My Very First Time!!

My diet motivation has been FOUND.  It's funny that all this time I didn't FEEL like I had gained a lot of weight since I quit running three years ago.  So I buy one size bigger shirts ... no big deal.  Well yesterday I got the shock of my life ... it really IS a big deal, BIG being the operative word.  I drove to the big city 45 minutes away to find suitable shoes for the semi-formal dress.

I found a great pair on sale at Macys.  Yay for me!!  Unfortunately when I got home, they didn't really match AT ALL.  That will be a story for another day.  My big mistake ... BIG MISTAKE ... was to wander over to the dress section and just LOOK.  Immediately I found several to try on that I might like better than the one at home.

As I squeezed myself into the first one, I dared to look in the mirror.  I almost fainted from the shock. I looked like the Pillsbury Doughboy and Michelin Man stuffed in the same purple dress.  I'll try a bigger size, which of course they did not have.  There were lots of models to choose from however, so I picked up a few more of the next size up to try.

Hmmmm no zipper on this one.  I rather hate those pull over kind.  You ladies know, they mess up your hair, but I squeezed into it anyway.  Well at least now it was just the Pillsbury Doughboy in there.  This would be a NO also.  Getting it off however, would be a major undertaking.  I reached back as far as possible and couldn't get it to move.  I tried another angle of attack.  About the time I got it up to my shoulders, I began to have a claustrophobic panic attack ... I couldn't get my arms free.

Good GRIEF!!  I'm stuck in a too small dress in the dressing room.  How embarrassing!!  Luckily my struggling finally resulted in a little relief and I was able to rip it off over my head, destroying what was left of my nice hairdo.  Maybe I should go up one more size.  I'm devastated!!

At long last I found a nice black sheath that covered up the Doughboy, but was two inches two big around the top.  I gave up in a moment of depression like I've never felt.  How could I have put on so much weight and not realized it ... or maybe not WANTED to realize it.  At any rate, my diet motivation was found in that dressing room, in spite of just having purchased an Instant Pot.

So here's my beauty in person, with a couple cups of Mongolian Beef inside, cooking away.  It's amazing these electric pressure cookers.  It's so quiet you don't even know it's cooking.  I kept leaning over to make sure I heard something from inside.

My old stove top pressure cooker makes loud hissing noises like it's going to explode before you turn the heat down.  Then it keeps on with a clanking rattle until you shut off the heat.

This IP is so quiet you don't even know it's cooking.  I'm not sure how this will work out with me cutting all the recipes in half.  After all, I don't need enough to feed eight people.  We shall see .....

So for my VERY FIRST TIME, I made this wonderful Mongolian Beef.  I turned the pot on, sautéed the beef on what else, the sauté feature, then dumped in garlic and all the sauce makings.  Though it said to cook it for 12 minutes, I only set it for 8 since my meat was pretty tender in the first place.  

When done, it beeps at you, then starts counting UP the time before releasing the pressure, a simple matter of turning a valve.  You CAN cook the rice at the same time by setting another pan in the pot on a trivet OVER the beef.  Since my trivet hasn't come in the mail yet, I just cooked it on the stove, making a lovely gooey mess where it boiled over.  

Now I realize this isn't the most appetizing image you've ever seen, but believe me, this was the BEST Mongolian Beef I've ever eaten.  I mean to tell you I could have downed the ENTIRE pot, except the Doughboy image recently seared into my brain held me in check.  I have a feeling this Instant Pot is going to constantly put my resolve to the test.

I'm happy to report I actually am down THREE pounds ... if I can just keep it up.  Getting stuck in a dress in the dressing room at Macy's is almost as good as trying on bathing suits ... which I absolutely REFUSE to do.  That would be enough to make me lock myself in my house forever ... with my Instant Pot!!

In the meantime, I'm off to run a couple of miles ... or maybe just jog one mile out and walk back home.   I'm giving it a try anyway ... three days a week.  Please chastise me if I slack off ... the Doughboy needs to lose at least one dress size!!

IP, NPR, QPR

What the heck is THAT?  I know my fingers are a little stiff, but I don't type THAT bad!!  It must be a secret code ... and in fact, it is!!  I'll get to that in a bit.

Yesterday's breakfast was delicious with a capital D.  I took my leftover slice of corned beef, along with a smidgen of potato, and cooked up some corned beef hash in a cast iron skillet.  It was beyond good.  My egg frying skills aren't the best, especially in a not-so-well-seasoned skillet, but at least the yolk didn't break.  This was breakfast and lunch for me ... you know, that darn diet and all.

My second challenge of the day was to find a dress for the Elks Installation dinner.  It's semi-formal, meaning I require a dress, something you don't put on one leg at a time.  I've told you about the shopping in this town, so don't laugh when I tell you the only dress store is Dress Barn.  Yup ... I'm shopping for a dress in a barn.

You won't believe that the first two I tried on actually fit as well as could be expected.  Since the prices were right, I bought them both.  I cut the tags off before looking at where they were made.  I don't want to know.  If one lasts through the six hour event, I'll be happy.  Now to find shoes ... an even harder task than finding the dress.

When I got home, there was a surprise on my doorstep.  THIS is what all those funny letters are about.  It's another fad hitting the country, an immigrant from Canada.  IP stands for Instant Pot.  It's a pressure cooker that does just about everything else in your kitchen but eat the food.  I figure to give it a try.

I have a HUGE pressure cooker ... two in fact ... one I use for canning and one I use when I need lots of pasta, only because it's the biggest pot in the cupboard.  I haven't used it as a pressure cooker in at least 15 years.  

This contraption however, I think I can use every day.  It's the smaller 5 quart model, since I don't cook for 10.  What's amazing is everything this CAN do.  You can pressure cook anything, including soups and stews, you can sauté, you can steam rice and vegetables, you can do a combination of both, you can slow cook, you can bake cakes and cheesecakes, and believe it or not, you can make your own yogurt.  

The NPR and QPR are terms for releasing the pressure when the food is done.  As you can imagine, when under pressure you cannot open the lid.  NPR is natural pressure relief ... letting the cooker cool down naturally until the pressure releases.  QPR is QUICK pressure relief ... turning the knob and letting the pressure release immediately.  You don't want to do the quick release with meat I can tell you for sure.  It will seize up instantly and you will be eating something akin to a football.

While waiting for it's arrival, I joined the Instant Pot Facebook group.  There are thousands of posts every day about failures and successes.  I thought maybe those successes would rub off on me for when I started using my IP.   They also post recipes ... a BIG plus.

Unfortunately, my phone had tons of updates which I told it to do this morning, and now Facebook won't load.  It said it was too big to download with my phone, I needed WiFi.  Good old Facebook loads two thirds of the way and stops.  I've done it six times now and am getting really frustrated.  If anyone knows how to get that App to download, please let me know!!

Today, in the exciting life of a retired cowgirl, I will try to find some shoes suitable for the dress.  I tried on every pair of cowboy boots, and none work well with the navy blue old lady dress I purchased.   When I get all dolled up, I'll post a picture .... maybe.  In the meantime, I'm going for broke ... Mongolian Beef in my new pot!

Happy Saint Patrick's Day

For those with Irish descendants, thank you for corned beef and cabbage.  I almost forgot about it yesterday as I was cleaning up a storm in my sewing room.   I know it was a day early, but the Elks had a big feed and it was WONDERFUL!!

In all the running around I did the day before, I picked up more shelving units.  I did so well in the first round of construction, I should have known these wouldn't be that easy.  That top nine square unit was HEAVY!!  I thought it was just a little wobbly and for once I was right.  Two of the screws had gone into thin air instead of the board.   

Luckily St. Patrick's Day bled over a little early and I was able to turn the unit sideways and fix it easily.  The empty space on the left was filled with a six unit square and I was in business ... almost.  I had to secure them both to the wall.  We have earthquakes in California.  Not here where I live, but you can never be too careful. 

THAT part was a nightmare!!  Where's a man when you need him?  The bottom unit was the pits, trying to screw UP.  I finally changed the drill bit ... four times to be exact ... and drilled a pilot hole.  Of course the screw dropped to the floor BEHIND the cabinets, requiring tweezers and a large magnet.

In between all the runs for tools, Cooper discovered a new toy and wouldn't leave me alone.  Remember the old Beanie Babies?  This was the Eskimo.  I took it away from him once and placed it on a high shelf.  He sat and barked until my head exploded, so he got it back.  A short time later, when he was totally distracted by a Beggin Strip, I hid it in the laundry room.  I'm a BAD mom!!

With all the shelves loaded up and the three lamps stashed in the spare bedroom, it's actually beginning to look like a sewing room.  That means it's time to start the embroidery machine, since St. Patrick saw fit to let me find the cord.

It wasn't long however, before I headed off to the Elks Lodge for some of the best corned beef I've had in a VERY long time.  Mostly because mine never gets tender.   Salt also seems to be a factor.

I didn't wear any green in the hopes I would get pinched ... you know, being a single gal and all, but it didn't happen.  Huge plates were served, filled to the brim with corned beef, boiled new potatoes, carrots and cabbage, topped with a slice of bread the size of the plate.  I brought half of mine home.  Corned beef hash for breakfast ... YUM!!  

My diet is still somewhat in tack and I've lost two pounds.  Hopefully I can keep it up.  There's a big dinner dance in two weeks, for which I have NOTHING in the closet that fits.  It's a formal affair, meaning no boots allowed.  If I can find a dress, I'll go ... maybe.  It's not that I don't have a dress ... I have three gorgeous long ones in the closet, never been worn.  I wasn't a bridesmaid, I just kept three dresses in case there was a function.   That was fifteen pounds ago.

So get your Saint Patrick's Day green on and have a little green beer.  Which reminds me ... one year I made green potato salad for a potluck at work.  Hardly anyone ate it.  Your eyes said YUM, but your brain said NO WAY!!  It was hilarious to watch people try it.   Just add a little food coloring to the mayo dressing and watch the fun.

I hope you have a great food and fun filled day.  HAPPY SAINT PATRICK'S DAY!!

Here, There and Everywhere

I was all over the map yesterday, at least in my little corner of the world.  I spent a couple of hours .. you guessed it .. unloading more stuff from the rig.  It's still not all out, but at least it's out on the couch, the bed, the floor, the counters.  Even though I THINK I have two of everything, it appear's I'm mistaken.

First my GPS watch battery went dead ... cord was in the rig.  Then my phone cord said (after four months) that it wasn't made for this phone and refused to work, requiring a trip to the rig to get the only remaining iPhone cord.  Then there was the cord for my embroidery machine.

I already brought all that stuff in, as you can tell my the horrible mess on my cutting table.  I set up the machine, but alas ... where's the cord?  That precipitated FOUR trips to the motorhome.  I went through every box and bag in the house, then every cupboard in the rig, including moving the slides out to access under the bed, FOUR times!!!  NOTHING!  St Anthony ... WHERE ARE YOU??

By the end of the hour, I was screaming St Anthony, St Anthony .. please come around.  Something's been lost and can't be found.  It works every time.  Four trips back and forth later and I finally found the cord inside the little compartment attached to the machine.  Who in the world put it THERE!!  Yeah, I know, there's only one person who lives here.

My first stop was Home Depot to purchase the rest of the required shelving since I measured right and bought wrong.  When I'm done, there will be another set stacked on top of these.  Won't THAT be fun putting all those shelves together!!  Don't worry, they actually give you brackets so you can screw them to the wall.  I'm getting a couple extra just because I don't want them falling on my head.

Next up I went to Miranda's to collect my money for the furniture and what should I see but MY FURNITURE!!  That was pretty weird!!  I forgot to mention, they also took the five foot tall bird cage that used to be Jonathan's home.  It's been in the garage for years!  He's getting up in age, and a three foot fall from the perch (which happens occasionally) would be a BAD thing.  

I dropped off my taxes at the Merced Office, who will send it up to Stockton for preparation.  I'm really NOT looking forward to that since I have no deductions any more.  

After a quick haircut, I went back home to stare at the fridge.  There is a "formal" dinner coming up at the Elks which I always decline.  Levis and boots aren't exactly considered formal wear.  After trying on everything in my closet, my only solution is to diet like crazy for two weeks.  That is exceedingly hard for me ... I LOVE food!!

What about those prepared meals I was ordering?  You might want to finish your breakfast before reading the rest of this.  

My favorite was the carne asada with rice.  I ate the first one.  Upon eating the second one, I discovered a long black hair on my plate.  I'm pretty sure it wasn't mine.  The next time I ate one I found a long black hair on my fork.  I double checked the color of my hair, just to be sure.  Nope ... not mine.  I nuked the heck out of it, investigated every single piece of rice with a clean fork and ate the rest.

For the piece de resistance ... I was dumb enough to try the last container ... and yes ... found ANOTHER long black hair.  That was it.  I threw all of them in the trash and called the guy.  He really didn't seem to be very concerned.  I reminded him of the need to wear hairnets when preparing food.  Oh he says ... we do ... but the people who cut up the meat for us do NOT!!  

Okay then ... thank you very much.  I won't be ordering any more.  I've decided to make my own. Although they may not be quite as tasty, at least I won't be pulling long black hairs from my mouth.  HOW DISGUSTING!!

That's another reason I ordered the Instant Pot.  Apparently it's the Canadian version of a pressure cooker with lots of other possibilities ... like cheesecake (not diet friendly) and yogurt.  I have a pressure cooker ... I used to cook with it all the time in the "old days".  I don't use it now because eight quarts of food is just a little too much for one person.

Today I will continue to clean and put away.  Hopefully getting the shelving up will help a lot towards that end.  Maybe I'll even do a little embroidery since St Anthony found my power cord!!

The Ever Patience-Testing Magic Kingdom

Some things were just meant to strengthen your character.  The Magic Kingdom of Bingo is one of those.  If you want to be chastised and frustrated, not to mention having your patience tested, just volunteer at your local Elks Lodge Bingo Night.

As you are probably aware of by now, I'm not one who likes ANY of those things.  It's the people who draw me there.  I love the Castle Lawyer, the King, the Knights of the Round Table and of course Prince Charming.  The Money Changer gets on my nerves!!

The day started off nice enough.  In a fit of frustration with all the furniture I have around the house and in the garage that needs to find another home, I called a local small business that advertised they buy and sell furniture.  Weird, me getting RID of stuff, right?  I think it has something to do with living in the RV and being a minimalist.  After all, I can only fit one chair in the rig.

I probably could have donated most of the items, but you might remember how that went with the last bed I ended up delivering to a drug infested area of town.  Instead, I chose to support my local small businessman and his family by practically donating it all to him, whereupon he will sell it in his little store and make some bucks.  Three large television cabinets, one large dresser, two nightstands and various lamps.

In return, he took the upright bicycle machine that doesn't work and hurts my back, along with what can only be described as junk.    It was a win-win situation.  Unfortunately for me, it now requires I AGAIN clean the garage and restack stuff.  You didn't think I would give it ALL away, did you?

At the appointed hour, I was off to the Magic Kingdom.  It's really nice when the troops are happy to see you.  After hugs all around, we got to work.  Uh oh ... there's a new mini-infernal machine.  It's called a debit/credit card reader in real life.  I'm a smart cookie ... I can figure it out, since there were no instructions.

Wasn't I surprised when I began using it and it said to Insert Chip.  No matter what button I hit, it wouldn't work.  REMOVE CARD.  Nothing.  No amount of button pushing or cursing could get it to accept the card.  The nice players paid in cash.

At long last the Money Changer showed up.  Rude is his middle name.  In fact, RUDE is his FIRST name.  He treated us like we were rats under his feet before finally telling me how to run chip cards.  I chastised him for no instructions, just because he was being a BIG donkey.  Then we hid his huge cup of Starbucks coffee that he cannot survive without.  Turnabout is fair play!!

The rest of the evening didn't get any better.  The newly purchased BINGO machine had an occasional glitch that caused such an uproar a normal person would have dialed 911.  I was lucky to have escaped with my life!!

Will I go back?  Of COURSE!!  I'm a glutton for punishment, but mostly I love the volunteers who will do anything for you, except cashier on Bingo Night.  They are not dummies!!

On another note, until it warms up a tad bit more, I DO keep the propane on in my rig.  It keeps the place dry and the bays just warm enough not to freeze the lines.  A small heater would work up top, but not down below.  It's just easier to leave the heater set at 40 degrees.  When it's warmer, I'll turn the valve off.

About the statin drugs I'm taking for cholesterol ... I paid $175 at Walgreens for 90 pills, the generic version of Lipitor.  Since I don't have insurance for meds, I picked up a year's supply of the exact same thing in Mexico for an average $3/month.  Ridiculous, right???  I've been taking them ever since with no side effects whatsoever.  At the end of this month when I go in for bloodwork, we'll find out if they are working.  I'll let you know.

Here's another good piece of information.  There is an APP called GoodRX.  You put in your meds, how many and what dosage and it will give you the prices available at every store in your area.  Walgreens was $175.  Target (with a GoodRX coupon you can print out) was $32.26 for the SAME number of pills.  You might want to give it a try.  I'll be going to Algodones.

I've got 6 or 7 errands to run today, so it's going to be a busy one.  Hopefully somewhere in there I'll be able to fit in a few winks of shuteye while I plot my revenge on the Money Changer.

I Think I Smell GAS!!

Why in the world am I up at 5:00 a.m. when I don't have to be??  The usual reason is to walk the dogs before anyone else gets up with THEIR dogs so Miss Jessie doesn't wake up the entire neighborhood with her snarly barking.  I'm home now ... the dogs just trot out to the back yard, but that doesn't seem to affect my internal clock.

Determined to make it to 5:30, I stared at the ceiling, but Cooper can tell by my breathing that I'm awake.  There's nothing like having your beloved puppy stand on your chest and snuff in your face.  Dog owners know what I mean.  You laugh and then you get up.

I made a couple more trips to the motorhome to unload stuff ... material I bought at 70% off, both camera bags, all the levis because even though I KNOW there are four new pair, I can't find them, Jonathan's food and the puppy treats, just to name a few things.

On one of those trips I smelled gas ... propane to be exact.  YIKES!!  That's not good!!  Trying to figure out where it came from, I sniffed around the stove area.  Sure enough, while squishing sideways through the aisle with arms loaded, my butt must have turned the valve just enough to let gas out.  I freaked!!   I turned the valve off and checked the other two.

I know nothing about gas and propane.  I was afraid to even open the door or turn off the light switch.  It might explode!!  Funny how that stupid floor alarm didn't go off when I really needed it!!  I tiptoed outside, left the door open and waited.  I'll just unload the rest later!

In the meantime, my trusty truck got me to the grocery store and back.  We have FOOD!!  The REAL kind I have to cook and not just heat up.  Most dinners will include chicken and veggies.  If my butt is big enough to turn the stove on, I REALLY need to diet a few pounds off.

While in the garage, I noticed for the hundredth time, the two big pieces of furniture that are going to pot from the heat and cold.  Yes, my first thought was to save them for Arizona if I ever find a place, but honestly I don't want to have to haul this stuff.  I could donate it ... remember the bed? ... but instead have found a small business who buys furniture for resale.  I called them.

Although I will probably get 10 cents on the dollar, it will help a local small business and I will be free of four big pieces of furniture (only two shown here).  I'm furniture poor, if you know what I mean.  Most is from my mother's house.  It's time to downsize.

With one exception .... I'm going to take Karen's advice and get an Instant Pot.  That would have made that stew meat something better than old leather.  I'm down to the last meal, and although it is quite tasty, my jaw has had a REAL workout!!

I hope to spend the day napping ... it's Magic Kingdom night, but you knew that!!  It will be interesting to see who's still around.  I'm pretty sure our two new converts have flown the coop.  Back to the original ten of us .... won't that be FUN!!!   

Screw A Into B Before C

I don't know what everyone's secret is to remaining sane upon arrival at your stick house.  I'm immediately overwhelmed with all the work there is to do.  Try as I might to remove just a few loads a day, there is always SOMETHING that I need, which requires ANOTHER trip outside.

I'm pretty sure the mold index is 5000 because I seem to arrive back in the house sneezing with a runny nose every time.  I'm buying stock in Kleenex.

One of my urgent problems is the huge stack of stuff I received with my embroidery machine can only reside on the sewing room floor.  There isn't room for anything.  Stuff like the four table lamps need to go.

Thinking a quick trip to Home Depot might assuage (oooh a big word ... where did THAT come from?) my inclination to keep unloading and possibly hurt myself, I decided to drive to town.  My faithful old pickup truck started right up and ran like a champ.

Although I had measured my space, all that went right out the window when I saw the shelves.  They only had one white one left, so I not-so-gracefully loaded it up.  These things are HEAVY!!  Once home I began the construction project.  I have to give it up to ClosetMaid.  Every numbered instruction said to make sure the painted side was out.  I didn't make even ONE mistake!!

Although I should have used my drill to install those twelve screws, it came together nicely, whereupon I discovered it's not wide enough.  It looked a LOT bigger on the shelf above my head at the store.  My plan was to get two, but in fact, I need three more for a total of four.  Won't THOSE be fun to put together!!

Jonathan settled right in and began his (her) nesting routine the second the wheels of the motorhome stopped.  Did I ever mention how destructive and messy parrots are?  Once inside, he talked up a storm, making an even bigger mess of the cage in the house.  He kittied kittied so much he had both dogs howling up a storm.  What a zoo THAT was, compounded by my hammering on the shelves.

One thing birds have is amazing eyesight.  I suppose that helps to keep them alive in the jungle.  Around here however, it keeps Jonathan supplied with goodies.  I can walk around with a sandwich and I never hear a peep out of him.  Walk to the couch with a cracker and Hello Jonathannnnn instantly comes out of his beak.  It's even worse if it happens to be a peanut butter cookie.  What a beggar this guy is!!!

Dinner was a disaster.  I never thought I would be tired of grilled cheese sandwiches, but that's about all I've had in the last week.  I found one half dead potato and cooked it with the remaining sausage.  It was so dry I added some frozen peas.  Pretty sad, but it got me by the first night.  

At the bottom of my rig freezer I found a small bag of stew meat.  YAY ... something NEW!!  I filled the bag with everything I could find in the fridge to marinate it to tasty deliciousness, thinking I would serve it over some of the instant rice I found in a box WAY in the back of my cupboard.  

Let me be the first to say stew meat should only be used to make stew.  I figured to brown it in my cast iron skillet, then let it simmer for an hour or so.  It smelled wonderful!  I cooked the slightly stale instant rice and topped it with the beautifully browned meat.  Now for a taste test!!

It might have been edible if it was chewable.  That meat was like trying to chew up the soles of my boots.  Good GRIEF!!!  I cut it into even smaller pieces.  If I didn't have great teeth, I'm sure they would have all fallen out.  Tough as NAILS describes it just right.  It definitely WAS good for my diet since I only ate about three small pieces.  I think a trip to the grocery store today would be a good thing.  Maybe I'll stop by Lowes and see if they have any more shelving while I'm at it.

Home Sweet Home

It seems like a day on the road never turns out like you think it will.  Maybe it's just me, or it could have something to do with driving over 33 hours in the last week.  I'm a three-hour a day gal.  If it's more than three hours, I stop somewhere along the way to spend the night.

In the OLDEN days when I was much younger, driving eight hours in a day was nothing.  Let's face it ... I'm old.  Those days are long gone.  It was bad enough I drove five hours from Indio to Bakersfield, but I really thought there was plenty of rest time in the Orange Grove RV Park before the final sprint to home.  I was wrong ... AGAIN!

As I came down the hill and around town, there were fields of water from all the rain.  Being a farmer, my first thought was rice ... it's always flooded at the beginning of the year ... but that's not usually until the end of April.   Everywhere I went there were huge expanses of the wet stuff and big puddles alongside the road.

In case you were wondering where Halos come from ... it's here, in beautiful downtown Delano.  This place is humungous, which is really cool.  I bet they employ hundreds of people!!

There's really nothing to see when driving from Bakersfield to Central California, which is a good thing, because if you don't keep your eye on the road, you'll break your teeth when you hit that 799th pothole.  Everything was going along swell until I saw the flashing Highway Patrol lights at the San Joaquin River bridge just North of Fresno.  Hmmmm, must be an accident.

Down to 5 mph, most of which was spent stopped, I contemplated the back of this truck for 30 minutes.  I'm not sure how far we traveled, but my phone said it was going to take 63 minutes to go 4 miles.  I went into ZEN mode ... it's okay, I don't have to be home at any specific time.  

These two guys riding their rice rockets didn't see the brake lights ahead and slow down.  The black bike on the left, left a long trail on the pavement into the grass before sliding to a stop.  There's another red one crashed just behind my rear view mirror.  No sign of the second rider.  The guy in  black by the train tracks is talking on the phone while looking at his helmet about 50 feet away.  YIKES!!

Pretty soon, traffic was lined up as far as you could see in both directions.  At long last we came to a sign on the freeway that said Road Work 8 miles ahead.  Are you kidding me???

Nope ... leave it to Cal Trans to decide to repair a bridge on the busiest morning of the week.  They were actually putting something into the holes in the road.  Wow ... that's unique and something you don't see any more ... repairing the potholes.  

My three hour tour turned into a Gilligan's Island marathon of 4-1/2 hours, making Nancy a VERY tired cranky girl, so when she got to the fuel station North of her destination, she had to bite her tongue.  Truck drivers are a stubborn lot ... when they pull into a station, they figure they can stay parked as long as they want at the pump while they peruse the aisles of the AM-PM.

At long last I made it home, parked perfectly on the first try (thank you for rear view cameras) and collapsed on the couch.  That didn't last long however, as I required sustenance ... another grilled cheese sandwich ... before the unloading began.  In spite of thinking I would do that "tomorrow", I constantly needed stuff, requiring more and more trips. 

The embroidery machine was a back breaker, but I succeeded in getting it out without dropping it on the concrete.  Eight more loads had me back on the couch until this morning, when I remembered my computer was still outside.

Amazingly, my yard is in pretty good shape, although everything outside smells really moldy.  As soon as I step on the patio I can't breathe, not that it's any better INSIDE!  It's the "old house" smell.  Time to bake something delicious like apple pie!!

Beautiful Bakersfield

So here I am just chillin' in beautiful Bakersfield among the orange trees.  I cruised out of Indio at an early 7:00 (Arizona Time) into the madhouse that is their freeway system.  In spite of the early hour, it wasn't too bad until I hit Beaumont.  Next time I'm going through Havasu up to Highway 40.  I just HATE the rough roads and crazy drivers of Southern California.

By the way, I've been sticking to Arizona time.  I think the time changes in California tonight, or maybe tomorrow and I'm trying hard to keep up my non-existent sleeping habits.

Naturally, in spite of my GPS system AND my phone, I missed the first exit to Hwy 210.  It gets me every time!  You would think after all these trips, I would have it figured out, but lucky for me, the next exit is easier and takes you to the same place.  Up the steep hills to the high desert I went, passing trucks right and left.  There is something to be said about having a big engine and not a lot of weight (not counting me) since I emptied all the cupboards of the canned food I never seemed to eat.

Suddenly, there was a big CRASH!!  NOOOOOOOOO!!!  I had instant flashbacks of Jonathan walking up the aisle!!  I could tell from the pings on the floor that Jon was safe however.  Cooper on the other hand was trying to climb the child gate and get in my lap.  I pulled over to find my junk basket full of what else ... junk ... had dumped it's contents on the floor before resting nicely on my new chair.  

I crawled around on hands and knees picking up twelve empty bobbin spools from the embroidery machine ... because you know, I just might need them some time ... six pens and assorted computer thingies.  Maybe Cooper will recover in a week or two.

As soon as I turned off on Highway 395, it was smooth sailing along the roller coaster highway to the lovely smell of creosote bushes in the 86 degree heat.  I didn't mind at all.  For some weird reason, creosote smells good ... like being home.

Tehachapi was a cinch with no wind, no rain and no snow.  In fact, there was no wind my entire trip.  At long last ... a five hour drive ... I landed in the orange groves at Orange Grove RV Park.  They have the friendliest girls here, the longest, widest parking spaces and oranges for you to pick free.  Unfortunately, they have been on the trees a little too long and tasted like something between a watermelon and an overripe tomato.

Remember I mentioned the cupboards and refrigerator were bare?  Except for frozen Ugly Steaks, I was going to actually have to COOK something for dinner.  All I had was some turkey sausage and one bleak russet potato.  With Chef Patty not in the house, I actually had to figure out what to do with them.  I chopped it all up and threw it in a pan with as many spices as I thought she would use, which is just about everything in my spice drawer.    It didn't matter whether it was edible or not, I ate it.

Bakersfield may not be the prettiest town around, but they do put on a good sunset show over the trees.   I was dead tired and sleepy when the train whistle brought me back to reality.  There IS a train that runs VERY close by ... but at least it doesn't run at night.  

Up at 4:30 to let the dogs out, I'll be doing the dump dance with my 5 gallon bucket.  Might as well get that out of the way since I'll be home about three hours after leaving this wonderful park.  I'm pretty sure we will ALL be happy to have solid ground under our feet again and a back yard to run around in WITHOUT leashes.  

It's a LOVE - HATE Relationship!!

Let's face it ... my life revolves around food most of the time!!  Yesterday morning as I waited in the dark for the appropriate time to leave, I kept getting up and going to the fridge.  It being the end of a long trip for me, the shelves were lined with nothing.  Funny, no matter how many times I opened the door, there STILL was nothing to eat that would help pass the time.

The freezer on the other hand, is full to the brim with snacks like crackers, Reese's peanut butter cups left over from the FMCA rally and the peanut butter cookies I baked while at the Chance Ranch.  Add a piece of toast to that and you have breakfast!!  Having already been told NOT to show up early at the Elks Lodge in Indio, I did my best to hang out a little longer.

In the meantime, again catching up a little, THIS is Miss Laila riding LuLu.  About a mile down the end of a dirt road is this facility that could use a little TLC.  Okay, a LOT of TLC, none of which matters to a young girl who's getting to ride a horse.

Once saddled up, we wandered off down the gully past WAY too thin horses for my taste, along with a couple of VERY overweight goats.  Apparently the goats and I have a lot in common, eating everything in site, including all the horse's feed.

Once they got going, I was very proud to see Laila had perfect form sitting on her horse.  She's a natural for sure.  Two things you look for ... a straight back and a straight line from her elbows down the reins to her horses mouth.  YOU GO LAILA!!!

As you can see by the girl laying on top of her horses neck, not all were taking this seriously.  There's always one or two in the group, right?  

As they trotted around, Laila never wavered.  Horses are inherently lazy ... aren't we all at some point or other?  They would really just like to stand still, so a couple of times Laila had to MAKE LuLu do what she wanted.

In the end, since one girl could't get her horse to do anything, they traded.  Laila is on the bay horse at the far right.  They lined up while listening to the directions of the course each would ride around and over some obstacles.  Laila was the only one to do it correctly because she was listening instead of chit-chatting.  YAY LAILA!!!

I would love to move down here and give her riding lessons ... she would be in horse shows in no time with her talent!!

Since not really having a decent breakfast upon leaving Quartzsite, I decided to hit the Elks Kitchen for some lunch.  I know better, really I do, but I never think of it until it's too late.  Never NEVER eat fried food!!  Some things I can get away with ... yesterday was not the day.

The grilled ham and cheese was WONDERFUL, along with a large helping of onion rings ... the really big crispy kind.  That and a coke were a measly $8.00.  By the time I swallowed the last bite, I knew I was in trouble.  Little did I know what trouble was to come.

I LOVE fried foods .... they HATE me.  At midnight I was up sick as could be with a good helping of allergies, sneezing and feeling queasy.  I kicked myself in the butt!!  Some tums, followed by a dessert of benadryl finally provided some relief.  

It's HOT here in Indio .... 92 degrees yesterday .... so this morning I'm heading out early.  At least this time I have a longer drive, meaning I won't be spending time perusing the refrigerator.  It should be a nice trip ... no wind, no rain and no snow, if you can believe the weatherman.

Deja Vu !!

Funny ... it feels like I just drove past these beautiful flowers a few hours ago.  Oh yeah ... I did!!  They were just as pretty the second time around!!

It was NOT as boring a drive as I expected, since the scenery was beautifully green, the skies blue and there was NO wind!!  YAY!!

I won't bore you with the details of the same scenery, I'll bore you with some leftovers from Tucson instead.  My days and image dates are so messed up, I apologize if I've told you this or shown these pictures before.  It all seems to be a blur.    

Before I left the first time, Patty, Dan and I went to Saguaro Corners for dinner.  THIS time, instead of mac 'n cheese, I ordered the John Wayne Burger.  I'm sure you can't get better than my Cowboy Hero John's namesake!!  It was so huge I couldn't get it to stay upright while I snapped a picture.  The burger was cooked to perfection and smothered in barbecue sauce and crispy fried onions.  YUM YUM!!!!!  I ate every single bite!  The fries were also delicious, but I didn't have any room left.

I did actually make it to the Container Store, although it was rather hard to find.  The Mall up north is on several levels, with no directory that I could find.  I drove around and around until I found the Mall Cop.  I'll ask for help.  Well that's funny ... there was NO ONE in the vehicle, and it was parked out on the road side, far from the buildings.  Maybe it was shift change or maybe he was sleeping in the back seat!!

Another couple of turns around the block and I finally found it!!  I'm a country girl ... I've never been in such a store in my life!!  SO MUCH organization stuff ... I loved it!!  It's basket time!!  Originally thinking these shelves were what I was looking for, I wasn't totally sure of the measurements, so I passed them by.  They said I could order them on-line.

I DID find a PAT chair.  Patty's sewing buddy and my newest friend has these in her sewing room.  Bungee chairs.  Whoever heard of these?  It's lightweight, on rollers, bungee comfortable to sit on and raises and lowers making it perfect for sewing, embroidery or computer work.  Cooper gave it the smell test and said it could stay.  Actually, it's going to stay in my sewing room at home.

I found some boot trees to keep my boots upright (truly necessary if you wear tall shaft boots), some C hangers to keep all those small "Barbara" purses I have (taking up valuable storage space) hanging in my closet, a pink thingy (I've no idea what it's called) that keeps my razor on the shave cream can instead of the shower floor and a package of gizmos that keep your phone cords handy instead of hanging down the side of my kitchen cabinets.    Did you notice I name things after the people who suggested the great ideas?

In the end, I wound up at the favorite RV store, Walmart, where I found these two bins of shelves that fit perfectly in my closet.  I even have TWO drawers still empty.  I'll work on filling those next month in Sacramento.

At any rate, I finally arrived in Quartzsite, fueled up for my epic run to Indio, a two hour drive assuming I don't get lost, and parked at my favorite Park Place RV Park.  Most of the winter visitors have left, leaving the 12 spaces around me completely empty.  The dogs can bark all they want!!  

I contemplated unhooking the Jeep and hitting up Silly Als for some pizza, but fell asleep watching Josh Gates crawl through the tiniest of underground caves that made me close my eyes in a total claustrophobic attack.  It wasn't any better when he went cave diving (I was gasping for air in two seconds), something even as an instructor, I could NEVER do.  It's a good thing I fell asleep.

Keeping close eyes on the time ... I don't want to arrive in Indio before noon, because you know how you can get in trouble for that ... I'll hang out with the puppies for a few hours.  

I haven't forgotten Granddaughter Laila's horseback riding ... I just have to dig back through my files and find the pictures.  Happy Trails .......

Great Place But No Cigar

I have no idea what that means, other than I won't be handing out cigars to celebrate the purchase of my new place.

As soon as I hit the fairgrounds at 6:00 pm (boy were they surprised to see me back), having lost an hour along the way, I met the realtor and my two friends at the house .... in the dark .... with flashlights in hand.  We walked the perimeter first, getting stuck with cactus along the way.  It looks pretty well kept in this picture ..... it wasn't in person.  Knee high grass and cactus were everywhere looking to poke you.

When Patty said it was "rough", she was right.  Really, I thought a good tractor operator could whip that into shape in about an hour.  The inside wasn't as bad as I expected.  However, it seems the owner decided to remodel himself, texturing the bathrooms with inch thick plaster and painting with colors that would make you want to throw up ... maybe that's where his color choice came from.  

Even if you watch every episode of Chip and Joanna Gains Fixer Upper, it doesn't mean you know how to remodel.  He retiled the kitchen counter with half inch thick grout.  When the pieces didn't really fit, he just glued them on anyway.  Note to self ... gut the kitchen.

The small bathroom had almost-black VERY rough tile he had glued on the floor.  A cleaning nightmare.   The wooden cupboard he had used for a sink was covered with very dark two inch tiles.  He must have then poured some kind of goo over it all, but wasn't too careful.  It dripped on to the floor.  The bath surround didn't fare much better.  Another GUT job!!

The master bath was ... well livable ... just don't eat before you enter.  At over 2,000 square feet, the house had plenty of space and sort of an open concept.  I could have made the laundry room into a  fifth bedroom, it was so big.  I kept saying "I don't know girls ... look at THIS", but truly a lot of it really WAS cosmetic. 

In the end, I stayed up with the nicest Realtors in the world until 10:00, getting it written up.  Here's the deal on the short sale.  Having had a previous buyer, the bank had already gone through the approval process, getting okays from the divorced owners and approving the sale price.  Those buyers backed out, but no one told the bank.  That meant for ME, it would close in 30 days.  

Bright and early, with absolutely NO sleep as I re-designed the kitchen and bought furniture for every room (in my head of course) and worried myself about the condition, I trotted off to take a look in the light of day.  

Since I had called the Building Division, I knew all the setbacks.  There was plenty of room to build an RV cover on one side next to the existing 30 amp plug and a 20 x 30 garage on the opposite side for my car.  Packrats are a problem here ... your vehicle needs to be protected.

I dug down beside the house in several places to find the skirting totally rotten.  They nailed it on, then pushed dirt up all around it.  That's BAD!!  It meant termites were a big problem, as evidenced by their little tubes running up the sides here and there.  That's a BIG EXPENSE to dig out and replace it with concrete block or flashing.  

Finally, while walking on the back patio checking out the construction and looking for wood rot, I noticed a hollow sound on several of the tiles.  Hmmmmm that's not good.  Around the corner I went, pulled back the weeds and found THIS!!  Squirrel heaven.  I could almost fit in the hole myself.  Upon further inspection, I discovered the hole underneath was so large, the concrete had broken and fallen down, making for the hollow sound from the tile.  

That was the death bell I heard in my brain.  This entire patio would have to be removed.  I saw dollar signs.  Especially since the Realtor and I had discussed just how much money I could put into this place and not go under water.   I would be looking for my scuba equipment if I purchased it.  

I sent Vince a note saying I was withdrawing my offer.  They said they understood perfectly and that was that.  No cigars this time around!!  No matter, it was really fun to see my two girlfriends again and say hello to the people at the Fairgrounds RV park.  

This morning I'm off again for California!!