And We Are Off .....

 Type SUNRISE in to my computer and you will get fabulous pictures like this.  Yeah, this is Arizona.

The same cannot be said for this location.  This is about as good as it gets in sunny California.  

And so as the sun rises on THIS morning, we are OFF!!  It's a secret, so I can't tell you anything.  The trail leading to here has been fraught with potholes, just like our California highways ... but persistence prevails.

I'll explain tomorrow!!!  Assuming of course that Cyndae and I survive the trip.

The Quiet Before The Storm

 SHORT ONE!!  I'm really dragging this morning.  In spite of the nice cool air floating around my back yard yesterday, not enough of it got in the house, or STAYED in the house.  I guess I'm just getting old and confused.  Old because I can take the heat less and less ... and confused because I have not one, but THREE temperature gauges win my house, none of which read the same.

At any one time, one says 78 degrees, one says 74 degrees and the third reads 80.  So I'm not sure WHEN to turn up the cool, so I DON'T.  Even Cooper was complaining when I finally gave in and turned the temp down enough to cool off.

I cleaned a little, only because I have company coming ... and I sewed a little, only because I was bored ... and I watched the grass and dirt NOT get put back in the sprinkler hole.  That one was the most fun.  Old age seems to bring on procrastination also!!

I think there was a little napping and I think I ate the rest of that wonderful chicken for lunch.  After that, it's a blur because I had to get ready for another Elks Initiation, meaning squeezing into a tuxedo.  If only this dieting would work, I might be a little more comfortable in that pursuit.  

I arrived early as usual, to find no sign-in book.  I went on the hunt, which was a small hint of what was to come.  Here's the quiet before the storm.  

Turn up your sound ... or most likely, you won't have to.  This is the din an hour later.  You are looking at my styrofoam cup to protect the identity of the innocent, of which there were none.  

No pen ... I ran up two flights of stairs.  No list of free dinners ... I ran up two flights of stairs.  Not enough tickets ... I ran up two flights of stairs.  No change ... I ran up two flights of stairs.  You get the picture.  I can't complain too much however, because I used to stop at the top and suck in all the air I could find.  Now I just walk off like it was nothing.  No gym required!

FINALLY ..... NO regular steak!  I would probably pay double for THIS meal.  Chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes, GRAVY (not left over from Sunday breakfast), CORN (what, no green beans?) and a BISCUIT ... yes, leftover from Sunday, but at least they were frozen.  

Then it was off to the meeting of all meetings.  An initiation, which always takes WAY too long, before several pins were awarded to some folks, for what I don't know because by then I was heating up and not paying attention.  BAD Nancy!

Next up ... a time killer of a vote for ONE person, having to wait for all of those new members and their sponsors to go first.  That was followed up by a house vote for three big tickets items I was handed at the last minute.  I could hardly get the words out.  Finally ... after 20 yawns by Nancy, the REAL meeting began, which was over in 30 minutes.  It was WAY past my bedtime.  It was contagious, because as I looked down the row, EVERYONE was yawning!

I think I got home at 10:30, but I'm not sure.  Funny how doing mostly nothing makes you more tired and sleepy than a hard days work!

I'm groggy (even after my first cup of coffee) and NOT ready to face the world, or my company.  I've still got a lot of cleaning up to do.  The good news is she doesn't care ... she says it makes her feel SO much better about HER house.  It's a compliment I guess!!  I'll take it!

The Gate Keeper

Holy mackerel ... it's almost the end of June, usually the hottest month of the year ... and it's 57 degrees this morning, with a high of mid 80's.  I'm going to suck in and enjoy all the cool I can, because we are looking at a week of high 90's.  Won't THAT be fun!!

Here's the gate keeper hard at work this morning.  He already had his morning snacks at 4:30, just because he's such a good boy ... and such a hard worker!!  This is every morning in this house.

Recovery was a slow process yesterday.  I have company coming this weekend, so I actually tried to get rid of all that (or at least MOST of that) junk from my 5th wheel that is still hanging around.  I think I literally just moved it from one spot to another, all morning long.  Not much progress there.

Why you ask?  Because I found this book and made the mistake of reading the first few pages.  Not that I was hooked, but it was much easier to sit down and read than it was to figure out what to do with all that stuff I really DIDN'T need.

After reading Patsy's blog a couple days ago, I ordered some of this Hot Spot Spray for Cooper's foot.  STILL that ant bite bothers him, along with a small bump very close by.  He licks and chews constantly.  I sprayed it on and the chewing lessened dramatically.  Not completely, but a LOT.  He's got another little growth on his back that's been itching also.  WAS itching!  This stuff seems to be working pretty well.

It's also good for itching from allergies.  I used Vetericyn products a lot with my horses and liked the results.  So thank you to whomever it was that recommended this product.  It's helping quit a bit!!

The Gate Keeper even fell asleep on the job while watching for birds on the front lawn!!

I was so distracted, I almost forgot to fix the sprinkler that we dug up the day before.  With no water, all the sod pieces look pretty sad.  Pictures to come.  I finally just threw everything in the hole.  Sometimes you just have to walk away!!!

Lunch was another wagon killer.  Not having lost anything for well over a week in spite of NO ice cream and truly NO sugar (a massive feat for me), I was pretty frustrated.  To top it off, I found I had nothing for lunch OR dinner.  Okay then ... "toasted cheese" it is once again.  

I read some more, put James to work on the dirty floors and tried to pick up for company.  James keeps getting lost, got stuck under Jonathan's cage (making Jon go crazy with parrot screams) and missed one room altogether.  Oh for a good internet connection, because without one, James works about as hard as I do!!

Thank goodness ... a big surprise ... Hello Fresh was delivered right to my front door.  This should make at least five meals for me with NO grocery shopping.  Here's the SHOULD look like picture.

The lettuce wasn't quite the same, but that's okay.  I substituted Cole slaw dressing for the oil and lemon juice they suggested.  Ugh ... I'm not an OIL person.  It was actually quite tasty!  Add a few pecans and it would have been even better.

Here's something I found quite interesting.  I baked the pecan crusted chicken in the oven at 400 degrees for 15 minutes.  It came out the most tender, juiciest chicken I've ever had.  Maybe it was the sauce that held the crust in place.  Wait for it ................. mayo and honey.  Who knew?  The little bit of leftover sauce was used on top after it was cooked.  Mighty tasty!  I think I'll make this one again.

In the end, I still have the sprinkler to finish fixing, I still have a huge pile of stuff to go through on the kitchen table and I haven't balanced my bank accounts in two months.  The lack of enthusiasm I have for those activities is prevalent.  ESPECIALLY since today I have to dress up in the penguin suit for yet another initiation of new folks into the Elks Lodge.  

Every month it's another 40 people coming to join our group.  That's pretty amazing for such a small town organization.  Maybe I can even talk a few into helping out at Bingo.  Oh no worries ... I won't tell the REAL REAL ... I'll let them find out for themselves!!!

Until then ..... here's to leftover salad and chicken for lunch!!!

The Morning After

Oh my Great GREAT Aunt Suzy!!  It's the BINGO hangover!!  The splitting headache, the ear ringing so loud I can hardly hear, blood pressure coming down from Mt. Everest and not enough phony coffee!!  I'm dragging butt this morning!

Here's my two kids laughing at me!!  Sorry for the dark picture, but I came upon this one yesterday.  It's from long ago when these two were very young.  That's Showby on the left and Remy (or Babeee I called him) looking for some morning grain.  These two were the loves of my life for 26 years.  Remy was the cutting horse and Showby the horse show boy.  I hauled these kids from the top of Idaho to South of Indio, almost to the Mexican Border.  They met movie stars, buffalo, snakes and everything in between.  Best memories EVER.

It was a long morning with the gardener, trying to make sprinkler repairs.  We didn't get even ONE fixed.  More parts and pieces are required.  

Since I fell off the wagon a couple days ago, I can't quite seem to climb back up.  It's a very TALL wagon.  With nothing in the fridge for lunch OR dinner, I splurged on a grilled cheese sandwich.  I think I could eat this every day.  

And so, knowing I have well over 100 checks to sign ... I know, crazy, right? ... I headed off early so I could buy those sprinkler parts on the way to the lodge.  Bingo and the Elks Park donated $8,000 to 4-H and FFA kids for their fair animals.  There is no better feeling than not only donating to a cause, but a really good one that promotes agriculture in this little AG town that has turned into a welfare town.  

FFA and 4-H are still alive and kicking ... and we plan to continue to help.

Finally done with that, I headed on down to the dungeon to get the ball rolling.  I was determined to have a good night.  So much for determination!!  The first thing I did was make a list of needed dobbers for the King.  You wouldn't believe how many of these things we sell for $1.00.  Apparently every other bingo hall sells them for twice that.  Needless to say, they load up here.

By the end of the night, this was empty.  The best part?  My Fairy Godmother refills this thing every single week so I don't have to!!  You've got to love Fairy Godmothers.

Okay ... let the fighting begin!!  We have one elderly lady who doesn't remember anything.  Honestly, I don't think she remembers the number from the time he calls to the time she looks for it on her bingo cards.  We do all we can to help her.  

She bought some tickets and received $70 change, but she didn't remember and couldn't find it.  She came to my table looking for it, but it wasn't me she bought the tickets from ... it was the Pull Tab side.  SOMEONE jumped up and ran to my table to say BLAH BLAH did NOT give her the change.  (We already know there is bad blood there).  I know better, so I sent my Scullery Maid (who happens to be related to the nice lady) to find out what happened.  She found the change in the nice lady's pocket.  

BLAH BLAH was not the least bit happy about being accused of keeping $70.  The fight was on.  SOMEONE then said my Scullery Maid and I got it ALL wrong.  Now there's two MORE of us unhappy campers!!  The King was called and SOMEONE got 30 lashes with a wet noodle.  Never EVER accuse the Kings Men of not doing giving someone their change, or at least if you do, make it quietly until the truth can be found out.  

Good Heavens, everyone was in an uproar the rest of the night.  I was SO happy the Infernal Machine balanced to the penny.  I made a mad dash for the exit!!

Maybe the hair of the dog will make me feel better.  No --- no more Bingo for one whole week.  

And so I leave you with this pretty picture of a smoky sunset.  I'll be out on the lawn at 6 AM fixing the sprinklers!!

Rest and Recovery

 It was yet another rough night.  I was cold ... all night long.  What's up with that?  I know, I should have gotten up and thrown a quilt over the bed.  It's a lovely 64 degrees this morning, and I can't complain because my AC never came on yesterday.  In fact, it was even so nice that I laid out in the sun for awhile ... AFTER the crew from next door left.

There was lots of banging going on all day as they unloaded the roofing.  The telltale sign of beep beep beep from the lift lasted for several hours.  It's weird they would put such a dark gray color on such a large house.  I see big PGE bills in their future.  There's also four big spotlights on each pillar of the patio.  The better to light up my back yard I guess.  Sadly, the little foxes have left the neighborhood due to the construction.

My little tree is putting on a runway show of beautiful fluffy flowers and waving in the breeze.  The wind was having a field day.

I finally got off my duff and headed to Wally World.  I needed Jonathan food and a new cheap toolbox.  No use going for longevity at my age.  Well lookie here ... there was the cutest little Cooper toy hanging on the shelf.  

He went crazy when I gave it to him.  It was like a little kid at Christmas.  I've looked at it for an entire day now and I still can't figure out what kind of animal it is supposed to be.

No matter .... Mr. Cooper thinks it's the bees knees.  I listened to this ALL MORNING LONG!!  Then we played for another hour or two.

And TA-DA ... here it is.  My new $10.00 toolbox.  Lightweight plastic ... it's perfect for my rig and has everything I need.  I tried to clean the old one with CLR to remove all the rust.  It's weird that it melted right into the plastic.  It would have been fine except I busted the hinge.  A little too much vigorous cleaning I suspect. 

I was too tired for anything after putting the groceries away.  Though I tried to sew a bit here and there, I just had no enthusiasm.  I was annoyed by a loud humming noise.  Oh yeah ... here comes another problem.  I tracked it down to my freezer.  

When I moved in to this house (remember it was a bankruptcy), there was a huge hole for a built-in fridge/freezer because the folks that left had stolen it.  I bought a Kitchenaid.  I suppose it's lasted pretty long ... 13 years ... considering they make throwaway stuff nowadays.  

I discovered the temperature in the freezer was -7.  It should be 0.  I reset it, but it kept going back to -7 degrees.  Okay, why is it doing that???  I reset it several times, the last time holding the button down for several seconds.  It finally moved to -5, a slight improvement.  Ugh ... another big repair bill.

This morning it's holding at 0 degrees ... so maybe I coached it back to normal ... MAYBE.  I guess I will wait and see.

The big winds continued all day long, keeping it cool as a cucumber.  It also brought in all the smoke from a big fire of 1,000 acres (so far) about 65 miles away in the Sierras.  It got worse and worse until the sky was covered.  I can't tell what it's like this morning ... it's still dark outside.

I did catch the tiny little moon resting on my chimney for a bit.  Gosh ... it's 7:30 pm, it's still light and the moon is high in the sky.  Weird that looking south there are no clouds or smoke.

And so ended another nice day ... but I'm putting a quilt back on my bed.  I'm also hoping for a long nap because ..... IT'S BINGO TIME!!

Chaos!!! It Was Chaos!!

Somehow, getting up at 3:45 in the morning ruins the day.  At the very least, it makes that morning cup of wonderful sweet coffee, NOT the experience I was looking for.  I was on the road by 5:00.  Why you ask? Because there was a big party on Saturday night that had to be cleaned up BEFORE we could even begin to prepare breakfast for 350 folks.

There was the biggest mess you have ever seen on the tables, the floor ... everywhere!  They left the coffee pot plugged in all night and the juice container leaking on the table.  We got to work like a hill of ants!  

That's when everything came to a screeching halt.  Apparently more than one person had a little too much fun and threw up all over the tables, chairs and floor.  And of course they didn't bother to clean it up.

That's when we found the REAL damage.  THEY BROKE TWO TOILETS!  Who does that??  Not kidding here ... there were busted parts and pieces all over the floor with the accompanying mess.  No worries, they will pay for everything ... but obviously we had to clean things up for OUR event.  We were furious, but what could we do?  

Here's our Numero Uno in charge ... Mr. Jeff.  He's a great guy, great sense of humor and just all round nice.  I think it's because he's a motorcycle guy!

To start Father's Day out right, Dads could partake of this special double barrel shot.  Don't ask me what's in it cuz I don't know.  I didn't have one ... but I was certainly intrigued by the crispy bacon on top.  We have a bartender extraordinaire ... who can make some of the craziest things you've ever tasted.  

With everything finally CLEAN, we began the cooking.  Krusteaz sweet cream pancakes came off the grill looking (and tasting) amazing!!  The guy in the middle cooked the eggs (while ribs smoked back at his house) and the guy on the end ... GRAVY MAN.  

We tried something new this year.  We made SIX gallons of gravy, poured it into steel pans and kept it in the warmer.  You can't believe how easy that was ... and how good the gravy turned out.  Italian sausage is the key, though you wouldn't think that would make good gravy.  It was the best we've ever had.

In the meantime, I baked up 520 biscuits to perfection ... and didn't burn a single one.  Nor did I burn any humans in the process.  I made a rule this time ... NO one comes on MY side of the table this year.  I also cooked up 10 pans of sausage ... more than ever before.  Thinking we were going to run out, we stationed a gal at the table to dole them out and rushed out to buy more.

It must have been pretty tasty because we barely had enough leftovers to feed the crew.  Here's the room, seating almost 150 people.  We opened at 8:30 and were full by 9:00.  It stayed that way until 11:00.

Then came the hard work.  Cleanup.  All those plates that had been run through the line twice had to be picked up once again and everything washed and put away.  

I got out of the last bit because the Elks Lodge has a special celebration for Dads up in the Lodge Room.  They were short one person, so I got shanghaied.  This time I had to read half a page ... but that's okay, there was no one there to hear me except four other folks.  With that done, it was time to get out of Dodge.

I fixed up several small styrofoam cups of leftover gravy for whomever wanted to take some home, and packaged up the leftover sausage in small zip lok bags.  Many times our young cleanup crew get to take food home to their families.  

I was exhausted and HOT, but that didn't keep me from having a little dinner once I recovered.  Sausage on toast, smothered in sausage gravy ... breakfast of champions.  It tasted okay, but to be honest, when you've cooked this stuff all morning long, it really doesn't hit the spot come dinnertime.  Hopefully I can figure out something to do with the bit of remaining gravy.

So here we are on a lovely 59 degree morning where you will find me lounging on the couch with my Kid for the next few hours, doing absolutely NOTHING!  It's recovery time!!

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY

 Well here we go again!  Half the month of June is gone just like THAT!  Not that I'm counting .......

Happy Father's Day to all you Dads out there that make a difference in so many lives.  Sometimes even if the kids aren't yours, and even if you don't know it ... you influence us all.

This is a shorty ... yesterday morning we met at the Elks Lodge at 9:00 ... a respectable hour ... to prep for the free breakfast.  Yessirree ... free breakfast for every member and their family, cuz that's how we roll.

We pared down the menu a bit, so all we had to pan was pastries and sausage.  The bagged eggs are thawed and ready to cook.  No kidding ... they are cooked in heavy plastic bags in boiling water, then smashed in a pan ... and believe it or not, they taste like really good REGULAR eggs.  

I asked with all my sweetness, including pretty please, that the head Chef make the gravy.  Gravy is important and can be messed up SO easily!  In return, we will all arrive at 6:00 to clean up the mess left from a 40 year anniversary.  It's worth it!!

It's going to be cray-cray because we really couldn't prep much in advance with another party going on the night before.  I only have 10 volunteers, so hopefully we can pull it off.

And so for Father's Day, here's a picture of my Dad up at the cow camp in the Sierra Nevada Mountains.  I think it was his favorite place to be and where he taught me how to fish when I was VERY young.  I became the camp fish cleaner and caught more than anyone.  You know the rule, you catch them, you clean them.  Dad would fry them up for dinner, along with homemade biscuits cooked in a cast iron dutch oven over pine cone coals.  Best biscuits EVER that I have never been able to duplicate.

A quick leftover from Flag Day ... when I got home late that night, believe it or not, the solar light was shining brightly on my flag.  I guess it decided to work, if only for one night!!

I'm off ... hoping for a no-burn easy day of cooking 60 pounds of sausage and about 500 biscuits!!

HAPPY FATHERS DAY!!!!!

FLAG DAY AT THE ELKS

 It is another glorious morning in Central California.  A beautiful 63 degrees ... almost cold in the mornings.  It makes for perfect patio participation in America's pastime ... a morning cup-o-joe!!

It's also the perfect way to start a day when the sprinkler guy stands you up.  No kidding ... after about 4 text messages, he was a NO SHOW!  I'm guessing maybe he was one of the crew I let go for cutting up my drip lines and electrical wires.  And so I am once again ... dead in the water.

Basically I did nothing all day.  Oh I cleaned up a bit, made a terrible dessert from cool whip and sugar-free pudding ... the most awful thing I've tasted in some time ... and even did a little quilting.

So when it was time to head out to the flag ceremony at the Elks Lodge, I wasn't opposed to getting in the "outfit", nylons, high heels and all.  

The Elks are the only organization in the U.S. that honors the flag with a ceremony every June 14.  If you get a chance to go to one, definitely check it out.

One of our Officers could not attend, and I got talked into standing in.  No problem they said, you don't have to speak.  They lied.  When I got to my place, there lay the program with my speaking part.  Here's my challenge to you ..... say "it is the symbol of brotherly love" LOUDLY.  We don't have microphones.    I don't think brotherly came out right, but I said it.

The County Honor Guard, made up of mostly our members, brings the flags in to the lodge room to the sound of our pianist playing the song of that time.  This is the very first flag the U.S. ever had.  It's green and white????

As they are brought in one at a time, the history of that particular flag is read aloud.  The yellow one, barely visible is the Gadsden Flag with a snake on it.

The history is really interesting ... who designed them ... who decided how many stars and what they would look like ... who decided how many stripes and when they were first flown in the United States.

I've helped with this Flag Ceremony before, so I knew the background of each one, but if you are interested, read up on the history.  It's pretty fascinating.  Once all the flags are in place, there's more pomp and circumstance, introductions of the Honor Guard, and some singing God Bless America before we finally break for dinner.

Here's the Honor Guard, all Veterans of course, who perform military services for any veteran who passes away in our County.  These guys also handle a new program ... FINALLY ... that gives items of furniture and whatever they need to Veterans who are actually receiving free housing.  At this time there are 98 on the list, so these guys are working diligently to find everyone a home.

And so a not-so-good-day ended on a good note.  Everyone headed down to dinner and I ghosted the building.  Big noisy crowds are not my thing. 

Lucky me, this morning I'm headed BACK to the lodge to prepare for our Father's Day breakfast.  This time it's free for everyone, so I expect a crowd for tomorrow's pancakes, eggs, sausage, biscuits and gravy, pastries and fruit cups.  I'm guessing that means there may not be a blog tomorrow.  I'm praying for a NO-BURN day in the kitchen.

I've Turned Into A Rabbit

 Well thank the good Lord the weather outside cooled down a bit.  We are back to 65 degree mornings, the better to cool down my house with.  I turn on just the fan and open doors and windows to bring in the nicer temperatures.  It doesn't last long, but it sure helps beat the heat.

Morning routine requires a Cooper snuggle while he catches up on his sleep.  Me?  I just keep taking naps to try and keep up.  It was a long meeting night, followed by 4 am this morning to get things done since the sprinkler repair guy will be here at 6:00.  

Maybe only two of the ten sprinklers out front have been replaced since this house was built.  None of them work correctly any more.  I bought the sprinklers so I would get a better price ... and hopefully I don't get charged an arm and a leg to put them in.

Yes I could do it, but it's too much of that four letter word ... W. O. R. K.  ... that requires shoveling.

As for the tools, it's bad news.  Two years sitting in water isn't good.  What a nasty mess they were.  I salvaged a couple of screwdrivers and the little yellow saw.  The stud finder is toast, along with most everything else.  

I thank everyone for their cleaning ideas, but in the end, I didn't bother to try and do a major cleanup.  Honestly, this set was all I really needed since I have my other big tool box, and a drawer full of stuff in the house.  Besides ... you can buy this set at Harbor Freight for $9.99.  It's not like I'm a mechanic or anything!

Back home, Mr. Cooper kept me entertained for a few hours.  He would bark, I would say knock it off, come sit down, and he would ignore me.  No surprise there.  At long last I had had enough.  I got up off the couch to find him staring at this pile.  

I know what this is!  Somewhere in this boxes there MUST be a ball.  He can smell them a mile away.  I had to take everything out of each box.  He was NOT to be deterred.  Of course he was right ... he is ALWAYS right!!  He grabbed it with gusto and was off to play Hide The Ball.  

That's when I remembered my outside landscape lights STILL were not all working.  I really wasn't about paying yet another repair guy ... so I went to take a look see.  It seemed to me this little part would just lift out so you could stick in a new one.

The little orange lens came off to find this.   Do you think this is a light bulb thingy that I can just unscrew?  I haven't tried it yet.  I did unscrew the entire stem, but wires keep it in place.  I thought maybe I could just replace a bulb and be done with it.  I have two of these not working.  Big sigh!!  Maybe one day, in a land far far away, I won't have to repair any of this stuff any more.  Please tell me there are no repairs in Heaven!!

Soon I was off to the monthly Trustee/Board meeting at the Elks.  It was WAY too long, but we got a lot accomplished in one night and everyone went away happy.  

Here's the latest crazy idea from a member.  She wants to have a Speed Dating Night.  Are you kidding?  That's like from the 60's, isn't it??  It isn't for me, and I'm SINGLE.  They are even taking OLD folks 65 and over!!  Hey, if they have fun and it makes money, it's okay with me.

I don't know ... maybe I'm too old for this.  If that doesn't work out, they want to try the Dating Game.  I think I've become an old fogey.

I do know I HAVE become a rabbit.  Yessirree ... I've turned into a rabbit food eater of epic proportions.  When I look in the fridge now, I look for something crunchy and cold.  Honestly, it's amazing that I haven't had any ice cream in well over a month.  

Not that it's helping much ... the weight loss came to a screeching halt in spite of eating LESS and with NO sugar.  The rabbit food may not be long for this world if it doesn't produce results.

I have to run ... repairs will be happening soon, then it's going to be nap time because I have another big deal tonight.  If there's one thing the Elks Lodge is, it's patriotic.  Tonight we have a Flag Ceremony, open to the public.  One of our Officers cannot attend, so I got talked into taking her place.  

I'm thinking tomorrow I will try to stay in bed ALL DAY LONG!!!

That ONE Neighbor!!

 OH WHAT A DAY!  Isn't there a song by that name?  It went through my head all night long, meaning I'm yawning in my coffee this morning.

It was hot hot hot!!!  I have to say that when they tell you it's not that hot in Arizona when it's 118, they are correct compared to right here in river city.  It was 101 ... not bad, right?  But worse than I think I have ever felt here.

Since I've done all this hard work of purging to make my rig lighter, I decided to try and find somewhere local to take it for maintenance (local as in 45 miles away).  I have a trip coming up next month.  You know the drill ... grease the axles and whatever else they do to the wheels it rolls on.

Another biggie is checking the roof.  Ever since CoVid hit, Grand Design has had major problems with the  roof membrane coming loose and being ripped off going down the highway.  There have also been major water leaks and now front caps are coming off because they used bolts that were too small.  YIKES!!  

I said a lot of prayers when I dropped it off.  A Maintenance guy jumped right up on the roof for a look see.  I was amazed when I heard it's in FINE condition except for two little screws coming up out of that white caulk stuff at the front.  No biggie he said.  What a relief THAT was.  I should get it back in a week or three.

In the meantime, I'm still digging through all the junk.  Truly, there is no need for three of everything.  It also gives me a chance to wash all eight of those rugs!!

Back home after three bottles of water and sweating up a storm in the heat, I went outside to see what I might do with the toolbox.  I dumped it on the gravel and let it dry out.  No kidding folks ... this is MAJOR.  This won't be "wipe off the rust and WD40 it".  It's BAD with a capital B.  

If I find duplicates in my other toolboxes ... just like the duplicates in the rig ... it may just be more trouble than it's worth to try and save them.

Dinner was ... let's say different.  On a trip to Costco I spotted a spice bottle of Onion Butter.  Gosh .. it sounded like it would be good on SOMETHING!  Last night, I found out that was "not-so-much".  The recipe said to sprinkle it on your chicken tenders and air fry.  

They look yummy, yes?  Do they taste yummy?  NO.  There's a strong taste of butter, but who puts butter on their chicken tenders?????  The flavor of onion escaped me altogether.   However ... I ate them with enthusiasm because I was starving!

There I was, languishing on the couch with a full belly when I realized Cooper was panting and I was once again hotter than my concrete sidewalk.  I hear the AC ... but it's not COOL air.  A very loud audible sigh came from my mouth.  No no no .... please don't let my AC go out on the hottest day of the year so far.

Oh yes Nancy ... here's just another major problem for you to handle at the end of a long day.  This thing in the picture below wasn't making ANY noise.  I turned the system off and began the search for AC repair.  Then I remembered my GOOD neighbor has a son who just went through AC Tech School.  If nothing else, I'll ask them who to call for repairs.

How could I possibly be so lucky as to live next to that ONE neighbor ... the BEST EVER in this entire neighborhood!!!  The HUSBAND was over in ten minutes to check it out because AC repairs are part of his job.  

It's the capacitor he said ... and I've got one in my truck.  Twenty minutes later, that was fixed.  Then he got his ladder and crawled up into my attic to check fuses.  Yup ... blew one.  

With all THAT done, the thermostat control went haywire.  Why they put it in this silly hole in the wall is beyond me.  He finally got the cover off and sure enough ... this Made In China control is toast.  Another trip to his truck and he had two in hand.  One was too big for the hole.

I watched intently as he switched it out to this one, so I would know how to do it when the OTHER AC unit goes out, because you KNOW if one does, the other is not far behind.  This one is not programmable, but it worked like a charm.  THE AC IS BACK ON!!!  What a relief!  I admit, it only got up to 86 inside, but that's like an oven to me!

By now it's 8:30 at night.  Just who do you know that would come over and do all that work so late?  I may have the worst neighbor ever on one side, but I have the absolute BEST one on the other side.  He's even going to get a programmable unit and replace this one for me.

I didn't sleep much ... my brain was just going too fast.  It's going to be another two-cuppa day!!