Up w/ the Birds

 actually, I mean that I saw the clock at 5:15 AM and again at almost 6. Now, its 7 and I am typing

I believe technically the birds were officially awake before me.
Go birds. The Toronto Raptors - centre less Raptors, are out of the playoffs. A short run but short.
The BlueJays of Major League baseball are a ' hit ' and pitch success.
The Toronto Maple Leafs are a force in the NHL.

A repeat, I'm sure. The program, an A&E channel original called          ' Nightwatch ' is our regular choice at 10 PM Thursday. Nightwatch follows the EMS response in New Orleans. LA. Of course, its the 8P to 4A shift. Not a job that I'd have wanted.

Alright. Talk and action is shifting to the Quarter Mile House. My truck bed is loaded w/ ' plastic ' tiles to overlay on the backdeck. The wood is of dubious finish [ the urethane or waterseal is long gone ]. Thus, the new owner, A. is covering the boards w/ black tile. I'm in charge of transport. Along w/ a ' post jack ' [ in case, its needed some year ], a hedge trimmer and baking sheet 2 1/2 ft by 3 ft.
The wholeload is cottage bound on Monday.

I'm hoping the guys mean to help me prep the boat too!

The Long Range, courtesy of Brett Anderson at Accuweather. The headline reads " Stubborn Cold to  Linger into May "

May 4 - 10 `the lower Great Lakes Basin is cool w/ drier to the NorthEast and wet to the East and south

May 11 - 17 the lower Great Lakes Basin is surrounded by : Cool to the North and dry to the East. SouthW, there is wet and SouthE there is warmer. 

May 18 - 24 the Lower Great Lakes Basin is wet [ extending almost to Superior ] and coolNorth of that w/ Warmer down the Atlantic seaboard

I fiddled w/ the bookshelves in the spare / workout room plus sewing machine. ' Fiddled ' b/c the shelves in the middle are fixed. These are Ikea CD or cassette holder shelves. We have paperbacks and CD / cassette tapes there. The original intent was to re - organize [ my speciality ] and make the storage more efficient and cull what is not wanted
Surprise ! Everything went back - of course it did ! On the positive side, I did an inventory and streamlined the shelving [ a bit ].

So ,we ask who keeps cassette tapes ? And for what. But in my defence, there are Sherlock Holmes material and Donna Leone stuff [ she writes the Inspector Guido Brunetti series ]

" Offer up your best defence " is my style

When the Movie

doesn't have machine guns - I don't think that they even use that term - its machine pistol or Uzi or rapid fire
Sorry Kelly

' Julie and Julia ' by Nora Ephron [ no guns but smoking ] The true story of two true stories, relates how a turning thirty mid - level bureaucrat tries to find a purpose - Julie. Julie turns to cooking and attempts to make every dish in the Julia Child book ' Mastering French Cooking '. 
The movie parallels the lives of Julia Child as she goes from government employee espoused to a mid level bureaucrat in France to a wonderful cook w/ Julie working  her way through that cookbook.
Butter ! hope I didn't spoil the movie for  you

Next. ' Carrie's War ', yes, no guns and smoking. Two children are sent from London to Wales to avoid the bombing in WW II. Life can be good but trying as the two, Carrie and Nick ease into semi - rurual life in Wales. 

The red banner in ' local weather ' announced - frost warning. The day is sunny and headed for north of 60 but not too far north.

We went and had our 2 nd booster for CV 19.      We are a risk group  < over 60 and over 70 > w/ cascading health issues as we age.

The air is cool b/c that wind is brisk and carries a chill

May Is Coming

 lets see :

dandelions are a threat but this is the earliest that I've attacked them. The lady next door spends a day at a time going after them [ umbrella and little stool ] she digs them out.
I'm replacing the soil and seeding.

Next door fishing friend is asking about the walleye opener in May [ as in ' are we going ? ' ]. Guess we are !

My phone shows photo from previous years [ as in - this is last year, same time ]. Four days ago, it was me fisning last year in the creek behind the house

This morning is a cool start to the day but big sun coming

Got out early, and went after those dandelions, again ! 
At 8 AM started on muffins w/ a deadline of 9AM eat'em time
Accomplished !

The Red Banner

 on the weather section for CBC says ' Frost Alert '

Its 32 now and will hit 40 and a  little. There is sun to start and the wind is up slightly w/ drizzle to follow.

Nitfix, has a new offering ' Yellow Peril ' in which an alien life form called DANDELION attempts to conquer the known world. Despite the best efforts of mankind, the alien sinks deep tap roots into the Earth. Almost impossible to unseat, once begun - inevitably the Earth is covered in a lifeform so nefarious that no earthly power can cope.

Alright. So, I have these nightmares. We know that they are not real. Except, the lawn is a maze of holes, filled w/ grass bedding and some seed. In an anonymous poll, voting showed that the holes outnumber the dandelions.

Good Start

 sun and blue sky

Rain is likely. And did come. Announcing snow flurries are possible.

The day was fine, otherwise.

Day 3 or round 3 of dandelion patrol. I'm digging the stuff out and refilling the holes w/ turf starter and then seeding the patches. I figure this is payback for letting them establish a stronghold.

OMG. Wells Fargo.

1. We could not M a replacement debit card. I ordered one and three PIN #s arrived and 2 cards.
2. I cancelled one card b/c it never arrived. In the States all remaining cards worked fine. Great !
3. Get home. An email arrives. Wells Fargo requires all account holders to have a permanent U.S. address. Great < NO >
4. We deposit a cheque to clear out the balance and transfer the $ U.S. to our Cdn bank.
5. The cheques is received and 1/2 the money is credited w/ half on hold.
6. An email arrives. Balance is - $5. Yes, they are charging us for letting the balance fall too low.
7. Call Wells. The lady is hard to understand b/c of a interrupted voice problem. But the lady gets out " oh, if you do't know someone w/ a U.S. address or can get to a branch - you'll have trouble cancelling this account ". I said ' you're hard to understand, I'll call back '
8. I get Diane. ' Oh, I see you're emptying your account by cheque. Do you want to close the account now or wait for the full cheque to clear '
Really. She was competent and could do something. We'll wait for the cheque to clear. What a relief.

I Built a Wall

 last year from the pavers excavated when we took up part of the walkway.The wall stood for the winter and anchored the Xmas display in the backyard. Thus, it seems if this wall stays for another 4 000 yrs - I'll have surpassed the Chinese. Please note, no one died in the building of this wall. I took a peek at the wall and noted that it has a slight concavity top to bottom and side to side plus it leans toward the house. The land there slopes the other way.

W/ some more leftover pavers, I trimmed the tree bed. Originally, I used a garden hose tacked down as the boundary of the tree bed. It was a whim and looked cheesy as I layed the pavers - however, from the picture window up here, definitely, a positive addition to the overall look of the yard.

The day is partly cloudy and little wind w/rain due this afternoon. We'll touch somewhere neat 50 this afternoon and pretty much be close to 60 all week. Thurs looks to be the winner.

A little shopping trip to Walmart and the Italian bakery w/ a hot table was on the agenda. At least, I borught home dinner

' You Can Lay Your Head

 ... back on the ground
Let you hair flow all around 
Offer up your best defence
Cause this is the END of the INNOCENCE ' lyrics by Bruce Hornsby and Don Henley

I'll bet you, every decade, every two years, somewhere, someone believes those words were meant for their present NOW. B/c I do.

How innocent could I be ? I live in North America. 10 % of the population owns or controls 90 % of the wealth. In the  ' Unforgiven ' English Bob says ' that you [ Americans ] should elect a king or emperor instead of a  president /b/c you'd be less likely to kill them ', ..slightly paraphrased..

The day is starting off, cool w/ a stiff breeze.

The sun burst out but that wind is a force - cooling off the day.

I did gardening IF re - sinking garden edging counts. And dandelion patrol hit its second go - round.

Now, as night falls, there is peace and stillness out there. Very typical of eveening conditions - land is not being heated and the winds fall to gentle breezes

? and the

 Scarberians, is a musical group. I'm assuming it a band. The not so local pub that we go to, Tara had a poster announcing - yes - them.

This name is almost a direct steal from the group " ? and the Mysterians ".

Since, we don't get out much or haven't been getting out [ for 2 years ], I look around for ' well, different. And find it.

A gloomy day which is the setup for tomorrow, 70 degrees on the way.
We shall see said the Zen Master.

Error ! Sunday will be 60 + and sunny but Monday is 70 and rain 

And nothing has improved, weather - wise

The Cool Air

 [ this is post # 3366 ] wafting across the yard - should be the start of a ' ode to spring '

Actually, we'll take anything considering the crap that hs been our weather.

And if we can hang onto Sunday, the prognosticators are saying 70 or real close.

I have tried to stay away from world news. If you're looking for joy, NO. If you're looking for peace. NO. The most content countries are considered West or developed or Caucasian [ mostly ]

Canada ranks 13 or 15. Oh, Canada home of whiners and complainers and wannabe s

And speaking of bees ! Those critters are not doing well.
Thus, if you thought my news was dull. YES. Non consequential. YES
Then recall, this paraphrased quote ' the big events and earth shattering events flow by like currents in the river - whereas the real life is on the banks, steady growing and occassionally, drowned by that river '
[ this was really paraphrased ] Perhaps, you get that those ' world news ' items are  always there, always riotous and disturbing - 

See. You don't need that. Instead. You can hear about my latest purchase and upgrade. Dusk to Dawn, LED bulbs. At $6 apiece, pricey. However, the timer on the wall switch doesn't turn on the porch lights automatically. So, replace or fix the timer. Well, its still functions as a switch. Da da. Make the bulbs automatic.
Third day, now and so far so good.

I did outside work in a sweatshirt. Dandelion patrol. Get'em young, is the word. The roots are really short right now in the damp earth - not those carrots that I was digging up last summer.

Watching the World

 from our window. Definitely, green is there. We are still looking out across the ravine but yes, its greening out there

We are scheduled for our 4th dose of vaccine for CV 19. Lets see. The rationale: its free, its there and we fall into a risk category. I think the issue is frail health as you age.

And, ' youth is wasted on the young ' - old age might be wasted o the old, I'm not sure about this one

Downstairs, in the other TV room ( w/ fireplace ), I pikced a notebook and started writing. Three or four sentences - really, a new blog begins ?
No. I've found these notebooks before,  3 - 4 days or a week, and then nothing. This blog is the longest and most complete.

How long can drivel - go on, We shall see said the Zen Master

The Day in Review

 I did the needful and got an oil change. Recalling what items and services used to cost is a consequence of ' been there, done that - but cheaper '

OK. $ 110 and coin for an oil change. To be fair, the truck needs super duper oil < to last 16 000 KM or miles ???? >. The sticker on the window Aug / 21. for the last change. As well, the changer guy runs around and tops up fluids and lubes doors etc.

Then, the Tiger was a quick stop. Right. The cart filled quickly. However, I opted to see what I could buy that we regularly might need.
So, flour, sugar < on sale >, milk, eggs, flowers < live ones >,doughnuts and pretzels all made it into the buggy. Oh and sherpa insoles that will go in my slippers
Ah, those slippers

Originally, the slippers consisted of soft leather uppers and a plasticky kind of sole. The upshot was a stiff and noisy < clop - clop sound > for your feet. I actually, stopped wearing them.
Then a random thought said ' remove the plastic '. New comfortable slippers.
But the material left was slick. OK. I used textured ink to create a slip resistant pattern for traction. The paint wore off and there is not much to attach to.
Next. I glued textured drawer line to give some traction. That mostly wore off. Alright. Let s go w/ double sided Gorilla tape stuck to the bottom and liner material of top.
Limited success. Some liner stayed most fell off.
Now, I'm using Gorilla tape and liner but added stitches to hold the Gorilla tape down.

At this point, sane people say ' enough ! go buy a new pair '
Aha, you mean the same ones that caused these problems b/c that is all that I'll find

There is a part of me that is cheap. And a part of me thats says ' throwing out is a real societal issue ' . Some may even say that ' out ' is getting hard to find. I.E. where do you dump stuff if your a city.

The sherpa liners ( see: got back on track ) are fitted inside the slippers and are comfortable. Cost of all this approx $ 4 and time.

We shall see said the Zen Master

from the " Darkest Hour "

the latest, film on Churchill ( the early war years ) " A man who doesn't change his mind, will change nothing "

And from O.W. < Oscar Wilde >. "Consistency is the last refuge of the unimaginative "

I see we are going for the heavy hitters, today.  And from that same film< is it a film / is there film any more > , Darkest Hour,
' Said brave Horatius, Captain of the gate
Death comes to all soon or late
What better fate
than to die facing fearful odds
for the ashes of their fathers
and temples of their gods '   
 from the Lays of Rome by Thomas Babbington
Plus the quote is in the movie, ' Oblivion ' from 2020  < Tom Cruise, being Tom Cruise >. And Morgan Freeman is a wise old warrior.
I also saw 'Numbers Station ' w/ John Cusack < being John Cusack, exactly > but entertaining.

Its getting so bad, picking movies - well, ' Clifford, the Big Red Dog ' is looking like a go to choice. M says that the kids in her class loved     ' Clifford '

I bought a five movie collection and Lea Thompson is in ' Casual Sex '. Really cute, the way I remember her. B/c I saw a TV show where LT is a grandma " Oh, no - Grandma Lea "

A New Point of View

 in the basement, taking advantage of the fireplace and the change of POV. We have - more or less, a picture window in the livingroom / everything room. We spend 3/4 of waking hours there. Great View.

Getting lesser b/c the foliage will curtain us in. We can still see across the ravine.

From down here < ground level > the landscape features are clsoer and there is less of a lookdown feeling. And no, we don't do this enough - we are too lazy and upstairs is closer to everything i.e. kithcen.

Its a cool start and the best we get is 40 3 F by afternoon. We are grateful for the sun and non - freezing air - you won't fast chill a chicken out there. Its tempting to go out and do chores - however, dress for the day.
To wit, I decided to do windows. I have a window washing pole, wash cloth-assembly and squeegee. I wore my winter/ fall overjacket and a hoodie. The plan, take off the jacket as I got warmed up. Nope. Never, removed the outer layer. The wind was up but it wasn't the only  problem.
It takes approx 30 - 40 minutes to do the lower sliding glass doors, upper  picture window and sidelights, upper bay windows ( 3 ) and lower picture window and sidelights. Usually, I give the frontside windows a rough go. I'll need to re-do the  front windows but willwait til the weather warms.

Lesson. dress in layers, even around the house. IT IS NOT summer !

This blog is a rarity for me. A steady, on going effort. I've found bits and pages of writing . The content is spur of the moment. And brief, maybe contemporary, but arcane. Sort of the ' Dead Sea Scrolls ' but not important and not profound.

SNOW !

" Snow covers the fields

... we used to know " ala Cole Porter < ? >

Not much, but big flakes. And the roads are bare.

A day of sun and cool wind happened. A quiet day, here, but its always quiet around this place.

Amazon is on speed dial, at this house. The " Ama " folks are coming tomorrow and Thursday. Their GPS must have a pin on our house.

 

Ka Boom Da Di Dee O

?

Alright - you come up w/ a newish sounding title everyday

We got big winds, yesterday, as predicted but today is sun and calm < I think >

Hope you're feeling better

The neighbour that fishes w/ me, offered to help set up the bassboat for 2022. I've launched early before but .....

First year, I felt great, out on the water before everyone else. They were cleaning up their properties. Oops ! You got it. Come late May, it must have taken me 3 weeks to catch up. Everything grew and made clean up more difficult. 

I also, had years where there was water in the boathouse up to the back wall. Some years, the ground was so soft < squishy really > and the rails were tilting  and sinking. 
This time, at least the foundation for the marine railway is solid < ? >

I called tomorrow off. I'm on the elliptical, thinking ' I hope my knee is OK tomorrow ' BUT D. next door has a bum knee now and is on restricted duty at work.
Yeah, 2 bum knees, are going to carry stuff up and down the steps at the Q. 
Something about facing your own mortality or fragility - sucks ! big time

Well, in the near future, I plan to visit Swensons and Lehmans.

Do you want to come w/ me ?
It will be a second foray of '22 into the USA.

Adventures, never cease, it seems. The call of the open  road.

Definitely, Things are Springing

 2 crocus are out here. Fragile looking but tough

This is a gray day in Sont < southern ontario, actually far southern ontario >. The breeeze is up but refreshing not bitter.

See. A change

" the seasons change and so do I "ala ???????

Its Changing Out There

 ( post : 3 358 )

Way more colour in  the bushes and trees
Yes, our one little crocus popped its head up. Purple against the mainly brown background.

A Gray Day but ......

North of us in Southern Manitoba, the prediction  is for 2 ft of snow and ice. The guess is 3 - 4 in of  snow per hour for 3 - 4 hours.

We only have ' not nice '

 However, the major colour is now becoming green. Spotty but definitely green.

Mr Sunshine popped out and a strong breeze kicked up. Today, was dimsum and go to Costco. Now, how are 2 pople going to eat 20 pcs of chicken - guess we'll find out.

As this day folds up, we look back and seek accomplishment. Maybe, every gain is a good thing. Every day is a chance

Round trip

 is over. S. NY state and back

A day and a hlaf of gambling is complete. Still have the shirt on our back - relatively clean, as well.

The story from here: we drove to S New York and the town of Salamanca. The casino is starting to re - new old ties w/ patrons. The Social Club compted our rooms. We used the dinner buffet < unnecessary and wasteful > and the breakfast buffet the next morning.

The dinner buffet. We do not any value from a dinner buffet. Except for variety < great > we would do better in the restuarant. The look in the buffet is more appealing but except for the salad bar, not the best option for us.
Now, the breakfast buffet. Meals were 12 - 14 dollars plus $3 coffee. Here, we do well. Fruit, bacon, sausage and french toast were a treat.

Gambling was a saw - off. Up a little and down a little.  At craps, I had run of some 25 numbers. For comparsion,  a shooter might get 3 numbers and " seven and out " < all chips leave the table and go to the house > . Thus, 25 numbers is extraordinary. The gentleman beside me said that he hadn't seen a run like that in some time. He made close to $ 900 during my run. I made $ 300. 

Oh, this travellin' boy

 was only passing through

but he will, always be w/ you " ala Paul Williams

the McGarrigles sang of " New York state - I came of age there "
We gamble in NYS. Yes, back to the old ' wages of sin '
We wear our masks but see very few others - hidden behind the white bandaid
In fact, at the casino entrance, there is a sign ' lift your mask for 3 seconds ', that is to identify persons who might be banned or known  to the staff.

We drove here in the cold and misty drops and found sanctuary. No line up at check in, and the floor seemed spacious. We gambled a bit < she won / I lost > and tried the buffet. Really, buffet is a waste for us b/c we'll never eat enough - ah, but the variety is good.

However, the casino is compting us, so we better be grateful. I'll need to remember that - later today. Be grateful..... very grateful

When, Only Muffins

 will do

Something warm from the oven. On a gray day, air is still - the house is fragrant

and muffins cooling. I made up my mind - muffins by 9 or else. Well, made the deadline w/ 20 minutes to spare.
If they ran the gov't like that ......  dream on laddie ! dream on ->

on the Frontlines

 which isn't true. Except, most Ontarians are starting to  feel like lab animals. The Ford Gov't decided to drop mask protocol about 2 weeks ago. Whatever their intent

this is what happened or is happening.
infection rates for CV 19 are shooting up - like crocus in spring
very showy and apparently, predicted < Ford never told us >

waste water testing is the only ( non ) reliable measure
PCR etc testing is minimal and elusive

the anecdotal analysis says that people turned on  the " CV 19 is gone light in their head "
sort of ' if you can't see it - well, it can't see you ' mode

as far as has been reported   ' symptoms have become noticeably milder '

cough, fever and runny nose lead the indicators w/ stomach distress possible

the one ' tell tale ' symptom from last year, ' loss of taste and smell ' is not prevalent, now.

with COVid all around

 next door for instance. And 2 families from guys that played poker 2 weeks ago, tested positive for CV 19

From the news. Anecdotal information says that cases are quite a bit up. Testing is being done at a limited rate. However, waste water testing indicates the highest amount of viral load in the population, so far. The indications are for 100 000 cases in the populace.

Schools appear to have an enormous effect on the infection rate. The general sense is that when the mandatory mask policy was dropped ....... well, people dropped their guard as well. NOT GOOD
For me, while grocery shopping, I see masks in the vast majority of patrons.
Of course, any airborne virus is hard to corner in a population.

We did lunch at the ' Pickle Barrel ' < an old tradition here in Toronto - revamped  > and now a restaurant as opposed to a takeout centre for pastrami and other Jewish favourites.

a dull Version II

much windier today, ' roaring forties ' is the allusion to nautical lore 

Well, what is remarkable about today ? Waiting. Its a feeling. There is a bit of greening occurring. The neighbours apparently have snowdrops (?) or a spring plant that is white blossoms. The gardening show on CBC noon commented on how nice crocus < ours > and snowdrops are, as in a hint of things to come.

We had ravens < crows - big guys anyway >. And the squirrels have been racing over the yard for a month.

Not super exciitng, is it ? Life is like that - boring. Yet, I always say     ' when our life gets exciting -  normally its not good '. The terms, hectic and desperate, come to mind

However, long days are good and its nice to pop outside and not freeze

A Dull Start

w/ the sun hiding away and dampness in the air. The wind is stiiring the low branches

We must face reality. There is one ' Eagle, IPA ' remaining. Ah ! save the Eagle and try sone others

" What to do ? " the dilemma - the heart rending choice
Yeesh ! you must be retired or retarded < tough call, mate > 

In tragic news, Arsenal lost 0 -3 to Crystal Palace in the Premiership.

Arsenal is the ' best 4 th place team that money can buy ' and proved it.

The Gunners are the longest serving team in Division 1 and Premier League < many names but really " top division " > in English football.

The sponsor gets the name as in ' Barclays Premier League ' 

Here is the image : 

brewed using the finest hops and barley malt using natural mineral water from an independently accredited source, our own well
delivering a beer w/ real credentials, consistency and subtlety

brewed in Bedford, MK40 4LU, UK

04 - 04

 digital today

Glorioso, light sweater weather. Breeze kicks up - now and then

Still. Get out of the house time

The Superstore adventure. When you run out of beer, re-stock. But my Fav or HopHouse 13 has been out of stock for a month. I'vemade do w/ cheapie beers < $ 2 / can > and famous beer, ' Innis and Gunn ' - original golden ale and their corresponding lager. Adequate. Somehow, missing something. Today, I settled for chepie beer and threw in 2 newbies. Eagle IPA from England and Waterloo Dark.
Well, Eagle has landed. OMG...... OMG smack dab on the spot. A winner

Winner , winner, chicken dinner < and there was too >. Yepper, I'm a fan.

A Run of Good Days

 relatively, speaking

Rain but still a break from ugly.
The day was real surprise. Sun, mainly, wind was brisk. However, you could make day of it.

Hey, there Mr Sun

 you came back. Really. Warmish feeling air.

A pleasant day. AND I need to take out the electrical gutter cable - that is currently keeping the backdeck eavestrough from icing. Hopefully, there will be no ice build up - in April.

Snow, Wouldn't You Know

 a dusting

I put away my ' do - all ' winter boots - insulated and water resistant. I borught them out last week and used them. Today, the perfect footwear messy footing.

Just raw. a little of this, little of that - if today were a fish - I'd of tossed it back

Again. Canadiana deep dish from Lil Caesars became lunch
plenty of bacon, sausage and pepperoni + grease  + grease
oh, did I say grease