The Full Moon Effect

 It's the morning after.  Drug out, terrible dinner, and not enough sleep OR armor!!  Yes, it was full enough to cause a little havoc.  The MOON does it every time!  It will be full tomorrow night.  That is WAY too close.

But first ... no, it's not raining here.  THAT is tule fog.  If you go out in it however, it FEELS like rain and you will get soaking wet.  There's nothing like riding a horse across the oh-so-wet pasture early in the morning to move a herd of cattle from one field to another.  

There were NO umbrellas, just a big cowboy hat.  When you returned to the corrals, you looked like a drowned rat.  The hat was immediately parked on the clothes rack over the floor heater (thankfully one you could actually STAND on) in order to dry out and not lose its shape too bad.  My hats (I had three) were my most expensive acquisition, so they were handled with care.  I still have two of the three.  Back then, things were built to last.

I was up extra early in order to get my act together for the alarm repairman.  SURPRISE!  He showed up right on time.  He walked into the garage, after I reminded him he would need a screwdriver, took the panel off and in less than two minutes, replaced the battery.  That will be $145.00, thank you very much.  It just feels like companies are ripping us off right and left.

Though he wanted to leave, I made him go to the panel and run it through its paces so he had to stay another five minutes.  I suppose it's worth it, since Fort Knox is now back in business.

It seems like it was just five minutes more that I was headed off to the lodge.  We discussed holes in the walls from the vendor fair and the lack of corn dogs.  It's a real dilemma picking between the little ones or the bad tasting ones, when both are in short supply.  

Then it was on to setting up the bingo machine and six televisions.  Here's the problem ... people come in for a meeting, and they change the TV's to their local baseball, wrestling or football channel.  These are all cheap SMART tv's and it takes a magician to get them set back to where we need them for bingo.  I am NOT a magician.  Figuring out how to get all SIX of them to the correct setting is a challenge, especially when they are all different brands with different controls.  

They look like this.  If you think you have bingo, you yell first, then one of our volunteers reads the number on the card.  Don't ask me how, but when that number is put into the machine, it knows whether it's good or not and shows a picture of it.  This is called a line with a four-pak.  This person won $250.00.

With everything set up, I went upstairs to sign checks and get blasted with more problems.  Truly, the solutions aren't rocket science.  Back downstairs ... let the spears and daggers fly!!

I ran from room to room gathering cash and taking it to the pull tab counter.  It's a rush to sell at least three games completely, before calling the first set of pull tab games.  We didn't have that many folks on this night, but they were FULL of cash.  Payday as it were.  Instead of our usual 8 games, we sold ten.  Never EVER sell eleven games because that means the callers will be working until 10:30.  That's a no-no!!  They volunteer too and won't be back if you go too long!

Of course there's always that ONE volunteer who seems to cause more trouble than everyone.  Someone yelled BINGO ... and on his way to read that persons number, someone ELSE yelled BINGO.  He told them to wait.  He forgot to go back to that person and they closed the game.  OOOWEEEEE you should have heard the ruckus!!

Spears, shovels, javelins, flaming torches and the sharpest of sharp knives came out in an instant.  Half the crowd said GIVE IT TO THEM and the other half said TOO BAD, YOU WERE LATE.  There was no making everyone happy on this night.  They paid it out, while the FIRE BREATHING PEASANTS screamed.  I hid in the back room.  No use getting my eyebrows burned off.

It went okay for most of the remaining night.  Here's a picture of our littlest pull tabs.  They cost $1.00 each.  There are two $500 cards in each box.  About half are not even worth the paper they are printed on.  The other 48% may be worth $1.00 each.  It's the $500 they are after.  

Here's what we DON'T tell them.  The $500 was won on the first day the box was dumped into this container.  If anyone finds out, the rest of the box will never sell!!  

Also full moon affected ... one game was won by four people.  If you win with the Hotball number, you also win that pot of $1199.  Sadly for them, that also had to be shared by four people.  Still a nice pot at $362.00 each, but that makes for a frantic cashier trying to come up with the correct amount to pay each person.  See?  It's always something in Bingoland.

In no time, my cashier had closed up.  I didn't even see her counting anything out.  That probably means I'll get a phone call this morning asking why she was $5.00 off.  Well because it was close enough to a full moon, of course!!

With very little sleep, I'll be off to do some accounting this morning.  Then I'll be hunting down Cooper's treats.  His MOM forgot to order them, and of course they are being delivered four days AFTER they said they would be delivered.  The barking has been epic.  And so another day begins .........

QUITE THE DIFFERENCE, YES?

 It's a cool and breezy 40 degrees this morning in not-so-sunny California.  That big round warm thing in the sky evades us like the plague.  Since I got all those marshmallows on my last candy trip to town, I thought maybe some hot cocoa might help.  

Not so much this time since I promptly burned my mouth getting too much cocoa and not enough marshmallows.   OUCH!!!  This is Swiss Miss with tiny little white things that disappear before it's even stirred.  If you going to have sugar, have a LOT of it!!

With nothing going on and work cancelled, I headed off to return two Amazon items.  My tried and true 10:30 arrival went south.  I've never seen this many cars in the too-small parking lot.  Luckily for me, I took the Jeep for easier parking.  

I'm a mirror gal.  I saw nothing and no one moving.  Suddenly there was a BEEP BEEP and I slammed on the brakes.  Some guy behind me tried to back into me.  I decided those beep beeps are a good thing because he missed me as I jammed it into drive.  New rule ... never go on Monday.

There was a quick stop at the Once-Mexican grocery store.  These new owners ... they do not believe in heat.  Quite the difference, yes?  The entire store is just as cold inside as outside.  Can you imagine working there?  I was freezing by the time I got checked out.  Oh ... and no bags ... AT ALL.  I stuffed everything into my purse and pockets.

It was a very dull afternoon.  The dreary skies always get to me about 2:00.  I watched Santa Clause 1 and 2 (which I've seen multiple times) until I had to get out of the house.  Once again, green grass and not so sunny skies.  Two miles later, I felt MUCH better.

Good enough in fact to whip up a batch of peanut butter cookies.  WITH peanut butter chips included.  It makes all the difference in these cookies.  These will all go to Arizona with me.  Okay, maybe all but FIVE.

And here's the biggest difference of the YEAR!  My family was never big on taking or saving pictures.  Neither was I.  I wanted to forget most of it, but that's another story.  Oh yes ... here I am at about 26 years old I think, looking like I'm 13.  The hairstyle?  Just like in the 1800's ... pulled back into a French twist.  Anyone remember those???

When I look in the mirror now, I don't see this person at all.  But JONATHAN ... HIM I definitely remember.  He is maybe 5 months old here.  You can tell he's a baby because there is very little yellow on his head, and his beak still has a black spot.  Don't laugh, but I think I even still have this shirt in the back of my closet.  It was my all time favorite.

Quite the difference, yes??  It's just hard to believe this guy is still around after all these years.  Like  his Mom, he's slowing down quite a bit.  Not near as much talking.  Unlike his Mom however, he is losing a little weight.  This guy has done almost as much traveling in an RV as Cooper has.  

Just a note ... that picture of me came from an ex-husband who passed away.  One of my friends acquaintances was his caretaker for the last few years, and she passed along the picture.  Cowgirl with a parrot ... no wonder we got divorced!!!  I should write a book.

Life goes on for Jonathan and I ... thank the Good Lord.  We are blessed to still be here.

I'll be on the run early.  Fort Knox gave me an alarm yesterday, so I called the Monitoring Company.  I'm sure it needs a new pricey battery.  I usually do all that myself, but I'm getting lazy in my old age.  

And so I'll be putting on my armor soon after.  It's BINGO TIME!!!

Going To The Dogs

 Well hello there!!!  It's another foggy cloudy day in sunny California.  The weather is going to the dogs quickly.  It's also been cold, which completely takes the fun out of a morning walk with Cooper.  I have to bundle up in three long sleeve shirts because my coat is already packed in the rig.  The grass is green and beautiful, just like my corrals, meaning it's time to call the Weed Man.

Though the weather guessers think it's been a little sunny every day, they would be wrong.  I haven't seen the sun in six days.  That makes things rather gloomy and doomy.  My git up and go just got up and went!!

I think the same happened with Jonathan.  He's old just like the rest of us in this house.  Therefore, he (she) sleeps most of the day.  In the afternoon, I fooled him into thinking we were going for a walk, whereupon I quickly snipped off two long claws before he bit a hole in my hand.  No kidding ... nothing hurts MORE than a parrot bite!!  Lots of ice, alcohol and a big bandaid later, I was good to go.

Mr. Cooper assumed his normal position on the couch after a quick cold walk outside.  He fell so sound asleep he didn't even know I went out to put one of two locks on the bike cover.  Truly I don't know how this helps keep it intact, because it can easily be removed.  Maybe it will just keep the honest people away.  

At any rate, these are the kind of lock you have to put a code into the roller bar.  One worked, one did not.  Of COURSE ... because they are made in China.  I will be SO happy when we start making our OWN stuff again.  Back to Amazon it goes.  

Lunch was upon us, so I air fried some of Cooper's favorite.  He gets one tiny piece.  Though fat is good for some dogs, it's a no-no for him.  I should have weighed this package to see just how much was there.  I have never in my life seen bacon this thin.  Surely they slice it while frozen.  I mean really, you can see through it!!

Lunch was a masterpiece.  Okay, not really, but it wasn't bad as some of mine are.  Mayo, dressing, turkey, cranberry, bacon and more mayo on toasted bread.  I should have had a roll, because after the first bite, it deconstructed all over my plate.  I'm pretty sure I have now gained 5 pounds over the last 5 days.  

That's because after lunch, I sat on the couch all day watching football.  Our not-so-good 49'rs won on this day, not that it matters because they are out of the running.  The Raiders, now from Las Vegas, are going to the dogs and lost like champs.  That's when somehow, my TV tried to go online and sign up for a PAY program.  It didn't like my answer to that question and took me deeper down the rabbit hole.  I finally shut it off.

Time to tackle the temperature monitoring device I got for the van.  It's too much of a worry having kids inside when I'm gone and not know if they are faring well or not.  Yes I have a generator that can be programed to turn on at a certain temperature, but I never really trusted them.  My Class A had one that worked every time, but that was when they built things to last.

All of my money is now going to the DOG.  And the parrot of course.  The good thing about this one is it comes with a two year monitoring subscription.  You set the temperature and humidity range before sticking this on the wall of your rig.  It works off any telephone tower you are near.  Probably won't work well in Alaska where towers are 150 miles apart in places, but it works really great here.  

I can check it on my phone any time, and if I forget, it will notify me by phone AND text message that it's out of the boundary I set.  No more worrying about whether Mr. Cooper is too hot.

It can also monitor water leaks if you want to purchase the accessories.  I passed.  

Though I was supposed to work today, the flu bug has hit the office.  I refuse to be exposed.  It's going to be another cold, damp, gloomy day.  Perfect for paying bills and making up lists of what to take on my upcoming trip.  

Hope your day is sunny and bright!!