Honoring Our Veterans!!!

Happy Veterans Day to all who have served our country.  I'm very happy to see our views have changed over the years and we now give ALL our servicemen the honor they deserve for protecting and preserving our freedom.  Whether they trekked through jungles and deserts or processed the mountains of paperwork back home, they deserve our honor and respect EVERY day!!

HAPPY VETERANS DAY!!!

UNSUBSCRIBE!!!

It was a pretty boring day I'm sorry to say!!  I spent the first three hours "unsubscribing" from all those junk email companies I receive JUNK from every day!!  Where does all this stuff come from?? To my knowledge, I've never purchased or even looked up information on the Nu-Wave Oven.  I certainly have never purchased a Louis Vuitton purse ... who has THAT much money ... and I've never been interested in the Rolling Stones!!

I'm sorry Adriana, but I've never heard of you and I'm pretty sure I'm NOT interested in what you are selling!!  Boot Barn ... you have the goods I'm looking for, and I'm thrilled you just opened a new store near me ... but really, I don't need 4 emails a day to get the message!!

Pacific Gas and Electric ... I donate more than enough money to you every month, and I have NO choice in the matter.  Why do you waste money on internet advertisements????

HSN ... Home Shopping Network ... I rarely buy things from your television shows, not your computer shows, which I don't think you even have!!  Three emails a day isn't going to get me to buy any more than NO emails a day!!

E-Harmony, Farmers Only, Love @ AOL, Christian Singles and all those other match-you-up-with-the-perfect-mate sites are just not for me.  If I didn't respond to the first 200 emails, I'm probably not going to respond at all!!

Tennessee House Democrats ... where the heck did YOU come from??  Yes I drove through your state ONCE ... doesn't mean I've taken up residence there, and since I'm a Republican, I think you're barking up the wrong tree!!

It just goes on and on and on .......   The solution is to "unsubscribe" from each and every one ... which I did yesterday morning, continuing for another hour THIS morning.  Each unsubscribe process is different ... some won't even LET you stop this insane process, and those that do warn you it may take 8-10 weeks for this to take effect.  Really???  Seems it only took two seconds for you to latch on to my email address ... why does it take so long to UNLATCH it???  I shouldn't even look at the junk mail, but every once in awhile, someone you WANT to talk to sends an email that gets dumped here.

Knit Picky ... I now have 9,389 knitting patterns ... I think that's enough to last me three lifetimes!!  Please UNSUBSCRIBE me!!!

The Lion In The Box!!!

Good news!!!!  We were able to sleep in until 5:00 am!!!  There was a reason for that extra 30 minutes of sleep that I hope doesn't happen again any time soon!!

I scheduled breakfast with a girlfriend yesterday ... which turned out to be lunch by the time she got here.  I was starving and ate entirely too much, then jumped in my truck and took off for Sonora with my quilt pieces.  It's sure nice to know the engine will start when the key is turned!!

This would be my first time having a piece quilted by a shop.  They always look so beautiful when completed.  Well I found out they come with a beautiful price and an extended waiting period to get them back.  The "guestimate" was $75 when it's done in 10 weeks!!!  Ten weeks ... I'll be in Arizona in 10 weeks!!  I think I already have $175 worth of fabric in this thing!  No wonder those pretty quilts sell for $400!!

Money just seems to be front and center this week.  On the way home, my windshield got hit by a large rock, making a hole that I'm sure cannot be fixed.  There goes another $500 deductible out the window.  I'm really NOT made of money and am hoping this comes to an end soon!!

Around 9:30 pm I discovered the not-very-close neighbors were having a party in their back yard.  Unfortunately there is nothing between my house and theirs ... and they were LOUD!!!  Between the boom boom of the boom box and the guy laughing at his own jokes, I woke up at 11:00 and tried to get back to sleep.  As I walked through the supermarket, there was a big cardboard box on the table, moving quite a bit.  It had a large chain around it with a sign that said LION.  Really ... it's a lion in a box ... a cardboard box to boot.  I felt sorry for the poor thing, so I purchased him.  I took all my other groceries out to the truck, then returned for the big box.  About that time, I began to regret my purchase ... people were screaming and running ... the LION was loose!!  I'd like to make a return please??  Here's my receipt ... I can't take the LION if he's not in the box.

At 2:00 am I woke up (before I became lion food) from the now-even-louder noise coming through my bedroom walls.  I debated calling the cops to quiet them down.  I even got up to look because they were so loud I was SURE they were in MY back yard ... or at least my next door neighbor's driveway, you know, the one where the attempted murder took place.  I can actually hear conversations and bad jokes as I tried to fall asleep again.

I wanted to rush out of the grocery store, but REALLY wanted that refund.  I figured the lion was in the meat department having dinner, so I tried to sneak around the shelves looking for the cashier.  I finally found him on TOP of the shelf system.  As I began to climb to the top with receipt in hand, he yelled just in time for me to scramble over the cans of tomato soup, missing the swipe of a large paw!!  I'd like a refund please ... the lion is OUT of the box!!

At 3:30 am I again woke up and discovered the party still going strong.  I really didn't want to be a bad neighbor and report them, but this is ridiculous.  I began to think of ways I could wake THEM up at 4:30 when my puppies and I got up!!  Finally with a pillow firmly planted over my head, I slept until 5:00.  When I got out of bed, all I could think of was the lion in the box.  I never did hear from him again and  I hope they got him back in the box safe and sound!!  It's always an adventure at my house ... even in my dreams!!!

Merry Christmas To Me!!!

Since everyone else seems to have jumped on the bandwagon and skipped Thanksgiving altogether, I figured I might as well do the same.  I didn't have much choice in this case.  When Christmas DOES come, I'll be broke!!!

I'm sitting in this very nice brand new service center waiting room while my truck is in surgery.  My 2005 diesel 3/4 ton started right up upon my return from the latest six month trip.  I didn't go far, just to the pumpkin patch around the corner.  The next time I jumped in to the drivers seat and turned the key .... nothing!!  When I hooked up the charger, I discovered I have not one but TWO batteries!!  Who knew??  After a couple of days it charged just enough to get me to the Truck Doctor.  As I sat reading on my phone, Tim came in and said they tested bad and had to be replaced ... $300!  AND I was due for an oil change ... $385.  It was then I remembered the parking light bulbs needed replaced ...  add $50.

While I sat there, Tim came by once again ... air and fuel filters.  I'm fully aware that they try their best to sell you stuff you don't "really" need ... so I followed him to the shop to see for myself.  Even after banging the filter on the floor several times, it was a hot mess.  I checked my records, and sure enough the fuel filter was due also.  Okay ... just don't tell me how much money ... I don't want to know!!!

Back to reading in the waiting room ... and here came Tim again.  I held up my hand and said STOP!!!  GO AWAY!!  I DON'T WANT TO KNOW!!  You have a bad wheel bearing.  Dang it!!!  Yes I do!!  Last year the service manager at another dealership (my ranch house renter) told me the same thing ... and now it's much worse!!  In fact, even though I agreed with him, he insisted I follow him to the service bay again and see the damage.  How much for THAT???  Yikes ... I wish he hadn't told me ... $800.  What do you want for Christmas little Nancy??  A new wheel bearing for my truck!!!  Merry Christmas to me!!

Three hours later I was out the door with a $1485 charged on my credit card.  Had I known THIS was going to happen, I wouldn't have bought those pieces of jewelry at Richardson's Trading Post in Gallup!!!  I was all set to take this quilt top and one other to the store in Sonora for quilting.  Maybe I'll wait until next months check!!!  Jessie thought it was very nice and claimed it immediately, only sitting on the very corner in the hopes I wouldn't chase her off!!

As she gets older, Jessie Belle gets clingier ... every time I sit on the couch, she becomes glued to my quads!!  She really is a sweetheart in spite of herself!!  I'm glad that kitty climbed the tree in Green Bay Wisconsin, keeping Miss Jessie in one spot until I could catch up with her!!

I think I'll go for a ride in my truck today ... so I can play with my new Christmas present!!

Take Your Pick .....

There's a huge pile of exceptional highly prized antiques stacked outside the door of my garage ... free for the taking!!  You never know ... that old trash can just might be worth a fortune some day!!  You have to be quick though ... as soon as I get new batteries in my truck this morning, it's off to the antique graveyard, better known as the Town Dump!!

I drove to Salida yesterday to have lunch with Escapees Chapter 38.  They meet at the Elks Lodge the first Thursday of every month for some yummy food, good conversation and bad jokes.  They have 4 or 5 rallies every year, which I usually can't attend since I always seem to be in Arizona instead.  They immediately noticed my Balloon Fiesta shirt and wanted all the information on attending next year.  I hope they can make it ... actually I hope "I" can make it too!!

No trip North can be made without a stop at the fabric store, but I was disappointed this time.  Not only did they not provide any service at all ... I had to chase down the cashier ... their selection of fabrics is going downhill.  I guess I'm back to JoAnns and Hobby Lobby.  I did get a little more sewing done on this quilt.  It's called Quilt Alaska and is one of my favorites!!  This came from the Rushin' Tailor or Russian Tailor (whatever it's called) in Skagway!!  Check it out of you get up that way.  They do have a website online, but that was even more disappointing than my local store.   Guess I'll just have to drive back up there and check them out in person!!!

I better go see if my truck will start ... if not, at least I'll have an hour or so on the charger before I need to be in town for new batteries.  At $120 each ... and my diesel truck requires TWO ... this won't be a cheap date today!!

Sorry Giada ... This Is Awful!!

It was a good day in Smallville yesterday, with the exception of the much anticipated berry pie.  As you probably know, I watch a lot of cooking shows, trying to improve my skills.  So far I haven't had much luck and yesterday was no exception.  It was Giada's recipe that I tried ... it looked amazing and weighed a ton when it was finished.  Off to the oven!!

Did I mention that I LOVE this Breville oven, first used and recommended by Miss Terry, beautiful wife of Nick Russell, secret agent from Australia (but that's another story) ... anyway, this oven is a keeper!!!  Unfortunately the recipe is NOT!!  It has WAAAYYY too much cinnamon and not near enough sugar.  It's still sitting in the fridge with only one small piece missing.

I finally found a local contractor ... he's so local he lives about a mile away.  I know him from my old days working for the Building Division, issuing permits.  He's going to make the repairs on the ranch rental house, but in the meantime, I talked him into installing a 50 amp RV plug on the back of my garage.  The Kissack Adventures RV Park is now open for business!!  It's a good thing I stressed that it needed to be an "RV" box (new info added to my brain on the last trip)!

It's funny how we depend on electricity.  While he worked on the panel, he of course turned the power off.  I went inside and tried to sew ... iron ... microwave and internet search ... none of which worked.  There's no power, girlfriend!!  

Okay, how about grabbing the broom and cleaning up the spider and ant mess at the front of the garage?  As I reached overhead, I caught a flash of three black dots, just before they fell on my head.  I panicked while those VERY FAT black widows danced in my hair.  THAT got my heart rate up!!!

At any rate, the box was installed and I'm in business.  Unfortunately I forgot about the breaker, which is in the panel 20 feet away.  I was trying to be a nice girl and keep my nose out of the "man" business of installing the box.  I'll just post a note on top to flip the breaker off before unplugging.  It probably would have cost me twice as much to put the breaker at this end of the box.

Then it was on to the garage cabinets.  While waiting for two other guys to show up, Dave and I were able to lift the front just enough to get a 2x4 underneath, raise it up two inches and empty the cabinets.  It's funny they fell because really, there wasn't much heavy stuff in them at all!!!  Too bad the cabinets broke up so badly.  Lucky for me this contractor had several pieces of this material to replace the badly broken panels along with a very cool nail gun to put them back together.

I knew this doll was hidden in one cabinet, so I got her out and brought her inside.  Her name is Wilhemina Rosella Theobald.  She's a wax over paper mache doll made in 1850 Germany.  She lived in a very rich household, where a French seamstress was hired once a year to make dresses for the lady of the house and her daughters.  The seamstress made the clothes for the doll at the same time.  The body is made of cotton, stuffed with straw and is probably worth a fortune by now.  Maybe I should take her on the Antiques Roadshow!!  I have a letter written by my great aunt with the names of the family.  I think I'll see if I can find them on the internet.

With everything removed from the wall, they built a 2x6 frame on the floor to support the cabinets.  They separated each one and repaired all the bad spots, set them in place and screwed them to the wall ... not that it needed it with a solid foundation underneath.  

They even fixed the broken door and noted the hinges for these cabinets probably cost more than the cabinets themselves!!  It's weird what people spend money on when they build a house.  At least I know the doors will break before the hinges!!   Of course that means it was time for me to actually rummage through all the junk ... I mean good stuff ... and determine what would go back in.  I imagine this repair is going to cost $300-400, but it was worth it.  I got pretty friendly with one of the guys who gave me his phone number.  No ... not for THAT ... but he said if I have "honey-do" stuff, he'd be happy to help out for a couple of extra bucks, since the construction business is in the toilet.  Speaking of which I need some bathroom plumbing fixed.  Anyway, now I have a REAL contractor AND a handyman.  

No More Ads!!!!!

Thankfully the elections are finally over and those crazy political ads will cease to exist ... at least temporarily.  I suppose the mud-slinging campaigns have their proponents, but honestly, I'm less likely to vote for the slinger.  Instead of telling me what's bad about the OTHER guy, tell me what YOU plan on doing to make things better!!

In my little home town we did good!!!  This doesn't usually happen here ... it's a political nightmare.  This election was a little different for the first time in forever.  The race for Sheriff was won by the man who's worked there for the last 25 years.  His opponent was the guy who retired from the City Police Department, the State Department of Justice and was now trying to get ANOTHER retirement from our County.  Who needs $300,000 a year in retirement???  Nothing like being greedy!!  Not only that, but I know him from back in the 70's ... and he was an awful representative of the police department then.  Thankfully the voters got this one right!!

The other race was for Supervisor in MY district.  I went to school with the first candidate, then knew him through the Police Department where he was eventually hired as Chief.  When the City Council got in trouble over several matters, they "retired" him.  He recently got elected to the City Council and although he screamed that he voted NO on a four lane expressway next to a school, a review of the meeting video revealed he voted YES, resulting in a terrible safety issue for the school kids.  He always seemed to vote the way his buddy on the council voted.  Thankfully, he LOST to a great guy who is a local businessman with experience in water issues (which we have lots of) and is one of the biggest opponents to the $40,000 EACH in discretionary funds the Board Members get to spend on whatever they want ... which seems to be businesses and organizations that can get them re-elected!!  Maybe in my little town things will get better.  I know, wishful thinking, but just MAYBE!!!

I have contractors coming this morning at 7:30 am ... pictures tomorrow!!

No, Those Are NOT My Cheetos!!!

The good Lord works in mysterious ways, and really, who am I to question Him??  Yesterday was a perfect example!!  It started out nice enough, but at 4:30 it was chilly,  so I decided to see if I could get the fireplace working.  It usually gives me an awful time getting it lit the first time or two.  One hit on the lighter and the flames took off without a hitch.  Wow ... how nice is that, not to have to fight the fireplace!!  I looked up and said a nice thank you!!!

I spent a little time on the computer looking for a china-hutch type cabinet for my sewing room.  Something that has glass doors to I can see the beautiful fabrics (and that I don't need to buy any more) as well as a couple of drawers to hide the junk.  This one looks pretty good, but at $2,600, it's WAY too pricey!!

There is a shop about 40 minutes away that I thought wouldn't have anything that big, but far be it from me to make quick judgements ... so I made it my first stop.  There it was on the back wall.  The PERFECT hutch, newly restored with chalk paint, glass doors and glass shelves.  It could be white, but I'm not looking the gift horse in the mouth.  How could I possibly be so lucky!!  I look up for another thank you!!  I'm still smiling over finding this piece for a quarter of the price I expected to pay.  I can't pick it up for a couple of weeks since they are having their big Christmas sale and need it for display, but it now sports a big SOLD sign with my name on the back.  

I'm so excited that within 30 minutes I found the perfect piece of furniture, that I stopped in at Walmart for some groceries ... a nice homemade berry pie is a great way to celebrate!!  It's always an adventure in Walmart here and today was no exception.  There was a little voice in the back of my head warning me, but it had been such a good day, I chose to ignore it.  

The first sign ... the cashier wasn't trained to do more than one thing at a time, and talking seemed to be the theme of the day.  As I finally made my way up to the counter, NOT asking for patience, because the Lord only seems to made my predicament worse, I mentioned the two containers of DEF fluid in the basket.  The second sign ... the cashier ignored me.  I mentioned it again and I was met with a cold stare ... the third sign.  Okay then ... I'll just keep my mouth shut!!

As I walked away, I opened a bag to drop in the receipt.  Wait ... I didn't buy any Cheetos.  Excuse me, these aren't my Cheetos.  They must belong to the lady behind me.  As I hand them back, the gal charges the lady.   Excuse me, but you already charged me, just give them to her at no cost.  That didn't compute, as she rang them up a second time.  It's okay the checker said, I didn't charge you for them, I just put them in the wrong bag.  Excuse me again, but there is a charge of $2.58 on my receipt for Cheetos.  Oh those were yours, she said!!  NO, those are NOT my Cheetos!!  By now I've had just about enough of the airhead checker.  Those are NOT my Cheetos, I did NOT buy them and I would like a refund please.  She directed me to take the receipt to Customer Service and kept the Cheetos.  That's not going to work honey ... they are NOT going to give me a refund unless I give them the product.  By now, the other purchaser and I are in a tug of war over the bag, as I tried to explain to her I would get my refund and return the Cheetos to her, since she had also paid for them!!  That didn't compute either, so I finally asked for a Supervisor.  A very sharp cookie arrived, gave me the refund in cash and the Cheetos to the lady who actually wanted them.  

By now my ice cream is melting, so I raced to the car, threw everything in the back and sped home.  Once all the cold stuff was in the freezer, I double checked my receipt.  Low and behold ... she never did charge me for the DEF fluid.  Yes ... the Lord works in mysterious ways!!  I wonder how much product Walmart writes off as having been shop-lifted, when really it just wasn't charged out by the cashiers!!!  I also wonder if anyone will appreciate it when I return the merchandise and offer to pay??

Rearranging Stuff ... A Double Edged Sword!!

There is ONE redeeming factor from early rising ... you get a lot done in a day!!  This used to be my guest bedroom.  Well not really, as many can attest ... it actually was the "junk" room.  This house is pretty big, but has very little storage room.  Everything that didn't find an immediate home, ended up stacked here on the window seat, the large dresser behind me or on the queen-size bed.  Those who have tempted fate and entered, know what I'm talking about.  Sewing on the round dining room table has always been problematic, so with nothing else to do at 5:30 in the morning, I might as well clean out the room.

Actually, this became a triple-edge sword problem.  Many things from here needed to be in the garage ... but the garage needs to be cleaned up before THAT can happen ...  AND right off the bat, I lost my skis and diving gear bag, after moving them twice.  I doubt I'll ever find half this stuff again!!  I do think it came out rather nice.  I rescued this table from the garage for the second time ... it makes a perfect cutting surface.  The wall with the picture will soon be covered with a large china cabinet where I'll stash the stash.  Do I have a large cabinet??  NO ... so today I'll be off to find one.

The bed came apart rather easily and I was able to slide the mattress and box springs into the closet.  Unfortunately, I'll never get anything else OUT of the closet, like my famous Wicked Witch costume or the 50 year old cowboy tablecloths.  The frame made it into the garage successfully, but boy do I have a lot of work to do there!!  Maybe by next year I'll have the garage cleaned out enough to store these big items outside.  The good thing is if I have too much company, I'll just drop these on the floor and have an "instant bed"!!

By 9:00 I had finished the room AND the quilt.  This week I'll take another trip to the quilt shop to drop it off for actual quilting, praying that I don't come HOME with a quilting machine (it's SUCH a long drive!!)

What to do for the rest of the day???  It just doesn't pay to get up that early in the morning.  I went back to the garage to try and clean up some of the black widow spider mess and organize things a little more, but with the cabinets still unaccessible, I didn't get far.  I already have eight bags of trash outside my back door, and with the bin already full, there's definitely no more room.

I tried to take shot at cleaning the dresser out, but quickly discovered there's enough material there for probably another 24 quilts!!  Who bought all this gorgeous, beautiful, amazing material???  So for those who were wondering what you were getting for Christmas ......... wonder no more!!!

"If I Could Turn Back Time" .... Remember Cher??

That song has nothing to do with anything really ... other than show how old I am, and last night everyone in California turned back time.  How easy was that??  I hate daylight savings time.  I'm not sure how it saves ANY time.  It just makes getting used to it twice a year a big pain in the patoodie!!  For everyone who gets to sleep in an hour this time ... YAY!!!  In my house however is this four-legged critter that gets up at the same time, no matter WHAT the time is.  He pats his feet on the bed and moans very quietly ... like he's trying not to wake you up, when that is the whole point of his cute shenanigans.  Who can turn down a face like this???  So at 4:00 am we were up eating and going outside ... no matter that I kept them up until 10:30 last night.

I met with a new Contractor to fix the ranch house windows.  After several tries, the first guy never called back, so onward and upward.  This one got me an estimate in two days that is going to set me back some.  It's more than I thought, but less than I have in that bank account, and it HAS to be done while the sun shines!!  So much for my RV shade cover THIS year.  

I still haven't figured out how to get the garage cabinets up off the floor enough to empty them.  Seems everyone I call has a bad back!!  Come on guys ... it can't be THAT hard to push them up!!  Maybe I should be offering some of that smoked pork!!!  Next Thursday I'm going to try and hijack the gardeners!!  Hope they can help.

This is my next project.  Trying to figure out how this goes together!!  The instruction booklet has eight pages of WARNING ... YOU CAN DIE ... but no pages that tell you how to hook things up.  I did read that I need some wrenches.  Finding the correct size will be the first hurdle.

I drove all the way to Sonora to Bearly Quilting yesterday to get some additional material.  If you're not a quilter, you won't understand ... but I get heart palpitations when I walk in that store.  I want EVERYTHING!!!!!  Such nice people, they were able to help me make color choices.  I always feel like I'm color blind in a quilt store.  I never seem to make the right picks without their help!!

When I got home, I quickly sewed on two of the three borders to the jelly roll I have been working on.  It will have one more dark brown border on the outside.  I'm much happier with these colors than the bright fluorescent orange I had previously.  Then it hit me ... I have SO much fabric stashed in every drawer in the house, especially from the Alaska "Quilting" Trip!!!  It's time to remodel that spare bedroom into a quilting room ... at least a quilting STASH room.  

I really don't want to get rid of the bed ... you never know when some good looking hunk might come knocking on my door.  So for the time being, I'll just stand it up in the closet and bring in an old dining room table for cutting fabric.  Then all I need are a couple of pretty white bookshelf/cabinets where I can stack the stash!!  I better get busy ... oh wait!!!  It's only 5:30 ... plenty of time for another cup of coffee!!

Eight In One ... And My Two Big Butts!!!

Happy Halloween to everyone!  Hope your grandkids scored big time ... or maybe not if you are babysitting sugar-infused children under the age of ten!!  Halloween is my favorite holiday, but this year I fell behind and barely got a few decorations on the front door.  At least I remembered to buy candy ... a good thing since I had more trick-or-treaters in the rain this year than I have ever had.  Parents were running around with umbrellas, but the kids could have cared less.  With dripping makeup and soaking wet clothes, they were after the CANDY!!!

When I thought they were all gone, one last van pulled up in pouring rain, prompting Jessie to come unglued ... she doesn't like cars in the driveway!!  I grabbed my candy can and stood outside as one after another, kids began climbing out of a large SUV ... SEVEN of them, all under maybe 8 years of age.  Honestly, after four, I couldn't see how there could possibly be any more.  I thought we were done as I closed the door, but Jessie began her barking ritual again.  I opened the door to hear one little drenched girl saying ... ONE MORE! ONE MORE!!  The fairy princess didn't get her candy.  Sure enough, the fairy princess in her beautiful pink wet dress came running up.  She was more fascinated with Jessie than the candy ... and not the least bit scared of all the barking.  Mom said she LOVES puppies, as the fairy princess knelt down beside the door and petted the glass.  Jessie quieted down and Cooper gave her a through-the-glass kiss.  How cute was THAT!!!!  It took them 5 minutes to get her back in the car, as three had to jump out to let her in.  They made my day!!

This is my next year's Halloween costume ... tattoo anyone???

Early yesterday morning, I put my two big pork butts in the smoker.  Being lazy, I didn't mix my own seasoning, but used a prepared one.  Not such a good idea ... it's pretty spicy hot on the outside!!

I think my cooking itch has been satisfied for awhile ... just too many burials!!  This came close to being another one.  After seven hours of cooking, I walked out to check the digital time and temperature (which I had done one hour earlier), to find the door wide open.  What the heck?????  Geeze Louise, this isn't good at all.  How did that happen??  I shut the door, only to have it creak open again.  This time I blocked it with a large sprinkler head and calculated the time and heat loss.  By 10:00 pm, there was no way it was going to be done, so I doubled wrapped both big butts and put them in the oven at 180 degrees until 5:00 this morning.  Both came out just fine ... whew, that was a close one.  This wasn't just $5.00 worth of pork!!  Since one butt is going to a friend's house, I thought I better make sure it wouldn't make them sick ... so I had pulled pork and eggs for breakfast.  So far so good!!!

I saw this posted on the internet yesterday ... my thoughts exactly.  I've been stomped on by cows, bucked off horses too many times to count, survived hair-raising motorcycle rides, zip-lining in Costa Rica (not to mention the jungle part) black widow bites, jumping off a 60' tower, three marathons in the hills of San Francisco and driving a 15+ ton motorhome over 28,000 miles ... and I'm still kicking!!  Up until now, I could also boast no broken bones in all of this.  This will be me, sunning on the porch with my sweet tea when I'm 90!!

I'm off to Bearly Quilting in Sonora this morning.  Maybe if I'm quilting, I'll lay off the cooking for awhile!!!

Baklava .... Epic Fail !!!

You just have to laugh when you bake your favorite dessert that has NEVER failed ... and the taste test results in a fail of epic proportions!!  Baklava ... one of my all time easiest recipes to make ... baked itself into oblivion.  With my first bite, my teeth became permanently glued together.  I'm not kidding ... and did I mention I just came from the dentist?  I started to panic a little, with visions of myself at the hospital, not able to talk.  With nothing working, I made a quick cup of hot coffee to try and melt the hard candy holding my mouth shut like a mouse trap!!  The syrupy sweet liquid you pour over the treats had become hard as granite.

When I finally got my mouth open, I breathed a big sigh of relief ... no trip to the dentist will be required.  The worst part was still to come.  How on earth am I going to get this mess out of my one and only baklava pan.  I tried cutting, heating, banging and finally chiseling (with hammer and chisel) after soaking it in water... all with zero results.  I would have taken a picture, but you would have lost your cookies, if you know what I mean.  I seriously considered throwing the pan away and getting a new one, but it's bad enough that I have to toss the inedible treats.  I finally filled every pot I owned with water and put them on the stove.  After 6 quarts of boiling water, it melted the goo on the bottom enough to come out in one large chunk.  Just for fun, I even whacked it with a hammer once it was safely in the garbage can ... and it did NOT break.  Maybe I should pay more attention to the recipe next time!!!

The morning sunrise made it a little better.  I was shivering due to the cold breeze, but couldn't help just staring at the sky.  Actually, I'm hoping not to see this sight every morning.  I would really like to be able to sleep in!!  Trouble is, the time change will soon have me up at 4:00 am instead of 5:00.

As the sun finally came over the edge of the earth, it looked like everything was on fire.  That definitely got my mind off the baklava!!

With three more spools of thread in stock, I was able to finish stitching the main sections together for my quilt.  The orange and brown are for the borders, but I'm not sure I like those colors now.  Maybe a trip to the quilt store in Sonora is in order.  They are always so much better at choosing fabric than I.

Most people don't know I'm a music fan.  I played in my grammar school band for three years, even making the Honor Band.  Learning to play the guitar was always on my bucket list ... I tried playing banjo for awhile, but it's pretty hard to find instructors in this part of California.  So here's my new "guitar/banjo" ukelele!! Bet you never thought you'd see THIS at my house.  I've already learned five chords (You Tube baby) and my fingers are bloody.  I do remember having to play every day until calluses build up to make it easier.  I ground off all the fingernails on my left hand, unfortunately exposing the quick underneath.  This learning curve is going to be painful!!

I'm doing some smoking today ... the BUTT kind of delicious, tender morsels of pork smoking.  At least I can't mess that up ... just put it in the smoker and turn it on!!  Hmmmm maybe I better zip it ... no use awakening the BUTT fail Gods!!!