Panic Sets In

 Oh what a beautiful morning ...... oh what a beautiful day!  Anyone remember THAT song?  I'm singing in the sunshine and loving every minute.  I rather imagine these guys are loving it too.  No freezing snow, so Mom leaves the nest early in the morning,  Just look at the size of these kids!!

Even strong enough to stand up.  I think their feet are bigger than their heads!  I saw many of them in Alaska, but have only come across a few in California.  It's amazing we get to watch them grow up.

It was fun watching this kid grow up too, though now he's only growing old.  You wouldn't know it when you see us out walking though.  When he walks, he camel walks, meaning both legs on one side move at the same time.  It seems it's more comfortable for him to trot because his legs move correctly ... so we do.  Both of us!  FAST!  

If you listen closely, you can hear my footsteps.  I'm walking as fast as I possibly can to keep up.  Sometimes I even have to run until we stop on a dime for the smells!!

Once back, I perused the back yard for broken sprinklers.  The roses are starting their spring bloom, which of course means there will be rose bush trimming in no time.

Everything seems to be blooming, including this lavender that I bought for the nice smell.  This one HAS no smell.  Maybe it's not even lavender!

I had three little groups of gazanias that bloomed like crazy last year.  Where are they?  All I found was a few green leaves and two big holes!!  I mean BIG!!  What the heck?  That's either the biggest gopher I've ever seen or I have a monster squirrel in my back yard!!  This small bunch on the other side of the lawn is still intact and hopefully this one will bloom today.

And THAT'S when I realized just how hot it really WAS outside.  Time for some shorts.  Panic quickly set in.  Where ARE they?  I looked high and low to find nothing short of extra long Levis.  Did I leave them in Arizona?  Maybe in some laundry room?  I went through every single drawer and cupboard.  

FINALLY it dawned on me to look in the RV.  I found a bunch still living in the closet, unworn in last January's freezing desert weather.  You can probably tell I'm a Levis gal through and through.

I didn't do much after the walk, still recovering from a late Bingo night.  I watched the stock market soar, which I admit was a lot of fun.  What a game of chess!  Don't you think someone was saying I wish we had thought of that?  And now Michigan will finally get rid of those crazy fish, eating everything in sight.  What a world we live in!!

And then I went to the sewing room.  What a mistake THAT was!  I started on yet another quilt, not really sure what colors to use or where to put them.  I got the corner blocks on the bottom, but could not for the life of me get them to fit across the top.  I took it apart, measured and measured again.  1/2" too short.  I redid it to find I was an INCH off.  Here it still sits after I threw it on the table in disgust and walked out.  I must be too tired!!

Dinner was a simple concoction.  I admit, I didn't use the recipe.  I just fried up the hamburger until it was crispy and dumped in the rest of the bag-o-salad I had ... cabbage and kale.  I added some Thai chili sauce and soy sauce for salt.  You are supposed to serve this over rice, but I ate it just like this.  Not bad really, even if I don't like kale.  I know, weird dinner ... but I'm just not into cooking much any more.

Today I'll head out to buy sprinklers.  I've got two broken ones to replace and I'm short of drip line.  It's always something with these things.  Then it's on to a Trustee meeting, followed by a Board meeting with the newest board members.  This ought to be fun since none of them know anything about accounting.  I think that's why the bookkeeper and I are best friends!!

Have a GREAT day!!!  

CRASH AND BURN

 YAY!  It's time for BINGO!!  Okay, truthfully I don't think those words have ever come out of my mouth.  Maybe yay ... it's time to see my friends again.

I started the day off right .... with a crash and burn.  I think there must not be anything worse to get off your wood floor than a broken egg.  That stuff is slimy ... sticky ... gooey ... and just does NOT want to come up.  So much for breakfast.  

By the way, the fasting is not working.  I found that I got so weak by mid day that I just sat on the couch doing nothing, not to mention I felt horrible.  I'm back to eating, but trying very hard to cut the portions and lay off the carbs.  Life on a diet is not fun!!

After cleanup on aisle one, I headed out to set up the sprinklers.  You all know how much I love THIS job!  Surprisingly most of them worked pretty well.  I have one broken underground that pours out so much water the last one on the line doesn't work at all.  Big sigh.  

All in all, it wasn't terrible, with only four drips lines cut or broken.  All fixed now, and the lawn looks nice and green.  No worries, it will be green and brown camo looking in no time!!  I think I'm the only one on the block that no one can see due to the amazing camouflage of brown, tan and faded green grass!!

Soon it was time to go.  The worst time of my day, leaving my snuggly kid on the couch.  I already had two phone calls to come in and "fix" things at the lodge, so off I trucked to the Magic Castle of Bingo!!

To pay for unused vacation or not to pay was the question on this day.  It seems our two best employees worked so hard last year they didn't TAKE any vacation.  Wow ... that was never ME!  With that done, I went upstairs to share a nice bag of popcorn with the Knights.  Somehow I completely forgot the diet.  

Time flew by until we were late opening.  We slashed and slammed those cards around in record time, only to find that 30 minutes later, we had no one in line.  WHAT?  That has NEVER happened before.  There must have been something major happening ... an earthquake?  A tornado?  Flooding?  

I'm thinking we are headed into the RED on this night.  Even if only 50 people show up, we have 12 games we have to pay out $250 each.  At long last they began to trickle in with a big crowd at the last minute.  Pitchforks and flaming torches came out because I couldn't ring them up fast enough to get to their table before the games began.  HEY ... it's not MY fault you are late!!!

For some weird reason, on this night ALL the knights showed up ... a rarity.  We are lucky to have four guys selling pull tabs ... our moneymakers.  On this night we had EIGHT.  When someone raised their hand, all of them rushed over at the same time.  It's always a competition to see who can sell the most and collect the most money!

I on the other hand, sat at my nice table and sipped my go juice.  It's coke ... also not good for the diet, but it's free and keeps me going and going all night long.  

There were no knock down drag out fights and no hair pulling, but the torches came out when two newbies sat in the wrong seats.  It takes a long time to explain all the REAL rules, not to mention the PEASANT rules, and sometimes we don't get it done.  When you've got 45 players in line waiting to buy the winning card (which always seems to be sold to the guy in front of them), there's no sitting around explaining anything.  

And then we heard it.  The screeching had been heard in the background, but we all thought it was just some dummy driving too fast down the street.  Suddenly there was the biggest SCREECH and CRUNCH I've ever heard.  It was a BIG crash and burn!

We rushed outside to find two smashed cars in the PARKING GARAGE across the street.  Some yahoo was spinning brodies inside the garage when he got out of control and smashed into another car.  It was EPIC!!  The cops were called and the kids went to jail.  Funny how that works.

With the excitement over, we were back at bingo to find everyone screaming (REALLY screaming) at the caller.  He's a nice guy, but he's slow.  These players ... they have no patience or sympathy for that kind of thing!!  The yelling became almost as loud as the screeching next door.

At long last they calmed down and we finished off the night.  The infernal machine did a number on me, throwing a Received on Account into the mix, whereupon I accidentally recorded an extra $250 payout.  It took me 30 minutes to get that straightened out.  In the end, I balanced ... barely ... and headed out into the cool night.  No worries, I'll be back on Thursday.

It was a late night, I'm tired and hungry, as usual.  So let's see what trouble I can get into today!!  

Here Kitty Kitty

 The wonderful weather California is known for, has finally arrived.  We are looking at ten days of 70 degree weather.  Mother Nature is a little late to the party, but I think I can safely put away all my coats, flannel shirts and Levis in exchange for summer shorts and knickers, better known as pedal pushers.  Anyone remember those?  I think they call them capris now.

In the latest news of the back yard creatures, hello kitty kitty is my newest arrival.  Not the black and white kind, THANK GOODNESS, but black nonetheless.  I've seen this guy hanging out a few times way out in the pasture.  I think we have three strays in the neighborhood that we all feed on occasion.  

I picked up a bag of treats last week and put a few out every night.  Look who showed up for dinner.  He's very wary ... keeps looking over his shoulder.  I'm guessing the foxy kids are still around, though they haven't been seen on camera.  

Then THIS guy showed up.  Is this a mockingbird?  I never noticed the beautiful blue before.  I always thought they were black and white.  One thing I do know is they eat anything and everything!  Dog food, leftover chicken, kitty food, lizards, worms, bugs ... anything they can get their beaks on!! 

Though I was slow to get going on Monday, I finally made it to the quilt shop.  Big sigh.  They really don't have what I'm looking for.  There are two other shops within a 2 hour drive, but that's a long way to go.  I finally settled for these.  I came to realize I had lots of print stuff, but no solids.  This should help and only cost $174.00.  Did I mention fabric is expensive?  It doesn't help that I have no patterns and occasionally make mistakes.  

I went for the recommended checkerboard design, but came up empty handed.  This is a Navy quilt, so I went with navy blue.  Another mistake ... I made the border too wide, meaning now I don't have backing that will fit.  Lesson learned ... make them smaller.  I'll drop in to Hobby Lobby next time I'm in town and see if I can find anything there.  I tried ordering online, and though it said cotton fabric, it was FLAG material, stiff as a board.  I've no idea what I'll do with THAT!!

The best news came when I stopped in at a little hole in the wall ... I mean a HOLE ... to find a little lady surrounded by piles and PILES of clothing and fabric.  There was barely room for her to sit at her sewing machine.  I was hoping beyond hope that she can embroider the names and rank information on these pieces of fabric that I will sew into the quilt.  

I was so taken aback by the piles of clothing and loose fabric taller than I, that I almost didn't see her sitting there.  We talked ... and she is giving it a shot, after she finishes altering all those prom dresses she had laying around.  I'm pretty hesitant about this .... but I guess I'll only be out a piece of fabric and a few bucks if it doesn't work out.  Keep your fingers crossed ... I need this embroidery work!!

One small hint for the day.  If you are having an event as big as this one at the biggest building in the county, you should proofread your program once, or maybe twice!  Anyone see a problem?

Should be CASA "of" .........

The good news of the day ... my key finally arrived.  It took a five day detour to Nashville, and amazingly made it back in two days.  I was pretty nervous having my house key floating around in an envelope that had my address on it, especially since there was so much storm and flooding damage there.  I would certainly be interested to know exactly how that happened, but alls well that ends well.  If I lose my keys, at least I have a spare!

Happy Tuesday ... it's BINGO time!

Recovering ......

You seriously wouldn't think you needed to recover from a short night out, even if you did overeat.  Sure enough, I was pretty tired on this morning.  It's hard to be motivated when there's nothing you really HAVE to do.  Isn't retirement WONDERFUL?  

It's probably a good thing this little guy needs to go out very early in the morning, or I probably wouldn't get up at ALL.  Then of course, he goes right back to sleep, unlike me who tries, but lays there with my brain going a million miles an hour.  

I was forced to straighten up the house when I heard James strike a pose.  I have to close doors and pick up all of Cooper's toys so he doesn't try to eat them.  Coop's water bowl has to be put up or he moves it around until he tips it over, getting hung up on the rug it sits on, dragging that around the room until he stops dead, yelling HELP!!!  I would hire a cleaning lady, but this guy is more entertaining!

Since I'm dead in the water with the quilts that need names embroidered (and no one to do that), I started on the pile of ten No-Name quilts for the veterans dinner.  Though I have lots of fabric, I didn't get very far.  There are no patterns for these things, I'm just winging it.  

This one needs a blue border of some kind, but nothing I tried worked well at all.  One thing about these quilts, I have to like them, or I won't give them away.  And so once again, I will try to FORCE myself to the quilt store.  

I watched a little rodeo in between borders, but my favs weren't riding on this day.  In fact, NO ONE was riding on this day.  They've been giving these bulls so many vitamins and good feed that they are CRAZY buckers.  I've never seen anything like it.  These pampered 2000 pounds bulls are jumping 4-5 feet high in the air.  They have had to award winners based on how many seconds the riders stayed on.  It was a nice distraction, but I had one more quilt top to work on.

This is a Marines quilt.  I'm trying not to make any of them alike.  I'm finding out however, that they actually use up quite a bit of fabric, so my choices are limited.  

I burned out quickly, like a moth to a flame.  Mr. Cooper sits on the floor and makes little growly moans.  There are two reasons.  One, he wants a gourmet dinner, and two, he wants to lay on the soft couch next to his Mom.  Of course his personal chef gets right to work ... Costco chicken for him, salad for the chef.  Yup that fancy dinner did a number on my diet.  

Sitting on the couch watching the boob tube doesn't sit well with me for long, so I went for the puzzle.  With all the different designs, patterns and colors, you would think this is an easy one.  I did.  I was wrong.

I've found three mistakes so far where the pieces fit together perfectly ... but wrong.  Big sigh!  I mean ... dark red ... how hard can that be to find, especially since I piled them up by pattern and color.  I spent 90 minutes bending over the table.  There's no chair involved because you can't SEE to the other side of the table without walking around.  Mr. Ed is lucky he lives 3000 miles away!!  lol

That's it ... a pretty dull day, even though the sun was shining and the temperatures warming up.  

I unplugged the van and turned on the solar charger in readiness for today's trip to the quilt store.  I'm pretty sure I can fit as much in it as I can my truck.  

In other news, did I mention I loaned my house key to my friend so she could come and go while I was at the Elks Lodge?  I said ever so nicely ... be sure and give it back before you leave.  She drove off with it in her purse.  My only spare key.

I'll mail it she said.  I had some misgivings, but mail it she did, from Sacramento to my house, a short 3 hour trip.  My key is now in Nashville Tennessee, home of tornados and severe flooding.  Not kidding.  And they wonder WHY oh WHY we want to DEFUND the post office.  I'll let you know how that works out.

ROCKING OUT!!

 This may be another false spring, but we are up to 48 degrees this morning!  YAHOO!  We might even make it into the 70's on this day.  Where's my shorts ... it's time for some fun in the California sun.  Or after last night, maybe just a nap on the patio.

Working bingo does have its perks.  We donate to several big charities in our County, and this is one of them.  It's CASA ... Court Appointed Special Advocates.  They have lots of volunteers in our area that help foster kids with whatever problems they may be having, whether it's with their foster parents, school or just hard times.  This is their once a year fund raiser.

We have donated $5,000 every year to pay for the entertainment at this shindig ... the Killer Dueling Pianos.  Honestly, I don't see the draw ... but what do I know.  More on that later.

Pretty fancy table if you ask me.  Truly, they might have dispensed with the middle chatchkey stuff.  We had no room for anything!  Though we only had tickets for 8, we had seating for 10.  We've no idea why.

As you can tell, I was the first one there.  This was held at our fairgrounds in the biggest building.  Too bad there was no parking.  They had three other big tickets items going on at the same time.  An outside Hmong funeral (so many people), another huge indoor funeral (what's up with funerals at the fairgrounds?), our big event and wait for it ............. MONSTER TRUCKS!!  I parked in the far back by the goat barns and walked, in my cowboy boots, over a quarter mile.  

Once inside, drinks were $5.00.  I opted for this fruity, sweet something or other with 151 alcohol.  They didn't tell me that part until it was too late.  CRIKEY!!!  

In no time, our table was full.  I was afraid to move for fear I would knock something over.  

Yup ... that's still my drink that I finally poured into my water glass.  Salad was served family style from a brass bowl, along with a HUGE roll, the size of two.  I ate that while the first auction was held, nibbling on that bread until it was gone.  I NEVER eat that much bread.  

In the meantime, they had quite a few silent auction items, but they all included bunnies and kids games for Easter.  There was one with two bottles of wine that went sky high almost immediately!  I passed.

Finally, dinner was served.  It doesn't look all that great, but it was quite tasty.  I think those were the best garlic white cheddar mashed potatoes I've ever had.  The weird looking chicken was good and the tri-tip had the best sauce on it, though extremely hard to cut with a butter knife.  The broccoli ... which I love ... was raw as raw could be.  I couldn't even get my fork through it, let alone my knife.  It didn't matter though, because I was full before I started on this plate!  Yes, the glass is still full.

Then came the CAKE!!  The silent dessert auction only had 12 items, with almost 50 tables of folks.  We won this one for $400.  You can't see it here, but it actually has a gold metal crown in the middle.  Perfect for the granddaughters.  

Sadly, I was not the one to slice it up.  It came to me on a plate that looked like someone had dropped it on the floor and tried to pick it up with chopsticks.  It was German Chocolate and quite tasty, but unrecognizable as cake.  

We were kind of wondering about the folks who didn't bid on dessert, when out came these little bundt cakes.  You KNOW I had to try one, so I went for the red velvet.  I tried to eat it with a fork, but that got stuck in the little swirl of cream cheese frosting and would NOT come loose.  Yup I ate it with my fingers.  Not bad really, but rather dry.  Sadly, since I had no container, the rest stayed on the table and NO ONE ELSE ate a single one.  

One thing I'm sure of ... that dinner probably wiped out ALL of my weight loss in one fell swoop!!  And THEN ... let the entertainment begin.  At least these two old fogies came and thanked our table for the Gig.  Very nice guys really, who are completely stuck in the 70's.  Think Led Zeppelin.  One is 62, the other 68, complete with bandanas on their heads and glow in the dark shirts.  

The pianos are fake.  Yup ... electronic pianos made to look like REAL pianos.  Sorry to disappoint!  The music was all over the place and LOUD, but right up the alley of all the old fogies attending this event.

I taped just a bit so you would get a feeling for the vibe.  Surprisingly, MANY people got up and danced.  Just close your eyes and imagine a bunch of 70+ year olds trying to dance like they were 17.  I stayed in my seat.

In the end, I could take it no longer.  The noise was just too much.  They had TWO MORE HOURS to play.  Sadly, though I wanted to take that chocolate cake with me, I left it on the table.

It was a long walk to my truck, to the roar of Monster Trucks and the clanging of Hmong's washing their cooking pots.  The funerals were louder than OUR building.  Funny how times change.

Anyhoo ... I'm hoping to have enough energy left to hit the walking road this morning, but don't hold your breath!!!   The couch is calling my name!!

Early Bird Gets The Fish

Spring may have finally sprung ... or maybe just sprung a leak.  My heater still comes on occasionally during the day, even though set very low.  I'm hoping this month has a LOW gas bill.  Lucky for me, the solar continues to keep the electricity going, but that gas bill ... oooweeee!!  

How THESE guys are keeping warm is beyond me.  It's very early in Bear Valley California where this little family only has Mom for heat.  She's waiting for Dad to bring breakfast to the kids.  It's definitely cold since she is fluffed up, so the babies must be freezing.

Wow ... they are getting big.  As usual, one always gets more food than the other, so he's much bigger.  Dad brought a chunk of fish, which Mom dutifully rips into tiny little pieces for the babies to eat.  

What a good Mom ... she made sure both got some.  If a tiny piece dropped into the nest, she would pick it up and deposit it in a mouth, keeping the nest neat and tidy.  It truly is amazing to be able to watch this.  They have been named Jackie and Shadow, the kids Sunny and Gizmo.  You may have guessed they were named by California school kids.  You can watch them live at this link.  Eagles. 

 

When the kids are fed, Mom eats before letting Dad take over babysitting.  The sun has just come up in the sky and the kids still need to be kept warm.  On the other hand ... THIS morning, they left the kids alone in the blowing wind.  Poor babies are chilly cold!!  If I'm not careful, I'll be sitting here all day watching!!

And so .... I had a little cleaning of my own to do.  At some point Mr. Cooper apparently got a little sick ... on the couch ... where I sit of course.  How did I find that?  When I sat down.  Oh yeah ... I spent an hour cleaning up and scrubbing the couch cushions.  I think it's time to switch this 16 year old couch with the Arizona one still living in the garage.

I finally got my act together and determined who was getting which quilts this year, whereupon with another flurry of action, I whipped out one more.  I now have the basics for all of them, but I still need someone to embroider names, ranks and locations.  That's a problem in a small town.

I never did make it to the quilt store.  Instead, feeling that couch induced slowness again, I tried to get back to walking a couple miles a day.  That was a BIG mistake.  I went way too fast, and was so tired when I got back that I fell asleep on the couch.  Apparently there is such a thing as too much exercise.  

Here's my latest puzzle advancement.  No kidding, these pieces are SO small!!  It's not even like they are all weird sizes, making it easier.  They all look pretty much alike.  It's also very easy to put the wrong pieces together!  Yup still working on it!  I need PATSY!!

I was late and missed the fish dinner ... instead I got a pork tamale I snagged at Bingo Tuesday night.  This gal makes GREAT ones, but I think this will be the last.  The price has gone up to $30 for a dozen.  Yikes!!  

At the end of the day, still no quilt store nor any propane, I located my old tank indicator.  I was thinking this would be a double check on the RV.  I actually have three of these things, two of which would not connect to my phone app.  After replacing all the batteries, this oldest one was the only one to connect.  

I'm pretty sure it's NOT going to work however, because the tank lays on its side.  Since the bank is smaller, I don't think the monitor will stay stuck to it.  If not on the bottom, I doubt it's going to work at all.  It said the level was at 19%, but I'm pretty sure it's completely dry.  

The good news is I did one more soapy water check and there are no bubbles.  And so the big question of the day is .... will I get off my butt and get propane today?  Will I go to the quilt store today?  Or will I once again be a hermit because I have yet another big fundraiser dinner to attend tonight.  At this particular moment, I think I need a nap!!

Another Dinner, Another Steak

Aye chi MAMA!!  I thought we were into spring.  Someone please turn up the thermostat!!  We are back down to 43 degrees and C O L D!!  It looks like that's where we will stay for the next ten days.  

Though sometimes I think I could stay under the warm covers all day long, it was not to be.  SOMEONE came scratching at my shoulder.  GET UP MOM!!

He's SO demanding, Mr. Cooper is.  What can I say.  He's spoiled rotten and it's all my fault.  On the other hand, he's the best company ever!!

After no breakfast other than a cup-o-joe to wake me up, I stared at the puzzle for all of ten minutes before giving up.  I think you have to be in the mood to work on those things, and I had too much on my mind.  Mail my taxes ... the worst of the worst ... try not to think about CAKE ... and get in some exercise.  Doesn't getting up and down from the sewing machine count as exercise?

I did that a lot yesterday.  I have a request for the Coast Guard.  They don't MAKE those little panels in that flavor.  So I bought a flag.  I'm hoping that I don't get thrown in prison for cutting up a flag.  Three more borders and this one should be ready to quilt.  Possibly today, though my motivation is waning.

Yup .. it's RODEO time and I've been sneaking in to watch the bull riding.  Actually, I found myself glued to the couch for WAY too long.  They have invented a World Rodeo, bringing in contestants from rodeos in Brazil, Australia ... any country that has cowboys.  These guys ... they can RIDE ... and are winning the big bucks.  Can you imagine a 20 year old going back to Brazil with a million bucks?  That's what happened last year.  

Time went by like a 50 mph wind.  I almost forgot it was Lodge Night ... this time celebrating our Law Enforcement.  It was HUGE, as you can imagine.  We sold 205 New York steak dinners for $20 each and gave away something like 50 raffle prizes.  It was a madhouse of noisy hungry folks!!

Lucky me, this time I got one of the Deputies to take dinner tickets, otherwise I would just now be getting my cold food.  It was delicious ... and cooked to perfect rareness.  I brought most all of it home.  

The meeting afterwards was less than exciting.  I did get some ugly looks when I requested we hold off on an expense for 7 days.  But no, they brought it up, meaning I had to stand up and ask 15 questions.  Do you have a contract, is there a guarantee, how long will it take, what products are you using ... things like that.  Sometimes the Trustees job is kind of fun, when you hear the answer was no to all of the above.  Surely I can't be the only one who thinks about those things.

The meeting ended and I was out the door in a flash.  These late dinners are killing me, and my desert found fitness is fading fast.  Mr. Sleepy Boy agrees ... it's couch time Mom.

I'm determined to get out to walk this morning, in spite of the cold and in spite of the couch yelling my name!  It's also time to take the rig for a drive.  I wonder if it will drive itself to the quilt store?  

Storms and Stitches

 GOOOOOOD morning!!!!  Boy did I ever hate those words when I was a kid.  It meant getting up really early, eating cold cereal, bundling up so much you could hardly move, and taking the long walk to the barn to catch the horses.  I never understood why everything on a ranch had to be done at 4:30 in the morning.  

Moving cattle from field to field (they were all numbered and we had to remember which one was which), gathering cattle for different things like branding, vaccinations, fly spraying ... it all began in the cold dark of morning.  

There's nothing like riding your horse across the irrigated pastures and being completely covered with mosquitos.  Folks that complain about mosquitos now, don't even have a clue how bad they can really be.  We would spray the horses before we went out because they would be absolutely covered with them, as would WE.  I think I lost a pint of blood every time.  The most words I heard in my life were YOU WILL LIVE.   

Mosquitos ... you will live.  Fall off the back of the truck while moving ... you will live.  Have a horse fall and roll over you ... you will live.  Break your leg ... you will live.  Get smashed in the chest by that cow they said would NOT run over me ... you will live.  Almost cut your finger off cleaning fresh caught fish ... you will live.  I suppose I have to admit they were right, since I'm still here.

I rather think that's what they say back East when these big storms roll through causing flooding and tornados.  I'd rather have the mosquitos.  I watched this yesterday every 30 minutes or so as Patsy and Bill were right in the midst of it.  We had a little rain off and on, but nothing like this crazy storm.  

I spent most of the day on the couch.  I can say with absolute certainty that it was boring.  I can only attribute it to a late night at Bingo ... and this quilt.  It took about 90 minutes to actually quilt on the machine before beginning the task of binding.  

That binding part, though many do it by machine, is all done by hand in my house.  That means at least five hours sitting on the couch.  Truly, that's okay because it also means I get to snuggle with Mr. Cooper.

How could I not love this?  It also means lots of OUCHES when I stick myself with the needle.  It's even worse since I got a NEW needle ... one as sharp as sharp can be.  OORAH for the Marines ... this one is now finished.  

The only other interesting thing, though not all that exciting, is I've lost a few pounds.  How you ask?  Since I'm always complaining about diets?  Well one of the gals at the Elks Lodge, under doctor's order of course, is fasting one day and eating carefully the next.  Not a novel idea I guess.  

I never in a million years thought I could go all day without eating.  It made my day LONG and BORING.   I've always said I eat for something to do.  Especially when I'm not on the road and bored to tears.  That made it pretty tough not to head to the kitchen and cook something, just to wile away the hours.  

Of course I'm not counting my chickens before they hatch, but I've lost five pounds.  That's like losing a Costco chicken!!  The next day I eat very carefully, half of what I used to.  Mostly I'm doing this so I can fit in that penguin tuxedo a little more comfortably.  If I'm going to sit through a two hour meeting, I'd rather not be squeezed in the middle until I can't breathe!

And so the day ended with a little sunshine as I drug my big living room rug back inside the house.  Yup I washed it in my big machine, but it won't fit in the dryer.  The hot concrete seems to be the best place to dry it out.  Too bad I didn't see all those little spiders BEFORE I brought it in.

After about five minutes, I realized there were things moving on the rug.  There was a flurry of swatting and crazy dancing until I saw no more movement.  Note to self ... next time hang it on the patio chairs!

April Fools Day ... A Mystery

It's April Fools Day ... and boy did we get fooled!!  The really nice weather turned into cold, wind, rain and hail that covered the ground like snow.  We didn't see THAT coming!!  It's also time for the Magic Castle of Bingo!!

Truly I expected sunshine and roses.  I would have pictures, but most of that happened when I was at the lodge.  Bingo folks came in soaking wet holding their heads from the hail.  It's like the post office ... nothing keeps them from their appointed task of playing bingo.

But first ... let's look into April Fools Day.  Not much to see, since no one really knows where it came from or why.  They just know it's been around for a long time.  Some say it goes back to 1500 France when they decided to change the Julian Calendar (think Julius Caesar) from it's New Year date of April 1st to the Gregorian calendar day (think Pope Gregory) to January 1st.

The Caesarites didn't get the message because travel took so long in those days, so the Gregorians made fun of them for still celebrating in April, calling them April Fools.  Now you know!!  

I was no fool when my friends called up to say let's go to lunch at ... Dan knows this one ... In and Out.  Every time I have ever driven by there, no matter what time of day, there is a long line through the parking lot and out the driveway, left and down the street for a whole block.  

You would think it's because of the food ... and you would be right ... but mostly it's because this meal costs $7.14.  It's the cheapest ... best burger in town.  I admit though ... they are a little light on the sauce and the cheese.  I ate most of the fries, but they are not my favorite.  I wonder if they will change to beef tallow oil to fry them?  This was GOOD EATS!

After a quick return home to feed the kid of the house and give him some extra snuggles, I was off to Bingo.  Though I expected a huge crowd since it was "payday", only 115 folks materialized.  That was plenty enough to run up a total of over $4,000 on the debit card infernal machine.  I think that's a record, and meant I was going to run short of cash.  Everyone gets cash back which they spend on pull tabs.  I have to borrow from Pull Tabs to pay the jackpots.

Weirdly, I think half of the peasants on this day were strangers.  We have our regular crowd, along with a long list of players, but this day I didn't recognize hardly any of them.  We've never had turnover like this before.  

And then it happened ... April Fools on US.  None of the television/bingo screens would work.  I made a panic call to the Knight that knows, because the peasants were becoming restless.  He came down early and discovered the problem.  Someone had pulled a plug out and broken the "holder".  After some super glue, we were back in business and the peasants put away their knives.

A few minutes later one rather boisterous lady came in with her wig in hand.  Yes, it was a spectacle.  Apparently the wind and hail wreaked havoc and it came off.  YIKES!!  Yup ... I've seen every kind of wig you can image, from short short to curls two feet long.  It's a thing for these ladies young and old.  I don't know ... maybe I should get one too.  With a little help, she got it back on and went right to picking out her cards.

It went well for awhile, but I wasn't April fooled into thinking all was well.  The new caller couldn't hear well, so everyone was screaming out the numbers to make sure theirs was a winning card.  That brought out the pitchforks quickly.  He was taking too long to verify the winners.  Then ... horror of horrors, he called the letter O instead of G.  Mayhem erupted!!  Players stood up!  That's a bad sign when they stand up!!

If they didn't need those dobbers to play their cards with, I'm sure they would have thrown them at his head.  Peasants are PROS and will not only tell you when you make a mistake, they even know if a card is the real winner or not.  It's crazy I tell you!!  Lucky for him he's up on a stage, and so couldn't be reached.

There were only two April Fools jokes.  They picked out all their cards and couldn't find their money.  APRIL FOOLS!!  It happens quite often really, and usually results in me never seeing them again.  On the other hand, we have one sweet lady who comes every week, picks her cards and pulls out a wad of money.  OH LOOK she says ... my husband gave me money.  In truth, she has Alzheimers.  She used to play many years ago ... and that's what she remembers the most.  

Husband drops her off, she buys the same cards, and plays all night long.  When we're finished, she goes to the back door where he meets her and takes her home.  We keep an eye on her, she gets to have a great time playing (she remembers every card and every game) and he gets a night off.  

And so ended another night with screams of joy yelling BINGO!!!  What could be better!!

Great Minds Think Alike!

You know those mornings when you don't want to get out of bed but you are wide awake?  There is absolutely NO chance you might go back to sleep, so you toss and turn until the King of the House says I NEED TO GO OUT MOM!!  

So up I got, stumbling to the door, brain not engaged.  The SIREN was exceptionally loud on this day.  I'm sure the neighbors appreciate that early morning wake up call.

After no breakfast, since I had a mind to see just how long I could go without eating, I set up the next quilt on the longarm.  Rex if you are reading this, check your last blog post.  I left a message for you.  Hopefully I will have time to finish this one today since you KNOW what day it is once again.  It's BINGO time tonight!! 

I actually headed out at 8:00 to Wally World to return two pair of jeans.  One was too big and one was too small ... both the same size.  I figured I might as well get a few groceries while I was at it.  Bacon sounded quite tasty.  Of course you now get 14 ounces instead of 16, for a higher price.  On the other hand, eggs are down from $12 to $11 for 18.  I mean really, you would think if anyone ... Wally World would bring down the prices like Costco does.

Upon my return, I heard strange noises coming from the back yard.  I think I have mentioned in the past that the neighbor with the drinking, drug using friends, raises and sells goats for 4-H.  Great minds think alike.  I too had the crazy idea I could get a couple of their goats to roam the back yard and clean up the weeds.  

How apropos ... one of my fence boards was shoved over to one side and there stood a goat!!  Okay,  how much trouble could they get in?  I already have water to the corrals, and all they would have to do is throw a little hay over the fence.  How could they turn down free feed?  So I called to ask since the goat had already broken my fence.  These guys can be pretty destructive.  They said okay, but didn't offer to make any repairs.

The first thing this one did was run around the exterior fence trying to find a way back to his buddies.  Oh great ... this is going well.  He went right under the fence onto my lawn.  The food is THAT way kiddo!  After a few minutes, he calmed down.  I'll let you know how it goes.

While keeping an eye on the goat, hoping Cooper didn't see him, which would bring about a daily round of barking, I finished sewing the binding on this quilt.  I now have two good examples to take to the Vets Chairman at Bingo to make sure they are what they want.  From here on out, I only have 18 to make, possibly 22 if I can find someone to embroider names.  It shouldn't be too bad since I can easily make one in a day using the big panels.  Little do they know at this point that the money they gave me will only cover HALF the cost.  

As for not eating, it actually worked out quite well.  I was surprised I wasn't starving so much that I ate everything in the fridge.  I picked up two pieces of salmon at Wally World, on sale of course, mostly to feed the King of the House.  Turns out it's pretty tasty, so I ate one, giving Mr. Cooper little bites.  He loved it!  

It's not as tasty as my ex-father-in-laws freshly caught salmon from the ocean, but then I didn't have to clean it either.  Just cook and serve!!

Other than the goat, rain kept me inside most of the day.  I kept going out on the patio to make sure he had not escaped nor eaten my roses.  There was a tiny slice of moon in the sky, making it rather creepy.

Wasn't I shocked this morning to find NO goat in the back yard!!!  How could he possibly have escaped?  APRIL FOOLS!!  Probably because there wasn't any goat in the back yard.  

I actually thought of this and tried it ... but these goats would not eat a single blade of grass.  They only ate the grain the neighbor fed them.  I guess I would choose ice cream over salad every time too.

Time for my Bingo armor ......... hope you have a GREAT day!