What I'm Seeing Today

 Surely, oh SURELY that was the end of the hot weather.  I mean really Mother Nature ... it's halfway through September, almost OCTOBER and it's still HOT?  Me thinks we are traveling just a little too close to the sun.  

So about those glasses ... here's my experience.  The best ophthalmologist in the country retired after providing me with perfect glasses for since I was ten years old.  It wasn't even that HE was so good, but his staff that measured and ordered the glasses were the best in all the land.  Sadly, they retired also.

After trying a couple of new providers with bad results (lenses easily scratched and broken), I got my prescription from this eye surgeon, but went to Costco.  They refused to put lenses in my perfect pair of sunglasses, only one year old.  I get it, that makes you buy theirs.  The problem was they didn't set the prescription in the glasses correctly.  I had a terrible time reading.

Then, for whatever reason, even though I keep them in cases and am very careful, they flattened out constantly.  The glassses would not keep the curve.  I kept having to go back and get them adjusted.  

Yes they were cheap, I think $250 for two pair, but they didn't even last ONE year.  Go to Mexico you say?  Yeah ... some of my friends have, and then they don't wear them because they were not the correct prescription either.  

SO ... since these guys are here for the duration (I hope anyway) and they are now selling glasses, I decided to try them out.   GOOD glasses with a GOOD prescription will last me at least three years if not more.  Trying them on?  That's always a fun experience.  I don't think I have ever had a pair that I really liked. 

After 30 minutes of trying on 20 pair, the gal finally asked someone from the back to come and help.  At last I picked one out, and talked them in to using my OLD sunglasses frame.  Of course I got the old ... they-may-not-approve-this story.  She did at least ask for a rush on the order, so hopefully in a week or so, I'll be able to see again.  How much did they set me back?  A LOT!!!  But in the end, buying a really good pair every three years is the same as buying a Costco pair EVERY year.

Back home, I set up another quilt.  The learning curve on these things is long and arduous, but I think I'm getting it.  Not sure what pattern I will use on this one, but since it's all made of scrap material, I'm going to take Dave's advice, put magnets in it after I've done the top border, and lay it over the front of the RV to keep dust and dirt off the windshield.  Dave ... you're a genius!!

I was short of batting, so I finally broke open the big box that's been sitting in the living room.  I got it on sale some time ago.  Wasn't I surprised to find this!!  This alone would make me buy from this company again.  By the way, it pays to shop.  This company sells the same product on Amazon, but it's cheaper if you buy it from them directly ... and no shipping!

In desperation of something to do inside where it was cool, since we got up to 103 yesterday, I started hand sewing the binding on the epic quilt.  It's a King size, so I imagine I'll be doing this for at least a week, if not more.

Finally, when it cooled off a tad, the cow and calf found a place by the front door.  It really needs to be up higher, so I'll either have to put some extensions on it, or find a nice pot to put it in.

At the end of the day, you would have found me outside looking up.  Though you really can't see the stars, they are up there.  I've never really shot star trails before, so I went online to get some tips.  Absolutely NONE of those tips worked, so it's going to be trial and error.  

Then to my horror, I discovered that this computer is so far out in the future, that even the current subscription Adobe Photoshop program DOES NOT WORK THE SAME!!  OMG ... and to make it worse, it refuses to save photoshop images into a format that will go in blogger.  

Big sigh .... I'm sure there's a work around, but my brain is getting fried trying to figure out all this stuff.  New technology can be a BIG FAT PAIN!!!!  I may just be too old for this!!!

Visiting The Dairy

 Oh yeah ... we heated right back up yesterday, like an oven cooking a turkey for 7 hours!!  I kept telling myself to stay inside ... it was just too hot, but inside was pretty boring.

Completely off topic, this proves that there are really nice people in the world.  This is Len from the Elks Lodge.  He's a Veteran and the Lodge Treasurer, who also serves on the Honor guard that conducts ceremonies for our Veterans.  I'm pretty sure he spends more time at the Elks Lodge than anyone.  

He's a diehard Dodgers fan, which is why I took this picture to PROVE that he drank from a San Francisco 49'ers beer glass .... only because the San Francisco GIANTS are his major rival.  Blackmail don't ya know!!  He also attends every single meeting of every variety, even if it's every day of the week.  He and his wife are two of a kind.

Yes I went to my eye appointment, but that's for later.

While it was relatively cool inside, I finished up this quilt.  As you can see, there's a little too much room between the two patterns.  It was hard to get them perfectly set in the exact spot I wanted without distorting the pattern.  No one will notice.

Except for a quilter I suppose, but as long as it's Cooper approved, it good for me.  It's so funny, every time I put a quilt on the floor to take a picture, he does this stretching thing!!  I guess it's his seal of approval.

Okay, time to get on the road again ... just a shorty trip ... to keep the chassis batteries up.  Yeah I could hook up a trickle charger, but honestly, I need the practice.  I thought to unhook and just drive off, but the windshield was so extraordinarily dirty, I had to try and clean it up a bit.

Yeah ... all dressed up with a hose and a window washer thingy trying to reach to the nether regions of the roof.  There was no way that was going to work.  It really needed a bath.  I can't believe how much dirt clings to this thing.  I really needed a ladder, but didn't want to do this on such a hot day.  I grabbed a towel, stood on the floor of the van and hung on for dear life out the door, trying to reach at least PART of the glass.

Good enough ....... I'm getting better at knowing what needs to be put away and what buttons to push.  Off I went, not having a CLUE where I was going.  I kept seeing a nursery on Facebook that's just a few miles away.  Only open on weekends, so I didn't expect much.  

I drove down the dirt road covered in trees, hoping nothing got torn off the top of the van until I found the tiniest of parking lots along with a HUGE old barn.  Instantly I knew this was a dairy at one time.  The path into the barn was completely overgrown with vines and trees.  There was lots of "stuff" stacked everywhere, smothered in dust and spider webs.  

Kind of creepy, but two very nice folks were manning the counter.  I brought along a sample of gazanias that have some kind of white stuff growing on them to see if they knew what it was.

THIS however, is what I was REALLY after.  I saw it on Facebook and had to have it!  

Come to find out, I went to grammar school with these folks.  Frances, do you remember the Mancebos?  This dairy was on Applegate, not far from yours and they both remembered your family and mine.  I bought two more cows just for good measure.

After paying for everything, including some spray for my plants, all of which was half off, I spent a few minutes helping her get the debit card machine to work.  Come to find out, she had about 35 apps open on her phone, which took up too much data for the machine to work.  CLOSE THOSE APPS folks!  Another gal showed her how to get rid of them since she had the same kind of phone.

I must admit, shopping with the van is not like shopping with the truck.  I had a little trouble figuring out where I was going to put everything.  Off again down the dusty dirt road, I headed back home.  Suddenly it appeared before my eyes.  The van turned in of its own accord.  

Anyone recognize this place??  Oh yeah ..... Habit Burger.

I hesitated at the big picture of a pesto chicken sandwich hanging over the counter.  My jaw dropped.  

Okay, I'll try it.  I was completely surprised when I got home to find this HUGE sandwich.  Sourdough grilled on a pile of parmesan cheese, filled with basil pesto sauce, tomatoes, lettuce, and parmesan encrusted chicken, grilled to perfection and juicy as could be.

$11.00 was the asking price.  I'm pretty sure I will be down there at least once a day.  Good grief this was DELICIOUS!!!  I'll order it over a char burger any day of the week.

Now full to the brim, I had a mind to wash the van.  That went away in a flash when I felt the heat outside.  I did however, park it the other way around.  With much less window space facing this direction, it should stay a bit cooler inside.  And maybe, just maybe, less dirty??  Of course this means BACKING out the narrow gate, so we'll see how that goes.  

As for the VERY early morning eye appointment, I did make it in and out in a flash.  I was home by 9:30.  A surprise, this office now makes glasses.  I'll get into that tomorrow.  It will be controversial, I'm sure.

CHICKEN DINNER!!!!!

 Oh my goodness ... Mother Nature's hot flashes are back with a vengeance.  We got up to 103 yesterday.  Someone throw some ice on that girl!!!  It really makes you want to call in sick.  I tried to stave off that thought by consuming lots of sugar from the last of the goodies from THAT store in Utah.  

It's funny because I just saw these at the bakery counter in MY grocery store, which tells me they buy them in bulk and bake in-store.  And here I thought they actually MADE them.

I quilted some more, getting one side done before attempting the bottom border.  After many minutes of setting it up, I hit the GO button.  NOOOO ... STOP!!!!!  Okay, so I forgot to flip the pattern upside down.  That led to an hour of picking out threads so tiny I could hardly see them.  No one ever said quilting wasn't fraught with trouble.

The end plan was simple.  I'll call the Elks Lodge and tell them I'm just too sick to attend the first lodge meeting after going dark.  I don't know about other places, but around here it's just too hot to have any meetings in June, July and August.  Now is the time we start back up.  It's 103 out and I don't want to wear  nylons and a heavy jacket.

That's when I got the call.  Two of the OTHER trustees are out of town.  RATS!!  My plans went up in flames.  And so I ended up with this nice New York steak sitting in front of me.  Crusty on the outside, red in the middle.  Perfect!

I actually did have it on a plate at on time, along with cheese sauce broccoli and some fancy named red potatoes.  There was enough garlic on those potatoes to choke a horse.  I ate every one.  I love broccoli, so that was a very nice change from the usual green beans that are either so overdone they turn to mush, or they are raw.  The steak I saved for later, to share with Mr. Cooper.  Wow ... best New York steak I've had in a long time!

With dinner over, it was time for the raffle.  There is ALWAYS a raffle.  $20 for dinner and $20 to throw away because I never win.  That gets expensive after awhile, so on this day I declined.  There was however, a Major General (for real) guy who no kidding, looks like he's 30 years old.  He's retired.  I wish I had his genes.  Anyhoo ... he could not stay and asked if I could "watch" his tickets.  

Sitting on the giveaway table were twelve special edition red white and blue GOLF ball caps.  Sadly, I didn't get a picture.  That is all he was interested in ... a beautiful ball cap.  When I heard that number called, I was shocked.  WINNER WINNER CHICKEN DINNER!!  Okay, not really me, but I had the winning ticket.  

The Major General would be thrilled to learn he won a ball cap.  Along with it came this slicer/dicer.  I asked if I could keep it, and he said SURE since I was his proxy, whatever that meant.  

Woohoo!!  And so here it is in all its glory.  It's a really nice HEAVY one that will last a lifetime, or at least until I get tired of finding a place for it to live and I donate it back.  I wonder what I can make that will require its use?

It was SO late when I got home and SO early when I had that appointment to get my glasses that I was late.  They don't appreciate late, but they got me in in spite of my transgressions.  I'm still trying to catch up on sleep, so I'll relay that story tomorrow.  Suffice to say my wallet is a LOT lighter.

The Ugly and The Good

 Well ..... a deep subject ..... we are back up above 100 for the next few days.  It was mean of Mother Nature to give us a little taste of COOL, then snatch it back and throw out hot air from a fire breathing dragon!!

Add to that a lovely night with no sleep.  As you know, nothing can wake you up faster and KEEP you up longer than your sweetest puppy companion getting sick at 1:11 a.m.  Man oh man ... nothing makes me move faster.  Only on THIS night, I was too tired to hear it until it was WAY too late.  It was UGLY to say the least.  Not only was I up for an hour, I couldn't go back to sleep.

Oh look ... after tossing and turning ... it's 3:30.  Might as well get up!!!  I stripped the beds and began the three loads of wash.  It was all my fault.  I whipped up some kielbasa and potatoes for dinner and gave him three tiny bites.  BIG MISTAKE!

 

I was pretty skeptical about the next task ... getting my truck to start so I could drive it to the doctor.  I had the battery charger on all night long.  Not wanting to get electrocuted, I unplugged it and disconnected everything.  I jumped inside and held my breath ... turning the key.  It protested, but YAY!!  It started!!  How lucky could I be.

I got to the shop at 7:00 ... they don't open until 7:30 ... but that sweet Benny ... he came out and parked my truck where they would be fixing it.  The wait was on.  Thirty minutes later, he called my name.  Oh no I thought ... what's wrong now!!  

Absolutely NOTHING!!  That Super Shop ... those guys are like family.  They put in not one, but TWO batteries.  Yeah, big trucks have two.  Here's the first one ......

It's on that far side ... and the second is at the bottom of the picture.  I waited for the bad news ... how much I owed.  You won't believe this ... they only charged me for the batteries.  Not the price to have them delivered, not the labor to install and not the check of the charging system to be sure it really WAS just the batteries.  I paid a whopping $414 for the two, but my last ones lasted TEN years, so I can't complain too much.  And the previous two batteries were over $500 ... so there's that!!  I love these guys!!!

I got home to be met at the door with this little face yet again.  He's back to normal, or at least as normal as he can be.  No more kielbasa for YOU my buddy, as I spent the next hour putting the bed back together and cleaning up the floor.  Yeah, it was epic!!

Lack of sleep hit me hard.  I was sooooo tired, but sleep would not arrive on this day.  Might as well have some ice cream.

Now if Walmart could only produce the perfect ice cream cone with which to celebrate, it would have been a perfect day.  Here's their variety ... cheap at a little under $1.00 each.  Once again, notice how the size has changed.

This is not my first rodeo ... thus the bowl over which to eat.  This is what the inside looks like.  Not only is the cone smaller, but they left out half the ice cream!!!  Take a bite and the chocolate crumbles into a dozens pieces, all over your clean go-to-town shirt, the couch AND the floor.  I was more careful this time.

It was okay though, better than nothing!!  Cooper was finally feeling good and I have a truck that will start on a dime!!  All is good in HOT central California on this day!!

And so I'm off this morning to yet ANOTHER eye appointment.  Maybe this time I'll get my prescription for new glasses.

All Things Good!

Let's pretend it's NOT 102 degrees for the next few days, though those 72 degree nights tend to give it away.  My AC is working overtime when it comes on at 5:30 in the morning!  I think I lost track of the days, having a late night Bingo followed by a VERY early morning repair shop trip.

But first ... let's reminisce about that great Tuesday night.  I no more entered the building than one member was slamming tables around.  YIKES!!  She's most always in a bad mood, which begs the question "why oh why do you come to Bingo?"  

After a few seconds of raised eyebrows, I was told that the NO SAVING TABLES rule had come into effect once again.  You can now only save YOUR seat at YOUR table.  You cannot go around putting bags and dobbers at other tables to save THOSE seats.   In order to be absolutely sure THAT seat was saved for her friend, she moved the entire TABLE down one slot.  No kidding ... that's just crazy!

That meant she had to go around and pick up all the bags and dobbers she set out to save the other 10 spots.  She was NOT a happy camper.  It also happens she is a volunteer in the kitchen.  Bingo just makes folks cray-cray!!

On the other hand, I think it's time to talk about the GOOD folks of Bingo.  We have one gentleman who has had several strokes and can barely walk or talk.  Two ladies bring him to the Magic Castle every week, help him get down the stairs and into his chair.  Then they come and buy his cards for him, setting them up at his table.  See ... there are NICE bingo people too!

Once I started selling, I always tell people to hang on to their cards.  They are all different sizes and weights, so it's easy to lose them.  There are sharks out there circling, just WAITING for a dropped card, or for you to turn your back so they can steal one.  

One lady was having a difficult time hanging on, and dropped four cards as she walked away.  A young girl saw that and ran over to help her.  She picked up all the cards and placed them in a bag so she didn't lose any more.  How nice is that?  

Okay, I admit, the tried and true Bingo players think stealing or not paying for a card is bad karma.  You won't win ANYTHING if you do that, so most are very nice about it.  Others will steal them off your table while standing there talking to you.

And then there are the cooks and bakers.  Some of these ladies bring burritos once a month and hand them out for free ... even to the infernal machine cashier.  One of them that I know well, brings the best salsa and chips I've ever eaten.  On the other hand, one brings things I'm afraid to eat.  

On this night it was mystery meat in green sauce wrapped in a tortilla.  She would not take no for an answer.  It sat behind me on the table calling my name.  I finally pawned it off on another volunteer ... I mean DONATED it to another volunteer.  I just KNOW my stomach would rebel.  

When she came back to ask how it was, I said YUMMY!!  Yup I fibbed.  It was such a sweet thing she did, I couldn't tell her I didn't want to eat food from a kitchen I was not familiar with.  Been there, done that with bad results.  

The only other GRUMP was a lady who just could not wait to put her card in the pay slot.  You can't do that until I talk to it first.  It revolted and she had to take the card out.  That made her mad.  When she put it in the second time, I asked if it was a debit card.  NO ... A CREDIT CARD she yelled.  Ummm, I'm sorry, but we don't take credit cards.  

She yelled a bunch of words I won't repeat.  You're not going to believe this ... the lady behind her said she would pay for those cards.  I looked up ... that is so very NICE of you to do that!  The grumpy lady grabbed her cards and left the table without even a thank you.  It makes you wonder what their life is like at home.

We had 121 folks on that night, with none of them winning the big $1199 pot, meaning they will all be back NEXT week to try once again.  It will be interesting to see how long the NO SAVING TABLES rule stays in effect.

I raced home to try and get some sleep, because at O-dark-thirty, I would be out in the garage trying to get the truck to start.  That's tomorrow's story of more good things!!

In the meantime, Mr. Cooper and I tried to catch up on some Zzzzzz's.  That's tomorrow's story of all things BAD.

MORE FUN!!

There's only a few things more fun than a night at the Magic Castle of Bingo.  One of them is having a dead battery in your truck when you try to GO to the Magic Castle.

You will find me this morning trying to get it started so I can go to the Shop and get two new batteries to the tune of $500.  That sounds like fun, yes?  

Therefore ........... no blog because I have to be there at 7:00 a.m.  It takes that long for this old body to wake up and become presentable.

I will regale you with "Magic Castle" stories tomorrow!!!

Rodeo and BBQ

If there are two things I really take a hankering to, it's rodeo and barbecue.  On this Labor Day 2024, I got both.  Although they keep saying we are going to heat up like the sun, we have been holding our own in the mid 90's.  How can I tell?  Because in the mid 90's, I can walk outside on the patio barefoot.  Otherwise I'm walking like a cat on a hot tin roof!!

After turning on the fans and opening the doors, I try to do some sewing.  That room gets HOT easily, mostly because there's a lot of getting up and down to iron the seams.  Here's one I finished in a day.  Well not QUITE finished ... I'm going to put another round of borders on it.  

No pattern here ... I saw this on-line and decided I could make it if I tried really hard.  I like it a lot, and have two more panels of Yellowstone and the Grand Canyon to make.  I suppose I'll have to rearrange the walls to hang them after quilting.  

Then it was on to this beauty.  I tried to quilt the corners, but just could NOT get it to work.  In desperation, I googled ... what else ... how to quilt corners.  I watched the video, madly writing down every step, of which there were quite a few.  TA-DA ... I got it to work on the computer, and it looked pretty good.

 Now to quilt it.  Okay, I admit I didn't do it perfectly.  The bottom of the pattern was not down quite far enough.  "No one will notice" went through my head.  When both corners were done, it was time for the border in between.  I admit once again, I didn't do it quite right, but it was really close.  "No one will notice".  I was pretty happy that I was able to figure it out after two hours!

And then I did the unthinkable.  I didn't think.  I deleted all of that in order to start the middle.  NOOOOO ... now I have to go through all that work again because I have to quilt the BOTTOM border and corners.  It's a good thing I like challenges, or this would be sitting on the sewing room floor forever.

I finally took a break for lunch.  Ribs of course ... and this is only ONE (it's a small plate), along with a big scoop of broccoli salad.  What better way to get indigestion than ribs and broccoli!!

That was pretty much it for the morning.  Early afternoon found me outside wondering why oh why that one big patch of brown grass just does NOT want to green up, especially since I raised all the sprinklers.  I checked it once again.  

Sometimes I wonder where my head is.  Though I was absolutely SURE I aimed them the right way, I apparently did not CHECK said direction and found I was watering the pasture.  A quick turn around and now I think we are good.  Hopefully the grass is resilient.

The rest of the afternoon was spent watching the finals of the rodeo.  It's been an interesting year with so many new kids on the block.  You can tell from the grimace on this guys face that everything hurts.  Only 30 days left to win all the money they can, in order to be qualified for the National Finals.

Mr. Cooper was not impressed.

I've got two more ribs to eat today ... yeah there's one thing about being single ... you have to eat up ALL the food you cook.  Two of those three half slabs went in the freezer, but I've still got ONE more plate to down.  You know, starving children and all that.

Now it's time to get really frustrated trying to figure out why my computer settings keep changing.  I don't know if it's Google or the computer.  Every day is a new surprise on where my pictures are and how I can upload them.  

Just in time for my favorite Magic Castle game .... BINGO!!!!!

CELEBRATE CELEBRATE!!!

 I am definitely celebrating the day today.  It's Labor Day 2024 and I'm partying like crazy because I don't have to WORK any more.  Fourteen years of freedom, though honestly I can't believe it's been that long.  I don't know how in the world I was able to work for that many years.  I could get up and be out the door in 60 minutes.  Now it takes me 60 minutes just to wake up enough to make coffee!!

To all the folks who are still working, I applaud you.  You definitely deserve this day off!!

In your honor, I'm celebrating with this strawberry Boston Creme Pie.  I look at these every single time I go in the store, as they are positioned front and center for quick sale.  I can now with great confidence, tell you to PASS on this one.  It doesn't taste NEARLY as good as it looks.

As you can see in this photo, I am also celebrating WASPS!!  I got not one, but TWO cans, since they don't seem to last as long as the wasps.  "Kills On Contact" is a lie.  I went out to the bird house, and threw rocks at it to see if anyone was home.  I'm no dummy!!!  Seeing none, I very carefully took it down and threw it in the trash.  No more cheap wasp housing!!

Then ... just because ... with BOTH cans in my hands, I did a walk around the house.  Sure enough, there was another group setting up housekeeping.  It was still small, as in about an inch around.  My aim was right on target ... TWO FISTED!!  

But WAIT ..... they did not die on contact!!!!  They just hung on for dear life.  NOTHING hit the ground.  I must have some nuclear wasps!  I'll check again today and make sure they find Section 8 housing somewhere else.

Oh it didn't end there!!!  As I walked into one bathroom, I noticed something moving on the floor.  Ummmm that's an ANT.  OH NO ... another invasion!  Thanks to Dave and Mr. Ed, I fooled the ants into thinking it was Boston Creme Pie time.  I laid down some yummy Amdro.  When I checked an hour later, the floor was covered with ants.  Here's just a small section of them eating it up like candy.  Oh yeah ... the Great White Hunter strikes again!!

Three hours later they were all gone ... completely disappearing beneath the wall.  Hopefully I've seen the last of them!

At long last, I was able to put my weapons down and load this quilt on the machine.  I love the fabrics, but alas, they are Civil War patterns, meaning finding a pattern to quilt it in will be a tough adventure.  I spent two hours looking at patterns on the internet.  I guess my heart wasn't in it, because after I looked at page 5 out of 79, I gave up.  Maybe I can hit the keys again today and find something appropriate.

I no more than got up from the computer than it was play time.  I swear this kid is why I'm still so limber (if you can call it that) after all these years of crazy biking, climbing, diving and running, just to mention a few.  When he gets in my lap and goes nose to nose, it's hard to turn down that happy face!!

There was some downward dog, stretching under the couch, rolling over under the coffee table and crawling on hands and knees for an hour.  He won and I collapsed on the couch to watch the Ellensburg Washington Extreme Bulls competition.  

Lucky for me, we never had those means boys on the ranch.  Our bulls were lovers, not fighters.  Oh I ran into a bull or two on horseback ... NEVER on foot ... but they were definitely NOT as mean as these guys.  Ours would shake their heads and bawl at you first.  At least they gave you a warning before they rushed your direction, but our horses were always faster than the bulls.

Guess what dinner was!  Oh yeah ... yet again ribs and Cole slaw.  Same picture, different ribs.  Two is all I can eat, which puts me on the couch for the duration.  That's okay though because they are SO yummy!

Did I mention I finished this quilt top?  All from scraps I had around the sewing room.  I really am trying to empty some of these boxes full of fabric.  I think I now have four to quilt, so it's time to get busy with that too.

The biggest surprise of all is how QUIET it is on this Labor Day weekend.  I've not heard one single piece of fireworks shot off, nor has there been a screaming loud dance party ... anywhere.  I'm in shock!  OH SO THANKFUL, but very surprised!!  Oh there was a shot or two to be heard from far away.  Dove season opened here yesterday.

By the way, the BAD neighbor's kid had to actually get a JOB that requires he leave at 6:00 every morning.  It's the best thing that has ever happened to this neighborhood.  And so I wish him HAPPY LABOR DAY dude ... enjoy getting up early and heading out to work EVERY SINGLE DAY!!

And to all my RETIRED friends, I hope you enjoy this day while reminiscing about all the hard work you put in over the last many years.  You deserve a day off enjoying the fruits of your labor.

Smoking Hot Ribs

 HAPPY SEPTEMBER 1ST!!  And happy Labor Day weekend, though I hear the crowds are terrible everywhere as folks try to get away from the heat.  So instead of going out, I'm staying in, or at least the farthest I went out yesterday was on my patio.  We are in the low 90's at the moment, so it's not too bad.  

My smoker however, is hot hot hot!!  I set it up in a flash ... a very easy task ... and turned it on.  Unlike my other smoker (yes I have two), this one is all automatic from how long the smoke rolls to how long it cooks.  This is a Bradley .. and I love it. 

So here's my recipe .... baby back ribs from Costco.  No one sells pork ribs this good.  They are two inches thick and mostly meat.  They even take the membrane off the back side that you can never get off in one piece.  They are so huge, I have to cut them in half to fit in the smoker.

The night before, I take them out and spread them with a little yellow mustard.  Surprisingly, the mustard does not flavor them one little bit, but it DOES help to tenderize the meat and hold the spices on.

This is Trim Tabs Pig Powder.  There was a huge barbecue competition online one day, with some of the biggest names in not only the competition, but in the taste testers.  Master Chefs raved about the winner's flavor.  It took quite a bit of research, but I found out this is what they used.  

I admit, it's not cheap, and I probably use more than I have to, but this stuff gives ribs the best flavor I've ever had.  

The spiced ribs go in the fridge uncovered for the entire night.  Next morning, take them out an hour before they go in the smoker, so they will warm up a tad.

Into the heat they go at 225 for two hours.  This smoker uses little biscuits of wood, whatever "flavor" you want.  I like Hickory, but usually mix it up with something else.  I forgot this time and used ONLY hickory.  Ooooweeeeee that's a pretty strong flavor!!!  It's a Southern thing!

I spritz them with apple juice every half an hour, though this time I was completely out.  I used Pepsi instead.  I know that sounds weird, but my construction crew from Mexico ONLY used Pepsi in their copper-pot cooked carnitas.  

After two hours, I take them out and wrap them in heavy duty foil.  Back into the smoker they go for another two hours.  

They come out once again to be doused with barbecue sauce, which I rarely do.  I would rather eat them plain, or dipped in sauce as I eat them.  Back in the heat for one more hour, though I completely lost track of time, and VOILA!!  Smoking hot fall-off-the-bone ribs!!  This is HALF of the three big ribs from Costco.  Obviously MUCH more than I could EVER eat!!  

Dinner was delicious if I do say so myself.  A little bit of leftover salad masquerading as cole slaw and two big ribs.  Needless to say, I'll be eating on these for quite some time.  

Half of what I cooked went in the freezer, along with the other three chunks which will be smoked later on.  Do they turn out just as good once frozen?  Oh yeah!!  Heat the cooked ones slowly however, so they don't dry out.  

 I just LOVE some good barbecue!!!!  It's what's for breakfast, lunch and dinner!!!