for the Birds 🐦

 I edited the Lehman s banner from ' products for the ...... '

The pink eye < ? > saga goes on. Less pain, less red but still there are moments of vast irritation and discomfort.
We shall see said the Zen Master

The day is warm and rain is due. We drop down in degrees after today, stopping above freezing. Of course, the freeze / thaw makes driving a tad dicey. Especially, as in this afternoon, thunderstorms are predicted and lightning bolts litter the weather screen display. I forget why, we are getting winter lightning < they did explain .... ??? >

On the tech front, I am typing using the Duet in laptop mode that has one Type C port. I plug in a dongle and attach a USB A key and the wireless mouse can work. So, I've got a keyboard and mouse - making typing and editing much easier. And the Duet can function on its own < no keyboard, detaches and no mouse > a tablet is born.
For blogging though I do prefer keyboard and mouse

The afternoon pink eye update, says improved from the morning. The instructions say that pink eye should resolve itself in 48 h. I'm working on 72 h if it is still pink came tonight.

Sally ' bathed ' in Lunn
Rising, rising, rising
the light and airy one
How to serve her
Join a longing quest
Jamming yoghurt
lemon curd for zest

Second go round
Streamlined try
Steamed the kitchen, sigh
All prepped up and set
Homemade simple yet
Pleasing all a taste

I'm working on an ode to  " Sally who are you  "

  

💕 eye for February

 I edited the Lehman s banner < check out our new arrivals .... >

Day 2 of Polysporin drops begins. Yes, there is improvement. Still crying and itching but definitely less. Thank goodness the beer supply will last. The biggest bug-a-boo is that I can only sleep on my leftside. Thats to prevent tears from crossing over to the right

We top 50 F today w/ rain < and snow ? thats what it said > and as mentioned the next 6 days is 32 and above daytime.
The news is full of vaccine rollout or specifically getting the stuff. The puff is 3.2 Million Canadians vaxxed by April end. FYI, thats 10 % of Canadians. All the elderly and institutionalized seniors for sure plus all the useless politicians.

Doing research, there is a chance that I may have misdiagnosed myself. I could have a stye < or little boil in an eyelid >. However, the antibiotic isn't going to hurt the problem.

Definitely, we can rule out the stye angle. Used a teabag poultice -in case it was a stye. Pink eye almost 80 % sure.

Eveything is less - including pain < itch > and swelling

Healing but slowly

a 3 beer kind of afternoon .... watched John Hopkins stumble early - look dominate and keep the edge in beating Michigan. Looking ahead. Oops !
The OSU team that beat JHU by 6, lost to Rutgers by 12 < yes 12, b/c the Scarlet Knights got 22 >.  And Penn St and Maryland are next as well. The announcer in the JHU v Michigan game called the season for B1G teams ' the gauntlet '. Everybody plays the other guys 2 X. Then there is a play -off for the automatic place in the Final 16. Thats if your players survive the 10 games.

Eye is better w/ two days of antibiotics.

" I'm Cryin........g, Over You " #2951

 sorry Roy. I am weeping but
I have pink eye or some eye infection.
Love Roy Orbison

I believed that I had scratched the eye and waited. I took one look this AM and said ' its infected '. Thus, did an early run to the Superstore milk, chicken, buns  etc and Polysporin Pink Eye drops.
The company is not stupid b/c the box is pink - the colour of my eye < oh, the left one >.
Okey- dokey drops in. And ...... nothing !

The weather, b/c its all I need to make plans. We hover at freezing + / - for the next 7 days. Today, the sun boomed out and highlights a blue sky. We cross 40 F later this afternoon

Canada meets Astra Zeneca - is the headline of note. AZ is a normal virus vaccine made primarily in England. Thus, Canada will use 3 types of vaccine. There is and has been debate about the effectiveness of AZ. Back in Nov 2020, some articles had the efficacy at 6 % for seniors. The latest #s now show 64 % effectiveness. And this value has raised concerns. However, for Canada, stuck at the bottom of the delivery list, any percent above 50 sounds good.

BTW, appparently, Faxe Amber Brown Ale is a recommended cure for pink eye. This info comes from the same German newspaper that had AstraZeneca < English competitor to PfizerBioN Tech - Ger. > at 6 %

Her goes nothing. First sip. Instant pain relief. And thats good b/c I cannot have another xtra strength Ibuprofen til 6 PM. As well, I'm wearing an ocular patch to keep the left eye closed.
Second sip. More pain relief. Hey ! this is going good.
I think the drops are kicking in, as well. Thus, maybe the amber ale is assisting w/ pain relief. 

The ' lake on the interlock ' < neat name for a resort > is manageable in size and by now the bulk of snow has melted off the roof.

Third sip is a charm. I'm going for four ---->

Drops at noon. Took a Tylenol b/c my Ibuprofen quota was up.

2 nd can of Faxe Amber. Hoping for the best

And Lehman s banner w/ the icon

Country Inspired: Lasting Quality Clothing and Accessories 👕

Sunny in Scarberia

or looking good - real good

' Rebellions are based on hope ' Jinn Urso < Rogue One >

True confessions. I've spent 4 h minimum attempting re - work the south - west corner drainage off the house. The situation is as follows.

We have interlock right up to the house < approximately, 10 yrs old >. The drainage off the roof goes underground to the lawn or should. For the last 2 years, I've discovered that the underground portion plugs up. This summer, I re - dug the drainage, cleared the pipe and prayed. Well, no, water gushed out of the pipe in the ground, 2 weeks ago. Due to all the kuffufle over the years, I made sure that the whole system is dissectable. I was able to re -route the water out of the downpipe and run the water to the side and out onto the lawn.
Actually, a  lake formed out on the interlock apron up against the lawn. The lake froze. I salted and shovelled to remove the ice. Thus, over the last 3 days, I've tried to re - route the ' lake ' to the lawn.
The upside is the water is 12 ft from the house and not a problem for the house but a danger for others. I 've dug a bit and hope < see > that the water, mostly goes onto the lawn. The whole corner is taped w/ warning yellow ribbon " danger, do not cross ". Mainly, it would be the mailperson in jeopardy. She has a bum knee and has been avoiding the snow areas. Still I need to keep people off the area.
Such the life of a homeowner < older place ? > - moan. groan, whine -  repeat

Update: the lake is growing - not good. But as mentioned the water is damming way away from the house. Still sunny and wind is up a bit.

Delicious Country Meats 🍖

 from Lehman s. < I love their little ' icons ' >

OK swept through the CBC on line offerings   if you are seeking good news    go somewhere else

Temperature will cross 40 today but rain / snow / anything will fall. Two more days of close to freezing and then 3 days of warm

Last night, I admitted to cousin W that I'm not a good podcast listener. I have such a short attention span that I'm always hoping to jump ahead to the good parts - and constntly disappointed. Well, I promised to try.

' I just found out her ghost left town
The Queen of California is stepping down - Get down '

John Mayer lyrics to ' Queen of California

Sally ' bathed ' in Lunn
Rising, rising, rising
the light and airy one
How to serve her
Join a longing quest
Jamming yoghurt
lemon curd for zest

Second go round
Streamlined try
Steamed the kitchen, sigh
All prepped up and set
Homemade simple yet
Pleasing all a taste

I'm working on an ode to  " Sally who are you  "

  

Warm ish is Back

 w/ temperatures north of freezing, run off and where it goes becomes the question. We have a heavy snow blanket that will melt and go --> ?

I'll be checking the downspouts today even in the rain

Best news, 10 h 54 m of sun < maybe, clouded over right now >
CBC on line reporting a SNAFU re: vaccinations and who is in the queue. Apparently, best practice nationally was to prioritize people over 80 for their vacination but Ontario had them 2 notches below and waiting another 2 months ( up to ). We shall see said the Zen Master.
As well, the gov't is saying ' call us ' or go on line and remind us that you are over 80 y.o.
Oh, ' fill out the form " love that, its precious

5 AM Wake Up

why ? Well, I can hear my eyeballs < snapping sound, no really > M can hear the sound too, sometimes

Coffee, of course. And I'm contemplating hitting the Superstore early, say 7 ish. The roads will get warmer through the day but covered in slush at best and icy w/ snow cover in the worst case.
We shall see said < you know who >

Its a ' hazy shade of winter ' out there. A steady curtain of white and these are small ish flakes

Gardening Season is Near! 🌱 - baloney !!!!!!! 
Only snowmen growing out there today 

As promised the warm came via those southerly winds along w/ rain. Thus, we watch for floods or overflow

Lehman s Banner : Simple Living Sunday

 or in Covid times

' Simply Living..... its Sunday '

The sun is blue-ing up the sky w/ a temperature of 16 that feels like 9. Somehow we get to 29 F this afternoon. And rise to above 32 for several days. However, rain is coming ' off and on ' for 2 days

Last night, we cooked a ' pot roast ' in the oven. The cut was eye of round - an oval muscle group - not the tenderest choice but covered for 2h 15m not bad. The recipes suggested covered on the stove w/ liquid. In the oven it is easy..... let the sucker sit there

I'm writing now with a pen trying the touchscreen [better that typing.] More creative for sure. almost fun Well,little things amuse little minds.

Now, we have proof ! 

What happens in 2020 stays in 2020

To the Max or not......

 the Chromebook was hooked to a dock.    the TV by HDMI was attached to the dock. an optical keyboard and mouse was plugged into the dock. and power was needed, so the dock was power through from the power cable for the Chromebook.

Why ? 

Well, there is a track pad on the Chromebook but the Chromebook was 4 ft away from me on a stool. The HDMI was three ft from the TV when it attached to the dock.
So, I was manipulating the mouse and typing 7 or 8 ft from the TV w/ the Chromebook on a little stool in front of the TV. The keyboard allowed me to enter searches without having to ' hunt and click ' the remote, a letter at a time. And I watched a 46 in display of the laptop mirrored on the TV.
Complicated ? Actually, all I saw or noticed was the keyboard and mouse as I navigated the Chromebook.
E Z P Z and effortless

The weather numbers are not impressive at 22 F but from here on in for 6 days, we will see 30 or slightly more - but unsettled conditions remain. Sun and melting will occur starting Monday.
Roads will be slushy in daylight hours and freeze at night. Run off will be a problem

CBC on line was no fun. Gas prices rising, new variants pose a risk, warnings of a 3 rd wave of CV 19. Grim news abounds.

trump face in his first interview - " the election was stolen "

sun is beaming out there

Hi, Calling the Ether

on Friday, end of the work week

the Lehman s banner is :

Be Ready for Anything ⚡💧❄🔥

Now, did the Premier see his shadow. He announces the fate of Toronto region re: lockdown.
Pro : businesses need to open w/ some hope 
             CV 19 case counts are falling
         the population is looking for a sign of an end

Cons : the variants are spreading
            don't ease the lockdown and then shut down again
            the medical community is saying ' stay shut '

the truth. when people travel - bad things happen

The weather is typical S Ont winter, undecided  crap

A report. The dongle is a winner. Plug and play. Always rewarding. No fuss. No bother. Just do. A bluetooth mouse would be good but plugging in several peripherals is best. Thus, a dongle is a dingle.

Plus the ' Inphic mouse ' is streamlined and fits the hand w/ little elevation - more flat less strain on the wrist.

|Lockdown is the word. The Premeir listened to his medical people and said ' Toronto - you are not open for business ' Only essential business and travel ' for us its same old, same old. Lunch or dinner was schnitzel from Vienna Foods. A little bit of variety in the drudging familar week.

Puffer jacket is passing the grade. Light and provides warmth. And way thinner than the down jackets of years gone by. In fact, there is a rumour that a second one could be purchased. Now, that is only rumour but from a reliable source close to the head honcho.

AND the dongle is winning hearts and minds. Plus, bonus - if I give it a good review, I get a $10 gift card for Amazon.

its Senior s Day

 at Shoppers Drug Mart. Gotta go.

Amazon is coming to the door. We will spy out the front porch w/ Home Security. I'm getting a dongle
< love that word >
and M gets new PJ s.
The dongle is a dock < see, not much better, right ! >
In English, a dock is a thingy that you stick into a computer / laptop that lets you plug in other devices. USB sticks, hook up a TV, or stereo or SD cards. The newest laptops and tablets < always for tablets though >  come w/ limited ports.
My Dell laptop < using it now > has 2 USB A, 2 Type C, SD slot and speaker plug in port. The Duet has one Type C port. I have a dongle that gets used constantly but I thought ' make the Duet more versatile '. Thus, a dongle for each laptop.
I often plug a TV into the laptop and watch YouTube. BTW our TV s get YouTube etc as Apps BUT .... none of the new TV s is Bluetooth for sound.
 W/ the dongle, I can plug in the laptop and listen anyway that I want - meaning earphones or remote speakers.
The speakers on a TV are mostly poor to OK.
Then w/ the Duet, the dongle means a mouse that I bought by error that needs a USB key can link. Of course, it means a thingy hanging off of the Duet but this is at home on a table < not in an airport sitting on my lap >.
Have I talked my way into proving that the dongle was a good < necessary > purchase ?
As well, I haven't figured out how to make searching easier on the TV ( for YouTube especially when I need to input searches by using the remote control - hunt / click, hunt / click etc). W/ the hook up - I search on the keyboard.
Besides the videos at Chrome Unboxed have convinced me that a Chromebook starts to shine when you make use of all the connectivity that a Chromebook allows. If only the new remote speakers hooked up.

Weather today is unsettled. While the U.S. Midwest and lower Great Lakes gets a second pummel - ing, we catch an edge plus open lake snow effect. This means snow squalls that may be brief or real patchy throughout the North shores of Erie and Ontario.
OR in Canadian speak, our winter.
Same old, same old. Unfortunately, the snow becomes heavier. Some drifting can occur but heaviness is the problem.

Skipped Senior s day at SDM.
At Superstore, though, bought groceries and a ' puffer ' jacket. A thin insulated < maybe > almost sweater,  affair. Light and still warm ( ?).
We shall see said the Zen Master.
On a test run, in the cold topped w/ a raincoat - it was adequate BUT this was a cold day.
Confession. Shoes, No.
 Jackets YES. I'm a compulsive buyer. Always. Always. This buy today is my third insulated jacket. I'm wearing one now. It was bought in 1983. And another down jacket comes from 1978. However, these jackets are thick and bulky. 
This jacket today is similar to a sweater but thinner < slightly >. Regular $69 for 29. 
{ B that is $ Cdn, in your money 18 dollars }

On the radio, the show  'Art of Persuasion ' w/ Terry O'Reilly, detailed areas of commerce that have flourished in the Covid economy.
Eye make up soared, lipstick fell off, golfing was up and cosmetic botox and surgery boomed. All except for golf, the areas increased or decreased b/c of wearing masks and on line meetings. Maybe, golf too, b/c it was an activity that seemed to be allowed.
" Its finger lickin' good " the KFC motto was deemed not appropriate in the Covid situation. Rather than delete, the famous slogan in vogue since 1963, KFC kept the slogan but faded or dimmed the " finger lickin' " words and kept ' Good '.

the Last day of Freeze

 your face off. Today s # s are 12 and windchill 2F. We warm up a bit for 5 days.

The snow got shoved aside on the roads and the city can move < maybe >

I'm typing / coffee close. BTW, yesterday the downstairs bathroom registered 62 in the AM. Trust me that is cool. In fact, I can't recall a lower number.

So, what happened today. the highlight was pancakes for dinner. I usually refuse pancakes in restaurants on the grounds that mine are better. Ditto. Served w/ Johnsonville breakfast sausage - well, dyno - mite, babeee !

M has her pancakes w/ table syrup. I'm a purist b/c I choose corn syrup < its pure invert sugar > and fruit < peaches this time >. If anything will kill your liver its gonna be that invert sugar. I grew up on Beehive Golden Corn Syrup.

Re - Use Packaging

is on a trial basis. Loop and Loblaws are offering on line shopping for use again containers of food items.

Nothing is more powerful than an idea whose time has come.
We shall see said the Zen Master

F temperature is 16 and feels like 8. Thats 8 whole degrees. Snow fell and its peaceful looking out there.
CBC on line was low on pandemic, low on variant news and even lower on vaccines. 
The snow was light but blowing around so some places seemed like 2 inches while there was almost bare patches. 

Today was inventory day for fridges and freezers. Essential for tracking the food supply, especially in this house where shrugs often greet a ' whats for dinner ' query. Well, tonite we eat left-overs in the form of yesterday s family chicken pack. A whole roast chcken, 4 sides and rolls. We use Swiss Chalet or roasted chicken ala everyone style. Famous for their sauce, red - ish and tomato -ey and disliked by some. We like SC sauce.

Well, we are dug out here.Waiting for the next round fo systems due in 10 h. And #2 may be bigger. The long range from Brett Adnerson seems to indicate seasonal conditions < which is 26 F and unsettled > fading into wettish for the middle of March. Did someone see his shadow. Where are you ' Puxatany Phillip ' ?

Love to Bake? 🍰

 Lehman s was a day late and a dollar short - yesterday was Sally Lunn bun Round 2. Howver it was a good lead in for today

Swept through the CBC on line sections. In brief, the numbers are 19 F feels like 10. Approx 3/4 to a foot of snow spread over 20 h til Tues AM late ish. Health experts are advising against taking pain killers pre vaccination.
Obviously, for the 99 % of Canadians un - vaccinated yet, timely. For the U.K., its like Lehman s dollar short business

Alrighty, tell us about Round 2. I was efficient. Mostly. I turned the oven on early to warm the kitchen < yeast things rise better at 85 F >. I created the ideal rising oven in a microwave using a bean bag warmer and a large bowl of hot water. I had all ingredients out on the counter. The only improvement would be to pre - melt the butter < that step took longer than I thought >.
The proof is in the pudding, analysis.
Sally Lunn 2 was lighter, less crusty and slightly sweetish. I had cut down pre- set baking time from 38 min to 34. And in fact, on checking w/ a toothpick actually pulled out Sally L2 at 30 min or so. Please recall that I had halved the original recipe. The overall effect was excellent.

In final overview. Success. However, I'm sort of glad that I didn't try Sally Lunn in Bath. Its taken me several tries to find the appropriate accompaniment to Sally L.

I tried honey, honey and cinmmon, strawberry jam and butter and jam. The winner by far : strawberry jam w/ vanilla yoghurt. The yoghurt adds a second flavour and makes the whole experience more moist. I'm also wondering if corn syrup might do the trick. It is pure invert sugar but I grew up using Beehive golden corn syrup. Corn syrup is my go to for pancakes and French toast.

Sally Lunn, Bath bun
Rising, rising, rising
the light and airy one
How to serve you
Seems the quest
Jam and yoghurt
Seems the best

Second go round
Streamlined try

Sitting and Typing

 this Sunday morning. Coffee by the bedside. Oh, I am in the spare bed. Did a quick run through the CBC on line sections. Pandemic, variants - ah no vaccination news b/c we ran out.

Yes, we rank 10 th or lower in per capita vaccinations. But we likely rank # 40 in per capita deaths.
The cold continues < or never stopped > its 12 F  and less w/ wind chill. The hi today is 24.

The Lehman s banner :                                                                 Soothing Remedies 👍 Get Relief from Life's Aches and Pains

An error : Canada ranks 48 th in deaths per million population

way below the U.S. at # 7

COVID-19 deaths worldwide per million population as of February 12, 2021, by country

Published by Raynor de Best, Feb 12, 2021

 Based on a comparison of coronavirus deaths in 200 countries relative to their population, Belgium had the most losses to COVID-19 up until February 12, 2021. As of the same date, the virus had infected over 107.8 million people worldwide, and the number of deaths had totaled more than 2.3 million. Note, however, that COVID-19 test rates can vary per country. Additionally, big differences show up between countries when combining the number of deaths against confirmed COVID-19 cases. The source seemingly does not differentiate between "the Wuhan strain" (2019-nCOV) of COVID-19 or "the South African mutation" (B.1.1.7) that appeared in the UK in late 2020.

The difficulties of death figures

This table aims to provide a complete picture on the topic, but it very much relies on data that has become more difficult to compare. As the coronavirus pandemic developed across the world, countries already used different methods to count fatalities, and they sometimes changed them during the course of the pandemic. On April 16, for example, the Chinese city of Wuhan added a 50 percent increase in their death figures to account for community deaths. These deaths occurred outside of hospitals and went unaccounted for so far. The state of New York did something similar two days before, revising their figures with 3,700 new deaths as they started to include “assumed” coronavirus victims. The United Kingdom started counting deaths in care homes and private households on April 29, adjusting their number with about 5,000 new deaths (which were corrected lowered again by the same amount on August 18). This makes an already difficult comparison even more difficult. Belgium, for example, counts suspected coronavirus deaths in their figures, whereas other countries have not done that (yet). This means two things. First, it could have a big impact on both current as well as future figures. On April 16 already, UK health experts stated that if their numbers were corrected for community deaths like in Wuhan, the UK number would change from 205 to “above 300”. This is exactly what happened two weeks later. Second, it is difficult to pinpoint exactly which countries already have “revised” numbers (like Belgium, Wuhan or New York) and which ones do not. One work-around could be to look at (freely accessible) timelines that track the reported daily increase of deaths in certain countries. Several of these are available on our platform, such as for Belgium, Italy and Sweden. A sudden large increase might be an indicator that the domestic sources changed their methodology.

Where are these numbers coming from?

The numbers shown here were collected by Johns Hopkins University, a source that manually checks the data with domestic health authorities. For the majority of countries, this is from national authorities. In some cases, like China, the United States, Canada or Australia, city reports or other various state authorities were consulted. In this statistic, these separately reported numbers were put together. For more information or other freely accessible content, please visit our dedicated Facts and Figures page.

Coronavirus (COVID-19) deaths worldwide per one million population as of February 12, 2021, by country

Search:Records:132550

	Confirmed cases (absolute)	Cases in last 7 days	Confirmed deaths (absolute)	Deaths in last 7 days	Daily increase (# deaths)	Population (in millions)	Deaths per million (total)	Deaths per million (last 7 days)
Belgium	733,100	11,668	21,551	256	39	11.48	1,876.6	22.29
Slovenia	177,140	4,841	3,677	82	10	2.09	1,761.06	39.27
United Kingdom¹	3,986,934	86,698	115,310	4,259	676	66.83	1,725.31	63.72
Czechia	1,064,952	43,475	17,772	796	130	10.67	1,665.65	74.6
Italy	2,683,403	71,744	92,729	2,111	391	60.3	1,537.86	35.01
Bosnia and Herzegovina	125,123	1,689	4,868	93	15	3.3	1,474.7	28.17
Portugal	778,369	22,595	14,885	1,145	167	10.27	1,449.45	111.5
USA¹	27,283,589	653,231	473,232	15,699	3,718	328.24	1,441.73	47.83
North Macedonia	96,152	1,956	2,966	58	7	2.08	1,423.59	27.84
Hungary	381,875	8,311	13,444	514	97	9.77	1,376.06	52.61
Bulgaria	228,044	4,985	9,561	259	34	6.98	1,370.6	37.13
Spain	3,041,454	99,464	64,217	2,831	513	47.08	1,364.09	60.14
Moldova	167,546	4,146	3,607	92	3,607	2.66	1,357.22	34.62