🌨 what a closing out .....

 🌨 .... for the month. we use the expression ' WE the North ' for the Raptors basketball team

however, no, not even close in re: Ontario. slightly N of us, say 100 km, the area is under state of emergency. ice covered trees and standing objects. downed power lines and the snap of branches dropping 

did we get rain last night, early evening. bucketing down. the downspout [ I altered it to be easier to reach and mend ] was entertainment central. water gushed out for two hours. much like a sluice gate 

follow up. dinner last night. was tempura. Yes, I have done this before. however, not in a long time. say three to four years

I had a ton of doubt or procrastination jitters. finally, bought the shrimp. not big but medium.  just in case, I needed to make sure that they would cook thru 
I happened to buy a crunch pack of salad. add a potato and there you go
turned out terrific.
secret steps. keep everything cold. shrimp peeled and rubbed w/ soya sauce. potatoes washed sliced and soaked in water and left in the fridge. potatoes were dried before being used
I pre coated the food items in corn starch 
all the veg came straight from the fridge

what a mess. guess, my lack of experience was on full display

result. was delicious. saved the oil and expect to try a repeat.

the batter was 50 / 50 flour and biscuit mix [ yes, packaged ]

🚅 as in dodging

 🚅 ..the worstest .....  the ' boro has missed on the direst of outcomes
yes. we have ice on the trees
but the roads look driveable
whereas. areas of Ontario were layered w/ ice on standing objects

🏩 danger, danger .....

 🏩  Will Robinson ..... the Robot

in the ' boro. cars are moving well. roads appear wet but not icy

We shall see said the Zen-Master

㊗ March 28 and the ....

 ㊗ ..... lion roars

yes. big weather news and alerts

ICE 

🏖 teaser

 🏖 ,,,, sun boomed out this AM. Temperature will reach the 50 mark.

THEN, Friday thru Monday, a prime setup for icy rain, sleet and all that God allows

Ugh !

the day is as advertised, bright and sunny but wind is up and cold

🙃🙂 for the XXVI of 03

 🙃🙂 we are in a stall, weatherwise. we cannot shake the cycle of wet / and cold

there will be a spike up but still the overall is cold

🎇 Post # 4389 on Marhcessa 25

 🎇 in the ' boro,  gray and grim is the look

we will start a warm up. a begrudging slow warm up

" winter stays long, this high up " [ Chris Bear Claw Lapp ]

from Jeremiah Johnson

we are not high up, say, 600 ft ASL. and still got winter. come on Chris ! give me a break

Follow up. YouTube. The Hisense TV is slow and lags [ on pressing the remote buttons ]. Yepper, not just my TV and my TV sounds like a petty issue. Some folks are screaming and.

So. what do you do ?
1. Unplug your TV from the wall for over 5 minutes. Second step, touch and hold the actual power button. 30 sec.
Finally, power on the TV using the actual power button [ not remote ].
If this fix works fantastic.

The nest fix is more hands on and curse worthy

ah. ' the struggle is the glory '

🌨 ... snow .....

 🌨... covers the fields we used to know .... [ Cole Porter ? ]

yepper. white stuff on the ground

' boro is cold to boot [ or wear your boots ]

🧋 Marchioness 23

 🧋whoa. flying thru this month

excitement has diminished on the street. birch tree disappeared in 3 h. well, some stumpy bits are free for the taking [ much has gone ]

' boro is cold ish [ 36 F ] however, we will warm

🧳 the ' boro on Mar 22

 🧳 perhaps, you are not aware. This blog has no followers.

Well, I think not. Thus, ' sending to the ether ' is a title and description 

 always claimed that this blog was therapy.

a dull morning to all intents and purposes. we are expecting 40 + F and a cold day to follow soon

further. my one follower [ that I knew of ] has passed away. somehow that doesn't seem right, the phrasing, I mean. thus, if you read this and disagree send a comment

🎪the aftermath

 🎪 the sun flowing down shows a 40 ft birch tree lying across two lawns.

 No flashing lights this AM but last night the street lit up like a carnival

the tally thus far. Insurance claims to hit $ 12 K. However, that does not factor roof damage that is underlying the superstructure

EeK !

🦠 we have reached the Spring

 🦠 of the year

the ' boro. expects rain and not bad temperature

we liaised w/ our tax accountant. we earned more and pay more in taxes

It's late, say 11:58 P and the phone is dinging in staccato fashion as Whatsapp is delirious 

a tree toppled in the gusty conditions 

so basically # 10 s tree fell over the fence onto the wires in front of # 8

Police, ambulance and fire are illuminating the street in red and white - strobe style

basking in the warming

 ㊗  ..... sun is the theme and look

thus, all day the roofers lifted and re-sealed, trying to avoid water seepage anywhere but down the roof to the gutter
the boss said ' 90 % ' sure that water will stay out
Funny he added ' w / water, no one knows why it goes where it does '

🏛 working on our roof

 🏛 .... today. Thus, mayhaps our drip problem will end. I haven't the foggiest about how bad our leak is

I mean we get 20 oz every now and then. BUT the thinking has to be any extra water soaking thru the roof is damaging

' boro weather is glorious spring - full sun and mild breeze

🥻 wearing of the Green

 🥻well, we are close to the 12 h of sunlight mark. minutes away

this is the cold ish day in the ' boro

the rain should be gone or minimal

and a lovely sunny day broke out

🌀 on March 16

 🌀 ..... in the ' boro.
P.S. or possible script - this is spring. walked out w/ out a jacket [ coat ] and was comfortable

rain is the theme and sometimes buckets

on follow up. today is weigh in day. Recall the starting date was beginning of February. a 181.2 lb result.
Sunday, weigh in was 175.6 lb records show a 175.8 reading in June 1, 2023 [ sounds like an earthquake monitoring number ]
as mentioned, tho', I am not suffering. To wit, a potato pancake topped w/ asparagus,bacon bits and a dab of chicken w/ banana muffin for dessert [ yeah, breakfast dessert ]

AS FAR AS I CAN TELL< NO ONE READS THIS blog but me
hello ' ether '

also while scanning YouTube feeds, a video discussed the dangers inherent in thinking that walking for seniors is a total solution for health overall.

the video went on to mention weight bearing exercises for the whole body. hopefully, I'm coming close to satisfying some of those benchmarks

✨ rainy springy day

 ✨ not officially, spring. BUT don't blame us. wishing and hoping and here something warmish is

Reprise. Weight control. Am I suffering. no, except for feeling sorry for myself.
there is some satisfaction in the results i.e. downward trend in numbers

also leaving out potato chips, cookies and bread is not the end
recall, I still eat potatoes, rice and corn [ these are also staples around the world, just depending ]. Plus, I refuse to give up the beer.
the beer helps me celebrate - everything

alive and kicking
sore,yes. but waking up and doing

thus. weight is down a little less than 5 lb for a month.Figure that I have still got 7 weeks to go.
setting realistic goals is always touted as a path to success

as well, did I note that my exercise schedule is every other day. BUT I added 25 minutes on the recumbent bike, in between. Firstly, at least the recumbent bike gets used. Secondly, mild exercise on the off days increases activity. Thirdly, considering my aches and pains in the lower region, I figure that its therapy

sadly, the truth is maintaining any weight loss is going to be unsuccessful, once you go off the regimen.  Sort of been there and done that. 

we are travelling in May. Thus, the 2 month window. Overall, I'm hoping that the effort is the reward or ' the struggle is the glory ' 

and, of course, if there are any benefits to keeping your weight under control, at least, I tried

🎇 " Frying " Day 03 / 14

🎇 yes. forecast seems to have been on the ball. we are in a warming trend, rain for two days but temperature holds than soars a bit

I do attempt to not lose track of items. thus below find a excerpt from February 13, 2025

{{  Results: Sunday weight 181 2 lb

Thursday weight 179 lb

And no this is not a one week trial. The intent is 2 months or total grumpiness whichever comes first 

Oh. beer gets left in for morale support 

History would indicate that 176 # is doable and 174 is a reach. However, the general story is losing weight and maintaining are different beasts

Thus a solid plan looking down the road is crucial. The current idea is a stage wise approach and allowing sufficient time to adjust to each level. I feel like # 176 is a reasonable sounding place but. . .....  }}

And the results are in after approx one month. The weigh in Thursday March 13 produced a 176.8 lb reading.

meaning that my weight has dropped a tiddle under 5 lb in the month.

I concentrated on using rice, potatoes as my main carbohydrate. more fruit and veg. And corn seems to be a regular item. The corn appears to bulk out my stool. Besides that I've always loved frozen corn [ esp Peaches and Cream var ]
Stuff gets left out as well. Cookies, pies and chips are avoided. Lately. M .. has been making muffins [ bran and banana ]and I will eat those 
I will eat bread but only sparingly. I mean store bought bread. I decided to leave out all the extra additives such as extra leaveners, sugars and preservatives.

Alright fans.  The last time that I was near 176 lb was February 2023. 
As mentioned, I set a time limit of 2 months. Thus nothing radical [ plus I left in beer, for morale ]

Little glitches have occurred such as overloading on sunflower seeds. The rationale was that the sunflower seeds take time to eat. Sunflower seeds are healthy but calorie rich. Apparently, very rich. I still eat the sunflower seeds but controlled usage.

I've been aching in the legs esp the left and for a week and bit have used the recumbent bike for motion [ therapy ] and extra activity

Hopefully, I will get a little less tubby and adopt some real changes in eating habits

Occasionally, I feel deprived. BUT when you can have a beer on a ' diet ' ? how bad can it be

🈲 swinging around the corner

 🈲 perhaps, a little premature to hope .... BUT have we reached Spring.

the temperature is / will be + 32 for today and likely ten days out

the lowest will be 38

XXXX fingers 

as a follow up. the roofer [ who speaks Mandarin ] came by to evaluate the water leak from the cathedral ceiling and skylight
not a simple fix. however, he is taking a layered approach. A .. did the translating. for approx 20min, I felt that there was give and take - sort of a stating of positions 
them. their faces seemed to relax. and there was consensus.
yes. the job can be done. the roofer drew a picture for the slow among us
it turns out that much of the conversation surrounded A ..s point that cost is a concern but that redundancy was not to be overlooked 
sort of more is better, in this case

yes. it will be a ' layered ' endeavour. 

Best of all. the roofer ended w/ ' I can come on Monday '. Yeah !!! The problem was going to be ' trying to squeeze ' a small job like our roof vs. the construction type summer jobs
Thus, we might have caught a break

🏩 12 Marchioni

🏩 ' boro is 32 F and pleasant, low wind and humidity 

Shopping at the Giant Tiger, feels Canadian and loyal

of course, all the merchandise was made in the far East

I delivered the tax package to the accountant. This endeavour is always filled w/ angst. Awaiting my latest omission or flub. 
we shall see said the Zen Master

now our temperature soars and the precipitation comes

⛽ ' boro and sun

 ⛽ on March 11

spring snuck in. warm and inviting

the high will be 47 F and a cool down in two days

🧭 Furnace is disabled

   🧭 as a follow up to Jan 26 [a cold house ] the furnace is ' off ' again
we have two warm rooms, fireplace room and bedroom [ space heater ]
we slept in the bedroom and it stayed 70 F for the night

Supposedly, the  HVAC folks will call at 8 A and set a time to come and replace a piece of the furnace.

I'm typing in the fireplace room 

Follow up. yes, a competent service tech appeared w /in the time window 

Sorted out the glitch and installed a replacement part for $ 250 and sold me a ' maintenance ' plan, to boot

We are warm. And further, the filter on the furnace cannot last 3 months or the normal duration.

We visited Savannah, Ga. Apparently, a large chunk of visitors are / were inspired by the movie ' Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil '

Guilty. Here. M .. and I had a relaxing four days. My preference is always - spend time just being there

That's travel. to me

🌞 not the sun s fault

 🌞 ... he got up all right
our clocks changed

and sunny
as reported our temperature is going from cold ish -> to way less cold

🧿 Mar 8

 🧿  ...the ' boro is a wash in sunlight
yes. cool ish out there.
but our clocks go forward Sunday. spring is a dittle away

🏘 VII of Mars

 🏘 the ' boro report says, sun w/ patchy sky and rising temperatures. and purportedly, above 32 for the week and bit ahead

as stated the snowpack is fleeing

㊗ 6 the of the III

 ㊗  a miserable cuss of a day, here in the ' boro

nothing overt. wind was biting, rain was measly and the temperature not comfortable

it was a doable day

🧋 weather jumble

 🧋 raining now. next, we haven't a clue. A little ice, a little rain and plenty of runoff to cause problems.

overall, the temperature goes plus 32 nearing 40 for the next ten days

and uncertain precipitation 

it doth pour. the good news is so far, all the prep that I still ache from, have paid off 
the water is streaming out onto the lawn

it is as bad as described, water everywhere and it moving

we get a freeze tonight [ not good that ] and temperatures are on the rise, subsequent 

🎎 March 4ward

 🎎 or not

" here comes the rain again ... " Annie Lennox [ ? ]

and we haven't a clue where the water will go or can go

w/ a fairly hard freeze too boot its will be anybody s guess

certainly, is dim out there

🚆 the sunset barrier

 🚆 ... I was a tad late but this fact was drawn to my attention
The sun is setting after 6PM as at FE 28 [ ? ] Last night it was 6:06 P
and the sun will set now earlier than 6 P until Oct 29

' boro, last night was cold and under 15 F 
we warm up to 32 or so and stay there for the week

further to the sunset info
someone else keeps track and is interested
to wit :

Toronto will increase sunlight time by and 1 1/2 h in March

🦠 in the ' boro

 🦠 and no footprints

yes. the melt is on. the snow piles are shrinking daily

notice. I may have mentioned that I am aching from gutter work. on the ladder chipping away for 2 days off and on [ and I thought that I was taking it easy w/ breaks and short intervals - wrong !! ]

A .. called and mentioned the roofer is willing to remediate the roof / damming problem. Then A .. said that the roofer has been struggling to keep up w/ all the calls from ice damming caused by the amount of snow and subsequent icing

Wow ! good to know that it is not only us

sunny. cold not passing 25 F even in the sun. however, temperatures leap into the 30 s for the week.

🎇 the ' boro on Marching # 1

 🎇 ... of course, this is wrong. the derivation of the month was from Mars [ likely ]

cold [ well, it did drop below 32 by a lot ]. the long range has our temperature hovering below 32 for another five or so days
then. a warming up for two weeks [ not warm, just getting there ]

its hard to look at the snow piles and think warmly or warmish

March 1 celebrates. Zero Discrimination Day plus Wheelchair Day

went out to Shoppers Drug Mart anyway. Yes. miserable.
However. pain meds were needed.
approx three weeks ago, I was on the ladder for 2 h at a time. chopping ice out of the back gutters. and shovelling the snowpack

I strained everything. Crotch to knee is stiff. sore upon waking and tolerable thru the day. w/ occassional aching spells
mornings see stabbing pains in the hip area. pop some ibuprofen and acetaminophen to get by 

today.  I went for the aceto + muscle relaxant. As well, bought more aceto and ibuprofen

so far. the acetominophen and robaxin seem to help, quite a bit

drugs are us. we are old  

BTW. our acetominophen is paracetamol [ UK name ]

cold as advertised and windy to the point of ugly