FOOD COMA!!

 Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise.  It also makes WOMEN exhausted and cranky!  On this day however, this sweet puppy made it all better as we snuggled on the couch.  Puppies make EVERYTHING better ... or kitties, as the case may be.

The morning passed by quickly as I boiled another dozen eggs and froze water in an aluminum pan the same size as my serving pans.  Never take food to a barbecue in anything other than throw-away pans.  There's no washing, no getting food all over your truck and no eating all the leftovers until you are sick of them.  

Why freeze the water in an extra pan?  You put the pan of eggs in the pan with frozen water to keep them cold.  I brought those two pans home later to reuse.

And so I whipped up 36 deviled eggs and a 5 quart pot of potato salad.  It's a good thing I picked up that BIG jar of mayo or I would have run out.  No pictures of the salad (this is from the last party) ... I was too busy ... but it weighed in at around 7 pounds.  

With a little time to spare, I added the embroidery section to this quilt and decided on the next border color.  If I ever recoup today, I'll finish it up.

When the alarm went off, I gathered up all my stuff and headed across town.  What a beautiful back yard.  That's my 13' tent we are under.  Little did I realize it wasn't really mine.  Somewhere along the line my 10' tent got exchanged for someone else's 13' expensive beauty.  We had a terrible time getting it set up because it works like no other I have seen!  

I was a little worried about the wind, which kept up a steady pace of 20 mph all day long, but it held together just fine.  The good news is this was the "smoking" table and I picked the right side where the wind blew the smoke the other way!

In no time we were joined by several more, WITH THEIR DOGS.  I don't know, I'm pretty sure I would NEVER take my DOG to anyone else's backyard barbecue, because you KNOW what the dogs did on their lawn.  Yes they did.  Why would you do that?  It didn't help that the dogs didn't get along and were off-leash.  SERIOUSLY??

And then the food coma began.  They barbecued huge thick steaks for most of the folks, while I opted for half a chicken.  My bad ... we were talking so much and eating so much I didn't get many pictures.  When the King said let's get all the Bingo volunteers around the pool for a picture, it was like herding cats.  Amazingly, no one got thrown in.

So here's the CREW of old folks who make Bingo run.  Four people could not attend.  On any night we have from 15-19 people show up.  How do I know?  Because I have to take a count every week so we get credit on the lodge tax return.  

That's when the eating began in earnest because they brought out the desserts.  Oh my great Aunt Sue ... there were a dozen different choices and I tasted every one.  

I'm now in a major food coma with a stomach ache akin to the Earthquake of 1906.  I was a good girl however and brought NOTHING home with me.  Thankfully, there are no more big events or dinners for the next two weeks so I can recover.  

That ended a very nice day of cool breezes and food overload.  Today was supposed to be jam making day.  I'm not really feeling it, but one batch HAS to be finished or the berries will be gone.  

I'll be in the kitchen ... squishing out juice with all my might!!

Like A BEE

Pull out your long johns ... it's 54 degrees in mid June when the temps are usually nothing short of HOT.  It could not happen on a better day.  Fifty plus folks will be barbecuing and hanging out in the back yard for the Bingo Gala of the Year!  

I have to admit this is kind of crazy.  It would be SO much easier to just have this party at the Lodge like normal.  You know, where we don't have to cook anything .... just show up and eat!!

So on Friday morning, I hit the road running.  I was in the garden at 5:00 am, watering, weed pulling and harvesting.  I've got so many mini tomatoes now that I'm taking a big container of them over to the barbecue.   

At 8:00 I was at the party location, setting up chairs and tables.  Whoa ... that was a LOT of work, including getting my ankles smashed when carrying chairs two handed.  I admit, I'm VERY glad it's at THEIR house and not MINE!

Then I was off to the embroidery gal's place out of town to pick up four more sections of veterans quilts.  I just stuck them on the wall for now, and will work on them over the next week or so.  I have two more to go, but I found another business closer to home that may be able to do this for me.  We shall see.

That was followed up by a trip to Safeway.  Okay, this is my LAST trip to Safeway.  Three small bags came to $195.00.  Yup I was as SHOCKED as you!!  The Sure-Jel for my jam was $6.00 a box.  Too bad I didn't look before I purchased that.  Three 18-packs of eggs ... $11.00 each, but I had to have them for the deviled eggs I now have to make.  

But WAIT .... a package of 12 meatballs was $12.00. One small meatball cost $1.00 ... you've got to be KIDDING me!  No I'm not.  Next time I'll look at the prices before putting anything in my basket.

Since I won't be making jam until tomorrow, it all sits on the counter out of the way.  Oh yes ... the sugar was $5.50 per bag. 

That's when I got to work.  I was busy as a bee the rest of the day.  I thought I would just be putting the five pounds of red potatoes in the pot to boil for potato salad.  Nope ... those were the worst bag of potatoes I've ever seen.  I had to cut out bad spots on every single one.  

Then it was on to boiling and peeling 36 eggs for the requested deviled eggs.  Today I'll boil 8 more for the salad.  This is an EXPENSIVE Bingo party that should be FREE for us!!  There's something wrong with this picture!!

I'm glad I forgot the capers that I wanted for my shrimp dinner.  One pound of shrimp ... $13.00.  No doubt the capers would have added $15.00 to the cost.  

I melted butter and threw in some garlic, which turned out to be not enough.  Note to self:  MORE garlic.  Not having any wine other than Barefoot Moscato, I poured in a big glug along with some thyme.  No one will know.  I topped it with parmesan and dinner was served.  Not bad ... not bad at all.  I finished it off with a nice crusty piece of rustic garlic/cheese bread from the store.  I have no idea how much that cost, and I'm not looking ..... but it was YUMMY!

The good news is I have half the shrimp left ... so I can do it all over again.  My splurge of the month!!

It's that time again ... I'm headed out to the garden to admire the tomatoes and check on the weed spray success or failure.  Really, you would think with my black thumb, I could just give it a LOOK and it would die.  That seems to work with zucchini and squash, but with weeds .... not so much!!

That was it ... the longest day of the year yesterday, as Summer Solstice rolls over into shorter days.  

I'll be in the kitchen ..................

HOW OLD ARE YOU??

 Boy oh boy oh boy .... it was a   L   O   N   G   day.  I was up early of course.  Oh to be able to sleep in!  

Take a walk in my garden with me.  These little cherry bings are producing like rabbits!!  Every day I pick the equivalent of one of those little plastic containers from the grocery store.  I've found the secret is to let them sit on the counter for at least two days before eating.  They become sweet as can be!!

These on the other hand, are covered in tomatoes, but they are NOT turning red.  I lost the tag, so I don't know what variety they are.  Not even a HINT of pink is showing up yet.  I'm trying to decide whether they are late bloomers or they're sickly.  I'm hoping for late bloomers.

Around the corner and down to the end of the roses, I was surprised to see this!  Did I miss these the day before or did they just instantly appear?  I have two Early Girl tomato plants barely 12" tall and there are FOUR tomatoes on each bush.  HURRAY!!  

What about the squash?  I picked two more yellows this morning.  I also scrounged through the garage for an hour to find one little propane bottle I can use with my barbecue.  There's going to be some yummy barbecued squash for dinner tonight!

While looking for propane, I found the last little container of Roundup, with barely enough in it to do one spray.  Since there was no wind at 5:00 am, I was out early spraying the weeds.  I've been remiss and they have been taking over the flowerbeds from the lawn.  By the way, I haven't seen company yet ... my guess is she's sound asleep.  

With the outside work done, I went inside to taste test the boysenberry syrup.  It set up a little but, but not near enough.  It certainly didn't matter to me since it soaked into the muffin ... and HOLY MOLY ... that stuff is GOOD ... and addictive!!  

Company finally woke up, got dressed and headed out for her appointment.  We won't cross paths again until July.  That's when I got the phone call.  The King of Bingo received a call about another flat of boysenberries.  Apparently his name was not crossed off.  I raced to the vegetable stand to pick them up.  OH NO she stated ... all gone!  Don't call back, no get!

Okay ... can you call ME instead of HIM next time?  OH YES ..... and so I got ANOTHER call two hours later and drove like a crazy woman to pick up one more flat of those beautiful berries.  I then got on Amazon and ordered two more cases of jars, at half the price I paid in town.  Twelve for $12.00.  I'm in the JAM BUSINESS!  

Sadly, I was interrupted by having to attend a mucky-muck meeting at the lodge.  The big guys come around twice a year to evaluate our performance ... are we going by the book or are we out in left field.  I admit, we are usually out in left field.  Maybe that's why we are the biggest, and by their standards, the best lodge in the entire State of California.  Woohoo!

Apparently I was the chairman of not one, but TWO committees.  Gee, I didn't know that.  The nice gentleman called my name for the Safety Inspections.  The next words out of his mouth were HOW OLD ARE YOU.  Wait ... WHAT?  Everyone in the room broke out in laughter.  EXCUSE ME ... WHAT DID YOU SAY?  How ARE you he stated.  No, that's not what you said!!

There was so much laughter that he forgot what the question was and moved right on to the next person.  I didn't have to answer ANYTHING.  

And then my name was called AGAIN.  Business practices this time.  I had no idea about that one ... someone should have told me ahead of time.  No problem, I said we follow everything you tell us when it comes to accounting.  The crowd broke out in HOW OLD ARE YOU, so we skipped right over those questions also.  SAFE for another 6 months!!

Meeting over, we headed downstairs for dinner.  It was so anticlimactic I didn't even take a picture.  Steak, mashed potatoes, yummy beef gravy, green beans with bacon and onions, and a roll, followed up with red velvet cake.  And off we went upstairs for the Lodge Meeting and initiation of 15 new members.  Oh it was a long night.

By the end, I was exhausted.  I ghosted everyone down the back stairs and headed straight home.  There's no recovery today.  At 8:00 I'm off to set up tables for the annual Bingo dinner tomorrow, only this time it's a back yard barbecue.  Then it's off to the next town to pick up the embroidery work for two more Veterans quilts.  THEN ... it's making potato salad for 50.  Won't that be fun!!  The boysenberries will have to wait.

Maybe, just MAYBE I'll sneak in a nap.  Truthfully I'll probably pass out on the couch about 3:00.  This has been a BUSY week!!!

BIG BIDS!!

 Ooowee ... we heated up to a hot 95 degrees yesterday.  That made for a lot of inside air conditioned sitting around after 10:00 in the morning.  I headed out early to water the crops.  We're doing that twice a day now to keep things alive.  I harvested another bowl of tomatoes and two yellow squash.  I'm guessing my farming endeavor has save me about $20.00 so far.  We're in the MONEY!!!  Oh wait ... I think maybe we just broke even.

Here's Mr. Cooper begging for his morning snacks.  After 15 years, I think we are finally on the same page.  I say NO MORE and he goes and lays down.  It's a miracle!

After a morning hair cut appointment, I pondered my gate dilemma.  I received the FIRST bid from the company in Modesto, a week after it was promised.  I knew it was going to be ridiculously high to replace the gate control, but $8,878.00 was still a shock.  Nope ... not happening.

Well he said ... I do work on the side!  Hmmm how did I know that?  I received the second bid 8 hours later.  $2,800.00 for a cheaper gate opener that he would install for $2,200.00.  WHAT SAY YE?  

I'm spoiled ... and I love my clicker to get in and out of the gate, but good grief!!  Here's the side rail and the end of the gate.  There's no way to put a chain around the pillar to lock it up, so here was my third thought.  If I can find someone to weld a steel loop onto the side rail, I could just chain it to the gate and be done with it.  I've asked around, but so far have not been able to find someone who has a portable welder.  And really, I'm not sure what that side rail is attached to.

This is the top of the rail looking down.  Almost looks like it's just wrapped around a 2 x 4 and painted with some kind of tar.  Even if it's "fake", a chain might deter the bad guys.

Decisions ... decisions!!

I gave up on the gate and went for lunch instead.  Someone brought huge tomatoes into the lodge bar last week, and I was lucky enough to snatch two of them.  Apparently my taste buds have gone south, because they just didn't taste as sweet as they used to in the old days.  Still, the grilled cheese/tomato was DELICIOUS!!

Company showed up right after I swallowed the last bite.  That was it for the day, since all we did was catch up on all the gossip from both sides of the fence.  

What about my fancy expensive sewing machine going on the boat?  Here's the problem.  The handle on the gadget to pull out and secure the fishing rods, broke in half.  It cannot be replaced without drilling holes too close to the water level.  

 I might be able to stitch another handle on since it's just strapping material.  I got out my trusty Bernina sewing machine.  This thing has never let me down ... until now.  No matter how many times I plugged it in, it would not turn on.  Well that's not good.

So I got out my second not-so-trusty Janome.  It tried to sew, but the bobbin kept getting hung up.  That was also a NO-GO.  Good grief ... I still have to try my Singer machine from 1963 ... yes I still have the one I bought when I was two years old!  If that doesn't work, the only one left is my big sewing machine.  It's huge and heavy ... not really something you want to be hauling around on a boat.  

He couldn't find any strapping that would work, so I recommended he buy a dog leash.  I tried stitching it on my table, and it worked just fine.  Sewing when it's on a boat on an uneven surface might be another story.  At any rate, we'll try it next week and see how it goes.  

That was it for the day.  Company went out to dinner with friends and got home late, which means I was up much later than normal.  I've got a big Elks initiation tonight, so I have to be there at 4:00 and won't get home until 10:30 or so.  I'm tired just thinking about it.

No rest for the wicked I guess, because I'll be working my fingers to the bone until Saturday.  Maybe then I'll finally get to rest up ... or not, because Saturday is the big Bingo Volunteer Party at my friend's house, so I get to help set up!!  50 people for a back yard barbecue!  OH BOY!!  

Accidental Syrup and BINGO!!

 It's Tuesday ... and you know what THAT means!  The Magic Kingdom of BINGO is once again in business.  But first ... a quick lesson in jam/jelly making.  Truly, I was happy with the syrup, but since I have another batch to make and prefer jam, I called one of the Elks Lodge gals.  I know SHE knows because once a year at our Vendor Fair, she sells jam.

She asked me a hundred questions ... but the final result was TOO MANY BERRIES and NOT ENOUGH PECTIN.  It doesn't help that there are very few recipes around for boysenberries ... and every type of berry has a different recipe.

We're talking old time here, so truly, there are hardly any recipes to be had in the first place!!  Sure-Jell used to have an insert ... but not any more.  The good news is I can reprocess that if I want, but by the time I HAVE time, I think it will be too late.  Better luck next time which will probably be Saturday!

And so .... on to the Magic Castle!

SO MUCH work today ... sign checks, figure out how much we pay in credit card fees, do a safety inspection because .... oh yes .... once again we have no one to do it, so I'm stuck!  Funny how they only want to volunteer for the FUN things!

The best part was I got to set up the Bingo machine and pull the balls for the Bonanza game.  This is a blackout game where we pull up 50 balls and place them on the board, which projects them onto the screen.  When the game is called, they only have to get what remains on their card to win.  I actually got a feel for the placement and discovered it was easier than I thought ... they are color coded.  Who knew??

Too bad I didn't get the pleasure of calling on this night (or maybe lucky since it's going to be pretty nerve wracking) because there was no one to operate the infernal cashier machine.

It all went pretty well.  I have to admit, I get frustrated with some of them.  We have one lady who comes in with a mask every single time and has to spread out fifteen cards on the table, staring at them for at least five minutes before finally actually making a decision about which ONE to buy.  Then she walks away leaving the table an absolute mess.  Why do you do that??

We try to run folks through as fast as possible so they all get their cards and have a chance to find a table and sit down before the calling begins.  There are TWO ladies who just take their own sweet time.  I could run FOUR through in the time it takes them to pick their four cards.  Everyone gets antsy .. including me!  Then she comes back for four more ... and back a third time for cash ... and back a fourth time for two more!

Is it a full moon?  Three ladies ... it's ALWAYS the women ... cut into the front of the line.  "I only want a dobber" ... and they hand me a $20 bill so they require change.  I'm sorry, but you have to go to the end of the line.  I get the DEATH STARE instantly!  I'm sorry, but DON'T CUT IN LINE.  You know better!!  Oh my gosh ... you should hear the ranting and raving!  I just ruined their chances of winning they yell!!

With no way to get a break, I have to eat on the go.  This time I ordered a BLT from the kitchen at noon, and left it in the walk-in until 7:00.  Oh yeah ... the bread was so tough I actually could not take a bite.  I had to tear off the crust and grind my teeth to get through it.  Note to self ... order something else next time.

Then it happened ... I could hear the ruckus.  Too bad the King was calling Bingo and the Vice King was in Hawaii.  SPLITTING CARDS!!  That's all I heard for twenty minutes.  Good grief!  If they aren't complaining about their OWN cards, they are complaining about someone ELSE'S cards.  

You have to buy two packs of regular games each.  That's not true of Early Bird games.  These two nice ladies were playing one each Early Bird ... and so were instantly accused of splitting their packs.  Even if they did, they were already on game five of five.  It's a little late.  And even if they DID ... it meant a whole $3.00 expense.  I looked at their receipt, said they were just fine and I put in $3.00.  These players ... they are BRUTAL to newcomers!!

All went well until one lady paid for her cards with ALL QUARTERS.  I hate change!  So I had to sit there and count out $22.00 in quarters.  Yeah, that was fun.  

At long last the appointed hour arrived ... 30 minutes late once again because our caller thinks we all just LOVE being there.  Lucky for me, I balanced to a T and was out the door as fast as I could run!!

Today is a hair appointment ... and company ... but no jam making.  I'm just too tired.  There's stuff going on every day and I have to take my big sewing machine for a boat ride.  More on that later.

Have a great day everyone ... I'll be in the garden trying to reclaim my patience and not be such a grump!!

Sometimes You Win BIG!!

 Good Morning World!!  It's been fabulous weather each and every day.  Lows around 60 and highs of only 85 with breezes in the afternoon.  Not a bad summer so far ... not bad at all.

This is my view every morning.  This kid has me so well trained .... he scratches the bowl loudly, sometimes flipping it over, to let me know he's out of food.  

In no time, the bowl is halfway across the kitchen.  Truly, all he wants is snacks, not REAL food.  Unlike me, it's a challenge to get him to eat what he's supposed to.  Okay, I admit it's a challenge for ME to eat what I'm supposed to also!

That does NOT include jam or jelly ... but here we are.  You probably won't believe this, but I have had this berry crushing cone for 64 years.  I guess that makes it an antique, just like me.  Too bad I forgot most all I knew about jam making.  

At least I did remember the gloves to keep my hands from turning purple, but I forgot about donning an old T-shirt.  AND I completely forgot how much WORK it is too.  First off, I could not for the life of me find my old recipe, so I hit the internet.  That was my FIRST big mistake.  

No two recipes are the same, and sadly those that are out there now, don't seem familiar to me.  I apparently didn't exactly measure out the berries and juice correctly.  One recipe said 7 cups of fruit and 8 cups of sugar.  Yup that's a LOT of sugar!

Into the pot it went.  One recipe said to heat the berries first, the other said sugar first.  It went on like that until they were in a hard rolling boil.  One said add pectin first, the other said add it later.  Good grief ... 

Amazingly, I still had my funnel from the old days and remembered exactly how to fill and seal.  Into the water they went for a boiling water bath.  We never did that in the old days ... we just left the filled jars on the counter until the lids popped.  

I boiled them anyway for the appointed 5 minutes before lifting them out.  That was one thing I could not find ... the jar lifter ... so I used a long pair of tongs.  The lid popping began, and was music to my ears.  It means the lids are tight and sealed.

So here we are ... two different sized jars because I had MUCH more product than I had jars.  Of course later I found the jars I needed sitting on my washing machine.  A good place for them, no?

And then came the test.  Sometimes you win BIG!  And sometimes NOT!  I think I now have a good supply of boysenberry syrup!!  So far it has not set up.  I'm guessing I had too much juice and berries for the one packet of pectin.  I just could not make myself throw it away.  

One thing however ... there is absolutely NOTHING like the taste of fresh boysenberry syrup.  Oh my Great Aunt Carry ... this stuff is DELICIOUS!!

And SO ... better luck next time, which will be in two days.  I have yet another 6 boxes of berries to process when I receive the case of jars I ordered.  Hopefully I end up with JAM next time.  Oh there's still hope it might set up a little ... but I'm not holding my breath!

So to make myself feel better about my cooking skills, I threw together these bird biscuits for Jonathan.  

And I made another haul of tomatoes from the vines.  This gardening stuff is a LOT of work!!

Oh and WAIT ... I have yet ANOTHER batch of jam to make with the olallieberries that are in the freezer.  By the way, those were invented by the University of Oregon in 1949 and grow mostly along the coast.  They are even harder to get than the boysenberries.  

I hope everyone knows what they are getting for Christmas!  Next year I'll only buy ONE box of berries.  Oh, and I snuck onto my neighbor's porch, leaving zucchini and tomatoes.  They'll never know!!!!  Next time they are gone, I'll leave a couple jars of syrup!!

A Day At The Park

 Happy Father's Day at the Elks RV Park in Merced.  Located not far off Highway 99, it's the perfect spot for peace and quiet.  Probably even better than at MY house.  Anyone can stay here, but Elk Member prices are a little less.  Call for reservations.

We have quite a few events out here, including our Stag picnic (ribeye steaks for Elks members only) which just happened last month, and now our Father's Day Picnic.  Here's our latest addition ... the ELK.  A little hard to see since he's black metal.  Behind him are I think 35 spaces with 50 amp, most all of which have full hookups.  There is a dump station at the entrance if you need it.   

They have horseshoe pits and just put in a bocce ball court past these trees.  There's also nice bathrooms and a laundry room if you need it.  This picture is before the crowd came.  

Since everything except the drinks was free for your entire family, they cooked up hamburgers and hot dogs with all the fixings, along with whatever salads people brought.  

Just a note here, do you know how long it takes to peel ten pounds of potatoes?  I just found out.  The only thing I had big enough to cook in was my gigantic canner.  I knew there was a reason I kept that thing.  It also took an ENTIRE huge bottle of mayonnaise, 18 eggs, a whole bottle of pickles,  3 cans of olives and 2 bundles of green onions. 

Many people bring their own easy-ups and even tables, setting them up under the trees for shade.  

Our little group stayed under the two sided building where the overhead fans were.  We also pick the last table on the end because it's gets the breeze.  Not that it was that hot, it wasn't.  Remove the tables and you have a pickle ball court.

In the end, lunch wasn't all that great, but as I said, it was free.  They didn't heat up the buns, so they were not the least bit soft, the hamburgers were barely 1/4" thick and my nice big hot dog was cold in the middle in spite of being barbecued.  

It was okay though, since we filled up on deviled eggs and potato salad.  This is just a bit I kept at the house.  Note to self ... don't do that again.  Good grief ... I was so full of potato salad that I was miserable all night long.  It brought on terrible dreams of Cooper and Jessie running away in the mountains and I couldn't find them.  I woke up crying.  Well that wasn't fun!!  No more potato salad for YOU!

Is this not the funniest picture of him you have seen?  I laughed as I gave him a GREAT BIG HUG!!  

As the sun began to set and it cooled off a bit, we both went outside to check the garden.

MORE bounty.  Good grief ... I have so many little tomatoes, I can't eat them all.  I knocked on my neighbor's door, set them on the ground and RAN!!  They called later to say they KNEW who left them and thanked me profusely.  YAY!!  I won't have to throw any away if I can pawn them off on my neighbor!

The night ended with weird skies and I pondered my next project.  I've got twelve boxes of boysenberries to squish, along with 3 pounds of olallieberries in the freezer.  

I haven't done this in AGES ... making jam that is.  I remember juicing berries when I was a kid ... pomegranates I think it was.  Oh I've made lots of jam, but not from berries I had to crush.  

It's okay ..... it's an EXPERIMENT!!!  Wish me luck!

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY

 A VERY BIG HAPPY FATHER'S DAY TO ALL THE DADS OUT THERE!!  It's your day to get waited on and pampered, so be sure and get your recliner ready.  Of course you will probably also have to do all the barbecuing and take out the garbage, but here's hoping it's a wonderful day anyway!

Before we get into the preparations I'm making for the Elks Father's Day at our RV park, I'll finish up yesterday's blog with this.  THIS was dinner after the Flag Ceremony.  Truly, I asked to skip the peas, since being an Elks Kitchen Rat, I knew where they came from ... a can.  

However ... this shrimp scampi is the best I've had in my entire life.  How did I not know about this?  To make it even better, one of my favorite GUYS is the "fish" Chef.  He cooks this individually, in a mixture of butter, garlic, lemon juice and capers.  Sprinkle on a little parmesan and WOW ... it was amazing.  I ate half the potato and half the shrimp ... having the rest for breakfast.  Now I'm on the hunt for shrimp.

And Mr. Cooper was on the hunt for SMELLS.  We were out even before the sun came up.

The sky was weird, but no rain fell.  It was perfect walking weather until he smelled something on the breeze.  That was it for walking.  I never saw anything, but he got very scared, so we literally RAN all the way back home.  The good news is that even though he doesn't see well, he knows right where HOME is.

This little guy brightened our morning on the way back.  It's growing right up out of the pavement, having been watered by every dog in the neighborhood.  You've got to give him credit!  Maybe I should transplant him to my yard.

Once back home, I made the garden rounds.  Here's my very first Early Girl tomato, that appears to be the exact same size it has been for three weeks.  My stash of cherry tomatoes grew once again, since I can't seem to eat them as fast as they are growing.  

I was just cutting off the next zucchini when I got a phone call.  Thinking it was spam, I hit the go-away button.  But WAIT ... there was a message saying (in very broken English) that the barwies I ordered were ready.  Call.

So I called back, to be serenaded by a two minute song straight from Thailand.  You know, the ones with the high-pitched voice singing words you've never heard before in your life?  I listened to the entire thing.  There was no message, unless it was in the song, which I couldn't understand anyway.  I was sure it was the nice lady with my BERRIES, so off I went.

Sure enough, here are twelve containers of boysenberries ... extremely difficult to find around here, and not cheap at $50, about the same price as blackberries.  There won't be any jam making today, but maybe tomorrow if I have time.

With nothing else going on, I decided to try THIS new recipe.  It's pineapple upside down cake muffins ... kinda sorta.  It would be a little more realistic if I had a maraschino cherry in the middle of each one, but they are not my favorite so I left them out.

It's easy ... melted butter in the pan, brown sugar (note to self, add MUCH more brown sugar than the recipe calls for) and white cake mix.  Oh my goodness ... they are SO good!!  No, this is not on my diet, but I've decided every Saturday, I get to splurge on something.  This will get me through FOUR months!

Unfortunately, it also got me two very nice burns on my arm.  I'm sure this is the last of Friday the 13th.  It's hard getting those big pans out of my much smaller oven, even though I had two big oven mitts.

Now limping around in DAMAGE CONTROL mode with ice cubes and burn cream, I sat down to watch the Army Parade.  It made me so proud that they honored our Veterans and the 250th Anniversary of the Army.  These guys that protect us every single day of the year, do NOT get enough credit.  

In the last few hours of the day, I began prep for today's event at the RV Park.  We are hailing back to the old days of celebrating Fathers in style.  It's going to be a big picnic for everyone and it's all free.  Guys even get FREE beer.  It's a big barbecue, hamburgers and hotdogs, with sides brought by the ladies, and tons of games for the kids.  This is FAMILY DAY.  

I'm making potato salad for 50 this morning, so I need to get cooking.  

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY TO ALL THE GUYS!!!