Banner’s Big Adventure

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Banner’s Big Adventure

Everyone has Big Adventures. Remember Pee Wee Herman’s Big Adventure? And there’s Thomas the Tank Engine. There’s a whole series of books about those adventures.  We mustn’t forget Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure . So why shouldn’t Banner have an adventure too?

Escape Artist

Everyone knows Banner is the World’s Greatest Escape Artist. Houdini had nothing on him. If the door is opened even a crack he’s out! Through your legs, through the door, Tail in the air he heads for Freedom.  Then he makes friends with anyone standing in the hall. All my neighbors know him. He even met Bella, one of the neighborhood dogs. A big dog.  That cured his escapes for about a month. 

Locked Outside

Anyway back to this BIG ADVENTURE. 

I was working. I have a part time job  as a Door Dasher. I try to put in a couple of hours every weekday. I save weekends for when the week has been slow and I need to make a little more. If I’ve met my self imposed quota for the week I get the weekend off. Anyway, I was “Dashing” and not at home when my longtime housekeeper came to save me from being overwhelmed by cat hair. Mainly Banner’s. With this over the top heat he’s been shedding like crazy even though I brush him everyday. She’s been helping me out for 4 years since I freely admit I’m not the best housekeeper in the world. 

So she was in my apartment on her own. She’s heard me say every time she comes by “Don’t let the Cat out.” ” Watch out for Banner He likes to escape.” But clearly she never “heard” me. Somehow She let Banner out. Not sure if he got out when she came in or when she left. All I know is that when I got home Balboa was there but no Banner.  I’d just finished searching the apartment when I heard a faint MEOW.

Welcome Back, Banner

I stood very still and listened. The meows were coming from the front door. So I opened it and there the little miscreate was. As soon as the door opened he shot inside. I don’t know where he was hiding because he wasn’t  in the hall when I came home. My upstairs neighbor was just coming in the outside door and said he was wondering if that was my cat.  I’ll have to ask him if he let Banner in from the great outdoors or if Banner was just in the hall when he came in. In any case I hope Banner has learned his lesson, at least for the next month or two.  

Banner is 4 Years old today

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Banner’s Birthday

It’s hard to believe its Banner’s Birthday and he is  4 years old today! Those 4 years went by so fast. He was such a cute little thing when I brought him home. Now he’s a big fluffy orange tiger cat. Yes, he has the orange cat single brain cell. He makes me laugh most of the time. He’s also a catnip addict. 

Banner Photo credit Deb Neumann

Banner Was So Tiny

When I first brought Banner home he was so tiny and cute. I had no idea he would turn into such a giant Floof ball.  His picture popped up in my Facebook feed. I wasn’t looking for a new cat but he was just so cute. His adoption was handled through Project Safe Pet. 

First Day- Photo Deb Neumann

Banner- Photo credit Deb Neumann

Banner Really Grew Fast

After a couple of months I worried that Banner would be lonesome if I went back to work in an office when COVID passed so I got him a little friend.  Balboa was only a couple of months younger but look at the size difference! Banner was already a big boy!

Banner and his little friend

Balboa is so small next to Banner he looks like a little mouse.

Time flies

Banner soon fluffed out into his grown up cat fur.  Don’t you think he’s a beautiful boy?

Photo credit Deb Neumann

And He just Keeps Growing!

Photo Credit Deb Neumann

The Orange Cat Single Braincell in Action

Banner is sure that he is hidden in the box. 

Can you see me now?

 

photo Deb Neumann

photo credit Deb Neumann

Did I mention that his favorite trick is to steal my fitbit off the charger every morning. Sometimes I catch him and sometimes it turns into a search for the fitbit.  He hides it well!

More Floof

How can you not love something so fluffy. Yea he gets brushed every day and he’s quite the DIVA about it. He has his own brush and comb and expects me to groom him even before I can get myself ready in the morning.

Hello Again

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Hello Again

I know its been too long since I’ve posted but it seems time just gets away from me. That’s a weak excuse since I’m retired and should have lots of time on my hands but it just seems like there’s never enough.  Lets see if I can catch you up.

February

Hello February! For a short month February always seems like the longest even if it is my birthday month. Winter has been rainy but not much snow until the week of my birthday. As is tradition we got a snow storm that week. Still nothing major but then it got real cold so what snow we got froze into icy lumps. All in all a miserable month.

Add to that it was a leap year and on the 29th of February I got a call from the Chevy dealership. They wanted me to turn in the Equinox. I agreed to talk to them as long as the new car was 4 wheel drive and the payment was less than what I was currently paying. I went in at 2 pm and didn’t leave until 7 pm but when I drove off the lot it was in a 2024 trailblazer and a lower monthly payment. 

 

TrailBlazer

March

And Then It was March. Hello again March.

When I left the dealership it was too late to call the bank about my next payment for the Equinox. I was told not to make that so I tried to cancel it online. According to my bill pay the payment was already in progress. On March 1 I called the bank to see if they could manually cancel the payment but they said no. I immediately called the dealership thinking I’d need to do new paperwork to reflect a lower payoff but I was assured that GM would send me a refund. Thus began a month long battle back and forth between the dealership. GM and me with everyone telling me I was wrong. Hey people this isn’t calculus. Any 5th grader should be able to understand.  I made an extra payment. Give it back.

Anyway, without dragging the story out too much, I finally got someone who took the extra step and found where the mistake was made. They stopped looking at the paperwork and looked up the actual amount the dealership sent to GM. Guess what, the dealership had called for a new payoff before they sent any money which was why GM didn’t have my extra payment.  2 days after that I had my refund. Yay!

The other thing I did in March was start looking for a part time job. Nothing was coming along that seemed to suit so I finally applied to be a Door Dash delivery person. I was attracted to this because I can make my own hours. I am more interested in flexibility than in the amount of money.  By April the background check was done and I was on board. Now I just needed to do a “Dash”.

April

Home warranty

 

In April I started “dashing”. So far opportunities have been limited as Taunton seems to be a quiet area. I’m hoping things pick up with nicer weather. We also had the HVAC inspections to do in the condo before May 1.  My news wasn’t good. The heat exchanger was cracked and the whole unit needed to be replaced.

I have a Home Warranty but when I submitted my claim it was turned down flat. So much for the promises the Home Warranty companies make.  I was back and forth on that for the rest of April.

May

And that brings us to May. I finally got the new furnace/ AC installed yesterday. So nice to have heat when I get out of the shower! It only cost me $7000.  The installers were nice guys too. Both are cat lovers so tolerated Banner & Balboa and made sure neither got locked in the utility closet. So as you can see I haven’t been terribly busy but the things I have been dealing with could be called “Big Ticket”. It feels like its been a lot but fingers crossed , things will be back to my dull normal now

 

 

 

Rainbows and Leprechauns

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Happy Belated St Paddy’s Day- All Rainbows and Leprechauns

3,800+ Leprechaun Rainbow Stock Photos, Pictures & Royalty ...

Leprechaun Rainbow Stock Photos

I hope your day was filled with Rainbows, pots of gold and Leprechauns. Did you do anything to celebrate? A pint of Guinness or just a green beer?. I made beef stew. Its not quite Irish stew but close. What is the difference between classic beef stew and Irish stew?  According to the internet its all in the meat.  Traditional Irish Stew uses  lamb (mutton) while beef uses, well, beef. 

a very cute and adorable few day old lamb

Lamb stock photo

59,500+ Beef Cattle Stock Photos, Pictures & Royalty-Free ...

Beef Cattle Stock Photos,

I love making stew since we have slow cookers now and I confess, I often cheat by using the McCormick Slow Cooker Beef  Stew seasoning packets.  I’ve found it keeps the prep simple and the flavor consistent. But whether I make it from scratch with beef broth and seasonings or use the packets one step I never skip is browning the stew meat.

I dump all those little meat cubes in a plastic bag with flour, salt and pepper and give them a good shake to coat. Then I toss them into a hot cast iron pan and brown the sides.  Once they are all browned up into the crock pot they go.  (By the way, I started using a liner and it makes clean up a breeze. )

My mom used to add a can of Veg All but I just chop up celery, carrots and onions and lots of potatoes. Any kind will do but I like the Yukon gold the best for my stew.

Beef Stew- Photo credit Deb Neumann

Basic Beef Stew Recipe

INGREDIENTS:

  • 2 lbs beef stew meat , cut in 1 inch pieces
  • 1/4 cup all purpose flour
  • 1/2 teas. salt
  • 1/2 teas ground black pepper
  • 1 1/2 Cups beef broth
  • 4 medium carrots, sliced
  • 3 medium potatoes, diced
  • 1 medium onion , chopped
  • 1 stalk of celery, chopped
  • 1 bay leaf

INSTRUCTIONS:

  1. Place the meat in a plastic bag or large bowl and coat with flour, salt and pepper
  2.  Brown the floured meat and place in your crock pot/ slow cooker
  3.  Add Broth, Vegetables and bay leaf to the slow cooker.  Stir to combine.
  4.  Set Slow Cooker. Cover and cook on low for 8-12 hours or high for 4-6 hours. 

NOTES

  1. You can add other seasonings to taste like garlic, paprika, a dash of Worcestershire sauce for example. Like I mentioned above, My mom always added a can of Veg-All. 
  2.  I’ve used the low setting and the high settings and I have the best luck for tender, fall apart meat with the low setting. Long and slow wins in my house every time but when time is an issue I’d rather use high and a shorter cook time than go without.
  3.   AS mentioned above, the McCormick Slow Cooker Beef Stew Seasoning packets produce a consistently flavored stew and are easy to use and you don’t need the beef broth when you use them. Just water

 

Hope You all Had a great day!

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