≞ the measure of a day

  ≞ yesterday we drove to the Q ' 
sunny day not oppressive heat
a few fish, small but FUN

see FUN. so ,how do you measure a day
EZ PZ - good company, good food [ fish and chips plus Greek salad and Waldorf salad ]

D .. had never heard of Waldorf salad and when I said that I've had Waldorf w/ marshmallows - well, he couldn't believe it
obviosuly, D ... loved the Waldorf

bass-boat behaved in general, BUT twice the ignition didn't catch right away.
sort of like, no solid electrical contact was being made

' boro is sunny and cool ish w/ high blue

⚔Sun and Sacred Steel

 ⚔ the Brotherhood of the Sword [ the Horseclans Saga ]

" We worship Sun and Sacred Steel "

there is a theme in many books or stories that maintains, ' you can always trust steel '

sun is beaming in the ' boro and we will touch 70 F. there is a breeze that seems to be cool

I think that I trust steel. However, words such as plastimet will sneak into our lexicon of materials 

🎛 do you believe ......

 🎛 ....... in magic ? ala the Loving Spoonful [ ? ]

in the ' boro, clear air and gray clouds [ from the window seat ]

discovered or re - discovered that the Magic Noodle [ lunch Noodle' spa ' ] is the fav of the neighbour s son and wife

BTW the icon for today is ' control knobs ' 
? I thought that they were speakers 

' ground control to Captain Tom '

Wow ! can it be .....

apparently, I'm breaking down / breaking precedent and getting a        " data " plan for my cellphone
Our Telcom has been erratic [ interruptions ] 
to wit.
to call the Telcom when service is interrupted, yes, I'll pay $0.35 / minute to complain [ adds up real quick ] w / pay as you go cellphone plan
the new data plan will cost $ 25 per month
currently, my usage means that I need about $ 8 per month 
however, long distance as from the Q' gets more expensive

PLUS in the future. We will drop our landline [ which is out during service interruptions ]
a dinosaur among our friends, for sure

YES. second guessing is my middle name
BUT this plan is monthly and cancel anytime
SO, its a trial run for $ 26 til Jun 28 

this is the slim end of the wedge
b/c Telcom has to go [ bundle plan : TV, internet, phone, home security ]

ht day in the ' boro, glorious tho' cool and breezy bluebird sky etc

Ah, better come clean re: data plan. I'm going to the Q' and for communication w/ home WiFi makes it so much easier and varied to contact home

🥮 to the moon

 🥮   "Eat at a local restaurant tonight. Get the cream sauce. Have a cold pint at 4 o’clock in a mostly empty bar. Go somewhere you’ve never been. Listen to someone you think may have nothing in common with you.

Order the steak rare. Eat an oyster. Have a negroni. Have two. Be open to a world where you may not understand or agree with the person next to you, but have a drink with them anyways.

Eat slowly. Tip your server. Check in on your friends. Check in on yourself. Enjoy the r…

From Facebook

the ' boro was dull looking ........ but a deer was sleeping in the neighbour s yard not a bad way to start the day

' sing for your supper and you'll get breakfast songbirds are not dumb .... ' sing it Mama Cass

🫒 something like ...

 🫒- ia
or " something like Olivia keeps me thru the night "  ala John Mayer

LIAR LIAR pants on fire
say what ?

well, the bumpers arrived last night. 
the story:  ordered. shipped. delayed til May 30
at eight, I looked in the camera ' bingo Bango ' there was a box

yepper, 4 bumpers inside 
they are blue double ended for tie ups and come w/ a pump
these ' rubber ' [ whatever they make them out of, feels like rubber ]
shiny and ribbed

pouring rain out there and will pour for the day and into the wee hours of Tues
can you float your boat

Slipped out to the Tiger. Basics of potatoes,onions, pretzels and dishwasher tabs

🧰 ' everybody s talking ....

 🧰  .... about a new way of walking
do you want to lose your mind
walk right in .....   ala the New Christie Minstrels

dull look in the  ' boro. cloudy and dampish
no, I didn't forget. I'll weigh in for the ' Skinner trials ' 

Amazoning continues w/ the bumper delivery
Amzn offered next day - but 12 h service from Sat afternoon. I could have picked Sun 4 AM - 7 or * 7 AM to 11 AM [ that's why I'm waiting, for 7 - 11] looking out the window from the typing station
sort of command central

my latest algorithm feeds are - Donald Trump [ anti ]. boats and esp . boat tows, lost dogs

why Am I watching ' boat tows ' ! there are many sites that offer ' fails of the week ', I guess that I choose boating.

naturally, towing service videos are likely tangents. these latest are in Fla as boats run aground on sand bars [ both coasts have Intercoastal Waterways built off sand bar islands and connectors. In fact, I've heard Boca Ciega Bay etc are 3 ft average depth. The channels are marked but easy to miss [ hence towing videos ]

the scariest are : sinking boat, hull seams de - laminate
really, the join area between say hull and deck separate, hence go fast / sink fast as water gushes in

Amazoning :postponed. Apparently, AI made promises that people couldn't keep. The new del. date is May 30. After that date, I can get a ferund if the pkg doesn't arrive

day is sunny and wind swept - cool and nice

Again. Another ' Octopus wants to fight ' Pale Ale. In a glass w/ ice. No, I was ready for him this time. I was brave before the first sip.
same beer. 

thus, I weigh myself Sunday and Thursday. Before 9 AM likely a cup of coffee on board

Start Weight # 182.6 and you know where we are going w/ this

🗺 something about an oyster

 🗺 or such

" This is the story of the inevitable destruction of every man s dream and the spine of the film is that the measure of a man is the grace with which he survives the destruction "

Edward Anhalt 

I found this bit while using YouTube and the topic Jeremiah Johnson
The quote must be about the film by the same name

Actual research depicts Jeremiah as an elemental force. Eating the livers of enemies, hence the sobriquet, ' Liver Eating Johnson '. A disdain for pants or trousers [ or any bottom coverings ]
Ah, such is the backgound for the movie

' boro has rain / thunder and wind really plain ugly
stay home and hibernate [ sooooo ..... business as usual ]

my latest IPA is ' Octopus Must Fight ' OMG ! a real man drinks this one .... and its not me
biiter and soury,  strong and head shaking aftertaste

YouTube sent a video, ' Skinner and ..... ' in essence
pain and pleasure motivate us. to accomplish any activity or idea, you must compare           the ' pain and pleasure ' effect or strength 
AND usually, pain motivates better than pleasure

suggestion then.  promise or highlight a desired action ...

say to someone ' if I don't lose ten pounds in a month then I will pay you $ 10 ' 
turns out the amount of default or penalty actually is irrelevant
we don't want to lose that money
BTW losing $ 10 motivates more than finding / winning the same amount 

SO

I will pay you $ 10 if I don't lose 10 pounds by June 30 [ pinky swear ! ]

I will post the starting weight tomorrow [ Sunday is weigh in day ]

Amazoning strikes again. I am an Amazon whore

I ordered boat bumpers, all-purpose and inflatable
BTW, the last time that I bought a bumper was 2008

🥢 two sticks

  🥢 chopsticks
we reported a boating accident NorthEast of Toronto. 3 dead and 5 critically injured. At night. At speed [ likely ].
the postings are up. remembering the fallen

sunny day in the ' boro w/ wind kicking up a bit

Fishing guys did lunch at Magic Noodle and delish it was

That boating accident has been on my mind M .. says that it's only natural to re - think the consequences 

🚕 did you know

    🚕  Canada

most educated country in the world
invention of the snowmobile
two UNESCO world Heritage sites
we have Alberta and Quebec [ both for sale, cheap ]

sunny in the ' boro and I can see blue sky from the window seat

I squeegee - d the windows [ outside ] using the reach pole. There is a fibre long ish mop that wets the glass and then the blade to swipe the water away
I decided that breaking the job into sessions is better. Thus, backside today and later the front of the house

trying to accept my limitations

 

🦚 May ~ 21 on, is GEMINI

🦚 🦚

represented by a set of twins (or in Egyptian astrology by a pair of goats and in Arabian astrology by a pair of peacocks)
notice not people but animals

' boro has sun mostly, and I can see blue sky [ slightly hazy in the distance ]

Sporting news. Johns Hopkins got knocked out in double OT. And Arsenal [ the best fourth place team that money can buy ] finished second in the English Premiership

JHU lost to Virginia [ long time rivals ] and Arsenal fell behind Manchester City

finally, I will get a haircut. Sadly, the barber lady could use a bowl and trim around [ like in the old tales of haircutting ]. The bowl would cover my bald spot etc

haircut adventure was a non event. in and out quick

day stayed sunny and warm to slightly humid

exercise was today, done and glad

🌧 thru the night

 🌧 sluicing down from above

in the  ' boro the sun is out and drying the land

in the news. Saturday night a boat collision left 3 dead and 5 injured. In the dark at 9:30 P emergency calls went out from Bob s Lake [ East of T.O. by 2 1 / 2 hrs ]

coincidentally, a lady friend was asking ' can boats be out at night ? ' at the Q'
We explained bout running lights etc [ this was about 9 P ]
I sent the URL for the coverage [ Sun AM ]
so far. the reports say ' a speed boat ( ??? ) and fishing boat collided. The fishing baits looks to be an aluminum 14 - 16 ft. The speedboat was described as ' friendly ' by a local 
The people involved were in their 20 's

Today s lunch was at a Korean Restuarant. Clean and well run. Food ranged from very good to good.
hghlights was the sushi [called Jim bab ] fresh and tasty.
the side dishes [ w/ refill for 3 of 6 gratis ] all excellent

clouding over w/ still bursts of sun

🛥 All right, the boating news

    🛥 so you think the problem is solved

readers of this blog will be aware that the bass boat [ Stratos 176 w/ E Tec 75 ] has been laid up off and on since Oct 2022.
Yes, the bass boat did run for some months in 2023 but was out of action for at least 2 months in 2023

2024. the aftermath
 Bring Out Another Thousand [ B.O.A. T. ] seemed appropriate for 2023

This year, the first attempt was problematic. The boat owner has been remiss in some areas of maintenance
I am not unique in this area. So far, the biggest bugaboo appears to be electrical. The most irritating issue has been terminal connectors [ where the wires connect to the battery ]

In my innocence [ that s a euphemism for lazy and not aware ], I let a broken ring connector go unrepaired. Lets tell it like it was
the wire ran from the automatic bilge pump. and I figured when the bilge pump stopped then I'd replace the ring connector
NO, that's not how it goes. The broken ring connector somehow meant poor conductivity for all the connectors going to that one battery post.
so, yes, the engine wasn't getting the correct electrical supply

done, two week ago. A - OK

next- a - roonie, the advice was that black gas hoses wear out and cause problems w/ some engines. I asked that these ' black ' hoses be replaced w/ ' gray ' hoses while the boat was laid up 2023 spring.
however, best practice pre - 2023 was turn the ignition and give a moment and the engine purred to action 
unfortunately, or purposefully the ' gray '  priming bulb needs to be manually squeezed to start the appropriate gas flow on initial start up 
we are learning 

Thus, this weekend, we showed that we can learn AND did everything right  !!!

FINALLY.        we shall see said the Zen Master

the day in the ' boro, cloudy but bright and should be 70 ish

and conditions are good to very good. warm and comfortable

kudos to the day. fulfilled all expectations

The Dandelion crop story. jetted out w/ a water wand. dug out by appropriate trowel. today, a second go round of torching [ yes, a propane weed torch ]

of all the methods, torching is the least effective - easiest and satisfying, watching those little buggers burn but alas - 
now, I do burn off the fluff balls [ the seeds ] so that's good but the rest of the plant, not sure

🦈 well ,sort of

 🦈   May 19 th

And got out fishing 🎣 

Bassboat ran a dream
warm ( humid ) afternoon but a beautiful breeze kicked up

Three of us caught fishes. I managed 4 species. NOT one looked like the icon that I used for this day
( I'm re - vamping this blog post, the day after )

there was the usual long weekend gathering at the Q ' 
A .. s family and friends plus me

🛞 ....wagons rolling .......

  🛞  ... I know you've had better times .... 
and you've been drinking better wine ..... [ lyrics form ???? ]

in the ' boro. cloudy and dampish out there, slightly cool

AND I believe, that I've got sciatica, or pinching sciatic nerve

this would be the fourth day of symptoms
 On line, there are exercises and suggestions.
unfortunately, weight loss is key
yah, I've been chunking out over the past three months
and it finally, as always caught up

apparently, pressure [ or injury ] causes impingement on the sciatic nerve

the actual lyrics from Peter and Gordon

"I hear you've had better times

And you've been drinkin' better wines (whoops)
And people say they love the things you do
...Two... three

You are just one jump ahead
Of people who'll get on your bed
And that seems to suit you, too

But I can really understand
How you women pick your man
And why you won't let him stay all night

and the song does start ' rolling, wagons rolling ........ '

the day has continued to cloud over

follow up: sciatica is about under control. Naproxen and exercise and stretching

🩹 when only ....

   🩹 ... a bandaid will do. Bearing in mind that this called a plaster strip or adhesive strip

However, common parlance accepts the term bandaid - as in ' not a  🩹  bandaid  solution '

its a plaster solution - sooo temporary

' boro weather, its nice, some sun , a breeze not too humid

AND the dandelions are definitely a crop 

👡 the Ides of Maius

 👡 or May 15  th
a very in-between type of day. little sun, little damp, little wind, little humidity [ slightly uncomfortable ]

what do we do with the drunken sailor ?

Oh my, sailors drink ? Ahoy, my lovelies

A ... and I met at the Magic Noodle. This is therapy for A ... or me or both. 
A .. gets to talk about plumbing and stuff [ and I  listen ] 
Me ... I get to get away from home and socialize

way cheaper than paying a counsellor etc

and tastes better too !

I think A .. is taking a Senior to lunch. His good deed for the day ?

social service ?

🏟 14 days into the fifth month

 🏟 a dull day in the ' boro
sitting looking out
I will pop out in a bit to fetch the paper

' they reckon ill who leave me out
I am the Doubter and the Doubt '

by Emerson

ANT killer. the recipe. 1 / 3 C sugar, 1 tbsp boric acid, 1 C water. Dissolve
Stuff a jar lid w/ cotton balls and soak the cotton balls. Leave out and WHAM

I've done this before. BUT my last batch [ very old that had been sitting ] - didn't seem to work

SO, I consulted YouTube and found the formula.
sitting out there now

We shall see said the Zen Master

POPPED out for the paper. Drizzly and mean.
then turned sunny and damp

Amazoning, again. The Story .... I took a good LED headlamp to the Q'. Discovered that it was useful in and around the boat. Thus, no portable LED w/ a strap.
Yes, on sale at Amazoning [ new word developed here ]. 2 LED, flexible and variable headlamps for $ 11 [ 43 % off for one more day, yeah, really, eh ? ]

Well, delivered on time and they are charging
We shall see said the Zen Master

📯 blowing your own ......

  📯 .... no one else will [usually ]

an unfolding story [ really like my life ]
at Costco, a 50 ft garden hose was on sale, high quality, lasts a long time
50 ' was a bargain as well, c.f. a 25 ' model.
Yes, buy the bargain.
Except, the 50 ' is heavy [ no kidding ] and doesn't bend easily. the hose barely coils
in my defence. The placement of the hose outlet changed over last year. moving from the side of the house 30 ' away from where the outlet moved to, at the front of the house 
anyway, 50 ' isn't needed often.
cut the hose in half. I tried the hardware that I had at home. Nope. Leaks like crazy.
Amazon to the rescue - 3 sets of hardware [ couplers ] for $ 16 [ Home Depot would be $ 9 a coupler set]
Success. Yesterday.
BUT where to store the hose, now.
Still doesn't coil nicely. I had a spare hose reel and figured that, at least, its neater
The garage side door is flimsy. I Googled, garage side doors and mine was the worst example.
Solution. Bolt the hose reel thru a plywood base thru outer panel thru the cross support braces [ strongest part of the door ] thru the inner panel.. So, the door gets less useless.

I'm working at 8:30 PM [ b/c I'm stupid ] but the job gets done and looks ugly but works. Something about the  ' eye of the beholder ' or Mr Fix it guy.

And the second hose goes on the old hose reel at the side of the house

" oh what a tangle web we weave when first we auger to conceive [ actually, Shakespeare said deceive ]

Oh, what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to conceive  "  is the actual quote by Sir Walter Scott and he said ' deceive '

but works for me

🌎 WHAT A DIFFERENCE

  🌎 a day makes .... 24 little hours

the Aurora came and went
loverly day happened, sunny and moisture ish feel but terrif !

tale of the Columbia Blue team. JHU went into the first round of the Championships on a downer.
Seeded # 1 and on a roll, Hop was blown out by Michigan [ first round B1G s ]
seeded # 3 in this preliminary round, JHU mLax drew the Lehigh  U. Mt Hawks.

OMG, folks - up by 3 or 4 goals, Lehigh forged back and led.
JHU tied the game and then scored to lead. Yes. Hop survived a scare

their next opponent is U. Virginia. the regular season game was a 2 goal win for JHU

this is the Chamionship run andsngle game knock out til the end
and ' Anything Goes ...... ' [ thanks Cole as in Cole Porter ]

05 - 11 / II0IIII

 🌌

{{  How warm and sunny day in the borough. 

How? How marvelous! 

Can't wait to see what the rest of the day holds

. Jobs today included cleaning the vacuum. This is the Shop-Vac, always filled with dust and the filter is in horrible shape. Tried to clean it. Soap and water,  air dry in the sun that's got to be as good as you're ever going to get for killing bacteria }}

the portion above was dictated to the Pixel and translated by the ' processor '
I added the paragraph and spacing

now, I'll add a 'skim ' sock that is used in pool filters to keep small particles from clogging up the actual filter. Sort of a filter for the filter

our prime use of the Shop Vac is to clean out the ' screen ' or filter on the clothes dryer. 
yes, very fine lint or fluff. hopefully, the skim sock can keep the lint from collecting en masse against the regular filter material

☎ the rarest of sights

  ☎ a dial phone

our phones are digital jobs

a sunny day in the ' boro 
green and growing

a fond reminder

so. the Pixel 6a throws up photos from previous days / months/ yrs - I suspect to remind me how smart Pixel is

Mai neuf

Or 24 / 05 - 9 

our  house at night

we never see this, if course 

thought I'd take the image.

street point of view 

🆚 on the 8 rh of May

  🆚 seems sunny or snatches of full sun

definitely, blazing sun and a bit damp

grand start to the day. 

here we go

managed to meet up w/ a former student who lives in Prince Edward County

🪀 ..." like a red rubber ball "

 🪀 the ' crop ' is doing well [ yellow blossoms ]

however, our lawn is down the list of prime crop areas

sunny, warm cool type breeze

tomorrow is rain

" Red Rubber Ball"  by the Cyrkle

so, May is its first week. 
Update from me 

my grass is growing in the boulevard or lawn edge that the neighbour put in
exercise is still getting done
I'm healthy, wealthy , wise [ sometimes, you just settle for 1 out of 3 ]

🏘 home beautiful [ or not ]

  🏘  as the struggle goes on
well, own a home and do the work [ or not ]

to wit. along the street, the common phrase ' its my BACKyard and I'm not pulling dandelions'

a sunny day in the  ' boro but rain is coming this week

sure. water the dandelions for me [ Mother Nature ]

I've got bad attitude. Should have known

All that I need to do is call ' dandelions ' a crop
I'm making a dandelion farm
.... you see, there is dandelion wine
                   salad
                   toast the roots
                   and medicine [ it prevents  .... well, some nasty thing or                                                     other

See, Useful

we did a smorgasbord of veal Parm, wedgy fries, pasta and salad
all in about $ 40 from the deli counter BUT anything left can be breakfast or frozen for snacks 
and nowadays,  a meal for two [ restaurant is north of that $ 40 ]

Cinco de mayo -

 

dreary in the  ' boro. but this is spring in the Great [ almost ] White North

the Bostonian Bruinish players beat the Maporous Leaves last night

57 years BUT who I counting
since last the Buds drank out of the Stanley Cup

the ' buds ' are the Toronto Maple Leafs

we are under the gloom of a Low Pressure system

the grass can grow and my new seeds on the boulevard will be watered

0504

  May the 

th be with you

a sunny day in the  'boro and the dandies are proving why, all that I dig is futile

🎪 the 3 rd of May

 🎪 the marching of the time

today, tarted fine and devolved to rain and grimness

grimness. yes, its pulling dandelions .... I dug out a bucket and said ' quits' 

went for pizza and relaxed
the dandies will be there tomorrow, the dandelions will be there many tomorrows to come

🎒 the symbol of ' on the road again '

🎒  bringing you the month of May   ... and  'guess who'll cry come first of May ' Jose Feliciano

# 4 094 posts as at today

no deer today. foggy as yesterday but warmer

a threat of rain but its skimpy

the plan for the day was to address the heating coils in the eavestrough s. The ice prevention scheme worked a charm.
BUT now that's its warmer - time for the coils to be removed.
I did the back, just a short run of cable. Cleaned the guck out

Went to start the front and a neighbour waved. I went over - chit chat. Then I said ' better get back to getting heating coils out of the eavestrough '
neighbour goes ' why / '
just leave them in

So I did.

And big sun came thru'. Brilliant day

later. I attempted to fix the edges of the landscaping fabric that is topping my stone ring for the backyard trees.
As usual.
cart before the horse
 I laid the paving stones as a border for the tree grove. There was landscape fabric from previous attempt to block weeds. 
Then while talking to a neighbour who had an artificial lawn, she mentioned almost weed proof fabric [ more expensive but ... ]. 
I put down Fabric2 over the old fabric1. However, the edges overlapped the stones. I tired to tuck the fabric in [ crap ] and then layered limestone screenings to hold down the edges [ crap ]

Today. I lifted the pavers and pulled the fabric2 under the stones. 
OF COURSE ! I should have done this years ago

The appearance has improved several fold