Relief

from severe drought conditions

In the s GWN we are resigned to the rain. Cleared the gutters again this morning.

In Fla , though , a long period of below normal rainfall led to 15 % of state being desperate for water.
They got it. The steady ( daily ) addition refilled reservoirs w/ minimal flooding etc. during June

The silver lining.... it would seem

We shall said the Zen Master

It is gray and damp
to - morrow is Cda 150 ( 150 yrs since Confederation )

1 PM and the sun came out , very humid

170.8 #

proud or something ?

Thursday is weigh in morning. You know the drill , those who monitor their weight 2 - 3 times per week are the most successful at weight control
In the TorStar , an article featured a woman trying for weight maintenance. Experts confirmed weight loss is secondary to weight maintenance.
Its all human psychology and life style and habits
my cousin who is a maniac about weight control ( he's a rock climber ) , harps on about ' portion control ' as critical in weight control.
He's right and I stink at ' portion control '

What I can be good at ( sometimes ) is food selection
as in : pasta and bread offered at a meal - eat one or the other
           restaurant hamburgers , eat one side of the bun

Fishing : 1 bass , first real fish of the year

Boat launch : way better than the Titanic

The story : 
rail check - leveled the rails w/ blocks , way out of line
                   cleaned the rails of mussels or bits of crap
                              ( sliced my fingers to ribbons b/c I'm stupid )

loaded the boat 
 sent her down the rails 
 it floats
turned the ignition  Bingo Bango
Couldn't even hear the start really , very smooth

rain overnight and all is wet and dreary

Not just Me , Folks

...... to - day on Metro Morning , the host said ' a reprieve from the 40 days and 40 nights occurs to - day w/ no rain in sight til late evening '

Obviously , the biblical reference to the ' deluge '.

BTW , I'm going to ' float my boat ' to - day.
maybe
I've been warned that significant damage exists post  - high water at the Q
( I don't know what the new owners are going to call ' it ' )
( nuQ ? )
( RQ ? ) they're really young
Oh , they've digitalized the records for the Q 
But I can't open the file for some reason

We shall see said the Zen Master

Rain , again

yep , deck is wet

Wednesday is sun day

Surprise ! Turned cloudy and really threatens rain
Vat else !

Visited w/ the accountant , paid our tax return charges. Always enlightening to meet w/ S.T.. his attitude toward the Government
' Stick it to 'em  - make them squeeze it out of you '

We do

Please recall that this blog is much cheaper than psychotherapy.
Thus , I sit and ponder friends. How good it is and comforting.

Unfortunately , at dinner , two weeks ago , my cousin , came out w/ ' if I said or did things , years back , i apologize '
Immediately , I thought ' I should do the same - then chickened out'
In AA , they suggest stuff like that
ten steps

sometimes , I think that I'd need 24 steps

said this was cheaper

When You Get That Nesting Feeling

the birds , that is

Condominiums are going up in our yard. M thinks cardinals are building in the eavestrough and I know that a robin is under the porch weaving plant stuff into a nest.
That robin had to knock down the plastic barricade that I put up last year. Tough little bugger that one must be.

Woke up to gray and then buckets fell from the sky
So far , only Wednesday , looks to be clear and sunny

Bright sun , now . Who wudda thunk !

Be warned , the baby laptop which has been poked and prodded and babied into usefullness - has started to balk on start up.
Oh - oh , has aged caught up w/ ' baby '.

I've discovered Broccoli slaw , which is chopped up ( shredded broccoli ) carrots , cabbage and carrots. A teeny bit more expensive than regular coleslaw mix. But lately , the reg slaw mix has been going off fairly quickly. In fact , the last batch started wet and went bad way too soon.
The broco - slaw is drier and tasty too !
healthier ????? maybe

Blue Skies

smiling at me
Nothing but blue skies do I see "

by ................. ????   Arlen .......  Carmichael ?

P.S. since the first entry this A.M. , the Cdn flag went up on the 35 ft flag pole on the lawn. This year is the 150 th anniversary of Confederation , i.e. Canada as a country independent almost of England ( nice try , she is still on our money )

As well , years ago , a gift form English relatives was a tea towel    ( drying dishes kind ) had a motif , the was a recipe for  ' cream teas ' or scones. The instructions sat there looking at us , hanging on the kitchen wall. 
enough is enough
I made the recipe
We are eating them , now. The old Asian recipe for scones worked great ! I can bake scones
I cheated : you're supposed to flour the baking sheet - I used parchment paper
you're supposed to cut them into rounds
- I cut them into squares

Surprise ! the scones taste like scones , no matter the shape

Thats my morning

Oh , measurements in grams of flour , and millilitres of milk , sure use these all the time ... not !

Skies blew up w/ rain and thunder . Ka bam ,  Ka pow ( the brothers )

P.P.S. last night , at 9 PM after a nap , I was wide awake.
Lately , I've been looking at a bookshelf that holds DVD s. Natch , the shelves are way too far apart for DVD s instead of books.
Thursday , pausing during exercise , I started to dismantle the sucker. The DVD s were in boxes , roughly alphabetical.
Why not , was the thought that jumped out of my brain.
Thus , last night , I took apart the bookcase down to the bones.
I stripped off the tack paper cover , pulled out nails and staples.
Hate staples , these were a 1/4 in long pounded into the wood and composite board.
I braced the uprights b/c all the support was gone.
I cut the shelves to length and in a moment of genius cut chopsticks to stick in holes as shelf supports. Drilled the holes and stuck in the chopstick bits.
OK , shift the angle brackets for support , to allow DVD s to fit against the uprights.
Da da ! Success.  
Noooooo 
I'm putting back the DVD s and the loaded middle shelf drops down on me ( the DVD s stayed in alpha order )
Now , I used real brackets for shelf support. Lesson learned.

Practicality trumps ingenuity ( shouldn't have used that word 
b/c trump doesn't trump anything except the housefly and even thats a close call ).

Done , and 3 shelves instead of 2. Everything fits neatly.

Next !

The kink in the two piece flag pole has been jerry rigged straight.
I jammed 2 pieces of wood to slightly take out the lean.
Flying high , for one week and a tad

the morning After

a poker game

Broken sleep the night before and then the game.
Things went well , for me. I didn't fall asleep in the middle of a hand and managed to win some money.
Survival , on the long drive over 50 minutes to the host's place was the order of the day

Weather : big blue sky but the threat of rain lingers

Chia pet worked its wonders again , eliminatory success.
The knee has responded to TLC and is back in business
Last night , on a non weight work out day , I decided to do only calisthenics , no elliptical.

My big concern is always wight gain when I don't exercise
and it seldom happens but when you're neurotic about exercise / weight control
Well ! , you're neurotic

To do , to day was a wake for a friend's father. Actually , both brother and sister are friends. I traveled w / the son to Europe and led a student tour of Italy w/ the other.
The mother was dear friend. Daddy , not so.
You see , I always felt that Daddy was being nice and tolerated me b/c of my link to the other 3.
However , we had occasion to attend a wedding , out of town. Daddy drove and I had a beer at lunch and then a cocktail at the reception. Mommy came to me at the beginning of dinner and said ' Daddy , needs you to drive home '.
I said that I'd stop drinking and was able to drive.
When we got home , Mommy said ' he must trust you , otherwise , he wouldn't have slept '.
" Aha " I thought

And I'm recovered mostly , I think from ' no sleep ' night and poker.

OMG , Couldn't Get to Sleep Last Night

" I don't expect to sleep through the night "

Thats OK for P Simon but I didn't close my eyes it seems
Its afternoon nap time

And the rain came and came and is still coming

Its so wet that the worms are using popsicle sticks for life rafts

Sticky , Hot Outside

in Tampa

Cool and dry - er , here.
Blue sky peeping thru' but showers on the way.

To - day is a weigh in day. Sunday and Thursday are designated , take your weight times. All the surveys show that monitoring your weight is vital to weight control.
Last reading was # 171.6.

Scheduled for this afternoon is lunch. Two friends that are fisher people but have only met briefly ( in my garage , so one says ) are having dim sum w/ me.
B/c I was looking at photos of fish that I've caught and realized that both of these guys have taken pictures of my biggest fish.
M is in also in that category , too ! ( she doesn't get lunch to day )
A. figures in my bass photos
D. has taken pictures of my biggest walleye.
Thus , I'm honouring them w/ lunch

To days weigh in # 170.6

Great lunch. Next weigh in - Sunday

Full work out , meaning elliptical intervals and knee held up nicely
BPM s a little lower than usual but really feels like its back.
Iced , post work out which is the routine
Maybe the key was rubbing the emugel above and below the knee on the muscle. However , the knee was feeling a little better by then
, having taken off 3 days or so

Knee Stuff

definitely improving

This day will be 5 days w/out the elliptical as part of a work out.
Some anxious thoughts concerning , missing out on the exercise ( aerobic portion )

As well , Giant Tiger offered an on line coupon for 25 % off
Zowee ! space cadets , a bargoon on a bargoon 

Weather is sunny and fine. Cool by all reports going for 70 something. However , a look ahead show rain or chance of rain for 5 days.

Wisdom dictates , one more day w/out the elliptical. Sort of take it easy on the knee

Let you know to morrow

To night it was home made pizza. M used flat cooked dough ( ? ) and we customized the toppings ( that costs more ! )

a) pesto pizza + cooked wiener , onion and mushroom
b) reg pizza pizza sauce + mushroom and turkey pepperoni

both sprinkled w/ parmesano

Wetter , Continues

well , its gray out there

My knee is getting even w/ me for pushing a little too much. I've been up to 10 days straight exercise. Since Saturday , I've had to stop the elliptical and do weights and calisthenics. Oh , and I organized a shelf , yesterday , during the ' workout '.
The treatment regimen has been ice , Tylenol 3 and Voltarin , emugel for muscle pain.

To day , the knee is almost normal. One observation that I've made is that last night , I applied the emugel north and south of the knee , sort of on the muscle - feels great this A.M. 
I wonder ??

Netflix for Scandal

......... M is watching the series " Scandal " and tried to get me interested

Nope. Nothing really wrong but not my cuppa

Weather : warm and sultry. The long range seems to call for wetter and cooler

Reprise : still drinking ( eating ) Chia seeds. I'm using up the Chocolate Coconut milk and soaking the chia seeds. Two teaspoonfuls each meal.
However , I really think I'm not getting the point w/ chia seeds.
I'm supposed to not want to eat b/c I'm feeling full.
Oh well , I'll keep trying.
On the regularity front , no complaints , chia is fibre rich

To day s excursion was to SuperStore. A ' costco ' like experience , for sure. Loblaws is a big grocery chain and SS is their answer to Costco. To wit , I'm in the cookie aisle ( and you should ask ' what were you doing there ? ' ). Chocolate covered biscuits are 2.79 a pkg if you buy 3 or more. Regular price is $4. No brainer , bought 3. The 3 packs are downstairs in the freezer , where they are much safer from marauding animals and such.
And the prices overall are very good. House brands , way cheaper , of course.

Got It right

Scorpion King III
OMG - so sad , too bad

I can hear the told you so thru' the ether !

Weather: dreary , threatening rain.

Natural disasters : the winner story. A scheduled research voyage was cancelled. The host ship couldn't leave its home waters b/c all other Coast Guard ice breakers were in dry dock. The sea ice is too thick to leave cargo ships unattended in case of trouble. Thus , scratch the climate change research. Aha !

Happy Father's Day 

On CBC , a guest revealed his FD wish. A cold beer and 1 hour to sit. Cute and sad as well.

I'm seeing wetter and cooler for the s GWN based on :

Brett Anderson has the long range weather for July

Clues to the long range through July.......

Again, confidence levels are low, especially for the final two weeks due to a lack of strong signals.

FYI: The monthlies were released last week and are focusing the core of the summer heat across the Prairies, while showing frequent shots of cooler weather and associated thunderstorms across the East.

Rain in Torrents

brief but lots

You could feel it in the air.

Reviews : DVD ' Dangerous Method ' , the battle between Jung and Freud is joined. Over the fair and disturbed Keira Knightly.
I stopped watching , not my cuppa as they say.

Also viewed , ' the Field of Lost Shoes '. In 1864 , w/ the confederacy feeling the economic bludgeon of the North , the Rebs
are forced to call up the senior cadets of the Virginia Military Instit.
Surprisingly , the young lads do quite well w/ tragic loss of life and hopes.  Rating : $1.80 out of $3 ala Redbox.

Post cottage sale. More grateful than anything. Not as relaxed or fulfilled as I should be. I'm working on the transition.
It's OK , I'm not good at transition.

The old Sci Fi jobby is finished and I can say ' enjoyed it mostly '

On view to night. ' Scorpion king III '  OMG , expecting the worst

Tinker ...

tailor , soldier spy

The DVD is really watchable

Weather : muggy and hot

I'm reading a Sci Fi fantasy ( too many descriptors , there ? ). From the bookstore , called Cliffside Books. I think I got 6 books for 30 dollars.
The ' Dirge for Sabis ' is a mixed tale of adventurers w/ real skills who are forced to leave a suitable city and patron. The Sabirns were conquerors and now , are conquered themselves. Our protagonists escape before the bitter end for Sabis. the author is Cherryh ( a famous author of Sci fi from the 70 s )

24 Stories

up in flames

Replay , the ' Towering Inferno ' in 2017 , downtown London. A recently , refurbished apartment building burns for 2 days. The flames engulfed all the floors.
Was there an alarm sounded ? Yes , some are saying 20 minutes after the fire started.
As of this morning , there wasn't even a list of survivors or missing.
Its all guesswork.

Here , in T.O. , the fire marshal is saying ' Toronto 's fire code means compartmentalized fires b/c the building materials are non combustible.
Still , as one fireman put it  ' would you want to be living in a 500 ft tube w/ one way out '

Weather , gray and dismal. Forecasts call for building rain chances and humidity ( makes sense , right ! )
Dribbles came down but the day was cloudy and threatened

' Survivor , Gotchabewo '

made it up !

I seemed to have escaped unscathed from fishing.
Escaped ?  What  are you talking about !

My biggest fear , yesterday , was sun burn ( heat prostration )
I'm susceptible , big time
The week previous the guys got mauled by mosquitoes
Hooks in fingers
.......... etc ............................ etc

See unscathed. No marks , no red no itching.  SURVIVOR !

Weather is cool and sunny

When is a day successful

Returned my license plates but failed to keep the return portion of the paper license.  Boo

Went to Tara. Chit chat a bit. bought books at the Cliffside book Store. Real books , w/ paper and covers , real books.
And some DVDs

I'm re - watching ' Tinker , Tailor , Soldier , Spy ' written by John Lecarre , starring Gary Oldman. I got used to GO but physically he is not ' my ' George Smiley. Very good over all , smooth 

Gone ( went ) fishing

to day

The neighbour and his friend took me fishing. This was a first post - cottage trip.
Rained a lot. They brought snacks. caught some fish.
came home. A good time

Yes , it rained mostly to day
Never really got warm, in fact the wind early afternoon was cool

Thank you , next door neighbour

Have Gun , Will Travel

reads the card of a man

A man of honour in a savage land
A fast gun for hire , he's the calling wind

Of course , Paladin's first name was ' Wire '
As typed on his card  " Wire Paladin , San Francisco "

What ??  How do you segue into anything from that start 

Travel :  We had dinner guests , last night. Both from Albuquerque , NM.  I not sure now , if you need to travel - have guests. Seems about the same.
Their take on the ABQ scene ( ABQ are the call letters for their airport ) is slightly lawless , definitely poor ( as in government ).

Whoa , didn't see that coming. They live in a gated community. The husband said that you don't jog the streets at night , in the community.

And at a family get to gether for the couple ( he's a cousin ) , I was criticized about my punctuation in  emails. Apparently , I put one too many spaces between words when I use a comma.

M leapt to my defence and said ' sometimes , he doesn't even use punctuation '
Thanks , M.

Weather : sultry is the word. rising humidity all day but it cools slightly and marvelously to  morrow.

A Hot Time

official heat warning for our city T.O.

Yepper , the city will open cooling centres in the downtown core for relief from the 85 F + temperatures predicted for to day.
As well , we hold those 80+ readings for several days.

In the news , ' Beavers Crawl All over the Arctic '
Warmer conditions are allowing birch and alder trees to grow in the sub Arctic regions. W/ the trees come the beavers.
W/ the beavers come dams.
The local people claim , traditional fishing spots have been flooded and fish are harder to find.
Silly , beavers ! 

Beaver pelts made the Hudson Bay Trading Co. a national conglomerate in the North West of Canada.  The rage in Europe involved beaver top hats.

Actually , a pleasant day overall. The humidity did increase but very tolerable

the Hemp vs Chia Battle

occurred , last night

and , of course , I was unaware that it even existed

To start , I mentioned that I was doing the Chia pet project. The latest iteration of chocolate coconut milk and Chia seeds , to make a pudding.
I said that added dietary fibre was the goal.
Then someone , said Chia doesn't taste good. I couldn't argue but said I woofed it down anyway. Apparently , hemp seeds taste better.

The weather is full summer , w / expected temperatures in the high 70 s and this continues for days.

Family. It was revealed, last night , that a cousin heads or is part of a dysfunctional family. This dynamic involves alcohol and drugs ( maybe ). However , that my aunt is enabling the situation is beyond doubt.
The enabling revolves around providing  accommodation and frequent payment on demand by my aunt's daughter and son and ??????????????????????????

Not good. 

I'm thinking of what to write next and 
nothing seems appropriate or even smart

Re - visited

items

Exercise proceeds as per usual. At one time , I thought 6 or 7 days of exercise was the limit and then a break was needed , say a day off.
 However , since I've instituted a 2 day program w/ weights and elliptical for 50 min and a soft day elliptical and exercise ball w/  a shorter 20 - 24 min duration , I've been doing 10 days straight at times. 
I warm the knee in the morning and ice after exercise.
Weight is stable ( a bit high right now ) but 170 - 172 #

The Chia pet project. I guess its been over 4 weeks since I started eating ( drinking ) chia seeds. The latest version is chia seeds soaking in chocolate coconut drink. It makes a pudding - looking dish and I slurp down 2 spoonfuls at a meal.
The problem I have is that when I feel full , I sometimes snack anyway. I think your suppose to feel full and not want to eat.

Oh well ,the best laid plans of mice and men

Weather ; we will be warm , touching 80 F , showers are still possible. We are sunny right now and 50.

Whats Ahead

as if it makes a difference

Oil prices are slumping. The Cdn $ will slide along w/ it. Our price at the pump will hardly change b/c we import gasoline , mostly.

Other good news. Summer has arrived and we will be almost dry , for the next five days. Although , shower chances remain.

the Dwarves : And where we're you , Gandalf ? 

Gandalf : looking ahead

the D s : and how did you know to come back to aid us ? 

the big G : By looking behind

Aha  , you say , more dialog from Lord of the Rings

' don't look back , someone could be gaining on you '
 Satchel Page , famous pitcher and everything

Those Who Don't

use their heads must use their feet !

Huh ? what in the Hades is this quote

I was going to say **** but decided to be a gentleman
Which is rare

Thus , my friend F always said that his mother used the quote above. If you're not thinking then your feet do your work
What has this got to do w/ anything

We're away in the Casino , gambling.
This morning at 7:30 , I knew that  the pool is closed for renovations. Instead of using the exercise room , I went out to the parking lot and jogged etc. I figured the fresh air is a bonus.
Once out there , I continue to figure , go to Mcdonalds and bring back breakfast. Hot cakes breakfast and bagel w/ egg and bacon
2 seniors coffee.  ( love the $1 seniors coffee )

I walked back to the room. We ate a selection of items , a buffet of sorts and had left overs to boot.
" Where's my phone ? "
 Had it in the parking lot
Had it in the car going to McD s
Oops ! no phone

Searched the room , nope.
Aha , its in the car
Go to the car , nope
Shoot craps and come back to the room and look , no phone
Go back down to the casino , lose at craps

In the room , M says did you find your phone , nope.
Check the room again , nope. Dialed my # , no ring
Off to the car w/ M s phone

Open the hatch and dial my phone , nada
Sit in the front seat and dial 
' Duhn , da , da , dunh da da ' , my ring
under the seat

If you're sick of this story
Think of me , I'm typing the bloomin' thing

Lesson : glue the phone to your forehead
or walk a lot
SEE ! 

Its raining  ' off and on '

I shot lights out at the craps table , probably for about 25 min - everyone made money including me

Thus , every now and then ' even a blind squirrel finds an acorn '

Which segues into this line from a young Cdn comedy star who is big in  the U.K.

' did you know , that squirrels only recover 20 % of the nuts that they bury '  The sole purpose of squirrels , apparently , is to plant trees
A whole new perspective on squirrels was revealed to me.
never quite looked at them ( the squirrels ) in that way

Do squirrels shoot craps b/c I think they got a chance

No Good Thoughts

its Monday and the skies are gray
vat else , do you expect

Does distance give you perspective
As in, if you're away from home , you can appreciate your other life

Or is there regret , for what you left behind

I'm a homebody
When we were watching ' Jack Reacher , quintessential loner , I mean he buys his clothes and tosses them
Very easy on luggage
anyway , I'm figuring that I'd never be able to do it

Its me , I always wanted to be a mountain man ala ' Jeremiah Johnson ' , you see he wakes up and his horse froze
And I need an electric blanket

Good Thoughts

seldom , am I accused of this

Even at this age , which is considerable
I have an innate trust in people
mostly , I'm wrong
Surprise !

However , I do get it right , now and then

The rain came as predicted and is still predicted

In England , a van swerves into people and guys jump out w/ knives
people die and are seriously injured
I give up , why ?

The things that I can't explain is staggering
and is getting staggier

We got a bit of sun , this aft
damp looking tho'

BTW Brett Anderson on his website , informs that the models are fairly loosey - goosey
Overall , hot spells are not on for the Great Lakes , the next little while

We All Love Saturday Morning

yepper , even me

Retirement , age are important and yes , we can lose track of the days but Saturday is still Saturday
There's a special feel
Especially ,  when the sun pops out and they forecast rain for the next three days.

We entertain to - day. M s friend is coming for dinner or late lunch

however , she is planting flowers for us
I do not garden except w/ a chainsaw
thus the help


Netflix is tracking me. Choices appear based on items that I've watched. thus a movie / show appears w/ a notation of ' 85 % ' or somesuch. Some form correlation w/ previous selections that I've made. The computer must be doing conniptions

Zootopia , Shetland and the Admiral ( Dutch ) must rankle the prognosticating algorithm. 
or some little elf trying to predict what else I'll choose
Guess away , little man

NU 1/4 mile People

thats what they're called for now

The purchasers have a name.
And a cottage that is a house

Weather : sun and clear air
Rain is due in 2  days , ' vat else '

I'm buying a new truck , small 
Its a Honda , Ridgeline

I happened to mention the ' boys toy ' that I'm getting.
Someone made the comment its a small truck like a mini Ford
Then , one guy says I know that one ' its an El Camino 
I couldn't believe it
b/c thats what I really wanted
very impractical though
a 2 seater and a bed

I'm still fairly practical
The Ridgeline has inside cargo space for the two of us

further to ' Is Sleep Over rated '

up and dressed at 6:30 AM

Popped awake , and said ' what the hey '

In recent information , the buyers for the Q' , emailed that all papers were signed at their end and the draft for closing the deal was in their lawyers hand s.

Day dawned bright and clear

A fair weather fan.
 I started cheering for and watching for news about Arsenal Football club ( English Div 1 and now EPL ) , about 1967. This year , as every year since 2005 or so , Arsenal struggled and stayed in the top 5 of EPL. 
AFC were in the Football Association Cup 2017 vs Chelsea Football Club , also of London.
I didn't watch the game. M accused me , again , of being a fair weather fan
Serves me right. The Gunners beat Chelsea.
My standard line is ' Arsenal , the best 4 th place team ( now 5 th ) that money can buy
Shows what I know , eh ?

This day has blossomed. Cool but beauti ,for real

donald trump is a big piece of covfefe or cofifi or c**********