The Painters .......

A nice warming trend has magically appeared overnight.   It's all the way up to 37 degrees this morning.  Rain is supposed to come in next weekend when it's 35 degrees.  We just might get some snow here in sunny California.

As you can see, we spent a lot of time on the couch yesterday.  If you didn't know, my little Cooper is a poodle, but I'm not fond of poodle cuts, so he's a very messy fluffy bishon-looking kid.  There will be no haircuts for a couple of months since he gets pretty cold, which is why he's always laying very close to me.  

He's been obsessed with the men walking around the outside of the building.  No one could sneak in here without him noticing, setting off the alarm.  If he missed the car in the driveway, Jonathan will let him know.  THAT kid has epic hearing, followed by the same little chortle every time that sets off the barking alarm.  It never fails. 

Having finished their other job, the two painters are now here every day.  First thing, they power washed the areas that needed painting.  Two days later when it dried, they began scraping off all the old paint that was loose.  I was amazed at how it just fell off on the ground.  

I had all the trim repainted in 2009, so it's been 13 years.  Is that good for paint?  I have no idea, but I know if it's not repainted, rot will set in.  So far they have found a couple of window molding sections that were rotten and replaced them.  This entire top wall had to be caulked between the shingles to keep water out.  

I'm very glad they are doing such a good job, unlike the last guys.  Luckily I kept all the old paint cans so getting something to match was easy as pie.

Although I thought that wall would be all there was to paint, they found section after section like this where the paint just fell off when they looked at it.  My wallet is panicking!  The closer I looked at the entire house, the worse it got.  Okay, we're painting ALL the trim on the ENTIRE house while I've got them here.  

To show you how nice they are, they even brought me their leftover lunch pizza ... barbecue chicken.  It turns out I know many of their family members from my days in the construction business at the rock plant.  We crushed rocks left by the old gold dredgers into sand and gravel.  They hauled it.  It's a small world.

No, in spite of our trying, there was no more gold to be found.  We set up sluices to recover everything we could, but those dredgers did an amazing job and left nothing in their wake.

You won't believe it ... these guys even repaired the gutter that someone who shall remain nameless backed in to many moons ago.  We are talking NICE guys!!!

Today the scraping and caulking continues, followed up by primer before the REAL painting begins.  I'm thankful that 90% of the house is masonry and does NOT need to be painted.  It will be a relief to get this off my shoulders, but the lightening of my bank account will be nerve wracking.  Time to turn up the "cheap" and start saving again because I have that other little place in the desert that needs the entire house painted.

On another front .... the result of the water test .... although this was Cole slaw and NOT lettuce ..... it was crispy and delicious, but the biggest mess you ever saw trying to get the water out with my salad spinner.  We are DONE with that trick.  Maybe lettuce would be easier to deal with because the pieces are so much bigger.

A quick trip to town for pie crust material resulted in the find of the century.  Have you tried THESE?  Oh my goodness!!!!  These are the best Oreo cookies EVER!  I could have eaten the ENTIRE package!  There's really not much crunch, but boy are they high on flavor.  I'm a toffee caramel fan and they are delicious!!  If I don't eat them all first, they will become a pie crust.

I finally got off the couch to do a little sewing, but the pink haze coming through the window and giving a beautiful glow to the house made me rush outside to watch this sunset.  The painter on the roof had an even better view than I did.  It was the perfect ending to a lovely day as I ate just one more of those cookies.

I'm going to get more "before" pictures today, followed up by a nice two mile run (when it warms up of course), then I've got lots of flowers to chop down.  I thought coleus would survive the winter, but alas, I learned they are NOT perennials.  Who knew?

The BIRDS Have Arrived!! YIKES!

 First of all, thank you to everyone for your kind words about the kitchen work.  It takes a village ... it's just better if they aren't ALL in the kitchen at the same time.  Amazingly, THIS time I came home unscathed ... no cuts, burns or missing fingers.  It was a good day.

So here's a little tip from the Chef that I picked up.  It's something I haven't seen before.  Well actually, I saw it, but didn't know what it was.

You know that cold extra crispy lettuce you get at some places?  Ever wonder how it gets that way?  I always thought it funny that my lettuce wilted the day I opened it, even if it was 7 days before the pull date.  Here's what I discovered.  The already chopped lettuce is placed in big restaurant pans of cold water and stuck in the fridge.  

When you are ready to serve, you take it out, stick it in a large salad spinner and VOILA!!!  Cold crispy lettuce.  Just because it works at the lodge, doesn't mean it will work in MY kitchen.  So I'm testing it out on some leftover Cole slaw (without dressing of course) to see if I can duplicate it.  You change the water every two days, and they SAY you can do this for about a week.  

In other words, I'm going to be your guinea pig and see if it works at home.  I'll let you know.  Of course cabbage is not lettuce, so I'll be picking up a package of salad at the store for further testing.

It was a long day yesterday, trying to recuperate from the 30 pound pan lifting exercises of the senior dinner.  My quads remember very well the fact that our warming containers had to be placed on the floor.  Oh my aching knees.

It was VERY weird when I went back to the lodge last night for the initiation.  A little hard to see, but there are literally thousands upon thousands of blackbirds swarming around the Black Bear Diner.  That tree that looks like it has leaves?  It's all crows.  Every light standard is full too ... kind of like Hitchcock's movie The BIRDS.  

Apparently it's because this is mating season, or maybe it's because Black Bear Diner has the best food in town.  

Except for the Lodge however.  Every night there is an initiation, there is a steak dinner.  As you know, I'm not really a steak fan (I always ask for the smallest one), but I must admit, this New York was quite tasty.   That's actually a normal sized dinner plate with a "small" steak.   It looked like they dipped it in some spice/oil mixture after barbecuing.  It was DELICIOUS!  And smothered in mushrooms!  Sadly, my potato was hard as a rock ... left in the ovens too long.  Really, I had to saw on it for 20 seconds, just to cut a piece loose.  

Top that off with garlic bread and thank goodness ... NO green beans.  Instead, we stuffed ourselves with peach cobbler and ice cream!!  All this for $20.  It was a huge success, with the raffle NETTING $1,300.00.  How could that be you ask?  Because this is a farming community ... and it was Farm Equipment night!  The Elks Lodge members know how to support their neighbors.

After dinner was an epically long meeting.  Initiations are long drawn out ceremonies.  Think back to the old days of miners organizations set up to help themselves and others survive.  NONE of those ceremonies have changed in a hundred years.  

It's all very patriotic and every new members gets an American Flag as a memento.  That's pretty cool in my book. 

Following all that, there is yet another raffle.  This time for 15 leftover frozen turkeys.  I couldn't believe it, my number was FINALLY called, but I already HAVE a turkey, so I donated it back, to be won by a new member.  

All that took forever, and it was after 10:00 by the time I got out the door.  I'm still on Arizona time, so I get up an hour earlier ... and then have to stay up an hour LATER for these meetings.  I'm exhausted!!

After a quick breakfast of leftover steak, I'll be asleep on the couch ... at least until the Painters return.  Oh yes ... the painters ... that's tomorrow's story!!

Too Many Cooks In The Kitchen!

It's again pretty cold outside, making me even more thankful I was able to put in solar.  Thank goodness the California sun keeps on shining on my panels so I can turn on the heater at night.  Frost is on the pumpkin this morning!

This is the calm before the storm.  Hard to tell, but those are his two front feet with his nose between, catching a few Zzzz's before I leave.  I was actually able to do the same thing for all of 20 minutes before the painters showed up.  

They power washed all the sections that need to be painted.  Huh ... my other painters never did that.  Maybe that's why all the paint is peeling off.  At any rate, I left them to their work and gathered up as much patience as I could before heading off to the big kitchen.

Already there was the Sheriff, cooking up a weird looking stew (I didn't ask), a huge pan of chili, frying up chicken wings,  stirring a cast iron dutch oven three feet across (the biggest I've ever seen) full of a mystery ingredient, along with two other big skillets of mystery meats in order to make stuffed bell peppers.  I think it was elk, venison and buffalo?

In the midst of all that, the regular Elks Lodge Chef was whipping out orders for the normal lunch crowd, as well as a Kiwanis luncheon meeting in the next big room.  He had three helpers, so you can imagine the kitchen was pretty full with 7 people.  We were dodging each other right and left, yelling HOT PAN or BEHIND YOU so no one got burned.

The Sheriff helped us get six huge turkey breasts into the ovens for our dinner before packing up all his stuff and exiting the building.  They probably should have started those turkeys a little earlier.

Next I helped with the trimming and panning of 140 chicken leg quarters that went in the ovens for the drive through dinner.  You haven't lived until you've handled that many chicken legs.  At least here we used gloves.  LOTS of gloves.

While those were cooking, people came and went stuffing things in the ovens to cook for the bunko crowd that was soon to gather in yet another room.  I was so busy I didn't even THINK about pictures.

At 2:00, just as the kitchen crew began to do their lunch cleanup, I started opening big cans of sweet potatoes, panning them up with brown sugar and maple syrup, ready to hit the ovens.  I have no idea how or why I can cook here, and not at home.  The sweet potatoes even have marshmallows on them!!  Having fabulous ovens helps a lot.

In no time, the chicken quarters were done and I had to clear the way for screaming hot pans.  The legs were moved into a huge ice chest where they would finish cooking and be ready for the drive through dinner.  More people showed up (I think there are now eleven people working in close quarters), to begin warming the rolls and whipping up a big batch of Cole slaw.

I'm telling you, it was a madhouse!!  With the chicken out of the way, I began measuring out water for our instant items.  Four huge pots went on the stove.  I have to give a standing ovation to our Chef Jessie.  He's the absolute BEST! 

He volunteered to whip up the gravy and mashed potatoes, an epic job requiring more muscles that I have in my entire body.  Flavored up with lots of butter and spices, those pans went in the ovens to keep warm.

That's when the mixology class showed up.  Yup ... even more crazy confusion.  We have a bartender who knows how to make absolutely everything, so he teaches a class once or twice a month.  They of course have to have appetizers ... from where else but the oven!!

Next up I set another pot to boil for instant dressing.  Let me just say that Uncle Ben makes a really tasty cornbread stuffing mix.  No kidding ... it's yummy!!!  I stirred up and panned three huge bags of that, adding extra spices and even MORE butter.  

At long last, the turkeys came OUT of the oven, thirty minutes late.  We sliced them up, panned those deliciously tasty big chickens, loaded everything into warming carriers and tied them into the back of my truck.  Everything else went in the back seat and we were OFF!!

Another madhouse ensued as we set up in their tiny tiny kitchen to serve 110 senior citizens.  It is a skill to serve that many meals and not run out of food.  We filled 50 clamshell containers to be delivered directly to their apartments, before dishing out the remaining food for those sitting at tables.  The Boy Scouts made all the deliveries ... how cool is that!  

Then it was madly serving up pumpkin pie with wads of whipped cream.  Sadly, I didn't get any of that.  I could have used some extra sugar, having been on my cowboy boot feet since 1:00.  By now it's 6:30.  

We stuffed everything back in the carriers and headed to the lodge where cleanup began.  Right in the midst of the drive-through dinner process.

Working as fast as possible, we dumped all the foil pans in the trash.  Those pans are SO nice to use ... otherwise we are the ones that have to wash the metal pans ... a job NO ONE is willing to do!

I did get home with a little turkey and some yummy dressing.  All I need is a little cranberry sauce.   Cooper was pretty excited when I walked in the door.  He could smell the turkey.

And so I literally fell into bed, trying to rest up for tonight.  Yup it's another Elks night ... initiation of 32 more members, meaning its tuxedo night.  I'm tired, but smiling because all those seniors were so thankful they got a free turkey dinner.

Germs, Germs and MORE Germs

 Four hours sleep.  Ugh, this time change is killing me.  I'm getting up at the same time, but having to work an hour later at my favorite place, the Magic Kingdom of Bingo.  

But FIRST ... let's be completely surprised by the painting contractor walking around the house, banging on the window frames.  Note to self ... be sure to get dressed every morning at 5:00 am so as not to be completely embarrassed when he looks through the window.  Thank Heavens it's cold and I had clothes on!!

They began by climbing up in the attic to see why there is a bump on the roof.  I wasn't the least bit worried about that, but I guess I should be.  I remembered when I bought the place, someone said there was a broken truss that had to be repaired.  Luckily I found the paperwork with pictures and it is in the same spot.  I still have no idea WHY there is a bump, but they said they will fix it, or at least make sure it is not a problem.

There are two guys now, one a roofing contractor ... so I'm pretty confident they know what they are doing.  I know there is house maintenance to be done, but I had no idea just how MUCH you need to keep an eye on.  Where's Prince Charming when I need him!!  This is HIS job!

So at 2:30, I left them to their own devices and headed off to the Magic Kingdom.  I was instantly waylaid by the King, who updated me on the number of seniors we are going to feed today.  It's Bingo recovery day and I have to cook for 120 people.  Won't THAT be fun!

There was no play time in the castle tower.  I went straight to work getting ready for the onslaught of peasants.  I really didn't expect much, after all it's almost Thanksgiving and turkeys need to be bought, not Bingo cards.  I was VERY wrong.  

They came in a crushing crowd, talking so loud I couldn't hear the gal sitting right next to me, call out the numbers.  Between them talking loudly into their phones because they can't call anyone back, and relating their other Bingo venue wins and losses, it was a madhouse.  I finally just sat there doing nothing until they all said what's wrong?  The quiet lasted all of three seconds!

Wow ... what a crowd!  141 people squished in to the tables as we brought out chair after chair.  

Here's the interesting part.  Every time we get close to a holiday, they bring out all their change saved up in piggy banks for the kids.  I kid you not, they have ziplok bags full of change.  I hate change.  It's worse than handling dirty paper money.  They are sticky from whatever ... and sometimes they even SMELL!!

Add to that the people who show up coughing and spitting all over us as they dig in their pockets for said change.  My hands quickly became a Petri dish of disgusting germs.  I stopped the line TWICE last night to go wash my hands.  Ugh ... it gives me the shivers.

It didn't help that my card counter was hoarse.  She kept saying she felt okay, but I wasn't believing it.  It will be a miracle if I don't get sick in the next seven days.

Finally a break in the action allowed me time to tear up another 150 tickets for next week's number calling.  If your number is called, you win ten pull tabs.  If you are really lucky, you might win $1.00.  Maybe even $2.00 ... which means "buy more bingo cards".  Those people never seem to win.  Here I am tearing up yet another 150 red tickets for next week.

What DOES amaze me is the one gal with a bubbly personality that sets up for me every night.  She wins $250 to $500 EVERY SINGLE WEEK.   I don't know what it is, but she seems to have the knack of picking the right cards.  

I scrubbed my hands for two full minutes when I got home, before touching anything.  Then I washed my phone in alcohol.  Not that it will help, but I took a handful of vitamins just for good measure.

When I gather up all my strength, I'll drive BACK to the lodge to begin prep on that Thanksgiving dinner for seniors.  We bought for 80, so I'll have to make some food appear out of nowhere.  

So let's talk turkey.  They bought 6 large breast only chunks that will be cooked and sliced up with NO waste.  You cannot even begin to imagine just how much that costs.  To say the price has gone up is an understatement.  $5.99 a POUND for these turkeys.  No one ever said the Elks Lodge was stingy when it comes to food.

There will be mashed potatoes, gravy, dressing, sweet potatoes with maple syrup and marshmallows, corn, rolls, turkey AND pumpkin pie!!!

I'm truly hoping I can get in a Zzzz or two on the couch before heading down there at noon.  To make it worse, there are not one, but FOUR dinners being prepared at the SAME TIME in the SAME KITCHEN.  Someone didn't schedule this very well.   Wish me luck!!  I'm going to need it today!

It's Only Money

 Brrrrr I'm having trouble adjusting to this cold weather.  I do HOT much better than cold.  Once you are used to the 90 degree days of Arizona, it's suddenly becomes cold when it's 70 degrees here.  Of course I don't keep my heater set to 70 because it costs too much for electricity, even with solar.  You have to pick and choose your poisons.

Here is what my electricity usage has been for the last 30 days.  If it's green, I'm making more than I'm using, meaning there will be no true-up at the end of my year, which is July.  On cloudy or rainy days, I'm above the line and it's costing me.  So far in the four months it's been connected, I'm ahead of the game by $85.00.

My question is, what's going to happen when everyone has solar and PG&E gets no more money to upgrade all those power lines?  I rather imagine the cost to deliver electricity to us will go sky high.  

So yesterday was a trip down memory lane, followed up with lots of frustration.  This house is wired for sound.  It had a whole house surround sound system installed BEFORE I purchased it, with speakers in every single room.  Even the bathrooms have speakers!  To be honest, I don't use it much since I'm a TV person, but Cris Stapleton music makes me want to dance.

I pulled out my CD and went to the player.  It takes an electrical genius to figure out how to turn everything on and push the right buttons on the receiver to get it to work.  Obviously that's not me.  I couldn't get the darn door to open.  It just clicked at me.  Finally it popped open, but refused to close.  Broken!  RATS!

I searched the internet for a solution, but apparently there is none.  So ... it's on to finding another.  Yamaha has been the leader in stereo systems forever, but cannot be found nowadays.  I have no idea who these Onyko people are, but they seem to be the only ones out there.  Apparently these systems are dinosaurs from the past.  

I finally ordered one from Best Buy.  Actually I hoped they would have one in stock, but our store has only huge TV's and of course phones.  By the time it gets here, it will be my Christmas present and I can dance to Cris Stapleton Christmas morning AND all day long because it holds 6 CD's!!

With that done, I headed over to Sound Encounters to see about getting my truck stereo unit replaced.  The speakers buzz, the lights don't work and a CD is stuck in the player and won't come out.  If I'm getting all this fixed, I'm doing it up right!  

I had checked last year for an after market unit that had GPS, a CD player AND a stereo.  Hey, it's only money, right?  And I'm cheap enough with other things to at least THINK I can afford it.

Last year the price was $2,000, which I balked at.  That would buy a LOT of food!  Actually, they didn't even have any because of the "chip" shortage.  I'm not sure how that affected these, but anyway, I said sayonara ... that's too much.

Surprisingly, yesterday they were back in stock with the price having fallen to $700.  It would be so NICE to have GPS in my truck and not on my too small phone which always falls on the floor.  And GLORY BE ... I wouldn't have to listen to all those Mexican stations when I travel to Tucson.  I would have a CD player!!!

Just like everyone else in California that got the $250 for fuel, I'm using it to buy "stuff" instead.  So I did it ... I ordered the unit and it will be installed next week.  Not one but TWO Christmas presents!!  It's only money, right?  Better than buying a new truck!!!  I mean really, if I collect on all those free gifts I've won in my email account, I could sell them and pay for it twice!!

Yesterday afternoon I actually spent two hours blocking every single one of the 279 I received.  Turns out blocking them does nothing.  They actually just change one letter of THEIR email address and send them out again.  Which means I have to block them again and again.

Even THAT doesn't work because I still receive every single one of them, but now with a red hand that says blocked.  On the other hand, ones I mark as contacts or VIPs, STILL go to junk mail.  So I spend about 20 minutes every morning going through my mail, weeding out the ones I want to read.

Today I'll be on the couch STILL sewing on binding, gearing up for another wonderful night of BINGO!!!  I think I may be able to relate to the peasants ... after all, it's only money, right??  Pick your poison!!

A Sweet Day!

 Thank you all so much for the kind words about the award.  I'm very happy someone noticed the hours I put in.  It's something people look to receive and I didn't even know I was on the list.  That makes it all the more sweet, and I am very thankful to receive it.  I guess now I can't complain about Bingo night any more.

On the other hand, I CAN complain about the price of food.  Good grief ... everything you see here was $$$$$.  Eggs $5.99. Cheese $7.00 (#%$$&!)  Butter $4.69.  Hamburger buns $4.69.  And those are the SALE prices!!  I guess there won't be much baking going on around here after all.

I suppose I shouldn't complain ... it certainly makes it easier to diet and make that food last days longer.

It's a freezing 34 degrees on the patio this morning.  Cooper can't "go" fast enough for me.  I'm chilled to the bone by the time we get back inside.  Time to drag out my winter ski jackets I guess.  It was always so nice to have an Indian summer that lasted until the end of November.  It's interesting to note that our weather is almost exactly the same as it is in Arizona.  

I put up a few more simple decorations in the family room where I spend all my time and plunked a nice red wreath on the front door.  Not exactly Thanksgiving looking I guess.  Nor are the red things on top of the vases next to the fireplace.  They are Polynesian bird feather rattles they use in their dances, found on my travels across the ocean.  The center that you can't see is yellow feathers.  Since I can't dance, at least I used them for something!

Having gone to the store and wiped out half my food budget, I began one of my favorite Christmas cooking recipes.  There's no cooking, which is why it's my favorite.  Pop the corn, dump in pretzels along with some red and green M&M's.  You have to do a little pretending here since those yummy morsels of chocolate only come in multi-colors.  Apparently the candy manufacturers have given up on holiday colors this year.

Then comes the hard part.  Microwave a very expensive package of white chocolate bits until they are melted and pour over the goodies which should be in a very large bowl.  Why you ask?  Because that's when the stirring begins.  It flies all over the kitchen if you aren't careful.  Once mixed, pour it on a sheet pan and place it in the fridge.

It quickly becomes the instant prescription to cure that sugar craving sweet tooth.  Oh what a SWEET day!!  It never lasts long around here, so I boxed it up quickly to give away (most of it anyway) at Bingo.  Oh ... and it's called Chris-Moose Crunch.  

Y'all know I don't cook that much any more, and if I do, I eat it for the next four days, 3 meals a day.  One large potato can go a long way.  Cheap eats!!  Sort of anyway.  I've been craving a real meal for some time, so I whipped up scalloped potatoes in two small casseroles.  These dishes are one of the best things I bought years ago.  I eat one and the other goes in the freezer.  

When pork chops are on sale, I buy the humongous package and divide them up.  Here's the last of the package.  Gosh .... I'm actually having a REAL dinner here!  A rare occasion indeed.

Since the cold slows me down so much, I spent the rest of the day working on quilts.  This one is coming along.  It's quite striking actually ... with only 13 more square to make before adding pieces in between.  Just looking at that big pile of pieces is daunting.  It makes me want to sit on the couch.

But then I have to look at the quilt piled on the armrest which still needs binding sewed on.  At long last this one is complete.  Only TWO more to go!!  SWEET!!

I'm still procrastinating when it coms to the RV Rally.  I now have EIGHT rigs signed up, which means I need to create a new agenda and make up our Who's Who handout, complete with pictures.  Big sigh ... a NOT so sweet job.  It's funny how I used to juggle 25 balls at one time, and now I'm lucky if I can just keep two in the air.  I think back to when I was 40-something and wonder just how I did it.

In the meantime, the time change is wreaking havoc, but you'll be surprised to hear I have actually turned the heat on this winter since I have solar.  Maybe that will make the difference!!

Today is run around day again ... backing for a Halloween quilt, which me thinks will be a tad bit hard to find, one Christmas gift, one Yamaha CD player because Mr. Ed sent a You Tube video that had my favorite country artist Cris Stapleton singing on it, which meant I had to get my CD's out to play, except my CD player is broken and needs to be replaced.  There's a run-on sentence for you ..... AND I need two Marie Calendar frozen pie shells.  Don't ask why.  

I hope you have a fabulous Monday!!

Reindeer Pictures!

A chilly 39 degrees is keeping me off the patio in the mornings.  Cooper is very happy about that since now coffee hour involves a little stuffed toy playing time.   That is almost as good as doggy yoga since I always seem to find myself on the floor.  

Cruising through my phone while he scarfed down his morning snack, I found this.  It's good to laugh out loud!!

The foxes still return every night, picking up a spider or two along with a few worms.  Too bad they didn't get that huge gopher, although I think it was a bit too big for them.  This was a little ham left over that I tossed out.  Just to show you how small they are, these pieces are about one inch square.  He picked up one, then tried to fit one more in his mouth.  

They stopped by about 7:30 pm, again at 1:00 and made one more run through at 6:30 in the morning.  I would never know they even existed if it weren't for the critter cam.  I laughed when my neighbor sent me a message ... she had caught one on her door camera, marking her pumpkin decoration.  I don't tell the neighbors they are around because I don't want them to disappear.

So here's my confession of the day ... I'm one of THOSE people who decorates for Christmas BEFORE Thanksgiving.  Truly I don't do much at all compared to years past because it is too much trouble to put it all away when I travel.  

That's what I did yesterday, I drug out a few things to put around the house.  No one sees them but me I suppose, but maybe Cooper enjoys them.  Speaking of Cooper ... while in Hobby Lobby we found the reindeer horns.  They come in two sizes if you can corral your kids and hold them down while trying to put them on.

As you can see, Cooper was none too happy about this!!  

His eyes turned into something crazy, probably because the elastic was so tight he couldn't breathe, so I took them off.  There will be no cute Christmas card with his picture this year!!!

Cyndae took off around noon, giving me time to make a pumpkin pie.  Why so early?  Because when I opened the cupboard to put the cans away, I found I had already bought a huge can of pumpkin and two cans of evaporated milk.  I've got enough stuff to make FOUR pumpkin pies ... so I have a lot of eating to do.

Too lazy to go to the store for my easiest frozen pie shell, I decided to try making it.  I haven't done this in probably 30 years.  No telling how it's going to turn out.  This ... along with one can of pumpkin ... is going to make two pies.  These pies don't freeze well, so I guess I'll have to find an unsuspecting someone to give one to.  I'll let you know how it turns out.

That's when I got the phone call.  Someone was sitting in my driveway.  Luckily I was halfway decently dressed, although covered in flour, so I went outside to see what they wanted.  Looky here!  Wasn't I surprised!!!  They even spelled my name right.

I'm not sure everyone agreed with this, but I did a lot of behind-the-scenes work that only a few people knew about.  I'm not one to pat myself on the back however, so every lodge meeting when they ask the Officers of the Year to stand, I rarely do.  It's nice to know all that work was appreciated however.

I'll be off early this morning looking for Chris-Moose crunch ingredients ... who doesn't like popcorn and M&M's!!  Assuming of course I can find them.  Seems there is now an M&M shortage!!

One more laugh for the day, although here it's not so laughable.  

Our County Assessor runs the election.  She trained her successor very well for when she retired, but the Board of Supervisors chose to hire someone from HSA (welfare, stuff like that) with no experience whatsoever.  It happened in my office too, which is why I retired early.

Anyway, she didn't proofread the ballots and they were all mailed out with names missing.  Funny how that happened.  It was such a fiasco, they had to REHIRE the retired Assessor at a huge cost, to clean up the mess.    They are STILL counting the votes, not that it matters really.  We are just one tiny County in California.  And they wonder why people question the elections.

Led A Bit Astray

 Hic ... hic ... hic ... waking up with hiccups is the pits.  For me, it means I HAVE to get up and drink twelve gulps of water without breathing.  It's the only thing that works.  Sleeping after that is no longer an option.  I have to admit, it was made all better when I looked out the window to see this beautiful sunrise.  Not an Arizona sunrise by any means, but a nice one none the less.

I then headed to the back yard to let Cooper out, only to see the moon setting at the same time.  It was a pretty sight to see, followed up by a nice hot cup o joe.

You can tell Cooper and I played in the bedroom so as not to wake our company Cyndae.  She's not used to getting up at 4 am.  Darn hiccups!!  These things were nicely stacked on the ottoman prior to play time.  And I wonder where those holes in my socks come from.  He covers up the ball, then digs it back out, silly boy!

Here's a headless knight at the round table from Thursday nights meetings.  I guess having four meetings at once is better than driving all the way to town four days a week.  I can't complain about that.  Maybe, possibly ... probably not ... half the table didn't even have a drink.  I might be rubbing off on them.  Nah, no chance of that.

Finally awake and zombie walking, Cyndae came in to the kitchen, not once complaining about the broken toilet seat that tries to throw her on the floor.  I really need to get that fixed.  We spent an hour discussing shopping or eating ... which pastime we would enjoy more.  Both are at the top of my list.

But first ... she had an appointment in town.  She took her car.  Remember that point.

I picked her up afterwards and we headed down to the Elks Lodge for the Veterans Dinner.  The place was packed.  Wait ... I don't see any food.  Turns out it would be another hour before they served, so off we went to buy that new toilet seat.  

FOUND IT and returned the one that didn't fit.  After standing in front of 30 feet full of boxes of screws, I even got some to fix my doors.  I think I need 6, but of course had to buy a box of 50.

Gosh ... Hobby Lobby is right next door.  How convenient!  It's a dangerous store ... I spend WAY too much money, but the 60% off signs drew us in like candy.  I LOVE THIS STORE!!  It was packed to the brim with people buying up everything they could get their hands on, which made it a little difficult to navigate.  It was like Black Friday.

What made it even better, I kept running into people I knew.  The "King's" wife was there ... haven't been able to talk to her in ages ... along with the Castle bookkeeper.  It took me fifteen minutes to find Cyndae again, her basket full to the brim.  

I was led a bit astray with two cute stockings for Cooper and I and some red plaid.  I do love red plaid.  The whole shebang came to $25.  Oh ... and there was something for Cooper, but I'll have to show you tomorrow.  Really ... if you like decorating and you have a Hobby Lobby store, you should check it out.

And we were off, headed back home.  Half way there Cyndae says MY CAR!!!  Good grief ... we left it in Lowe's parking lot.  A double senior moment I guess!  We drove all the way back to pick it up.

Finally back home, we spent 20 minutes changing out the seat and giving everything a good scrubbing.  Well that was fun.  I don't know if it works better ... I haven't asked Cyndae.

While looking for some pictures, I came upon this one of my baby Jessie.  She was the crankiest dog I ever owned, but also the sweetest.  She was different, to say the least.  THIS is where all of Cooper's bad habits come from.

I found this yesterday too ... you know, just in case you ever get a strange phone call from me.  If I say this, call the po-po.

We finally did get to eat.  I had a lot of ham left over in the freezer, so we made Mac n Cheese, a staple in my house.  I wasn't thinking when I heard the grinder ... then it was NOOOOOO!  Cyndae had grabbed the awful pepper grinder, awful as in it tastes terrible and is so old (12 years I think) it should be thrown away, and was adding it to the sauce.  

We used lots of regular pepper instead and it turned out great.  I think much better than the chicken and rigatoni served at the Elks Lodge.  It will be Mac n Cheese for breakfast!!  

Time to go check the critter cam and give Cooper some snuggle time.  Thanks for stopping by.

THANK A VETERAN TODAY

 I'm up ... I'm up, bleary eyed and yawning like crazy.  The old brain is a little slow ... okay, a LOT slow ... after a late might of meeting after meeting, but I DID remember today is Veterans Day.  A BIG thank you to all who served in order to keep our country FREE.  We owe them a huge debt of gratitude.

The Merced Sunrise Rotary sets up this Field of Honor every year to represent those who have passed on, as well as those currently in the military.  It's an amazing sight to see, and if you haven't walked through one and read the stories on the backs of the pictures attached to each flag, you're missing out.  I'm always shocked to see how many kids I went to school with, now honored with a flag.

The Veterans Parade will take place this year, thanks to the Elks Lodge float carrying not one, but TWO Grand Marshals.  Here's our very own Pearl Harbor survivor Frank.  He's 102 years old, an Apache Indian, which is what I think makes him so tough!!

Boy has he got stories.  I've sat down with him many times talking about how he took care of the soldiers horses when he was a kid in Arizona.  That's our tie ... I'm familiar with many of his haunts back in the day.  He doesn't really care to talk about the things he saw and did at PH, but said he would gladly do it all over again.  This is probably the only time I ever saw him without his headband ... after all, he's an Apache.

I'm pretty sure I won't make the parade today.  After last night's epically long meetings, I'm pretty beat up this morning.  Sitting at a table for four straight hours discussing everything from woo-hoo that was a great Octoberfest party they had, to handling the normal complaints and problems was a test of tenacity.

SO many tabled items to be hashed out again next time.  It doesn't help that the meetings now start one hour later, meaning even though I get up at the same time, I'm now staying up even LATER than I EVER wanted.  They are lucky I didn't fall asleep at the table.  

Even not having my caffeine fix, didn't help me fall asleep, which made for more of those lovely nightmares.  Maybe I need to contact Chris, who promises to give me a Tarot Card reading in every single email he sends me ... about three every day.  

AND I have company.  Thank goodness it's Cyndae who doesn't care if I cook or not.  She said Cooper was a good boy and just sat on the couch.  I don't think she has seen the video of the REAL dog in that cute little body.  At least he wasn't lonely while I was gone.  

So ... shake a lot of hands and thank a lot of Veterans today for their service in making this country a great one.  You never know when we may need their service again.

In the meantime, if you are in the area, dinner will be served free of charge to Veterans and one guest  from 2:30 to 6:00 at the Elks Lodge.  It's a tradition we've maintained every year for ages.  

Remember

THANK A VETERAN TODAY

Gluten Is Good

 It's raining ... it's pouring ... the old man is snoring .... yup that's the REAL version of the song, which we sang quite often, along with 99 bottles of beer on the wall.  Maybe that's why we were required to sleep outside all summer long.  We only changed up "It's Raining" to Georgie when he came to visit.  He and his brother spent a few summers with us because they were getting in trouble in their home town.  We were so far out in the country, there was nothing to do but work our little butts off.

Winter has definitely set in as our nighttime temps for the next week will be in the mid 30's.  Brrrrrrr.  Guess I'm going to have to turn the heat on here and there.  Yes I have great solar, but it's not enough to have a zero bill if I don't watch it.  

On the other hand, I'm very happy we don't have hurricanes here.  Florida is getting hit with another one, although I think they are calling it a tropical storm.  Looks like a hurricane to me.  Be safe Dave and Marcia.  It's heading your way.

I've been rather a lump on a log for the last couple of days.  Nothing is motivating me to get going.  I'm not sure how I feel about it, but I now have seven rigs coming to the Indio Rally.  That means I actually have to PLAN something for the Indio Rally.  If anyone has ever been there, you know my dilemma.  The sad part is that most of us are too old to do much anyway.

SO ... I thought I would practice my pancake skills since we always have a pancake breakfast.  Remember that expensive 12 ounce box of gluten free Bisquick?  Time to put it to the test.

I read up a tad on gluten free stuff, and yes, it's probably not a good idea to go full fledge unless you are diagnosed.  I'd rather eat a spider than go to the local doctors.  But since I bought the box, I'm using it.  

It's made with rice flour.  Otherwise it's the same old Bisquick.  I mixed up a small batch to find it rather soupy with a very fine texture.  I admit, it was a little hard (and very messy) to use 1/2 an egg.  Cooper got the other half after a quick scramble.   Into the pan they went, with lots of butter of course, spreading way too quickly.  Hey ... not too bad looking for a novice pancake maker.

It didn't bubble up like pancakes do to notify you it's time to turn them over, but I got three cooked in record time.  Naturally I smothered them with syrup.  Smothering is my code name for load it up with sugar.  Cupcakes are made the same way ... smothering them with frosting!!

They were actually quite edible, although there wasn't much flavor there.  I have to admit, gluten is good, or at least better than this stuff.  I doubt anyone would know the difference if you didn't tell them though.  Next time maybe I'll throw in some blueberries.  

That's it ... I fell asleep on the couch.  I mentioned I stay on Arizona time, but that darn time change thing hits me every time there is Bingo or a Thursday meeting.  I didn't get home until 11:30 and of course was wide awake at 3:00.  It seems to me the time change does NOT save electricity, since now everyone turns all their lights on even earlier.  

In spite of being drug out, I have to get my act together today.  Cyndae is coming back to stay for a couple of appointments.  I won't be here though ... I have not one, but THREE meetings at the Elks Lodge tonight.  My fondness for the Trustee position is waning.  I could probably miss a few here and there, but I miss so many when I'm in Arizona that I feel obligated.

Coming up .... besides Bingo that is ... a Thanksgiving dinner for special children, a Thanksgiving dinner (which I have to cook) for 100 seniors, a Veterans Day Parade with our Pearl Harbor survivor who at 102 years old is still going strong, followed by a free dinner for every Veteran who walks in the door, a Frizz Brunch, an Elks dinner or two and December is coming fast with many more.  I think I need to bring my laundry list of excuses up to date!

For now, I'm looking at the RV rally schedule, but my brain is not working.  Maybe after another batch of pancakes.  Anyone have any ideas besides happy hour?  This is not a game or card playing group and sadly, there are no trains in Indio.  Maybe I can have a free raffle ... or better yet ... a free margarita hour!!

The Blood Moon Eclipse

 It's raining ... it's pouring ... Georgie is snoring.  We sang that a lot when I was a kid, laying outside on our old army cots with just a thin sleeping bag.  There would be no sleeping out here however, since it rained most of the night, then another six hours worth yesterday.  We haven't seen anything like that in many moons.

Speaking of moons ... it was the blood moon eclipse on 11/8, but happening at something like one am.  That's WAY too late for me to be up.  At night my spirit animal is a chicken and we go to bed early.  Lucky for me it was still raining, so there was no way I was going to see anything.  This is an image I took during the last blood moon.  Pretty cool to see it so orange.

Before that, I was up in southern Washington at an RV park when this happened.  I had purchased a few of those special glasses so I wouldn't go blind, and passed them out.  About six of us oohed and ahhed over the beautiful moon.  It took me about six hours to put this picture together.  

Here is what it looked like this time.  Not my picture.  Photographers in California were like let's go to the High Sierras so we can see it.  Yeah, it was snowing there.  

The main problem with a blood moon, or ANY full moon for that matter ... even just a HALF moon ... is it affects the masses.  The peasants pull out their pitchforks, swords, burning torches, switchblades and anything else they can wave at you.

It started out bad when both of my counting gals did not show up.  I drug one of the Knights kicking and screaming to the chair beside me.  Then I had a thought ... the ER (the lodge president) wanted to learn the cash register.  Nothing like throwing her to the wolves.  

After two minutes of learning the names, I had her counting up a storm.  She didn't exactly call them right, but it was close enough.  It was the number I needed.  We ran through 140 peasants in short order.  That's a lie ... it took us well over two hours with me working the keys like a mad woman.

HOWEVER ... the Blood Moon and the frozen turkeys brought out everyone's bad side.  They couldn't decide what they wanted and didn't count right when they did.  It's the old "just claim they stuck together" trick that never works.

Cranky was the word of the night as a couple of ladies were unhappy with the new counter.  Little did they know they were working with a new rabid raccoon.  It happens to everyone who works the table.  After a couple of years, you just laugh about it.  The ER has one year and 364 more days of Bingo to get there. 

There was a constant stream of "you didn't give me all my cards" to "where's my red ticket" (look in your pocket ... OH ... there it is" ALL NIGHT LONG.  If it's on your receipt (which they all were) it means they were counted, the number called out loud to me so you heard it, they were placed in your stack and handed to you.  You either dropped them, or more likely, set your cards down and turned your back.  NEVER turn your back.  Things magically disappear.

That always makes for BLOOD MOON MADNESS!!!  Oh and the turkeys.  Every Thanksgiving we give away frozen turkeys to ten lucky winners who hold the magic red ticket.  It surprises me how they can spend $75 for bingo, but not $20 for a turkey.   

Anyway, we just rolled our eyes and counted the donations, this time going to the local Library who is setting up an after-school teen center for kids with working parents.  

Finally the night was over as I extracted a promise from the ER that she would not run screaming off into the night ... that she would be back next week.  I'm not holding my breath!!

More rain expected all day ... the perfect excuse to hang out on the couch with Cooper.