TGIF! Let’s get right into sharing five random things about our weeks.

1. So I’ve mentioned that our street’s community mailbox was broken into months ago. I think it was right before Halloween. Which means we have to go to the post office to get our mail. Sometimes they sort it wrong, or in two cases, handed us the mail for the entire street. I mean, sure if they want to hire me for full pay and benefits, then I’ll deliver the mail. Otherwise, just give me mine since by law, I can’t just walk in and pick up other people’s mail. So it’s been a bit of a challenge, and we’ve had to carefully track bills and other things that come through the mail because stuff is getting lost. Well….yesterday I discovered we missed one bill that never arrived. It only took an hour or so to figure it out and get it paid, but I’m so sick of this. Fix the damn mailbox. The post office says they have replacement boxes, but the city is the responsible for installing them. And no, we can’t have our own mailboxes because then I might actually get my mail. Sigh.
2. I’ve been cleaning. I’m not a fan of doing this, but since I’m not “working” AKA writing, my brain is insisting on doing the things I haven’t gotten to recently. Some things aren’t a big deal like dusting window blinds or cleaning up some computer files. But then I decided to throw away some old wineglasses. That led to me realizing that shelf in that cabinet was dusty, so I pulled out all the glasses and cleaned the shelf. But once I cleaned that shelf, I had to clean the rest of the shelves in that cupboard…and OMG I’ve started a monster project of cleaning out each and every cupboard and drawers in my kitchen. I mean down down to washing everything silverware holder, and checking expiration days on spices and other items. Why do I do this stuff??? I’m truly grateful for a kitchen with a lot of storage but I’m only about 2/3s of the way through this project with many hours of work already invested.
3. The gopher has not returned, but that ants kept invading. Twice they tried to get in my kitchen, but both times I managed to quell the beginning of the invasion. Well the little terrorists regrouped and got into my bathroom above my kitchen.  We’ve done this dance before with ants. Once they are up there, they can get into the wall that leads to my panty which is their ultimate goal. I know that sounds weird, but my panty wall doesn’t touch any exterior walls so they ants have to go under or over to get to it.  Anyway, past experience has taught us that only using the bug bombs works. Luckily it was a nice day, and we hung out in the garage with Maggie for a few hours, then I cleaned and aired out the house before letting her back in. It’s a pain but that should work while keep her safe from the chemicals.
4. Bright spot moment. Maggie was on a stay command in her bed in the garage and I was sitting next to her. I’d taken her leash off so she could stand up, turn around and lay back down without the collar getting tight.  While I was reading, I looked up and realized a lady was quietly walking two dogs by the house. Maggie was alert and watching, but she didn’t move. I was really proud of her, but honestly, I was also lucky. The dogs walking by were good dogs, so they didn’t react either. But I should have been paying more attention.  Wizard thinks I’m too worried, but it’s my job to keep Maggie safe I don’t actually like her off leash out front. It’s just too easy for something out of my control to happen.
5. I’m getting my hair cut, then hoping to meet Biker Witch (my sister) for coffee if she has the time.

That’s my five, now I’d love to hear yours! I hope everyone has a great week!

It’s been a stress dump week. Actually, some of this has been going on a while but ramped up the fun the last…oh…eight days or so. Including some fun bits of fraud. That’s been handled, but it has the potential to create a little bit of havoc over the next few weeks. But it’s all stuff that can be dealt with.

Sometimes life is complicated.

So what do I do? Walk with Maggie and bake Yesterday I decided to try a different, supposedly chef-tested recipe for chewy chocolate chip cookies that don’t spread too much.

Spoiler alert: They spread and burned.

I knew they would but did I trust my own instincts developed from decades of baking? Nope. And that’s truly what pisses me off. I mean, the cookies aren’t a big deal. I can make decent chocolate chip cookies any time. But I should have trust my own instincts, especially when it’s based on decades of baking experience. I don’t care what pastry school this person has gone to, I know how butter, flour, eggs and leavening agents (in this case, baking soda) work together.

The cookies never had a chance to work as promised. Or at least as I envisioned them.

So the moral of this story? Don’t be me!  Trust you’re own instincts and experience.

P.S.  Can anyone remove this dark cloud looming over us lately? Just asking

P.S.S. Wizard and I are fine, it’s just been a lot of various things happening. Life does that to all of us at some point.

It was a pretty weekend here! Warm in the days, but very nice. Maggie and I took multiple walks, which is how I got in trouble with a security guard So Maggie and I’ve been walking in the field around the new housing track being built. There’s a public access road that leads up in the hills so that’s okay.

But on weekends, I’ve been walking through the construction site on weekends, generally staying on the roads. The security guard in the days is brand news. She’s sitting in her car at the head of the road by the models, and she was talking (yelling) into her phone. I assumed she saw me but didn’t care since she didn’t react as I turned the corner on the side walk and zipped right by her. I mean lets be honest, they are there to stop stealing. I’m a middle aged woman walking my dog in fitted jeans and a t-shirt. What am I going to steal? And where was I gonna put it? It was all I could do to fit my cell phone and house keep in my pockets, LOL

But I got about a third of the way down the street and I see some finishing workers (doing finish work inside the models, no heavy equipment work or I wouldn’t walk there), sitting on some steps, eating lunch and watching me. That seemed weird the way they were all staring at me.

Then the yelling started behind me.

This security guard–a woman around my age–had gotten out of her car and was yelling, “Excuse me! Hello! Hey Excuse me.”

Busted. So I walked back, she started off a bit rough but soon calmed when she realized that I really was just walking my dog. She sort of back tracked and said I could keep going, but I told her no problem I’ll go another way that doesn’t cut through the track.  I know she was just doing her job, etc. So Maggie and I hiked up a dirt road (it’s technically public) and by the time we doubled back and left, the security guard waived, and asked if we enjoyed out walk.  The next day I passed her by staying out of the track and she waived again.  We’re friends now

But I told Wizard this is all his fault because he’s always telling me to stop being chicken about breaking rules. He laughed and asked me if it was really a big deal. No, but I hate being in the wrong. And I was clearly in the wrong so…it’s his fault. Obviously.

Otherwise while I had a mellow weekend.  I’m learning my airbrush, and here’s a picture of one of the projects on my dummy (Styrofoam) cake.

It’s all fondant and airbrush work, and it’s a process to learn it all

That was pretty much my weekend. How was yours?

TGIF! Hope 2022 is going well for you! Okay let’s jump into sharing five random things about our week.

1. No sign of the gopher’s return as of yet. Maggie is on the job!
2. Turbo’s home from school all week with a virus. He was tested for Covid  as a precaution in Urgent Care over the weekend and  it came back negative. It’s just a run of the mill virus, but the preschool has very strict rules for good reason these days so it’s best if he stays home until next week.  Anyway, yesterday Wizard and I tagged-teamed babysitting him. I went out and took first shift, then Wizard arrived for second shift in the afternoon to relieve me. Our son and daughter-in-law were so appreciative, which is nice but we don’t mind helping out. Of course, they wouldn’t let us help until the Covid test came back negative. I totally understand that, and yet, I felt bad for them–they are both trying to work high pressure jobs from home with a toddler.
3. There was no traffic yesterday. It was really freaky. I knew Covid was really bad in CA again, but I left here at 8am and should have been in gridlock.  I’ve done this enough time to know that. Instead, there was light traffic and I made it to their house in record time. Our state has not shut down, but a ton of companies and government offices have been forced to close due to so many people being sick.
4. I bought some cake dummies–they are Styrofoam rounds that I can cover in fondant and practice on. I’m looking forward to trying a few things with my airbrush. These dummies let me practice decorating with much less waste as I can reuse them.
5. Through sheer determination, I got my food processor at the price I wished to pay. Yay. Then I got it home, tried it and washed it all up and….it didn’t fit in the cupboard, LOL. Sometimes, the best laid plans are thwarted by something we don’t think about. In this case, there’s a central pole that stays on the base and it never occurred to me it’d make it too tall to go in the designated cupboard. But it’s all good, I found it another spot and now I have my food processor when I need it.

So that’s my five, now I’d love to hear yours! Have a great weekend!

Oh noes! It’s a gopher!

I don’t know if any of you recall Wizard’s epic battle with a gopher several years ago. It spanned weeks, and the thing traveled through the hills that run along  one side our property before Wizard finally won. I still laugh remembering that battle. Wizard was obsessed, and every time he was triumphant that he’d gotten rid of the creature, another mound of dirt would appear and the whole battle would start over.

But that was before we had Maggie. So we discovered this gopher hole along the back fence. But it looks like Maggie has chased him back to the other side of the fence. Maggie checks every hour or so to see if she can find him. She clearly believes she’s got this handled. And Wizard is hoping that Maggie will be enough to keep him off our property.

Let’s just say I’m skeptical. Did my sweet little Maggie actually scare the wily and determined gopher away? Or is he regrouping for an epic Return of the Gopher to annoy Wizard? I can already picture the gopher burrowed somewhere waiting for night to fall and the big dog (Maggie must look big to a gopher) to go to sleep in the house so he can create enough havoc to drive Wizard into warrior mode?

Stay tuned…

Happy Wednesday!

Happy New Year! I’m posting this a little early on Sunday night. Anyhow, it’s a brand new year! Let’s make 2022 our best year yet. They’re are always challenges, and sometimes there’s sadness and sorrow, but there’s also the joys we embrace and the happiness we choose to live.

Okay, now for my weekend roundup.

Friday, Wizard and I went to dinner…here we are beginning our New Year’s Resolution to take more pictures as a couple before we left for the restaurant:

We just went to Red Lobster, but it was really nice to have dinner out. We also split a key lime pie. Then we came home and watched an interesting movie (Identity), and had a lowkey but fun night.

Until Wizard checked his phone and found out that a good friend suddenly passed away from Covid. We were both completely shocked. It was so quick and so sudden. Wizard has now lost three friends, two whom he was pretty close to. And I just feel freaking helpless. Wizard manages to stay so positive lately while dealing with some real and painful stress. I admire his grit, I really do.

Saturday, we planned to babysit Turbo, but I got a middle of the night text that he was running a fever. He hasn’t been too sick, but they took him to the doctor as a precaution. So since I was home Saturday, I tried the non dairy version of Hot Chocolate Bombs.

Sunday I took the HC Bombs to Youngest and his wife. Wizard stayed home to do some stuff, and I hung out two hours at Youngest’s house. I got to hang out with two of my grandpuppies. By the time I got around to taking pictures, they were both sound asleep

This is Roxy. She’s pretty old, but smart as ever, and always shows me where her treats are in case I forgot (she also shows me at MY house too, LOL):

And this is Phoebe, the Queen of Eating the Wrong Thing, and the Great Rat and Lizard Huntress:

So there was good and bad over the last few days, but life is filled with shades of both, isn’t it?

So how was your New Year’s and your weekend?