IT'S BINGO TIME!!

 Somehow I had it in my mind that this would go much better than it did.  I guess attitude has a whole lot to do with it ... and when I found out my fabulous Counting Countess would be gone, my mind went in the tank.  

But FIRST .... Missy La La here ... I can see her thinking just WHAT can I get into TODAY!!  She has taken to hiding inside at night and jumping out attacking my leg first thing in the morning as I walk through the kitchen.  It's not just me ... she pats Mr. Cooper on the butt a few times trying to get him to play.   Yeah ... this is her best INNOCENT impression.

In real life, it looks like THIS!  It's blurry because she's so fast!  But at least she's using the new scratch post.  She comes and goes several times a day now, usually in tune to the crunching sound of food in the automatic feeder.

It's funny that Kitters will not eat ANY people food.  Cooper on the other hand, wants it ALL now, when in the past he wouldn't eat it either.  I took your advice, toasted up a big slab of that blueberry lemon loaf and smothered it in butter.  YUM YUM!!!

In no time whatsoever, it was time to head on off to Bingo.  I knew it would be a madhouse with our crew trying to get the final touches put on the room.  It turned out to be a good idea I went in early, because seriously ... some folks have no idea.

Here's a reminder of the fire .....

And the wall ........

This is what it looks like now.  Pretty amazing, yes??  There was lots of discussion about setting up the tables in this room for bingo, but I said absolutely NOT.  The floor needs to be cleaned and polished and the paint is actually still wet.  We don't need people banging up against the walls.  The crew was working like crazy just to get the food station back in place, along with our Order Machine.  

With that done, they went to cleaning up the food service window while I set up the Bingo Machine.

Here's the outside BEFORE .....

And the after.  This needs one more coat and painting, but you have to give it up for this Contractor.  He did a fabulous job!!

That's when it all went SOUTH!  There I was, pulling 50 bingo balls for the Bonanza game ... and suddenly there were NO MORE!  What?  Someone stole half the balls???  I could not find them anywhere.  This is crazy!  I went to look for the box in the safe that held brand new ones.  

When I came back, the joke was on me!!  The last caller two weeks ago did not hit the button that lets ALL of them fall out of the machine.  They were stuck in the middle out of sight.  Boy did I get razzed for THAT ONE!  Next up, set up six televisions that people have messed with over the last two weeks, making them not work at all.  How frustrating, since a TV pro, I am NOT.

There were a lot more debates about opening up the lunch room, but the King and I agreed to keep it closed.  That meant all 130 peasants had to squish into this ONE room.  I had the kids add more chairs before anyone got there, so most didn't even realize they would be touching elbows!  Until they DID!

There was only one fight, which the King had to referee, leaving me free to count cards for my slowest cashier.  We have a line clear to the far wall, and chit-chatting takes up too much time.  Don't ask if they have a dollar so you can just give them a FIVE in change.  They will search for three minutes.  Even the King came by THREE times and said THE LINE IS CLEAR TO THE WALL!!

It didn't help that she refused to say DEBIT card only (in spite of being reminded), meaning many people ran their credit cards, which require a signature.  Even more time lost!  

Oh my gosh ... it was hard for me to keep my mouth shut.  Don't ask them if they need a dobber ... that takes up even MORE time.  Load em up ... MOVE EM OUT!!  She just did not seem to grasp the importance of getting 130 people through the line BEFORE the games begin!!

To make it worse, the last time the infernal machine was used, it was not cleared out.  When I ran the first tape, it said we had 248 people and $11,000.  Ummmm that's not possible.  I even cleared it out BEFORE we began, and it was STILL off.  IS IT A FULL MOON??  I'm SURE it's a full moon!!

By the end of the night her hands were cramping, and I knew I could no longer hold my tongue ... so I offered to finish up so she could go home.  I closed out as fast as I could and left the building for the nice QUIET of my truck!  And so ended another rousing night of BINGO!!

Today I am back to accounting for tax purposes.  April 15th looms on the horizon!  Have a GREAT day!!!