🌌 On the Eve of '23

 🌌 the emoji board produced this

the TorStar has look backs for fashion [ women who set trends ]
I suppose ' best of ' is a standard human feature or go;
The acronym G.O.A.T. comes to mind.
Dark. Rainy. Mild ish for mid winter [actaully, 8 days in by the calendar ]

" we eat a lot of chicken
and sit on a couch of green
and wait for another Athen's Queen "  from Stan Rogers
You see their New Year s gift was a ship that grounded
the townsfolk went shopping, that day

My year in review is a retrospective of a retrospective [ maybe ]. well,I'm trying anyway.

A long time ago, self analysis judged that ' charity ' was crucial. And I think the correct term is charitable or feeling more charitable.

So. How are you doing ? 

Hmm. Better. But no one has noticed. And you can't go around saying  ' I'm more charitable. '    

The CBC online didn't seem to have much ' lets look back columns '

Yesterday, in the TorStar, 3 prominent Canadians who hold or did hold financial policy jobs were highlighted in a story.

The gist was ' Canada Going Forward in Times of Uncertaainty and Change '. The upshot. Canada is not prepared. The 3 partners Govenment, Financial entities and the people are not on the same page. 

To be fair. It s hard taking advice from the government. 

A dismal day. A copy of England, wet.

片 ' One Moment in Time .....

 片 there were many choice offered by the  'squiggle converter - emoji board ' 

Thus, the day begins. Dark. And mild. I popped out in boots [ slippers would have got soaked ]. The rotating flashy rainbow light fell down.
I've been turning the ' rainbow ' on in the morning to welcome the day out front. I mean the  un isn't really effective til 8 AM grabbed the paper

Last night, I opined to M.. s friend An.. that we needed to put M.. s car on the road to charge up the battery. The Subaru has been doing puddle jumper runs almost exclusively. I jokingly said ' and we could pop in ! '
She called back and said ' come for lunch '. Now, this is a opportune event as a confidence builder for M... She has had a fairly rocky past 2 weeks.  Brightened [ I think ] by a visit to An..

On the whole, not a cruddy day. Windy and damp but 36 - 40 F. The danger now is rain and flooding.

Today, was the last exercise bout of the 2022 year. A turly, lacklustre session. 

The highlight, if that is the term, was " Witcher, Blood Origins ".
The background. Netflix ran a series called the           ' Witcher '. In a medieval world, Elves and Dwarves lived and prospered but then came humans and monsters. Not sure, if you could tell the difference.
To even the odds, by magic and drugs beings called   ' Witchers ' were brought forth. The ' Witchers ' were stronger and magic users [ drug users too ! ]. 
But Witchers could fight monsters.

In the beginning, legends and myths were created surrounding the Witchers. Now, as we are watching the Witchers are paid to conquer demons etc.

७ Makes it { 2021 Dec }

 ७  better. Always. Cold ish and windy BUT SUN, yes, Mr Sun brought Mr Blue Skies < ala ELO and Jeff Lynne >

A 7:30 AM start at the SuperStore. $ 180 later, they let me out. Well, Cheerios were on sale < Family size $5 >.  Hey, how can you go wrong ?

As well, items for Xmas entertaining were needed. Needed. Great word. Wanted ? 

England s in trouble, ' a tidal wave of omicron variant ', was called out from the front room by M.., just now. Our relatives are in the midst. Actually, the UK sprung free months before Canada - restaurants etc. We were laggards. Hope we are laggards w/ this ' tidal wave ' too.

🐿 ' I Say a Little Prayer ......

 🐿 not even close. It was a squiggle and ' emoji ' board interpreted w/ squirrel

and wish the world, well '

the New Year is a whit away.

Another year older and what have you got .......

This was the year of the Tiger. I was born in a Tiger year. This year represents 6 cycles.

From the TorStar, last year. The Tiger Hoscope in review

This is the 18th year of the lower “8” cycle of the world. Based on Yi Jing, while the period between 1984 and 2043 (totalling 60 years) is “fire-wind cauldron,” the year 2022 is “water-fire completion.”

TIGER

(1998, 1986, 1974, 1962, 1950, 1938)

The Tiger coincides with this year. Beware of volatility in relationships. There may be legal issues at times. Nevertheless, there is a dominant learning sign. This is a good year for education and learning. The travel sign would also facilitate moving, travel or job change.

Work: You favour both educational and spiritual sectors. Good businesses include teaching and religions, and analytical work such as IT, accounting, legal or holding public office.

Wealth: No gambling. Just stick to your normal income.

Relationships: Your relations might be a bit weak. This may not be a good year to get married.

Health: Small ailments may be unavoidable. Rest well and get more exercise.

A fellow, Paul Ng wrote this summary last year.

I wanted to take a peek back and see how accurate the forecast was.

Analysis : I gambled very little this year. Except w/ our investment portfolio. This year, equity value fell. AND bond yields fell as well.
Turns out, money in a shoebox made more w/ no fees and taxes.

Ventured out and found a pleasant day [ for Dec late - ish ]
Can you cope w/ cool and amp and not much wind

س ' holding back the years ....

س my sqiggle became the Arabic symbol

Simply Red. 

Weather: we enter a warming phase w/ a patchwork of precipittion, wind and sun and cloud. Th upshot ..... be prepared for anything
I figure the feeling will be a raw kinda environment. This means layer up or down w/ a slicker [ old fashioned for a raincoat ]

Well, two days of sleeping through the night, sort of awakening, between 6 - 7 AM
refreshed ???? umh, not sure
but grateful for some rest

haven't been to the CBC online but I predict

.... economy in a slump
.... government screwed up
..... healthcare on the brink

Our worry is : will the flight take off in a week
will the airport be bsck to semi normal
AND all out of our control

whats new then

A report on the day, since I did go out. Not bad. Damp as advertised, almost sunny. Breeze was noticeable. I survived. 
Chores : returned alcohol MT s
ensured that our cashcards will work [ PIN s are good ]
hauled home some Chinese food from the hot counter at Skyland
How do you spell success ' sweet n' sour chicken '
I said success not ' good for me '

If it was good for me it would resemble dog food and taste like cardboard

🎀 Another Countdown ?

 🎀 the squiggle of the day

as the year winds down.
" hope springs eternal " by Browning [ ? ]
Error ! that was Alexander Pope

For many, the question is / will be:

where were you stranded ?
how long were you stranded ?
when can you return home ?

timing
peak travel and peak weather impediments

digging out

and of course, we view all this w/ a jaundiced eye
b/c we travel in a week or so
or so we think

ക " Returns Day ( daze ) Begins

 ക  once again. a squiggle became an emoji

Yes. This is the three days when everybody races to the stores and tries to get Bargains and return stuff they got for Christmas.

 We are not returning anything, mostly because we are happy with what we got and ........ well it seems wrong to return gifts

 Thus, we're going to keep the prezzies and we'll make do.

How about you ?

the weather. cold. still dark.  we're expecting a not bad day we should get sun I think it will still be about 22 23 24 F somewhere in there so it'll be cold.  oh well, tolerate,  can we do. 

The gift highlight. Cobalt alloy drill bits by Bosch. The alloy is stronger [ we'll see how easily that I can break one ]. the bits cut faster and into steel and other hard materials.

For years, I used a Black and Decker drill. Loved it. Then, A.. bought a DeWalt drill / hammer drill set of tools. Wow! much better than mine.  And surprise ! the new drills were 20 V rated. I looked at my Black and Decker and went ' OMFL ', the drill was labelled 9 V. Oh yeah. 

Thus, I bought an 18 V drill. Not as good as A.. s set BUT ' we ' store the new DeWalt drills here at this house almost the whole year.
That means very seldom would I need my own drill.

Back to bits. I realized that usual bits that I was using created difficulties - all the time. AND of course, w/ a new [ amped up ] drill then you would notice the difference, that much more. 

Thus, I'm pleased. Oh, and the first bit size that I'll test is 1 / 8 inch b/c the set has  ' 2 ' . Why ? Dunno. Most common ? Most breakage ?

In my defence, from a woodworking - DIY message board.

It is so nice using quality drill bits. You can tell just by looking at them that they're going to drill better. Straight, nice clean edges ( on the sides as well as the tip), and no burrs. I've seen so many Import drill bits that were full of chips, burrs, and bends -- and they were brand new. Even the grind on some of them wasn't even centered or symmetrical, so the point was closer to one edge than the other.

I'm a big fan of cobalt drill bits. They're a little harder and more heat resistant than regular HSS bits, and do a much better job on tougher metals. There is a tradeoff between hardness and brittleness, though. Harder bits drill harder metals, but they're more prone to breakage if misused. Low carbon steel bits are less likely to break, but they don't work at all on harder metals, and they are prone to bending. To me, a bent bit is about as useful as a broken on

 As well, someone else mentioned keeping a stock of 1 / 16 and 1 / 8 inch bits b/c these get used and abused more. Aha, 2 -  1 / 8 in bits makes sense. Oh. And apparently, the 2 could have different type points [ right ! I knew that ]

👗 Feils Navidad !!!!!

 👗 " so, this is Christmas "

Alright. The ' emoji ' board didn't recognize my attempt at a Christmas tree. Heck, I thought that I got close. Nope.

Crisp and cold but the wind died overnight. Breezy but not roaring. Our temperature will touch 25 F, if we get lucky ! However, the sun is out  - thats a bit welcoming

I turned on all the Cristmas lights. Rotating prism out front.
The sparkling multi - colour tree is lit. The green Xmas tree on the wall is shining.
Ah, but Christmas in the heart is the key.

Now. As an afterthought, maybe, if I had drawn in green !!!!! Emoji would have seen a Xmas tree.

The house is awakening. M.. just turned on the living room lamp. The Day begins.

A lazy, slow day. Two drinks before 10 AM - no wonder its a bit slow
we didn't even open presents, yet
as kids, we were up  at 6 AM, hoping it was time.

Alright, its 65 years later
things may have settled down slightly.
oh, the booze was in my Xmas stocking [ TG ]

Sun is dominant in a wide blue sky [ or is that ' wild ' blue sky b/c the wind is making louder sounds now ]

🐌 Down to the Line

 🐌 No, I didn't draw snail. It as a squiggle and the ' emoji ' board came up w/ a cute-sy image

Santa prepping the Aero Sleigh called ' Ho Ho 1 ' NORAD will track the trip.

Apparently, my presents are still unwrapped. I've been told that this delay keeps the gifts fresher [ yeah, I believe ]

Who won ? Ontario or Ohio. ON had more wrecks but OH might have led in deaths [ Ohio Turnpike pileup ].

We are fighting a battle inside here. I'm trying to keep the humidity in the 40 % RH range. Right now, it s likely 34 - 35. On the plus side, 34 beats whatever number would result w/out the humidifier.

Follow up. That OH Turnpike situation was destructive. A photo shows a pickup truck on top of another vehicle.

We can still hear the wind roar. Suppsoedly, we are out of the worst of the system.
I did shovel off the sideramp and backdeck. We need a second access point as an escape route in emergencies. There is an egress downstars  but upstairs needs a second way out.

🍗 And 2 more Days

 🍗 purely by happenstance, the ' emoji ' squiggle is a turkey leg.

A rage is brewing as a cold front sweeps in. Rain this early AM to be followed by snow flakes and howling winds. The temperature has fallen all morning and reaches icy proportions by afternoon.

Stay inside. ' the weather outside is frightful
                      but my dear you're so delightful 
                      Let it .........................

AND the rage is here. Sound effects are scary. How many trees will fall. Really, sideways snow

What was the hype all about. Yes, its cold, bitter and bleak.
BUT what
" 100 vehicle pile up on the Hwy 401 " The ' four hundred series roads are the ' I ' designation equivalent for U.S. highways. Multi lane, hi speed, high volume. At noon, today outside London, ON., transports, cars, trucks formed a conga line of accidents. Several police cars were struck as well. MESS 

We are advised to stay in for 24 h. Road clearance will be a drawn out affair

The big winds still roar through the trees. The snow is about 3 inches deep [ but its difficult to guess ] w/ the amount of blowing oging on out there.

🏯 AND 4 days remain

 🏯 " Christmas don't be late " sang Alvin and Theodore and Simon

plus we have a calm day starting - also waiting on an un - nice weather system to pummel the Suspecting peoples

The emoji board kicked out this character / image from my squiggling

Well, the ugly has started, rain, for now w/ real ugly to follow

փ Counting down to # 25

 փ armenian letter ' pwr '

I was reminded by B.. that the shortest day of the year has passed. How remiss of me not to notice.
Aha, lengthening days from now

Oops. Up at 4:something. Skipped the coffee hoping to get back to sleep. NOPE !!

Environment Canada has announced w/ the red banner :

Precipitation may begin as rain or snow late Thursday before transitioning to rain in many areas Thursday night. Temperatures are expected to plummet on Friday leading to a potential flash freeze for locations that receive rainfall. Rapidly falling temperatures will be accompanied by strong to potentially damaging winds along with snow that may be heavy at times. Blizzard conditions are possible late Friday into the weekend for areas downwind of Lake Huron and Georgian Bay.

Speaking of ' Oops ' this should be memorable

Further CBC online items

plastic bags accumulate
overcrowded hospital wards

No, didn't read the stories, the headline was depressing enough

The day is sunny, cold ish but wind is gentle. A prelude to chaos if the weather predicted comes through. A real rip snorter according to the forecast.

վ Decembrish 20 or / five days til .....

 վ - this is a squiggle from a squiggle really !

..... calm is restored. Life reverts from prevert. The whole vibe isn't about buy, buy and bye. However, we laud that once a year, seemingly everyone pretends to have a happy thought.
We wish  you a Merry Christmas

The day is drear. But we got to the dentist. I needed a check on a tender feeling near the implant site
M.. was due for cleaning

Then shop at the SuperStore. Which turned out alright. A little drama and a little angst - and a whole whack of money.

Supposedly, we have supplies for the period 22 - 26 of Deckember.

 At least, there will be beer for Xmas. I mean, celebrate - alcohol is not essential but a beer helps.
To wit. My fav beer right now is Eagle [ out of Wells Brewery, UK ] SuperStore was Super, the cooler had 15 cans of Eagle     [ I grabbed 12 ]. I had to make Christmas - right
Now, you don't need alcohol. However, if its available and its your fav ----

Then its good.

Well this is our first attempt at Brining a turkey. Apparently what you do is prepare a brine. Soak the turkey 1 hour for every pound. The promise is moist. Cooking faster and tasty. We will settle for 2 of 3 w/ tasty and moist preferred.

We shall see said the Zen Master!!

Wait! Turkey on Dec 21 ? Ah, we will cook the bird the day before.

But. That is Dec 22. Yes. My cousin has family turkey day ( incl. us ) Dec 26. Thus, we do turkey 🦃 before Xmas Day and then on Dec 26.

You see. I want turkey at home. And we try to cook ahead of actual day. Aha ! Turkey on Dec 22 and Dec 26. W/ leftovers for Dec 28 to Jan 2. A brilliant plan. Well executed 

Dec 19 th 2022🐋

 🐋 I drew a squiggle but this is how 'emoji board ' interpreted the unknown, pathetic tracing. I went w/ it

Sun and cold and pretty stable weather for the day. A storm front rolls in Thurs to start a pre - Xmas road mess. And we need to be out just about all day on Friday. We will ' keep calm and motor on !! '

Plan A. Get out early - ish, beat the crowds. NOPE. I got beat. Somehow, I managed to struggle through the lines. At the first stop, I was berrated for standing in the return line at Customer Service. Except that this was the place I wait in line on Sunday. Old habits and their ' new ' system ??

The ' Dollar .25 ' store was the busiest. I failed to find any dollar items. Some 2.50 and 4.25 items. Oh well, it feels like you're saving !!!!

Do you know the difference between 12:20 AM and PM ? Apparently, we got mixed up. Our plan on Friday was to visit the neurologist at 9:15 AM and then make our way towards noon for a MRI appointment. You got it !
The Imaging Dept called and an automated voice asks ' will you attend your appointment at 11: 50 PM on Thur Dec 22 '
Say what ? We called back.  A pleasant chap said " yes your MRI is for 12:20 AM could you arrive 1 / 2 hr early at 11:50 PM on Thur Dec 22 

Oh that 12:20 ! OK we are over the shock and are working out contingencies. As in, we'll not get much sleep Thur night
But we won't be driving afternoon traffic on Dec 23.

ੳੳੳ Dec 18

 ੳੳੳ this is gurmukhi from my drawing on the ' emoji board '. I drew a figure and the image pops up

Oh, I print the date for me not you. Keeping track

We are invited to a Xmas lunch. Thus, exercise needed to be at 8:30 or 4:30.
I didn't try to fool myself about exercising after the lunch [ no way, Jose ]. I promised myself. Go easy, really doesn't matter, pretend it s like a walk w/ some calisthenics.

I rode [ did ] the elliptical, free weights and rowed for 7 minutes. Well, I matched the regular workout in calories but had a higher max rate and average HR.

Yes, going easy like a walk, produced better numbers. But its not about numbers, so you say.

Why do you keep track then ? ?? ?
B/c it matters !!

Relly, tho' this was a much easier routine than normal or what the other day was.

Lunch was soup and a mixed platter of fresh vegetables, sausage roll, buns and crackers . Light and variable. Neat. Plus cookies of all kinds.

ぬ a squiggle by Any Other Name

ぬ yes, drew a shape and the emoji board gave me this

Trouble sleeping. I thought I'd type a little and see what happens.

I went through CBC online. Here is the nitty gritty
The snax " Bugles " are no longer available in Canada. And this is a trend ' of items that are no longer sold in Canada '. Didn't know that.

The weather : 32 F or thereabouts. Winds gusty but no rain is predicted
By the way, today is called ' SuperSaturday ' or the last weekend before Xmas. Followed no doubt by SuperSunday. Super !

Chores. Broke out the ladder and re - patched the ceiling in the kitchen.
I needed to ensure that heat loss through the hole we cut to inspect the nature of the insulation is minimized. Any opening not consistent w/ the rest of the insulated ceiling is a chimney for heat to escape.
For example, pot lights not properly covered are avenues for heat loss.

I used an aluminum foil heat reflector cut to size and pushed into the space w/ the foam insulation piece and plastic vapour barrier.
As well, I changed out a ' 22 yr life span ' LED that failed in two years.

However, suspiciously, the LED bulb burnt out at the side of the bulb. This event will take some consideration concerning the circumstance of the failure. My mind says, should not have happened that way. B/c there should be suggestion of over heating or a short circuit in the bulb.

" Get Me Through December " ala Natalie McMaster and Alison Krauss

Surfing YouTube, found this gem and said it all for me

ใ , the Creepiing Hand of Time

 ใ  homemade by ' emoji ' sketch board [ Thai letter ]

Dark and rainy, cold and raw [ sounds like sushi ]
The prognosis is snow for the morning and horrors driving

Just saw the title again. very dismal, no ?

Well, the day matches. Rain and raw winds
A slushy mess on our street [ never ploughed ]. I moved icy goo and snow from the front of the driveway. Mobile now, but if the temperature falls - solid icebergs will replace the goo
Maintenance. Own a house, own maintenance

In a spurt of enthusiasm, I prepped ' oven crisp fries '. It will be warm for brekkies. And likely healthier than bread.

After all, the potato will be unprocessed except for me.

The decision !
Great breakfast. The first baking was partly a failure. The initial oven run should create browned bottoms. This part didn't achieve its goal.
But I flipped the fries and left them a bit longer, for the # 2 run.

Overall, crispy but next time, maybe a tad longer for the first go.

I added two fried eggs to the carbs. A healthy - ier meal.

The ' control ' program proceeds but Thur weigh in was the same as the previous. No change. Except I'm older

小 Sounds

pitch black out there, we haven't a clue whats doing BUT

there is a roar 
小  this is  ' homemade '. I drew a figure and the ' emoji ' board translated my figure into the closest character that is available [ looks Japanese - y ]

Environment Canada says :

Winter weather travel advisory in effect. A risk of freezing rain followed by snowfall is expected.

Hazards:
Snowfall accumulations of up to 10 cm with local amounts near 15 cm possible. Peak snowfall rates of 1 to 3 cm per hour.
Reduced visibility in snow or blowing snow.
Risk of freezing rain with ice accretion of a few millimeters possible.
Southeasterly wind gusts near 70 km/h. The strongest winds are expected near the shores of Lake Ontario.

Quite the warning. Hold onto your hats, fellas 

From the CBC online

interest rates will continue to rise

You'll see this written here quite often ' promised and delivered ' re: online orders. Amazon - good ...... Walmart - oh yeah !

Thus, when the weatherguy delivered as this afternoon .... NO 
Cruddy times 2, out there. Eveything fell. Drizzle, ice pellets, snow and the wind tore through the trees. So, if the rest comes true... OMFL for the city. 3 inches of wet snow !
Aha ! but we'll find out if the weather patch on the skylight works.

And it continues. Slop slop slop and no leak over and out
PLEASE !!!! XXXXXXXXXX all fingers crossed

😉 the Beginning

 was a fine idea. A blog that was 2 sentences long. Witty and brief

😉   guess that s an ' Oops '

Now, 3 600 entries in and what have you got

a slowly evolving beastie of a thing. no fangs or claws

yes, I have my coffee   slept well.

From the CBC online

extreme intoxication  - there is a Federal law in Canada

nuclear fusion - U.S. announces breakthrough

inflation shrinks for 5 th striaght month in the States

Okay. Well, I didn't read the story. Just the banner AND

Heavy snow, strong wind gusts and the risk of freezing rain late Thursday morning through Thursday night. 

From Environment Canada

Category. A job done and I can rest my worried mind. The drip may be solved. The roof crew came in the near freezing temperature.
They managed to safely on the roof. 
They assured me that snow would get to the skylight frame and the annoying drip should be over.

We shall see said the Zen Master [ yeah, him again

ㄕ a bopomofo character

 ㄕ this represents ' SH '

Slept through the night. Now, that doesn't happen often.
So, how do you feel ? sleepy   need coffee NOW

coffee on board feeling much much better Looking outside, sun is shining, glistening off the snow

 I think the day is ready to begin

cold as in 'Brrr ' ! Ah, cold but beautiful

The all day sun warmed the air. The wind is light. Marvy, kinda day results.

We'll take it [mostly, cuz we have too ]

A day where solutions sprang to life. We had a set of kithcen skylights installed. On snowy days, as soon as the sun hits the N side of the roof - water drips.
The installer of skylight has come to patch the area around the skylight. And we still had a drip session in November. The installer maintains that this drip is a condensation problem. Better insulation will stop the dripping.
A.. has many tradespeople that he calls on to aid in real estate jobs. About three weeks ago, an interior carpnter came and gave an estimate for re - insulating the ceiling.

However, A.. had his doubts and called a roofer that he knows. The roofer went up to the skylights and thinks that he spotted a problem area around the skylight [ only one is leaking ].
The fellow and crew temporarily, patched the offending area and then said ' pay us cash and we'll come back tomorrow and re -seal the flashing '

Done !

Lik that. Someone who can see the problem and do something

😷 ' Its Coming on Christmas .....

 😷 the very apropos, medical mask

... bringing Peace and joy ..... ' Joni Mitchell from her Xmas song. But I think that the lyrics go ' I wish that I could cry me a river '

Googled the lyrics for ' River '

It's coming on Christmas
They're cutting down trees
They're putting up reindeer
And singing songs of joy and peace
Oh, I wish I had a river
I could skate away on
But it don't snow here
It stays pretty green
I'm going to make a lot of money
Then I'm going to quit this crazy scene
I wish I had a river

a thought provoking song there, Joni

on masking. we still mask up going into stores. the percentage of customers wearing masks depends on the business. Shoppers Drug Mart has 70 % masked.

Yesterday, at the Tiger 40 % were masked up

our hospital ER numbers and respiratory units have exploded. younger patients w/ CV 19, RSV and colds and flu fill the waiting rooms

the day is gray and damp w/ middling cold, no wind yet. overall, we can stand it

Roads are wet and sloppy but a drop in temperature is due - icy, dicey roads

the ' Real Mc Coy ' is a burger and pizza place up the street about two miles. The owner has lost his lease b/c the landlord sold the plaza to a developer. We decided to give them a try. AND great food. Heck, they've ben there 35 yrs and we went tonight. Aren't we clever ??

My new barber / hairdresser lady [ just found ] has been in the plaza south of us - longer than wev'e been in ths house. Talk about  real knack for discovery

🙅 The Snows of December, cometh

 🙅 [ this emoji is the ' no good gesture ' ]

Not the first nor last, snowfall. A reminder of the season. This event is a 2 day or overnight progress. 

On the ' control ' program, for last 8 weeks. The scale read 175.4 # ( c.f. 182.4 at the beginning ).
Comments. I have a beer a day. The thinking behind this choice is that I need to enjoy my life and if this beer is important then don't stop. You better be thinking long term. The plan would be to change nothing as the year ( s ) tick on.
Just a number. But the health benefits should be multiple.

" Here we go again " b/c I've been here before

Ah, ' but the struggle is the Glory ' Nigel Starling in the ' Ghost and the Darkness ' [ Val Kilmer and Michael Douglas ]. 

Went out for my Giant Tiger Sunday run. I'll admit that things got a little out of hand. To wit, Dr Oetker pizza was $ 2.98 [ come on, thats what it costs per slice at the pizza store ], thus I bought 2.
Onions were $.88 a bag [ small - er onions than the $ 3.98 for 3 # bag ones ].
Et al. for a total of 71 dollars which sounds large but nowadays - well, the expected.
As well , tossed some Xmas stuff into the buggy, really in Canada how wrong could yo go buying scarves and socks. 

The roads were slick and I went slow and left space but others were flying. Our Xmas get together w/ A.. and friends went South. The oldest daughter is having tummy trouble.

Scanned CBC online. Here is a brief summary

 Thriftmas  { I left out the bad stuff and useless C.R.A. P. ]

This dump is wet and heavy. So far a relatively thin layer. However, I took my snow shovelling board [ homemade plywood blade that fits the walkway on the side of the house, wider than a regular shovel, more a push board, not meant for lifitng ] and took off that first layer. Otherwise, an overnight drop in tmeperature makes a more solid crusty mess.

Sometimes, it pays to be mostly, Anonymous

 ꢊ the vocalic letter '  L '

So, when you

 post something illegal, no one reports you. 

How bad could it be ? Dunno but there is a wall hanging in the dentist s office. Thus, photo and display here.

The day is cold or below what we've been experiencing. Tomorrow, guck comes. Mixing rain and snow and 32 + / -

🙇 Friday and

 🙇  a person bowing

I'm awake [ almost ]. Coffee in hand. As advertised a cooler day by eight degrees at least. Crisp. Has a bite.
Ah, its Canada

The day unfolds and jobs to do. 

A quiet day, after all. Dinner was homemade. The potatoes are crispy oven fries.
The secret step is a paste of cornstarch and water. The mixture is microwaved 20 sec at a time, stirred and 20 sec for 1 - 3 minutes. Then the paste is massaged over plank cut potatoes. 

The pan is sprayed evenly and then 3 tbsp of oil is smoothed over the pan. Place the planks evenly on the pan and cover w/ foil.

In a pre - heated 425 oven on the bottom rack brown the potatoes for 12 min. Flip the potatoes and put back in the oven for 10 - 18 min.
Salt the potatoes in the pan and blot on paper towel.

The crispiest oven potaotes ! Tasty and a winner. The recipe is an ' America s Test Kitchen ' YouTube video.

👈 the results are in

 👈 white left pointing index, symbol 

After, long overdue, maintenance on the elliptical, the thunking sound has stopped or / has gotten very quiet. We will rate this a success.
Imagine. Care for your equipment. Duh !
I guess that I am not buying a new elliptical.

This is Senior s Day at Shoppers Drug Mart [ 20 % off for the old age crowd or as our cousin s son says OAP s ] As well, Anthony is meeting me for lunch.
I still say that he s feeling sorry for the aging guy. 

When the sun bursts out, the day changes it tone. Hope. Cheer.

From the ' Rings of Power ' Lord of the Rings '. The High King, Gil Galad, says ' Hope is never mere '. See
The day has hope.

Enjoy the mild or less cold. Satrday and Sunday are predicted to be raw w/ mixed precipitation on Sunday.

🙎 says it all

🙎 

The story from here. I began by drawing a ' hat and face ' in the emoji ' draw something space '. And produced a symbol resembling a Chinese character.

Then the entire ' blogging screen ' went haywire. There was no space bar, publish option. Chaos reigned.

Solution: trash the lot and begin again. Thats where we are at.

The title for today was to be ' Correction '. Sometime back, I mentioned that this blog would hit 4 000 posts. That is wrong. This post is 3 591. I must have mis read the stat on the home page. Apologies.

Follow up. TODAY !
the dentist puts in the new teeth [ implants ]. Recall, the original implants didn't fit in the gum space. The hygenist said that this error had occurred before w/ a patient. Who was 90 y.o.

Choppers in full. Both sides have teeth.

The day turned out reasonable. A littlecool and damp but wind stayed down and no rain. Dress right and all was fine.

what have you got today = 𐨳

𐨳 we have kharoshthi symbo ' TTTHA ' which is used frequently, never

I swept through the CBC online for you. Only the highlights need reporting

wrong
fake
devastating
kindness

Say what ? Yes, there was a story of a girl helped through the generosity of spirit. What the          ' hey ' its Xmas time

Weather. Cool to cold, likely 44 F, give or take. Chance of wet.

BTW, shortly, I will post #4 000. Now, this is not like # of hits in MLB. Or number of times, ' the donald ' makes a gaffe. But, I've mentioned that most blogs last weeks to months.

Well, as you're aware I watch a lot of YouTube videos. About 3 weeks ago I saw a video where the host was trying to move those black mildewy marks on the grout in your shower.

So what the guy does is, he moistens paper towel with bleach keeps moistening it overnight and the black goes away.

I tried and it works. Problem, the grout that I treated is much whiter than the surrounding, non treated, grout. Thats an ' oops ' thus I should have cut down on the length of the bleach soaking. But I wasn't sure if the technique would even work. Lesson learned. I guess.

I promsied myself that I would check the gutters on the front of the house. Choked w/ leaves from the big winds that we had about 2 weeks ago.
The relatively mild temperatures, tempted me to give a ' blow out ' a try. I took a while to get ready. After all, I had drained the gas tank on the leaf blower. I admit that the whole thing got a little sloppy. When you attempt to quickly, setup, well, there are problems. However, I managed the task. W/ a success rate up at 95 %.

I originally, feared that the leaves were wet and packed ! Thats trouble.
First run through, I said ' wow, everything is flying out of the gutters '. So, a good day to try and a good result.

Defintely, earned a beer. That s a judgment call, Mine ! good call.

ன On the fifth of December

 ன you get the Tamil symbol for 'NNNA ' now use that in a sentence

Follow up. The  ' control ' plan for health [ drop a few lbs  ]. I'm down to 176 #.
Details. I've substituted or exchanged many different items for breakfast. Apple sauce and yoghurt plus granola, e.g.. As mentioned, I use Matzos crackers topped w/ say, smoked meat and cheese. I'm using baked potato leftovers as breakfast mains [ really Irish that ] as in homefried potatoes w/ a sunnyside up egg.
Alright. Alright ! I've eliminated bread. However, I'm also having a beer a day as reward.

Do I miss the bread. Maybe a little. But I still have noodles [ in soup ] , rice and pasta. I am just a bit more creative at meal times.

This is where that I expound on how great I feel. Full of vim and vigour.

Not quite. I'd say ' same old ' - life goes on. Starving hungry. Nope.
How long can I continue. Right now, as long as I need to.

We've had our rain. Now, we should settle down a bit to 40 ish temperatures. Oops ! Rain is still due for two days [ off and on ]. THEN we settle down. 

I searched for ' important ' and surfing a bit found this image. I'd love this stamp or decal. I'd stick that sucker on everything. ' Important ' has lost something in the translation. The word is still used but I believe, that ' important ' on a document is interpreted as ' ignore what comes after '
Usually, when reading the product information guide, the first page      ( s ) are ' Important '
as in, this toaster should not be used outside in the rain
or
inserting your finger into the toaster may cause damage [ to the appliance ]

ഴ " do you make these stories up ?????

 ഴ the symbol - malayalam letter ' LLLA '

No. Only the names have been  changed to protect the innocent

Elliptical. For the last 3 - 4 months, the elliptical [ purchased 2009 ] has been making a faint ' thunk _ thunk _ thunk ' sound from the front assembly.
The sound starts after about a few minutes. Never worsens.
I started to do research on elliptical machines - new. To replace the current machine, w/ a slightly lower model and type, was around         $ 1 800. The Sole E 55 cost $ 1 800 plus delivery and set up , all in 22 hundred.

Wisely, I checked on a service call from the Treadmill Factory. First hour $ 175 and next hours were $ 125 each. Well, the online form       [ the only way to get  quote ] asked for serial number, purchase date and original receipt number. 
I went searching. Yepper, had the instruction manual and receipt in a box labelled ' Sole Ellip '. Thus, I completed the form.

Near the back of the manual, was a maintenance guide [ never seen before in this house ]. I quote " any noise and vibration is likely caused by a dirty rear rail. Yes, even though that you think the front mechanism is making the noise. Seriously, 80 % of service calls for noise can be traced to the rear rail "

Sure. Didn't believe it !

But. I went to look, in case. There was a line of gray / black on the rollers that run on the rear rail.
EXCEPT, the gray wasn't dust. The gray line was a layer of dust and grease about as thick as my fingrnail. The manual said to use alcohol and a cloth [ maybe a plastic scrapper, guess they knew about my machine ] and remove any build up.
As well, I discovered a nick in the  left inside rail. I did a bang up job and cleaned the rollers and rails.

However, in the box ' Sole Ellip ' was a tube of lubricating grease '.
Huh, where does that go ? Yes, to lubricate the rear rail. Oh, so you need to lube the machine. Wow !

I lubed the rail. I took hard wax and filled in the rail nick.

Saturday, I used the elliptical as normal. Yes, of course, much quieter. There was still a slight sound. Back to the manual.
" after cleaning, any noise can be caused by a mis - levelled machine. Use the tools included in the setup pack and adjust the four corners w/ the wrench. "
Aha. That s what those tools were for in the ' Sole Ellip ' box !!!

Thats our house, new discoveries every minute !

ॾ " Listen to the wind blow ..... "

 ॾ the emoji is the devanagari letter ' DDDA ' Where would you use ' DDDA ' in a sentence ?

" Listen to the wind blow, watch the sun rise

Running in the shadows, damn your love, damn your lies " the lyrics of Fleetwood Mac, the ' Chain '

The lyrics are a tribute to Christine McVey, singer and instrumentalist for Fleetwood Mac. She and accompaniest John McVey [husband ] are of course, the Mac in the band s name. CM died at 79.

And listen to the wind blow, alright. The roar is constant [ gusts to 30 MPH ]. Rain and all.

I got to Walmart at 8:45 AM to pick up the battery [ on order from Nov 14, 2 week delivery window ].  A bit of a wait but it was there.

Story. Three times, I called the ' help ' line at Wlamart. Finally, I get the call that the item is in the store but please wait two days before you claim the battery. OK. No email arrived but the tracker app said that ' package ready for pickup '.
Thus, my trip.

We snapped the battery in [ great fit, good specs ]. NO LIVE SCREEN...........

......either the battery is a dud or the Dell computer won't take the Chinese knock off battery.

I will wait 3 hrs on the rationale that the battery needs to charge up. This procedure is called ' faint hope ' 101.

HOLEY, KAMOLEY, Batman !!!!! After 2 hrs, and faint hope !!!!

The battery charged ! The Dell Studio 17, # 1747 works and all functions seem w/in parameters. 

YEAH TEAM !!!! Overjoyed  etc.

Can we say, limited success - b/c time will tell

WE SHALL SEE said the Zen Master

BTW, the price for this laptop battery is $ 102 Cdn.

The day has begun to settle down. That wind is scheduled to bring a massive cool down. Now, cold is one thing but the raw winds of the past 3 - 4 days ' plain nasty ' . Hopefully, cold is the air and not the wind chill

𐊿 maximize the technical

𐊿 the carian symbol for ' UU '

okay what are technical features well I'm voice dictating this blog
 how about that and not using the phone
 I'm actually using the duet tablet and laptop

Of course, this effort is trial and error [ you know where the emphasis is on that bifurcaton ]. 
Thus, I blurt out some words, the ' assistant ' translates [ quite accurately, too ]. I look at the mess of words and edit.
There are a multitude of  'Okay s ' in the dictation. Followed closely in number by ' alright '.
Anecdote. During my practice teaching sessions in 1973, an experienced teacher, supervisor, taped my 30 minute lesson.
The  number of ' OK s' exceeded the number of minutes.
Okay !  Okay ?  Okay

' Okay '  was transformed into interrogtive, beginning and end of a sentence. OMFL

The day is a mix of light, cold and ' off and on ' breeze. 

From the CBC online. AI affects seals. What ?

SealNet, and it's a facial recognition database that's used to track the movement of seals. 

Yes. Let s follow that pinniped.

The Lydian letter 'TT ' 𐤴

 𐤴 Hello, December
and what will you bring

Not roses or daffodils, I'm betting

You may well ask what is a  ' Lydian '. Thus, under ' emoji ' I typed in " TT " and several choices popped up. This symbol looked the most intriguing.

Alright. Truth. It s 4 AM - I'm awake. Tried to nod off. Nope. Coffee and typing and ' Lydian '

We accomplished chores, mostly on line [ Wow ! cannot believe all the chores we do on line - guess we are not ancient and useless ]

Another medical appointment completed. 2 to go w/  another one not scheduled as of yet