I am always amazed at how clever some of my Bingo Buddies are. I had passed a road resurfacing crew on my way to bingo and gotten black tar spots on my white car.

One of my Bingo Buddies told me to put mayonnaise on the tar and let it set for a while.  She said the oil in the mayonnaise would loosen the tar enough where I could just wipe it off.

She was so right!  I got a few take out-packs of mayo from the snack bar and at half time break spread the contents over the tar spots.

By the time I got home from bingo that night, the spots wiped right off with a paper towel.

OK…this one’s a keeper.  I made a batch of these to take to bingo the other night and everyone wanted the recipe, so I knew I had to share it. I have no idea where this recipe originated.  It was given to me by Darla Mallory the innkeeper of the Coral House Inn, a beautiful bed and breakfast in Belize.  Looking out over the incredible countryside of Belize and the clear blue, green waters of the Gulf of Honduras, we enjoyed these scones every morning with fresh fruit and coffee.

1 ¾ cups all purpose flour
½ cup granulated sugar
¼ cup cornmeal
1 ½ tsp. baking powder
½ tsp salt
2 Tbs COLD butter cut into small pieces
1 Tbs grated orange zest
2/3 cup buttermilk
1 egg WHITE slightly beaten
1 cup blueberries
½ cup confectioners’ sugar

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Spray a tin foil covered cookie sheet with cooking spray.

Combine flour, granulated sugar, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt.
With pastry cutter or two knives cut in butter and 2 ½ tsp orange zest (reserving ½ tsp for topping).

DO NOT over work dough.  You should be able to see small chunks of butter.
Mix in buttermilk and egg white until a soft dough forms.

Gently fold in blueberries.

With floured hands, transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface.

Shape into an 8 inch round.

Cut into 8 wedges and place 2 inches apart on prepared pan.

Bake 10 – 12 minutes or until golden brown.

Cool completely.

Orange glaze: (I could eat this stuff with a spoon)

Mix confectioners’ sugar with ½ tsp reserved orange zest( I personally like a little more) and 1Tbs, ( maybe 2 Tbs depending on how thick you like the glaze)  water (or OJ)  until smooth.

Put the glaze into the corner of a plastic bag. Snip off just a tiny tip of the bag and pipe the orange glaze over scones.

These scones can be made with or without the blueberries. You can add nuts, raisins, chopped dried fruit if you like.  This is the kind of recipe you can adjust according to what you have around the house.  I made them with chocolate and peanut butter chips once.  Now those were interesting.

Arthritis…Especially Rheumatoid arthritis, is very painful and can really take the fun out of playing bingo when it becomes uncomfortable to even hold your dauber. Unfortunately this illness has increased about 50% from 10 years ago.  Being a sufferer of RA (Rheumatoid Arthritis) myself, I did a little research to find something tolerable that would help.  The medications most doctors prescribe for this had so many warnings and side effects that I felt there had to be a better way.

My first discovery was that vitamin D most definitely has a very positive effect on your immune system.  If you are a wise Bingo Player, you can actually make the joint stiffness and joint pain virtually disappear by taking 600 to 800 IU of vitamin D a day with a Cod Liver oil supplement or even from drinking Vitamin D fortified milk.

Foods rich in omega 3 Fatty acids like tuna, mackerel or salmon help inflammation by up to 50%. This Bingo Babe personally does not care for fish so I have found that eating a handful of walnuts and adding flax to my morning cereal as well as a good omega-3 supplement has helped greatly.

Did you know that bingo players who eat less than 56 mg. of vitamin C were 3 times more likely to develop RA? An orange or fresh glass of OJ is a wonderful and healthy way to clean up the free radicals that inflame joints.

And last, but certainly not least is smoking. This is a hard one for this Bingo Babe because like most bingo players I do smoke and usually smoke even more when I play bingo. Then I found out after reading an article put out by the Northwest Hospital & Medical Center in Seattle, that smoking actually DOUBLES our chances of developing RA.

Most (but not all) bingo halls have a separate non-smoking room.  It looks like I need to rethink how much I want to smoke and start sitting in a non-smoking area.  I know this is easier said than done, but I will be reminded how important it is to me every time I hold my dauber and feel pain. I could stay home for a while and play bingo online while I try to quit. As you can see, I have also done my research on some of the most fun, safe and secure on line bingo sites available today.  This Bingo Babe’s best pick for online bingo is Desperate Housewives Bingo. (That would be me!)  I have found it to be a great way to meet new online friends and chat while you play bingo.  The site offers superior customer service and is always there to help.  Then of course there are the huge jackpots and a new game starts every six minutes.  Never a dull moment and with a new game starting every six minutes, it would make it easy to resist lighting another cigarette!

And yes, they’re always glad you came.

When the rest of my world becomes overwhelming and I just want to go to a cheerful place where everyone smiles when I walk in the door, this Bingo Babe heads to Bingo Palace.

To this day, when I walk toward the building where my passion for bingo began, I get butterflies in my stomach and have to resist the feeling to skip through the door like a child arriving at a party. The Bingo Palace is like my second home.  I know I will be welcomed “with a big smile” and the stress of the world will vanish when I go inside.

Playing bingo is like belonging to a big friendly club.  Once you learn the basics of the game, you can walk into any bingo hall, in Any Town, USA and almost be guaranteed to meet new friends. For me, it all began here, in a little southern town.

I have since played bingo all over the world, but Bingo Palace has always been my home base so to speak, and tonight along with the excitement of being with old friends, I feel lucky!

After the usual greeting and a quick update on family and friends, I make my way to my favorite seat as the smell of fresh coffee and something wonderful cooking in the kitchen fills my head.

I pass Jackie systematically taping all her papers together.  She stops chatting with her table of friends long enough to flash me a big smile and say hello.  Now this girl can play some bingo.  She is a true example of a player who has developed “Bingo eye”.  She can play and keep up with as many cards as she can reach.  She always arrives early enough to get herself organized, and as you can see by the photo, it has already paid off.

Pretty, yet quiet and unassuming, Amy has turned bingo into a true art. She organizes her playing field (a trait I assume by now you know I admire) and carefully plans how she will spend her bingo bucks to her best advantage.   Being the mother of five beautiful children, Amy relishes her time out of the house, yet considers and strategizes her game like a second job.  I guess when you keep a husband and five kids organized, taping together some papers and focusing on the task of looking for a number which leads to a bingo pattern has to be very relaxing.  She is an absolute joy to share a table with and goes out of her way to spread good luck to everyone around her.

Then there’s Miss Mary…Bless her heart… She always arrives looking like she just stepped out of a band box.  Tonight she had on her red, white and blue sparkly bingo finest.  Of course bingo earrings and a jingly bingo charm bracelet to match. But all that glitter was not nearly as beautiful as the big smile on her face when she raised her bingo hand on a stick to get the handsome, sweet and attentive Bucky’s attention that she had a bingo.  It’s always fun to stop by her table and look over the ever changing collection of bingo lucky charms.  One of my favorite outfits Miss Mary wears is her Betty Boop ensemble.   I’m here to tell ya’… right down to the cushion she sits on, she has everything imaginable with Betty Boop on it.
Mary…You are adorable!

So if you ever find your way to Palatka, Florida, stop and enjoy some bingo at “Gerrylin’s Bingo Palace” located at 201 St. Johns Avenue, phone 386-328-5822.

Linda, Sarah, Troy and Betty will be there to greet you with a big smile and make sure to answer all your questions.  There are 10 to 13 – $250 jackpots (depending on which night of the week it is) along with the regular scheduled games.  You can play high tech with Game Tech computers and they offer very nice computer and paper combos. There is a separate glassed in non-smoking room, clean well decorated restrooms and as they like to say “the friendliest and cheapest bingo in Florida!”

On Wednesday, Friday and Saturday the doors open at noon.  Blazing Quarters (one of my favorite games) begins at 3:30; Silent Speed games begin at 5:30; Early Birds at 6:00 and pack games at 6:30.

Sunday… the doors still open at noon but the Blazing Quarters games begin at 2:00; Silent Speed games begin at 4:30; Early Birds at 5:00 and pack games at 5:30.

Look around and see if I’m there. I’m usually the one wondering around chatting up a storm and looking for the next great bingo story to write, or stuffing my face with one of Sonya’s fabulous brownies….and oh yes, before I forget, if it’s your birthday (or better yet, your Mom’s birthday) you (or Mom) will get a birthday balloon tied to a new dauber and every time the ‘House Bingo Birthday Ball’ comes out, they will pay the birthday person a buck!

Hope to see ya there… and GOOD LUCK!