Turning the Page

yes.......... another one bites the dust

Wishing you success and contentment for 2016

The Big ............

............. melt

Glorious sunshine out there
Blue sky and headed for 35 F
water is running everywhere

The ground is white and roads were slushy
now , probably frozen solid
, like stone

From the Tampa Bay Times , DayStarter
The top 10 movies
1. the Revenant
2. Spotlight
3. Inside Out
4. Sicario
5. Anomalisa
6. Room
7. 99 Homes
8. Amy
9. Love and Mercy
10 Ex Machina

A typical year , we never see any of the biggies or nominees -  I saw #10 and was scared
BTW , not both of us , I

Don't get out much , do we ??

As this year , closes out
Please not follower numbers on this blog jumped by 50 %
Thanx ,  cuz , there is hope

Re - packing Xmas

All the little do - dads are back in boxes for another year. The outside lights got un - powered. The living room is bare.
Only the livingware remains - as usual.

We dug out form the first blast of white. Heavy and nasty , approx 2 in after it all packed down and it did

We are into the left - overs form Xmas day. The turkey will live forever but the sides are going fast
TG , there is gravy to cover everything

For a first , the Xmas decor is in the garage. Why ? dunno , giving it a try
The premise is storage bins are stored in the garage - m-t , so why not fill them. See . So , logical.

We are in the midst of a re - warming spell - this time hovering around 32 F , and not + 6
The run - off is voluminous and loud

A Little Sprinkle of

.... stardust
OR / freezing cold
We got winter , official below zero cold ( thats C degrees ) or 24 F
The air is crisp

And , the next social event for us is cancelled
Normally , we do New Years Day , here ( an Asian thing no doubt )
Only 4 could come ( us + 2 ) , so we're dropping it form the calendar
I guess , we de - Xmas early - bonus !

From the TorStar ( # 1259 )

.... the World by the Numbers

Two items , London's Heathrow teething problems
Americans loving the cheap gas crisis

I reported months ago that Gatwick  was the relief airport for London air travel and that it needed relief. But there is a controversy around another runway for Heathrow. Lets be clear ,Heathrow is huge.
Yearly , traffic is 45 million passengers. The numbers are huge as well, $ 1 billion to buy out property rights for 300 homes that will disappear. The economic loss w/out the added runway ,$ 10 billion
The political fallout , well , lets be blunt , no one wants to be the guy that said  " Yes '

Cheap gas , as Will Rogers would've said                                           ' the result of eating at a taco stand '.  
American SUV purchases are up and Americans have taken to the road again in numbers unseen for a decade.

Weather : sGWN is almost balmy. Rain not snow , jackets not coats
green not white
we're waiting for the other shoe to drop

The fab eating and stupidity have caused a blip in the get fit plan
The run is over. 18 days of exercise ended on Xmas day - a day off
Hopefully ,sanity will return.

The movie review for " Mr Sherlock Holmes " w/ Ian McKellen
I am somewhat of a fan of SH. I have read many stories and seen countless enactments of the books. 
This period of his life puts him at 90 y.o.a and fading , SH but fading. Into his life comes regret , in waves , the culmination of putting off feelings for a career. A young lad , son of the housekeeper but an entity around the house in his own right , becomes student and teacher.
How good is this movie - better than anything else this year. Which according to my assessment of the ' Oscar ' process , should mean its a shoo in. 

Stranger than.............

... fiction
Inspiration
I'm watching a Xmas present  ' Mr Sherlock Holmes ' w/ Ian McKellen.
Of course , you might expect a line , such as ' fiction , rubbish , I deal in facts  '

When I was in 3 rd year university , an opportunity arose for me to work the summer for a professor on a research project. My main function was to collect data on Sports fishing on L. Huron. There was a research camp that formed the base for several professors and their crews.
As well , as the creel census and fish research programs , specific tasks would come to the camp as a whole from the Department of Lands and Forest.
One directive brought the whole camp staff into play. The objective was to capture by net and transport approximately 100 carp ( the fish species ). The carp were believed to be a good source of information on the presence of pollutants in the L. Huron watershed.
With much anticipation and enthusiasm the 12 or so young men set out to a neighbouring marsh area.
The high spirits lasted all of 20 minutes. We discovered that carp were fast - fast enough to sprint around the end of the nets as the trap closed. And that the carp could burrow under the net and were able to jump right over the net.
Our little adventure become an all day slog through mucky water with slight successes as 2 or 3 carp would fall prey to our pedestrian effort.
However , job done , an observant fellow noticed that although we drove over 3 1/2 miles to arrive at the marsh that the camp was directly across from the marsh about a 150 yd swim. Gleefully , one after another the guys started swimming home. As I neared the water , one of the older guys tossed me the truck keys and yelled     ' rookie drives , thats the way it is ' and was gone.
I returned to the truck , a 2 1/2 ton flat bed with its tank of fish and climbed into the cab and the manual transmission. You are right.
I'd never driven a standard. I knew the theory but no practice.
The truck lurched forward and seemed to roll backward nicely.
The thought of backing up for 3 miles was not appealing.
Eventually , I was rocking down the dirt road and then onto the well worn lane leading to the camp. As I approached the gate , I noticed a crowd standing and waiting.
A voice called out ' see , I told you not to worry '. A veteran camp
hand stepped up on the side of the cab and poked his head in.
' They said that you didn't drive standards. You did well. How did you shift into 2 nd , 3 rd and 4 th ? '
' Second ? ' I answered
Yes , I'd driven home 3 1/2 miles in first gear !

Weather : we are above normal w/ patchy sky. The week ahead seems a mixed bag of warm / cool , rain / no rain.

And on this day

I'm not sure what you're doing to - day
I hope its w/ family and friends
Encompass them



Good thoughts for you all

" So , This Is Christmas ......

and what have you done
Another year over
And a new one to begin "

Unfortunately , I'm at an age where time is counted in events such as Xmas.
I recall , as a teacher , catching snippets of conversation about the classroom and couldn't help chuckle inside as I heard ' this week end or to - morrow etc '. Their plans were so abrupt and immediate.
Well , there is nothing immediate about my life.
As well ,I've noticed that when things get exciting that its normally not a good thing.
And in this tech - filled world , a whole lot of stuff goes ' whoosh ' right over my head

Yesterday , I was flatteringly called ' the webmaster 'b/c I did sort out that Groupon situation and got a hard copy of the coupon.

And I've yet to figure out the hand held device thingy where you you use your phone for coupons and such. The closest I come is downloading online to my store loyalty card.

The wind is loud and the trees doing a dance out there w/ partly cloudy skies and temperatures racing to 60 F , on DE23

OK knocking off for brekkies , round 2

The Sked

I mapped out the program for chores pre - Xmas.
Yesterday , was the finale 
1) dropped off 2 gifts 
2) thank you basket to the 2nd floor staff at the Nursing Home
3) perishables bought

One last gift xchange but I'm not in charge of that one

Calm is back
As well , a friend from OH wanted me to print a Groupon voucher.
I was given the FB sign in PW and
Nada
Why ?
First error , my computer remembered my acct
OK
Sign in as ' the friend ' 
Yes !!  but nothing was there

This morning , I noticed that there were two Groupons after Google search , one ' .ca ' and the other ' .com '
Duh , if your in Canada , you can't give your location as OH.

Went in through ' .com ' and it was all there

We will be above 50 F , to -day w/ rain and drizzle

#1254

This is the day of winter solstice , Jack Frost comes to stay.
Unoff. we hit 54 F , sometime this aft

Ran errands , all day , dropping off gifts. Two in particular , are long time thank you gifts , dating back to my bachelor days. The two households let me ( or wouldn't kick me out ) stay for dinner , one night a week - home away from home

The Cdn dollar rallied to close at a record low for the loonie
A $ 1 item at the Dollar Tree in St Pete Beach is $1.40 Cdn.

No cheap beer , this year. My $2 U.S. Yeungling is $2.80 Cdn

Tried the H.I.I.T. method again for exercise. The results were not as dramatic but I wasn't interested in pushing the routine , too hard.
however , the HIIT makes the workout go a little quicker.
I'm watching 'A&E - the Planets ' , a documentary on the history of exploring the solar system.
FYI - the largest storm in the solar system is on Jupiter , 3 x the size of earth
the largest geological feature in the solar system is Marinus valley on Mars - the distance from NYC to Los Angeles.
- imagine a mountain 15 miles high ( 3x - Everest )

Oh , Christmas Tree

Yes , the re - jig worked. Pop ! at 4:20P a Xmas tree appeared outlined in the backyard.

The time is 6:06 A and I'm awake and blogging
Stuffy nose. Woke at 5 A , nasal rinsed w/ salt water and can't get back to sleep

Never name your lake ' Poopo ' b/c when it disappears - you got it " Poopo Disappears " , news at 11.
In Bolivia , the country's 2 nd largest lake is gone. Poopo was flighty , coming and going w/ the rain but this year Poopo didn't refill. Climate change ?? The experts blamed a strong El Nino year.

Further , a survey showed that well over 80 % of doctors and pharmacist opt for the generic brand over brand name pharmaceuticals. These two tidbits form CBS ' Sci and Tech '

On PBS , last afternoon , a motivational speaker on ' non aging seniors ' did a demo of ' High Intensity Interval Training ' or H.I.I.T. The concept says , bursts of intense activity followed by a casual walk / rest builds mitochondria which in turn burn calories. She did a on stage version. 20 seconds of arm pumps , jogging and flailing to be followed by 1 1/2 min of a walk.
Now ,of course , I couldn't let this go. I've been trying for alternate work out routines - for interest and as well , I'm into a prolonged sequence of exercise sessions. And besides , I figured that I could flail away in the privacy of the TV room. She did it in front of 400 in the audience and millions ( well ,thousands , after all it was PBS ) on TV
I did , say , push ups for 20 sec and jumped back on the elliptical for 1 1/2 min.
I did the normal time for a work out.

DE 4   normal 5 day cycle                     DE 10 Xtnded              DE20 HIIT

394 cal                                                 435 cal                         555 cal
47:18 min                                             52:15 min                     54:35 min
109 BPM avg                                       109 BPM avg               119 BPM avg
128 BPM High                                      125 BPM High             144 BPM High

The calories burned for DE 20 is higher but the real effect is supposed to be after the work out for HIIT i.e. b/c you create more mitochondria in your cells. And BTW , this HIIT isn't your everyday work out. All the experts suggest at least a day between HIIT jobbies. In fact , some trainers mention 2 days of rest.

Two additional notions ,are :
1) this HIIT started for weight training not flailing away w/ arms and legs on stage. The practioners used heavier than normal weights. This contrasted w/ the old norm of many repetitions for weight training

2) for me the 109 BPM avg has me on the edge of the range for weight control , at 125 BPM , I cross into the range of ' optimal aerobic activity ' . In reality , I'm in the area of BPM which is 82 % of my max Heart Rate

Thus , based on the fact that I'm not using heavy weights or heavier weights and not all the exercises that I do use weights , compared to the lady on stage I'm 1/2 way or less to a real HIIT work out but burning calories like a maniac.

Of course , I woke up hungry at 5 A , go figure !

More to follow on HIIT b/c you know that I can't let this go

And BTW , approx eight to ten years ago , a doctor was pushing HIIT as 20 seconds followed by 1 1/2 min easy walk and repeat / three times a week !
This 3 minute work out was in place of 4 or 5 aerobic work outs of 35 - 40 min per week. Sort of the E - Z P - Z way to exercise.

Five Billion

.......... a big number of hamburgers..... or not
I've always had problems conceptualizing some things , actually , a lot of things
A billion is one of those. OK , what is the 5 billion , well its dollars , that are projected revenues from the Star Wars franchise , in 2016.
Disney , the corp , has leased the imaging rights quite indecently , to anyone w / a buck or mega - bucks in this case.
Another case , of ' whoosh ' right over my head

Weather , felt bitter cold ,  yesterday but it was DE average temperatures w/  wind chill. To - day , has broken sunny w/ blue skies above us. The temp is 30 F , which was the high yesterday but only late afternoon. The week should see us warm.

We are singing the song ' Oh, Christmas pear ' , it is sung to the tune of ' Oh , Xmas tree '. The song celebrates the appearance of our backyard pine which got lights yesterday. I tried to outline the pine and hoped for a ' triangular ' shape. Instead , yes , it looks like a pear or if you're super kind - a snowman. I think this is like the constellations in the sky - a whole lot of thinking outside the box or massive amounts of drugs are needed.
I will go out and re - jig the arrangement. After all , re - jigging is what I do best. And , yes , many ideas are floating around in my head - as in sugar plums , da dum da da !

Reporting : went out and planted a pole to hold the top of the light string , a anchor point. Then tied down the corners of the triangle shape. Now , we wait for 4:40 ? P for the lights to come on

Following a common theme , to keep you appraised of the situation for on going story lines.
 Op Osm , the get fit policy , weight is bang on 166 lb. This is almost 1 year and a bit to the day that I first reported reaching 170 lb from the high of 190 lb ( same weigh scale )

 and to night would be the 12 day in a row for exercise.
Actually , we have a conflict , here. I say that this is the longest continuous run of days that I can remember but M says , her take is that I exercise everyday unless away or ill ------------- ah , 
Knowing M , its me who is wrong

The chow Mein Saga

Run #3 or chow mein , Mark 3

A success. Except in my memories , there are left - overs for chow mein sandwiches. Nope , no left - overs , so far. Kinda sad or good b/c we ate everything

What is chow mein. Purely American or Western influenced
Vegetable base is the Trinity , carrots , onion and celery. I'm using pork sliced thin b/c thats the way , I recall Mom doing it. Next , add bean sprouts (big bunch ) and throw in the mein ( noodles ). Allow bean sprouts to cook and the noodles to soften.
OK childhood returned

The weather has turned to a little above winter temperatures. A chance of flurries , later , cool remains for the week end and then the temperature shoots up around Xmas.

Gaining Confidence

...... and self praise , not so good

To - day , will be run #3 in the quest to make chow mein as remembered from childhood and not so childhood.
The key was sourcing the noodles that Mom and her sisters and relations used. At one time , there were 4 or 5 small specialty stores that retailed Japanese food and goods. As far as I know that number is down to approx 2 in the GTA.
My latest find is an Asian food store but seems to bring in a specialty group of Japanese style food.

And in my attempt to make contact w/ former students. FB has been good and I've re - connected finally w/ another student now residing West of GTA by about an hour.
slow progress but progress

Temperatures are on the way down and will stop , slightly above freezing but then zoom up in the next 6 days
A white Xmas is a close sure thing

the FORCE Awakens

............ but I don't

M asked ' do you want to see the next StarWars episode ? '
Sure when it comes to the used DVD store

We can celebrate the very moderate ' winter 'we have.

Hey , I'm running out of positive news , already

On the exercise front. Presently , I have ellipticked 10 days in a row.
This spell is the longest continuous period. I've changed the routines to be less riding or walking and more weights and calisthenics.
Of course , I'm waiting for my knee to call it quits, The discomfort level is normal or better. I do ice after each work out. As well , I 've started using the ' accupen ' again.
The accupen is exactly what it sounds like. It is an battery powered electrical pulse pen and is applied to ' accupoints ' on your body.
Does it work ? Dunno. It doesn't hurt and makes this humming sound and beeps. 
What more could you want from a device.
You need to research the accupoints but nowadays thats no biggie.
One Google search and you have dozens of sites giving advice.

Reading material. I'm back to my old favourite ' Instrumentalities of the Night ' and my firends Piper , Pinkus and Brother Candle.
Truth be told , I'm skipping over parts , say , 15 pages at a time.
Its not like , I don't know the story. in fact , I kinda feel like , I wrote it .............. sorry , there , Glen.

Another , YouTube surfing find. The song is a James Taylor original , but sung by Jennifer Warnes
' Millworker ' , a must listen choice

Never , Say , Never ..........

the Bond movie ? ................

Well , to - day's theme
Yesterday , a comment after I said that I write  a blog 
" you're one those people " 
Oops ! Done in one
Except her son reads this blog occasionally , not a charter member

My most famous  ' nevers ' 
1. own a credit card ........ guess where that one went
2. belong to an union ............ joined the biggest in the country
3. date a divorced woman .............. yep , you got it !

And , add this , didn't think that I could order on line
This year , it got to the point where , M apologized to the mailman.
He said ' not to worry '

Weather : gray and uncertain but still oodles above normal temperatures

Pre - Xmas

our social calendar starts

We have an annual gift exchange every Xmas w/ M's friend.
The beginning to the social whirl of the season.
Actually , a relatively quiet social scene
Just about our speed

Weather : stayed warm through the night 47 F but will rain and cool down , now , for the week

The Economy of the Oldest......

......   profession

No , not fishing
In the new Greek economy , prostitutes are charging the price of a sandwich for sex. From a high of $ 75 to 4 , the slump in the Greek economy has reached the streets.
This factoid was included in the ' World by  the Numbers ' , the TorStar.
And the numbers game plays out in the U.S.
29           % of young Americans who doubt the American dream
12           % felt that way in 1986

0            % change for Black young Americans
70          % of white workers w/ out a college degree , struggling

$ 58 , 197 is the median income for whites in the 25 - 34 age bracket
43, 957 for 25 - 34 yr old blacks

Criminy , this is , a depressing section of the TorStar.

Good news ??? Alabama plays Michigan for the semi finals of the National Championship. Go Tide.
Arsenal of the EPL, are in second.
Both these teams have been my favourites for decades. Alabama from the mid 60 s and Arsenal from approx 1976.

Weather : gray and very slight wind , temperature holding at 44 F.
Our seasonal average temperature is 33 F. we will cool down this week.
Last year , we had 3 in of snow on the ground ,in this past week.

The cookie company. We are now finished the first batch ( only ? )
of Xmas cookies. Cookies taste like Xmas. Decorations vary from sublime to ............ 
It was our first try. I can't remember rolling out anything for baking
b/c typically I drop batter into cups or onto a tray.
Icing was a new problem. We used pre - made plastic squeeze bottles instead of icing bags. A whole lot of wasted icing occurred.
Of course , not knowing how the icing should turn out was difficult.
Maybe a mite wetter ... but that means longer to set or even not set
We are a cookie work in progress.

Surfing the YouTube

The origin of surfing YouTube , music esp , was to create the personal Top 100 songs.
I actually , started the list way back , say 2005 , while driving home from the U.S.
A character in a detective novel received a gift certificate for i Tunes, he decided to do his Top 100. Lucas had a bunch of Beatles songs and rock groups.
My list started w/
" a Town Called Malice " by JAM , used in the film , ' Billy Elliot '
Since then the list has grown , considerably. The latest entry # ___
is ' the Moon is a Harsh Mistress ' sung by Linda Ronstadt , written by Jimmy Webb. How many ? You see............................
Eventually , you've figured out , I'm supposed to join i Tunes or a similar service and download the songs.
Well ,cheap me , said , ' keep surfing Youtube ' to play your Top 100. 
I think your supposed to have songs on your phone. Then you listen on the subway or at the Drs office or walking on the street.
I think.... No / Yes

Weather : dreary out there and we are above normal , way above but cooling to almost seasonal in 4 days.

The social scene. This week , I met w/ former students , twice at the same restaurant , a sushi place. Their work history includes ' a top bank ' sending this message " we will , of course , pay for your hotel stay or if you prefer your present apartment "
Come on. Never , in my life has that happened. the girl ( lady now, I still think of them as 18 or something ) , shrugs when I ask her to repeat the hotel bit. ???????????????   I'm too old or too ........... 
anyway , she's well paid........... I figured that part out on my own

No News ...........

........... is good news , usually

The weather ala El Nino continues w/ warm and slightly damp over the sGWN. We set a record for daytime high to - day.
warm and windy

CBC , Sci and Tech had an item , announcing the first full moon on Xmas day since 1977

Our holiday schedule is out and it looks pretty light but then it usually is. 
We pre - Xmas on the DE 14 that is an away game
We have 2 home games w/ time off for good behaviour.
We have turkey at home Xmas day - an away game w/ turkey on Boxing Day ( or return day in the U.S. ) and we host New Years Day , a Japanese hold over thingy

Eat Like a Man

or .........................

Men prefer meat and fatty meat at that
         are usually not hungry after exercise
         don't fantasize about food

Women crave sweet
              are starving after exercise
              and often dream about food

OK - Caitlin / Bruce - better move over , I'm a cross - eater

I dream of breakfast
Thinking of Mom's chow mein was obsessive
And I'm not satisfied - its got to be better .... will be better

Oops ! 

Weather : cloudy and damp looking but so unseasonably warm
O/v night the temperature stayed at 4 C

On the social scene : I'm not sure if this is a Xmas burst but I'll meet students on two successive lunches
One is approaching 40 the other is 33 - ish

To -day is the second baking day for cookies AND we ice and decorate as well. OOh !  Talk of fantasies
This is one
Success ??? Dunno
Seemed right

 The news segment :

Study: One in five Americans with debt believe they will die that way There is something terribly wrong about this poll factoid from the TBT DayStarter Maybe, the greatest indictment I've ever seen about quality of life in the        ' land of the brave and home of the free ' There needs to be a warning on Xmas cookie recipes. Do NOT bake these too far ahead , as in DE 9 Cookies may evapourate right from the can

A Case of Ugly

While surfing through the CBC , Sci and Tech section on line , one item caught my eye. Apple has introduced a phone case cum battery for the i Phone 6. The case can boost the battery time by almost 2.  Reaction : its ugly. Yepper , ugly , not useful or great but appearance wise.  You can't win , sometimes

Weather : broke bright and will warm from the 45 F , presently showing.

On the Xmas front , success yesterday , a plan came to gether. We will be able to make Xmas cookies as gifts and the numero uno present was found. 

Round 2 of Xmas cookies. Dough is cooling 
Criminy , all we used was butter / flour and sugar.  These suckers are cardiac terrors , my heart was trembling

 First batch , 3 slightly burned , taste terrif !
mostly , ' men ' shaped / some pine trees

Then we ice and decorate

Stay tuned

As well ,on the cooking adventure front. To night , I tried to duplicate my Mom's ( family ) recipe for chow mein , just like as my Mom and Aunts made
Rating : about 80 % successful
Taste , close to excellent -- I left out the MSG , w/ MSG , I think it was there
Noodles needed a touch more softening

Big Topics

We will tackle some " humungoes " issues. 

On the buds , BBC ran an op - ed piece that ' Humans do Not Learn from their Mistakes '

Global warming and the resultant climate change

and do these 2 go to - gether

#1 Mistakes. the lead in was a story of a bank that decided that errors were human and vilifying employees created a climate of fear.  The presenter Lucy ................ , then went on to point out that she still buys shoes that pinch and probably would go on buying pretty shoes that don't quite fit.
Her second choice was ' men ' marrying the same kind of woman and divorcing
In this comparison , it seems women are coming off rather well.
Further , she used research w/ chimpanzees which showed that the greatest chimpanzee learning came w/ rewards not failures.
In all this ( and its 6:30 A again and I'm up ) , I'm royally screwed.
I've been using the phrase ' a work in progress ' in my head to describe me. Holey kamoley Batman etc ,    etc  , etc ( paraphrasing Yul B in the  ' King and I ' ).
What ?  I'm going to keep making those same mistakes ?

#2 Global warming.  The big muck- e - mucks are deciding if the world's governments can agree to do something. Seems to me that every time humans do something - it turns out bad for the planet.
so , I'm thinking do nothing.
However , I think that means - stop development. No panty waist
 ,a little here , a little there.
Admit we were wrong , so far , and stop. 
Ah , I know ! the term is ' re - trenching '. Normally ,business uses this re - trenching to explain why the company is firing 30 % of the staff.
and truth be told , this ' stop development ' will be worse than 30 %

See , the two topics seem to mesh slightly.

And , I didn't want to start w/ this - has Facebook adversely affected this blog.
Are blog entries shorter or less pithy
Do you fall asleep more quickly now when you read this stuff.
Well , for sure , I'm not falling asleep quickly or at least not staying asleep

Well ,I'm back to making the same mistakes
Which proves , I'm human
Un - vilified
Un - rewarded

Slarty Bartfast in the ' Hitchhikers Guide to the Universe ' says overall I'd rather be happy than right '
Arthur Dent asks " And how's that going ? "
SB : ' ah that's where it all seems to fall apart '

falling apart in Scarberia

yours truly

To - day Monday DE 7

It appears that we start a Xmas prep. On the agenda is cookie baking. We've bought the ingredients and utensils. We'll start w/ sugar cookies and then ........ gingerbread ?. Foolish , dunno .... seemed like a good idea...... or.....

Weather : benign , 38F rising during the day , and much warmer through the week. Apparently , it rained last night , and might again during the day. And two days of rain are due at week's end

#1239

or a Glimpse into the Day , here

Couldn't sleep after 6 A

Thus , 6:43 coffee on
7 A blogging
We've committed to sponsoring a ' Syrian family ' from the camps in Jordan or Lebanon. On FB , a former student is gathering a group to accumulate sufficient funds for a family's support , here , in Canada.
And on CBC , a report said that the UNHC relief agency is getting requests turned down by Syrian families b/c Canada is too far. The refusers want to stay close enough to go home

Morning routine , warm water and a slice a lemon
Coffee diluted to half and evapourated milk. I use no name EM. 
Pumpernickel toast w/ honey.
Then wait to see what happens

Lately , last 10 months or longer , b/c in England  in May . I was having gelatin ( Br. terminology ) I've been having jello and fruit.
My fav is orange jello and its no name too. I use fruit cocktail and add sliced apples.
However , I recently bought Mandarin orange sections in the can.
when we are travelling , I choose orange jelly and Mandarin orange pieces in the jelly. sort of all in one.
I prefer if I make my own jello. Just like growing up.
In fact , I've had more than one person recall - dissolving the jello in hot water. In England , gelatin comes in solid rubbery cubes that get dissolved.

Well , that about describes the morning.
Sunday ( & Fri ) , the paper comes , the TorStar , what else , and I photocopy the Cryptic crossword  by Caroline Andrews. Her name has become synonymous around here w/ everything nasty in the world as I frustratingly suffer through another cryptic.

" Christmas is coming , the goose is getting fat " , borrowed from the Xmas song

Yesterday. The kitchen.
I started w/ the counters. Wiped all the counters down incl the backsplashes. As well , wiped the cupboard doors and drawer edges. The whole kitchen got vacuumed 2 days ago. Incl tops of cupboards , near the ceiling
On to the Fridge , wiped the outside and door edges. The inside was done 3 days ago.
the microwave was wiped down and this included the top of the built in fan.
The gas range was next. All burner girds were cleaned using baking soda and Mr Clean. The flat surface was wiped and degreased
Then I stopped for a beer and thats all she wrote

#1238

No , title !!!!!!!!
What can I say.

Weather  
Cons : gray and dreary looking
Pros: way above normal , say 50 F by day's end

Lazy , morning , here .............. real , lazy

Excitement , we watched " Mighty Ships " , a documentary of famous and big ships. To -day , the " Norwegian Breakaway " , world's biggest cruise liner
OK . OK , thats exciting ?  Yepper

We are Xmas'ed up. Tree *
                                  Living room window *
                                  Santa in front hall *
                                  lawn *
                                                   Xmas day set *

Presents bought ?  Oops ! still a work in progress
many obstacles overcome
but ' miles to go before I sleep ' ( borrowed from Frost )

Hello , Edmonton and Norton
Hey , Northborough , lets hear from you !

R U Interested

....... I guess , it doesn't matter

B/c I'm agoina do it anyway

Feature items that have progressed here
The baby laptop : new battery is a charm ,   the icon still registers a 6 h charge
The OpOsm , get fit jobby. Still in the good zone for weight. B/c of the week off for fishing and the subsequent cold ( 5 days off ) , I'm still not at full bore for work outs , however , calories burned per work out is averaging 450 - 500.
The Timex heart rate monitor is bang on.   BONUS ! is that , the elliptical heart rate monitor is synced to the Timex. The past heart rate monitor , a Polar model , only sometimes was picked up by the elliptical machine. Since , the elliptical was a  $ 1 600 machine and the Timex is $ 60 , its a better way to go , change the heart rate monitor.
The Xmas window is " on ' and currently , flying over Alaska ( I think ).

Weather : scary , global warming has come to the s GWN. We will be close to 50 F to - day , though o/vcast. We should be above freezing but barely.
Xmas lights. I've mentioned in the outside decorating department we finish , last , in our chunk of the neighbourhood. We are surrounded by falling icicle lights , polar bears , reindeers and santas. We put out a lone Xmas tree on the lawn.
Pretty but a lonesome pine.
A quick trip to  ' the Giant Tiger ' , think , dollar store , but nothing costs a dollar. I found ' lollipop ' light sticks. Now, the pine is flanked by 2 stop signs w/ lit poles. A trio on the lawn , representing us.
BTW , my name means  ' leaf of the fir pine ' - kinda fitting , eh ?

Have a good ' un

Working It Out

............ Xmas window
We rev the jet engine up for 1 h and then turn it off.

Adventureland. We went downtown , all of 12 miles.
For $11 and change we got all day travel on the GO line which is the commuter line. Fast and smooth, Clean cars and quiet
We ended up at Union Station.
We hoofed the 1/2 mile something to the Ripleys Aquarium.
Highlights were sharks and school children , each equally as dangerous.
There is a glass tunnel which people walk through and fish swim around.
The coffee was favourably priced and delicious - or we were desperate.
The next leg was a walk along the station front called Front St to the Flat Iron Building and the Flat Iron Pub. We chose the cottage pie and ploughmans lunch.
TG , I like pickles and am not afraid of cheese b/c the cooks were generous. Delicious ploughing.

We are strangers down there b/c we don't go often and the city actually fixed some things e.g. walkways , streets etc.
Its as though someone planned it
???????????? go figure

weather ??? cool , chilly w/ the wind - no rain
cloudy tho'

Xmas Window Dilemma

well , its only a dilemma if you bought one
I did
Recap : we are discussing a Xmas window scene w/ 2 snowmen or persons sitting back to back as the snow falls , yepper , its a snowing scene thingy. The motif is a house section in brick w/ the chimney and the whole frame is covered in snow.
But noisy ! The fan and snow motor ( ? ) is a whir reminiscent of a bathroom fan.
Presently ,the window scene is in the front room where we watch TV. We jack up the sound and pretend a 747 is flying over.

Weather : benign.  41 F , clear and slightly breezy. Our conditions will improve or stay benign til week's end.

Anecdote : One of the Xmas display trees at the Capitol Theatre , see previous posts , was donated by the family of a young boy who died of complications from the treatment of a cancerous condition.
I ' voted ' the bulk of my tix to ' his ' tree. I thought if the family went to all that trouble the least that I could do is ' vote ' lots

A Total Re - do

............  made a mistake and re - hashed the previous blog

Starting again
To - day has nothing to recommend itself - lousy but their is improvement coming by weeks end.

On a slow day , go slow.
We did. Starting at noon , the kitchen was vacuumed up high and lights replaced on the cathedral ceiling light bar. The plate shelf was dusted and vacuumed as well.
The Refrigerator got attention. Shelves are being cleaned of guck and goo. Then I took a break.

Notables. Barrack Obama cups from 7/11 Store were cleaned. These cups were sold pre - inauguration the first go round for BO.
I figured , maybe  ,never again................ then the GOP got serious and screwed themselves royal.
That is til this go round when the party is well on its way to erasing the last debacle w/ a bigger one. That is a Canadian perspective , maybe down south , things are seen as going well. We ( Canadians ) have trouble w/ American politics............