" ... protective associations ... for the workers.  This resulted in the first ever Tong Wars, right here in River City.  Eventually, the placer mines played out and people moved away.

Only about 90 people have lived there for the last few years.  Many of the old boarding houses and stores remained intact, though appearing to be abandoned.  

But many of the houses were still lived in.  

Until now.  In the last two days, lightning strikes set several fires in this area, and the entire town was burned to the ground.  All of it ..... gone.  Thanks to Facebook, people were able to get their horses and other animals out of the fires path.  After 176 years, the town no longer exists.  It will be missed by those of us who always took the back road.  

And so I'm thankful for my safe house, even if I have crappy neighbors!!  

Today, after coffee and snuggling with the KID, I'll be heading out to the BIG audit of the Elks Lodge.  I admit, I have a slight problem with people coming in and telling us how to do things better, when we are the biggest lodge around, donating more money than anyone else, and in better financial shape than 95% of lodges. Okay, I won't go there.

I'm sure however, that I WILL be answering my phone 89 times about the Shrimp Feed happening Saturday.  It truly is a lot of work, with LOTS of planning involved with every detail.  Having a raffle, a silent auction, a dessert raffle, six gun raffles AND dinner ... is a big undertaking.  One which I did NOT undertake.  I'm just trying to keep the two people who DID undertake ... from strangling each other!

So here's my prayer for the day ... for everyone ... including myself!!!