THE BIN BRO'S

 A little break in the action ... SUN in sunny California.  Except ... this was last week.  There was no sun to be found the entire day.  That makes Nancy a crabby girl.  It just hangs over you like a cloud ... dreariness and lacklusterness.  I don't think that's a word.  

I'm sure there's a closet I should have been cleaning out, but instead Mr. Cooper and I watched absolutely nothing on TV.  There was one show I thought might be interesting until I read it was from 2017.  Good grief ... what has happened to Hollywood?  Don't they make real shows any more?  I completely missed out on the adult cartoon phase.  They just are NOT funny.

I finally got off the couch long enough to drive into town and mail a box out, along with an Amazon return, of which there have been many recently.  In spite of good reviews, all this Chinese stuff is junk.

Back home 30 minutes later, I reluctantly grabbed the pumpkin quilt and began sewing the binding.  How boring can it get!  

On the other hand, I love the quilt and am very happy to have completed another from the growing binding stack.

I just could NOT get motivated.  While rummaging through the stash, I found my ELK quilt that I wanted to hang up.  These are my two all time favorite quilts.  

With nothing else to do, I took that $6.00/lb hamburger I bought and turned it into meatloaf.  Add to that three red potatoes turned into MASHED potatoes, and lunch was served.  I don't think I have EVER eaten such TOUGH hamburger ... and it was the "good" stuff.

I'm trying the mashed potatoes out on Cooper.  He wasn't impressed, but he ate it.  I also ordered a new bag of low protein dog food.  I hope the Vet is happy now.  That 20 pound bag of food is costing me $56.00.  Yup the dog food people have learned from the grocery store .. that bag used to be $29.00.  I see a LOT more potatoes in Cooper's future.

Suddenly, the door bell rang.  Truly, NO ONE has hit that door bell since I put it up.  There stood two boys maybe 12 years old.  They handed me this.  I was in SHOCK!  These two kids came up with this idea to make money.  Not that I EVER considered washing out my trash cans .... but hey ... if they are getting out on a cold foggy day to make some cash, I'm all for it!  Wash away guys!!

Someone's parents are raising them right.  They emptied the cans, drug a little power washer out of the wagon they were pulling around with their little bike, and got to work.  They sprayed it with something, scrubbed it with a brush, power washed it and sprayed it again.

No kidding, for 30 minutes these two worked their butts off.  Uh oh ... I didn't have any cash.  They said to call their Mom to see if they could take a check.  She said yes and I congratulated her on raising two GREAT kids.  

Have you ever known any kids today doing this kind of thing?  I asked what the money was for.  BASEBALL they said.  They both play and need new mitts and maybe a new bat.  Dodgers fans they were, but I didn't hold that against them.  It was $10.00 a can, which I would never pay in REAL life, but for these kids, I paid it and added a $5.00 tip.  They deserve it!!  Sparkling clean and it even smells good.

Happy that the world wasn't ALL going to Hell in a hand basket thanks to these kids, I sat back and thoroughly enjoyed the last It's It ice cream bar.  I doubt I will ever see another one, but that won't stop me from looking.

It's time to put on my armor ... yet another Bingo day has arrived.  We are short two guys, but that's not MY problemo.  I'm passing on the STUFF.  I have enough STUFF in my life.  What we DO have however, is TWO $1199 hot balls just waiting to be won.  That means we will be swamped tonight because if they have the winning number, one game will net them $1449.00.  I think I better stuff a little steel wool in my shirt just for good measure!

BACK TO KILLING TREES

 It's Winter once again in Central California.  If there's one thing we are known for, it's FOG.  Tule fog they call it, as in Tule swamps which used to cover the valley and be the home of Tule Elk.  By the way, wasn't I shocked to see a large herd of Tule Elk at the San Luis Reservoir in the westside mountains heading back from the coast.  That's the first time in my life I've actually seen them.  They used to cover this valley before humans moved in.  No pictures, it's a steep downhill, everyone race to the finish line at 80 mph, road.

Mornings look like this ... 

And sound like this.  No kidding, I have never seen a cat this affectionate in my life.  All new adventures at MY age!  Kitters spent most of the day and all night in the Cat House.  At least it's up high where the skunks can't reside.  I'm still smelling them often, but so far have not found any holes into my yard.  

As for the stop at the fabric shop ... I don't know what's wrong with me.  I had two of these fabrics and only walked out with four small pieces, along with the caramel one.  I threw in a piece of backing just for good measure and only dropped $123.00.  I think that's a record.  Now if I can only get motivated to cut and sew again.  It seems to come in waves.

Then came the hard part.  NOT eating everything in sight just because I did for the last few days.  This was breakfast.  I know, Bad Nancy, but I surely wasn't going to throw away LAYS potato chips.  Wasn't I surprised to find I bought a bag-o-air.  Seriously?  This was it ... 1.5 ounces of potato chips in the very bottom of the bag.  What a rip-off!  

By 8:30 I was off to Wally World, trying to beat the Sunday Pajama crowd.  I think in honor of Thanksgiving, they have lowered their prices back to normal.  Two 18 packs of eggs were $6.00.  Butterball turkeys were 97 cents a pound, a purchase I could not turn down.  Semi-sweet chocolate chips ... $3.00 versus the normal $7.00.  It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas CANDY!!

Hamburger, not so much, but at least it was a little cheaper at $6.00 a pound instead of the $11.00 it was two weeks ago.  Just to prove a point about their checkers ... I checked myself out while the guy watched me, and I put five items in the bag without running them over the machine.  Yes, I took them back out and paid for them ... I'm not a thief ... I just wanted to prove a point.  They must be losing millions of dollars.  The guy was more interested in the bag of marshmallows he was eating.

By the way, we are back to KILLING TREES since they discontinued the use of plastic bags (just when I needed them for the rig) and are back to paper bags.  Make up your MIND!!  Cheap thin ones with no handles that you have to pay 10 cents for, only to have all three of them rip apart when you take them out of the basket and put in your car.  

It was sort of my lucky day however ..... MUCH cheaper groceries and THIS!  I found a $5.00 penny.  I used to walk on by, but NO MORE!  It's a 1986 model I think, and will be worth its weight in gold in a few more years.  I'm leaving that big jar full of pennies to the Elks Lodge.  It will probably pay for the elevator they want.  

Not really ... 

Back home I made my caramel/toffee bars.  Alas, I got the wrong toffee.  Seems it was also caramel.  These things are going to stick to your teeth like Gorilla Glue.

Definitely not the flavor I was going for, but they will be eaten over the next few months,  I put them in these little containers and freeze them for when I need a pick me up.  That won't be any time soon because I've got a few pounds to drop off somewhere along the way first.

Thanksgiving is almost here ... only one Bingo Away.  I've got returns to return, boxes to mail, turkeys to defrost and two "kids" to spoil today.  I'm looking forward to cooking for four hours, just to eat in 5 minutes and do dishes for the next hour after that.  THANKSGIVING IS ALMOST HERE!!!

THE CAT HOUSE

 Oh what a difference a few miles make.  It's a chilly 41 degrees this morning back in Central California.  What's for breakfast?  Why macaroni salad of course.  In a few days, after I've lost the three pounds I gained, I'm going to try and replicate it.

For those not familiar with an It's-It ... this is it!  They can usually be found in those ice cream bar freezers in mostly Mexican food stores, at least around here that is.  I'm sure gas stations have them also.

And THIS is what it looks like after you drop it on the floor and Cooper steps on it.  It's okay, it was still in the package.  There's an oatmeal/cinnamon soft cooky on each side, filled with pumpkin ice cream and covered in sweet chocolate.  OH MY GOSH!  I was in HEAVEN!!  I'm buying up every one of these I can find.

No Mr. Cooper ... you don't get any of this stuff.  Okay, I gave him one tiny fingernail full of ice cream.  He loved it.

While I put things away getting ready to move out, Jonathan slept.  I was surprised he did so good this trip.  He climbed the cage, flapped his wings and ate pretty well.  Not much in the noise department this time however.  That's probably a good thing since I never announce him as a PET on my reservation.  

Time to unhook the rig, an easy proposition compared to this guy.  Maybe Jim can explain.  I know they have small tanks, but WOW ... he's got electrical, water and sewer all hooked up, cable TV, along with a spray hose (no idea what that's for), two big tables behind his rig, one of which holds a gigantic barbecue, and two LARGE chairs.  Oh and two spotlight stands which remained on the entire time.  This all for a small camper on the back of his truck.

All I had to do was unhook one electrical cord.  Oh ... and I remembered to turn the propane OFF!  YAY!

The drive home was not nerve wracking in the least since I was going in the right direction.  If you ever go to the coast, always drive home on Saturday when everyone else is driving TO the coast.  Traffic wasn't bad, but I kept it at 60 mph.

I stopped in at the quilt shop, but I'll relate that tomorrow.  I'm usually not good at stopping.  Once I get going, I just want to get home.  Oh the things you can miss.  In the old days, I used to stop in at Wolfsen's Meat and Sausage quite often.  It's in a tiny town on the backroads of rural California and close to the National Cemetery.  They have at least 40 different kinds of sausage they make right there.  The Bingo guys LOVE their jerky, so I stopped in to pick some up.

This place also has packaged meat ... some of the best I've ever had.  I imagine it's not cheap nowadays, but there's nothing better.  This is their awesome tri-tip sandwich and it is amazing.  Thin slices of delicious barbecued meat, smothered in onions, green peppers and the best barbecue sauce around.  I could only eat half it's so huge, and less than Habit Burger.

Finally home, I unpacked a few things and headed to the back door where I stopped in my tracks.  No pictures because you would throw up.  There on my back door mat was the remains of three lizards ... count them, THREE, who had been chewed up, swallowed, and then thrown up.  Will she ever learn?  This happens WAY too often.  Maybe I need to feed Kitters more.

I unloaded more stuff, making enough noise that the neighbor brought over the box I had delivered.  Okay folks ... here it is ... the VERY expensive CAT HOUSE.  There are NO directions on how to put this thing together, only one small picture.  And SMALL would be the operative word here.  It's almost too small for Kitters.  I admit however, it's actually VERY well made.  

I moved in a bigger table because I know she won't stay on the ground.  I stuffed her in it, which lasted two seconds.  Let's try a bit of food ... and I stuffed her in there again.  I know she ate those six morsels in two seconds, but she stayed inside for well over an hour.  That was a BIG surprise.  Apparently the heater, though it doesn't put out a lot of heat, was quite nice.  She was back inside late last night ... maybe they put catnip in the seams!!  

Today I'll stabilize it a little more and put something underneath to hold the heat in.  It seems to be Kitty approved.

Today I'll go through the fabric and finish packing the rig.  Why PACK THE RIG?  Because I ran out of important things like toilet paper, hair spray, soap, paper towels ... and the extra clothes I thought were still in there had disappeared, along with my finest paper plates.  

That's when I found the LIST of things I needed to replenish after my LAST trip.  And so I'm off to Wally World early this morning.

SPARE NOT THE CALORIES

 Here it is, another day in Paradise.  I wonder if people who work here appreciate this side of California as much as I do.  The interior is pretty boring ... THIS is fascinating.

Mr. Cooper has been doing great, getting in a little more play time.  

We were up early, but later than normal.  The dredges did not run last night, so it was pretty quiet.  Time for a little adventure walk.  I went out the park and over this bridge, feeling most every step.  I need to get back to walking more.

Down a sandy road to the Salinas River I walked, coming across a path to the ocean.  There were lots of cars parked early, which means the surf is up.

There were probably a dozen guys out there braving the crazy waves.  

They were breaking all over and against each other.  I'm pretty sure only the experts take on this spot.  

The pelicans were ignoring the surfers while looking for their next meal.  The shore is very sharp here, meaning it falls off into the ocean quickly.  Anything flopping around in the sand is fair game for their breakfast.

 I mean really ... I've seen lots of ocean beaches from scuba diving, but I've never seen waves breaking in different directions like this.  It was fascinating to watch.

Oops ... this guy found out as he crashed just before running into the little dark spot that is the head of another surfer.

I watched for quite awhile, taking dozens of picture, before heading back.  I was actually on the hunt for the sea lions.  That's when I ran into a very nice lady ... named Nancy.  No kidding, it's not a popular name.  She was hired by some organization to watch the dredges, making sure they didn't run over any sea lions.  She's my age and a diver too.  We talked for quite a while.

You know me and equipment ... I watched this dredge while she filled me in.  There are two companies working here.  This one with the huge excavator onboard digs out under the boats, pulling muck and mud to a central location.  

THIS was the most fascinating.  See that tall metal pole?  There's one on the other side not quite as tall.  That's because he dropped that pipe hard into the bottom as a turning point.  He has to make a 45 degree turn to the left to miss the bridge.  As the pipe held that corner, he reached out with the bucket, buried it in the mud and gently pulled himself around.  

I've run an excavator before, but this guy ... he's magic with that bucket.  Slowly he made the turn, not hitting the bridge or the dock right next to him.  

That's the longest boom I've ever seen.   

This is where he landed, parallel to the bridge.  

            

He began pulling mud from the OTHER side of that walkway, to this side, where he piled it up, to be sucked up by the OTHER dredge.  Come to find out, the other one is attached to a 3' wide flexible pipe that goes underwater through another pipe, and something like 20 miles out into the ocean.  YIKES!!  

The Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute owns and runs everything around here.  Right next door is their huge research center, so as you can imagine, all this is highly regulated.

This is what the other Nancy was watching for.  These sea lions are HUGE and oh so curious.  Anytime one gets close to the dredge, they have to stop work until he leaves.  

I only had one encounter with these guys when I was diving, not even realizing they were close.  It popped up in front of me staring eye to eye, then darted away faster than lightning.  Luckily he didn't take a bite. 

 You can hear and smell them before you see them.  There must have been at least a hundred parked on this old dock.  Not a great picture, but I had to stand on top of a concrete block, hold my camera as high as I could and snap the picture.  They have fenced this area with dual fences.

That was it for the day, having walked almost three miles.  Back at the rig, I was craving something other than what I had in the way of food.  Nothing nutritious mind you, junk food would suffice.  I went back to the little deli to stock up on important things.  

That macaroni salad I got was SO GOOD, I got another one.  And hey, if it's that good, I bet their potato salad is even better.  I NEED THEIR RECIPE!  

Spare not the calories, though I only ate ONE.   But when she told me the It's-It was PUMPKIN and they were delicious, how could I not try it at least twice to be sure she was right!!

Actually, I saved them for breakfast today.  I want to have lots of time to SAVOR THE FLAVOR.

Then I'll be heading back home.  Oh gee ..... LOOK ..... there's a quilt shop on the way!!  

The Smell Of Wet Dog

 You see some weird sights when on the road, and the coast always seems to have it.  This is a single little white cloud hanging out over the RV park. It's right over these RV's just down the way from me.  Maybe it's an alien visitor!  

I had completely forgotten just how slowly I must do things in the rig.  If you turn around too fast, you will be whacked with something in the head.  This is it ... all the counter space I am allotted since Jonathan gets the majority.  I'm trying to fix our breakfast.  That's the SECOND egg in the bowl, ready for the microwave.  The first one ended up in the sink.

Two seconds after his third tiny bite of scrambled egg, he's out like a light.  If only I could sleep like this!

That didn't last long however.  Cooper is energized.  We went for a walk around the entire park, through every puddle there was.  SO many new smells!  He hasn't been this active in a long time!!  In spite of my directions, we went through every puddle there was.  Oh the smell of wet dog on our return to the rig.  It didn't end there, he found his favorite toy.  Yes, I listened to this for 30 minutes.  

And THIS is the game, which usually involves lots of barking because I'm not fast enough on the return.

I finally wandered over the few yards to the harbor.  It's really a lot bigger than you would think.  Here's the dredge that's keeping us awake at night.  That big black monster looking thing is the digger, attached to the red whatchacallit that lowers it into the water.  They had run over a fishing net and needed to extract it before continuing.  

It took some time to cut it loose, all the while the big generators and boat engines were screaming. 

Here's the whole setup.  Once free, the boom drops the whatchamacallit down into the water and the generators roar to life.  As it eats up the bottom mud, it is sucked into a long pipe and onto the back of the boat.  No wonder this is going to take forever.  The harbor is huge!

Yeah, it was still a little rainy here and there, but the waters were still enough to get nice reflections.

From there I could hear lots of sea lions barking, so I hoped to snag a picture or two.  This is down the other side.  Then it snakes around in a half circle right up to the road.  I had no idea this was so big.  Back in the day when I took sailing lessons out of Monterey ... yup I'm an official Captain of Sailboating even though I would never do that again EVER ... this is where we would sail to.  I was scared to death the entire time.

Still looking for those boisterous sea lions, I walked around the entire harbor, only to find this sign.  VICIOUS?  But they look so SWEET!!  I never saw a single one.  They were parked out on a dock that was locked.  Maybe next time.

When it came time for dessert and dinner (in that order), I found I had left ALL of my goodies in my fridge at home.  Probably not a bad thing, but that meant I really had no food other than the clam chowder.  Time to scope out the neighborhood Deli, which just happens to belong to Phil's Fish Market.  

I walked around the corner to see this, thinking I had the wrong house.  I might not want to go in this place if it was dark.  Just kidding ... though it looks like a dive (and it is), they have fabulous food.

I got a bacon chicken ranch sandwich ... quite tasty and HUGE for $12.00.  Might as well stock up on clam chowder while I'm here, a Pepsi, some macaroni salad ... ooh there's Maui potato chips and LEMON BARS!!  $45.00 later I was out the door.

Half the sandwich is gone, which was more than enough.  I now have enough clam chowder for three days.  The lemon bars were fabulous, but just as expected, gave me heartburn like no other food I've ever eaten.  Lemons and I don't get along.  It's okay, it was worth it!!

They say the rain is gone for the time being ... sunny all day today.  My plan is to hike across the dunes over to the ocean and see what I can see.  Let's get going!!!!!