On The Road (Again)

Keith has been working yard jobs ever since he completed his training and became a real employee. He hasn't been out on the road since he went out a few times early in his training, but got bumped from his yard job and decided to get out onto the road where the job isn't quite as hard (you get to sit in a locomotive) and there aren't as many eyes watching you for mistakes you might make. Of course he couldn't remember how to mark up for the road and was having some trouble with the railroad's computer system, so he called Joe for some help, Joe who just happened to be in the neighborhood shopping at Walmart yesterday afternoon. How handy for us!

They went through the computer system and how to use it again. I watched and asked the questions Keith forgot to ask. The whole system of seniority and how you bid on jobs or put yourself on an extra board really is quite confusing and even more so for someone like Keith who has never worked on a computer other than to check his email before. When he marked up for a road job it put him in the training board where he is allowed a familiarization trip or two so he can get his bearings. How and why that happened we are not sure, but the training coordinator must have flagged the computer to do that, so Joe contacted the guy and arranged it so that Keith could ride with him on his next trip, so off they went at 2am today. They'll get into Barstow about 12 hours later and then sleep at the motel and then get called for another trip back. So, right about now he is somewhere out in the Mojave desert riding along the rails. Clickety Clack.

And I have the house to myself until sometime tomorrow afternoon.

Joe did kind of suggest that Keith get on the road where you make more money just in case things slow down after the holidays and there isn't much work available. Make the money now and put some aside for that rainy day, so to speak. 

Home Alone Again

Keith took off yesterday afternoon to go to Fresno for the week where they are having classes each day in test preparation and then taking the rules test on Friday. I think he has finally (hopefully) gotten his head out of his you know where and realizes that this job is kind of his last hope. Yes, he could go back to doing whatever and not getting paid very well for it, but employers are going to look at someone who left one job after a few months to go to another and then left that one because it was just too much for him and then think he's some kind of royal flake and won't hire him. Plus there is the whole age thing, it's really hard to get a job once you are past 50. Well, you might be able to get a door greeter job at Walmart, but that's about it. So, after more soul searching and anxiety, I think he is in the right frame of mind to buckle down and pass the test this week. At least I hope so.

So, keep your fingers crossed that everything goes well this week and he will be a certified railroad conductor by next week.

So, the s'mores flavored candy corn was just not very good. SO disappointing. They also gave me a stomach ache so I threw the bag away. I guess my senior citizen stomach just can't handle pure sugar anymore.

Yesterday one of Keith's many pieces of paper (he is so disorganized with all his paperwork) was on the end table by the couch and the fan blew it off onto the floor. Not two seconds later Mimi was seated upon the piece of paper.

I was kind of looking forward to a week of alone time, Keith's issues with anxiety kind of getting on my last nerve, but last night going to bed with no one else in the house did feel rather strange. I do like the idea of not having to plan meals for the week, but really I still have to fix stuff for myself, so...not that much of a vacation after all.

I'm working on gift tags and holiday stuff for the shop, not that sales are going through the roof or anything, it's basically just a hobby now, a hobby that costs more than I actually make, but until I find another hobby or whatever, it gives me something enjoyable to do. There's only so much cat poop scooping I can do in a day, after all!

Home Alone

Yesterday Keith went off to work and then about three hours later came home again. I was like WHAT THE HELL DID YOU GET FIRED!?! and he says no, he has to go to Santa Clara to help fix a pump and will be gone all week. And I'm thinking Santa Clarita and why are they putting you up in a hotel when it's only an hour or so down the road? But, no, it's Santa CLARA, which is up in the bay area in case you don't know which we didn't so we had to google it.

They haven't sent Keith out in the field yet because supposedly you have to complete your 90 days probationary period before you go out in the field or even get company uniforms for that matter. But, apparently they had nobody else to send and it's a two man job, so there you go. Desperation always wins.

So, he gets enough stuff for the week all packed up and we go cash the per diem check that he was given, which is kind of cool because he doesn't have to use his own money and then get reimbursed like so many other companies, and they give them $75.00 a day, which means they can get steak dinners each night if  they want. I drive him back to the shop where they are getting a work truck all rigged out for the trip and off he went.

He said he thought he was getting fired, too, when they came up to him and said they needed to talk to him. Uh oh.

It was a little strange last night being here by myself but also kind of nice and I don't have to cook dinner all week. Yay! Well, I still have to fix myself something but when it's just for me it tends to be much simpler than trying to put a nutritious but also edible meal on the table each night.

I went to the grocery store early Sunday morning, and also did that by myself. When Keith goes with me it ends up taking twice as long to shop and costs twice as much as I'd planned. Since he hasn't spent half his life shopping for groceries because someone else usually did it for him, he has fun shopping for food, browsing the aisles and reading labels, while I'm not so patiently waiting for him to hurry up already I'd like to get the hell out of here. Tapping my foot and gritting my teeth.

And, speaking of taking too long, he was supposed to be planting our new shrubs on Sunday and finishing up the patio (still!) and he kept getting so distracted that absolutely nothing and I mean NOTHING got done. A couple of different things got started, but nothing got finished. Sigh.

Brrr and Some Turkey Chili

It's cold outside. There is frost on the ground and it's downright chilly and I've decided I'd rather be hot than cold. I'll change my mind next summer when it's 100 outside again, but right now I wouldn't mind an 80 or 90 degree day.

We put Lucy in the garage the past few nights, not that it's that much warmer in there but it did rain a little on Monday night and there is that frost thing on the ground this morning. Yesterday I found her laying on an old towel on top of a dirty workshirt which was on top of some books and tools, but she seemed comfortable enough. She has her blanket lined basket in the garage with her but preferred the lumpy towel bed apparently. The other cats get a little annoyed that they can't go into the garage at night, but they'll survive. Buddy always thinks there is some party that he is not invited to going on in there or something when the cat door is blocked off. He's like a little kid who doesn't want something until he sees someone else playing with it.

So, turkey chili in the crock pot the other night. I go back and forth using the crock pot, then being disappointed in how the meal came out, then trying another recipe. We had some chicken cooked in the crock pot that was so dry we couldn't eat it, so I'm always a little leery of crock pot recipes. However, the turkey chili came out pretty good. Keith said the recipe was a keeper.

And here it is.

Crock Pot Turkey Chili

I cut the recipe in half for us, which came out just the right amount of food for two people.

1 1/4 lb lean ground turkey
1 lg onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1 envelope chili seasoning mix
1 12oz can beer
1 1/2 cups frozen corn kernels
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped- I substituted a yellow pepper for the green since green seems to not agree with our stomachs the older we get
1 28oz can crushed tomatoes- I substituted tomato sauce since I don't like cooked tomato chunks in my food (gag) and always pick them out
1 15oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 8oz can tomato sauce
3/4 tsp salt

toppings of shredded cheese, onion, sour cream, or whatever you like on your chili

Cook first 4 ingredients in a large skillet over md/high heat, stirring often, until turkey is cooked. Stir in beer and cook 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Spoon mixture into your crock pot and add the rest of the ingredients until well blended. Cover and cook on low 6 hours. Done!

I am home alone today, and after having Keith around so much it feels kind of strange. He is taking some classes in Shafter that are put on by the community colleges for safety training and cpr and stuff for people working in the oilfields or wherever. Yesterday he took what they call passport training and when he first mentioned that he needed a passport to work in the oil fields I was like a passport? Like the one the government gives you so you can travel to other countries? What?

No, it's a passport onto oil leases that shows you kind of know how to be safe.

Today he is taking a first aid and cpr class that lasts all day, yesterday's was only 4 hours. The fees are very reasonable, at $30 for each of these classes and we can write them off on our taxes. He wants to get all of his safety cards updated in case he does need to take an oilfield job and regardless of what field he ends up in, it looks good to have all of your safety stuff up to date. So, anyway, I've got the house to myself today.