THE MUCKY MUCKS ARE HERE

 Well HELLO Mother Nature!!  She's putting out beautiful tomatoes like crazy.  These are small, but mighty ... and they are free from one of my old ranch neighbors.  They are the sweetest most perfect tomatoes I've had in my life.  

On the other hand, Mother Nature is having hot flashes because it's has been and is going to be, over 100 degrees for the next 10 days!  YIKES!  We must be listing towards the sun nowadays.  I guess I can survive as long as I have tomatoes like this for breakfast every day!!  Long live the BLT and grilled cheese with tomatoes!

It was going to be a boring one.  I was scheduled to help out at the Elks Lodge for the big political rally going on.  Not that I was there for the political part ... that is just NOT my thing.  Shaking hands and rubbing elbows with mucky mucks has never been on my list.  On the other hand, the grandson of one of our fabulous volunteers, works in Washington D.C. for the big time politicians, and he came to hang out.  

I think he's going to make a name for himself.  If anyone remembers Gary Condit ... this kid met him in the hallway one day and had a picture taken.  He has pictures with every one of those folks you see on the news nowadays.  He then had a T-shirt made that said  I MET GARY CONDIT AND LIVED TO TELL ABOUT IT.  The Washington crowd apparently got a big kick out of that one.  I think this kid is going places.

So in the meantime, I finished the binding on yet another quilt.  I have a feeling this is the last year I will be making so many.  I'm running out of momentum.

At 3:00 I was off to the lodge.  Though I expected lots of people to be there because I was told the "special" meeting was at 4:00 and the FOOD part at 5:00, they were off by two hours.  

I won't name names here, but the special part was an in-person meeting for which I think the participants paid over $1,000 each.  After all, this is a campaign to raise money event.  

I spent the first hour helping hang a 10' x 15' American flag on the stage and scrounged through our storeroom for three extension cords so the spotlights would be "just right".  They already had these cool uprights that were red, white and blue.  I just might have to get a couple of those for my front porch!

The menu was on the board in the kitchen.  This is an appetizer event only, so they had to be magnificent ones.  We began by setting up shrimp plates because luckily all the fruit had been cut and plated already.  The meatballs went in the oven while we made the ham and turkey rollups.  I don't know how many pieces were in those enormous packages, but we rolled up SIX packages in total.  

While our Lodge Chef began to carry out those HUGE way-too-heavy glass trays with the fruit, we fried up the best chicken wings we have ever had.  I'm going to buy a box of those.  They were made all the better by the change to beef tallow oil for frying.  No kidding ... if you haven't noticed the difference at any of the fast food places ... that stuff makes anything fried SO MUCH BETTER.  AND it's better for you! 

There was a bit of discussion over the meatball sauce since the lady asked for chili sauce and grape jelly.  I know, sounds terrible, but it's REALLY good.  Like a sweet chili sauce!  My mom made that years ago.

Here's the final table.  As you can see, those chicken wings didn't last 5 minutes!!  I kept watch while the other two gals hobnobbed with the mucky mucks.  I guess I've just never been impressed by "suits" or celebrities.  

When the main meeting began, we picked up most of the food, to be brought out again at the end.  That was enough for me ... I was out of there in a flash.  Four hours of climbing ladders and standing up running around made my back talk mean to me.  Besides, I've heard all the rhetoric before.  

I have absolutely nothing on the schedule for today.  Maybe lying in the sun for a while around 8:00.  Any later and it's way too hot.  

Tug of war with purple puppy toy .............  Cooper always won!

JUST MY LUCK

 It's Friday.  I forgot to check and see if it was a full moon, but alas, yes it just was and it leaked over to MY Friday.  It's also August 1 .. meaning another month has just slipped by like a snake in the bushes.

First off ... a nice cool run at 6:30 am.  I'm doing better ... I can tell a difference in my running now, or rather jogging.  I actually went a total of 2.2 miles and only walked for less than a quarter mile.  YAHOO!!  So swimming should help, yes?

Here's the lousy full moon that caused all the problems.  That yellow flower is ME before the moon took over and I became the wilted one.

Back at the house, breakfast was elusive.  I just could not come up wth anything healthy ... or quick.  Let me tell you however ... this Blue Bunny was YUMMY!

I grabbed my cup-o-Jo and headed for the patio, only to be tracked and annoyed by this creature.  She stuck her big nose in my coffee, which then got thrown out.  Apparently it wasn't her flavor.

With nothing important on the menu today, I went to lay out in the cool morning for a bit.  You will never guess WHO came and sat on my head!  Really?  "Go away",  to the sounds of purring didn't work real well, so I just got up and headed to town for the first item on my list.

Signing up for the BIG pool with the LONG lanes.  The kid was not a big speaker of English.  I truly could hardly understand him, but he said AHA ... yes we can sign you up.  YAY.  Let's DO IT!  He got half way through, then went to get his boss who closed the computer down and started it back up again.

Magically, my Code Number no longer worked.  Hey ... HE said I could sign up and now you are telling me NO?  Yup that's exactly what they did.  They said the only way I could join was to pay $32.00 a month, which included a senior discount.  So why does my girlfriend get to come for free?  Well she must have signed up a long time ago because we don't do that now.

Okay, it's worth it, so sign me up.  That's when we got to the MOON part.  We charge $50.00 a year MAINTENANCE FEE, payable now.  Give us your bank account number ... A BIG FAT NO ... or your debit card number ... ALSO A BIG FAT NO and you can join.  How about a credit card number?  Well for that one they charge you an addition 16% every time it is charged.  Are you kidding me?  That's highway robbery!

Sorry, but I'm an accountant and I'm definitely NOT paying that just to use my credit card.  That's ridiculous, not to mention the additional costs!  And so I walked out with NO membership in the fancy swimming pool.  The only swimming option is at the place where they have teeny tiny lanes you have to make a reservation for, not to mention the 40 minute drive.  Just my luck!!

My swimming hopes were dashed.  So what am I doing today?  I'm looking up swimming pool contractors!  I'm thinking something small like this in my back yard.  

Next up, I stopped in at Kohls.  Its the only store in the next town over that carries any household items.  Truly, they only have restaurants, a boot barn, a tractor supply and Hobby Lobby.  I was hoping for a little more quality than Walmart.  

Here's all I came home with ... just two new towel sets for the bathroom.  As for clothing, good grief ... everything has ruffles on it.  When did THAT happen ... not to mention they have mostly winter clothing now that we are in the 100 degree temperatures.

Back home I tossed my sandals in the closet and walked into the kitchen.  WHAT WAS THAT?  OMG there's a lizard on the floor and I stepped on it barefoot.  #%$^#$&#!!!!!!  I doubt the poor guy lived, but I took him out to the bushes in front.  That DARN CAT just will not leave the poor lizards alone.

That's when my luck changed.  I got a call from my friend to meet them for dinner.  Her grandson (believe it or not) works in Washington D.C. with all those awful politicians.  He's from Texas, and how he wanted to do THAT job, is beyond me.  What a GREAT kid he is.  He shared with us his pictures with every big name politician you can imagine, and told us stories you wouldn't believe.  Well actually, nowadays, you WOULD believe them.

I ate half my shrimp scampi and brought the rest home for dinner tonight ..... except tonight I will be back at the lodge working one of the biggest political events in our County.  I am SO NOT politically inclined, so this should be fun, right?

I'll let you know how it goes.  In the meantime, I'll be resting up and hoping the moon has passed me by.  I don't need to be dropping anything on anyone's head tonight!