I Finally Hit The Bottle

It was a very good day, but a very LONG day.  Here's my baby, my Dream Machine.  No really, that's the name of the best embroidery/sewing machine I've ever owned.  It definitely is a dream and worth every penny I paid for it.  With all machinery however, it requires maintenance.

There's no way I was going to touch THIS baby with a screwdriver, so a couple years ago, I purchased a ridiculously priced service plan.  $1,000.00   Don't you know I regretted THAT purchase, until I realized it was for SIX years.  The cost to service these beasts is a minimum of $200.  With the plan, parts are included for free.

SO ... I made an appointment to have it cleaned and serviced WHILE I WAITED.  Three magic words, right?  Off I went to the big town of Fresno in my Jeep, because I have not received my truck license since paying for it three months ago.  Good ole California DMV.

I dropped off the machine at 9:00 am, reminding them I had to wait.  What to do, what to do.  Since my good friends the Westerfields were over in Death Valley, I opted to check out the one quilt shop left in town.  Wouldn't you know, I found this PineCone pattern, a paper pieced project similar to the one I just completed.

Picking fabric is not my forte.  TWO hours later, in spite of my determination to NOT purchase fabric, I broke my own resolution and picked up these.  The good news, it was $50 less than I expected.  YAY!!

I figured by the time I had lunch, my machine would be done.  My choices (because now I'm being cheap again) were Taco Bell and McDonalds.  I chose wrong.  I was totally surprised to find a plastic straw in my drink.  Didn't California outlaw plastic straws???  Apparently not.  The pepsi that was there, disappeared rather fast due to the amount of ice.  

The chicken burrito had no substance in it at all that resembled meat.  It WAS full of drippy, mushy beans with WAY too much sauce and maybe three pieces of wilted lettuce.  The taco had so much sour cream, that's all I could taste.  I knew this wasn't going to end well.

At 1:00 I headed back to get my machine.  Oh dear, they said.  It won't be done till around 4:00.  Wait .... I made a special appointment to have it done while I waited.  No one said I would be waiting ALL DAY LONG!  I have a long drive home ........

I suppose I should have camped on their couch.  I didn't want to go shopping at the mall, knowing I would spend too much.  I figured I'd find an ice cream store ... like ColdStone ... and sooth my savage nature over the sewing machine.  

The coffee lovers loaded with heath bar crunch was just the ticket.  I relished every single bite as I sat in my car admiring the colors in the trees around me.

That's when it hit me.  I haven't exactly been watching my diet.  7,239 calories later and my stomach decided to do some back flips.  Back to the store I went, hoping they would call.  They did not.  Finally at 2:30 I got the message it was ready for pickup.    It didn't cost me a dime, making my stomach feel MUCH better.

I drove home going the speed limit, amidst everyone else going at least 80 mph.  There are two sections of 70 mph speed limit, where they upped it to 85.  Not a CHP in sight.  It is interesting to note that half of the repair to the highway through Madera, just completed last year, is again completely under construction.  

There are two more LONG sections of repairs also being torn up.  Seems whoever the contractor was that did the work, didn't make the roadbed compliant, and it now is breaking down completely, causing big rigs to crash.  Doesn't that make you feel safe??

The second I walked in the door, I hit the bottle.  TUMS are my little friends.  I was sure three of them would negate all those calories I ate and calm my stomach.  Momma's a happy camper.  She can sew again without the agony of Taco Bell and ColdStone.

TAKE A VETERAN TO LUNCH

Thank a Veteran today

for all the freedom 

they have given us.

Without them, we 

wouldn't enjoy the

life we have.

Fly your flags high ...

and take a Veteran to lunch!!

FYI the Elks Lodge had their free veterans lunch on Friday.  They served over 350 people in our little corner of this tiny town.  I rather imagine there were a lot more that weren't able to show up.  We owe them a lot!!  Happy Veterans Day!

Stepping It Up .....

I gave in ..... I caved.  I hate to admit it, but I finally had to change the time on my clocks.  I kept forgetting which one to look at for that appointment to pick up my now-quilted quilts.  It was just too much trouble trying to figure out what time it was, depending on what I was doing.

Here's the first one, full of violets and perfect for that little girl's bedroom, except I don't know a little girl to give it to.

I'll wait to show you the second one ... I'm going to do a little quilting on it myself.  I sewed with my machine as long as I could, as it cried and squeaked along.  I couldn't take it any longer and made an appointment for the machine doctor in Fresno tomorrow.

That went smoothly enough, except it's Monday AND a Holiday.  NOTHING is open on Monday, meaning I won't get my rolled ice cream treat.  Sadly, I'll have to spend a couple of hours perusing their fabric section.  I DO NOT NEED MORE FABRIC!!!  That's my new mantra.

At least I have television to occupy me.  You see the weirdest stuff on TV.  This guy is Justin and he lives in Tucson.  That made my ears perk up.  He has spent his life getting stung by everything you can possibly get stung by in the desert, rating each sting and coming up with a Pain Index.

Yeah, that's what I thought too.  Is he crazy??  Who in the world would do that on PURPOSE!

Well here's the guy.  I didn't get his name, but he was going around getting stung or bit by everything he could find ... scorpions, tarantula hawks ... because he was just SO tough, he knew he could withstand anything.  I'm pretty sure I've seen this guy on the Farmers Only dating website.

Anyway, here he is screaming bloody murder when he got hit.  I laughed out loud.  Serves you right, you dummy!!!  At least I was mildly entertained for about an hour.  You just have to laugh at their stupidity!  By the way, there are only four levels.  A wasp sting is a low 2.  The tarantula hawk, 4+, similar to volcanic lava running through your veins.  Now you know.

In an attempt to step up my cooking skills a little more, I figured to try out one more new recipe for butter chicken, better known as tikka masala.  OMG this came out GOOD!!  Such an easy recipe to whip up too, unlike most tikka masala recipes where it takes all day long with strange ingredients.

Mix up the marinade and dump in the chicken.  I left out the fenugreek, whatever the heck that is, and let it sit in the fridge for a couple of hours.

Cook the onion in oil in a large frying pan.  Add in the chicken with the marinade and let it cook for about five minutes. Dump in everything else (you really do need a big frying pan here), bring to a boil, cover and simmer for 45 minutes.  BEST I'VE EVER MADE!  Not spicy at all, so add in some hot sauce if you like the burn.

Even better, there's so much sauce left over, you can freeze it, making another batch later in the week with rotisserie chicken.    It's a TWO-FER.  Certainly better than getting stung by a tarantula hawk.

Can You Say CHEESECAKE?

With my electric blanket turned on high to get the bed warm, I snuggled in for a long peaceful night of sleep.  NOT!!  Miss Jessie got overheated and exited out the bottom door just about the time I got to sleep.

There's nothing that makes Cooper madder than someone MOVING, even a fraction of an inch.  You cannot imagine the growly sounds coming out of that little body.  By morning I was still struggling with the time thing.  Do I get up?  It's 3:30???  Why on earth has this become such a big deal??

I wandered aimlessly through my quilt room looking for a new project.  I finally finished sewing this one together.  At about 50 inches square, it's small as quilts go, but my first attempt at paper piecing.  That's a new term for making the biggest mess ever stitching over the lines on paper from the back side of the project, then tearing off all that paper in the tiniest of pieces.

I laid out seven new projects on the table before discovering this little statement is SO true.  Decisions decisions.  I tried to find something easy and fast.  Between the time change and being sick, I knew better than to go with something complicated.   

Since I missed Halloween, I put away two and decided Thanksgiving just might work.  I'm doing everything I can to stay home another week to regain my strength.  Oh I feel like I could slay more dragons, but I'm also aware that I was really pretty sick.

In the interest of spreading the calories, here's the recipe for that New York Cheesecake.  It's so rich and decadent, you can feed eight people easily, in spite of it's 7" size.

3/4 cup crushed graham crackers  

2 tblsp sugar

2 tblsp melted butter

Mix together, smush it into the bottom of a 7" springform pan and set in the freezer

Here's the kicker.  I didn't have graham crackers, so I used a sleeve of Ritz crackers.  Worked like a charm.

16 oz cream cheese room temperature

1/2 cup sugar (I used brown sugar)

2 teaspoons all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 teaspoon lemon peel

2 eggs room temperature

1 egg yolk room temperature

1/4 cup heavy whipping cream

Blend together cream cheese, sugar, cream, flour, lemon peel and vanilla until smooth.  Add in eggs one at a time until just combined.  Pour into pan on top of crust.

Add 1-1/2 cups of water to your Instant Pot. Insert a rack on which the pan will sit.  Cover the top of the springform pan with a piece of paper towel, then cover loosely with a piece of foil.  Make a sling of foil and gently lower the pan into the pot.  Close pressure valve.

Cook on high pressure for 37 minutes.  Allow 18 minutes of natural pressure release before releasing all the pressure and removing the pan, being careful to let any accumulated water drip off the top.  Let cool.  The center may be a little jiggly.

I topped it with pecan praline sauce that I can't find the recipe for.  Here's my best guess.

1/2 cup of brown sugar 

1/2 cup heavy cream

1/2 tsp vanilla

Boil for 4-5 minutes until thick, stir in

1/2 cup chopped pecans

When cool, both the cake and the sauce, I poured it over the top.  Letting it sit overnight in the fridge enhanced the flavors .... or maybe it was just my cold.  At any rate, super easy and super tasty!!

Today I have to pick up two quilts I left at my quilter's house in September and fight the NEW dragons that are my NEW yard crew.  Yesterday I found three cut drip irrigation lines.  Here we go again!!

MOM - The Super Hero

Sometimes you just have to dig down deep and fight the monsters with all your might.  Such was the case yesterday morning at 2:00 am (3:00 real time) when the HUGE monster invaded the house, probably sneaking in through the crack under the door.

It was awful ..... it groaned, it growled, it CHIRPED!!!  Jessie instantly headed under the covers while Cooper shook in his boots.  I was oblivious!!!  Nooooooooo .... it will go away!!

Well of course it didn't, so I had no choice but to be the dragon-slayer-hero-KNIGHT of the day.  I drug my biggest ladder out of the garage because only dragons cling to the ceiling of the bedroom where I can't reach.  At least it was dark and the neighbors couldn't see my attire.  There wasn't even time to put my armor on!!

As the puppies cowered on the couch, sure to be eaten at any second, I scrounged through the drawers of the kitchen looking for the best sword I might have.  Swords were in short supply.  At long last, I scaled the castle turret wielding my weapons of destruction!!

Take THAT Mr Dragon!!  I hit him in the throat with my longest lance!  He was a fighter of magnificent proportion!  CHIRP!!  He was still alive!!  I hit him again with the second largest sword and alas, HE FELL!!!  NO MORE CHIRPING!!!!  NO MORE DRAGON!!!

The puppies couldn't believe their eyes, nor did they believe their ears.  Jessie ran out the doggie door and Cooper laid shaking like a leaf on the couch.  Hey kids, it's ok. Mom is a SUPER HERO!!!!  It took fifteen minutes of petting and hugs before Cooper would settle down.  Another ten before he would even get off the couch.  At least my babies were safe!!

Still recovering from the cold/flu devil yesterday, but bored enough to be going crazy, I opted to make a pot of butternut squash soup.  Somehow I remember it tasting much better than it did, or maybe that was cauliflower soup.

Dragon slaying can be mind altering.  I don't know what got into me.  I guess I just saw too many pictures of caramel cheesecakes.  What better treat for a Super Hero!!  It's an instant pot wonder, except wonder of wonders, my brain glitched while I was sewing and I forgot to take it out of the pot after 18 minutes of natural pressure relief.  It was a measly 110 minutes later and magically NOT overdone.  How did THAT happen?

I ended the day by baking that $5 chicken on the bbq.  It's huge ... enough to feed me for the entire week.  No, there will NOT be any enchiladas.  

It was so amazingly beautiful when done, I completely forgot to take a picture.  Fighting monster dragons is hard work and I was starving, so I dug right in.  If you haven't tried this on your Weber Q (or any bbq) ... it's the bomb.  90 minutes on medium low and it's a meal fit for a king (or a super hero)!!

My puppies require an audience this morning ... to shower me with gifts and gold for my dragon slaying skills, I'm sure.  I'll be on the couch .... ready to be Super Mom should another one sneak under the door!!

It Was An Epic Day!!!

I think I just may be over the hump.  Yesterday was of course, HUMP day!!  First off, I completely forgot to put the garbage out.  I sure hope my head clears in the next few days so I can get back to normality, such as it is.

I've been working on my shopping list for days.  Down to the very last chicken enchilada, which honestly I wanted to throw in the trash, I put on my Adult face (versus the sucky I'm sick face), and headed off to the grocery store.

Isn't it pretty?  Nothing on this shelf ended up in my basket.  It's hard to stay on track when you're still coughing, but acting like you are not sick.  I was mesmerized by the huge stackings of pumpkin pie cans surrounded by marshmallows and bright shiny aluminum pans.  You would think it was Thanksgiving or something.

The $5 seven pound chicken wasn't on my list, and I'm not sure I'm up to cooking it, but it landed in my basket.  I immediately suppressed the thoughts of enchiladas.  I walked down the chip aisle, but picked up nothing.  How I accomplished that, I've no idea.

$152.00 later ..... how the heck did THAT happen??? ..... I was out the door with my THREE bags full.  Possibly it was the chicken thighs and enough paper plates to last through Christmas.  My brain is still pretty foggy.  I'm not sure, but I think there were two boxes of ice cream in there too.

In an effort to make everyone feel wonderful today, I stopped on the way home for fuel.  No, this isn't the diesel price.  This is the cheapest regular gas I could find in my little corner of lovely California.  

Once home, after having put all the groceries away, I got a little antsy.  Maybe I could clean just ONE room so I didn't feel like such a bump on a log.  I decided to make it a small one.  Who knew so much lint and dust could collect on the little ledges in the bathroom?  I swear, there was enough to knit a sweater!!!  Okay then ..... enough of THAT!!

At long last after three predictable Christmas movies, 5:30 rolled around (6:30 real time) and it was so dark I couldn't see a thing.  I had to go out ONE more time.  Paychecks were in at the Pumpkin Patch.  Hallelujah!!!  It was almost worth the being sick part!!!

An EPIC day!!  I've got new food to cook, ice cream to eat, gas in the Jeep, money in the bank and a clean bathroom.  What could be better???

No lean cuisines were hurt, purchased or devoured on this day.  That's REALLY epic!!

An Interruption In The Space Continuum

Honestly, I don't know what you call it, but time falling back has totally messed up my senses, not to mention my sleeping and my coughing routines.  There's been an interruption in the space continuum that's thrown me for a loop.  I'm pretty sure California does this just so they can keep everyone off balance enough not to notice what's REALLY going on.

I keep all of my clocks on Arizona time ALL the time.  It's just in those early morning hours when I think about how it's really 3:00 now and I know everyone else in the State is getting an extra hour's sleep that I try to hang in bed a little longer.  It never works.

This is how I looked most of yesterday.  I was just awake enough to be bored when NOT coughing, but not tired enough to crash.  There's nothing like that in-between time when you WANT to go grocery shopping because you feel up to it, but you know the second you get out the door you will wish you were back on the couch.

I finally gave up and drug out one of those boxes of quilt stuff.  This paper piecing project was the closest to being done without the purchase of a $9,000 quilting machine.  Yup I had those exact same thoughts!!  You're CRAZY!!!  I'm telling you, it's the time change.

I put it on the board and messed with it for a couple of hours before settling on this pattern.  I stitched two rows together before heading back to the couch with Cooper's look on my face.  It's so bad I'm even watching those most fascinating, show stopping, ever mysteriously ending Christmas shows and it's only November.

I did pretty good until 4:00 when the coughing fits began.  Luckily I called in sick to the Magic Kingdom.  I felt rather guilty, since I haven't been there in four months, but by 6:00 when the hacking began in earnest, I didn't feel so bad at all.

I'm determined to get to the grocery store this morning when the coughing quits for the morning.  I'm getting pretty tired of chicken enchiladas and tuna with a side of scrambled eggs.  The good news is I'll be earlier than everyone else ... by about an hour!!

What Would I Do Without You?

I have to take a minute here and thank all of you great readers for keeping up with my recently boring blog about being sick.  I'm not sure I would have survived so far without logging on every morning and making fun of an annoying situation.  You kept me going this last week, that's for sure.

I just spent another long 24 hours coughing up absolutely nothing.  What more fun can you have on a Monday.  Tuesday of course brings the Magic Kingdom.  I'm pretty sure they won't be as kind if I sit for four hours passing germs around like they are a dime a dozen.

It's day six on the couch, but at least I'm in good company.  Mr. Cooper is just happy to have his Mom home, even if she is a hacking mess.

There were a couple of last minute problems at the Pumpkin Patch I haven't related to you.  I might as well pass along the current state of the next generation.  The Patch hires mostly high school kids to work the attractions, including the snack bar.

It's a win-win situation.  They get money, they get experience and they get work credit.  Somehow the second "win" never seems to happen.  That would be the part that benefits the Patch.  Actually, in a couple of cases, that did happen.  One girl showed up every single day ON TIME and worked the Barnyard Bounce like a pro.  She even picked up a whistle on her own volition to make the school kids listen.  She was the exception!

The boys didn't seem to understand the rules, even though they were written at the entrance to their attraction.  They did however have lots of fun when they worked the slide alone.  They walked up with the next three kids, then slid down to walk up with the NEXT three.  Oh they loved that, until they forgot to take the gunny sack with them and slid down on their new levis, bouncing two feet high off the bottom end.  OUCH!

The snack bar should have been easier, but then again, everyone does not have a calculator in their head.  Time and again they added up 4 + 4 + 3 to get 16.  That seemed to be the magic number, because no matter what they added up, it always came to 16.  Sadly they even used their fingers tapping on the counter to get to that number.  Hopefully these won't be our newest accountants.

Closing the snack bar was another story altogether.  I went through the entire procedure night after night with every girl at least twice.  One night I left early.  It was a test.  They failed.

I came in the next morning to find the hot dog machine NOT covered, meaning it had to be completely re-cleaned due to the dusty midnight cleanup.  The nacho machine was covered, but ON.  Yup .... left on all night long to get that plastic cover nice and hot.  I opened it up to find a bag of cheese still inside, along with about a cup of cheese smeared over the entire gear section.  WHAT?

The crock pot was turned on high, with absolute NOTHING in it.  The crock itself was so hot I couldn't touch it.  They forgot to turn that off too.  Common sense folks ..... it's out there somewhere!!

I guess what it boils down to is teaching.  I never thought of all the work I did as a kid as being a learning experience, but at least my parents taught me enough to have a little forethought and a little common sense.  Maybe that's just something you get when you're old, I don't know.

It became my goal to teach those kids just a little, by asking them what do you do now?  What's going to happen if?  What if I do THIS!!  At least someone's house may not burn down because they covered the nacho machine and left it on high heat.  There's more, but there's no use beating a dead horse.

I've figured it out, I have exactly three days of food left before I will be required to log on to Walmart for another pickup.  It's also how long I have to sit on the couch.  Maybe, just maybe, I'll open up one of those bins of fabric.  I'll place it on the table in front of me so I have something to look at.  Not sew, just look at.  A change of scenery might be nice.

The PLUMBER

In the world of plumbing, I know if you turn the faucet on, water comes out.  There's a main shut-off somewhere, a place that escapes me.  My knowledge was further enhanced when the pipes on the well exploded and I was told to turn off the breaker for the well.  That's it ... the extent of my knowledge.

Most women entertain dalliances with let's say the milkman, due to the free products deposited at the back door.  Many even choose the mailman, although I've no idea why since there's no free products coming down the line there.

I on the other hand, would choose the PLUMBER.  Who could resist those broad shoulders and dirty coveralls.

This is me trying to figure out what the heck is causing all that water to drain from inside my house.  I finally received a good recommendation via text message from a friend.  Like any good floozy looking for service on Sunday morning at 9:00, I called him.  Amazingly, he answered.  

I explained between coughs that I was a good friend of HIS friend and required help.  I was totally deflated when he said he would have to call me back.  I'm pretty sure I slipped into the conversation that I was single, hoping that might entice him.  It did not.

However .... when he called back, he agreed to come check it out before my entire roof collapsed from the weight of the water.  Oh Lord help me!!!

I have to admit I was a little disappointed that the Plumber didn't look like this guy.  Mike Rowe is my all time favorite plumber, writer, singer, good samaritan, MAN in the country.  I'm sure he could have fixed my problem.  

At any rate, the REAL plumber wouldn't be available for any dalliances ... he brought his son with him.  He said the pressure relief valve was sticking.  He had a new valve in his truck that he installed in no time.  The flood of water was stayed.

Then he went on to explain that my 2006 system is old hat and will probably need to be replaced.  Just a quick note here ... they are very expensive and I have TWO of them.  He also explained there is no drip pan underneath (not required back then) and if it were to spring a leak, I would totally and completely be out of luck.  My instructions were to call a sheet metal company and get drip pans made and installed.  I saw $$$$$$$$$$$$.

Just a quick note here ... Mr. Chance, my all round plumber repair guy in Tucson, just recently told me I need a drip pan underneath my hot water heater or I could be in big trouble at that house too.  Obviously, it's a sign.

Here's the good part.  My little dalliance only cost me $189 and I made a new friend.  He said I had his number, just call him any time!!!  OKAY THEN!!!!!

In the meantime, Mike Rowe has just published his first book, only after encouraging his 80-something year old mother to publish her own, which instantly became rated #1, mostly due to Mike's advertisement of same with his little Facebook friends, of which I am one.  Don't you just love those run on sentences???   I love the book cover ... "read by the author".  

You might be happy to know that his Dirty Jobs show may be brought back to your local television channel.  I can't wait!   I'd watch THAT plumber any time!! 

A Gem To Brighten My Day!!!

At this point, the bug is winning.  Just when I think I'm over the hump, another bad night of coughing ensues.  It was a full 24 hours of constant coughing when I realized maybe, just MAYBE, it was the prednisone causing all my brains to drain into my throat.  I quit taking it.  A temporary score of Me - 1, the BUG - 0.

I spent an entire ten glorious hours breathing, NOT coughing and actually being able to sleep two hours.  The euphoria didn't last.  In no time, my head felt like it was going to explode.  I took half a pill, resulting in an instant dam breakage and another ten hours of coughing all night long.  

I finally gave up and arose at 3:30.  More coughing ensued for the next hour until I could actually take a breath without feeling like I would pass out.  Sadly, I'm not exaggerating one bit.  

Add to that the gem to brighten my day yesterday.  After doing a load of wash, I discovered this in my back yard.  That tiny little overflow drain is draining constantly.  It took me almost two hours to clear my head long enough to try and figure out what the heck!!!!

I have on-demand hot water.  There are two units that sit in the attic fulfilling my every need.  It appears to my muddled brain that there is a shutoff valve that is stuck open, allowing water to head down the overflow drain to the outside.  It's been draining for about 20 hours now.  It has not passed me by that this resembles my nose.

I called a plumber who said maybe Wednesday.  I'm calling another and another until someone can show up to fix it.  Just for giggles, maybe he can fix my nose too, because seriously, all I want to do is lay on the couch and NOT feel like I'm going to die.  

Sick and tired of being sick and tired, I'm also tired of home ownership.  Maybe it's just because I'm sick and tired.  I'm also grumpy, but I'm sure you picked up on that already.  SO .....

I'm signing off in the hopes I am able to find a Sunday Plumber.  At least I have food.  I cooked two frozen chicken breasts yesterday in my instant pot.  Unfortunately I fell asleep on the couch.  You've got to love Instant Pots.  It went into natural pressure release mode for 259 minutes before I noticed it.  It's a record ... and it was surprisingly not terribly overdone.  At least I won't starve.

Clean Up On Aisle TWO!!!

Did I mention I've never been this sick in my entire life?  My advice to you is stay home or wear a mask when you go out.  I hate being redundant, but this stuff is AWFUL!!!

My babies have kept me company without fail, every minute of the day.  I have to count my blessings there!!

Food was getting short.  I tried making an order at Walmart, which worked out well except the frozen foods weren't quite so frozen.  I ate them up pretty quickly.  Oh ... and the eight bags they charged me for, one with absolute NOTHING IN IT!!!  Are you kidding me??  One bag had eggs, one bag had one bottle of advil and one bag had two cans of sweet potatoes for the parrot.  

I would try to pick up some things myself, but now you have to go through two metal detectors and be screened by two employees before entering.  Someone shot someone sometime in the parking lot when I was working the patch.  Nice to know your neighborhood grocery store needs airport security!!

So ... in my quest for food, I tried to run through everything I had in the cupboard.  That's hard when your head is full of muck and you are coughing every two minutes.  I had canned chicken (I NEVER buy canned chicken), cheese, a can of corn, olives and tortillas.  What I didn't have was sauce.  

Amazingly I found a can of tomato puree with an expiration date of 09/19.  Okay, it's not as far off as the enchilada sauce dated 12/17 or the can of tomato paste dated 10/16.  Having actually found a recipe for homemade red enchilada sauce, I figured to give the 09/19 a shot.  After all, those dates are just a general notice, right?

VOILA!!  Enchiladas served!  It actually was pretty tasty, much as I could tell since this malady has killed about every tastebud in my mouth.  The problem arose when I was sitting on the couch, enjoying my newly made lunch when one of those coughing fits came along.

You've never tried to suppress a huge cough more than when you have an entire mouthful of food.  It didn't work as my lovely enchiladas went flying across the room like being shot out of a cannon.  The puppies stared in disbelief!  

After twenty minutes of clean-up, I was back on the couch coughing all the more.  So far it's been two long days and nights of continuous racking hacking.  I can quit only long enough to swallow a tiny piece of leftover candy.  Otherwise, eating is out of the question.  

Try as I might to think .... it's really pretty hard when you are this sick .... I couldn't come up with anything to help the cough.  At long last EUREKA!!!  I remembered I had bottled lemon juice (somehow my brain was stuck on REAL lemons), honey and water.  I made a big cup for dinner.  I didn't cough the entire time I was sipping the hot loveliness.  Still, I was up all night long racking up more miles coughing than I did walking the Pumpkin Patch.

I'm thinking I may be one more day into wellness however, since I had a fleeting thought about all that fabric sitting in the tubs just inside the back door.  At least there's a flicker of hope!!!

I'll be on the couch ..... AGAIN!!

Still Alive And Kicking!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!!

You KNOW I'm not feeling well if I skip THIS holiday!!

I wish I could say this was me.  It's not.  I was flat out in bed moaning and groaning as the puppies reminded me of the time.  I had finally fallen asleep at 2:38 am.  I don't know if I'm getting more wimpy in my old age or if the flu bugs are getting stronger.  I suspect the latter.

Honestly, I have nothing to complain about.  While trying to at least LOOK like I was doing something yesterday, I contacted the past President of the Golden Spike RV Group for some guidance.  Here's his message back to me:

Give me a day or 2.  I'm in an ambulance headed to cath lab for heart attack.  

My response:  Oh good Lord.  I'm sending you prayers.  

Thank God he's just fine and will be home in two days.  So now I really feel bad for just feeling bad.

Here's the lovely that got me.  Apparently it's just a cold per the doctor.  No fever and no throwing up.  Do YOU remember having any colds like this when you were a kid?  I guess we are raising super bugs!

So here's a little story.  When I was in Alaska, Homer to be exact, I got a horrible sinus infection after my "cold".  I went to a local Native urgent care facility to be met by a young Miss Doctor dressed in a cocktail dress.  Mostly she made me feel old, but she gave me prednisone to relieve the swelling in my nose and therefore the screaming headache.  

I've been to several doctors since, who have all refused to prescribe the same.  Yesterday, I went to the new Eastern Indian doctor at my clinic.  He prescribed prednisone.  It's the only reason I may survive this horrible creature above.  I'm in the process of slapping him silly!!

As far as Halloween went, I will forever be known as the creepy lady in that house on the corner who was coughing up a lung.  I just opened the door and stuck my hand out will the bowl of goodies attached.  I only had four customers all night.

So this is me, heading back to the couch for another day of epic coughing.  At least I can breathe through my nose.  Hopefully I'll get well before being completely covered in kleenex, or dust as the case may be.

When I can no longer read the word dust, I'll clean, assuming I feel better by then.  Truthfully, I'm counting my lucky stars a bad cold is all I have.