Steampunk parts sale

Randy has been working with Dan and Leo this week, and Julienne had enough of him being gone during the day. Today she would not leave him alone. When he was standing she reached up and pawed at him, and when he sat down she was on his lap. She just needed her "Randy" time. 

So he sat with her and cuddled her until she was ready to let him go for awhile, which was good because he had things to do. Today a Steampunk group had rented our bandstand area for a Halloween party; it wasn't a Steampunk party, but we figured there would be some Steampunk organizers there, which would be a great opportunity to sell some of junk spare parts that need a good home.

Unfortunately the party was not a success - I think less than 10 people showed up, and most of those were from a Special Needs Home; they enjoyed the music but had no interest in gears. But we still sold $100 of junk spare parts, almost all of it to live-ons, workers and staff. We sat there and looked at this stuff until we started making up artsy-craftsy ways to use it, and had to have some of it.

Tip Top Meats in Carlsbad

We went back to Tip Top Meats in Carlsbad for breakfast. I ordered the Continental Breakfast, which is described as "European Style assorted cold cuts, cheese and rolls". I have been to Europe, and I know that the breakfast I got at Tip Top consists of at least three European breakfasts! I had breakfast and brought home enough for two lunches.

Street Signs

The road to Valley View is not a major road; it has a lot of curves and gaines/drops altitude, depending on the direction you are going. It goes through a couple of very small towns, one of which has some traffic signs I've never seen before. What is a "Traffic Calmed Area"?

It turns out this is just an official way of saying they've put in some slow-you-down road tricks, like speed bumps (there weren't any) or curves (the whole road was curves) or narrow lanes (again, that describes the whole road). So somewhere there is a good street sign salesman!

Girl's Day Out

Today we celebrated a day off with friends! Ashley drove Patty, Lisa and me to Costco for a little shopping, and afterwards Lisa treated us to Ciao's. As we went inside, we saw our guys' truck parked across the street at the Prohibition Brewery. We made the better choice, though; Ciao's lunch buffet was absolutely perfect today. They make the best pasta, pizza, bread, plus those little sugared bread puffs. And today the group of Italian friends were there again, having lunch and singing lovely old songs in Italian. We grazed the buffet line, listened to the music, and talked and talked and talked. When we couldn't eat any more, we headed back to the Museum. These ladies are great friends, but it's sure hard to get them to pose for a picture!

We got back together again at Ashley's house, where we visited for hours, and nobody minded when I dozed off for a few minutes. The guys were outside working on the yard or machines; eventually they started thinking about dinner. We discussed going out again but decided it would be more fun to grill something here. So Dan cooked hot dogs and sausages, served with toppings and side dishes. 

Allie has adopted Ken as an honorary grandpa, and now she has another one in Leo. Here she is, getting her two guys to put her shoes and socks on.

We all sat outside and talked till 9, which is pretty late for some of us.

2015 Antique Engine and Tractor Show - Day 4

Today was the last day of the fall show and it has been great, but we are ready for it to be over. Randy did what he has done every day of the event - run the slicer. Turkey, beef, tomatoes, anything and everything. 

Plus he helps out everywhere, while I stay over in the Sandwich shop.

The parade runs just outside the back of the Sandwich shop. I was happy to see the big Steam Roller was back in the parade; the guys who work on it are dedicated and talented. And I figured out why I love this so much; this thing's outside looks like a clock's insides.

The big crane was in the parade, too, with Connie riding in a basket again, dressed like a Halloween witch. She's a good sport, because that seat rocked quit a bit.

The crane is usually parked by us, at the edge of the grounds. It was used to build the Hoover Dam, and somehow found its way here for retirement. I didn't know it still ran. The tires are really rough.

And the cab is just as bad.

But, once again, the volunteers here can get almost anything running!

A new addition to the Fall Event is an old tornado warning horn. It makes a horrendous noise, and I love it!

Every evening someone lights the campfire just down the road from us, and a few guys gather to close the day. I haven't been down there - I'm too tired.

2015 Antique Engine and Tractor Show - Day 3

Today was the second Saturday of the Fall Show. I got out of the kitchen today to look around, and I was glad that I did. I was starting to get a bit bored with the whole thing, but getting out onto the grounds brought back my enthusiasm. Every time they have a show here, the car club brings in different, amazing cars.

My favorite? Maybe the candy-apple red 1956 Buick Century. 

My all-time favorite machine, the 1914 Steam Roller Steam Engine, was out this morning, working.

It was hooked up to rock crusher by big belts, and it was running, turning the wheel on the crusher, but they weren't feeding any rocks into the hopper today. 

I can't help but be proud of the roses; this is the last weekend they need to look nice, and they came through. 

Randys' brother Butch came to visit today, bringing his wife Lina, son Michael and daughter-in-law Maria. They arrived in time to take a quick look around before getting good seats for the parade. The parade always includes a few skits; one I hadn't seen before involved the huge D8 Caterpillar bulldozer. A little girl rode her bike on the parade route, was pulled off it, and left bike in the road. Along came the dozer, and crunch!

A D8 Caterpillar bulldozer has a real bad effect on a bike.

One guy actually built a jet engine into a lawn mower; he has the loudest mower in to parade!

Butch was glad to see the Marines proudly represented.

Several young men have bought or adopted old machines here and are making them run again. At this point they have more interest in fixing and less interest in restoring, which I often to agree with. As the T-shirt says, "Paint doesn't make it run"!

And I was glad to see the 1937 Power Horse in the parade again. This is the tractor whose controls could be manipulated with reins.

I didn't see my steam roller in the parade, so we walked over to the Steam Shed and asked about it. The guy running it said that this morning a piece came loose; it might be a simple fix unless the piece broke something else inside; then it would be a big deal. I didn't see the steam engine out the rest of the day, so it might be out of commission for awhile.

After the parade Randy got us some lunch at the Burger and Sandwich shops, then we walked around to see more of the displays. In one of the buildings there are some excellent working miniatures.  And there is a 2 cylinder hand-crank diesel engine that was used for Queen Mary life boat propulsions - pretty cool.

Steam Engine Row is a permanent display of steam engines; they all work, and are housed under a protective shed roof, since some are delicate. Some are huge, while others are tiny. This little beauty is a steam powered coffee grinder, made in the 1930's in Basque, Spain. So pretty! 

We went through the boneyard and watched blacksmiths work their trade, and then it was time for them to head home. Loved seeing them again!

There is a pot-luck dinner on Saturday night, but we felt like getting out. Randy texted Ken and Patty, and we all went out to Oceanside Fish for dinner. Good food, and you can't beat the view. 

I got busy today

Today I made up for playing hooky yesterday. I should have worked with Rod to label clocks yesterday, so I did that this morning. Someone has donated an amazing group of clocks, and we labeled them, in a discreet corner, to identify the year, vendor and item number. 

Then I stopped by the Sandwich Shop and worked with Patty for a couple of hours. She is well organized so there wasn't much to do today.

Afterwards I watered the rose bushes again. I am trying to encourage as many blooms this weekend as possible. I quit deadheading them yesterday; I will take any blooms I can get.

Then I got caught up on laundry. There is one washer and one dryer here, and they will be needed for the kitchen towels and aprons this weekend, so I wanted to get ours out of the way. I should have done this yesterday; since I didn't, I had to get in line to use the machines today. But it all got done. 

Near the end of the day Randy and I took the golf cart out to find Dan and Ashley. We found Dan working to get a red Farmall tractor to start; it was adopted by someone years ago, and every year the guy comes to drive it in the parade. This year it didn't want to start. Randy and Dan tried push-starting it, and when that didn't work they tried pull-starting it. The John Deer that Randy was driving was the noisiest machine ever. He dragged that Farmall all the way around the camp grounds; people came out of their RVs to watch the show, but that tractor just would not start. 

It got too dark to fiddle with the tractor anymore, so we gave it up and visited with Dan, Ashley, Ken & Patty. Then, after dinner, I went over to Teresa & Jack's RV for awhile.

Shorty is better, and the Valley Vista Casino is nice, too

Shorty is so much better now! He's been taking his meds and is back to his usual handsome self.

And Randy has been busy - yesterday he put up a shelf where the microwave used to be. We decided to go with a small convection oven instead of a microwave. I still need to putty over the nails and stain the wood, and then it will be perfect.

But I sure didn't get it done today; today I goofed off all day. I trimmed and watered the roses this morning - they are looking good again.

For lunch, we headed out to the Valley Vista Casino. They have a buffet lunch special during October that seemed worth trying. And it was; I loaded up on avocado, artichoke hearts, mac and cheese, sweet potatoes, french fries and prime rib. It's an odd combination, but I sure enjoyed it. Randy filled his plate with a bunch of things I missed, and for dessert we found chocolate cake, cookies-and-cream ice cream with chocolate sauce and bananas foster.

Then we came home for a few minutes to let the dogs out, and took off again. Randy needed new shoes and I wanted new shoes. We haven't been out shopping together for awhile - it was a nice way to spend the afternoon. 

Unusual day for Shorty and me

This morning Shorty woke up with puffy cheeks and swollen jowls. He wasn't in any pain but something was definitely wrong, so we took him to the vet.

Shorty doesn't like going to the vet.

The vet assistant was great, but the vet was one of those who expects the worse to happen. She said it might be something simple, but the other option was a list of very bad things. She leaned towards the bad things if he had been swollen awhile, and asked us 3 times if we were "100% sure" he wasn't like this yesterday. Yes, we were sure - he spent the evening on Randy's lap, and we would have noticed. So she gave us enough prednisone for 3 days and recommended we supplement it with Benadryl. We gave him the meds when we got home and within 30 minutes the swelling was almost gone!

I had an interesting day, too. I went back to the dentist to get another old crown removed. As usual, I took a valium, got novocaine shots and had nitrous oxide. The dental work went fine and I sort of coasted through the rest of the day. I took a 2 hour nap, and got up just in time for another nice dinner at Ashley and Dan's place. To make hamburger, Randy grounds beef and bacon together, mixes it up, and forms the best burger patties ever.

Dan cooked the burgers on his grill, Ashley loaded the table with side dishes, and we finished with carrot cake. It was a great evening with Rick, Ken and Patty, too. This is a great crowd to hang out with.

A wonderful day

Today Randy started a loaf of sourdough bread working, to be finished later in the day. Then we went to breakfast at Break Water Cafe. The omelets are good but the coffee cake is better. 

And the bathroom is fun, too!

Next: manicure and pedicure. The manicurist was disturbed about the state of my soles; wearing sandals and going barefoot for 11 months out of the year has not been good for my feet. But she made them soft and pretty again.

The manicure followed - just a regular one. I decided not to get acrylic nails again for awhile. They look great but the manicurist has to dremel off the top of my own nails to attache the fake ones. My nails have finally grown out, and I am in no hurry to mess them up again. 

Then we went to the movies, to see "The Bridge of Spies". Very good movie - I recommend it!

We went back home to let the dogs outside, and then Randy finished baking the sourdough bread. 

For dinner he put together one of the great antipasto trays that I love so much. And I discovered that any of those meats on that bread is just about as good as food gets.

And later, when I could eat again, we had carrot cake! Thank you, Randy, for a wonderful day!

Julienne and Shorty

Today was the first time I saw Julienne actually ask Shorty to play! Usually he is the one who initiates it. I am sure she has done this in the past, but not around us. Julienne will never be as close to Shorty as she was to Sugarbaby, and that bothers us, but Julienne has always been a little "different". But today, as they laid on opposite ends of the couch, she stood up, looked over at him, and did a lovely "downward dog" movement towards him. He was so excited it that he belly-crawled across the couch to get to her!

And then play! It is so wonderful to see her engage with him. 

Shorty seemed to know when she was done, so he ended by licking her forehead; it's one of the few gestures she will almost always accept from him.

I think he knows she is "special" and loves her anyway.

2015 Antique Engine and Tractor Show - Day 2

During the show, they start most of the engines in Steam Engine Row at the same time, mid-morning. Most of these are hit-and-miss engines; they run on a flywheel and regularly make a loud pop noise. It's a very distinctive sound. 

One area has a small train that pulls guests around. This weekend a young man was driving it; love to see young people get involved here.

Randy and I worked in the food area again today. Randy generally works with Cheeseburger Jack, while Teresa and I work with Patty in the Sandwich Shop. Today Aunt Jean came to visit the Museum, bringing one of her friends, Marshall. They had a great time looking at all the engines, most of which Marshall knows, and for a finale they got great seats to watch the parade. The parade started with the Young Marines, which now includes Lee, and closed with my favorite, the 1914 Steam Roller. What a powerhouse!