February Closes Out

 not as warm as promised. This week is not quite as warm as promised - five days ago.

However, a big blue sky welcomes the 28 th. The highlight of the day, is fish dinner. I'll do the frying in crumbs and such. 

i'm not sure how much a pound this fish costs. The guys drove up to Simcoe, rented a hut, food and drink. 

This meal could equal caviar in cost < we won't know b/c we've stopped buying caviar - in protest >

The long range from Brett Anderson.
FE 28 to MR 6 - edge of both cold and dry

MR 7 to 13 - massive cold bulge

MR 14 to 20 - edge  of cold coming out of the W

Snow flurries were the surprise

Wind gusted and white flew

Damp and miserable. I ventured out to the Tiger. I returned w/ cushions from the Debbie Travis line.
Elegance for your home and cheap as chips < her line not mine >

 Anywho, we have four new cushions - 2 tweedy < tan ? > and 2 are small linear designed < off white >. I pikced them and M said ' good choice ' Wow !

 I kept the receipt < I'm not that inexperienced ! >

Eggs and bacon for dinner.

The fishing guys went out today and brought me home perch < yum >
I filleted them and prepped them for dinner < tomorrow >.

All in a days work. Ithink that I'll make like Russia and invade somewhere, unsuspecting.

Receding Cold

 headed North. The daystarted frigid but is warming - slowly, w/ little flakes. As stated, we warm to near freezing, + or - for a week. Mostly, under freezing point - real close though.

I checked a re- made mouse bait stations < very popular it seems > around the house. I've opted for homemade bait boxes w/ see through lids - otherwise you need to open each locked box. Unfortunately, homemade ones are not pet and child proof. Well, I only need to worry about M getting the munchies around the greeny or bluey mouse blocks. I wrote poison on the lid w/ ' X s ' but dogs can't read - M can.

FYFO

freeze your face off !

 A dip into the Arctic freezer for a day. Warmth is promised but its 2 days away. Freezing point < + or - > is the average for 7 days.

Booze supply is good. Heat is on and churning. Ah, the sweet life < NOT >

We recieved our first, all electronic wedding. The notice and invitation came email. The ' website ' is the organizer. The central hub for info, photos and social interfacing. Its hard to tell if we need to show up or send a simulacrum.

And the day got warmer. Tonight, right back down. BUT starting tomorrow, the temperature hovers around freezing for a week

  

Life in the Big City

 You likely need an alarm system. We do

However, and its a big one - each system has glitches. To point, we have one sensor < on a window > that eats batteries. Well, three batteries at ( one was free b/c it died in 2 months > approx $ 5 a piece adds up. This year, < 2 months on, we are at 2 changes >

I called the Telcom and they sent a tech out right away. The upshot is our house has too much concrete < walls in the basement and basement ceilings > The tech levelled and said ' originally, the installer should not have left w/ signal strength so poor in the basement. The tech kindly added a signal relay in the basement and reset the house.

We shall see said the Zen Master. BUT, Mr Tech left his cell #. thus, if things go south b/c of what he added or didn't add ' call me, this isn't your doing ' NEAT..... 

The day is cold to very cold < wind is down > and sunny to blazes

 

I Read

recently, that an online source, defined or explained the term ' blog ' as an online diary.
You the reader must have seen the disappointment or lack thereof when I write about ' 3 followers ' after 7 years < ? >
I was beginning to think that I should extol the virtues of ivermectin and explain how ' iver ' has boosted my sex drive and increased my presence on the ' net.
And my anxiety hit new heights when I thought that this blog may need to cover the story that expounded that Kim Kardashian may be smarter than the average reader thinks ..... See ! there are some scary topics out there

Instead. You can hear about my 7:30 morning run to Superstore. A store that was 10 % full. Shopping cart races could have been allowed. My beer of choice < lately >, " HopHouse 13 "was 12 % cheaper than the beer store  or the shelf price.
Lets be clear. The name ' HopHouse 13 ' refers to the old storage building at Guiness Brewery, in Dublin, that used to store hops. And the name has nothing to do w/ drugs < well, the alcohol kind its true >

Unfortunately, SuperStore or RCSS, often has shelf signs that say ' buy 2 or more for $ 2.58 each or individually $ 3.20 '. And thats exactly what the yoghurt sign said. Thus, I came home w/ 4. The best before date was April 4, 2022. Plenty of time to eat 4 containers.

Sitting and typing w/ the computer screen hooked to the TV and drinking coffee and Baileys Irish Cream - crikey, I earned the treat.

And, once again, I discovered a favourite - except  its got 3 million hits already. See, I'm right on top of  it. The song is ' I Can't Make You Love Me ' by Reid and Shallamb <? >. The artist is Bonnie Raitt as accompanied by Bruce Hornsby. So, I've listened about 20 times, now.

What # Follows 3305

 # 3306

Cute, eh ? Snuck that one in. 3306 posts. All high quality and fun.

M gets an MRI today and she is worried. They put you in a clicking tunnel for 20 minutes. AND they see everything.
Well, nit quite b/c the results can be - undechipherable or vague.

A mild winter day fraught w/ freezing rain and then plain rain as the temperature climbs to 40 F. We drop below freezing for severral days but barely.

Whad Up ? dude

 OK, grammatically and culturally skewed

How are you, this morning ? I awoke at 5:30 AM. I read M's novel, a crime episode. I wasn't supposed to co -read w/ her but rather get my own book BUT it was lying there - honest !

The day is ' melty ' and rain is due, all day it seems.

My going to bed routine, now involves, listening to tapes - such as the ' Adventures of Sherlock Holmes '. This tryout is going poorly. I can only stand the noise for ten minutes or so. The first episode was            ' Scandal in Bohemia '.

I'm using the big laptop - the Dell 17 ", right now. Yes, purchased in 2010 - to replace the desk PC, that was old and slow and glitchy.

This transition was well planned out. The desk PC cost $ 2 000. And a lot of re-adjustment through the years. Looking back, a waste of space. however, I saw the end coming, two years before, and yes, bought the Dell as a compromise. A full size laptop, and portable. Crikey !. I lugged the bleedin' anchor to England and Florida.

Finally, the moment arrived. Dump the desk PC and substitute the Dell. Overall, the Dell was faster, more storage and as easy to use < full size keyboard > as the desk monster.

Not w/out some hassle involving software and some peripherals i.e. the printer. I solved the printer issue w/ a HP brand printer. Flawless, as far as I could tell. ( and it gave out a year and half ago ).

And I saw that jump coming and had bought a e Machine. Light and fast. Oops ! Never quite worked, as planned. A $ 130 error of sorts. The e- Machine tried its best - a sad effort. I pumped another $ 130 into that puppy. 

I bolted to a HP Chromebook and have never looked back. Unfortunately, I've been dragged into the Chrome OS world and Google - Swallowed is likely more appropriate. however, the Microsoft world is almost as invasive and proprietary.

There is an out here. If you are willing - you can switch to a Linux or other platform. Way less exclusive and open source. I don't think that I've got the smarts to make that change.

The problem is that, this is the Dell typing and its convenient. I'm picky enough to want a full size keyboard. The first Dell Chromebook is alright, it was $ 300 and has held up nicely. The keyboard is comfortable. A basic model, student proof. Drop resistant, spill resistant. Tough and utile, are the bywords

The ' Duet ', my second Chromebook, was $ 300 and change. For me, fast and powerful. Its a typewriter - search engine. The keyboard got spilled on and replaced by a 3/4 plug in keyboard < much better >. the Duet keyboard is working but its ' awful '. I know you're thinking - why diidn't you spill on the Dell student proof job - duh !

I'm saying - the little laptops and tablets really don't do too much for me. The upshot is, that I'm lugging a peripheral keyboard most places, from now on. 'nuff said.

{ BTW, the background music is YouTube, my playlist - Bonnie Raitt and Bruce Hornsby, ' I Can't Make You Love Me ' FANTASTIC sound }

Follow up. Caught. M knew that I read her book. Drats ! " Go get your own !!!! " was heard.

Lunch was takeout Chinese from Skyland -plus sushi, fried chicken and spring rolls. Crikey. Everything is on sale at Skyland hot counter.

And February Is Hanging On

w/ its cold and what-not. Today, the wind is a roaring force and background symphony.

Well, we are safe and warm - coffee-d up and fed. Pancakes and apple sauce < all homemade > was served ( by me, for me )

Tired of winter ? Yes. But we get tired of heat in the summer, too. Make up your mind ! 
We get above freezing temperatures for 3 days w/out snow. Snow is due later, say 4 days out.

That was a wall of cold. And the wind was a stand alone terror
Prudence, I wore ski gloves TG, that I thought of that. I cleared the snow from the deck and lower patio < both entrances to the house >

White in the Night

 and less trouble than I envisioned

I figured ' wet and heavy ' but the bulk was fluffy to slightly sticky. However, the foundation stuck to the ground -  a layer.

Cold. No wind and not bitter. Plain cold.

And the Rains Came

 " Baby, the rain must fall " Glenn Yarbrough

" Baby the wind must blow "

A gloomy day ahead but a pregnant wait as we anticipate a change to freezing precipitation and subsequently a large amout of snow. 

" Wherever, my heart leads me
   Baby, I must go "

Baby the snow must come ??? < he never sang that >

And around 5 P - freezing something

Now, almost an inch of heavy, wet snow.

Warm Happened

 as predicted and I suppose that they talked about the wind gusts

BUT, we got surprised. Roaring not gusting. However, the sun highlights the trees and snow. Pretty !

This was melt-  a - rama. Everything was flowing. I did scoop ice out of the gutters - we are expecting buckets of rain. Ice chunks are rumbling off the steel roof. Usually, we hear scratching or thumping but w/ the warm - ice bergs are sliding off the roof.

Fish Hearts

 well, not. We did have the House platter from  the ' Halibut House '. A battered halibut piece, 3 shrimp and 3 scallops + 5 handfuls of chips. Very good chips BTW. Maybe, the best tasting french fries in the area.

Bonus : enough is left over for lunch today. Thus, 3 meals in one.

The day went from FFFFFreezing cold to Fcold. And yes tomorrow is 46 < ? > as is Thurs + rain guaranteed

And it was ' baking day ', finally, bran muffins hit the oven and made it out. Some kind of feeling of accomplishment and making healthy stuff.

" My Sunny Valentine "

 thats a steal and paraphrase
but the real reference could be ' You're as cold as ice ...... '

The wind chill is 10 F but sunny. 

On the ' almost good news front ', Ontario is moving to ease restrictions - such as increase capacity limits, slowly moving on to recinding vaccine proof to enter businesses.

For the week, we are up and down in temperature - cold - 26 to 28 F BUT Wednesday 44 F or close.

Sunday Is for

 shopping ?

resting ?

I'll go w/ shopping

Or rather, did. I arrived at Walmart at 8 AM. Parking lot looked on the busy side. However, the store was 20 % or so capacity

In and quick, done. Beauti ! 

But COLD, solid wall of cold as you step out. Big sun, was very deceptive.

What Does It Take

for a good night's sleep

Apparently, I am not alone in asking. Statistics, claim approx half of people surveyed said that they slept poorly < or sleep either not enough or have a poor night  >

Alright. It s been at least 2 weeks - for the no laptop before bed moratorium.
The results. Umh, so - so. I do fall asleep w/ out a lot tossing and turning < as before the moratorium >. I can't say that I'm better rested.
Then last night, well, back to tossing and uncomfortable. I relented and used Gravol < 2 tablets > and after 20 minutes fell asleep. I pretty mcuh slept through to 9AM which is late for me < but I was tired >.

I'm not sure how long that I need to keep up the moratorium on laptops. Thus, how long do I need to establish a bedtime routine. Perhaps, the truth is that I've taken decades to build a bad routine - a longer  " proper routine " break in is needed.

The boys of JHU are back playing, ranked 16 th in the pre - season polls. The' Columbia blue ' have played 2 and won 2. Last night, it was homtown area rivals, Towson. JHU holds a 46 - 7 record vs Towson.

This day is / was cold and the tonight is a big plunge down. The forecast is for 10 -11 degrees. We do warm up in three days. Ah, ' the sun 'll come out tomorrow ' or in 3 days or 3 weeks

Somebody say something positive. " Up the Columbia blue ^ "

OMG - I Missed Posting

no excuses. Was I busy ? Was I in La La land ?

Dunno. I ran errands for 4 h

I had finances to arrange - maybe, I should have created a GIC acct sooner. The interest isn't fantastic but better than nothing. We are invested heavily in stocks etc but balanced quite nicely w/ fixed income instruments.

For peace of mind, I wanted a Federally backed savings pool. Til now, it was savings accts but GIC pays a little better - and besides it gives our banking rep something to do.

The day had a grim feel to it - damp and cold. I still went out for Chinese food as a treat < treat of the week >

The ' sun'll come up tomorrow ....

' actually, the sun is up today. With the temperautre near 32 should be a relatively fine day 

Too cold for gardening. 

Brilliant day, best of winter - except that we are not in Florida

I've been out and its balmy or I'm ' balmy '. You can hear the waer running in the eavestrough

the Days Roll On

 and the months fly by
How are M and I going to square this, time lost.

We didn't travel and .......
how are we ahead since FE 2000 when we returned from Fla.

AHEAD ? what a stupid thing to say

How far behind ....... -> 

In the book that I'm re -reading for the 20 th time, ' the Drawing of the Dark ' by Tim Powers
already < page 60 now > someone has said ' so much has been lost, so much more will be lost '  CV 19 s elegy

Actually, '' Drawing of the Dark ' is the absolute best of reading  for me. Swords, sorcery and mythology < both King arthur and Merlin reappear > plus ..... the hero of the piece is ' the dark ' 
The dark is dark beer. The brewery is 40 centuries old and dates back to the ' Beaker people ' and Finn McCool. Finn McCool s burial site is the foundtion for the brewery vat.
Like 100 yr old stew where the cook adds more stuff on top of the original. The Herzwestern brew is drawn off. Light beer is first taken off the top. The next draw is the bock < middle spigot > but the true essence of Finn McCool is the ' dark ' or bottom spigot draw every century.
The origin of the name ' Vienna ', site of the brewery is  Vindobona or Finn s resting place.

Anyway, it is always a treat to delve into the ' dark '. And I'm always hoping to be drinking the dark myself. Lately, say 9 months, I've been buying  ' HopHouse 13 ' a darkbeer from Guiness of Ireland. And I'm on my last can today - much mourning in the house.

33F

 ' praise the Lord and pass the ammo '

above freezing

ABOVE. above w/ sun and light winds

' Celebration Time - come on ',  Kool and the Gang < notice that it wasn't ' warm ' and the Gang >

Another day and another dollar - buy a coffee <where >

' the bars are temples

 but the pearls ain't free ...  ' Ah ! the story of life - in one line

From ' 1 Night in Bangkok ' < musical ' Chess >

99 Luft Ballons 

The day is damp and ugly but - of course, as I type - the sun breaks out and changes eveything

Hope springs or limps into view. However, the wind is now roaring through the trees - branches and snow or ice is moving sideways.

the Art of Hibernating

 Post # 3 291

" when you're feeling sad and lonely .... " were the lyrics

But hibernation is how Puxatawny Phil and bretehren make it through the winter. Now, I cannot say how ' sad or lonely' Phil gets in winter but sleep is the key.

We ordered, the deep dish Little Ceasar s ' Canadian ' for dinner.  tad greasy w/ bacon bits, sausage, mushroom and bacon. Well, tastes meaty and is salty and greasy enough to delight.

I read somewhere that if you cook at home don't sweat the oil that you use etc. on the grounds that you couldn't ever equal what they do to your food in a restaurant. Truth. We couldn't make a piiza as greasy as the one last night

Cold and sunny. We need to get through approx 7 days of cold to bitter cold and then ....... the weather is suppsoed to break. I decided to take photos of the livingroom window view, I figured good scenery is good sceenry < nobody knows that you'll freeze your face off out there >

" Oh, the weather Outside .....

 is frightful < - ly normal > 

but we'll get along - hibernating < oops ! error - he changed the lyrics >

Mayhaps an inch fell. Light and crystal - line, sticks a bit to the ground.

I keep the wrap - around deck clear for emergencies, the kitchen has sliding doors onto the deck. I'm probably the only one on the street who worries.

Meta had a steep fall in price. Meta is the parent for Facebook ?, any how its big. The pundits measured the loss in billions $. You see, if they ahd named it Omicron - well, it would still be soaring < around the world >

Hard to ID

 what fell, yesterday afternoon into night - however, looks like snow on the ground - now. Really, sounded like pellets.

We will get cold < sub freezing for 4 days > then a slight rise

A dull day in the offing, seems our fate. A winter wonder - land, for sure - sweeping panoramas of white, broken only by the trees.

Waiting for the Snow

 and crap

The air is damp ish and the day is gray. This is the atmosphere of pregnant weather - just holding on

I ventured out to shop. The Superstore was typically almost empty.

The parking lot had snow mountains everywhere.

In and out, very easy. no line ups.

Friends said ' stock up before the storm ' and lay in supplies
I made sure beer and wine will last

We got rain that sounded a little solid - on the skylights.

Best Version

 " I want you to be the best version of yourself " spoken to Vears or Captain Marvel by her commander     < Jude Law >

On its own, sounds like it s life affirming - positive

In retrospect, one could ask ' why can't you be you ' Is self improvement critical to life - maybe

The day is trending to warm - above freezing BUT a mess of rain - snow - rain is coming and the amounts are variable for a whole slew of reasons. Guesses range from downright ugly to a hit or miss situation. Again. Cold air out of the Prairie West is meeting moist Gulf air somewhere over the middle U.S. states and hooking North.

The days after snow / rain are return to cold. Brett Anderson at Accuweather is saying ......

JA 31 - FE 6  stormy

FE 7 - 13       stormy

FE 14 - 20     seasonal