The Birds Are Coming!!

 We are heading down the slide!!  Nighttime temps are in the 50's, with days around 70 something.  Least that's what the weather guessers are saying.  It was hot enough yesterday that I completely forgot everything I was SUPPOSED to do.  

I finally got up enough oomph to do some laundry ... oh the fun ... and you will be SO surprised ... I actually cleaned and dusted some things that I don't think have been touched in a year.  Luckily it's not that dusty around here.  I opened a few more boxes to find some treasures I hadn't seen before.  I'll show you those after the final tour tomorrow.

These guys show up in big numbers around December.  At any one time you'll see 60,000 geese and 15,000 sandhills.  It's a sight to behold.  It's like Hitchcock's THE BIRDS.  The birds are coming!!  

Here's the early arrivals ... mostly geese and blackbirds at this point, along with hundreds of sparrows, starlings and finch.  If you visit in December, don't bother to wash your car.  A hawk flying overhead will cause several thousand geese to lift off all at once and fly around in a big circle right overhead, before landing en masse.  It's amazing to see.  Bring your car wash coupons.

Lots of snowy egrets accompany the geese.  They haven't flooded the place yet, just runoff water at this point.  You can imagine that so many poop-a-lots do make for a tad bit stinky air.  It will be better when the water is higher.

One of my favorites ... the American Coot.  They are probably the least shy of all the birds.  Soon there will be mallards, blue-winged teal, cinnamon teal ... a large array of ducks to view.   And don't forget the frogs ... you'll hear them for miles.

Although a little too far away for this camera lens (I'll take my big one next time), sandhill cranes are already here.  All the birds are quite cautious, so binoculars are good for closeup viewing.

It's also late in the day, just before the sun sets.  The white stuff is cotton, planted throughout the area for nesting material, along with every kind of weed and seed birds eat.  They went all out to serve everyone what they love.

This picture is from the internet.  Imagine 15-20,000 of these guys in one field.  They do tend to hang together and talk like you wouldn't believe.  The Sandhills will stay in the dry fields on one side, while the geese head straight for the water.  The noise is crazy loud.

It's really quite beautiful ... and definitely peaceful ... as you look across the refuge.  The road that winds through the area on top of the levies is about 5 miles long.

You wouldn't think sunsets would be very spectacular out in a field, but fill it with birds and it's amazing.  This was a picture from 2019 I think.  

On the far side you'll find a field planted with corn.  This is also for the birds.  Next door are the two rather large pastures where the cranes and herons hang out.  Dinner is served!!  Don't forget the owls and hawks.  They come for the birds.

Not many people go to the game refuge for entertainment ... Yosemite is a good option I suppose.  But just once, you might want to look up the one nearest to you and check it out at the end of the day.  It can be almost as beautiful as the rocks and waterfalls, and you'll see a lot more critters.

Wait .... there's more!!  During this time of year there are cattle feeding off the two largest pastures.

You KNOW I wouldn't leave without some COW pictures, but I'll wait to show you tomorrow.  There's nothing like a curious calf!!

On The Fly

 I've been locked up too long.  The antsies get going and I either have to move furniture, or get outside.  If I don't keep going, I won't keep going.  Cooper and I hit the road for a nice long walk.  He absolutely LOVES it.  He goes so crazy, it's hard to get the harness on him.  

This kid ... he doesn't walk, he trots ... making me walk almost as fast as I can to keep up.  We might have stayed longer than the mile we went, but there were crazy loud barking dogs about half way that sounded like they were fighting through a fence.  Luckily, Cooper never barks back.  It's not his fight, he says.

I should have gone to Home Depot.  I also should have gone to Costco.  I just couldn't gather up any enthusiasm.  Instead I decided to head out to the Game Refuge and see all the geese and great blue herons that stop here for a month or so every year.  It's an amazing sight to see beaucoup thousands of them covering an entire 300 acre field.  The noise is deafening.

I live in the middle of farmland.  It used to be cattle country, but they all went broke and now try to farm it in order to make a living.  Remember me talking about all that rice stubble that we used to burn off?  Now it has to be baled.  Here's one of the many piles of rice straw leftover from harvest.  They actually used to burn the bales in a huge oven venture that not only got rid of this straw, but old wood besides, making electricity.  The know-it-alls shut it down.  

Their solution was to disc it back into the soil instead.  Farmers knew that wouldn't work because it takes several years for just a little bit of stubble to break down.  Just goes to show the know-it-alls didn't know it all after all.  Now some farmers make wattles.  You know those long snake-like things alongside road construction to keep water from flooding the area?  Those are rice wattles.  I actually had several of those above my Arizona house to divert water to a ditch.  It took six years for them to break down.  

I landed at the Refuge about 5:00 and rolled down the window.  That's how you tell if the herons have arrived, by the noise they make.  Sadly, it was pretty quiet.

You have to be AWARE out here.  There was only one car in sight, that smelled really bad of MJ as I drove by.  It seems the druggies have found a place to hang out all day long and not be bothered by anyone.  I didn't stop and say hello.  

This picture of all the blackbirds ... this is how it used to be on the ranch.  There were thousands of blackbirds everywhere.  This area is a big rest stop for the birds heading south for the winter.  Canadian geese used to land on our irrigated pasture, eating up everything in sight.   

It was so bad that the farmer who owned this entire section, donated the land to the birds.  They flood irrigate it to entice the birds to stop over here, and even plant rice and corn for the birds to eat.  

This is the first year I've seen so many killdeer on the road.  These guys aren't the smartest, but I love the sound they make.  They make their nest by just scooting rocks into a circle on the road.  That's where they lay their eggs and feed their babies.  If you get near, they will throw out one wing and pretend it's broken, hobbling along until they think you are far enough away from their nest.  Then they fly off.  

When moving cattle, we tried to keep them off the roads so the eggs wouldn't get broken.  Silly killdeer!!

It's still early for the birds.  There are lots of mud hens and a few ducks ... actually 242 different varieties of birds hang out here on their way south, and again on their way back north.

When the land was first donated, about the time we were struggling with the ranch, my Dad went to work here running the heavy equipment to make the ponds and waterways.  Most all of the guys had to work nights.  To keep the boredom at bay, they used to prank each other quite often.  I can't tell you how many times my dad bit into a sandwich of axle grease.

There's a road around the entire property, along with a narrative if you turn to the right radio channel.  You can see pictures of the birds here ... pictures  ... then click on the name of the bird.  Honestly, there are so many, it's mind boggling.  

With it being so early in the year, they don't stay put when you drive by.  Even with my camera lens, I didn't get many close up pictures.

In another month, all this water will be covered with birds.  It's an amazing sight to see.  I will definitely have to come back in November.

Finally ... I see some on the fly.  Canadian geese seem to be the early birds.  Sadly, they were too far away to see when they landed.  

There's more .... 191 pictures in all, so I will save you the agony and post a few more tomorrow.  Don't you wish you were in your duck blind?  Out here it's a photographer's blind, but I have yet to find the nerve to walk that far and leave my truck all by itself.  

It probably has something to do with seeing that car parked there with the engine running.  When I got close, someone popped up from the front seat.  Hmmmmm I know what YOU are doing!!!

More of the story tomorrow.

The Bride Of Chucky?

 Have you ever thought your house might be haunted?  Or maybe it isn't the house, but something IN the house!  It was that kind of a day, as I tried to hang one of my big quilt holders on the wall.  I failed.  Those tiny little picture frame holders just didn't want to go over the big screws required to keep it on the wall.  

Maybe I could try to hang something smaller.  I never really noticed before, but this house has almost NO wall space for displaying things.  It doesn't help that quilts aren't exactly small either.  I took down the fancy flower holder and replaced it with this little quilt.  No quilt hanger, I just nailed it to the wall.  It was quilted by someone else and didn't exactly come out straight, soooo nails worked perfectly.

Along with all the house paperwork and problems, the RV Group continues to pester me.  You've heard about how I was unsuspectingly made President.  When covid came along, the club basically died out.  No one wanted to do anything, and I'm determined not to do it all.

But wait .... someone stepped up and is planning a rally in Arizona in November.  Along came 23 emails I had to sort through, when I realized it's near the end of the year and dues will be required.  So as President, I have to send out all the notices, and as Treasurer (because no one else would do it), I have to make the deposits.  Big sigh!

And so I was off to Bank of America.  The nice lady said I would have to wait three days for an appointment to go over some stuff.  What?  You only have one "representative"?  We sorted through everything I needed and were actually able to do it all on my phone.  Cool ... I never have to step foot in that bank again!!  It's never been my favorite anyway.

Next I was off to donate three big bags of clothing, a bag of shoes and three boxes of cookbooks.  While driving down the creepy litter strewn alley where several homeless people live, trying to get OUT of the complex, I remembered Bagel Tyme from my much younger years.  I was surprised it was still there.  How about lunch!

I do love bagels for breakfast, but discovered they aren't my favorite for lunch.  This was chicken salad, tomatoes, red onions, cheese and lettuce on a hard-as-a-rock onion bagel.

Have you ever bitten into a bagel sandwich before?  Half of the filling squeezed out and landed in my lap.  Silly me ... instead of letting it fall to the floor, I threw my knees together to catch it.  It was instinct I guess.  Oh yeah ... chicken and mayo dripping down my legs.  I learned my lesson.  Do NOT order bagel sandwiches.

As I sat watching more rodeo in the afternoon, I kept hearing a clinking noise.  Very distant and very quiet.  Have you ever tried to find THAT noise?  I finally followed it to the china cabinet.  Maybe it's my grandmother Grace.  She may not be happy that I'm moving things around.  These are her salt and pepper shakers.  They are very tiny, barely two inches tall.  It looks to me like the salt shaker on the left wasn't dispensing enough, so they tried to make the holes bigger.  

I moved them apart a little, and moved most everything else in that cabinet just a bit to make sure they were level.  The noise stopped.  Probably just the vibration from the television speakers in the wall, right?  Or maybe not.

I'm pretty sure THIS is the culprit.  I mean really ... just look at those eyes!!!  This is another of my grandmothers dolls.  She's about 6" tall, is made of porcelain and has real hair.  This must be the Bride of Chucky!!  HER baby dolls eyes don't look much better.  She is also made of porcelain, and they both have their original clothing.  

Okay ... enough with the ghostly stuff.  Cooper and I went to bed and tried to fall asleep.  It wasn't happening.  Why is it when you get older, you can't sleep?  I finally dozed off.

That's when I heard it.  It woke me up.  It sounded like some creepy creature crying, kind of squeaky like. What the heck?  Oh ... it must be Cooper's stomach.  He gets the growlies occasionally.  Nope ... not Cooper.  Now I was wide awake.  WHAT is making that noise?  It got louder and I began to get a little worried.  It was at the foot of my BED!!!!!  Maybe a frog got in under the door.  By now I'm completely creeped out, so I jumped out of bed.  

The noise followed me!!!!!!  Oh good grief Nancy ..... it's YOUR stomach making all those squeaky growlie sounds!!!  I was sure the Bride of Chucky was striking again, but it must have been the bagel!!  I was wide awake the rest of the night.

Apparently I need to quit watching those ghost stories and never eat another bagel sandwich!!  I'm off to the lovely world of Costco today.  Cooper and I are both out of roast chicken!!!

Baubles And Butter

Woohoo ... it was a warm one yesterday!  It's weird how we can go from a fabulous 78 degree day, and literally the next minute be a toasty 98.  I kept thinking it was just ME until even Cooper started panting.  How silly of me to have turned the AC off completely.  

In an effort to remain healthy enough to attend my first Elks Lodge Meeting in thirteen weeks, I didn't do much.   I didn't even go to the dinner portion because I wouldn't last the evening.  Though my back feels just great in the mornings, by noon it's reminding me in no uncertain terms that I should sit my butt down and quit using my right hand.  Tough, since I'm right handed.

So here's a few treasures that belonged to my grandmother, and now live in my china cabinet.  Most people have only one thimble ... maybe two.  My grandmother Grace had six.  She did all that sewing for her grandkids by hand, not to mention most of HER clothes.  Look closely and you will see a pair of very old earrings.

I think I got my love of 1880 clothing from her, since she wore many of the old dresses I love so much.  This is one from her younger days that I still have today.  I modeled it for a photo shoot.  It's actually made of velvet.  Can you just imagine sewing THAT kind of fabric by hand?       

Then there is this .... can you guess what it is?  This is a hand carved butter mold my grandmother had in her cupboard.  You turned it so the design was facing up, and stuffed as much butter as you could possibly get in the mold.  Into the ice box it went.  Later, when you wanted to impress your friends, you would pull it out and push the handle down (like it is now), plopping the beautiful creation on a plate.  It was hard as a rock and difficult to carve a piece off the side for your toast.

I guess we never had any influential friends to impress, because we never used a mold.  We just dug it out of the wooden butter churn (after I turned it for what seemed like an hour), slapped it in a big glass container and tossed it in the ice box.  There was always a chunk of butter on the table, about the size of a loaf of bread.  It lived on the table so it wouldn't be so hard to cut.  

Apparently I had a screw loose because I would climb up on the table and eat it by the handful.  That's probably why I really don't care all that much for butter today.  Correction:  Except on hot fresh baked bread!!

I may make the bread, but no worries, I won't be making butter any time soon. That requires a cow, and I'm not going there.

Around noontime, I decided to whip up some chicken marsala.  When I found out how easy this recipe was, I often made it for company back in the day.  Pounding the devil out of the chicken makes it nice and tender.  It's also makes it enough to feed six people.

Throw in an entire box of mushrooms, along with a few onions and garlic.  When the kitchen smells just YUMMY, you make the sauce.

What could be better than chicken broth and cream?  Oh yeah ... Marsala wine.  It's about the only one I cook with.  I'm a lightweight when it comes to wine.  In my opinion, this is SO much better than that steak they will be serving at the Lodge on this night.  

It took me some time to get ready to go to this shindig.  Dinner meetings happen twice a month, and as an officer, I'm supposed to wear the appropriate stuff.  Levis are not on the list, but Levis I wore.  If you're going to sit for an hour or more, you might as well be comfortable.  You can get fined for this indiscretion (all in fun they tell me), but I slipped through the cracks on this night.

One thing you will always find at an Elks dinner meeting is a raffle.  They raffle off enough booze in a year to sink a ship.  This night was no exception.  I used to pick up a few tickets, but honestly, by the time you hit up three or four meetings, your checkbook begins to dry out.  I love donating, but there's a limit.  By the way, this is NOT my Wild Turkey.  I've never even HEARD of this kind before.  

At long last I was out the door and headed home.  Since I'm up so early every morning, I'm not a night owl, but there's always an exception to the rule.  My phone started blowing up.  One of the ladies did not show up for the meeting and didn't answer anyone's call.  I stay out of these conversations, because they can go on for hours.

Someone called 911.  I'm sure she appreciated the police pounding on her door in the middle of the night, but she was located, apparently just fine.  Gosh, I've been gone for 5 weeks, and no one sent the police to my door!!  29 text messages later, I actually received one directed to me.  I’m happy to report the very sweet lady is fine. 

You know how when you just went to bed and your phone buzzes?  Do you get up and answer it or just lay there awake for the next hour wondering who the heck would call you at this time of night?

I got up.  Anyone else have a realtor that messages you at 11:00?  I told her she was working WAY too late.  She said it's never too late for good news.  The appraisal came in at the sales price.  Had I won that bottle of Wild Turkey, I might have taken a slug to celebrate!!!

It Was A Slam Dunk!

One of the nice ladies at Bingo the other night said an oft repeated statement.  You've gotta do what you've gotta do when you live alone.  She is SO right!!  Winter is coming, although pretty slowly since today is going to be in the 90's!  These gutters have to be tended to.  It's not my favorite job, you know, like cleaning the baseboards is, but all the joints are leaking.  If not fixed with something, the boards underneath will rot.  It's just another honey-do with no honey to do it.  

Do you like my pretty copper gutters?  They are fake.  How disappointing to find they are just painted.

I drug out the ladder, being extra careful of my back.  Honestly, if I don't do something stupid, I don't feel it at all now.  Climbing the ladder was a piece of cake, but holding on while spraying that rubber stuff left-handed was a little tricky.  Hopefully it works.  I got two done before calling it quits.  No use throwing dirt in the devils face and taking extra chances. 

Here's another one I've been putting off.  Washing the carpets Cooper plays on.  Here's my tip of the day.  I had some towels that were disgustingly dirty, along with a hot pad full of smoky greasy rib juice from the smoker.  I heard something about using a bit of Dawn, so instead, I used THIS!  I was absolutely amazed.  They came out looking brand new.  So why not try it on the carpet??

WOW!!  It came out clean as a whistle ... and smells nice too!  Wasn't there a commercial like that?  There is a caveat to this.  I just learned this morning that it works great as a spot cleaner, but be careful how much you use in the machine.  This stuff is really concentrated and can make enough suds to fill your entire house if you use too much.  It would not be fun cleaning up the sudsy floor.  

It's AIR BAG time.  While on the way back from Tucson to Quartzsite, I noticed the truck was lopsided.  I had noticed some shimmy while driving, but thought it was just the big trucks coming up behind me.  Apparently one air bag was completely flat.  I had to let the air out of the other one so as not to mess up my truck or the fifth wheel.  That usually destroys the bag ... towing when the bags are empty.

Off I went to the guys who installed them.  I like this shop ... the guys that work there are very nice and helpful.  They don't try to pull something on you cuz you're a female.  It's kind of a dangerous place to go however ... it's right next to Hobby Lobby!!  Oh the temptation!!  

The right side bag was just fine and still held air.  They discovered the left one had a leak at the tube going into the top.  They tightened it up and took several pictures.  YAY!!  It's covered by warranty.  They said if it did it again, bring it back in and they will replace the entire setup.  Woohoo!!  

Back home to a very happy pooch ... it's nice to get that kind of welcome every time ... my phone started going off.  My realtor hired E^2 Construction Engineering to check for those tie downs.  My faith in companies providing actual SERVICE has been bolstered yet again.  

Not only did he find the tie downs, he took a little camera on a stick and pushed it up between the walls of the garage and the building, magically finding that little metal tag with the serial number on it.  He took a picture and certified BOTH tags.  That was above and beyond service.  

Their report stated in no uncertain terms that every part of the outbuildings, as well as the house itself, were in excellent condition and met every standard there was for FHA or HUD loans.  It was a SLAM DUNK!!!  Talk about a big relief!!  I could have kissed that inspector!!!

And so I ended my day with a big sigh of relief.  Oh wait ... the appraisal report is supposed to come in today.  I think I'll hold off until I get that one!!

Here We Go Again!!

 No news is good news on the home selling front.  I haven't heard a peep out of anyone.  I've got my fingers crossed that guys loan gets funded.  Weird though ... he IS married, or at least the realtor said he was with a woman he represented as his wife, but the title is going in his name alone.  Makes you wonder.  

Anyway ... here we are again at the enchanted Castle of Elks Bingo.  I actually think it WAS enchanted last night because I got not ONE single complaint about no tickie or no cards.  That's a miracle!!  

Not my picture since I really tried to ignore the full moon this month.  It's the Harvest Moon in all its beauty.  That never bodes well for Bingo.  Add to that the $1199 pots we had up for grabs and it can become very problematic.

In an effort to keep my pain to a minimum (which never works by the way), I hijacked my two best girls to help out.  That's Jackie on the left.  If she runs the infernal machine for the first two hours, I can usually take over the rest of the night.  This girl ... she sets up everything for our Tuesday night melee.  

This time she got rewarded with two big comforters in perfect condition, including shams and pillows.  It's really nice stuff I'd rather not just donate.  Diane on the right, is a chili pepper gal.  She got the light up chili pepper sconces.  Yes, they do make such a thing.  Don't ask me where those came from, but they will go perfect in her kitchen.  She also got the African salad bowl set since she and her hubby got back from an African vacation a few months ago.  

SO ... on with the stories.  We had lots of new players since the hot ball payout was up to $1199, the maximum amount.  Several people came back to the table time and time again to figure out how to play.  Once in, they are hooked.  They'll come back many times, hoping for that big win!  The funny thing is they almost always win at least one game.  Newbies have all the luck.  Once you win though, you cannot say no next week.

We did lose one cell phone, which was magically found, along with my keys.  I bought some of those trackers and stuck one on my key chain.  Not that I lose my keys, but you never know.  My phone started going off in the middle of a game, saying my keys were about 4 miles away.  WHAT?  I just got out of my truck ... how can that be?

I grabbed them out of my purse, but the program didn't want to let go of the thought.  I think I have a lot in common with that program.  Anyway, it finally found them and the gizzy thing reset.

I do on occasion get snarky replies to my requests, and this night was no exception.  I've got 15 people in line and "someone" always decides they need to go through every single one of the 200 speed round tickets to find the PERFECT one.  I finally told her she needed to pick a card ... we had a long line.  

She gave me THE LOOK.  No really ... you have to pick one ... other people are waiting.  "Well ... everyone ELSE does it"!!!  No they don't, because I don't let them.  Please pick your cards so these nice people can get THEIR cards.  She finally made her decision, and threw them on the table, along with the money.  I said thank you and gave her my very best smile ... GOOD LUCK!!!  No, she didn't win.

At long last it was Corn Dog time!  I know, they are made of that C word ..... CHICKEN!  But boy are they delicious.  These are sold at Costco, which I may just happen to drive by today.  Hopefully the box isn't too heavy to lift!!

That ended another exciting night at BINGO!!  Oh ... that $1199 pot?  It was won by Diane's friend who plays the bare minimum amount of cards and never checks the numbers, to the chagrin of everyone else.  That's Bingo for you!!

Today I'm off to get the air bags repaired.  I hope this doesn't happen often.  With the state of highways nowadays, I'd hate to be without them.  They really do make a big difference in the ride.

I Got Rotated

 Sometimes you just need a little adjustment here and there.  I'm happy to report that my back is getting a little better each day.  It's not as sore (no stabbing knives) and I can do just about anything but lift.  NO lifting!!  Okay, you know that's a lie ... I've been lifting ... but VERY carefully, nothing heavy, and only turning with my feet, not my body.  I think it's all the exercises the Doc has me doing.

Still ... it's a little hard to drive.  Looking left requires the body turn that direction.  Turn my head you say?  Well ever since I was rear ended by a big van when I was stopped with my foot on the brake (at 17 years of age), that neck part hasn't worked all that well.  No worries, I'm being very careful! 

It's no surprise that I was out the door at 7:00 headed to Wallymart.  Beat the crowds of pajama/slipper wearers is the name of my game.  Seriously, the spiffy dressed men now outnumber the women.  

I've discovered something interesting about their self checkout here.  The machines are often wrong.  I just got 3 big bananas for Jonathan for .03.  Yup ... that's three cents.   Eggs were 18 for $3.00 ... but I think the price tag said 3.69.  Oh well!  And no, I don't show my receipt on the way out the door.  If they want to check it, they can check me out.  What a rebel I am!!

My next stop, I got rotated.  I have no idea how long you are supposed to go before doing this.  Is it years?  Miles?  I think these tires are two years old, so I figured it was time.  Schoettler Tire here is full of good looking men ... so what better place to go?  

They have been getting tires for me for beaucoup years, and their service is the best.  I drove up, said hello, they waved me in (to the right out of sight here) and had two guys on it in seconds.  All for free.  They checked the pressure and I was out the door in fifteen minutes.  

You never know who you will run into at the tire store.  The owner of that red truck said his dad told him NEVER to buy a red vehicle ... he would go to hell.  No kidding ... so he bought that pretty red Ford.  I didn't comment on the Ford part.

On the way back, I stopped in to have the air bags checked.  On my last trip home, one failed completely.  The guy did a quick check, but didn't find anything.  I now have an appointment to return tomorrow and find out what went wrong.  Hopefully not much so it doesn't cost me.  I know, wishful thinking!!

Next exciting stop ... the Post Office to mail a box.  You know how some old guy that doesn't speak very good English is right in front of you in line and has 25 transactions to make?  Every time the girl thought he was done, he asked for another money order.  He must be supporting several families somewhere!!

With eight people now in line, she finally called up another guy ... who I had seen peeking around the corner.  He was just standing there doing nothing!!  He could have VOLUNTEERED to come out and help!!  No surprise the tire shop has better service than the post office.

It wasn't even close to lunchtime, but I hit up Panda Express for lunch and dinner.  $11.00 gets me a big container, good for three meals ... maybe four.  This place also has great service.  You order, drive around and the food is waiting.  I don't know how they do it so fast, but I sure appreciate it.  

Back at the house with a now full stomach, I got yet another wagon load from the rig.  I finally found my small box of pots and baskets and put them in the china cabinet.  One of these days I'll post pictures of my grandmothers treasures that still reside here.  There are a couple of small porcelain dolls over 100 years old, along with some teeny tiny porcelain salt cellars from Japan.  Where the heck did she get those?

I'm still missing a big box of clay pots somewhere.  I suppose they will show up eventually.  On the tallest shelf are two condiment caddies from the 1800's.  One belonged to my grandmother.  They were for company only and full of salt, pepper, pickles and vinegar.  What the heck did they eat that required vinegar??   Kids were not allowed to touch!!

Today is of course Tuesday, which means another exciting night of Bingo!!  It's also going to be an exciting night of "who gets some of this junk ... I mean good stuff ... I'm getting rid of".  I'm parking by the back door and hoping someone takes it all!!  Old sheets, pillow cases ... a ton of pillow cases ... along with three big comforters.  I have quilts, I don't need comforters!!  Someone is going to win BIG!!

The purging continues!!!

Like A Box Of Candy

 Yesterday was definitely NOT a sunny smile kind of day.  The gray clouds came over the land and squashed any ideas other than melancholy.  I love the sun and I love the rain.  The in-between is less than satisfactory!!

This video however, brought a smile to my face.  It's quick ... you may have to play it twice.  Look to the darkness in the back.  This is the exact same time I let Cooper out.  Apparently we spooked Mr. Fox so much that he ran right up the side of the fence like a cat.  Who knew?  I never would have believed they were that agile and athletic.

So it seems dark moody days spark my cooking gene.  You all know what this is!!  No, I didn't make it from scratch.  I do remember my mom using a funny shaped wire whisk for at least 20 minutes, blending in the floor to make angel food cake.  She would dip it in the batter and pull it up a foot above the bowl.  That was to add air to the batter, as well as mix it up.  What a PAIN that was!!

I cheat.  Let's face it, if I can make it easier, I do.  I use the boxed variety, adding 1-1/3 cup water.  At least I never have to go to the store for water.  It magically comes out of the faucet.  Is it huge?  Yes.  Could I eat the entire thing in one sitting?  YES!  But instead, Nancy was a good girl and put all but two pieces in containers, relegated to the freezer for future enjoyment.

With all that baking going on and a little more organizing in between, my back wasn't a happy camper.  It doesn't hurt so to speak, but it gets that burning sensation like a muscle you used WAY too much.  That makes Nancy a cranky girl.

It might not have been so bad except I thought I found the pattern for this already cut material.  Apparently I had cut up pieces for not one, but TWO quilts.  I can't for the life of me figure out what all that OTHER material is for, and there's only enough of this to do a small lap quilt.  From now on I'm going to keep Post-It Notes in business.  I'm pinning instructions on EVERYTHING!

Sadly, this sewing, where my arms are in the air the entire time ... moving back and forth ... caused my back to get worse, not better.  Time for some couch contemplation.

I wrote down all the numbers on the house sale.  Just when you think you have made a little money on this investment, you find out the sad reality.  Here's how it works.  All that depreciation you took as deductions over the last few years on the "rental", will now be added back IN to the total you made, so you can pay Capital Gains tax ... 20%.  Add to that the realtor fees that get sucked out of your portion, about $20,000, AND all the repair costs, and I didn't end up with much at all.  That life box of candy sometimes holds chocolate covered cherries, or even worse, one that glues your teeth together!

And it can get even worse.  Medicare bases your health insurance payment on your income.  They will add all that to my total income and surcharge me to the moon.  The last time it cost me almost $600 a month for a year.  Not this next year, but the year after that, it could be even more.

Yes I could reinvest it in "like" property ... and now I guess it's ANY property ... and not pay capital gains.  That means I would jump from the frying pan into the fire with yet another RENTAL.  Truly, that's not likely since interest rates are way too high right now and property prices through the roof.  It's a lose-lose proposition.  Of course if you are lucky enough to have kids, you can just leave it to THEM to figure out.

Back to reality, it being Sunday and all, I didn't get much done.  I got hooked on an extreme bull riding in Texas while beginning the binding on this quilt.  I really like the pattern on this one ... I'll show you when it's done.

I'd love to blow all that money I'm going to get, what little is left after taxes, but instead I have more honey-dos waiting in line.  My truck tires need rotation, as well as finding out what went wrong with the air bags ... or maybe it's the shocks?  The Jeep needs tires rotated and an oil change, the house gutters need to be sealed at the joints and the RV roof looked at ... not that I could fix it if anything was wrong.  

So it's going to be a busy day!!  A sunny one too, with 95 degree temps all week long!!  Yay for the sun.  My smile is back!!  I'm hoping for chocolate covered CHOCOLATE!!!  Or even peanuts ... I'd settle for chocolate covered peanuts.

Never Count Your Chickens

 Fall has arrived like a lamb.  Although once in a blue moon she comes in like gang busters, this year Fall took the quiet approach.  It began with a soft rain about 7:00 and continued until about 10.  Darn ... I never did get my gutter leaks sealed.  Hopefully it will dry up this week as Mother Nature tries on her skimpy dress, heating up the countryside to the 90's.  I'm hoping it's her last hurrah.

I have some sad news this morning.  Remember Frank Paredes, our 103 year old Apache Veteran Elk?  He passed away September 29th, 103 years 7 months old.  

What a guy he was ... and the stories he could tell.  He will be telling them up in Heaven now, how he survived Pearl Harbor and barely escaped the Bataan Death March in 1942.  May you Rest In Peace Frank, with lots of Apache Warriors to keep you company.

More cleaning ... more organizing ... but no getting rid of stuff because my bin is full and overflowing.  Be careful where you walk, there are stacks of stuff EVERYWHERE!!  Heavens to Betsy!!  Start purging now folks, because it's a monumental task!!

Sadly the rain stopped, followed by some gorgeous clouds.  Darn ... there went my excuse to sit on the couch and watch South Dakota's Governors Cup Rodeo ... one of the biggest EVER.  If you win first place, you get $25,000, not to mention all the day money that came before.  It sure makes the finals crazy exciting because someone in 18th place can win and jump up to 15th ... just in time for the National Finals (only the top 15 get to go).    South Dakota ... you have an AWESOME Governor!!

Suddenly I was inundated with emails.  Our little Golden Spike RV Group is trying to make a comeback.  We have 11 rigs headed for the Verde Valley Railroad and the Grand Canyon Railroad.  That meant I spent hours talking on the phone about potlucks and such, even though I'm not involved in this rally.  I don't think my back will appreciate driving that far so soon.  I'm glad someone stood up and planned a rally, but the club cannot go forward without officers.  I hope I impressed upon them they must VOLUNTEER!!  I've already done my share.

Still trying not to overdo the dirty jobs around the house and becoming bored to tears, I whipped up another loaf of bread.  I have recipes for dozens of different flavors, but no ingredients.  Buying an entire box of instant milk just to get 3 tablespoons just isn't cost effective.  Isn't she a pretty loaf??

And the inside .... WOW!!  This is wheat bread with a little honey thrown in.  It's interesting to note that bread doesn't like me one little bit.  But THIS bread doesn't bother me at all.  Maybe it's all the preservatives and crazy ingredients they put in it ... and not the gluten as I previously thought.  Oh boy ... nice out-of-the-oven HOT bread smothered in butter!!  

Seriously, with a bread machine, you just dump it all in and it does everything.  Mixes, kneads, rises three times .... you should try it!!  This is not your old fashioned way to make bread.

I finally took the time to cut and sew another binding on a much bigger quilt.  I have to admit, my back didn't last but about 15 minutes before I had to rest.  This sewing stuff requires arms and backs of steel.

AND THEN IT HAPPENED.  At 8:30 I got a text message from my Realtor.  They accepted (in writing) my refusal to replace the pipes.  They cannot add anything to that list, meaning I don't have to fix anything  ... like the patio roof.  All the discussions between us are DONE!!!  

I can't thank you enough for all the prayers .... THEY ARE WORKING!!  So now all I have to do is wait for the lendor's appraisal.  If we get that in a timely manner, it will close escrow October 19th.  Jonathan did a happy dance!!

Cooper barely woke up to my YES resounding throughout the house.  It's time to make up my list of things to shut off ... the gas bill, the water bill, the electric bill.  I'll be making LOTS of phone calls soon.

Have I been thinking how I can spend that money?  OF COURSE!!!  Another smaller house, maybe just an RV lot (much less expensive), a horse trailer, accompanied by a horse of course ... getting rid of old nasty carpet in this house ... the list is endless.  Sadly my penny pinching nature won't let me just blow it!!  Besides ... never count your chickens before they hatch!!!