Just Like Micky D's .. I'm Lovin' It!!!

 Sometimes it's not all that fun getting out of bed in the morning, even if you know what awaits you.  I'm in dire need of a new mattress, but am too cheap to put out the bucks when there's more important things ... like pizza, dog food and RV stuff to buy.  It was a pretty achy-breaky experience, making for lots of moaning and groaning while stretching on the floor, followed by many doggie kisses, which made it all better!!

After that first cup of coffee, I headed to the fridge to bring out my newest creation.  Super easy this one, with everything done the night before.  Just put the frozen tater tots in the bottom, cover with mild country sausage you browned along with some chopped onions (I left out the peppers) and smother in eggs with half and half, seasoned with salt, pepper and my secret ingredient ..... Cajon seasoning.  Oh, and don't forget a liberal dose of cheese.  Although I don't care for some of the Pioneer Woman recipes, this one turned out to be a keeper too.  Does this not look delicious??

I baked it for an hour total.  It was hard to wait once that smell began to permeate the kitchen.  It's in a cake pan because I only made half the recipe.  This isn't exactly fat free and I didn't want to eat it for the next three weeks.  

Boy am I LOVIN' IT!!!  Just like McDonalds ... this was delicious!  I did add an extra egg and will probably make that two for the rally.  THIS my friends is a good breakfast casserole.    

With that out of the way, I went out to retrieve the critter cam.  I remembered when I left that it would not download the images.  I figured the camera was toast.  Wasn't I surprised to find two images on the SD card from November.  Wait til you see this one!  Just WOW!!  I had no idea ... and check out the entrance ... right over the fence.  I looked and there is nothing on the other side, so they had to jump up and over.

  Boy am I LOVIN' THIS!!  It seems my wild child found a girlfriend!  How fun is that!!  And yes, I'm sure this is who I ran into in the back yard.  Wild kitties around here run the instant they see you.  This guy just froze and watched me for several seconds before slinking off.  The tail was the giveaway.  AND I caught him on camera at the same time I let Cooper out.  

As to the Elks Lodge happenings ... I'm a little on the fence.  I've been back for over two weeks, seen just about everyone at one time or another, and no one told me about the change in "uniform" for the meetings.   We have had a changing of the guards, meaning a new person in charge.   I was the only one out of step, not that I care really, but there is this thing called a telephone.  

Then, quite by accident, I found out there had been a budget meeting I was supposed to attend since I'm a trustee, except no one told me about that either.  Makes you wonder, right?  Almost in the same breath I was asked to help out with the Mother's Day breakfast.  Hmmmmmmm!!  I have lots of time to ponder that one since it's not until May.

For now, I'm trying to get the rig organized to make room for all the stuff I have to take with me to the RV rally.  No tables since they won't fit, but the easy-up might fit in the belly .... if I can get rid of some junk.  These smaller fifth wheels don't have all that much storage room.

Right NOW however, I'm headed back to the critter cam to see what frolicking happened over night!!  The anticipation is exciting!!!

Shrinkage ... It's Happening All Over

Too many late nights and early mornings have taken their toll.  I actually slept in until 5:00 this morning, so it's time to shake off the fairy dust and get back to normal.  What could be better to start off the day than a French toast casserole!

Knowing I would never finish off the 9 x 13 pan it asked for, I used a smaller cake pan, with mixed results.  As you can see, it exploded in the pan, eventually shrinking back down to normal.  I'm not sure what I was expecting with this recipe.  I think maybe more of a custard-like consistency.

As it turned out, it was truly just like a slab of French toast, but with a very crusty top.  As usual, I poured on a big slug of syrup.  Syrup makes EVERYTHING better!!  I wasn't feeling that this recipe was going to work until I took that first bite.  Yaowee!!!  This stuff is delicious!  I quickly decided this would be recipe #1 for the RV rally.  If you would like to try it, look up Pioneer Woman french toast casserole

Speaking of syrup, while scrounging around in the fridge for that little bottle, I happened to see a couple of pull dates on my condiment stack in the door.  Good grief ... there was mustard from 2018.  I know it lasts forever, but even that's a little too long for me.  

A further check found four bottles from 2019, and some very suspect ketchup dated 2020.  I cleaned house ... well not the house, but at least the fridge door.  Now I've got room for so much more!!!

That's when I remembered on my last foray (Wordle word) to the grocery store I had picked up some Easter candy.  Self control was never my best attribute!  These are perfect for when I need something sweet, but would never eat an entire bar.  Body shrinkage has never been in the cards for me, probably because of that awful sweet tooth!

I tried my first one yesterday.  I was shocked!!  Look at this teeny tiny piece of candy!!!  It has shrunk by 50%.  Just like toilet paper, I'm telling you they are diminishing the size of EVERYTHING, yet charging the same price!  So much for the good feeling from eating only ONE ... now I have to eat TWO!!

With nothing scheduled for yesterday ... on purpose ... Cooper and I hung out on the couch discussing the thing I caught in the back yard yesterday morning.  Honestly, I have no idea what it was, I just saw two big eyes when I flashed the flashlight around.  I do that now every single time he goes out in the dark.  I want no repeat of the skunk festival.

I rushed back to shut Cooper in, then found it slinking away .... not running, just sneaking off.  Weird, it's back end was almost on the ground.  A kitty?  It was big enough to be a fox, but I've never seen one walk like that.  I really couldn't say what it was, so I set up the game camera last night.  

Due to lack of shuteye, we both feel asleep on the couch and napped for over an hour in the evening ... a rare occurrence for me, not to mention Cooper.  He's usually begging me to throw the ball.

Oh and one more thing ... Arizona sent the title for my Jeep.  Now I wonder what I'm supposed to do with it.  I've got my plates and registration.  I think I'll just stick it in the safe and see what happens.  I'll probably get arrested, but at least the horrible food in jail would help with MY shrinkage problem!!

My How Things Change

I scrambled yesterday morning.  Just like my usual morning scrambled eggs, I was all over the place trying to get my act together to drop off my truck for some coffee of her own.  I'm always up very early in the morning, but I never leave the house before 9:00.  Getting out the door by 7:30 is a big stretch for me.

I went prepared with a crossword puzzle book and a REAL book to read, along with my phone charger since my battery never seems to last even two hours any more.

I pulled in and no one was home.  Come to find out, they were actually there, having snuck in the back door.  I politely asked if I could have the truck back by 3:00 since I had Elk business to attend to.  Then, in my best non-street-walker imitation, I headed out to walk the eight blocks to the lodge where I would sit while my truck glugged down some $$$$.

Gosh, has this town gone to the dogs.  I see prostitutes walking the streets all the time, along with many homeless guys, all who seem to have puppies, but THIS .... this surprised me.  There are so many buildings in disrepair that are falling down.  This one, a Kentucky Fried Chicken staple of town, was gone altogether.

I was really shocked at the number of empty decrepit buildings in spite of the City spending millions on new one-way streets and wide sidewalks.  No one goes down there any more except people looking for a place to spend the night in the bushes.  My how things have changed.  I was pretty happy I didn't run into any of them as I walked along with a stranglehold on my purse.

Here's the worst part ..... it smelled.  It smelled like someone's bathroom, right here in downtown.  That shouldn't be surprising to me since it IS the bathroom of many homeless and drug addicted folks.  Just WOW!!!

I knew there was a bakery on the way, so I stopped in without reading the sign.  It's now an Asian bakery, and full of the biggest fattest donuts I've ever seen!!  I was so entranced with this amazingly delicious piece of pastry that I almost forgot to take a picture!!

I made it to the Elks Lodge, and now I'm sitting at the bar with my phone plugged in enjoying this treat.

The kitchen crew had their music on BLAST!  Don't get me wrong, I love country music and I run mine pretty loud, but this was more than I could handle.  I escaped to the back parlor where one lone chair was calling my name.  I spent three hours here, mostly wasting time on Facebook.

Sometimes when walking around town at 8:15 in the morning, you find something that trumps the garbage covered streets.  Sinaloa, a small restaurant that has been open in the same place since I was a kid, was out on the street selling their burritos for breakfast.  

I like supporting hard working folk, so I grabbed a carne asada burrito to go for lunch.  First bite ..... YUM!!  Then I accidentally put it down on top of the salsa to get out my camera.  The salsa fell over and smothered the burrito on the bottom.  Oh well ... how hot can it be?  Well let me just say ...  LIKE FIRE!!!  Woohoo did that wake me up!!

To my great surprise, they called at noon to say my truck was done.  Okay then ... now I have to walk the gauntlet BACK to the other side of town.  I passed two street walker gals in their tightest, shortest and finest wear, who gave me the evil eye since I was in their territory.  Really girls, no one is interested in this old lady!!  

Now for the REAL shock factor.  It cost me $589 to get the oil, transmission fluid and rear differential fluid changed.  I suppose that's cheap since I can't remember if the last two have EVER been done.  Lucky for me, they found no pieces of metal in any of the fluids.  I'm good to go for another 120,000 miles.  

Then it was off to the house where I tried to get things caught up before heading out to the Lodge meeting.  That turned out to be something completely unexpected also, but I'm too tired to relay it now.  I got home at 10:30 ... WAY past my bed time.  It's a three cup-o-joe morning!!!

Testing ... 1. 2. 3

 In spite of all the political garbage in California, and it is plentiful, it was another sun filled beautiful day to hang outside.  While I drank my coffee on the patio way later in the morning than I should have, Cooper patrolled his property.  

Someone, or something, wanders the yard every night leaving signs for Cooper to sniff out in the morning.  So far I've been lucky ... there haven't been any skunks.  Until today!  I didn't see any, but I could sure smell them.  I'm hoping all the grubs they've been after are now dead since having the corrals sprayed.  I'm trying very hard to be retired from the Skunk Hunter business.  I guess it's time for the critter cam.

The roses when crazy in the last two days, blooming like never before.  They actually put on their very best dresses twice a year, making for a colorful surprise when they bloom.

Enough sitting around, it was time to hit the grocery store yet again.  I received one of THOSE emails.  "Can you bring a breakfast casserole to the rally?"  Gosh, do you realize who you are asking to cook??  I definitely need a test run before subjecting anyone to my food.  

As I was walking around, I spotted this.  Chopped chicken, already marinated, just like the taco meat I bought last week for $4.00 a pound.  This is $9.00 a pound!!!  And it's CHICKEN!!  Not only are the fuel stations making a killing, the grocery stores are doing the same since they have to pay to have stuff delivered ... by trucks that use fuel!!

This is also a good sign of things to come since the big whigs raised income taxes to be paid by corporations.  They certainly won't be taking it out of their profits, they will raise YOUR cost to purchase their products.  Here's a really good example of that.

Anyhow ..... I'm going with sausage, eggs and tater tots on this casserole ... a recipe you put together the night before and bake in the morning.  Now you see why I need to test it out first.  But THEN I had the bright idea of a French toast casserole, which sounded MUCH better to my sweet tooth.  Too bad I forgot the French bread.

Back home I barbecued the chicken I bought at the carniceria on my pretty clean barbecue!!  I had a little trouble getting it to light until I discovered one of the little wires had come loose.  TA-DA ... it lit right up. I was a little disappointed when I discovered the marinated chicken breast I bought turned out to be boneless thighs.  There was a bit of a language problem there.

I chopped it up and made street tacos without any real street taco ingredients except the tortillas.  They were delicious, but next time I'll pass on the chicken and just get beef!!!

Knowing I really needed to start up the test kitchen for those casseroles, I went BACK to the store for French bread.  Can you believe it?  They didn't have one single loaf.  I thought about substituting something like Kings Hawaiian rolls.  Just imagine them smothered with syrup!!  Instead, I drove clear across town to pick up two loaves, just in case the first recipe bombs!!

Back home, I ran a quick test on my little 3 qt Instant Pot purchased some time back.  It's the perfect RV size for Cooper and I.  I quickly learned a lesson.  Although it says add one cup of water, that was too much.  It didn't want to come to pressure.  It probably had something to do with the amount of water that came out of the frozen meat I stuck inside.  I removed quit a bit and VOILA!!!  It worked!

It's funny how these have come into vogue.  I used a pressure cooker (and pressure canner) all my life on the ranch for cooking everything from pot roast to potatoes to cowboy beans.  Never gave it a second thought.  Then they invented one you just plug in and it became all the rage.  

Today is going to be a lesson in how to be bored.  I'm dropping my truck off for three oil changes this morning.  With no one to give me a ride, I'm walking down to the Elks Lodge where I'll try to live through seven hours of boredom.  Really, I'm hoping it won't take that long, but I'm not holding my breath.  

Then there's Board meetings for three hours ... UGH!  Hopefully I get home in time to make one of those casseroles and stick it in the fridge before I fall asleep.  I'll let you know how it turns out.  Testing 1 2 3 means I'll be doing this for three days!!!

I Ran Out Of Money!!

Another gorgeous cool quiet morning is in the books.  I'd show you a picture, but it would be all black since my morning coffee ritual is always way before the sun rises.  I had lots planned, but got absolutely nothing done.

Thank you so much for the RV water system recommendations.  I'll do a little more research and see what I can come up with.  At the moment, I just buy cases of bottled water for me and the critters.  Jonathan for one, has to have good non-chlorine water twice a day, so if I can find something that works, it will make it much easier for me.

You know what this picture means ..... it's BINGO time!!

What better way to prepare for that crowd than cinnamon rolls!!  This time I bought the small ones, and I must say, they aren't quite as good as the big ones.  I've no idea why.  It seems SOMEONE got me started on these and their names are Patsy and Bill Richards!!

Unfortunately, all my other plans for the pre-Bingo time went right out the window when I decided to have lunch a little early.  It was Caesar salad in a bag.  I double checked the pull date and it still had two days to go.  I ate one small bowl.

In no time I was sick as a dog ..... literally!!  I imitated Cooper like a pro, but at least I didn't throw up on my bed.  I guarantee you there won't be any more Caesar salads in my future!!

Happily I cleaned up enough to head on down to Bingo, but passed on the obligatory glass of wine.  I took with me a 10 quart Instant Pot.  Who in the world uses something this big?  I got stung when I didn't pay attention to the big sale they had going on for the NEW instant pot air fryer.  Turns out it was half price, but double the size.  There's no way I would ever cook anything in something that huge.

I donated it to the Elks kitchen.  The Chef was there and said he was sure they could use it, and if not, the Bingo kitchen could use it for things like chili verde or pulled pork.  You can't imagine how much space I now have in my cupboard!!  

And so ..... let the games begin!!  I completely fooled everyone by switching out the blue speed bingo cards for black ones that have been sitting around for years.  They were SO confused!  Once these are gone, we'll go back to blue and mess them up all over again!!

Things went smoothly for the most part, but we have more than 50% new players, meaning they all want to try the scam game on us.  They don't have a clue how long I've been doing this!!  They will learn pretty quickly that we don't play that game here!!  A husband and wife tried to say we didn't give them six of their papers.  They might have been believable if they said one or two!!

With 122 players this night, we gave out lots of cash.  We are allowed to give them cash back from their debit cards (only with a Bingo buy-in), which many players do instead of going to the bank.  ONLY debit cards ... you are not allowed to gamble using credit cards.  It was a record setting night ... we had over $3,000 in debit transactions.  

That's not good because it means I have no cash left in my box to make the winning payouts.  I had to borrow quite a chunk from the other half ...  pull tab sales.  That has never happened before in my twelve years of doing this!

There was quite a bit of accounting and lots of plain counting at the end of the night to make sure it came out right.  Thank goodness the infernal machine was nice to me on this day.

I had a big list of things to do, but I'm still not feeling up to par.  It's probably just that I need diesel for my truck and I don't want to pay the ridiculous prices here.  That would make anyone sick!!

More RV Questions For You

I can't get over how nice the weather is here.  It seems weird for it to be so perfectly cool at night, followed by perfectly warm all day long.  I'm hoping this "spring" lasts the entire month of April.  Yesterday, I lounged around the back yard sipping my fake coffee for much longer than necessary.  I was only interrupted by the barking of Cooper, who had rolled his ball under something and couldn't reach it. 

Okay .... time to get to it.  My first objective of the day was to try out my new lounge chair, a recent Amazon purchase that took one day for delivery.  It's a backpack type with shoulder straps to make it easy to carry.  It was perfect, just like the weather, and I envisioned myself laying out on the patio.

It took me 15 minutes to get it set up.  The legs wouldn't stay put, so every time I went to the other end, the first end fell down.  At long last it was upright and I sat down.  That was probably my biggest mistake.  I almost couldn't get back up.  This thing sits about six inches off the ground.  I finally rolled over, hands on the ground and ended up on my knees.  Geeze!!!!!

It's now boxed up and ready to be deposited at the UPS store for return.  There's got to be something easier to navigate out there.

Undaunted, I spent the next two hours on the phone.  I verified that Arizona would mail my Jeep title to me ... but hey ... California already gave me my plates, so I'm not in any hurry to get it to them.  Next I spoke to Noble Motorsports about installing a Tekonsha brake system for the trailer, and they said not only would they do it, but they had them in stock.  I'll drop by today for an estimate.

In the meantime, I made a little chicken/hominy soup for lunch.  Yes, I suppose there is more chips and cheese than soup, but it was good nonetheless.  Unfortunately I now have enough for the next eight days.  It's always so hard to cook for just one.  

On to the RV questions ..... Does anyone have a water softener for their rig ... one of those blue bottles you see hooked up to the city water faucet?  I keep reading about ruining the hot water heater and plumbing from hard water scale.  In my old rig, I never used anything, but I was constantly cleaning out the faucet ends so water could actually go through the spigot.  They apparently have salt inside, which you need to replace every so often??  They run about $250 and I'm wondering if it's worth it.

Next question ..... the lovely (very thin) plastic wall in the rig shower has come away from the ACTUAL wall.  If I push it back, it sticks, but just for a few seconds.  I'm thinking construction caulking (I have some Liquid Nails), although I'm not sure I can reach up under the thin panel to spread it around.  I don't want to pull the panel off completely since it's stuck under the door on one side.  Anyone think this will work?  

I suppose I could take it back for warranty work, but that will take months and more time than it's worth.  Nothing underneath has gotten wet since it sticks out from the wall quite a ways, so that's not a problem.  Wish I had caught it sooner when I was around the guys who know how to fix this stuff!!

I spent the rest of the day sewing this fabric that looked beautiful when I bought it.  It does nothing for me here.  Maybe when I get a little further in, it will grow on me.

I'm afraid I'll be yawning like crazy tonight at BINGO ... yes it's another adventure in gambling.  Cooper had me up three times last night.  I don't think it was because he really had to go out, I think he just wanted to play, the little rat!!!  The good part is they are serving tacos tonight, made from that same taco meat I love!!!  Woohoo!!

Picture This .....

You just woke up to a wet nose touching your now wet nose, followed by a wiggle just as you open your eyes.  It takes a couple of seconds to figure out what's going on.  In a flash, a fast moving hairy face gets buried in your neck.  It takes you another couple of seconds to realize it's not Prince Charming.  You glance at the clock.  It's 3 am AGAIN!!!  Come on little buddy ... it's WAY too early!!   

There's no going back .... my eyes are now wide open and there's no way they are going to shut.  Besides, wiggles mean he has to go outside ... NOW.

The good news is I was walking through the grocery store door at 8:00 on a Sunday when there was no one in sight.  I like Sunday shopping, mostly because the shelves are completely stocked since everyone shops after church!!

I was instantly bombarded with Easter stuff, which I usually ignore, although it does take a little effort.  Then I saw these ..... M & M EGGS??  Yes please!!

AND THEY ARE PEANUT BUTTER!!!  I'm pretty sure half the bag is gone already.   No worries, there's another one in the freezer!!

I would never leave home without a list because I try very hard not to impulse buy.  That's when I spotted THIS!!!  Okay, I impulse buy!!  They came home with me.  I can't wait to try them out!

Then it was back to fixing stuff.  I posted on Facebook about these screws and was told unanimously to stick in some glue, followed by toothpicks, then the screws.  OR I can just get bigger screws, which I'll try first.  Then someone said they replaced it completely with two big magnets.  That sounded like a great idea to me, but I suspect I'll be left with two big holes.  I'll take a look today to see if that will work.

Then it was on to insulating the place just a tad bit more.  Reflectix is the name of the game here, but wasn't I surprised, in spite of looking carefully, that this is NOT Reflectix.  It's a slightly lighter weight copy.  GRRRRRRR!  Being lighter meant it didn't stick in the back like the other product.  So we shall see if it stays put.  

I lined all the kitchen cabinets and the pantry before heading to the bedroom.

The cabinets over the bed at the front of the fifth wheel definitely need extra insulation.  I did this in my other Class A motorhome, and it helped considerably.  You just cut it bigger and stuff it in.  It should stay put .... at least the Reflectix did.  Always check for moisture on occasion to be sure there are no problems.  I also cut a few pieces for the windows when parked in the sun.  On the way out the door, I realized I had another big bank of cabinets in the living room.  I'll finish that later.

Since it took most of the day to get that little job done, I celebrated with a nice big bowl of ice cream.  Sadly, my usual Tillamook is now $6.98 a carton, and remember the carton is now smaller?  Yikes ... too bad there's not a Safeway close by because their ice cream is sweet!!!  I decided to try the cheapest I could find, which turned out to be Save Mart's brand.  Looks good, yes??

That's when I discovered the word LIGHT on the top.  Oh heck no ... if you're going to have ice cream, why have it LIGHT?  I heavied it up with a nice fatty layer of caramel sauce.  

By now I was really tired, but I just can't sit still.  I finished up this really weird quilt with big while pieces cut to size, per the pattern.  I think that's called cheating in the Quilt World.  

I've one last thing to fix ... truly not the last ... the struts or whatever you call them that help open the bed and hold it open?  They don't work at all ... unless there's no bedding on the mattress.  I'll get pictures and measurements.  Anyone know where you can buy them?   Which reminds me, I have to limber up for the contortions of unmaking the bed so the sheets can be washed.

Today, once I've napped enough to get my brain working, I'll try to get my Jeep title from Arizona, find a cheap toaster for the RV and a long narrow mirror so I can complain about how much weight I need to lose every time I walk by.  At least I'll be able to assess if I got dressed before walking outside.

It's a beautiful spring day in the neighborhood!!!

RV Gadgets and Repairs

 I hit the ground running yesterday.  By 8:00 am I was parked at Home Depot with a list.  Numero uno was to replace the toilet seat in the house.  Here's another first in all my years ... it broke a week before I left for Arizona in December.  Who does this happen to?  Of course I forgot to measure it and there were 8 different varieties.  

I was lucky to find help on this day, and even though they didn't help me at all, I finally did find the little screws that would attach my license plate.  Or at least I thought I did.  They were a little bigger than the holes drilled into my plastic Jeep bumper.  We'll see how long the license plate stays put.

On the way back home, I got the dreaded low tire light.  Like a moth to a flame, I was staring at it all the way into the garage.  Time for a little air in the tires.  While I was at it, I deflated the air bags so it's easier to get up on the tailgate of the truck and let a little air out of the rear tires since I'm not pulling for another 20 some days.  I also discovered one garage door refuses to work.  Big sigh!!

Jonathan was thrilled with his new toy I brought home ... a piece of wood I cut into smaller pieces.  If parrots don't have something to chew, their beaks will grow until they can no longer eat.  He was quite excited, so say the least.

Then it was on to the seat repair.  Gosh, they make these things so cheap nowadays.  Plastic bolts!!  I did have some trouble getting the old one off, as the tabs seemed to be glued down.  Not so for the new one.  Trouble is, that plastic didn't screw down tight at all and it wobbled all over the place.  I threw them away and used the old bolts, which worked just fine.

VOILA!!!  A new seat ... but looky here!!  Even the toilet seats now have less material, just like toilet paper rolls and paper plates!!  Look at the indentation!  Also, no more slamming the lid, as it's one of those fancy ones that goes down slow.  OH BOY!!!  It should open by itself too, considering what these things cost!

On to the next project ... the handle on the screen door.  This one involved drilling holes, which I wasn't comfortable with at all!!!  It's way too easy to mess up something like this, especially since it really requires two people, or one with four hands.

In spite of duck taping it to the door to get the measurements, I was off 1/8" ... enough to be a problem.  There's barely 3/8" to screw it down to on each side.  I think it took me over an hour, and don't put a level on it.  In spite of measuring six times, it's a little off, although not noticeably so.  We'll see how long it lasts before I have to buy a new screen door.

Next up .... this little cheesy screen door latch is always coming undone.  After looking for an hour to find the square tipped screwdriver, I finally discovered the screw holes are stripped.  Having replaced the door handle, I already know they are just screwed in to the insulation, which isn't going to hold anything.  

Anyone have any ideas on how to make this tighter so the screen will remain attached to the door?

Lastly I grabbed the power strip, ready for those contortions required to reach behind the lounge chairs and find the electrical cords I had unplugged.  Puppy feet kept turning on the heat and vibration controls.  Whoa ... look here!  I see $1.25 in quarters behind the chair!  Too bad there's no way to get them out!!  Even with my longest kitchen tongs, they are way too far away.  

I finally put up the foot rest which lowered the back, laid on my stomach as best I could and used my longest arm, which instantly got caught between the chair back and the wall.  OUCH!!  That's going to make a big bruise!!  At last I nabbed the wires and pulled in the two plugs.  I attached the power strip with heavy duty velcro (best thing next to duck tape) and turned it on.  YAY!!  It works!!!

Why am I doing all this work?  Because I have a Golden Spike RV Rally in Ione California at the end of the month.  There's a few more things to do, but they will have to wait.  In spite of my now sore back, I have to hit the grocery store today!!  Then I'm going to be the ever exciting couch potato!!!!

As She Caressed Her Hair ........

So I'm here today to tell you a tale of frustration beyond measure, so exasperating that even my earlier fifteen minute zen I'm-going-be-here-all-day preparation ritual did absolutely nothing.  

I arrived on time for my 10:30 appointment to be met by a security guard who wouldn't let me in the door. I had to get in line and wait.  At least I was in the short line.  The other line had 37 people, 6 with baby carriages.  When finally let in the door, I received a number and was told to wait.  Wait for what?  I have an appointment!!

Here's what I learned.  The only thing an appointment does is get you in the door before those 37 people.  You still have to wait your turn behind the 53 people already inside.  I kid you not, I sat there for 50 minutes waiting for my number to be called.

At long last, I'm standing at a window handing over my paperwork.  After a few minutes, she said I didn't have the required title from Arizona, only a copy of it.  That's when it happened ... another girl walked up behind her and began caressing her hair.  Wait ..... what are you doing??  

She stopped helping me and they began to talk about how many "likes" something got on the internet.  The caressing continued.  I finally tapped on the plexiglass ... excuse me????  This is no April fools joke, it really happened.  The second girl finally walked away as the hair fell from her hands.  Good grief!!!

Paperwork done after another twenty questions and I was out the door.  Not to leave however, but to have the vehicle "verified".  That was another 30 minute wait, standing outside.  I opened the hood and guess who finally showed up ... the Caresser ... to check and make sure there was an engine there, along with the vin number.  Go back inside and wait again she said.

By now I was laughing hysterically like a crazy lady, hoping they wouldn't make me wait near as long.  Another forty minutes passed by oh so slowly until my number was called.  This time I was actually given the plates and stickers, but no registration because I have to return yet again with the title.  

As I walked out the door, they warned me to put the plates on.  Yeah yeah yeah!!  It's going to take me about the same time to put them on as it did for you to make me wait.  I ran into a problem immediately.  There are no screws on the front to hold the plate since Arizona doesn't require a front plate.  So sorry Charlie.

I drove off in defiance, headed directly to the Mexican Carniceria on the South side of town.  I figured I fit right in with the license plate stuck in the window.  It's a little scary over there, but I was on a mission.  Completely by accident, I was privy to a conversation about the taco meat sold here.  I wanted to give it a try.

It was a little difficult since they speak Spanish at Tres Hermanos, but I got the message across and headed home with a bag of meat that didn't really look very appetizing. I fried up some onions first, then dumped the meat in a hot frying pan.  It cooked quickly, but I left it a little longer to get some nice color.

Let me just say this is the best taco meat I've ever had!!  

I didn't even put sauce on it ... I just ate it up!!  At $4.00 a pound, this stuff is like gold.  You can bet I'll be stopping there quite often from now on!!  I'm pretty sure this is skirt steak chopped up fine, much cheaper than the $7.00 a pound stuff they sell in the grocery store ... and this is marinated.

To make it even better, I made a quick run to Boot Barn looking for socks, and when I returned home .... OH THE LOVELY SMELL OF BEEF!!!!  This is better than ANY air freshener!!!

At the end of the day, after two more tacos and as I was hanging out in the sewing room, Cooper did his job again, barking at the front door.  My big roll of reflectix showed up.  That means I'll be spending the day in the rig cutting up pieces to stuff in all the cabinets, along with big pieces to cover the windows when sitting in the sun.  This should help considerably with the inside temperatures.

Oh ... and in case you were wondering, my Jeep cost $198, not counting the bottle of aspirin I took when I got home and the case of margarita cans I'm going to drink in order to finish getting it registered, if and when I ever get the title from Arizona.  I hope there is no more hair caressing!

Spring Days Bring Chores!!

It was what I consider a day off yesterday.  I didn't have any State agency to deal with and I didn't have anywhere to go.  Those are no makeup .. no comb the hair .. and no getting dressed in tight "good" clothes days.  Big girl Levis with holes in them are the preferred wear.  I'm even thinking overalls!!!

Cooper loves it too since he gets to snuggle with Mom on the couch for at least two hours, just snoozing away.  I can't help it.  He's such a good watch pup, he deserves it.  Without him, I never would have known my new Mikita battery had arrived for the drill.

I stuck it in the old charger and hit the buttons a few times until the red light came on.  Charging!!  Back to the couch I went when all of a sudden I heard BANG!!!!!  I thought someone broke in the back door.  I made a mad rush for the bedroom and came sneaking back out with gun in hand.

Nope .... no one broke in, but the battery was a gummy mess running down the front of my cabinets.  What the heck?????  Wow ... what a mess THAT'S going to be to clean up!!  In actuality, it took me no time at all to toss everything into the trash can, because what day is it?  It's April fools day!!  I did get the battery, I charged it up and it worked just fine in the drill.  YAY!!

Too bad the joke was on me however when during the last big rain, I discovered my gutters required cleaning.  It's not a job I like, perched on the next to the top rung of the ladder.  There's no leaves to extract, just one to two inches of mud, making them so heavy they are sagging in places.  

It's easy to maneuver the ladder on concrete, but when it comes to the sections with flower beds below, I have to make sure the ladder is stable.  The back wasn't too bad, only requiring eight full bucket loads to be dumped in the flower beds.  I certainly got in my exercise for the day.

Once the ground has completely dried up, I'll work on the front of the house.  I don't need any April fools jokes that land me in the hospital, so those sides will have to wait.

I spent a good time organizing all the fabric I brought back from Tucson.  Good grief ... every time I do this I SWEAR I won't buy any more!!  This one is called flying geese and will sit on a white background.  Due to puppy dog paws, I would rather not use the white it calls for, but I'm NOT buying any more fabric!!

This morning is the dreaded DMV appointment I finally latched on to after two hours on their website.  I definitely should have picked another day.  I'm sure this will hold a GREAT April fools joke for me, which is yet to be seen.  Maybe if I expect the absolute worst, I'll be happy with whatever penalty they decide to mete out.  I'm pretty sure this will take at least three visits to get done.  I'll let you know what happens!!!