A Gray Day Turns BRIGHT!

 And we are back to RAIN!  Predictions of sunny days ahead didn't last long.  It was a little dark all day as clouds moved in for the duration.  The only way to cheer things up is for my friend Cyndae and I to go where?   SHOPPING!

I played spin the makeup bottles of colors from perfect (except I was running out) to dark brown like I lived in Hawaii, to bright peachy orange.  Perfect if it's Halloween, but not so good for every day.  These bottles are not cheap ... so we were off to Macys to find the exact right one.  No more guessing!!!

Interestingly enough, we met the nicest lady from Lithuania who wanted to move to Phoenix.  You just never know where you will meet fellow desert enthusiasts.  

While there, we noticed the clothing department seemed to be in much better shape than previously.  Who could resist just a quick peek.  Ninety minutes later we were finally walking out the door with new Levis.  You just can't beat that with a stick!!

Right next door is an Italian restaurant, Johnny Carino's.  If there is one near you, you might want to check it out.  Cyndae had a coupon for buy one meal, get one half off.  

We both ordered this amazing chicken scallopini.  Almost anything smothered in bacon, mushrooms and cream sauce would be good, right?  This was fabulous .. and a HUGE plate of food.  They also serve French bread with a garlic balsamic olive oil dipping sauce.  YUM YUM!!

Here's why you might want to find that coupon and check them out.  Our two lunches AND this special $5.99 chunk of lasagna (enough to feed two people) came to $21.00.  No kidding ... how can you not partake of THAT bargain!!  

Happy Day!!!  Now stuffed to the gills, we headed back home.  But wait ... is there a nursery around here anywhere Cyndae asked.  She needed something for a friends birthday.  We got a little lost, but I was finally able to pull into their parking lot.  

This is a BAD place for Nancy to go.  I'll take one of everything please.  The flowers ... the GREEN things ... the pretty colors!!!  I was in Heaven!

I showed great restraint however, by only picking up three big pots of what else .... gazanias.  I laughed when the salesgirl said these are really hard to kill.  You haven't met ME, have you!!  Since those others in my yard are doing so well, I thought more might be a good addition.  I'll get them planted today.

One more stop ... don't you just love it when a plan comes together?  Cyndae needed a birthday card, so we stopped off at the Dollar store.  I'm not enamored so much by the dollar store any more, since nothing is a dollar ... but I did pick up some needed office items that now cost $7.00 instead of the advertised $5.00.  It's still a bunch cheaper than anywhere else however, and it made up (just a little bit) for the crazy price of those Levis!!

And so we finally made it back home in one piece.  I swear, nothing makes a gray day better than good company on a shopping trip!!!  We had a blast!

Back home, we found Mr. Cooper sound asleep ... for all of two seconds.  It was play time!!

It's also time to check on my Macy's order.  Oh yeah ... no more looking like a MAN in the Elks tuxedo.  I ordered a nice black skirt for my meeting night ensemble, because you KNOW the rebel that I am.  It's rubbing off because I talked the other gal into doing the same.  

We greatly appreciate that the Elks Lodge (after many MANY years) allowed women to join in, but kept us in men's wear.  It's time to switch it up, mostly because it's SO much cooler in a skirt!!!  

And now .... I'm off to play horticulture specialist .........

The Saga Continues

It was a slow day here as April begins to come to a close.  Wow ... that went fast!!  It was not the usual sunny day, but an overcast gray day filled with energy sapping cleanup work.  Company was coming.  My friend from Sacramento was on her way.

I had every intention of showing off the gazanias that I had grown from the small cuttings she deposited on my patio.  Boy they are blooming now!!  She didn't get to see anything, because by the time I showed her, it was 7:00 at night and they had all closed up and gone to sleep.  Who knew they did that?  Hopefully today I can show them off.

And so the saga of the gardeners continues like Groundhog Day.  Over and over again!  The last one named Luis was still running over sprinkler heads, cutting them off and never fixing them.  The neighbor's concrete is growing nicely.  He missed several weeks and never applied the weed formula to the lawn, resulting in more weeds than grass.  FIRED.  I had my bank send him a check.

Let's hire the guy who works across the street.  Their lawn is immaculate!!  Sure enough, Eduardo agreed, but for more money of course.  He edged, mowed and left.  It's okay, he promised to replace the broken sprinklers, adjust all of them, put on weed and feed and trim the overgrown hedges next week.  

Three weeks passed.  Each time, he spent 15 minutes at my house, 30 minutes at the house next door where I got him ANOTHER job, and THREE HOURS at the first guys house across the street.  He never did any of the things he said he would ... NOT ONE.  

He did such a bad job at the neighbors place that the husband called him up and gave him what for.  He came back and mowed their entire lawn TWICE (it's twice the size of mine) ... but STILL did nothing for my yard.  That's it Eduardo ... FIRED!!!  I sent him off into the sunset.  He had four weeks to do just one thing more than mow and go.  Just what is up with these guys???

No kidding ... this is getting absolutely ridiculous.  I'm now on to gardener number TEN.  This time I got a personal recommendation from a friend.  I would give her name, but I haven't asked yet.  Her brother does yard maintenance locally, and he is actually an adult.  I'm sure he has a better work ethic since he was raised on a farm nearby.  

He stopped by ... a VERY nice man ... whom I hired immediately.  He even fixed a sprinkler before he left.  He will start next week.  I just know my lawn maintenance woes are OVER!  Besides that, he said he would be more than happy to haul off to the dump, all the junk I've accumulated in the back yard.

To make it a little easier, I got the Weed Man to apply weed and feed to the entire front and back yards, you know, since he ruined a good section of my grass.  Then I found this picture.  Maybe I could get rid of one whole side of lawn (and sprinklers) by having their landscaper replace all that dead grass with something like this.  Not all the greenery, but the bricks and large gravel.  Less mowing, less water usage ... it just might work!

That's when I got the text message from Luis.  YOU SEND CHECK.  I did Luis ... three weeks ago.  I NO GET ... YOU SEND CHECK.  No Luis, I'm NOT sending you another check.  That went on for 30 minutes and he was getting pretty mad.  I'll check with the bank first.

Come to find out, I wasn't talking to Luis at all, but his BROTHER.  Where's Luis???  No answer.  Apparently he's either in jail or off to Mexico for a long vacation.  I called the bank and the money has been taken out.  Whether that means the check was cashed or not, I don't know.  It's one of those Bill Pay services.  Oh boy ... now I get to deal with them to find out if the check was actually cashed.  Oh the fun!!

And so the gardener saga continues as did the Days Of Our Lives.  Anyone remember that one??

Full Moon ... It's A Full Moon

Here we are once again at the time of the full moon.  This is the PINK moon, so named by the Native Americans because it comes at a time of blooming flowers.  It doesn't look all that pink to me, but just wait, it certainly had the same effect.

The full moon is more well known in MY circles as the denizen of crazy people.  When the full moon comes out, there's craziness about.  This time it didn't dawn on me until it was too late.

Hmmmm maybe "I" am the crazy one!!  It was time to try and fix the sprinklers.  Every single one has had the top cut off either from their lawn mowers or weed eaters.  That makes them fill with dirt and not work. Time to try and fix the worst ones.

I got the first one dug and and replaced, but way too late, I discovered the little nozzle gizzy that makes the spray adjustable, was missing.  Big sigh!!  I went and got another one (different brand) and changed it out once again.  Of course I got soaking wet trying to adjust it to a 180 degree pattern.  I kept getting caught by the other two sprinklers that were close by.  SPLAT!!!  Right in the face!!!

One down, three to go.  I got the next one in, but it was watering the NEIGHBOR'S lawn, not mine.  At last I got it going the right direction, but I kept having to adjust the length of spray.  All of a sudden WHAP!!!!!  The little adjustment thingy went flying out the front halfway across the lawn.  

A gardener I am NOT!  Thirty minutes later I finally found it and luckily had another set screw.  I now have TWO working quite nicely.  I gave up.  I'll be off to the irrigation store today to purchase ten more.

Lunch was easy ... smoked pork tacos once again.  I have to fight Cooper over the pork.  Every time he sees that container come out, he starts barking.  Sadly, it's not for little puppies.  He gets a tiny taste from the very middle. 

AND I WAS OFF to Bingo ... after getting a text message from a mad gardener who didn't get the final check I sent him on April 6th.  That's a long story for tomorrow!

Here I sit ... the calm before the storm!  Had I remembered it was a full moon, I would have known it wasn't all me.  People can be weird about the numbers on the bingo packets they pick.  They have to have THE number in THE right spot on the card.  They will go through a stack of 300 looking for that number.

It takes us two hours minimum to get everyone through the line before Bingo begins.  Callers wait for no man, meaning I go as fast as I possibly can so everyone is at their table when the calling begins.

Everyone cooperates ..... except ONE.  Every single week she takes forever to pick her cards.  EVERY WEEK we wait, not only for the one pack, but for all the other EIGHT different types of games.  She doesn't seem to care one bit if she is holding up the line.  

When I finally had them rung up, she turned around and began talking to another lady.  I waited, but not long before (silly me) .... on a full moon night I said "excuse me", probably a little too loud.  BIG mistake.   She went ballistic and started yelling at me for saying something to her every time she comes through the line.  Yes, yes I do, because she makes everyone else WAIT for her to pick her cards.  It didn't go well ... she was still yelling when she walked away.  FULL MOON!!

Everything went great until time to go.  The infernal machine and I had a fist fight over $250.  I couldn't find it, nor was I in any mood to go looking half the night.  I blame it on the full moon.  Finally, on the way home, one of the Knights called me to say he had a payout of $500.  Payouts are $250 ... so THERE IT WAS, way too late to do anything about it.  BIG SIGH.  Infernal machine wins again!!

Finally back home, I looked up.  OH MAN ... there it is ... it's a FULL MOON.  No WONDER it was such a bad night!!  

That's when I heard the "musica" next door.  The big party continues on a Tuesday night.  Oh gosh ... I wonder if this is going to go on EVERY night!!  Apparently their visitor Monday night made an impression because I didn't hear ANY bombs going off, nor was the music so loud I had to sleep in the far reaches of my house.  YAY for small favors!!

There were of course a few cats outside fighting like crazy ... but I can deal with that ... even on a full moon night.

EXPLOSIONS!!!!

Never a dull moment around here as Mother Nature cools off just a tad bit yet again. You just have to have a sense of humor.  Mine is running pretty thin these days, but I'm trying hard to BUCK UP.

Lost hearing in my RIGHT eye too, but it came back this morning with a double dose of fake coffee.  I think it's the sugar rush. 

 I waited around for three hours ... SO very close to making that call to the Ag Department ... when the Weed Man guy finally showed up.  James was his name ... a nice young kid ... as we walked over to the lawn.  I watched his eyes bug out as he said OH.  

Yes I explained, it was not just a small drip.  It was a huge leak that dropped at least 15-20 gallons.  He was the one that could not respond to the kid doing my spraying because he was in Yosemite National Park on another job.  He thought the kid and I were exaggerating a bit.  No ... no we weren't.  

NO PROBLEM he said right off the bat.  We will fix ALL of it, all the way down to those very dark trees at the end of the fence.  I told him this was all sand and the chemicals had gone deep.  He said he would have his landscaper come and dig it all out real deep, haul in new sand and replace the entire area with new sod.  Okay then!  That was easy!  But time will tell.

I told him I felt so bad for the kid because he was kind of panicked and I hoped he didn't get fired.  Stuff happens!!  He thanked me for being so understanding about the whole thing and his landscaper will be here next Monday.  YAY!!  I can't remember the name of the chemical, but it is NOT glyphosate (roundup).  It's something else with a similar name.

Hey ... let's celebrate with some homemade pineapple upside down cake!  I have a big pan that makes huge cupcakes.  I placed a slice of pineapple in each hole, dropped in a little brown sugar and poured in white cake batter.  I think yellow cake mix might have been a little better.

After baking, I stuck the pan in the freezer.  When frozen, they came out pretty easily and I wrapped them in foil.

Time to try one out.  I dropped a little more brown sugar on the top because ... well you know my sweet tooth ... and popped it in the microwave for 30 seconds.  OH MY GOSH!  It was VERY good ... and I don't have to eat an entire cake in three days before it goes bad.

To help wear off the calories from eating THREE of them ... just kidding, I only ate one ... I went outside to try and fix the sprinklers.  Truly, they are easy to dig up and replace.  The problem comes from having two different manufacturers.  Nothing works the same when it comes to adjustments.  I'll have to explain that tomorrow however, because it's a long story.

Finally ... it was time to hit the hay.  Oh yeah ... a nice long sleep before Bingo!!  That's when I heard the noise ... HUGE EXPLOSIONS!  There's a party going on over my back fence.  I saw and heard the tents going up ... on a MONDAY night?  TENTS?  Who does THAT?  So I took Cooper and his blanket to the farthest room in my house.  It was 9:30 when the explosions began.

It was so bad that Cooper went ballistic ... which he NEVER does.  From the flashes coming through my bedroom windows at the far side of my house, it looked like they were in MY back yard.  It rattled the windows like never before.  I'm thinking they must be setting off flash bombs.  It made cars horns start honking all over the neighborhood.

I let it go the first time, thinking it was a one time thing.  The second time was even worse, longer and louder still.  I called 911.  I'm not putting up with this craziness.  I even told them exactly which house it was.  Turns out I was not the only caller.

The explosions continued so I called again.  For the second time, I gave them EXACT directions to the house.  Five minutes later the band stopped, so I knew they got a knock at the door.  I hope they got a big fine too.  The music started back up some time later, but it was very quiet for the rest of the night.  People are just so rude AND STUPID.  There are fields and fields of dry grass very close by here.

It's sad ... it used to be such a nice neighborhood ..........

I think I got to sleep around 11:30.  So much for being rested and awake for Bingo.  I'm hoping something like six cups of coffee will keep me awake long enough to finish the day on a high note.  

What's for Dinner?

 It was just another perfect weather day in sunny California.  The overnight temperature was a whopping 63 degrees.  I'm not sure I know how to handle this!  Today Mother Nature will ratchet it up to 84.  Lucky for me, no air conditioning will be required ... yet.  My house is so well insulated that it stays very cool inside.

The morning started off with a rousing load of laundry.  Not too early .... not too late .... but just right.  If you are using solar power, you have to watch the time.  I'm good between 9:00 in the morning and 4:00 in the afternoon.  Use much electricity after that and my rate triples.  

So far this entire year, I haven't paid for any electricity and I have a $785.00 CREDIT.  That's good because come June, I'm pretty sure the air conditioning will be running.  It was definitely worth the cash output to get solar on the house.  

At today's rates (which have gone up like crazy), I'll have it all paid for in three more years, and have not paid a dime to turn the lights on.  

The better to run my smoker and get results like this!!  About the black part ... that is the fat cap on top.  That is all scraped off and tossed in the trash.  There are some parts that are actually dark meat, called bark.  It's really quite tasty, but not my favorite part.  If it's too dark, I shave it off a bit.

So what's for breakfast??  Smoked pork of course!!  I just cut a few pieces off the side and dipped it in Sweet Baby Rays barbecue sauce.  It's not only MY favorite, but Cooper's.  He doesn't get much, and only from the middle.  No smoke or seasoning for him.

I procrastinated for quite some time by watching the Red Bluff Rodeo.  As much as I was determined to rest up a bit, every time I walked by the sink I looked down to see this.  As much as I love smoking, I hate the cleanup.  No kidding ... burned on grease and pig juice is the worst!

It's actually quite the workout.  I made a big mistake and left it in the black kitchen sink after spraying it with Dawn Power Spray.  That stuff took the shiny coat off the sink, leaving it rather gray.  I filled the sink with water and let it soak another couple of hours before tackling the goo.  Note to self:  clean it in the back porch WHITE sink next time.

So much scrubbing went on that it brought out my appetite.  What's for lunch?  Why smoked pork of course.  Tasty tacos went down rather quickly.  And then I smelled it.  SMOKE!!

Turns out it was ME.  You have to open the smoker a couple of times, which means smoke rolls out like a giant bonfire.  It gets in your clothes, in your hair and in your nose.  I guess there will be another load of laundry today.  What an exciting life, yes?

Jonathan and Cooper kept me company as I watched rodeo after rodeo.  After lunch, I even went outside to soak up some of that wonderful warm sun.  If I keep doing this, people won't think I'm a white ghost any more.

With the smoker finally cleaned up and ready for the next one, Jonathan decided to get into cleaning mode too.  Birds preen constantly ... cleaning out dander, just like kitties ... and any critters that might be lurking.  Luckily for him, there are no creatures to kill, but he does pull out different feathers at different times of year.  

Right now it's the fluffy white down feathers that you can find in every corner of the living room.  As you walk by, they go POOF and fly across the room.  

Other times of the year, it's his flight feathers.  He's also good at chewing the perches.  See the one above? That was the perch he chewed the end off, which landed him on the bottom of the cage.  I put in a new perch, and darned if he didn't start to chew THAT one too!  So now this one is wedged in the cage over the latest one to keep him from doing it again.  

Yes hardwood tree perches might solve the problem, but you have to be very careful about bringing anything in from outside.  Wild birds have lots of nasty things that will kill inside birds.  Been there, done that.  I had to give him shots for an entire year.  It was not fun and Jonathan was very lucky to have survived.

So what's for dinner??  Smoked pulled pork of course ... on a nice toasted bun with a pile of Cole slaw.  Yummy yum yum!!!  I have to admit, this brought back memories from the early 70's.  Anyone cook one of those CANNED hams?  

Back when money was tight, I used to heat up a canned ham, but it into pieces and put it through my old fashioned grinder.  I mixed in some barbecue sauce, put it on hamburger buns and wrapped them in foil.  Into the freezer they went.  

When dinner came around, you just heated it up in the newly invented 400 pound microwave ... the latest and greatest ... and dinner was served.  So what was YOUR favorite CHEAP go to???

When we got paid, we had fried pork chops, pork chop gravy and fried potatoes.  Nothing like a little grease to get you going.

Today the Weed Man guy is supposed to stop by.  Hopefully this morning, because this afternoon I'm calling the Ag Department as a backup.  I'll let you know what happens.  Maybe it was something that will have no affect other than a little dead grass.  My fingers are crossed.

I'm Smoking Again!!

 I probably shouldn't speak too soon, but the weather in California has returned to its historical self.  At least for the time being.  It's a gorgeous 57 degrees this morning.  That must be why these gazanias (thanks Dave and Ed) are finally blooming.  I've never in my life grown anything that looked this amazing.  If I can find some more, I'm putting them in ALL my flower beds.

It wasn't exactly a relaxing morning since I had to get my act together WAY too early for me.  Oh I get up VERY early, but I rarely ever leave the house before 10:00.  

I have to admit that the current group of Elks Officers are volunteers extraordinaire.  These guys have their act together!!  I arrived at the perfect time to give them the microphone system, but late enough they had already convinced my friend Kathy to sell raffle tickets.  I still ended up being the cash register since they forgot to bring something to put the money in, but that was okay.  It's what I do!

Almost 200 folks showed up this time.  I think that's a record.  Probably because Mother Nature put on a gorgeous show of sunshine.  This is our RV park out in the country.  If anyone is passing through (Elks member or NOT), you won't be disappointed with the green surroundings and the QUIET.

A short walk from the RV parking area is this huge building full of picnic tables, that turns into a pickle ball court if no events are happening.  No kidding, some company donated the entire thing ... including rackets and balls for our use.  There's horseshoes and any number of other games to keep you occupied too.  If you have a group come in with you, you can even use the kitchen to cook (for a fee I think).  Truly, I wish I had their stove in MY kitchen.

THIS was the free dinner for members.  Talk about a HUGE steak!  That paper plate is as big as they come!  Garlic bread?  No one has ever served THAT around here!  They did forget the sodas for those of us who don't drink beer, so I called one of the officers who just happened to still be at the store.  By the way, all the beer you could drink was free also.  I brought the entire steak home.

The raffle caused me some minor problems.  Three guys left, leaving their tickets for me to watch.  One more left, but came back just in time.  I was watching bundles of tickets for numbers.  AND THEY WON!  Every time I pulled out a ticket, I had two more bundles to watch.  In the end, we all won one item.  

Finally back home late in the afternoon, it was time to start smoking again.  This is one of my favorite things to do.  These big pork butts take some time, so it all started at 6 pm.  The butt went in and the smoke started rolling.  

Four hours later ... I can't believe I stayed up that late ... I turned the smoker off and set the oven timer for nine hours.  At 4:30 this morning, I was out with thermometer in hand to see how long before it was done to 180 degree perfection.  

YIKES!!  It was already there!!  I expected a couple more hours of relaxation before I frantically sprayed it with apple juice and wrapped it up.  Okay, not exactly apple juice.  I forgot to get some, so I sacrificed one of my Pepsi's for the occasion.  Our construction crew (most of them born in Mexico who later became citizens - legally) always used Pepsi when cooking pork.

And THEN I remember this is a bone in.  They cook faster!  I think it's okay, but it will sit in a cooler for a couple of hours to soak up the juices.  

I'll break it open, cut it in half and freeze most of it.  Oh yeah ... I'll be chowing down on pulled pork sandwiches for dinner!  I can't wait.  Is your mouth watering??  By the way, I will cut off the too-dark bark.  Though it does taste really good, I doubt it's healthy for you ... all that smoke and all!!

I'm happy to be smoking again!!!

Tongue In Cheek

Goodness sakes ... how in the world is it April 20th ALREADY?  It seems like we just started this month and it's almost over!

Here we are Thursday night at 10:00 pm.  I'm hiding way in the back, unseen, discussing the next event ... another steak dinner for members only.  You can tell this is a great organization by the number of people we having joining every month!  These are all new members and a few officers.

 Just to be sure everyone knows, my description of the Magic Castle of Bingo, including the King, the Knights of the Round Table and my Fairy Godmother is a tongue and cheek version of a great night of fun.  Sure, there is always one person who is unhappy, or who might try to slip something by us, but let it be known that all those BINGO folks are the stars of the show.

Maybe spending all that money is not MY thing, but they are the reason the Elks Lodge can donate so much money to help kids in our County and beyond.  If it weren't for them, we would not be donating close to $100,000.00 a year to charity organizations doing good things for kids.  From baseball uniforms to burn centers ... we do it all.  

Even if I grumble, I look forward to every day working in the dungeon.  Elks members may not all be my best friends, but if I ever needed ANYTHING ... they would be there for me.  It's a great organization run by a lot of hard working volunteers who can always use MORE help.  

So if you are bored, have lots of free time (or even a little free time), join your local Elks Lodge and help out, if only for one day a week or even one day a month.  They will surely appreciate your help.

This was us most of yesterday.  I just could not get off the couch!  Actually, I was waiting for the Weed Man guy to show up and inspect the lawn as per my morning request.  Nothing ... I heard crickets.  I finally called back at 3:30 and asked for the name of the herbicide they used and the owners name.  They pled lack of knowledge.  

My patience was running thin.  I guess it's not a big deal.  They won't be able to replace the grass for at least a year due to the chemicals soaked into the soil.  Hopefully they will show up on Monday as requested, or I will be making ANOTHER phone call to the County Ag Office.  It's frustrating.

To ease my angst, Cooper and I played the ball game on the back lawn.  Boy these roses are some happy campers!!  Every day there are more and more blooming.

Dinner might have been good had I cooked something.  I picked up a big pork roast in readiness for some smoking, but plans got changed.  The Elks Lodge is having their big Stag Picnic today at the Elks RV Park.  Someone accidentally put MUSIC on the menu, when none was available.  Since my friend donated that big speaker and microphone system, we hope to be able to set something up via phone bluetooth.  We'll see if we can get it to work.  

That of course means I'll be out at the park early.  There's more barbecued steaks, horseshoes, beer and lots of good food, all for free if you have paid your dues.  A sneaky way to get more members paid up.  

Hopefully I'll have pictures tomorrow, in between getting ice, because one of the refrigerators died a slow death.  I'm thinking that will be our next lodge approved purchase.  I hope everyone has a wonderful warm day in the sun!!

I Was A Whirling Dervish!

 Oh my GREAT AUNT SALLY!  It's 61 degrees this morning in sunny California, heading on up to a whopping 81 by 3pm.  I think spring only lasted four days and we are diving right off into summer.  No, I don't have a Great Aunt Sally.  

If I did, this blog might be a bit longer.  My bad on this day, I didn't get hardly any photos to share.  I did run across this one however, and I think it suits me just right, except I will be jumping out in Levis and boots.

Nothing, absolutely NOTHING, can make me clean house faster than a friend calling and saying they are stopping by in an hour.  Things magically disappear, tables get dusted, the floors swept and things stuffed into drawers faster than the speed of light.  I was a whirling dervish!

I rarely EVER have company, but when they call to say they want to donate not one, but TWO microphone systems to the Elks Lodge, I immediately become available.  She wishes to remain anonymous, which is fine with me.  Obviously they are Elk kind of folks with a giving nature.  Even Cooper put on his best show of affection.

I admit, I was tired.  My tip of the day is do NOT try to stitch up pieces for a quilt when you are tired.  In no time, I had 18 pieces, all sewn together WRONG.  Talk about hanging your head ... mine almost hit the ground.  It took ten minutes to stitch it up and 60 minutes to take it all apart.  I wasn't taking any more chances.  I put it away for another day.

In the blink of an eye, it was time to head out yet again.  This time I was all dolled up in my tux, wishing I had a black skirt that fit.  The second I hit the door and the HEAT, I went into slow motion mode.  A skirt would be SO much cooler.  Even the lodge air conditioning didn't help.

The minute I arrived, I was cornered to discuss scholarships.  We give out a LOT of them to students with good grades ... most of them in the top 5% of their class.  This year we surprisingly have so many applicants with outstanding records that we need to find more money.  I'm sure we can come up with it, I just need to do some research.  

It was BIKER night at the lodge.  Surprised?  Most people are.  We have a huge contingency of motorcycle riders who are supported by our club to the tune of 235 dinners on this night.  I think the raffle after dinner was a record setter.  Or maybe it was the 16 ounce ribeye steaks that were cooked to perfection.  

There was lots of business to be conducted at the meeting after dinner, meaning it was a VERY long night.    There were not one, but TWO written ballots to be voted on ... that's always fun ... along with the passing of the budget which we almost forgot to do.  Another 30 folks were initiated and we are up to something like 1595.  That's amazing since most clubs in our neck of the woods are lucky to have 200 folks.

At long last we were out of there like rats leaving a sinking ship.  No one ever hangs around long, but I did this time to get the phone number of the newest Trustee just elected.  Remember ... DELEGATE!!!

Dogs and Halos

 You say tomato, I say tomahto.  Some call this a sun halo, others a sun dog.  You just never know what you are going to see from my back yard.    Wasn't I surprised when I went outside yesterday to hang out in the hot sun, hoping to pass over Hump Day WITHOUT working.  

When I sat down on my lounge chair with my cold drink, book in hand, and looked up, THIS is what I saw.  Not in all of my many years have I seen this here.  It's supposed to be good luck, but really, it's just ice crystals forming in the air which is supposed to let you know there is a big rain storm on the way in the next 24 hours.  

Well that's weird because the weather guessers say we'll have sun for ten days in a row.  It's a sign .... of what, I'm not sure, but it's a sign.  Over an hour later, it looked like this.  Again, those clouds are a distinct sign of rain ... or so the Indians of old say.  It lasted for quite some time before disappearing into the blue sky.

Maybe it was a sign I'm going to get my side yard fixed.  Since no one bothered to contact me, I called them.  I explained to the gal that this was not just a minor little spill and that I needed to talk to the owner. She was pretty shocked when I told her it was 15-20 (or more) gallons of product that soaked into the ground.  I even mentioned the 150 square feet of sod that had to be replaced.

I knew they thought the kid was exaggerating ... but he wasn't.   They are supposed to stop by tomorrow, so we'll see what they have to say.  It's going to take them awhile to dig out all that stuff that soaked in before it hit the fence line.  

I took one short sunning break since I needed to hit the store for some Jonathan food.  Cole law .... he gets lots of Cole slaw.  The last time I was there, I picked up a roasted chicken ... mostly for Cooper.  I know, nowhere near as good as Costco.  This time it was terrible, so I mentioned it to the cashier.  

She said to write down my name and phone number.  Back home on the lounge chair, I was pretty surprised when they actually called me back.  I didn't want anything from it, I just wanted to tell them their chickens tasted terrible.  She immediately offered free chicken, or chicken with a lot more seasoning.  

No thank you ... I just want a chicken that tastes good.  My spidey senses kicked in.  You are buying grass fed chickens, yes?  It's the same bad taste that comes from grass fed beef.  Are you buying Foster Farms chickens?  Because they are the biggest producer around here with millions of birds being processed just down the highway.  

No she said ... they come from Tyson.  That answered my question.  Tyson doesn't have the best reputation when it comes to chicken.  She offered TWO free chickens this time.  No thanks ... I'm not into eating bad tasting chicken.  I guess Costco, though farther away in another town, will be my go-to.

I laid out a little longer and admired my roses.  These are the only thing I've ever been able to grow with some success.  

And looky here ... yet another gorgeous flower from the cuttings chopped off in Sacramento.  I discovered the whole 5 foot square area is covered with flower buds.  It seems however that they will only bloom one at a time.  That's weird.  I don't even know what it is called, but the colors are amazing.

Sufficiently cooked and now sweating up a hot storm, I gave up on sun sitting and went back inside.  More rodeo ensued because you know, watching cowboy butts is not a bad pastime.  I'm just thankful none of my horses ever bucked like the ones they ride nowadays.  Good grief those horses are WILD and CRAZY, mostly the new crop of young ones coming up in the rodeo circuit.

There was a little sewing going on, but not much.  That center block that looks a bit darker, is MUCH darker in person.  I've only got five big squares to go, but have lost a bit of momentum when it comes to sewing.  This is the busiest month of the year for the Lodge, so maybe things will slow down now.

Dinner was short and simple.  I discovered these individual sized pie shells a while back, making it SO much easier not to cut a wide swath in a big pie.  This is key line pie ... one of my summer favorites.  I know it's not summer yet, but it sure tasted wonderful.

It's lodge night once again ... with an initiation of another 30 people into the club.  We used to have maybe 30 people in an entire year join up, but now we are having 30 people every single month.  Yessirree that means another penguin suit night.  It's always a black tie affair.  

To make it even MORE fun, it's going to be the first of many safety inspections to be done.  Hopefully my LAST since all I have to do is show the new victim ... I mean recruit ... what HE has to do.  I should be home free after that.  It's all good because he's a VERY good looking cowboy who looks GREAT in those Levis!!  

Passing It On Again

 Good Morning California!!!  It's a fabulous 57 degrees on this lovely morning, which means a high of around 78 this afternoon.  I think Spring has finally arrived!!  I am happily opening the morning door and turning on the fans to bring in the lovely smell of moldy grass.  Hey ... it's better than moldy manure.

The sunrise was a nice one.  It's just so weird to me to take pictures looking this direction.  It seems to be 90 degrees to the left of normal.  Is that right for this time of year??

In the meantime, you know what this picture is ... the Magic Castle of Elkdom.  I'm beginning to wish I was a little younger.  Maybe I would have a little more stamina!  The first meeting began at 11:00 in the morning.  If it weren't for having to gain some sanity from Cooper every few hours, I would just set up my sleeping bag in the attic.

The meeting ... way too early in the morning for me ... resulted in no results.  I came back home hoping for a little nap, but could do nothing but think about how to resolve the problem.  Nothing ... I got nothing!!!

Well hello Magic Castle ... I was back at 2:00 to sign a pile of checks.  I also ran into the last two Trustees who resigned, and I thanked them for telling me all about my duties.  Truly, they told me NOTHING!!  I can only laugh.  I discovered quite by accident that I have to do a safety inspection from one property line to the other, and from basement to attic.  EVERY MONTH.  The list is long.

I have been told many things in my long life, and one is DELEGATE.  In other words, pass off everything you can so you don't have to do it all.  I'm taking advantage of that one.  I'm gathering up the other three guys and passing on my newly acquired knowledge.  This may not be what they were talking about when they said PASS IT ON.

It was finally time for my all time favorite game (okay, not my FAVORITE) ...... BINGO!  The crowds came in, the money flowed and the bingo cards were lost, along with THREE red tickets.

I fooled everyone this time.  I smiled like the Cheshire Cat!  I am very engrossed and concentrating on every dollar that goes in and out, so I rarely look up.  One of the problem children was at the register.  All done, all sold ... she just stood there.  I went straight on to the next customer.  I handed her the correct amount of change and went on to the NEXT one.  

I looked up just as the second one said ... where's my change.  Ummmm I handed it to you?  Nope ... the first gal had grabbed the change AND the red ticket ... WHEN SHE ALREADY HAD HERS.  You can't tell me she didn't know what she was doing.

Everything came to a screeching halt while I chased her down and made her give it all back.  My fault ... but she COULD have said that wasn't hers.  Alls well that ends well.  Or at least that's what I thought.  The King brought up not one, but TWO MORE red tickets he found on the floor.  Oh yeah ... I was just waiting ....... like a cat ready to pounce on the mouse who said I didn't give him a red ticket.

Well guess who it was .... the lady who took the change that wasn't hers.  KARMA!!!  We all had a big laugh, she got her ticket and normalcy returned for the rest of the night.  Well most of it anyway.

There is always someone who calls Bingo when they don't have one, or they call it so quietly that the caller can't hear them.  If he calls the next number, you lose.  It happened twice.  The torches were lit and the pitchforks came out.

Did I mention my Fairy Godmother is back?  Oh YEAH!!  Come to find out, SHE ended up winning that game, and TWO MORE to the tune of $1,600 in total.  No kidding ... that girl is a lucky charm.  I told her the next time she goes gambling locally, to take me with her.  Maybe she can change my luck!!

And so ended another lovely night in the dungeon, though on THIS night there was no blood.  Lots of scratches, but no blood.  

Now for a long days rest!!!