Variety Is The Spice Of Life

That's an old saying my Grandfather had on the ranch.  I'm not sure if he was talking about food, women or just life, but I've had lots of variety in the last couple days.  Waking up to this beautiful sunrise in the morning seems to make it all better.

I spent some time watching videos on Dutch Oven cooking and seasoning since my second 10" pot arrived in the mail.  Unfortunately the new stuff is terribly rough inside, instead of smooth like a pot should be.  After watching Kent Rollins instructions, I took a grinder to the first one and smoothed it out a little, then seasoned it in the oven twice.  

Since I was on a roll, I pulled out that old frying pan covered in rust and gave it a few minutes under the grinder.  I'm impressed!  It worked perfectly, so I rubbed it up with olive oil and baked it too.  Another round on both and we'll see how non-stick they are.  I think a big slab of bacon should help.  Today I'll grind up the second one and season it a couple of times.  Now I just need to find someone who doesn't mind eating experimental dutch oven cooking!

It was the Night of the Peasants at the Magic Kingdom of Bingo.  Honestly, you never know what's going to happen.  It's a roll of the dice.

I rolled in about 3:30 along with the three other gals who cashier (we trade off between counting the packets and cashiering).  Once everything was set up, I backed off and watched the melee.  These people are so serious, you don't DARE sit in their lucky spot ... it will be a throw down for sure!!

We sell things called pull tabs on the floor.  For $1 each, you buy the card and pull off the tab.  You can either win money ($10 and under) or you can get numbers that are playable in a later Bingo Game, or you can get nothing.  I grabbed an apron and went to work!!

BLAZING BALLS ... get your Blazing Balls here!!!  They went like hotcakes!!  This is FUN!!  We opened another box.  They LIKE those new boxes, because I sold out that one in a matter of minutes.  Next box please.  In between I sold something called Marilees and Honey Potz.  Don't ask me what they are because I have not a clue!!

The amazing thing is how many I sold ... eleven boxes!!!  ELEVEN!!  Mostly at $30 a pop, which is why the boxes didn't last long.  Pots for those games ranged from $250 to $500.  I probably sold over $3,000 worth of games in two hours.  It's CRAZY!!  It's gambling!!

One thing I learned about selling on the floor, you get to go home early.  That was a good thing, because I had one of their notorious hot dogs, covered in chili that took third place over the weekend at a Jamboree in Los Banos.  That was Saturday.  It's Tuesday.  My stomach doesn't like those yummy hot dogs at all, and once that chili hit bottom, I was a cooked goose.  Of course that cupcake with enough frosting to choke a horse didn't do me any good either.  I rolled myself out to the truck and made it home in time to chew up four Tums!  The calcium is good for you!!

Unfortunately the Giants lost after leading almost the entire game.  We're out of the running, which isn't a bad thing.  Now I don't have to plan my day around the game times.

My Contractor is bringing his glass guy this morning to see what he thinks about the broken panes.  The first estimate came in at $1696.  That's to replace ALL of the glass in the dormer, even the one that isn't broken, because I'm sure it will be in no time, and I don't want to go through this again.

If I'm lucky, my Contractor will have a price about the same, including replacement of the framing.  I'll let you know.  If you hear me screaming, you'll know it wasn't good!!

Accidents Happen ........

That's my new MANTA.  "It's okay, accidents happen".  Nothing cut or broken THIS time, thank goodness, but a big mess none the less.

It's Magic Kingdom day today, so what would be better than a bunch of cupcakes for the crew?  I had a new creamsicle recipe I wanted to test and all the ingredients on hand, unusual for this house.

With everything laid out on the table, I began dumping things into the bowl ... like the cake mix, the jello ... and prepared to beat away with my handy dandy Kitchenaid mixer.  It didn't work.  I plugged it in again and again ... three different plugs.  Well for heavens sake!!  I ran all the way out to the rig and got THAT mixer.  It didn't work either.  That's when I knew there was a problem.  

What's with my outlets?  Hey .... here's the time to use the new tool Nick Russell showed me.  I hit the test button and reset the GFI.  The green light turned red.  I plugged the mixer back in and it WORKED!!  I think my ghosty friends are visiting.

Twenty minutes later, I pulled 24 cupcakes out of the oven.  Time for the best of all ... FROSTING!  I rather love frosting ... the more the better.  This was a cream cheese variety that I would color for the lovely orange and black of halloween.  The orange was easy, the black not so much.  It takes a LOT of black dye to get black.  

My decorations were on the sad side, not coming out like the picture AT ALL, but I forged ahead until I completed them.  The "accident" happened in the cleanup.  You put frosting in a plastic sleeve to decorate with.  Getting the tip out of the sleeve is always a challenge, requiring the use of a knife to cut it out.  Little did I realize as I had it turned upside down, that the heat of my hand was melting the frosting.  You see where I'm going here?

With the tip finally out, I stepped back to head to the trash can when I saw it.  A HUGE smeary glob of frosting sitting on the edge of the counter ... and on the cupboard door ... and on the rug ... and on the floor.  That's when I looked down at my shirt where the majority of frosting ended up.  MY NEW SHIRT!!!  It now has a big black stripe across the front.  I ripped it off and threw it in the sink, scrubbing immediately with hot water!!  Why does this happen to me???

Maybe it's payback for scaring all the little kids when I was the wicked witch of the Accounting Department.  That's green hair coloring I sprayed on my face and hands.  It took me over an hour to clean all the black off the cabinets.  I'm sure no one will notice the black spot on the rug that wouldn't come out.  Cooper has a little black tongue, but that will go away ... eventually.

I did promise pictures of the Pumpkin Patch, but didn't make it back.  The glass company had a cancellation and came for an estimate.  It didn't go so well.  The guy said the roof was entirely too steep and would require scaffolding.  That's spelled $caffolding with a capital $$$.  See those three windows up top?  The middle is the only one not broken.  He said it was because the house was settling, which didn't settle with me, but what do I know.

The more I thought about it, the more I wanted a second opinion, so I called my expensive Contractor friend who did work at the ranch.  Here's his take on it.  There's not enough weight on those windows to break them.  Dormer windows in houses are all heavily spray painted black on the back so you can't see inside when you drive by.  When it really heats up around here, like 108 degrees every day for a week, those black windows absorb so much heat, they break.  He's seen it many times.  

Unfortunately the fix will not be inexpensive, since the wood frame on the bottom has dry rot.  I have to agree with that .... with no cover from the rain and a bad paint job, that framing needs to be replaced with concrete board.  It will be a pricey fix no doubt, but the job will be done right.  Just to be sure there isn't another alternative, he's checking with his Glass Guy.  There will be no more quilt material for me as I scrape up some money.  I await both estimates.

There is something important I'm supposed to do today, although I can't remember what it was.  Hopefully it comes to me before time to head to the Magic Kingdom.  Tomorrow for sure, I'll get back to the Pumpkin Patch for pictures of the dinosaurs!!

By the way, GO GIANTS!!  They pulled it out by the skin of their teeth.  

Smoke Gets In Your Eyes!!!

My little helper.  I picked up several new plants at Home Depot to replace those who died a horrible Roundup death.  Unfortunately, this time of year is not good for plant selection.  I ended up with some society garlic and two ground cover roses.

I can never go in the back yard without my little shadow following me with his (don't say it out loud) B  A  L  L .   He thinks rolling it into the hole I've just dug is the bees knees!!  He even helped make a couple of holes when I didn't return it fast enough.  THAT necessitated the dreaded Paw Wash ... being held over the sink while the paws get scrubbed.  Not his favorite game at ALL!!

With half the work done, I tackled the overgrown lavender and rosemary.  I think my hands will smell of rosemary forever.  I can't imagine how these got so BIG, when everything else around them was dying from lack of water.  NOT!!  As much as the young son gardner didn't want to listen, I told him about pride of workmanship.  If he'd take those stupid earphones out of his ears, he might just pay a little more attention to his work!!

Four more plants found a spot, as I promised they would have a good home.  I almost crossed my fingers, since I know my gardeners well.  Cooper of course, helped down to the last scoop of dirt, which he pushed in with his nose.  TWO dreaded Paw Baths in ONE day!!  

With lots of time left, I wandered over to Hunter Farms Pumpkin Patch, just a half mile away.  It happens that Prince Charming from the Magic Kingdom owns this endeavor, which he says is his biggest investment returning the smallest of capital, which doesn't even cover the electricity bill.  I'll have pictures for you tomorrow!  Being the ultimate professional photographer that I am, I forgot to charge the battery.

In the meantime, I'm setting up my Halloween Trick or Treat front door. 

The problem is they all require electricity.  Running cords under the front door will only work if I take the kick plate off.  No problem!!  I'm hoping spiders and bugs don't crawl underneath.  That would be a Halloween surprise I don't want to encounter!!

Did I mention I found my fog machine?  Now THIS is going to be fun!  I cleaned it up, put in fresh liquid and let it heat up.   Once the green light comes on, you can hit the switch with your foot, making clouds of smoke come out .... SPOOKY!!   Cough cough ... ARGH!!!  Don't stand over it when you do that!!  My eyes and nose filled with smoke.  Not that's it's dangerous, it's just friendly water vapor, but a good dose in the face isn't the smartest idea!  I played with it for ten minutes, hoping the neighbors didn't think my house was on fire.

As long as I'm dragging stuff out of the garage, I heard the Butler complain that he had been locked up for years.  When you walk by, he talks, his eyes light up and his head turns.  He's a little old and stiff (like all of us) and he clicks when he turns his head, but will be the perfect addition to my porch.

I drug him over to the front door.  (It's actually very dark now ... I lightened this picture so you could see).  The first thing I did was turn my back and open the door.  When I looked back inside, I scared the heck out of myself!!  WHAT????  Oh good grief!!  From that point on, Cooper (my little protector) wouldn't leave him alone.  He barked for the next hour, no matter what I did.  

We're just not used to having company in the house!!  I have to consciously think about him or I scare myself in the early mornings too.  What a scaredy cat!!

I'll pick up a few more pumpkins today to camouflage all the extension cords, as well as some supplies to make the fog colder so it stays closer to the ground.  Yup ... I watched a Spooktacular about how to set up a fright house!!  Really, I don't want to scare the little kids ... it's just for ambience as I hand out FULL SIZE snickers bars!!  TRICK OR TREAT!!

Outdoor CAMP Cooking

With my record in the kitchen, you would think I might pick a hobby other than cooking.  I DO like a challenge however, and this is one you can try practically anywhere ... even while camping in my back yard.

My Dad had a Griswold 14 inch cast iron dutch oven he always cooked biscuits in when we were camping.  Lucky for me, I found it in an old 4-H show box.  My cattle showing career only lasted about three months, so it had become a storage unit.  I can't tell you how happy I was to find that oven!!  That makes two, since I purchased a small 10" Lodge cast iron oven in Ferndale.  Just so you know, Lodge can't hold a candle compared to Griswold!!  If you have any Griswold cast iron, either hang on to it or sell it to me.  Seriously, I'm always in the market.

Having purchased Kent Rollins' A Taste of Cowboy cookbook, I finally got up enough nerve to try cooking on the campfire.  Kinda sorta.  Nowadays, charcoal fits the bill nicely.  I joined a Dutch Oven Cooking group on Facebook and was inundated with ideas and pictures to get me started.  Pretty nice group of people to share all their secrets!!

First up, buy a couple of those metal pans you drain your car oil into.  They said not to use a "used" one, something about a fire hazard.  I purchased a new charcoal can to get my coals going, just before finding one in my garage.  Where did THAT come from??  I even found this little folding aluminum table to set it on.  Yes, my fire extinguisher is just out of sight on the table.

Once starting to look gray, I put 8 pieces in the pan and put my small 10" oven on top.  That part about using metal tongs to place them there was bad information.  The heat coming from the can must be about 1000 degrees, burning my fingers nicely.  I just dumped them in.

I remember my dad melting lots of crisco (ugh) in the bottom for his biscuits, so I did the same, but with butter instead.  You can't go wrong with melted butter!!  I dumped in the batter, quickly spread it around and dropped a little cheddar cheese on top for good measure.  My dad smiled when I did that.

I put the lid on with my handy dandy lid lifter and dumped the rest of the charcoals on top.  Pretty much dutch ovens cook from the top down, so you always put more on the top than the bottom.  This many coals on the bottom would result in a back yard burial.  It's a good thing I read that part of the recipe first.

I moved the lid a couple of times for even cooking and VOILA!!!  Beautiful fluffy high-in-the-sky cornbread!!  WOW!!  I couldn't believe it came out so good on my first try!!  After letting it sit a couple of minutes, I sliced it up, slathered it with more butter and wolfed it down.  YUMMY!!  The even more amazing part, it wasn't burned on the bottom!!  

This is going to be fun.  Next time I'll try my Dad's big oven for something like chicken fried steak and gravy.  Maybe I can invite half the town to dinner.  That old Griswold pot is worth a fortune by the way.  On today's market, I could get in excess of $1,000 due to it's age and condition.

In the late afternoon, I finished up the bag Miss Patty got for me.  There was a little hiccup when the pattern called for interfacing, which I purchased ... then later on it called for FLEECE interfacing.  It took another trip to the store, but it was worth it.  I can get lots of market stuff in THIS bag!!!

I spent the rest of the evening going through every Dutch Oven cookbook I have, trying to decide on my next conquest, and planning my Halloween Trick or Treat decorations.  While in the garage looking through my camp boxes, I discovered my FOG machine.  THIS is going to be FUN!!!

Cock A Doodle Doo!!!

Apparently no one had chicken and dumplings in my neighborhood while I was gone, because the rooster still crows every morning around 5:30.  I tried to be as still as a mouse and go back to sleep.  It lasted until 6:00.  That's an amazing thing in Cooper World .. sleeping in!!  Well not really sleeping, but at least I didn't get UP until 6:00.

There was one last beautiful sunset in Long Beach before I hit the road.  I tried to make notes so I would remember which set of pictures it was.  I took so many, you may have seen these!!  The late hour made for really long shadows on the beach.  That's MY shadow reaching from the water's edge back towards the beach.

Storms dumped large quantities of sand near the water, leaving little lakes all along the beach area.  That made for beautiful pictures, but some trips and falls when kite flyers crashed into them.  Take your eyes away from the kite to see where you are going, and BAM ... it hits the ground, so we never look down!!

This was a particularly magnificent sunset.  It looked like there were TWO suns in the sky.

Sadly, all good things must come to an end, including my time in Oregon.  No worries however, I'll be back!!

There were also some goodies from the Astoria Market you didn't get to see.  Mostly because I forgot I had them until searching for recipe ingredients in the rig yesterday.  This is beautiful homemade pasta that cooks in four minutes.  It's a good thing they told me that or with my cooking skills, it would have been mush instead.

I didn't find this one in the rig ... in fact, it didn't last five seconds, but it's a GREAT invention for your grandkids.  This is a peanut butter cookie, smeared with peanut butter, then covered in chocolate.  It's FABULOUS!!!!!  Your kiddies will love you!!

Lastly, one of the things that really helped me unload the rig is this handmade basket of elephant grass.  Pretty tough stuff!!  The cool thing is that it folds up.  I've never purchased one because where do you store it?  You can actually fold it flat.  If it doesn't keep it's shape when you open it up, just dunk it in water, reshape and let dry.  Pretty cool ... and it can hold a HUGE amount of market items.  Trust me on that one!!  Cooper of course dropped his ball in it immediately.

Something I've wanted to get back to since being home is dutch oven camp cooking.  I know this may not work out so well for someone with mediocre skills and no knowledge whatsoever of charcoal.  I'm hoping pieces of my memory will return with information from watching my dad cook in them every year we went camping.  

I've joined an on-line group for assistance and have four cookbooks at my disposal.  This should be an interesting endeavor!!  Don't worry, I'll make sure I keep a fire extinguisher close at hand!!

I'm A Little Behind ...

Actually, I'm a LOT behind.  Here it is 8:00 and I'm just starting the blog.  The hurricane news isn't good.  I've been watching it inch it's way North along the Florida coast.  Please keep everyone who couldn't or wouldn't evacuate in your prayers.  They're going to need it!!  Although the winds are not sustained at 130 mph, 50 mph can rip your roof off.

I got an email last night from Mister Ed who's right in the path, with the eye of the hurricane being about 40 miles away.  He's hoping he will still have a house, but won't know until late this afternoon.  The biggest waves, 30 footers, along with high tide will hit Jacksonville soon, as it slams into Georgia and South Carolina.

People say they don't want to live in California because of the earthquakes, but where I live, we rarely ever feel the earth shaking and there has never been any damage.  Maybe I should rethink moving to the Oregon Coast, which is going to fall off into the ocean!!  Arizona is looking better and better!!  They just have snakes.

Speaking of snakes ..... here's part of an email I received urging me to cooperate with the South African Civil Aviation Authority in stealing $45,500,000.00 ... yup, that's forty-five MILLION, of which I will receive 30%, but I have to have discretion, maturity and co-operation.

Honestly folks, they should at least hire someone who speaks, reads and writes good English.  It appears they over invoiced (meaning they overcharged) a contract, for which they received payment. That payment has not been claimed??  So they want me to receive the transfer of this money into MY bank account on their behalf.  Good grief!!  For one, that's called stealing ... not to mention what they would do to MY account once they had the information they are requesting.

WE WRITE THIS LETTER WHICH I PRAY SHOULD BE URGENTLY REPLIED. I GOT YOUR CONTACT DURING MY YEARS OF SERVICE IN THE FOREIGN MINISTRY. I AM MS DAPHNE MOTSEPE, PRESENTLY THE DIRECTOR OF FINANCE /AUDITOR UNDER THE SOUTH AFRICAN CIVIL AVIATION AUTHORITY HEADQUARTERS, SOUTH REGION OFFICE.

I AM IN NEED OF YOUR GENUINE ASSISTANT AND TRUST BECAUSE AS A TOP OFFICIAL OF THE RULING GOVERNMENT, I WANT TO SAFE GUARD MY INTEREST IN YOUR COUNTRY BEFORE THE END OF THE TENURE OF THIS ADMINISTRATION, MORE ALSO WE AS CIVIL SERVANT ARE FORBIDDEN TO OWN OR OPERATE FOREIGN ACCOUNT HENCE A FOREIGNER IS NEEDED.

I PRESENTLY HAVE AN OVER INVOICED CONTRACT PAYMENT OF FORTY-FIVE MILLION, FIVE HUNDRED 

THOUSAND US DOLLAR) ONLY WHICH HAS REMAIN UNCLAIMED SINCE THE YEAR 2010. MY SUPERIOR IN THIS PRESIDENCY HAVE MANDATE ME TO PRESENT AN HONEST FOREIGNER WHO CAN CONVENIENTLY RECEIVE THIS FUND FOR US INTO HIS BANK ACCOUNT.

I SINCERELY BELIEVE THAT YOU CAN BE OF GREAT ASSISTANCE TO US. THIS IS WHY I AM CONTACTING YOU AND ALSO REQUESTING FOR YOUR DISCRETION, MATURITY AND CO-OPERATION. MY SUPERIORS HAS COMPLETED ALL ADMINISTRATIVE STEPS TO SEE THAT THIS FUND RECEIVES ALL THE REQUEST APPROVALS IMMEDIATELY YOU GIVE ME THE GO AHEAD.

Since they are such highly placed officials in the Government, they require absolute discretion.  Surprisingly, they included a South African email address.  I'd like to accommodate them with an arrest warrant, but I'm sure they are located in Iran, Pakistan or maybe India.  I've love to run one of MY scams on them, but my sense of humor evaporated last night when I couldn't sleep, which is why I'm so late this morning!!

I would like to report that my "GOOD MORNING ... KBLX ... YOU'RE ON THE AIR" is working fabulously.  I got three hangups yesterday!!

Today I'm working in the yard to try and get it looking somewhat normal again.  I called the gardner (he's going to get real tired of me) to replace four sprinklers and repair one that is at such an angle it's shooting straight up into a tree ... not the best way to water the lawn.    

At the advice of an old school classmate, I'm going to set up a camera system so I can keep an eye on it myself.  You just can't rely on the hired help nowadays!!

It was a GOOD Day!!

You've heard a lot about my kite flying with the help of John Baressi, 25 time world champion, not to mention all the indoor flying he has done.  Indoors you say??  Yup ... at every kite festival there is usually INDOOR kite flying on short lines.  You don't have to imagine what that would look like any more, because I have a video for you to watch (I sure hope it works).

It's absolutely crazy what this guy can do with a revolution kite.  This is a terrible picture that I snagged off the video just to show you the dimensions he's working with.  Take a moment to watch John's indoor flight.  (You don't have to sign up or join, just click "not now", then play the video). You will be mesmerized ... even when he flies the kite right on to the heads of the judges.  Also keep in mind he's almost 40 years old!!  I'd call that agile!!

The really cool thing is he's just an ordinary guy who treats people like they are all his neighbors.  Now if the wind will just blow around here and I can practice before I forget everything I learned!!

While I'm still looking for that bottle of wine, things finally did lighten up.  I ran a few errands, then pretended to be on a treasure hunt trying to find Chefanelli's Catering.  Every Wednesday they serve up lunch ... things like BBQ tri-tip, clam chowder, fajitas .... for a measly $10.  They weren't exactly easy to find, but boy am I glad I hung in there until tracking them down.

Mark spends a lot of time and money helping people out by providing lunches for money raising operations like Run 4 Hope for Worldwide Missions.  All of the money he collects for his lunches, goes directly to the mission.

This wasn't just a run-of-the-mill tri-tip sandwich, it was HUGE, delicious and included green salad with an amazing balsamic dressing and red potato salad as good as mine.  There's enough food here for three people ... and because he sold so many lunches at Run 4 Hope, this entire plate was on sale for $5.00.  That's crazy, right??

He also offered clam chowder at full price ... $10.00.  I bought both because I can't turn down clam chowder.  It comes hot and ready, packaged in this container, along with a mini bread bowl, heated in the oven (not the microwave).  

Let me tell you folks .... this is absolutely and by far the BEST clam chowder I've ever eaten.  Yes, even better than Pacific Seafood in Bay City Oregon.  THIS my friends, is heaven in a cup!!  So if you're ever passing through Merced or Atwater on Highway 99 in California on a WEDNESDAY, check out Facebook and get directions.  It's located in the back of the little mall thing with yellow awnings.  You'll see me there because every Wednesday, I'm buying lunch.

To end the day on a perfect note, the San Francisco Giants won the Wild Card Game that sent them to the World Series Playoffs AGAIN.  BELIEVEN ---  every even year they have won the world series three times in a row.  This could be the fourth!!

Here's another down to earth guy ... Madison Bumgarner ... MadBum to his long time fans, who is the best pitcher ever to throw a major league baseball.  He's broken every record there is and sets new ones at almost every game.  He threw all nine innings, unlike the Mets pitcher who was pulled in the 8th inning.  He was excellent too ... and maybe pulling him out of the game was a mistake, because up until then, the score was 0-0.

Then this guy came up ... Conor Gillaspie ... to face the Mets Closer ... and he hits a home run with two men on base.  I was screaming like a little girl and jumping up and down!!!  Three more outs from MadBum and the Giants clinched a spot in the playoffs.  We've got four really good pitchers, so lets hope they can hang in there for the FOURTH World Series Win!!!

Gosh .... I got short of breath just writing about it!!  I know, it's boring old baseball ... only if you've never been to a game in person!!

I've no idea what's up today ... my little brain is still too fuzzy to think about it.  Another cup of coffee and I'll figure something out!!

Oh My Aching Head!!

I've got that Wednesday morning hangover ... the one you get from the Magic Kingdom when you haven't been there in five months, get home really late and then can't sleep.  UGH!!

The first order of business was my appointment at the Sheriff's Office ... the one that I've been waiting four months for.  It used to be located in a nice part of town, but over the years, it has become a not so nice area.  With little to no parking, I had to walk two blocks through that area to get to the front door.  Truthfully, I didn't expect my truck to be there when I returned.  I had a death grip on my purse.

It took five minutes for the paperwork before being sent off to Live Scan for fingerprinting.  I was met by a not-so-friendly person who made me wait outside in the cold until my appointed time, which I wasn't even aware of.  The good news is I was able to warm up the chilly reception with a little conversation.  It becomes a challenge for me to change the attitude, if only for the few minutes I'm there.  Anyway, it all went fine and now when I can't remember who I am, at least the Sheriff's Department will return me home.

Back at the ranch, I tried to gear up for the Magic Kingdom, which is much harder to do than make someone smile!!  Maybe a tiny glass of sweet AppleJack wine from Nehalem.  Alas, I couldn't find that third bottle I KNOW I have in the rig.  After an hour of looking, I gave up.  Some day I will be pleasantly surprised when I come across it while stashing something new.

Upon arrival at the Magic Kingdom, I noticed the entire building has had a facelift inside and out.  That was a shock to my system, but nothing compared to the Castle Lawyer telling me how sick she was.  I insisted she go home.  Just as I turned around to cast a spell on someone to help me out, an old acquaintance walked up to join our happy little group!!

In no time the peasants were crowding the table, so we went to work.  Surprisingly I remembered how to operate the infernal machine, although I did try to give out too much change a couple of times, to the delight of the players.  Getting it back was a disappointment for them, but they are used to giving money away here.

In between yawns, I taught our Lady in Waiting how to use the money grubbing machine ... sort of.  It can be very confusing, so small bites of information at a time result in fewer people screaming and running for the door.

At the end of the night I could barely keep my eyes open, so I was surprised that I remembered all the steps to closing down.  Most of the steps anyway!!  Okay, I forgot half of the closeout procedure.  Every time I ran a tape that said we made over $1000, I knew I had completely blanked out on SOMETHING!!

Eventually I got it down to a $28 difference.  We never balance when training a new recruit, there are just too many keys to hit at the wrong time.  Speaking of hit, you know how hard you have to hit the keys on your computer?  The infernal machine keys are even MORE sensitive, but they got a workout last night, which I suspect made up the shortage.  It's not worth losing sleep over.

I really don't understand this, but ALWAYS when I'm on my way home, about the time I get to the third stop light, I suddenly remember everything I forgot ... like voiding those checks or forgetting to completely erase the machine's memory, a task I relish since it causes me so many headaches.  Hopefully I'll remember to do that BEFORE next week.

Finally .... my soft, comfortable bed where I tossed and turned, listened to trains, yelled at growly dogs and ended up with a nice headache ... like a hangover ... from the Magic Kingdom.  I need my coffee!!  I drug myself to the kitchen.  That's funny, my arms ache, probably from flailing them in the air for six hours as we waited on the peasants.  I need to work out more!!

I'm going to the couch now, to pretend I'm a statue for the next three hours.  By then those advil I took should kick in and I can get on to the business of running errands and fighting the dragons (my garbage service) who delivered three more cans to my driveway.  I already have three.  I think I better go look for that bottle of wine again!

The Light Is Getting Brighter!

Should I ever actually sell my house, the new owners will be happy to know the kids next door will probably have grown out of the BALL stage.  Football, soccer ball, basketball, golf ball, baseball.  You see when I got home and was observing the disaster that is now my front lawn, I noticed ANOTHER broken window.

Way up top on the dormer, the glass is not broken OUT, but broken none the less.  It probably wouldn't have mattered if I was home or not, but I might have been able to make the parents pay for the damage.  As it is, I can't prove a thing.

There must be a lot of that going on because they can't even come out and give me an estimate for two weeks.  I'm requesting friend Jay (whose wife bought my Harley) do the repairs.  Maybe I can get him to paint the dormer and repair that broken piece of wood at the same time.

The light at the end of the tunnel is getting brighter.  I finished unloading the rig yesterday after taking practically everything out of the basement in order to retrieve my ladder.  There are lots of ways to display your quilts, but honestly, I don't have that much wall space in my house.  It's all taken up by doorways.  Reminiscent of the Indian ladders, which were WAY too expensive, I found this beauty in the basement of an antique store in Astoria.  Just an old wooden ladder.

Being mindful of my lack of space, I put all the seats down in the Jeep.  It FIT!!!  It took me two hours to get it in the rig however.  Now out and cleaned up, it's the perfect size for display.  Too bad it will only hold four quilts.  I have eight.  If I can find somewhere to stash half of them, I'll trade them out every so often.  Maybe it's time to start a donation stack.

I cleaned the rig and emptied the water tank, making sure it ran onto the still dry lawn.  I then adjusted the sprinklers again since the garage really didn't need watering.  It's too bad there's no "being responsible" or "going above and beyond" any more.  Heck my gardeners don't even care about doing a good job ... just mow, blow and go!!  

By the afternoon, I could actually see outside the tunnel and was feeling back in control, not stressed at all as I stopped in the sewing room to begin a new beautiful quilted bag I received from Miss Patty.  I shouldn't go so long without sewing.  I completely forgot how to turn the machine on and which buttons to push to get the desired results.  After a couple of mistakes, it finally clicked and I was back in business, when it promptly ran out of thread.  Suddenly the tunnel when dark!!

For dinner I fried up a batch of chicken in my handy dandy cast iron skillet.  I know they are heavy, but I just LOVE these pans.  When did you ever see something I cooked look this good??  Smothered in a lemon parmesan sauce and served over noodles, I was in heaven!  I figured I needed the sustenance to get through today!!

You guessed it ..... it's MAGIC KINGDOM day!!!  I hope I remember how to run the infernal machine better than my sewing machine!!  Unfortunately, I DO remember the names of the games and can still count, so I'll be on the job.  Next up ... begin planning the Indio Golden Spike Rally ... not that that's so much fun, but it's better than washing the rig.

A Whole New Routine

I think I'm pretty lucky not to have died from the unsanitary conditions in my house.  I've emptied two packed full containers of dirt from the vacuum cleaner and the floors are still filthy, as evidenced by my dirty feet.  Not that I eat off the floors, but the counters aren't much better.  I just discovered my Costa Rica coffee cup is disgustingly dirty around the edge ... that part you put to your lips?  I need to remember to run the dishwasher.  I have to admit, it's much easier in a 300 square foot motorhome.

As nice as it sounds, I don't see myself being a fulltimer any time soon however.  The puppies have been having a blast running around the yard with no leash or harness.  Besides, what would I do with my beautiful furniture?  Here's one of my antique finds of the year.  This beautiful hand-crocheted coverlet found stuffed in a box in Astoria, fits my bed perfectly.

My routine has changed rather sharply in the last few days.  With the increasing darkness, the puppies are sleeping until 5:30 am.  How cool is that?  With my newly installed water conservative shower head, I can take a twenty minute shower with no thought of water usage.  Even the faucets work!  No more bottled water for us ... my well water is quite tasty!!  The lights are another story.  They are EVERYWHERE and require a flip of the switch constantly to keep from being owned by PG&E.

As Halloween decorations go up, the puppies routine has changed too.  This kitty gives Cooper the scare.  I put it where he plays the ball game the most.  I know, I'm a bad Mom, but at least I get a rest from the constant nagging to play ball.  Speaking of which, the Giants won the WILD CARD slot!!  We just might be going to the World Series AGAIN!!!

At dinner last night I discovered my microwave requires a new routine too.  Apparently it's much hotter than the one in the motorhome, as evidenced by the melted plastic container holding my chicken curry.  My fridge smells nice now, but my entire house smells like burned curry powder.  YUCK!!!  

To make it even better, I seasoned my new 10" cast iron dutch oven in my big oven.  There's nothing like the smell of over toasty grease on a new iron pan.   Fabreeze is my new friend!!

The kitchen counters are almost clear and all the bicycles have been put away in the garage.  That left room for me to repot my beautiful violet in an actual violet pot that waters itself.  Here's hoping it survives the new routine!!

Another new routine coming up is the Magic Kingdom.  Remember that hallowed hall of fun and excitement?  I'll soon be back in the old grove of fighting with the infernal machine and the lovely ladies of the night ... the peasants of the Castle ... the BINGO players!!!

In the meantime, I've got entirely too much STUFF around here and it's time to start paring down the hallways and shelves .... after breakfast, and the laundry, and cleaning the floor again and organizing my desk ... and washing the rig.  Tell me there's an end to this madness!!!

Gardeners Should Stick To Gardening

You probably saw this coming.  Not being mechanically inclined, I missed the signs.

The day started out nicely enough with even MORE unpacking, putting away and just plain piling stuff up ... like in the sewing room.  I emptied the car, whose contents are now strewn about the kitchen counters.  Speaking of the kitchen, there was a funny odor every time I opened the fridge.  Time to check it out.

There on the bottom in the very back corner was a blog of what used to be apple for Jonathan.  It was pretty rotten ... in fact, it was like jelly ... warm jelly!  No problem, it was sitting on the plastic bag it came in.  I'll just grab the bag and throw it in the trash.  It would not be that easy.  The glob of stinky goo fell right out the bottom, glanced nicely off the open fridge door and splattered on the floor over a three foot wide area.  HEAVENS TO BETSY!!!

Trying desperately not to throw up, I said a few bad words as I grabbed for the roll of paper towels.  After scrubbing the floor and my feet, I went back to the fridge door, which I suppose needed to be cleaned anyway.  The rest of the day, I just couldn't get that smell out of my nose.  I finally discovered it's because the entire fridge STILL smelled of rotten apples.

Three boxes of baking soda later, it's finally cleared up enough I can open the door without getting sick.  It certainly has helped my diet ... I don't look forward to opening the door any more!

Since it's Halloween the entire month of October, I set up my fireplace to get in the mood.  While at the store buying more boxes of baking soda, I discovered the cute little parrot skeleton perched on the far right.  Jonathan wasn't impressed!!

My surprise for the day from my huge box of mail .... one last kite ... yes, you heard me right .... my LAST kite.  This baby flew in from Australia while I was gone.  If you know of anyone with an extra kite bag they want to get rid of, let me know.  

Finally, around 2:00 I received a phone call from Shaun the Electrician.  I found this $20 GFI beauty at Lowes and was ready to get it installed, my sprinklers working and my security lights up at night.  

Funny thing about Electricians ... you never know what's going to show up at your door.  Shaun of the Dead, nice guy that he was, showed up with more tattoos than I've ever seen on one person, with black hair and clothes to match.  Shaun came well recommended from the prior Police Chief.   I'll leave it at that.  

He checked the outlet and said it had plenty of power.  You know where this is going, right?  He clicked the reset button, power went off, he reset it, power went on and the sprinkler system worked.  Lots of bad words coursed through my brain, but I held my tongue.  The gardener said he reset the breakers, and I watched him hit the reset button on the GFI, with no resulting power to the sprinkler control box.  If you want something done right, do it yourself!! 

I paid Shaun $20 for showing up.  A normal electrician would have charged me $60.  Live and learn folks ... gardeners are NOT electricians, even if they think they are.  Always check for yourself!!

At 9:00 the security lights came on, as did the sprinklers this morning, so I'm back in business, along with a spare GFI should another one go out.  Shaun said he's available to do ANY repairs I might need, but to be honest, I'm a little wary.  He WOULD be a good addition to my Halloween night candy giveaway!!

After a big cup of coffee this morning, I remembered I still haven't cleaned out under the bed in the rig, so there will be a few more loads in my future.  For now I think I deserve a day of rest ... it's Football season, not to mention World Series Baseball!!  Time to play couch potato!!

Putting Out Fires!!

I'm always rather overwhelmed when I return from a trip, mostly because I have to do everything myself.  Unpacking the rig is a daunting task, not to mention the cleaning, then the maintenance and washing poor Baby who hasn't had a bath in over four months.  So much to do!!!!  Laundry, house cleaning, dusting .... but you know all that already.

It doesn't help at all when you come home to the huge disaster my landscaping was in.  After talking to the gardener, I agreed it was the plug, which I really don't understand.  This one is only about two years old.  Instead of calling me, they did nothing for two weeks of 100+ degree weather.  Finally he plugged an extension cord in to another outlet, then OVER watered everything, creating the swamp.

I'm not good at electricity, as you well know, so I put out to my Facebook friends to please help!!  With an electrician on the way, I went to Lowes and found a replacement, no thanks to anyone walking around who might have answered my questions.  At any rate, I hope to have it fixed by tomorrow so the alligators and piranha should disappear within the week.

Next up, I picked up a huge box full of mail, expecting to find my truck license tags.  I would be wrong.  Not due until June 30, I sent them a check on April 25, which they cashed on May 3.  There's no more horrible place in the world to be than my local DMV Office.  I called instead, to get put in the callback que.  Forty minutes later, Ray felt so bad for me he made an appointment at the local office.  RATS!!

You can have your tags mailed again for FREE if it's within 90 days.  If not, you have to go to the office and PAY $20.  I put on my best fake smile, gritted my teeth and entered the depths of DMV Hell.  If you ever want your patience tested, I'll give you the address.

There was one person in the appointment line.  The lady making the desk assignments ignored her while she waited on five people in the "Non-Appointment" line.  I finally asked loudly if this WAS the appointment line.  Ten minutes later I got to the desk and was handed a massive amount of paperwork to fill out, which of course wasn't done by the time the man at the window called my number.

Obviously irritated with me, he grabbed it from my hands (smile pretty Nancy) and asked for my mailing address.  He locked up everything and retreated to a back room.  Good grief Nancy, what did you do NOW??  I was awaiting the cold hard metal bracelets of shame, when he returned, slapped some tags on the desk and turned his back, mumbling something about they mailed them to the wrong address.  Wait, did I hear that right?  NO CHARGE.  Okay then ..... I was out of there faster than a speeding bullet!!!

Now to address the three garbage cans lining my driveway when I returned home.  I already HAVE three garbage cans lining my garage!!   Then there was the $2.00 "fee" on my Macys card that the automatic phone answering machine promised to remove.  Really??  Who else has these problems?

Back home, I tested out the sprinkler system, hoping to correct some of the debacle when the gardener showed up with a couple of plants.  He chopped out one beautiful but certainly DEAD shrub and replaced it.  At least he was honest, saying he was sure it was Roundup.  You know, the stuff his SON sprays around my yard once a month.  No doubt, I agreed .... what about the six I just planted five months ago in the BACK yard that are all dead???

I continued around the yard to find geyser after geyser in the drip system.  Even "I" can tell there's a problem even when the water is OFF ... why can't these guys see it?  I replaced eight drip emitters before heading to the back yard, to find 4 out of 5 sprinklers emitting water a total of six inches from the sprinkler head.  I have an analogy for this, but I'll keep my mouth shut!!

One more item for the day.  My shower head died a horrible death when it fell apart in my hands as I was trying to stop the flow of water from around the edge.  While at Lowes, I picked up a new one which happened to be on sale.  It matches perfectly and worked like a charm, once I figured out how to wrap the pipe with that white tape .... in the same direction as you would screw it on to the pipe.  This is NOT the stuff I wanted to learn at my age.  Does it work?  I've no idea.  I'll give it a trial run this morning.

On the other hand, there are GOOD things about being home.  I don't have to be so concerned about how much toilet paper I use or how much water I use taking a shower.  I have a dishwasher and a normal sized washer and dryer.  It's also pretty nice to have enough light to apply makeup so I don't scare little kids any more, although most times I end up seeing more than I want in the mirror.

On another good note, the Swanton Pacific Railroad made a video of us riding the little train, which they put on YouTube.  Check it out!!!    


Golden Spike At Swanton Ranch