🗼 01 - 31 of '25

 🗼a damp ish day in the ' boro. Raw is the word. Basically, uncomfortable

events. brought in the garbage can. and the newspaper.
really. that was the morning

🦕 from out of the past

 🦕 a sauropod comes marching
Alright. I got bored and picked the ridiculous for today s icon

a mixed blessing in the ' boro. Temperature will be 32 give or take
Figuring, a mash up of precipitation or not

Thus, we have been 3 days without a dishwasher. We are managing. And there is some satisfaction that comes w/ this manual stuff. 
However, we can add no kids or others. I re - use cups etc anyway

🐾 signs

 🐾 in the snow b/c we got covered in white, overnight
nothing major but enough to leave a barrier or impediment to travel

snow is usually better than water b/c water moves
and not where you want it

however, when snow moves.....yikes !

temperature will hover near 32 + / - 

🎩 January Close Out

 🎩, no. I'm not selling anything

sending to the ether. as per usual

a colder day in the ' boro. bright day but colder

big Oops ! Our dishwasher is repairable but the cost is not worth the investment

A .. found an open box deal at an appliance store. Great. Save $ 250 
get home. WHAT ! its stainless steel outer shell - our kitchen is white ! 

call back. substitute dishwasher is $ 200 more.

Yikes. we said yes.

🆑 and more

 🆑 if you are keeping track. we are closing out another month

recall. Alison Krauss was singing ' Get Me Through December '
January has been frosty and wintery and winter ish.

' boro today. sunny. hopeful

I started home fries in the automatic air fryer
vacuumed out the main air return grate

🧊 but inside

 🧊 yes, the furnace is not making heat

' boro is winter conditions. But average only

fitful sun and wind is moderate

inside news. the company HVAC responded right away. Phone reception was very good. The tech guy called and said  ' noon time '.
then called at noon ish, 'stuck on the # 401 '.
however, he came as promised.
he did troubleshooting and got down to one switch.

but .... why ? the switch was a safety and tripped. He cleaned and tightened parts.
well. the furnace runs. so fixed
the tech was not sure if the problem got solved or postponed

thus. 8:30 A no heat
1:30 P warmth flooded the house

Oh. a dirty filter. One month in service and already, likely in need of changing.

💒 on January 25 in the ' boro

 💒 a gray and ..... not hospitable day
the dampness is seeking your bones

a load of wash. and looking at stew for dinner

could I wax lyrical. 
the topic. is I need to do things. hence, I need to create

January 23

 🧊 🧊 🧊🧊 🧊 🧊🧊

yepper still

I was reading at 5 AM
on the Chromebook, at IPlay

and waiting a package from Amazon

the package arrived

the contents. a rain shower head for M ..
she used one, in a hotel
and thinks its the bees knees

thus we will try to hook it up
apparently, easy to fit according to the ' Customer Reviews '

nuff said 

🧊 🧊 🧊🧊 🧊 🧊🧊 it is the story

🧊 🧊 🧊🧊 🧊 🧊🧊

again. cold it is
a break is due in a day

a controversy for our life

[ sad ] the most important button on the TV remote 
choose
mute
pause

and I realized wearing earphones while on the internet [ esp YouTube ] is beneficial
better sound reproduction of course
however, you can shift the headphones for commercial spots and hear hardly any of the noise

🧊 🧊 🧊🧊 🧊 🧊 🧊🧊 in truth

🧊 🧊 🧊🧊 🧊 🧊🧊 count them
as you can see
more ice cubes
yes its colder by a substantial amount

wind is still and the sun is trying however clouds are moving in

the Ol' gray Ridgeline was not a happy camper, starting up AND we park in the garage

got out for lunch. the conditions were manageable

🧊 🧊 🧊🧊 indeed

 🧊 🧊 🧊🧊 icons say it all

deep freeze conditions. sunny and still air
BUT freeze your face off conditions

we hunkered down and let the furnace do the talking

🧊🌬 and the bleak .....

 🧊🌬 ..... got a bit  bleaker
we dropped 10 degrees overnight
So ....

when we cheer ' WE the North ' well, sooner or later 
if you talk you gotta walk

as in ' if you talk the talk then you gotta walk the walk '
suffer baby
this is Buudhism right in your face
' Life is Dukha ' or bundle up your overcoat, it cold out there

the story. We are booked for a flight to the UK
lately, it was announced that Canadians need an eTA [ electronic ' visa ' ]

simple, order online takes minutes and receive by email in three days,

Yeah. Mistakes.
Started w/ the laptop. Well. It is faster using your phone. Download the App

Done. Photo your details page from your passport. Oops ! you have glare.
Redo. Success.

slide you phone over your passport to access your ' microchip '. Error. Do over. Did you remove the phone case. NO
Do over.

Done. Now take a photo using the App. twenty three minutes later. Success.

Pay. I tried using M .. s credit card [ we were doing hers next ]. Nope

Typed in my credit card. CIBC, is verifying your transaction. I must have hit the wrong icon
YES, you got it. Nada

OMG. 

Another day another dollar. TG , we are doing this early.

BTW. Figured out how to take the photo, much easier. 
we'll get her done.

Stay tuned

follow up. today. A few miscues. nothing major. two applications 15 min total
the application process can take 3 days more or less
occasionally, up to three weeks

at 2:21 P your application is in cue
at 2:35 P you are approved for travel in the UK

you do not need to take a copy. provide your passport at border control

Egad. our digital world. everything is easy

til it gets impossible

🎑 " welcome to my .....

 🎑..morning
I said, welcome to my day ..... " the John Denver, cheery song

gray in the ' boro. we are prepping for a run of very cold days

yes, coffee in hand
the story.
watching videos on coffee making, some hints suggested that, although easy to use, the coffee maker has flaws in method
to wit. the water is warmed, drips onto the filter and grounds
BUT the first wash of water isn't hot yet.
and sits for a bit, soaks into the grounds, and percolates down

thus. I heat water in a cup. pour the hot water over the grounds. note. the coffee pot is not under filter. I turn on the machine. after some minutes, I position the pot and the drip through process begins.
the theory says that the first hot water bath should be longer. kind of activating the grounds

well. this AM.
Sh*t !
 I heard a sizzle and looked over !!!!!!

the watered coffee was spilling over the top of the filter compartment
yepper. forgot to put the coffee pot in position OVERFLOW city, man

cleaned the mess. and waited as water sizzled and sputtered on the warming plate
well. everywhere it seemed. A mess.

result. coffee tested terrif 
why ? maybe b/c the water sat in the grounds for so long
obviously, not to be repeated. however, interesting 
... in a horrific way

oh. and the coffee is not very hot. to clean up, I had poured the coffee into our coffee thermos.

life will go on. life always goes on. 

🌧 in the bleak ...

 🌧 .. midwinter
frosty wind make moan ... [ sorry this Christina Rossetti }

 " this is the winter of our discontent " etc [ Shakespeare ]

Well, coffee in hand and typing
aha, the day begins

the view is tinged w/ small flakes drifting down, of course, no sun

steampunk. I'd started to enjoy the images as I watched ' steampunk ' videos on YouTube

I have ordered ' parts ' - the gears and keys and et al that accessorize ' steampunk ' costumes and objects
As an official packrat. I've accumulated lanterns and tins of all kinds

you know that ' bleak ' part. I figure that we could use the term 10 times a winter

time to utilize the crap [soon to be ' art ' or memorabilia ]

the alluring aspect of steampunk, is that you cannot be wrong
too simple, lousy looking, unappealing BUT wrong ..... nope

💫 once more ..... round the ...

 💫 block. as they say
another kick at the can

' boro info. cold or colder. with big sun. patchy blue up there
get ready. a frigid time is approaching 
the jet stream will help force some chilly masses down our way

this is 'steampunk ' imagery -you see the gears and mechanics
accessorized to the extreme

plus there is snow falling. not tons but it will coat the road  and at 27 F, well, nothing good happens

the image above. is a photocopy from a metal disc in brilliant colour
the colour did not translate in the photocopy
in true ' steampunk ' fashion 
I crayoned in the original effect. yes. crayon
The thought was that it might be possible to blend colours to produce the matching shade.
And I did

This is a beginning

📕 January XIII

 📕.... an open book

" ..... Life just isn't fair
there's no easy days
there's no easy ways
just get out there and do it

.... "  Alan Price, from ' O' Lucky Man '

still dark out there
but coffee and typing 

actually, the Buddhist have that               ' Life just isn't fair '.  line covered

Life is Dukkha [ suffering ]

from AI search on Google

"In Buddhism, dukkha is considered an inevitable part of life. Examples of dukkha include:   Birth, Aging, Dying, Sorrow, Loss, and Separation from loved ones.

Dukkha is one of three basic characteristics of existence in Buddhist thought, along with impermanence (anichcha) and the absence of a self (anatta). "

Whoa. a little heavy there

I'm more a pineapple 🍍 guy. show a touch prickly

But I'm can be in  a ' Alabama slamm - ah '

" .... and sing and they'll hum along.  

cry and you'll cry alone 

and nobody's gonna care ......"

⚙ and its winter ....

⚙  .... still. the temperature is on the rise
                             and we got snow

                             an inch + a bit - a covering layer

 

Next day ... So different

BUT I caught the light, in this pic
the Pixel 6a does a good job on most photos. it self adjusts quite well
I obviously, enjoy sitting at the computer station and looking out
a bit limited view. however, I can watch the street or a quadrant
as you can tell, I am sparkling the neighbourhood for a while longer. the two stringers of kaleidoscope lights are blue and rainbow
the rainbow are the showiest, by far
and glistening off the snow, quite the effect [ Chilly Hilly is home in his box

🏟 moving on

 🏟 despite our protests, life is moving on

we grow comfortable. good. BUT there is no standing still

I've been watching Neil deGrasse Tyson, astrophysicist [ and lets educate the world guy ]

in essence, even standing still, you are being swept along as the universe moves 

the 'boro today. Milder than we've seen this week. The next week, shows 32 w/ up and down.

whats up : Sunday, the Quarter Mile guys show up here. Sit around and eat a little. Drink a little. them scotch and me beer. connect.

follow up : I re - arranged the ' computer room '. Last year

once a large desk was devoted to ' computer usage '. well, the desk stayed the same size and the computer kept getting smaller. as well, the computer became a laptop. and the Chromebook migrates as needed. 
the original pre - fab particle board type desk was 3 - 4 ft and took up approx half a wall.
and then there was a pull out couch salvaged from my parents condo [ circa 2004 ]. I disassembled the desk. Saved the large boards and used some smaller pieces for shelves

now.

the layout. East wall : pull out couch, corner frame computer / desk. stands 5 ft and under 40 in wide

thus. the above photo is a view as I sit at the corner computer stack. Love the idea that I sit and watch the world go by on the street.

West wall: stacking storage, boxes and rolling shelves. I put up a ledge to support the printer which would be precarious otherwise. Small stuff also sits on that ledge.
North wall. Oops !. In 1976, I bought an unpainted desk and chair. I stained them both. Yep. The combo is still sitting there.
Oh, I adore wood. 
then north continued, a wall unit w/ half glass front. Okay. purchased in 1980. This ensemble was 3 pieces, book unit and two display units. so, one display unit is in the room.

However
the walls are not bare. East wall mini shelve, posters and memorabilia.
West wall. photo montages.

North wall. posters and display tea towels

BUT. there is a Machiavellian under plot to this up do arrangement. The pull out can ' pullout ' so a bedroom was created. definitely not absolutely handy. The bed will cut off the room a bit. Yet, in a pinch, a bed and space.

Janus IX

Yes. January 9

A cold ish day in the. ' boro.and w/ it, a New Year first, we went to the Magic Noodle. Chinese Ramen, supreme 

After a $ 250 wander thru Costco 

OMG. How can so much on sale total so much

Oh. I succumbed and ordered from Temu

( Chinese  Amazon Inc ).

What ? Yepper. I've gone  ' steampunk '

or I'll attempt steampunk

I need to create or make

🐠 little fishy

 🐠 .....instead of the freezing cold out there

well. we need to endure another 40 hrs of colder and we warm up come late Thurs and Fri

32 is the magic number

🏮 warming ????

 🏮 last night my phone showed a notification ' tomorrow, warmer by 6 degrees '
does it help ?
dunno. informed is better than surprised
Thus, made it through December, as Alison Krauss had asked

the advantage is longer days for sure

around us, the neighbour to the East took down all his icicle lights and animals.

me. I brought Chilly Philly onto the porch, sort of pulling back from the street. CP inflated last night, right there on the porch

And I added a second string of flashing lights to the baby carriage that held the penguin
I'm not sure if this move is really ' taking down ' the Xmas lights

Alright ! I'm celebrating the new year, year of the Dragon [ ? ]  SNAKE
promises to bring wisdom, adaptability, and a sense of transformation

now is that only to Snake - y people or do we all get the perks

the new lights have a undulation to them - hey, might qualify. aha, check the fine print

AND neighbour # 2 started the removal of the Winter Wonderland Zoo. REALLY.

Lights round the trees, all the deer and Santa have come down

OK So, ask what's left and who is stills standing after all this time [ sorry Elton ]

The baby carriage and rainbow lights !!!!! Yeah. Outlasted them all

🌬 JA 6 2025

 🌬🧊 I haven't needed to write the date yet, except here. 
and
you know, I'm not sure how much that I actually write.
I do jot and make notes, much as in a diary. still old school

the ' boro stays cold thus no global warming here. Yes, its a Polar sweeper coming at us

well, I've been watching ' steampunk ' videos. AI, of course.
its starts small

I saw an assortment of gears and clock parts on Amazon. Steampunk uses old tech and re - jigs them 
THEN last night, TEMU [ online bargain deals Co. ] offered steampunk bits and bobs. If you ordered $ 45 the deal got you ' free ' choices.
I wanted the free choice ( s ) however, all in, and I'll have 400 pieces of gears etc

You'll likely hear more of this

Jan 5 in this 2025 time

 I've been photo bombing the Neighbourhood Watch on Whatsapp. Pretty much, 4 times a week, I showcase a scene from the neighbourhood. Admittedly, as the weather became cold to frigid, well, I have been staying close to home. Now, the experiment is shooting from inside the house. In this case, I never left my chair in the ' computer room ' now renamed ' den '.

Thus, pre - sunrise, I poked the phone at the right hand window

AND the effect was pleasing. After all, didn't move my butt, was warm.
Please note that Chilly Philly, lawn penguin is prominent.

An early morning run to Walmart. toilet paper [ on sale ] and liquids. Gatorade, can't beat that price
but COLD, w/ wind chill.

Neighbourhood Watch. I figure taking photos is good policy, letting people know that you can see what's going on

and besides, people could complain and I'd stop

really, I was hoping others would get ' jealous ' or competitive and show their chunk of the area
Not yet.

" Computer room " was a valid label when the computer was the size of the room.
Today. The computer table is a corner shelving unit assembly [ re - purposed from the street salvaging operations ]. The Chromebook is 11 " laptop. And portable.
I've mentioned that I do enjoy looking out the ' den ' window at the street.

🥢 and on Jan 4

 🥢 ...lets see - the ' boro is on the cold side,as at 21 w / wind chill, its 9

dull, likely hood of precipitation - all day

We de - Christmas - Ed. Most seasonal items stored. Wrapping paper and ribbons etc remain

You should note that 'Chilly Philly ' the inflating penguin remains on duty sitting on the lawn, lit up at night
a modest display and maybe CP should remain a tad longer

🧥 on Jan 3

 🧥 some Arctic air is pushing over the province. and we get a tad cold

however, sun is out and the day has some promise

get out and haul some wood and coal [ kidding ! ]

🪆 January 2

 🪆 .. all over the world
or thereabouts
coffee and typing
woke at 4 AM
then wondered ' how to contact emergency services '
great topic for trying to get back to sleep

on the cellphone, on the lock screen, there is an ' EMERGENCY ' toggle icon

So, I guess that I figured it out

' boro will be 32 F w/ some precipitation

📕 in keeping w/ the times

 📕 to our loyal followers ...

we are announcing ' Club Ether '. You have been a constant follower and we are changing how you can earn points
starting January 5 2025, our new Tier points will allow you to add points simply by opening the blog.

the perks are better than ever. Free trips to Swenson s for example. 

Well be sure to sign up on the 5 th and be a ' Ether Club Elite Member '

HAPPY New Year 2025.

in the ' boro, rain in the offing and temperature to hover near 32. There is a possibility of mixed rain / snow as well [ of course, temperature dependent ]

last night we saw the ' ball drop in Times Square ' and fireworks in Auckland, Taipei and Toronto [ Taipei kinda won that ' showfest ' ]

we nibbled [ knoshed ? is cuter ] on cheese and crackers, Asian chicken bites [ in four flavours ]. I cooked shrimp [ big'uns really ] and we had meat balls and a variety of dips.

in truth, we had much more frozen appetizers, in case. 

plus the requisite sweets [ cookies, eclairs etc ] wine and beer

AND the beginning of this post reflected the email from British Airways. We flew once and have ten points [ 2 thousand points gets you free coffee ].However, the new ' Club British Airways ' lets us earn points even faster '  Ta Da !

Follow up : leftovers produced a ' shrimp ' sandwich for brekkie s 

Alicia Virkander, actor, commented on ' Swedish ' sayings

such as " you can't slip in here on a shrimp sandwich"