Updates from the desert

Boy life sure does tend to get busy all the time, which leaves no extra time for writing.  I hate that but I know things won’t be like this forever.

Luckily, we aren’t working seven days a week now so that’s a good thing, although short-lived most likely, as the holidays aren’t even here yet when we seem to live at our place of employment.  As bad as it is holiday decorations are up all over now.  Xmas stuff showed up the end of September.  This is so disgusting to me.  It seems Thanksgiving is left out entirely most of the time.  Don’t people celebrate this day anymore?  Instead the isles are crammed with Halloween costumes and decorations and Xmas trees, ornaments and gift wrap. 

 Check out this beautiful sunrise

 

Thank goodness we have still had some decent temps here in the desert.  I know this situation will be changing soon, but for now it’s lovely to have the windows open and of course the cats love that.  I just wished it never got any colder.  I’m not looking forward to those days at all.

Hubby had cataract surgery last week and still has to do the other eye in another week.  His are spread two weeks apart, which I’m sure is because of Columbus Day coming up on Monday.  His experience has been different than mine.  He saw red lights and then white lights during his surgery.  Now is the stage when glasses aren’t really helping much at all (okay for one eye, but not the other one).  But this doesn’t keep him off the computer, or from watching TV.

 This is a male finch sitting on the edge of the water bowl on the patio

 

I have another eye appointment next Tuesday to see a specialist who comes here from Seattle once a month.  One of my eyes drips and runs constantly.  Supposedly, there’s another surgery to correct that.  The doctor says it’s covered by Medicare, but I have no idea at this point what the copay is or how much it is and what will be done to my eye.  The other eye is responding well to the dry eye drops I’m using in combination with an allergy eye drop.  I don’t know what I’m in for yet, but I’m really tired of having to wipe my eyes every five minutes.  But it’s that or let the tears run down my cheek all day.

 This is the amino acid for circulation.  I'm hoping it works.

 

When I had my consultation with the foot doctor who took care of the blisters on my feet, I was telling him about my circulation problems in the winter.  This only affects my hands and slightly my feet.  He recommended an amino acid called L’Arginine.  It’s not cheap and is bitter, but I figured I can endure anything to see if this helps.  After all, dead-looking fingers aren’t too attractive and I do have to work with the public serving food.  Plus, I can’t be rubbing them under a hot water faucet several times a day to bring them back to life.  So I started this stuff on the autumn equinox.  It’s powder that I mix with white grape juice.  There will be an update on this later.

In other news, car problems are an issue again.  I now need new shocks on the back of my car and the suspension system has to be serviced and straightened.  (I have to say this is original though and has never been replaced.)  This problem is wearing the inside of my back tires bald.  This repair is over $1.000, so my mechanic suggested I just buy new tires every year instead of doing this repair to a twenty-year-old car.  Tires aren’t cheap either at about $200 a piece, but I can afford to drive the car a while longer this way.  He said I may be able to go longer before replacing tires because I don’t put many miles on the car.  This is still in the thinking stage so hopefully the car will cooperate a bit longer before I have to replace the worst back tire.

 This is Jamie and Claire from Outlander

Here's Jamie from Outlander.  What a hunk of man and so brave and chivalrous.

 

Working doesn’t allow me much extra time so usually after dinner I try to watch recorded episodes of Outlander on Starz.  This is relaxing time for me.  I got hooked on this book series a few years back and have read all the books, but watching this show makes me want to drag them all out again and reread them.  I simply couldn’t put these books down the first time and even carried them to the kitchen to read while cooking.  If any of you are fans of time travel, historical Scottish highlands, sword fighting, romance and history, you should check this series out.  They are well researched and written and exciting enough to keep you turning the pages to see what happens next.

 The roadrunner preening itself on our wall.

 

I guess this is long enough for this time.  It’s back to work tomorrow serving free lunch to the Costco members, some of which never buy anything and have told me they are there only for lunch.  I sure hope my golden years aren’t so boring that I look forward to my daily Costco lunch.

Smokin’ hot here

We’ve been teased by thunder and cloudy skies the last couple of days but so far not much rain at all.  All the plants are really suffering so I wish we’d have a good old-fashioned downpour.  We really need it.

Work stays busy and the weather stays hot so no other news in that department.

I finally got to see some adult quail with a big pre-teen family.  We haven’t had many quail families this year.  I think the roadrunners have already scattered from the nest I’ve been watching too.  The other day, hubby spotted a young roadrunner in the front of the house.  It got scared and ran for the tree on the lot next door.  I imagine it feels safe there.  We think there are at least two eggs that hatched successfully.  These little guys are smaller than the adults and have some downy feathers. We weren't able to grab the camera in time to get any pics.

 VitaCoco Coconut Water

 

Today I had a demo for coconut water at work.  I don’t know how many of you know how good coconut water is for you.  It’s a natural hydrator and replaces lost electrolytes.  I actually had a gentleman ask me if he’d end up in the hospital if he drank it.  WHAT!  Wasn’t he listening to my pitch for the product?  Sometimes I really wonder about people.  I guess I’m just flapping my gums to hear myself talk.

Xmas in July

That’s what I thought today as I stood at my demo at work putting samples out as fast as I could get them into cups and onto the trays.  I never saw this much traffic in the middle of summer.  Not everyone has left town to escape the heat. 

Speaking of heat, the desert has been in the triple digits for the past three weeks with no end in sight.  We have to wear so many clothes to work that I was practically sick from the heat by the time I got off today.  A penguin suit isn’t the coolest thing in the world.  And on top of that we have an apron, gloves, hairnets and hats and heavy duty shoes with socks.  I wasn’t made to wear this much clothing in the summer, but its part of the job and probably why I always have an athlete’s foot problem.

Costco

I knew it was going to be a rough day when I arrived at work and there were already about a hundred people there ready to rush in with shopping carts once they opened the doors.  Today most people weren’t the least bit interested in hearing anything about the product at all.  They wanted to eat and even announced they were there for lunch.  Of course this isn’t everyone that comes in shopping and eating, but probably ninety-five percent of them.  People can be the most impatient creatures I ever saw sometimes.  We have barrier screens up to give us a place to prepare the samples before we’re ready to put them out for the hoards that are waiting.

Sometimes these guards do no good.  People will reach over, or snake their hands and arms through a tiny crack to get a sample early since they have no intention of buying anything anyway.  Would you go into the kitchen of a restaurant and help yourself?  I don’t think so.  And then they look so aghast when we have to throw the whole tray away and start over.  They don’t even seem to care if we’ve just swept up the messes on the floor and need to change our gloves to serve them.  They want the food NOW.

Thank goodness for the understanding shoppers because they do make us feel better about doing our jobs the right way.  It’s really nice when those people come along because preparing food and cleaning up after people while I’m smiling and acting cheerful all day is a tough situation.  Just standing on my feet all day is hard enough and the sweat running down my back doesn’t help either.  So the friendly people can really make my day.

Have a wonderful July Fourth everyone.  Be safe out there and cherish family and friends.

Raven's ready for the holiday

Why are vacations too short?

The time always flies by so fast and then before you know it, it’s time to get on the plane and fly home.  I really wish they lasted longer, but of course we always have other commitments, like work, to return to.

One of my sisters picked me up from the airport.  She’s adventurous and can tackle all the Houston traffic, which none of my other siblings can do except for one of my brothers.  Tedo, our nickname for her, can always find the time to do everything that needs doing too.  I really admire that about her.

She had taken lots of time off her work at the nursery so we could have some good sister time, along with family time.  She said just what I wanted to hear, “there are no schedules while you’re here.”  Yeah.  I love those words.  I hate being a clock watcher and swear one day, if I ever do retire, the alarm clock is going out the window.

I’m glad she took all that time off, although I wasn’t expecting it because I know the bills keep coming whether you’re working or not.  But she does work two jobs and probably needed a vacation too.  She did go to her second job while I was there, which is working as a food demonstrator at Costco, like I do.  In fact, I helped her get his second job last November because they cut hours at the plant nursery in the fall and winter months.  Now she only works one day a week at Costco, but that will change when fall comes.  One thing I can say is that this job is very flexible.

 Here's my sister, Tedo, at her booth at Costco

 

Her boss was a demonstrator at our store before he took the management position in Texas.  He was really over qualified to hand out food samples and did a lot of the road shows and such until this position became available.  I knew he would hire her because she’s a great worker and dedicated to doing a good job.

Here's me at my booth in Costco in my store a year ago

So, believe it or not, I actually packed my penguin sit, apron and hat, etc because I was hoping to go to work with her on the days she worked.  With our job, you can easily transfer from store to store, but her boss is still too new to the job to make any waves.  So I wasn’t able to work after all.  As a result, I walked around her store during her shift and visited all the other employees, took lots of pictures and looked at all the products for sale, some of which we don’t have because it’s a different region.  We were still able to have lunch and a break together.

She wants to come and visit me next year and is hoping to work in our store while she’s here.  I know my boss would be all for it in a minute, so I hope by then her boss has his feet wet and is able to click the two keys on his computer to make it happen.

I know Tedo will be in for an awakening though because our store is a lot busier and our customers aren’t as nice as the ones in her store.  But I warned her about this already.

More adventures are coming in the next post with more pictures.

Early bird Dinnertime

Yes, Costco seems to be the place for those early bird diners.  We see the same people daily in our local store.  They just come to eat, which is obvious when they have no shopping carts. The eaters that do have them use them to lean on and the basket is covered with sample cups.  I’m not joking.  I see this daily.  There are also walkers who come to eat, no carts needed, and people in those motorized scooters who zoom from demo to demo.  Don’t get in the way because they’re likely to run you over.  They hit our food carts daily because they’re reckless drivers.  All they can think about is free food.

Hubby and I were in Costco shopping today because we were both off.  There’s no time to shop when you’re working, unless you already have a list and can grab those things and run for the checkout after work so you can get on the road for home.

As we were leaving the daily diners were coming into the store through the other door.  It was then that it occurred to me they’re using Costco for an early bird dinner place.  Why not?  They can make the rounds for the next two hours and eat as many samples as they want for free and then go home.  I’m sure they think their Costco membership allows them to have a free dinner like this everyday.  And not only that, but they also feed their “service dogs,” which are far from that because a service dog doesn’t eat on the job. 

Some of the eaters even have the nerve to tell us that our samples are too small and they serve bigger ones in other stores.  Really?  Well, what are you doing in this store then?  Of course we can’t say that even though we’d like too.  These same people will complain if we have nothing good to eat that day.  This isn’t a restaurant people.  We serve samples so that members can sample before they buy because the food at Costco is in large quantities.  Period.  We have a nice snack bar upfront if you’d like a meal.

Yesterday I had a customer who told some other shoppers “no, you can’t have another sample.  They aren’t feeding you dinner.  These are samples.”  Bless you, lady.  Where did you come from?  I wish you were in the store everyday monitoring things.  Of course we can never say anything like that to a member, but it’s nice when these real people come along.

It’s Candy Time

Lindor Candy Balls

I did my first road show this year at work.  We usually do a two-shift event for a week or ten days at a time.  We do Lindor candy the first ten days of December.  This was great fun because candy always puts a smile on everyone’s face.

And we get to wear Christmas red aprons, no hairnets and no plastic gloves, so you can actually style your hair and feel like a candy fairy handing out candy from your “goldilocks” basket.  Oh my!

My co-worker and I worked until 9 PM.  Most of that time we had a line, but most of the people waited patiently.  After all we only have two hands a piece.  All the little kids had eyes as big as saucers.  You would think they were making the hardest decision of their lives when I asked them what flavor of chocolate they wanted.  It was smiles all around and that doesn’t happen often enough.

This candy is fabulous.  If any of you haven’t tried it, you should.  It’s Swiss chocolate and is chocolate over a chocolate truffle.  Every piece of Lindor candy is wrapped in shiny, bright foil paper. 

 What a great marketing idea.  This thing is almost the size of a volley ball.  But it's a candy dish filled with candy and wrapped like a giant candy.

We sold lots of candy that evening.  This is what got the most attention.  You can imagine this giant piece of wrapped candy.  Everyone thought it was a huge candy ball but is, in fact, a candy dish filled with milk chocolate candy and perfect for gift giving or setting out for company during the holidays.

The store was closed by the time we left so they had to let us out a side door.  The night crew was busy restocking shelves on their forklifts but, from the looks of it, I think they were having fun racing around on those things.  I had to smile.  When we got up front they had pulled out all the seating and tables from the snack area and were mopping the floor getting the store ready for tomorrow.

Everything was quiet except for the engine hum and the faint tooting horns of the forklifts in the distant.

Isn't this nice?  Why can't everyone be this thoughtful?

On another note, a few days later, a customer brought us each small gifts of holiday chocolates she makes for us every year.  What a wonderful thing to do for a complete stranger who doesn't even really know any of us outside of the store.  This small gesture makes the holidays special.  

Did someone throw me a life raft?

My breakfast frittata and smoothie

Ha!  Not exactly but that’s what crossed my mind when I put this great breakfast on a plate.  Wow!  Not that I don’t always eat real food, but things like this are a treat.  My usual fare is cereal, kale and fruit smoothies, big salads and peanut butter and rice cakes.  When the scale said 106 this morning, I thought I would splurge.

I love eggs scrambled up frittata style with onion, peppers, carrots, artichoke jalapeno dip, cheese and tomatoes.  Wow!  It’s so good but most of the time I don’t have the time to indulge in stuff like this.

The bread you see on the side is an Indian flat-bread called Naan.  It can be heated in the toaster and is great with anything.  You can even make mini pizzas with it or wraps.  I discovered it a year ago at Costco when I was doing a demo for it.  And it’s such a bargain at 18 pieces for $4.99.

Anyway as stated, I’m not one to eat much but I thought, I’m home sick and starting to feel better so I better eat a little more and as always, something nutritious.  I’m back at work while you’re reading this today.

 Have you ever seen a bottle this size?  I think I have enough for the whole city.

 

I’m sure after this big bottle of antibiotics I’m bound to be well from anything that ails me.  All these antibiotics do have me a bit worried about my immune system, as antibiotics aren’t a lot of good for that.  I’ve never ever heard of this many being prescribed before.  I almost wanted to call the doctor to see if he made a mistake in giving me 84 capsules!  I do have asthma so maybe he thinks this sickness might evolve into bronchitis or pneumonia.

So today I’m running down to the herb store to get something extra to boost my immune system.  It can’t hurt and I sure don’t need any additional sick issues.

There’s always something new to learn

These are the potatoes and they are really good

Yesterday I was doing a demo for scalloped potatoes. I served over 900 samples.  The potatoes are excellent and taste homemade, plus they’re on sale.  I’m not sure how many I sold yet, but I know it was a lot because they had to come and refill my case once.

You can never work fast enough to keep samples out no matter how much you try.  Sometimes this gets to be frustrating, but all you can do is get into the rhythm and keep going, making sure you put a new pan of potatoes in the microwave every time you take one out.  They take eight minutes to cook.

Of course everyday I meet some interesting people.  But I actually didn’t know what to say when a lady asked me if I was serving funeral potatoes.  I’ve never ever heard that term before.  She went on to explain to me that Mormon ladies make scalloped potatoes for funerals.  Hmmm…Of course I’m not Mormon so I didn’t know this. 

It was good to learn something new because I love learning things I don’t know and always have been this way.  However, I don’t know if I’ll ever look at scalloped potatoes the same way again.  I’m sure that conversation will always pop into my head.

It was such a busy day with a never ending line of people so it was good to walk out of the store and to my car parked in the south forty.  I didn’t even want to get up out of the seat once I pulled the car into the garage.  It felt too darn good to sit down.

N is for Naan Bread

Lately I’ve really become a fan of Naan bread (pronounced Non) and buy it all the time at Costco.  It's very cheap (18 pieces for $4.99.)  These are like mini-pitas.  This bread's particularly good with Indian food, but goes with everything.  I found this recipe for it on Pinterest and want to try it when I have time.  It sounds easy.  And how can you go wrong when there’s only four ingredients?  That’s my kind of recipe.

Ingredients:

4 cups of flour

4 cups of plain yogurt

1 teaspoon of baking powder

1 teaspoon of salt

Directions:

Stir together dry ingredients.  Blend in the yogurt until the mixture forms a soft dough.  Add more flour if necessary.

Knead for five minutes

Place dough in an oiled bowl and cover with a towel.  Let rest an hour or longer (you can leave it overnight if you wish)

Take the dough out and cut into ten equal pieces.  Form into a ball and flatten into a disc.

Heat a griddle over medium heat and also heat your broiler to high.

One at a time, cook each disc for 4-5 minutes and browned on the bottom.  When it starts to puff up take a spatula and move the naan to the top rack of oven under the broiler.  Let cook 1-2 minutes, or until nicely browned and puffy.

If desired, you can brush top with butter.

This recipe makes 10 pieces of bread.  When cooled store in a Ziploc bag in the refrigerator.

Prep time approx 10 minutes

Cook time approx 30 minutes