Revisited

The towel warmer
The washroom at QMH is warmer , the Tw is on all night. The towel is warm. The wattage on the tW is 150 , thus , thats like leaving a light on - fairly economical , for that amount of heat
The TW is a little klunky but perhaps its a matter of getting used to it

Rice.  There was a time when M would ask if this rice or that rice is good. I was pretty fussy , crikey , I'm always a little fussy
Last night eating dinner , which was lamb and rice , I re - considered my position.  You see , I was eating Uncle Ben's microwave , garlic and ... rice. 2 minutes in the mw and slam bam , thank you ma'am.
Oh , how my morals have fallen

The Ebola patient in Texas died. He got to be # 1 Sympathies.

The weather is rugged , not freezing but strong winds and damp.
The wind on the 'bee was south then north but the predominant wind is supposed to a W wind.

Fishing was a zero , whats new.

The marine railway trolley got stuck and I had to bring a second winch to get the boat up on Tues. I greased the wheels and next time , the trolley came up easily.  Oh well , grease the wheels , life goes on.

The Fall - out

On the Ebola front or spread. Bookmakers , now , have a target for betting purposes. The chance that Ebola will spread to France this month is 75 % and Britain 50 %.

The world record for longest line of classic cars was set in Mexico City at 1 721.

Here the WEATHER turned on us. We got rain and cold and it will keep coming. They tried to make us feel better by explaining why the rain is happening . Southerly winds are affected by the cooling surface water of the Great Lakes and warmth deeper down. Winds are gusting , so , its going to be uncomfortable out there on the 'bee.

Wind from the East , not fit for man o r beast
Wind form the North , wise fisher goes not forth
Wind form the West , fishing is best
Wind from the South , blows the bait in the fish's mouth

All S and SW winds for 3 days - now if I don't get hypothermia out there , I should be be a happy camper fisherman ( oops ! )

Almost at the end of that 4 th V of ' Surrender to the Will of the Night ' , and its terrific. I read / hear of books that transport you and there haven't been many.
I would list ' Fires of Spring ' Michener ( ? )
' the Red and the Black ' Stendahl
' the Big " E " ' the USS Enterprise ( WW II - carrier ) ..............?
and now , ' Surrender ........  '

So ,how is Northborough
and Norton  ?????????????

To get a shout out , become a follower of this blog
Its a very exclusive club , verrry exclusive

BTW - called Bell re : the LD kufuffle and the operator said ' how much ' and ' we'll cover it '
That s all - don't send a bill or anything Slam bang , thank you     ma' am        D - O N - E
neat. ( XXXXXX , that's my fingers crossed )

Be kind to your web footed friends
Oh , they'll be blasting away soon on the 'bee
killing everything that has wings

Pita , You

You got it. The topic is pita. Actually , pita brushed w/ balsamic dressing and dashed  w/ herb mix.
The recipe originates in  a book ' Looney Spoons' , a compendium of reduced fat etc recipes. I'll explain the ' pita chips ' and you'll get the idea.
Take the pitas and split them open. Cut the pita into 12 pieces. Spread the balsamic dressing on the open faces of the segments and dash w/ herb mix ( comes dry in a spice jar ).
I've found that 1 / 2  ing the pita and then knifing the halves open is easiest. Then cut into wedges.
The original used 1 tbsp of oil and a beaten egg white. I substitued the  low fat balsamic dressing. Much easier and no egg yolk left over.
Turns out that my way results in a pita chip w/ 16 cal. Or 6 is a hundred cal.
Bear in mind that the gist of the pita is to replace potato chips , thus you'd have to eat 2 whole pitas or 32 wedges to equal a medium bowl of potato chips. Thats calories , in fat , don't bother - the ratio is pita chips 20 - bowl of chips 200
You bake the pita wedges crispy.
Told you that I tried at the last poker game and it worked. not happy like a banshee but satisfied.

Now ,for the results of  Op Osm. I am down almost 15 lbs. Been long , Jul 19 til to - day. Let's talk about the way that I feel.

Deprived , I would say no , but feeling sorry for myself , yes.
Keeping the record straight , I've had beer and sushi this week. I watch the carbs e.g. last night - scalloped potatoes , check , bread , no check.
Dessert , yes.
I eat pita chips and carrots to snack. Or almonds and raisins at night. Sort of my own trail mix.
You understand that in the mode of most diet commercials , I'm supposed to tell you ' I feel great , younger than ever , I've got more energy '  yada , yada , yada
Not quite , I feel about the same. Pleased w/ the results , a little paranoid about gaining back weight. This paranoia is probably normal , for dieters , for me.
I think that all the advice that people have given me and that you hear is coming home to roost.
Portion control ( thats my cousin )
You snack too much ( M , herself )

Clothes that I hadn't worn in 2 years , are now doable.
However , the one imponderable is health. Yes , you can watch the scale but measure health ?? I have no way of telling. Like many things in life - we shall see said the Zen Master.

World news : India is short of water. 92 billion dollars to re - route waterways as a start , that estimate in 2004 dollars.
America's got a secret weapon. the F  - 22 , Raptor , stealth fighter
The f - 22 is expensive , 150 million each. Canada can afford 1.
Or 2. We'll most likely buy at the USAF garage sale for allies , in 5 years.

Lighter notes : the man bubbling his way to Bermuda or from Bermuda is rescued. He was walking the bubble across the ocean.
Ah ,perhaps too light , huh ?

Weather : looks good out there , 50 F on the back porch in the shade. Rain is coming , off and on for 3 days.

I've spent approx 6 years , reading and re - reading a series by author Glen Cook.  The 4 th in the series was published , this March. I , finally , bit the bullet and ordered the ' Working God's Mischief '. Reviews , noted that a familiarity w/ the original three volumes was required. A brief intro , but no in depth background.
I've got that in spades.
I've fallen in love w/ the book. The characters are being revealed in more detail and the absurdities are being extended.
I'm captivated by  the whole experience. Unfortunately , personages that I enjoyed in the previous volumes are dying.
The hardcover cost $ 34 but compared to ' Guardians of the Galaxy ' at some $ 15 , this book is a bargain. I'm thinking , in terms of a long time investment. Each of the previous volumes has been read at least 3 times.
FYI , I bought the first ( vol 1 ) in Worchester , Mass in 2008. The rest have come via Amazon. That first vol cost $ 5 / hardcover. The rest cost more - happy like a banshee.
You know  , we need to be careful here , I'm not sure , how happy a banshee can be. Weird , yes , happy ????????? OK , happy as a lark

Question

...answered
I ran into the grocery store and missed the answer to the question
' in Holland , what is a Chinese apple ? '
I was going to wait , then thought my Uncle Jack is Dutch , he'll know and I'll pick them up later.
He knew , it is an orange.

Weather : rain last night and cold to- day , well ,way colder than 3 days ago

Ebola seems to be the # 1 story , now that the dead exceed 4 000 and numbers such 50 000 are being tossed around.

ISIS , must be #2

And on the medical theme , enterovirus D69 is in the news - bringing the chance of permanent paralysis or immoblity , esp to young people

' The Best Part of Waking Up '

.....Folgers in your cup ? The ad line

Mon , past ? was international coffee day , in that vein - coffee tidbits
The int'l coffee consortium wants you to know
a) coffee is a pick me up and unfortunately a drop me down as well

b) coffee will boost your metabolism , up to 10 %. Anyone who has O - D d on coffee will know the jitters from the stimulation. Many energy drinks are caffeine sources including diet supplements

c) moderate coffee consumption is capable of lowering Alzheimer       risk

d) coffee can reduce the risk of depression  I can tell them , not in       my case

On the buds , a coffee entrepreneur was discussing his love of  coffee. He mentioned types of beans and their origin. He next tells the host that he might go days w/ out coffee.
He said it all starts w/ the water. If the water isn't pure or clean , w/out chlorine or fluoride e.g. he doesn't drink coffee at that place.
I know people who pay $ 14 / lb for their coffee and grind at home
... then use T.O. tap water.
As well , the grinder needs to produce fine even particles. Spinning blade grinders do a poor job.

Here , its Folgers and tap water and you take your chances. Friends left Starbucks coffee at the QMH in the fridge. Its still there , we trot it out every now and then , to experiment. mostly , b/c thats how I feel after drinking it - an experiment

Weather : not bad , little damp , little warm , little sun

Yesterday , the workers came and buried the run off pipes. When we bought the place the run off from the roof went down into the  ground at the house. Someone had repaired the ground pipe but we decided to re  -route the water across the pavers. When we re - did the front w/ interlock , the company buried the run off pipe. 
Unfortunately , they used a perforated drain pipe and the overflow was digging out the interlock.
I re -routed this spring but over top of the interlock and it looked ugly - functional but ugly. I dug a dry well at the edge of the interlock in case the pipe was freezing and causing the overflow.
But the perforated pipe was still under the interlock.
The workers lifted the interlock and re - buried a solid pipe up to the dry well. Now ,the perforated drain pipe runs away from the dry well only.
The other side of the garage had a similar problem but no place to bury the run off pipe. Solution , shoot the water out over the boulevard , as in a waterfall. The neighbour thought the water was bouncing off his wall in a wind. I ran a run off pipe over the interlock.
The workers buried the pipe by digging up the boulevard. Done in one.

So , how was your day ???

A Life Unexamined....

.. is not worth living  < according to Diogenes ??? >
On the buds , the CBC aired a segment on analyzing your writing.
As in , is your style conducive to  making others want to read your writing. And are you an effective writer.
This is 4 AM and to quote Paul Simon " I don't expect to sleep through the night " but this is nuts. I've been tossing and turning since 2 AM.
A mosquito bite happened to get to the itchy stage during the night
and that surely didn't help
There I am scratching away , thinking ' is my writing interesting '
Part of me is wisely saying , # 1 , how many people does this affect. And if they don't read it , how will you know ?

As well , another segment was on the topic of TV shows. Now , you would think that I must have known something about the topic.
We watch TV enough hours for sure , to qualify.
Nope. The shows mentioned   ' True Detective ' and ' House of Cards ' ??????????????????????????
I may have mentioned when they give out those TV award thingies
that there is better than even chance that this house has never seen an episode.
Talk about out of the loop ! We were never in it.

Ebola. Nigeria announced that the country is Ebola free after isolating and treating a relatively small number of patients. Rumour had it that the strain was not the same as in Liberia , Senegal and Sierra Leone.
Further , correspondents for the CBC and others were commenting on the some 4 000 children orphaned by Ebola in Liberia.

I keep a ' Note ' page on the i Phone to remind me of information that I may want to use in the blog - yes, I plan the torture , way in advance of writing.

The tree. A while ago , a letter came from the city , your property has qualified for a tree planting. I thought about it and ended with ' oh , another living thing that will die from mis - treatment on our property. I didn't reply.
Apparently , that means that you agree - we have a tree. The truck pulled up and bingo - bango ... A black gum tree is a resident. Complete w/ plastic bag wrap - to keep in moisture  ? - see , we don't even know what the bag is for.
This new addition joins the tulip tree about which I have mixed feelings , its supposed to be decorative , and a .... cypress which we call the ' scarecrow tree ' an it is big and I never liked it.
We think that the new arrival has spelled doom for the tulip tree b/c now we can take it down and there is something to take its place.

I'm off to get a glass of milk and stumble back into bed. And try to get back to sleep. I hope Paul didn't write ' and I never get back to sleep '

So , You Thought

You're aware of the strategy. Call Bell and whine - customer loyalty says ' lets see what we can do '
Upshot , our bill gets reduced by $ 20 - at least we're under $ 200

For Sept , I was calling Ohio and Vancouver all ' free ' w/ the new Bell promo
On a whim , went on line and checked the invoice for Yak - our used to be provider. Saw the Aug bill. Called Yak to ask what charges would be on the Sept invoice - 13 calls from Sept 4 to the 28.  Eek ! Bell was free - Yak was still charging

The Bell tech who sent the notice  that we were now Bell Long dist customers didn't switch us over to Bell

After 20 minutes w/ Bell , the switch over will occur in 2 days.
When we receive the Yak invoice for Sept , call Bell and they'll ' help ' How ??? Who knows

And do you think the Bell switch guy would say - you can verify your LD carrier by calling this number ( CRTC ) - recorded voice says ' your carrier is _______ '
Crikey , this world , my world
I read an article back in the 1980 s that said , an analysis of office work showed that the average employee spent a 1 / 3 of the day correcting their mistake or someone else's
Things stay the same ?? 

Ebola comes to the U.S. , in Texas , a traveller from Liberia is very sick w/ Ebola. You're safe. This message from every expert who is at least 2 000 miles from Texas.

Canada was rated ( yes , its us ) 4 th in the World for best places to be elderly. This poll does not take into consideration , do you want to be old ? Canada was behind Norway and Sweden in the poll.
Canada's pension and health care got us up in the top.

The fishing drought is over. Last night , after 2  1 / 2 h of bobbing around on the river , magic happened. In a 1 /2 h period , I caught a walleye and 4 largemouth  bass ( could have been 5 but 1 jumped off at the boat ).
In fact , the bass were caught in a frantic 15 min window
There will be no photos , the bass refused to give their permission for release on the internet

The walleye was dinner and breakfast. The fillets were dusted w / flour and dipped in egg mix - coated with panko crumbs.
Delicious , delicious and best b/c it was fresh. 20 minutes from cleaning to pan.