Breakfast of Champions!!!

 What can I say.  It's COLD.  In thirteen years of RV'ing, I don't think it has EVER been this chilly.  That of course means the heater must run all night long to keep Jonathan warm.  It's like sleeping with a jet engine.  On the other hand, oranges need a good freeze to be sweet.  I think they got it.

The hardest part is trying to keep Mr. Jonathan at 80 degrees.  That means I start the truck first thing in the morning while I watch the sun come up.  All hail the sun, because it came up and stayed up all day long, keeping the rain and snow at bay.  Not so much for the ice on my windshield that I had to scrape off.

Yessirree ... off we went into the wild blue yonder (a rather boring drive I must say) until we got to Barstow.  Time to be shocked and dismayed at the price of fuel.  Actually, for a Flying J, it wasn't too bad at $5.00 a gallon.  Everywhere else along the highway it was $5.49.  

I do love this station.  Easy in, a nice place to park and rest, and an easy way out.  Since I didn't pack much in the way of snacks, I went inside to be regaled with Cinnabons (I didn't even ASK the price), dozens of packaged donuts and this.  PIZZA!!!  Breakfast of Champions!!  Yes ... yes I did eat the whole thing for breakfast.  Only my mother said you have to eat breakfast food.  I try to prove her wrong every day.

And then we were off down my now least favorite Highway 247.  I've not driven this since it happened.  As I got closer, I got really nervous.  This is the exact spot (going the same way) that guy was when he decided to pass two vehicles.  He pulled into the left lane over this double yellow line ... heading right into me.  I can see now why he didn't see me.  

My heart starting racing, but it's like getting back on a horse that bucked you off.  You have to do it.  At the very last second, he turned the wheel to the left and missed me by a couple of feet.  Yeah ... not much room there.  He made it past me, overcorrected and hit the berm on the right side of the road in an explosion of sand.  I don't see how he could possibly have lived, but I hope he did.  If he had frozen in fear, we would all be dead.  I called 911 who told me to keep driving, so I did.

With that now behind me, still a little nervous, I made it into beautiful downtown Indio.  It was a lovely 50 degrees.  I'm parked in a fancy dancy RV park for an outrageous amount of dinero, but it's an easy access and very safe.  

Now for the part where Bill Richards (of Patsy and Bill) is going to shake his finger at me.  I pulled in and parked perfectly.  Even backed up so I was perfectly straight.  I unhooked, leveled and plugged in.  All before I realized I was way too close to the pedestal to put the slide out.  Yeah, I said a bunch of bad words.  No I didn't hook back up and move.  It's tight, but we will survive.  This is one of the very few rigs that allow access to everything without putting the slide out.

Sadly, there's not much room in the recliner for Mr. Cooper, who insists on sleeping next to me.  He has an entire CHAIR to himself on the left, but would rather be next to Mom.  I'm squished, but it's okay.

Today I'll go wander a bit.  It looks like the 20-30 mph winds with 45 mph gusts will keep me here a couple of days before I head on off.  That gives me time to hit the Fisherman's Market for some great seafood!!  Can you imagine?  Good seafood in Indio!!!

If You Know, You Know!!

If you know, then you know exactly where I am.  I made it, though not in record time, which was okay with me.  On the other hand, that section that ties traffic up for an hour or more?  I just flew right through it.  Traffic was light, and the trucks even lighter.   

The first order of the day, after waking up for the third time, was to remove the battery cables from the Jeep.  I completely forgot that little task.  It's still dark outside and since I NEVER work outside in the dark, I couldn't find the light switch.  At long last ... done.

Then it was on to last minute packing and hookup.  That's always fun.  I took this picture just to see how level the rig was riding with the new shocks and springs on the truck.  It looks pretty good I guess, since I'm not the expert there.

And we were off.  All went pretty well.  The rest stop I always give Cooper a break at was actually open. Imagine that?  I think it's been closed for the last two years.  I have to say I'm very happy with the ride.  It was much nicer than my last trip, and no major bouncing like before!!

I pulled into the RV Park and went to setting up.  I don't do much ... just take the pressure off the hitch.  This time I'm VERY unlevel.  No I'm not unhooking.  That's way too much trouble for a one night stand.    That's when I heard it.  BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP.  How irritating!!  For some reason my fridge didn't like being on gas.  Seems to me it was fine when I left.  Everything is still frozen and cold, so I think we're okay.

I turned the gas off, then oh so slowly turned it back on and lit all the stove burners.  Well ... two of them because the third doesn't spark.  It's okay, since there's no way I'm cooking enough to need three burners!!  Today if the fridge beeps again, I'll just leave it off.  

Mr. Cooper decided not to eat anything I fixed.  I know I'm a bad cook, but REALLY!!  I tried everything I could find and he refused it all.  At long last I scrambled an egg and he gobbled it up.  What a spoiled little buddy he is!  

We had a little trouble with the guy next door who doesn't think his dog needs to be on a leash.  He came after Cooper and I the second we walked out the door.  The guy called him back, and everything was okay until the last walk of the night.  I stepped down (in the dark), only to trip over him at the bottom of my steps.  I kicked a little gravel and told him to get away.  He growled, whereupon Cooper came unglued.  No one growls at his Mom.  You know me ... THAT DOG NEEDS TO BE ON A LEASH!  All was well, and no one got bit.

It's dark this morning ... no surprise, as I'm always up early.  It's a lovely 37 degrees and I'm looking forward to an afternoon nap to make up for being awake half the night.  Everyone's heater is running, including mine.  Add to that the generator next door to keep the oranges from freezing.  Earplugs are a must.  

And so I leave you with this huge nugget of vitamin C, about 5" wide.  Oh yeah Dave ... the big oranges are back in stock.

Decisions Decisions

 Oooweeeee it's cold in California!!  31 degrees is way below my comfort zone.  I felt like I was already IN the freezer when I went outside to begin the frozen food pack.  I have to say this thing works like a charm.  I've no idea what the FRIDGE temperature is, but the freezer is working like I was in Alaska.  The decisions made on what to take were many.  If nothing else, I won't starve for the first week or two.

Cooper and I passed the time by checking the Weather app every 30 minutes.  Nothing like being worried about the weather.  It's sunny, it's raining, it's snowing, it's foggy ... take your pick.  It's all happening at once.

Trying to sideline my terror of black ice and snow, I went to the last bag-o-food from Hello Fresh.  I've put the account on hold until I return.  It took awhile to make the decision to cook this one up.  I thought I might take it with me, but these seem to be complicated and require lots of dishes.  Since I'm the Queen of Paper Bowls and Plates, I figured I better make it now.

This is another Thai dish ... chicken and rice bowls.  I got the rice going and cut up the pear according to directions (without even a drop of blood) for the salad.  I admit, the thought of adding some weird sauce to mayo for the dressing, rather turned me off.  I substituted my Vidalia onion favorite.  

On to the cucumbers, which were supposed to be pickled.  Hmmm I should have read these recipes first.  I left them plain Jane.

The chicken however, was an easy decision.  Chop up chicken breast, add soy sauce and marinate for about 15 minutes.  Dump in a heaping tablespoon of cornstarch and stir.  Dump into a pan with a splash of oil ... and leave it be.  

Wow ... when I heard it crackling, I turned the entire thing over in one piece.  After a few more minutes I chopped it up a bit and added the usual Thai sweet chili sauce.  

Dinner was finally served.  Thai chili chicken over white rice, pear and cabbage slaw, along with cucumbers.  The "should be" is on the right.  I think they gave me the wrong Cole Slaw, but I ate ever bit.  There was twice the amount of food I normally eat, but it was pretty tasty!!  I would definitely cook the chicken and rice again ... YUM!!

The last decision of the day was finally made.  I'm heading off to Indio to spend a few days with good friends from my RV group.  I don't know if I have everything packed, and it may just snow ... but I figure I can buy anything I forgot and my friends will come get me if I get snowed in.  Wish me luck!!!

Weird Food and Weather Apps

The sunrise brought up feelings of a nice sunny day.  That was immediately squashed by the clouds that swiftly covered the sky and never left ... all day long.  It was dark, menacing and dreary for hours on end.  Way too cold to be packing for sure, but I did get a few more things in the rig. 

Breakfast was one of the weirdest things I've ever had.  You do get to choose, and next time I'll make a better choice.  This might suffice for lunch I suppose, but even then, it's weird.  Here's the ingredients.  Cucumber, dill, avocado, crunchy onions, hot peppers, hot jam and feta cheese.  Apparently I am NOT a gourmet because all that on a nice chibatta roll sounded terrible.

Even the should-look-like picture looks terrible.  Maybe if I pile on the crunchy onions and leave off the hot peppers, it will be edible.

Sadly, no such luck.  This is BREAKFAST?  Yes that is parmesan because feta is not my favorite.  That little packet will probably stay in the fridge until it gets moldy.  SO ... cucumbers, onions, avocado, sweet pepper jam, the tiniest pieces of dill and parmesan were carefully placed on the roll.  It was terrible with a capital T.  Good thing I didn't have to pay for this one.  I pawned the cucumbers off on Jonathan.

More packing ... we are on to the fridge now.  I turned it on yesterday, and it seems to be right cold.  Speaking of cold ... it's a frigid 36 degrees this morning.  I've been watching all of my weather apps daily, looking for a break in the weather to get over Tehachapi Pass.  It looks like the next five days will be snow free.  Freezing cold, but snow free.  

Finally ... some good food.  Lunch came around and I made up the second serving of that Thai chili burger.  This time I cut out literally half the bun.  I could have made a triple decker out of that one.  Who would have thought soy sauce in mayo, along with Thai chili sauce on top, would make anything taste worthy.  Not my favorite bacon cheese burger, but a close second.

My Walmart order came in along with the last things to pack in the fridge.  This is turtle cheesecake.  Boy oh boy did it hit the spot.  My sweet tooth was completely satisfied.  So much so that I skipped dinner completely.

All that food did make it a tad bit hard to bend over to check the tires on the rig, so I just sat on the cold concrete.  They all needed to be topped off, so I drug out the big air compressor.  I had the fleeting thought that this kind of activity probably wasn't meant for bad backs.  Neither was putting the generator in my truck.  I don't even want to THINK about lifting a full tank of propane into my rig.

My little buddy wasn't at all thrilled with the dark day and cold weather either.  He sidled up next to me every chance he got.  He's my little shadow.

And then the rain came down in earnest.  It was so loud that both I and the neighbor went outside to see what the racket was.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this was the last hurrah for a few days so I can make my escape to Yuma ... where apparently it's been raining just as much.  I'm looking at it as a free rig wash.  It needs it!!

Until tomorrow .... 

The Tuxedo Group

 It's still cold in California.  Lucky for us, the BIG ONE didn't hit after all, at least not in our area.  There was an earthquake down south, something like 4.1 in Rancho Cucamonga.  As it turns out, they now say that was just a "fore" earthquake.  Since there were no aftershocks, it wasn't a REAL earthquake.  You've gotta love the science.  

Now they say we can expect the REAL BIG ONE in a couple of days.  This should be fun!  Maybe I'll have oceanfront property after all.  By the way, I'm not near any faults, so hopefully "I" won't fall into the ocean too.

For those that asked, here's the tux photo.  Too funny that all the short people stood on the right side.  Just like the Masons, the Elks stick to pomp and circumstance.  In 1868 the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks was founded by Charles Vivian, a comic, singer and son of a clergyman.  In New York City, everything was closed on Sundays according to the New York City Blue Laws.  Charles got a group of guys together to pass the time.  Pretty soon, other actors and singers gravitated to Charles and called themselves the Jolly Corks.

At Christmas that year, one of their little group died and left his family destitute.  Charles decided that in addition to good fellowship (i.e. drinking and singing) they should have performances to benefit the people around them.  And so the Elks were born.  They asked the New York Legislature for a charter and in 1871 it was granted.  

You can only join if recommended by an existing member.  New members are interviewed and must go through the initiation.  From that point on, you become part of one big family across the U.S.  Benefits include parking for cheap at any Lodge that has RV parking, help if you need it, a great family and community atmosphere, 100% backing of our Veterans, the flag and our country, and even a funeral service when you pass on.  So there you have it ... lots of social activities and lots of help for whoever is in need.  

Onward ..... Mr. Cooper and I hung out on the couch until it got warm enough to begin the packing process.  Laundry is not my thing, but I persisted until I had enough to fill the closet in the rig.  I made three trips outside and stashed everything in places I hoped I would remember.  

That's when it hit me.  I'm usually packing for a three or four day trip to another house, completely full of everything I need.  Not this time ... I SHOULD be packing for LIVING in the rig.  That is another whole game.  I unpacked everything and started all over from scratch.  I didn't get far when I realized I better sit down and make up a list of what needs to go or I'll be doing the same thing over again.

Luckily, lunch time came around.  It was time for another Hello Fresh creation.  This time, Thai Burgers.  Here's what it looks like, all packed up in a nice paper bag with a big recipe card to follow.  I have to say I love the flavors of most everything I pick from their long menus.  On the other hand, there is SO much prep work!  What happened to just microwave it!!

I peeled the sweet potatoes, cut them up (without cutting myself I might add) and tossed them with oil and salt.  Uh oh ... WAY too much oil.  After 15 minutes in the oven, I had to drain off the messy oil.  I didn't have much hope they would be good.

Next up ... mix up the sauce, meaning grate a tiny piece of ginger and an even tinier piece of garlic.  Dump that into mayo from a nice friendly packet, adding soy sauce, thinly sliced green onions and a dash of sugar.  Hmmm not bad!

More of everything went into the hamburger ... very good hamburger I might add ... and I fried them up.  Just look at all that grease on my stove!!  This recipe better be absolutely wonderful if I have to clean up all that mess!

And here we have it ... a burger with ginger and garlic, on a potato bun with the mayo sauce, sweet chili sauce and those yummy fried onions from your Thanksgiving dinner casserole.  From now on, I'm buying a can of those to put on everything I eat.  

Yessirree ... it was DELICIOUS with a capital D.  The fries .. not so much, but they were edible.  Here's the good part, I have the second serving of this meal in the fridge for today's lunch.  That's good because it's probably the last time I will have it.  Between the massive amount of dishes to wash and the greasy stove, I'm not sure this will be on the menu again.

More unpacking and packing happened until it was time to watch some Rodeo from Texas.  Cooper wasn't interested ... he played hide and seek with the ball. 

I still have a long list of things to get done, but at least I was able to scratch off a few.  I'm shooting for the end of next week.  We shall see how it goes!!

The Last Hurrah

Good morning foggy California.  We've had just about every kind of weather from sunshine to fog to pouring down rain ... and just for good measure, it's been VERY cold.  It's definitely past my usual time to head to warmer weather, and it's going to be later still.

By this time I'm usually in sunny Indio at the RV rally.  Sadly, it has been cancelled this year.  Increasing prices and low attendance (because of increasing prices) has hit hard.  If you can't figure out a way to change that up, you will price yourselves right out of business.  I'll get to the sunshine sooner or later.

In the meantime, this is my last official Elks duty of the month.  Its Insurance and Finance Night, along with an initiation of new members.  All I can say about the required tuxedo is that it's black and makes you look ten pounds thinner.  Not the least bit comfortable, but thinner.

Here I am waiting for the Treasurer to show up with the money.  The drink is a coke, the better to keep me awake since I still have a bit of a chili cheese dog hangover from the last Bingo games.

These guys go all out to impress their insurance paying clients, especially in light of the recent hikes in price.  Let's face it, the more disasters like fires and flooding you have, the more everyones insurance goes up to pay for it.  I suppose it's a necessary evil because MOST of us pay up.  

There is a raffle at every dinner.  This is just two tables of prizes.  Not only does the Committee Chairman have to get a crew together and do all the cooking, he also has to acquire all the raffle prizes and bring two pretty ladies to sell tickets.  Oh yes ... there are two more full tables over on the far right hand side out of sight.  Add to that a BIG TV.   It took over an hour to raffle off all the goodies.

Ten seconds after the door was open, the crowd came in and hit the bar.  No, that's not my beer.  There's one thing I am NOT and that's a beer drinker.  They do have several kinds on tap if that's your thing.  I'm sitting at this table to help sell dinner tickets.  For $20 you get an amazing steak dinner.

And here it is.  A New York steak, scalloped potatoes, green beans, rolls, salad and ice cream for dessert.  Not bad!  There's also bottles of wine for your table if you wish.  I didn't eat this time ... I've got too much in the fridge to get rid of, including another box of Hello Fresh, delivered yesterday.  Let me just say the insurance guys know how to cook steaks.  RARE is the name of the game.  

We fed over 150 people.  Can you just imagine?  And this happens usually twice a month.  It amazes me how such a small town Elks Lodge can be so huge ... like one of the busiest businesses in town.  They also serve lunch Monday through Thursday, so if you're ever in the area, be sure and stop in.  The food is REALLY good!

Raffle over, it's time to head upstairs for the initiation and meeting.  It was short and sweet this time with only 15 new members, versus the usual 45.  I was out of there in a flash!

Believe me, there's nothing like the AHHHHH of taking off a tuxedo jacket, vest and necktie!!  I need a clip on.  

I'm hoping to get out of here by the end of the week, so packing has begun.  It seems there's snow over the pass, so I'm at the whim of the weather.  Pray for NO SNOW!

Just a Typical Day

 Someone has become a beggar.  As you can tell, he's pretty focused on that pork chop.  For the first time ever, he has figured out how to acquire the most tasty pieces from my plate.  It's okay, he's almost fifteen and deserves to be spoiled.  I'm in shock that so many years have gone by so fast.  This kid has certainly kept me entertained!!  No, he does not get stuff that is bad for puppies, he only gets tiny bites of meat.  He has to watch his waistline!

Here's another blast from the past while I was digging through that cupboard trying to make room for more important stuff.  I won't tell you my age here, but I am closer to 60 than 50.  I ran the Nike Women's Half Marathon for four years before taking on the entire 26.2 miles twice in a row.  

This was held in the hills of San Francisco, and yes it was for women only, but they let men run if they wanted to pay the fees.  Back then it was beautiful and safe.  I would spend every weekend in the city running the route for practice.  There was of course the one time I got lost.  Apparently I made a wrong turn (before the course was posted) and ended up at a Fire Station near the old military quarters.  Yeah, they got a big laugh out of that!!  Now you couldn't pay me enough to walk the streets.  

There was also a San Francisco Marathon for a few years, but all of them have gone elsewhere.  No surprise, no one wants to step in THAT!!  I owe all my fitness and strength over the years to running because I ran for over 30 years.   It's a different lifestyle for sure!

With everything now stuffed in those cupboards, I figured it was time to sanitize the tanks on my rig.  That's always a fun job.  After all these years, I have finally figured out I need to wear old clothes.  Bleach makes lovely holes if you're wearing your favorite shirt.  

They make it pretty easy for you, with directions glued right on to the panel.  A few hours later it was done and I was soaked.  My faucet has some kind of regulator thing on it.  Turn it off too fast and it squirts water in your face.  I never seem to remember that until it's too late!

Next up I had a couple of returns to Costco.  I never know when to go there so as to beat the crowds.  Usually it's 8:30 in the morning, but on this day I headed out at 10:00.  Surely by then most of the early birds are gone.  

How lucky could I be!  I got a parking spot right up front and waited in line about three minutes.  WOW!! That's a first!  As I turned around to head out, the refund line was out the door.  Good timing!  It always amazes me ... one couple were talking about the bed they purchased before Christmas.  Apparently it was for company to sleep on ... and now they were returning it because they don't really need it.  Are you kidding?  And yes, they got their money back.  

Now to fuel up my truck.  Costco here does not have diesel, so I headed off to the worst station in the next town ... not the best part of town either ... to get the cheapest I could find.  It was a good test of my new truck springs.  Yessirree ... perfectly level.  The sad part ... it cost me $185.00 for 3/4 of a tank.  I don't worry about it though.  The alternative of selling a house and moving is not worth it right now.

Speaking of the house.  Now you see them .........

Now you don't.  When I got back home, I decided to take the lights down.  I have to admit, these were the easiest to take apart.  Just take out the center stake and squash them to the ground.  Slide into the box and DONE!!  

 I really did like the lights.  They lit up the front of the house nicely.  Maybe I should leave them up all year round.  Okay, probably not.  

That was it ... a not so exciting day in freezing cold California.  It did snow quite a bit in the mountains, but we got no rain here.  I hear there was more rain in Yuma and the surrounding desert.  Gosh, we haven't had wet years like this in a long time.  It's hard to know whether to take shorts or winter coats!!

Tonight .... it's penguin night.  An initiation of new members into the Elks Lodge, meaning tuxedos.  I sure wish they would go with Levis!  Maybe if I wear BLACK ones, they won't notice!!

What Time Is It??

It's BINGO time of course.   What?  You thought I wasn't going any more?  Every year at Christmas and New Years we actually get not one, but TWO days off.  That's two weeks in Bingo time.  Believe me, it is well deserved, but the funny part is everyone misses it so much when it doesn't happen.  Not just the bingo players, but the volunteers just sit around and twiddle their thumbs.  

And so, on the 2nd of January 2024, the Magic Castle opened its doors again to the fire and pitchfork wielding public.  Let's make some money for charity.  

Every dime must be donated to a legit charity, and we choose to make sure they all involve kids, veterans and seniors.  There are lots of local organizations, like Children's Hospital, the Burn Center and the Camp for Handicapped Children.  If you want to throw your money away at Bingo, we make sure it goes to someone in need.

Besides those, we also buy uniforms for most (if not all) of the baseball and soccer teams in our area.  We feed hundreds of challenged children and adults all throughout the year, even having Bingo games for them to play.  The list is endless, so I'll stop there.  It actually amounts to around $100,000 a year.  Pretty crazy, right?  And that is AFTER we pay out all the winnings.  

Add to that all the profits from our Elks RV Park.  Some of it is spent on maintenance items, but most of it also goes to charities for children.  It's pretty amazing to be a part of all that.

And so the night began with peasants banging on the door with torches of fire.  It was a cold night and they wanted in.  Naturally, there is always the opening fight scenes just to get your blood moving.  They are not allowed in to the main room until 4:30.  Only members can come in early and pick their favorite money-winning chair.  

That is always a bone of contention, but members do have privileges.  I opened a few minutes early, garnering the evil eye from several players.  They like consistency, and getting in the exact spot in line every single week is a must.  Don't ask me why.  The Castle Accountant of course, likes to change things up just because.  

My fairy Godmother was on the ball as we ran 94 people through the line in less than one hour.  If you go fast enough, they don't have time to think of something to complain about.  In an amazing turn of events, someone turned in one tiny card that had been dropped.  Usually they just play it themselves.  Finders keepers you know.

I was waiting for someone to come up and say we shorted them.  Sure enough ... here she came with all her cards, her receipt and a big scowl on her face.  I PAID FOR THREE AND I ONLY GOT TWO!!  The pitchfork was aimed right at my head.  They cost one dollar each, so it's not like they will now be bankrupt.

I smiled ... and picked up the lost card.  Here you go ... you dropped it on the floor and some nice peasant actually turned it in for you.  She really didn't believe me.  Turns out the lady who DID turn it in was standing in line and told her SHE had retrieved it from the floor.  The change was dramatic.  The apologies began.  It's like night and day, or more like Jekyll and Hyde. 

Ruffled feathers finally smoothed down and we continued to collect the cash.  That incident repeated itself once, followed by WHERE'S MY RED TICKET twice.  The present of the night for both your birthday and the red ticket drawing ... yes if you have a birthday in the week before, you get a present ... was worth about $10.00.  It's usually pull tabs that might win you $2.00.  On this night however, it was a box of Sees Candy.  

When our local store can't sell all the boxes before the pull dates, they donate them to us, and we give them all away at Bingo.  Luckily this time there was no scrambling around on the floor trying to rip one out of another's fingers.  There was plenty to go around.

Little did I know that by the time I was ready to leave ... Infernal Machine balanced and all ... there was a downpour of epic proportions.  We got about an inch of rain a few days ago, and another inch last night.   There's nothing like the shock of looking in a mirror to see a drowned rat!!

Just because a box of Sees Candy isn't enough (yup the volunteers got a box also), I finally cleaned up the last of that mousse smothered in whipped cream when I got home.  That didn't bode well for sleep, but it's okay, I've got all day to catch back up.

Thursday I'll be back at the lodge, and it's a black tie affair.  More and more Bingo players are finding it's to their advantage to become a member and get that primo winning chair!!!  That means they have to go through the initiation process and we have to be suitable dressed for the occasion.  Sorry, no Levis allowed.

We Survived 2023!

 I can't believe yet another year has passed by.  I wouldn't exactly call it a stellar year, but the three of us are still alive and kicking, so there's that.  Jonathan definitely wanted to make his presence known on January 1, 2024.  Was it really 24 years ago that we were all told our computers were going to crash forever?  The entire world of commerce would be completely shut down until they could figure out a work-around?

I was working for the County in Property Tax ... and we were all hoping it would be true.  Too bad the IT Techs told us no ... it was all a lie.  Little did we know at the time just how much we were being manipulated by the media.  That should have been a wake up call.  

So by the magic of the internet, here's Jon's wish that everyone disco and cluck their way into 2024.  Me too, since you can hear me better than he!

The first order of the day is of course the Rose Parade.  If you've never been to this madhouse presentation, it is definitely worth it.  A few years ago I went down to meet who else but the Westerfields, taking a friend and their rig along with me.  I had to back OUT of the Elks Lodge parking lot onto a 4 lane street, back DOWN the street, then back into the other side of the parking lot to squeeze in among six other rigs.

That was my Class A backing up education.  It was also my education in open grounds and dry camping with a household refrigerator.  I was finally lucky to get a 110 plug to keep my food cold.

I'll just give you a quick description of what it takes to make these floats.  Not far from this intersection are the barns the floats live in until they make their way down the street.  The floats are designed and built along with plans for every little section of color.  Dried flowers, beans, seeds and all things that will last, are placed on the floats early in the week.

How you ask?  With roughly 50 gallons of white Elmer's glue.  You grab your cup, go to the station where you get it filled to the top, then try to climb on the float to your appointed spot.  You have an exact diagram of where to paint the glue and where to put each section of crushed color.  In the meantime, dozens of people sit and pull the petals off dried flowers for their part in the creation.

This was my favorite one.  These pictographs are made using the same techniques ... to look exactly like the people who received transplants by the company represented here.  It's worth the trip just to see these up close.

My second favorite float was of course the Cowboy Channel "Cowgirls Rule".  What about the fresh flowers?  They come by the truckload to the float barn.  They are bundled in paper, stuffed in cardboard containers, then dosed with water.  

You unwrap each bundle, look at your order (where the flowers are going to be on the float), make sure you have the right color of flower, then cut the stems to the exact length.  Here's the fun part ... you pick up a vial and dip it in a bucket of 32 degree water to fill it, then stuff ONE rose stem into it.  That is placed on a chunk of styrofoam.  All this is only done on the very last day so the flowers stay fresh.  

Someone takes them to the float and places them in the correct place.  I'm not kidding when I say there are millions of them ... all placed in little vials by your completely frozen fingers in a building with NO heat,  because you know, the flowers will wilt.  

Anyone can volunteer for this fun filled job ... just bring your ski parka and hand warmers.  Every day I made this right hand turn and drove down the street to the barn where we were working.  It was pretty interesting to see it completely filled with people on the last day.  It's an amazing amount of work for the two hour trip down the strip.

Back to reality ... once the parade was over and I was moving again, thanks to two cups of coffee, I didn't want to stop for fear I'd be glued to the couch for the rest of the day.  I have a couple of cupboards that needed cleaning out so I could stuff even more things inside.  That's when I found this picture.  This gives you a bit of an idea about horse camping.  

This is my little sweetie Mandy ... one of the best dogs I've ever known ... who put up with crazy things like taking my horses to the coast so we could ride in the ocean.  This was not only my dressing room, but my kitchen, my bedroom and a doghouse, all rolled into one.  The thing was, I didn't find out until I got there, that no dogs were allowed.  YIKES!!

She and I kept a really low profile and luckily she wasn't discovered.  Well she was when she barked one time, but we blamed it on a dog running loose in the sand dunes.  It turned out not to be the trip of a lifetime because my horses were both so scared, they wouldn't go within 200 yards of the water.  

Oh ... and the trash can parked in the middle of the trees became a dangerous grizzly bear that caused snorting, bucking and general mayhem.  Luckily I made it out alive and believe it or not, actually drove my truck and trailer through San Francisco to get out because I made a wrong turn.  This was before I had GPS.  I just smiled and waved at all the honking.  It was a nice walk down memory lane on this New Year's Day.  

Lucky for us, there were no more fireworks, but sadly, no fancy dinner either.  I completely forgot to pick up some exotic food to celebrate the day.  I had thawed out tamales and leftover ham.  No matter because Cooper, loved it!!  I think he has become a hamoholic!!

CHEERS to 2024 ... may we all have a GREAT year!!!

Well Hello There!!!

 Hello ... HELLO!!!  Can you hear me now??  Woohoo ... if you're reading this, it means you have survived another trip around the sun.  From all the messages I read all day long on my phone, it seems absolutely EVERYONE is glad that year is gone.  Too bad it will hold over for awhile longer, but I'm sending out good vibes to everyone that it's going to get better!!

Thank goodness there wasn't much celebrating going on around here yesterday.  To my great surprise, the neighborhood was VERY quiet.  There were lots of lawn mowers going and noisy blowers, but no fireworks, at least not during the day.

Cooper and I took a nice long walk in the back yard while he smelled every two inches of ground.  No kidding, he followed his nose around the grass until he came to this.  Apparently he is a gopher dog.  Well hello there ... there is yet another BIG one carousing in my back yard.  I left him alone for now.  There were too many football games to watch.  

A little further around the yard and what should I see?????  My newest acquisition???  April fools!!  He's a beauty, but sadly, he's not in my back yard.  If you have horses, you pretty much have to give up everything else.  They take lots of care and attention.  There's one on my radar, but I'm not sure my back is up to the challenge.  

It was a quiet New Year's Eve as I put on my Chef hat and began to make a huge mess of the kitchen.  If I keep this up, I may have to actually use my dishwasher.  

This is the second meal from the box.  Not quite as hard to prepare, but there were lots of steps.  As a photographer, I can tell you that images of food are not what they appear.  This nicely browned pork chop has been cooked to death to get the color.  Then you spray oil on it to make it shiny!  At any rate, this is what it SHOULD look like with perfectly placed broccoli.

This is what it DID look like.  I didn't arrange the broccoli, but at least it's greener than the picture.  The pork on the other hand is only brown because of the sauce.  Surprisingly, it was quite tender.  My rice turned out nicely too, cooked with a bit of ginger. 

That little red pepper for heat ... it wasn't in the box.  Instead there was a green Thai chili, hotter than my stove.  It went in the trash.  I have to say however .... this was a GREAT meal.  The sauce had peach jam, chicken stock concentrate (I need to find some of that stuff) and fresh ginger.  I would even serve this to company!!!  No other meals were prepared or desecrated ... that plateful was two meals for me. 

 In the afternoon, I did a little more sewing of bindings on to quilts that I'm hoping to take south with me.  Maybe I can finish them up on the road.

I spent the rest of the day watching football.  We're getting down to the end of the line where you are either heartbroken or exhilarated!  Rookie quarterbacks abound, making it an edge of your seat day.

At long last, this non-pro party animal gathered up Mr. Cooper and headed off to the land of what sounded like war in the back yard.  There were a few booms here and there initially, but nothing until my phone lit up.  What the heck was THAT?  

Well hello there!!  A message from my ex-Arizona neighbor Chris.  Happy New Year to you too.  I turned the phone off.

That seemed to bring about a frenzy of fireworks and gunfire.  Amazingly, it only lasted about 30 minutes.  I don't mind the fireworks so much as someone who has probably been drinking, firing off a machine gun that close to my back yard.  I was surprised it stopped so soon.  There was not another sound most of the night.  I know because I was still awake!!  

I'm pretty sure the final result of all that will be me falling asleep while watching the rest of today's football games.  

HELLO THERE 2024!  We have been waiting for you with bated breath!

May everyone have a wonderful happy New Year's Day!!!!  Bring on the aspirin!