IF IT'S WEIRD, IT HAPPENS HERE!

 LIZARD COUNTER:   20

I can't believe it.  It is a fabulous 55 degrees this morning.  Boy am I loving this weather!!  It also brings the weird and crazy to my back yard.  

Yesterday when it was still dark out, I heard barking on my back lawn.  I don't have a dog any more.  I looked out the window to see a large chihuahua something or other looking across to the side yard, barking up a storm.  What the heck? 

I went out to see up close because there is no way a dog can get in my back yard.  He disappeared in a flash.  I grabbed a flashlight and went out to the corrals.  Sure enough, there were green eyes staring back at me.  Okay ... it must be a fox.

When it got light, I went out again and spotted a fox sitting on top of the fence.  Okay, it wasn't a dog, it really was a fox.  Ten minutes later I saw it again crossing the corral.  That is NOT a fox.  WHAT IS GOING ON?  

Turns out there was a DOG, barking at a FOX in my back yard.  When I called, the dog ducked through a hole in the fence.  I looked out the front to see him running off down the street.  How sad, the poor guy was so scared he disappeared in a flash.  I think I know where he came from ... he has always been the barkiest dog on the block.  I hope he finds his way home.  

So in light of all that, I set up my game camera last night while I was gone to Bingo.  We shall see if I filmed anything this morning.  The above picture is from the old days of foxy visiting my yard on many occasions.

The fox never bothered the kitties hanging out here, so I hope Kitters is safe. Of course all she has to do is duck in the doggie door.  This has now become her "morning" spot.

It is of course BINGO Tuesday, so I tried to rest up.  It's interesting to me that Amazon now delivers most everything I order not only overnight, but between 4 am and 7am the next day.  It's saving me a bundle on gas because it's FREE with a membership.   Of course I take advantage constantly.  This is a banneton, a fancy name for a wooden bowl for sourdough rising.  It's French ... what can I say.  Along with that came 100 (like I really need THAT many) shower caps to place over the top so it doesn't dry out.  Next on my list is bagels.

I also got a small bottle of diatomaceous earth for the ants.  I haven't used it yet, but I am fascinated to read that it's used to keep animal feed from clumping up.  We never had THIS on the ranch!!

Just before leaving for the Magic Castle, I was perusing Facebook.  Here's what I found.  For those who laughed at my painted rocks hobby .... THIS is a painted rock ... done by a rockstar!!  She is from Idaho and we are actually related, though I have not yet met her in person.  This girl has talent!!!

Her husband worked and played for big name rock bands, and still sets up for them on occasion.  These are just a couple of her amazing small rock paintings.  

And so it was time to head on off to the Magic Castle of Bingo.  I cleaned out my Jeep so as not to make such a bad impression on the Elks Member tire shop owner who was replacing all my tires.  These tires are over ten years old and had been all across the U.S. and Alaska.  I wasn't too worried because it has always been kept in a garage.  Still, it was time.

I dropped it off and he drove me to the lodge.  He said he would deliver it back to me when done so I would have it to drive home.  Okay then!!!  Truly the tires were not in that bad of shape, but I didn't want to take any chances driving to Sacramento a lot.

In no time the back room was full to the brim.  Members can come in early and find a seat ... NON-members have to wait in the lunchroom until we begin to actually sell.  There are arguments every time ... she walked in and set her purse down on the table.  YOU ARE NOT A MEMBER!!!  Oh my gosh ... they know every single person who is a member and allowed in early.  I stay out of those fights.

They finally got the word and there was a mad rush to grab THEIR favorite seat. It's crazy!!  I open my door and selling begins.  My Lady in Waiting is the best counter of cards EVER!  I love that girl!  We worked together at the County for eleven years and she is the BEST!!  Things went quite smoothly for three hours.

Yes, I sell for a total of FIVE hours.  That's when it happened.  We have a caller who tells DAD jokes.  He's told some doozies, but on this night he told a bad one.  The place went quiet and there were lots of hisses and moans.  I'm sure there will be backlash from that!!

By 6:00 I was beginning to panic.  The tire guy had not brought my keys to me.  He was to return it to the lodge and drop them off ... I thought around 5:30.  He was nowhere in sight, and no one, including me, had his phone number.  

Finally one guy said he never gets out of the shop until 6:30 or 7:00.  Sure enough, he showed up with my key at 7:00.  Thank goodness because no one even lives CLOSE to my house and I didn't want to walk home!!!

There was only one other slight problem.  The cook in the kitchen put up a sign saying they were out of hamburgers.  No we are not OUT.  There are five boxes of burgers in the freezer.  Me thinks she was just tired of cooking them.  I told one of the workers where they were.  In the end, she cooked two more than necessary, so guess what!  I got a DOUBLE cheeseburger to bring home.  Better than throwing it away!!

The rest of the night went pretty good considering we weren't able to pay quite the maximum.  I didn't have one single complaint.  It was a miracle!!  Hopefully that trend continues, though I won't hold my breath!!

 I'll be checking the camera for foxy pictures today.  See you tomorrow if the creek don't rise!!!! 

FOUND HIM!!

 LIZARD COUNTER:  20

CAT FOR SALE ..... CHEAP!!  This lizard looks just like the last one I found with no tail.  Yes I too thought this was cute at first, but I've definitely changed my mind.  It's NOT funny any more!!  

I did discover that if I leave the patio lights on at night, I get a prize.  The light switch is now duck taped in the OFF position.

I pine for Mr. Cooper while this crazy creature stalks me both inside and outside the house.  I'm sure she's grateful for feeding her when she was starving.  I really can't seem to get away from her.  That will make it tough when I'm gone for a week here and there.

Since it was so nice and cool outside ... a breezy 56 degrees, I decided to hang out on the patio for a little tan.  No one wants to see a ghost girl on the beach in Hawaii without some color.  The antibiotics are gone now anyway.  

The second my hand went over the edge, there she was.  Rubbing, purring and being present.  She knows not the words GO AWAY.  I'M BUSY!!

If not staring at me, she is laying UNDER me.  Keeping guard against all those nasty lizards I suppose.  Leave it to me to be adopted by a WEIRD cat!!  I admit, she's a sweetheart, but please stop with the lizards.

Breakfast was a nice chunk of sourdough, toasted to perfection and smothered in butter.  There's no better way to eat it.  

I stared at this quilt for two hours before I finally said OKAY ... I'll finish you up.  This was the last of 13 generic Veterans quilts for the big giveaway on Veterans Day.  

You know who, parked on the coffee table across from me.  That was AFTER I chased her out of my quilt cabinet where she had decided to hang out.  

Lunch was quick and easy, in between sewing.  This was a can of Costco chicken breast, loaded with pecans, dried cranberries and mayo.  Tomatoes and Fritos were added for looks.  Yes, I ate all those too.

At last ... DONE AND DONE!!  I only have the four embroidered quilts left to bind.  They are now all bagged up to head to the quilter this week.  Those four are going to cost Bingo $300.  I hope they agree to pick up the tab.

I literally spent the rest of the night looking up sourdough recipes.  I'm looking for things to make with the discard.  Today one of the gals I follow uploaded a recipe for sourdough bagels ... so that's my next challenge.  

Dinner was .... well ..... NOT healthy.  This is a 610 calorie SMALL chicken pot pie.  I could make my own, but let's face it ... I'm lazy.  I would rather heat it up than make it myself, especially in the summer when it's hot.

The day ended with Kitters sitting on the arm of the couch, purring away.  We had a talk about the lizards.  She promised not to do that any more.

The day ended with a nice little sunset.  

It is now September 1.  What happened to August?   I'm sure it was only 15 days long.  When they said time flies, they were certainly correct!!

Somehow I think I would be much more ambitious if my little guy was still here.  Big sigh.

A LAZY BUM

 LIZARD TRACKER:  19-1/2

It was a nice cool morning in the Central Valley.  Oh yeah ..... 59 degrees!!!  No clouds and just a little sun when I headed out the door for a run.  Actually I had no intention of running, but that's always what happens.  It's an addiction.  I am very happy to report however that my lungs are now holding out for the entire distance.  The legs, not so much.  

I'm attributing that to the full moon.  Though it was two days ago, it's still full here.

Rolling right along, I ran into a guy pushing a baby carriage.  You meet the most interesting people on the road.  Speaking of the road, I finally figured out why my left leg hurt more than anything else.  I had forgotten that you always run on the left facing traffic.  Roads are not flat, they are always higher in the middle.  That means your left leg is just THAT MUCH lower than your right.  After a lot of running, it makes a HUGE difference.  

And so I'm back to running WITH traffic instead of against it, on the other side of the road, to even out the wear and tear.  You wouldn't think that would matter much, but it does.

It was nice to see the Oleanders in bloom.  The pink ones are beautiful!

Back home, I grabbed a cold bottle of juice.  This is for the electrolytes and whatever, but really, I just love it.  I only get half of a very cold 12 ounce bottle.  YUM!!

While fixing breakfast, I realized my let arm hurt like heck.  What's up with that?  That tendonitis is rearing its ugly head again.  I tried doing everything with my right hand.  You just don't know how much you use your left until you can't ... or shouldn't.

Patsy says these are her favorite, and I have to agree!!  It's full of eggs, cheese and tomatoes.

Here's my proclamation for the day.  It was National Toasted Marshmallow Day.  So I toasted up a few for good luck.  When I was home alone as a kid, and that was often, I would sneak some marshmallows from the cupboard and broil them in the oven.  You never tasted a better treat!!!  So I did it again for old times sake.

By noon, this was my arm, wrapped in a towel with an ice pack on it.  It helped, but not as much as the Tylenol I took about two hours later.

Lunch arrived in a flash.  How could I not make a grilled cheese with that sourdough onion bread.  Oh my Great Aunt Jessica!!!  I filled it with cheddar and gruyere and it was FABULOUS!!  I could have eaten three more.

I bet you are wondering about the 19-1/2 lizards.  Well .... as I was walking into the kitchen for the last piece of the cheesecake, I stepped on something kind of sticky.  NOOOOO ... well, not as bad as a lizard, but maybe worse?  It was a lizard TAIL.  JUST the tail.  No telling where the rest of him went.  I searched the house for an hour and found nothing.  Big sigh.  Anyone want to adopt a cat??????

To add insult to injury ... I grabbed the last piece of cheesecake and smothered it in plum jam.  The first big bite fell right off the fork and down my shirt.  WHO DOES THAT?  Sorry no pictures and the shirt landed in the wash.  I'm blaming it on the lizard!!

 I was a lazy bum all day as the sun set in the back yard.  Maybe tomorrow I'll have more gumption!!

Still miss him so much .........

OH THE SOURDOUGH!!!

 LIZARD COUNTER:  19

What a gorgeous cool morning.  I actually got to bring some of that outside air inside to cool the house down.  Unfortunately I was too late to hit the road for a run.  While taking these antibiotics, I'm not supposed to be in the sun ... and it was SUNNY1

Instead, I pruned my Cooper bush before Mr. Sun got up.  By the way, the Angel statue is one I've had for years.  This turned out to be the perfect place to put it.  Mr. Cooper is not there, but it's the thought that counts.

Right off the bat ... well actually four hours later, I heated up the oven.  I actually googled how to adjust the temperature on my oven.  Sure enough, you can push a bunch of buttons and raise or lower it 35 degrees.  Of course I did that AFTER I baked the sourdough.

I left the lid on longer this time so the crust would not be quite so crunchy and brushed it with butter.  When I put it back in without the lid, I kind of overdid it.  It's just a tad bit darker than necessary.

While waiting for it to cool, which takes about 2 hours, I heated up some birria tacos.  Yes they are much better if you fry them in a pan, but what can I say, I was lazy.  They were still VERY good.  

Time for the slicer.  It's not perfect, but it does a pretty good job.  Half goes in the freezer (with paper in between to facilitate taking out one piece at a time) and half goes in the fridge for grilled cheese sandwiches!!

In spite of thinking the texture of this would be awful, I have to say the crumb is quite nice.  Big holes let all the cheese melt out!!  Here's the kicker though.  I folded in 1/4 cup of dry dehydrated onion.  JUST WOW!!!  The smell ..... the FLAVOR!!  It's amazing.  Thank you friend Miranda for telling me the secret!!  This is better than the garlic loaf.

With the last embroidered quilt still sitting on the sewing table, I finally got to work.  This one doesn't have the white borders, but I'm not sure I like it any better.  At any rate, I cut a piece of backing and will head to the quilt shop next week.

I FINISHED ALL THE QUILTS!!  YAY!!  No more Veteran quilts to make this year.  Boy is that a relief.  Yes I still have to bind them, but that shouldn't take too long.

I relaxed for the next hour watching Engineering Disasters.  It's fascinating to see how and why buildings collapsed.  Kitters was not impressed and just went to sleep, paws to tail.  

That's when the doorbell rang.  NO ONE ever goes to my front door.  I peeked out to see the cutest little girl and her Dad.  She gave me her spiel.  We are selling popcorn to support BOY SCOUTS.  I remembered that recently the Boy Scouts had allowed girls into their organization.  I have a thought about that, but I kept it to myself.  She had her little uniform on and was as sweet as could be.  

I looked at the menu ... YIKES!!  $20.00 per bag!   I looked up at dad and he shrugged his shoulders.  Wait right here I said ... I love supporting the Boy Scouts.  And THAT is how I ended up with two bags of popcorn.

I told her thank you VERY much ... and I pointed at Dad ... GOOD JOB! ... because he just stood there and let her give the sales pitch.  I'm pretty sure she was much younger than 11.  Isn't that the age you can join?  She looked like MAYBE 6.

I have to admit, there is a LOT of popcorn in that bag and it is DELICIOUS!!!  I hope she sells more than anyone else!!

That ended my day.  I crashed early in anticipation of an early rising to hear all about the President's Dinner at the lodge that I chose NOT to attend.  I am not about pomp and circumstance. 

I AM however, all about this boy traveling with me from one end of the U.S. to the other and back.

MULES AND BREAD

 LIZARD COUNTER:  19

Thank you Mother Nature!!  It's a beautiful 62 degrees this morning.  Perfect for leaving the back door wide open and the return air fan on to bring in all that coolness!  They predicted rain, but it didn't happen.  Instead it was overcast and gloomy all day long.  I LOVED IT!

I really did try to find the full moon, but it was not to be on this day.  This is the August Sturgeon moon, for the fish the Indians caught in the Great Lakes.  It's also known as the blueberry moon.  It's not quite blue here, but this is a great shot taken by one of the guys in my explorer group.  

It's interesting the people you meet.  Another explorer went to the very old graveyard of my grandfather.  He went at night and talked about how scary it was ... ghosts making noises ... talking.  I laughed at his words and replied that was probably my grandfather.  He apologized profusely saying he did not mean any disrespect.  None taken!!  We have become Facebook friends ever since.  This image was taken by another  Mojave desert explorer.

Though this moon had an eclipse, it was not visible here.  This is my version this morning.  

Completely off the topic, this is the MULE.  I have not researched the entire story, but this guy walks all across the U.S. with his mules (I think there used to be 3 of them), thus the name 3 MULES.  He goes through cities, along freeways, through towns getting stopped by the police right and left.  It can be quite the traffic hazard.  Finding ways to cross rivers is also a problem.

He came up from L.A. and through the valley in the last two weeks when the temps were sky high.   Sometimes they walk 10 miles in a day, sometimes 17-20.  I think people donate money to pay for his expenses, though they spend most of their time grazing.  Does he carry water?  I have no idea.  I feel rather sorry for the mules, but to each his own I guess.  The last time I saw him he was headed North of Sacramento.  And yes, he's been writing a blog since 2013 I think.  You can read about him at 3mules.com.  I think he can be quite cantankerous.  

I was late getting started on this day.  I had absolutely nothing to do ... well I did, I just procrastinated a lot.  I picked up the book Patsy is reading and spent an hour trying to figure out my new iPad.  I finally got it and was glued to the screen reading!!

By the time I remembered I was going to make more sourdough bread, it was rather late.  I have been watching the Sourdoughhoe online ... yes you read that right.  I guess I'm going to have to pay the piper to get her recipes.  

This one came from a fancy book of sourdough ... and I've found the dough is hard to work with.  Oh it tastes great when done, but it looks terrible in the meantime.  I stretched and folded, stretched and folded while trying to get the dried onions mixed in.  That was a suggestion from someone at the lodge.  They said it's AMAZING.  I guess we will find out.

This recipe requires you start at 6:00 in the morning, with the last work being done at around 6:00 at night.  I was over two hours late.  In fact, I fudged on a couple of timelines just to get it done by 9:30 pm.  It's resting right now.

Soon bored because of all the REST THE DOUGH times, I finished this quilt.  I discovered too late that white borders do not work so well.  It made the star look great, but the borders are blah.  

Same here.  I took a picture and printed it out to hang on the wall so I don't do this again.  I cut the backing for both and now only have ONE left to stitch up.  All four will go to the quilters.

Night comes fast when you are preoccupied all day with folding and slapping bread.  This is just so much harder than the Sourdoughhoe makes it look.  The sun went down before I knew it.  

Here I was at 9:00 at night, trying to SHAPE it up (much more difficult than it sounds) while she just uses a scraper and swirls it around.  I turned it upside down and plunked it in the basket.  It is now living in the fridge for 13 hours before baking can begin.  I think I need a new recipe.  This one by the way is from a French cookbook ... traditional they say.  

And so I will be ready to bake the bread in that cast iron pot at around 10:00 this morning.  Wish me luck!!

This is Cooper's signature stance.  He was always standing with one foot up in the air anytime he was looking for snacks. I mean really, how could you deny this sweet face.