A Day In The Life

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A Day in the Life

Good Morning World. I thought I would share a day in my life. Being retired isn’t easy when you have 2 cats. Mine are named Banner (AKA Fluffy Butt)

Photo Credit – Deb Neumann

 

and Balboa

Photo Credit- Deb Neumann

 

 

(Aka Munchkin or Wreck it Ralph or Sir Talks Alot. Some times he’s described as the “Annoying Little Brother”. If I hadn’t had gray hair when I adopted them I would now. I don’t know what has gotten into these guys. The terrible twos maybe?

 

The Adventures of Fluffy Butt

Banner used to be so quiet.

Photo Credit- Deb Neumann

 

He was a funny kitten. He didn’t want to sit on anyone’s lap but he did want “pets”. When you gave him those pets he would purr so loud his little body would shake with excitement. Then he’d bite you. He thought it was a love bite.  He still gets that way but he’s bigger now and so are his bites.

The Mini Monster

Balboa is much smaller than Banner but he seems to get in more trouble although appearances can be deceiving. 

Photo Credit- Deb Neumann

 

Balboa taught Banner how to open cupboard doors. He also demands attention- constantly.

Photo Credit- Deb Neumann

 

Where Banner bites Balboa stretches up a little paw. He’s got the  “look” down pat. 

Cute cat that looks exactly like Shrek's Puss in Boots has ...

The “Look”- Photo credit- Internet

So cute until he extends his sharp little blades of claws. “Pay attention Hooman!” “Pick me up”  Once up he gets picked up he wants to get down so we can do it all over again.

PBR

One of the first things I discovered when I started streaming was the PBR Championships.  For those who don’t know PBR stands for Professional Bull Riding- That’s Rodeo Baby! Bucking bulls mostly but sometimes they throw in calf roping and barrel racing. I love to watch it but Banner and Balboa , not so much. They have a 2 pronged attack. Balboa climbs onto my lap while Banner sneaks behind my chair and proceeds to scratch. I respond with the compressed air can and both run. (Water didn’t work) It doesn’t keep them away long so I try distraction. 

We have the feather wand and the Red Dot (Laser pointer) They have a short attention span so that only works for maybe 10-15 minutes. I try cat nip and when all else fails treats. In the meantime I am missing all the PBR action.

Glendale to host stop on PBR Team Series schedule | The Daily Independent at YourValley.net

Photo Credit – Internet

Thursday night PBR was on late. 11 pm. I tried to stay awake to watch but gave up around midnight. That’s when Banner decided a serenade was in order.  

Midnight Music

The Meows started just as I was drifting off. Banner was sitting in the bathroom so he could get the most amplification for his melody. I got him out of the bathroom, gave him some heavy duty petting and hoped that would settle him down. Nope he headed for the living room to continue with his distressing ballad. I think he wanted to enlist Balboa as back up singer. 

Photo Credit- Deb Neumann

It took awhile but finally the concert was over. Right at the edge of sleep I was pounced upon, I guess since Banner was quiet now Balboa was bored and decided to come to bed with me. Mind you, I have a twin bed. That was ok when Balboa was a kitten but he takes up a lot of real estate now that he’s grown.

Photo credit Deb Neumann

Finally around 2 AM I managed to fall asleep.

Good Morning!

It’s 5:30 am! Rise and shine. Banner wants breakfast so he’s in the bathroom again.

Banner’s evil face- photo credit Deb Neumann

 

Not only is he doing the cats version of the top 40, he has opened the medicine cabinet and is pulling everything out into the sink.  Ignoring him is not an option if I am to prevent widespread destruction. That means I got about 4 hours sleep.

With the cats fed I decided to share my woes with all of you. The cats decided to explore the kitchen.  You’d think they were deprived. Look at all the toys!

Photo Credit- Deb Neumann

But they’d rather play with a piece of plastic they found under the sink. 

Photo Credit – Deb Neumann

Agh! I’m going to try to get a nap!

 

Are Aliens visiting Earth?

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 Aliens? Really?

Well no, according to the eminent physicist Stephen Hawking. “If aliens visit us, the outcome would be much as when Columbus landed in America, which didn’t turn out well for the Native Americans,”  Link

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Calvin & Hobbes

The Phoenix Lights

Are the Phoenix Lights UFOs? They are unidentified and they are flying so I guess they are UFO’s. The first sightings showed up in March of 1997 over the southwestern states of Arizona and Nevada. There were two distinct events involved in the incident: a triangular formation of lights seen to pass over the state, and a series of stationary lights seen in the Phoenix area.

Illustration from USA today

Hudson Valley UFO’s

Lets leave the southwest alone for a minute and head east, Long before the Phoenix Lights in 1997, the Hudson Valley in New York State was having their own run of unidentified lights. During the summers of 1983 and 1984 the Hudson Valley was plagued by sightings of a gigantic craft, black as the sky, rimmed with bright lights in white, red, or green. It would drift over towns with a steady hum, witnessed by many. It traveled over the Taconic Parkway, Westchester county and parts of Connecticut. The UFO was seen by hundreds of  eye witnesses. 

The object was described as extremely large, 300-400 yards wide. Often described as triangular with a series of lights. As I read this description all I could think of was the Phoenix Lights. 

0095052 Granger - Historical Picture ArchiveUFO: LUBBOCK LIGHTS, 1951. <br />Flying formation of lights photographed by Carl Hart, Jr. on 30 August 1951 in Lubbock, Texas.

The FAA and law enforcement blamed local pilots flying in formation but witnesses said is was 1 large craft, not a series of planes and traveling too slow  for a plane.  It couldn’t be a formation of helicopters because they would make a lot more noise than  this craft.

For more details I recommend reading “Night Siege” by J. Allen Hynek, Philip J. Imbrogno and Bob Pratt

Conclusion

So what is the truth about the fantastic light formations in the sky above the Hudson River Valley? Were they aerial stunts performed by sophisticated pranksters? Or did the flying objects come from somewhere beyond the stars?

Maybe Calvin’s got the right idea

I’m with Stephen Hawking. I don’t think I want to be around to meet our Alien Neighbors.  Its fun in Science fiction but I can think of so may things that can go wrong in real life .

Is It Time to Cut the Cable?

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Cable is so Expensive

Now that I’m one of the retired community I’ve been looking for ways to cut my expenses with the least possible impact on my lifestyle. I’m waiting patiently for the real estate world to recover from the Interest increases so that my retirement account will get healthy again. But  one of my biggest monthly expenses is cable. I have the Bundle which is supposed to save me money but it just keeps going up. Even worse is that there is nothing on TV . I watch only about 5-6 channels  and can probably do the narrations on each program since they are all re-runs. I can’t cut out those unused channels because then I would lose the package with the ones I do watch. 

Bored Girl Watching TV Stock Photo, Picture And Royalty Free Image. Image 45245634.

Stock photo

The phone is part of the package but I get so many spam calls that I shut the ringer off. When I see the message light I check it but other than that it just takes up space on my desk. We all want to remember to get the car warranty updated, right? Everyone uses my cell phone.

 

Spam call vector phone fraud and scam design Spam call vector Phone fraud and scam illustration. Hacker unknown number calling on smartphone. Fake robocall, vishing and anonymous incoming call robocall stock illustrations

stock image

Step 1

Photo credit- Deb Neumann

I started the process a couple of weeks ago when I found a sale on Roku TV’s. For $99 I was able to order a nice TV for the bedroom. I need Forensic Files on when I try to go to sleep. My old TV couldn’t stream so a new TV was needed. That worked out great. The new TV even has an easy to set sleep timer. So far it’s been working great.

Step 2

Now that I’ve figured out the new TV, I took the 2nd step. I upgraded my HULU account to add Live TV.  Then I switched back and forth between cable and Streaming to be sure the Live TV matched what was on the cable. It did! I’m going to see if I can handle streaming only for about a week. I don’t see a “guide” on the streaming platform so I’m probably just not familiar with it yet. Anyway, if it goes well I will turn off the cable and phone next week. I will keep the internet.

Step 3

So as I said, If all goes well I’ll be cable and phone free next week. Then I’ll turn in the cable boxes (That’s $20 just for the box rental) My cable company will want their modem back since it’s a phone and internet modem so I think I’ll buy my own internet modem and then the transition will be complete

Techniclor Formerly RCA TC8305C Wireless Gateway 802.11b/g/n GigaPort x 4 Port Router w/ 2-Voice Lines XFINITY/COMCAST

Image of modem

Almost There

So I’ll let everyone know how it goes. If I decide to finish the final steps it should save me about $100 a month. Hulu is $70 and includes Disney Plus which I’ve been paying extra for. I’m not sure how much internet alone costs but I’m guessing it’s probably around $80 / mo. So that’s $150/ mo. instead of the $250 per mo. I’ve been paying. That kind of savings certainly makes this experiment worthwhile.

I’ve checked the channel list on HULU and all of the channels I watch are there. Just have to figure out how to tell what’s on the schedule, I’m so used to scrolling the channel guide! 

Crepes or Pancakes

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Crepes or Pancakes

I am so proud of myself. I made crepes for the first time about a week ago. I’d never tried to make these skinny pancakes and don’t know what made me decide to try but I am happy to report they were a success. Now this comes from someone who has never, ever been able to make a decent pancake. (Unless it’s an apple pancake) 

Apple Pancake- Photo credit Deb Neumann

Pancakes are supposed to be easy right? Well I have never been successful. I finally settled on super fat (thick)  Bisquick  pancakes or a trip to IHop for my pancake fix. Then I saw an episode on Food Network about pancakes and it’s been percolating in the back of my mind. After all if I can make a successful crepe I should be able to make pancakes, right?

The Crepes

I think of crepes as a breakfast food so I made my first ones Strawberry but I think  next time I will go for savory instead of sweet. Maybe stuff them with sausage and eggs.  

Photo credit Deb Neumann

 

The recipe was very simple and easy. From Allrecipes.com

Basic Crepes

Prep time- 10 minutes

Cook time 20 minutes (Mine was less)

Total Time 30 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 Cup All Purpose flour
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1/2 Cup milk
  • 1/2 Cup water
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 2 Tablespoons butter , melted

Directions

  1. Whisk flour and eggs together in a large mixing bowl. Gradually add in milk and water, stirring to combine. Add Salt and melted butter. Beat until smooth.
  2. Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium-high heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle using approximately 1/4 cup of batter for each crepe. Tilt the pan with a circular motion so the batter coats the surface evenly.
  3. Cook until the top of the crepe is no longer wet and the bottom has turned light brown. 1-2 minutes. Run a spatula around the edge of the crepe to loosen and flip to cook the other side. About a minute more. Serve hot.

Pancakes for One

Photo Credit Deb Neumann

Recipe from One dish kitchen

With a successful crepe experience behind me I moved on to my nemesis, pancakes. I was really brave too. I didn’t even use a mix! Pancakes from scratch coming up and wonder of wonders, they were good!

Prep Time- 5 minutes   Cook time – 10 minutes  Total time – 15 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 Cup all purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 Tablespoon sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 large egg
  • 3/4 Cup Milk
  • 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract 
  • 1 Tablespoon salted butter (melted)
  • 1 teaspoon salted butter for the pan/griddle

Directions

  1. In a large bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt.
  2. In another bowl beat the egg and then whisk in the milk, vanilla and melted butter
  3. Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and mix until just incorporated. Lumps are ok. If the batter is too thick add more milk a little at a time.
  4. Melt Butter in a large skillet or griddle over medium heat.
  5. Ladle about 3/4 cup of batter onto the skillet to make a pancake
  6. Cook until bubbles break the surface of the pancake and the underside is golden brown (about 3 minutes)
  7. Flip with a spatula and cook about 1 minutes more on the 2nd side.
  8. Repeat until the batter is used up.

Even with this scaled down recipe there was more batter than I needed for just me. I made two pancakes for me and probably had enough batter left for 3 or 4 more. 

So which one do you want to try first?

 

Enjoy- They are yummy!