Netfoot October 12 Share October 12 10 minutes ago, andidante said: I feel bad for his animals. Me too. Another neighbor told me that during Beryl he had planned to use a crowbar to break into the guy's house and put the dogs safely in there. Fortunately, Beryl was more bark than bite and the dogs were never in danger. They might have been uncomfortable in the rain and wind, but... I feel you have to be particularly careful when calling the authorities on your neighbors. The cops will come, give them a warning, and then you have to live next door to them for the next 20 years with them spitefully sabotaging your life every chance they get. 2 Link to comment
Netfoot October 12 Share October 12 The property that is at the heart of the family dispute over my mother's estate... Well, visit the page. 3 Link to comment
Netfoot October 13 Share October 13 (edited) I'm tired. Had dinner of pasta spirals with corned beef and onion with a splash of ketchup. Edible but not great. Drank a mug after Garden Patrol. Mo was asleep partially under the bed when I came in but he promptly departed. Have not showered yet and feel like I won't bother, but I probably will talk myself into it. Listening to Head Room off the How Dare You album by 10cc. I'm quite fond of 10cc and How Dare You is my favourite album of theirs. So many great tracks! Infact, practically all the tracks on this album are great. Don't Hang Up, Art For Art's Sake, I'm Mandy Fly Me, Rock & Roll Lullaby... Classics, every one. Mo has returned and us bathing my left arm & shoulder. I wonder why he does that? Getting near to the end of my book. Which is the second half of a double volume. Haven't given any thought as to what to read next. But I'll find something. No thunder & lightning today, no rain. Let's hope this continues through the night. I really could do without a wet, muddy puppy rolling all over me in the 'foreday, trying to dry himself off. He's now bathing my right leg. The more he bathes me the more I feel a shower will be necessary. OK, he's stopped and is curled up alongside my right hip. Comestibles are low and cash is also low. Welfare cheque on Friday coming but the entire thing will go towards the phone bill. I'll get to keep $1.67 out of the total. My pension should drop on Thursday which, after paying rent, will leave me with $26.16 to add to the $31.63 in the bank. Not able with mental arithmetic at this point, but roughly $59 to buy food, approximately half of which will be chow for Mo. Less, if the less expensive brand he likes is available. He has two brands he likes and one is roughly 50% more expensive than the other. I could really use a couple hundred $5 sofa feet to make right now.... Had a look at the moon while on Garden Patrol. It is just on the gibbous side of a quarter moon and judging by the terminator, it is waxing. So full moon in about a week or less. Mo has just departed. I still don't feel like taking a shower but I think I should. However, I am going to lie here and try and persuade myself the time has come to do exactly that. Mean time I will play some senseless game on my phone. Edited October 13 by Netfoot 2 Link to comment
Netfoot October 13 Share October 13 Woke up this morning to find a puppy lying on top of me, rolling back and forth wriggling, rubbing his head up and down and jamming his elbows into my solar plexus. What a pleasure to discover that he was dry! Now, he insists on curling up under my old chair. Can't move a muscle or roll the chair in any direction so much as an inch. Too much chance of rolling over some vital part of him. (Every part of him is vital!) Even a loud bark-battle going on between the hounds from next door have not persuaded him to budge. I guess he might move if... Wait! He's getting up! Annnd he's wrapped himself around the chair in the opposite direction. 😕 1 Link to comment
Netfoot October 14 Share October 14 I was watching a video in which someone ate a muckle great cheeseburger. As it happens, I love cheeseburgers! Some people are hotdog people but I'm a burger guy. It got me thinking that it's been a while since I ate a quality burger. And I began to think (daydream) about going out and buying two burgers and a double portion of sweet potato chips, with coleslaw on the side. So, I went online to the local burger joint I like and priced out that meal. $47.20 for one burger and one (admittedly large) portion of ordinary (not sweet potato) fries. Ok, so I did select for bacon, cheese and jalapeno peppers on the burger. But is that any excuse for the burger meal being almost fifty bucks and no coleslaw in sight? And the burger only 7 oz weight? Listening to Southern Man by CSN&Y. This off their 4 Way Street double-disk, live album from what? Early 70s? If you have been following along, you may remember months and months ago, my kitchen spatula went missing. I searched the house and garage and yard several times but I couldn't find it. To this day, it's never turned up. I eventually had to save up and go buy a crappy one from the $$$ Store. It was a PITA not having one because I use a spatula for a lot of stuff in the kitchen. Sure, for turning stuff in pans but also for stirring. Like for instance, the rice I made for lunch with corned beef, pumpkin and pak choy. Only, I couldn't find the crappy newish spatula to stir my rice with. I had to use a ladle instead. (Yes, I'm weird.) No dinner but I planned for a mug of tea after Garden Patrol. So when time came, I set off. But Mo was hesitant to follow. This is never a good sign - normally he is point man on Patrol! But eventually, off we went and all was perfectly normal... until the end. What's that lying in the mud to the left of the gate? It looks suspiciously like my crappy, missing spatula! I picked it up, swished it through the air and realized it would be ideal for spanking a puppy! I turned around but Mo had vanished. I have not laid eyes on him since. The spatula suffered a little during the escapade. The handle for instance... got thoroughly chewed and is very uncomfortable to hold. I will attempt to sand off the sharp little plastic spikes left behind by puppy teeth. Not all plastic sands well, so only a trial will tell me if this will work. As for the"blade", it too has suffered a teentsy little bit: I think some modification might be required before it will ever flip an egg again. Not that I have any eggs. Or could afford to buy any. Frankly, the smartest thing to do would be to give this to Mo as a play-toy. After smacking his butt with it a couple times, maybe. And go buy a new one. So I will start saving up for a new, $3 spatula. As soon as I've finished saving up for a light bulb for the bedroom. And I have to consider whether giving Mo his own spatula might not be rewarding him for his pilfering ways. And possibly teaching him that kitchen implements are OK to play with. I've just heard a noise under the bed. I think the mystery as to where he vanished to has been solved. Lucky for him the spatula has been washed and is now awaiting daylight so I can see if that plastic takes sandpaper well or not. Tomorrow I have to go get a prescription from Dr. Kristi, as advised by my Med-Warn program. Also, I expect a LOW warning for Pyridostigmine. I shouldn't get a VLOW warning for Spirolon & Digoxin until Tuesday, but I'm not sure I remember my logic correctly. Will the new LOW warning on Pyridostigmine cause the other two warnings to be reissued? I don't think so... I'm also not sure what logic would be better. The program prevents warnings from being repeated to avoid being annoying. But should it? Or should it pester me daily until I go and replenish? Watched Batman: The Dark Knight today. I don't particularly like superhero movies and have happily avoided most of them. Batman is the exception to the rule. Largely because he is not a super hero. Not a god from another planet. Not a mutant with magic powers. Just a guy with huge amounts of money trying to make things better for the world around him. If I had huge amounts of money, I'd do the same. Only I'd probably use lawyers instead of a cape. Re: Hotdogs. It's the hotdog roll that I don't like. Spongy, horrible bread. If I make hotdogs for myself, I use a French baguette cut to the perfect length, which means the sausage does not stick out the ends like some sort of unsavoury sex-toy for hobbits! And depending on how much stuff (lettuce, tomato, cheese, chips, etc) I'm adding to the dog, I will "gut" the baguette by removing some of the soft inner part. Which, BTW, I don't waste, because I eat it as soon as it comes out, when I'm making the dog. Speaking of which, we used to get great baguettes, which were flown in from Martinique, frozen, and baked in special baguette machines locally. CV19 put a stop to that, of course. And I've not seen them since. Did I mention I had no dinner other than a mug of tea? OK, it's gone eleven thirty. I guess I'd better go lock up. And maybe persuade the puppy that it's safe to come out from under. Although I'm pretty sure he has forgotten completely about the spatula... Only a handful of pages remain in my book. I wonder if I can keep awake long enough to finish? 1 Link to comment
andidante October 14 Share October 14 9 hours ago, Netfoot said: I was watching a video in which someone ate a muckle great cheeseburger. As it happens, I love cheeseburgers! Some people are hotdog people but I'm a burger guy. It got me thinking that it's been a while since I ate a quality burger. And I began to think (daydream) about going out and buying two burgers and a double portion of sweet potato chips, with coleslaw on the side. So, I went online to the local burger joint I like and priced out that meal. $47.20 for one burger and one (admittedly large) portion of ordinary (not sweet potato) fries. Ok, so I did select for bacon, cheese and jalapeno peppers on the burger. But is that any excuse for the burger meal being almost fifty bucks and no coleslaw in sight? And the burger only 7 oz weight? Would you be able to buy some hamburger meat (not sure how much it costs over there) and make a cheeseburger the next time you go to the store? Or sometimes they have premade patties? We buy those sometimes. My son and I went to a hamburger place called Five Guys last Friday and it was almost $60 for just the two of us. Their food is good but not $60 good! I told Dante we will not be doing that again. I cannot justify spending that much on two burgers and one order of fries. Link to comment
b4pjoe October 14 Share October 14 9 hours ago, Netfoot said: What's that lying in the mud to the left of the gate? It looks suspiciously like my crappy, missing spatula! I picked it up, swished it through the air and realized it would be ideal for spanking a puppy! I turned around but Mo had vanished. I have not laid eyes on him since. The spatula suffered a little during the escapade. The handle for instance... Just wondering where the spatula was that Mo could get to it? Link to comment
Netfoot October 14 Share October 14 (edited) 48 minutes ago, andidante said: Would you be able to buy some hamburger meat (not sure how much it costs over there) and make a cheeseburger the next time you go to the store? Yes, I could do that. A styro tray of mince is $6-7 these days and I could certainly get the other makings and put together a burger or two for less than $50. 22 minutes ago, b4pjoe said: Just wondering where the spatula was that Mo could get to it? Probably on the counter, next to the stove. Mo is quite capable of putting his front paws in the counter and helping himself to things he finds up there. I once caught him stealing a raw potato from a bag of spuds sitting in the counter... OK, so I should probably hang the spatula on a hook, which would be out of his reach. But..... Just collected my prescription from Dr. Kristi and ready to head on home, but feeling sick as a parrot right now, so delaying departure for a minute or two. Edited October 14 by Netfoot 1 Link to comment
Netfoot October 15 Share October 15 (edited) Just re-watched a movie called The Kingdom with Jamie Foxx, Jennifer Garner and a buncha other names you might easily recognize. A terrorist attack on US civilians in Saudi prompts an investigation. A very intense movie which, if you have not seen it before, I recommend. So yes, I went to Dr. Kristi this morning, feeling like absolute crap. I had to make the journey in four stages, stopping to rest at the food-court in the mall and two shaded bus stops along the way. Don't think I actually saw her, but she did send me the prescription via Clauder so I can go to Edgar Cochrane polyclinic on Friday. I will go to the PO and cash my cheque, then go to QEH and Edgar Cochrane. Past experiences tells me this could take all day. My software tells me I need Digoxin and Spirolon before Friday but I have an emergency set of lunchtime meds on my keychain which includes a Spirolon and I don't take the Digoxin until dinner meds. so I can wait until Friday to renew. I can take the lunchtime meds off the keychain, and I'd better be back home with a fresh months supply in time for dinner meds when I will need the Digoxin! This means I don't have to take the van out twice in one week. Speaking of the software, it sent a telegram this morning, pretty much exactly as expected. (Bloody dark-mode!) And tomorrow, the first two will trigger a VLOW warning due to on-hand quantity falling to three days. I hope. So I put the chewed up spatula on the home-made disk sander and it worked out fairly well. The rubbery plastic handle sanded away well enough that the sharp spikes left by puppy-teeth ceased to be a hindrance. The actual spatula itself was a slightly harder material which was sanded away but also melted away from the heat of sanding. This left blobs of melted plastic all along the front and sides of the spatula but I was able to peel 90% of them away with my fingers and a Stanley knife scraped sideways along the edge removed the rest. I am feeling quite sticky so I will go for a shower now, and resume when I get back... OK, dementia is obviously starting to show itself, most likely caused by old age. Or lack of decent food. The trip to the shower reminded me of two things I'd completely forgotten. 1) Due to low water pressure, I had tried removing and cleaning the shower rose. The last time I did this, I was pretty sure wouldn't get away with it again. But I gave it a go, and I was able to clean out much gunk from inside the rose. (The gunk comes from the inside of the rose slowly crumbling away with age.) I screwed it back into place but didn't try it until tonight. I turned on the water, and the water pressure blew the rose clean off and across the shower where it hit the tiles with great force. I tried several times with the same results. Because the inside of the rose is rotten and one of the most rotten bits is the threaded section that attaches the rose to the pipe coming out of the wall. So alas, I am now forced to shower under a pipe with no rose, where the solid stream of water strikes me forcefully in my mole. When I get finished saving up for a light bulb and then a new spatula and then an egg to flip with the new spatula, I can start saving up for a new shower rose! 2) I also forgot I had finished my book. So when I got back from the shower I went looking for something to read. In my mind I knew I had eight books by Desmond Bagley, who wrote a pretty good thriller in his day. The thing is, the eight books are all double books, each with two of his titles under one cover. So I actually have sixteen Bagleys to enjoy at my leisure. I opened the sealed storage box where I thought they would be found and I did find them! Along with at least 50 other books. Many (but by no means all) were sci-fi classics by Isaac Asimov, Arthur Clark and Robert Heinlein. Now a few weeks ago I was digging around for books and found two of Gordon Dickson's Dorsai trilogy but could not find the first book of the series, Tactics Of Mistake. Well, it was in there with the Desmond Bagleys, the IAs, ACCs and the RAHs. So I'm going to start with that. Mo had moved to the bed by time I got back from having my shower. Where he could wriggle around on his back, snarling and demanding tummy rubs. And using his patented two-footed, double-kick to the butt if he is not satisfied with the level of tummy-scratching diligence. He is back on the tiles again, now. Listening to Ventura Highway by America. Perhaps the band is better known for A Horse with No Name, but this track is in no way obscure! An absolute classic from 52 years ago. So you may recall I have a large bill coming up in a few weeks. Well, it was actually two related bills. One was for approx. $46 due at the end of this week and the other for around $485 due at the end of November. Well, today I scraped up the funds to pay the $46 so that is done. I have $200 put away from the last batch of sofa feet and I have about five weeks to find the balance. So more sofa feet, please! I also want to confirm the sum due because it's been a year and I need to be sure my memory is not faulty and/or the amount has not changed. So I will need to check on that ASAP to avoid any nasty surprises at the last moment. Anyway, midnight approaches and Tactics Of Mistake awaits. So I will see you in the morning. (What a funny thing to say. I have never seen any of you that I can remember, not even in a photo. But you know what I mean...) Edited October 15 by Netfoot Link to comment
andidante October 15 Share October 15 9 hours ago, Netfoot said: y America. Perhaps the band is better known for A Horse with No Name, but this track is in no way obscure! An absolute classic from 52 years ago. Ventura Highway is my favorite song hands down. I also like Tin Man quite a bit. 1 Link to comment
Netfoot October 16 Share October 16 (edited) There isn't much food left in the house. But I need to qualify that statement. I have a few potatoes, a few carrots, a zucchini or two, some pasta, sone some rice... There is maybe two days chow for Mo. There is half a can of corned beef. A couple pak choy leaves. A small piece of pumpkin. A few small onions. So yes, there is food in the house but not a whole helluva lot. And what there is, is difficult to combine into a satisfying meal. (Mo has arrived.) Yesterday, for dinner I boiled a couple of small potatoes. When they were nearly done I dried them off and fried them in oil to try and get them a little crispy on the outside. Ate them with Hotchup. Lunch today was boiled potatoes, obliqued carrots, zucchini, pak choy and corned beef. For dinner I mixed a cup of flour, a cup of mashed potato flakes (which I bought pre-Covid and have been trying to get rid of ever since) the tail end of a bag of corn flour (maybe half a cup), and a little corned beef. Water and seasoning, and I made little balls of the mush and fried them until they were a nice brown colour. Ate them with Hotchup. Not nasty, but not yummy either. Got more in the fridge to cook tomorrow. Now running low on oil and almost completely out of Hotchup. Got 25 teabags but only enough sugar for 2-3 mugs of tea and milk for even less. Assuming my pension drops on Thursday (and it's been pretty reliable) I will have a total of $43.00 to spend on Friday when I go to the Post Office and cash my cheque. I spend most of the cheque on the Telco and only get to keep $1.67 of it. A small bag of the cheaper chow that Mo likes is $18.99 so $24.01 to buy other groceries. I'm not looking forward to Friday. Post Office, QEH, Edgar Cochrane, bank (if I can get there before closing), Telco to make a payment, grocery for food for Mo and finally home again. I'm going to be so knackered I will be having trouble walking and I will be slurring my words. Tried watching Lara Croft: Tomb Raider today but barely got started and stopped it. This is the 2000-ish version with Angelina Jolie in the lead. That was back when she was cute and before she became insufferable. But I still stopped it pretty quickly. I still have it on the computer and will pick it up tomorrow maybe and see how far I get. In the mean time I watched The League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen with Sean Connery as the leading character. Pretty silly movie, really. Most of the time I was doing other things and only glancing at the screen when the dialogue/sound track indicated there might be something interesting to see. Meanwhile I modified the code that generates my blood-sugar webpage graph so as to make notations available. I record my blood sugar test results and store that data in a database on my server. If I think a short note is appropriate, I specify one. It gets saved along with the date, time and glucose level. For example, a few days ago I forgot to test my glucose and didn't remember until several hours later, after I'd had a mug of tea. I added the note "Late, after sweet tea" to that sample. Up until now, these notes were not displayed on the web page. I could only see them if I fired up a SQL client and wrote the appropriate SQL statement to select that data. The graph displays in the web page has a coloured circle representing each sample point on the graph. Touching the circle pops up a little balloon with the date & time as well as the glucose level for that point. I altered the code so the sample point became a square if there was a note available for that point. And if so, I added the text of the note to the little balloon when it pops up. I've been meaning to implement this change for ages and I'm glad it finally got done. The outstanding bill due towards the end of November? I went online and checked the amount due. I was correct: it's US$239.88 which comes to about $485 dollarettes of which I have $200 set aside to put towards the payment. So I have to make another $185 in sofa feet. And something to put towards electricity, water and food would be good as well. (Mo is down on the tiles.) Read eight chapters of Tactics Of Mistake last night, which is about 30% of the book. Really a good read. Lieutenant-colonel Cletus Graeme, a theoretical tactician seeks to make a name for himself so as to gain recognition for his 20-volume work on tactics & strategy. He comes to Bakhalla where a nasty little war is being fought, so he can with almost zero support and resources, defeat the opposing faction and attract the recognition he seeks. He finds himself facing Dow deCastries, Secretary of Outworlds Affaires for Earth's Coalition of Eastern Nations. A man with a great deal of power and influence as well as a significant military force at his command... Still got to lock up, still got to shower. My eyelids are doing the Myasthenia Flutter. Battery is down to 27%. Gonna call it quits for the night. Edited October 16 by Netfoot 1 Link to comment
Netfoot October 17 Share October 17 (edited) Just back from Garden Patrol, where I found a good tee-shirt and a bar of soap, still in it's wrapper. I gave Mo a wallop with the tail of the tee-shirt but it was completely ineffective as a punishment. After that he Patrolled diametrically opposite to where I was. Now, he is sitting out at the far end of the garden and won't come in. On Patrol, I noticed the moon is allllmost 100% full. it will probably be full later tonight or very first thing in the morning. Had some very tasteless penne pasta for lunch, and for dinner I had some more fried flour/potato flake... fritters? They were pretty tasteless. In fact, if I didn't have that metallic taste in my mouth, they prolly would have had no taste at all! I'm out of milk, and have enough sugar for a single mug of tea. I've got 20-25 teabags, but without milk & sugar... Now, if the pension drops tomorrow as expected, I will have an additional $26 I can spend, so once I get the notification I can walk to the nearby store and buy some sugar and milk. I could also pay the phone bill out of the rent money (which won't be needed until end of month) and replace it with the welfare cheque on Friday. But I hate to do that. Suppose there is a glitch with the cheque and they tell me they will need 3 weeks to sort it out? That would mean no rent money at month-end. So probably not. Therefore only one mug of tea tomorrow, and that will be black. 😝 Actually, come to think of it, I've got $14.99 in the bank and $1.95 in my pants pocket. Now a bag of sugar has gone up from $1.99 to over $5 (I won't say who I blame for this) and the lack of PHD evaporated has me buying evap. from some unheard-of company at $2.85 per 250ml. So I could buy a bag of sugar and half a liter of milk for under $12 tomorrow, and not touch the pension at all. But that will leave me with only another $12-ish bucks for groceries on Friday, after I buy a bag of chow for Mo. Or $zero if I can't find the lower priced chow and have to buy the more expensive brand! And yet, I'd be in the exact same position, regardless of whether I bought milk & sugar tomorrow or wait until Friday. Maybe instead of buying chow for Mo I should buy a bag of rice and three tins of corned beef? He had corned beef rice for lunch and dinner today and seemed perfectly content with it. (He likes pot-food.) And at a pinch, I can eat corned beef rice too. Listening to Gospel Plow by Screaming Trees. This is off their album Dust. The general consensus seems to be that Dust is a pretty poor album. Unfortunately for me (I guess), I love it! And this track is one of my favourites. But there are several other great tracks, like Halo Of Ashes, All I Know and Dying Days. Ooops! I've just remembered I have to go lay out my meds for the next three days. Technically I don't have enough of everything to do three days but as previously explained, I can in fact manage because I keep spare meds on my keychain in case I'm out of the house at lunchtime. I can use them and replenish when I get renewals at QEH & Edgar Cochrane on Friday. (One of these days I'm going to have to find out who Edgar Cochrane was. And why they named my polyclinic after him.) <groan!> I don't want to get out of bed, having showered and settled in. But I'd have had to do so anyway because I still need to lock the door, whether Mo decides to sleep outside or in. I could do it first thing in the morning but I prefer to do it the night before (ie: now). That way I get up, do the blood-letting thing and take the meds. All done. Ok, better go and get it done before I resume my book. Only read one chapter last night before I started falling asleep with it in my hand. But I retired to bed this afternoon and I didn't nap, I read an additional eight chapters instead. And snuggled with a very cute, very naughty thief! Right. I'm gone Edited October 17 by Netfoot 1 Link to comment
Netfoot October 17 Share October 17 Meds all organized. Back in bed. Persuaded Mo to come in before I locked up. I just whistled for him and he came in without hesitation. After a fun game of Tummy Trampoline, he went off and returned a short while later with a chew toy. And this right after my giving him a lecture about the tee-shirt and the bar of soap! Anyway, I spatulad his butt twice (but not at all hard) so he has taken himself down onto the tiles with an injured look on his face. Wotcha gonna do? Cletus Graeme about to get married, so back to my book! 1 Link to comment
Mr. Sparkle October 17 Share October 17 9 hours ago, Netfoot said: On Patrol, I noticed the moon is allllmost 100% full. it will probably be full later tonight or very first thing in the morning. There was a giant moon over Manhattan this morning, but it's gone now. 1 Link to comment
Netfoot October 17 Share October 17 (edited) Desmond Bagley wrote 16 books, two of which were published posthumously. Several of these books became absolute classics, for example, High Citadel, Wyatt's Hurricane & Running Blind. 4-5 of these were made into modestly successful films, too. My eight double-books (bought individually and second hand from Amazon) include all 16 of his novels. But for some reason, they are not in chronological order. I expect they tried to pair books so that each volume contained works from different eras of his writing career and with some variety in plot-line. It will mean, however that when I am reading I will have to jump around from book to book if I want to follow the chronological progression of his writings. (Yes, I finished Tactics Of Mistake last night.) Went out to buy milk and sugar. On the way, I found a good tee-shirt out by the gate, soaking wet. I walloped the puppy with it but he just ran away. The day is hot with the sun blazing down and hardly a cloud in the sky. Eventually got to the store. Made two stops along the way to rest and get into the shade. When I finally made it to CostLo, there was no evaporated milk of any kind. I had to settle for condensed milk. A cheap 380 gm tin of condensed milk is actually cheaper than a cheap 250 ml carton of evap. Unfortunately, I like to eat condensed milk with a spoon. (Great with a sprinkle of cocoa powder!) Or punch a couple holes in the tin with an ice pick and suck, baby, suck! My blood glucose goes to triple digits, I put on 1 cwt. bodyweight overnight and tomorrow there is no milk for my tea! But it's worth it. Whole milk (or 2% or similar) is nearly as bad. If it's in the fridge I pour it over ice and enjoy! And again, tomorrow there is no milk for my tea! But condensed is prolly the best bet, given what I have to work with. I also bought 1,800 gm of sugar, which should last well, seeing as the condensed milk will go a long way towards sweetening the tea. On the way back, stopping at two bus stops to catch a breather (and being approached at one by a Young Lady whose polite conversation immediately caused me to be suspicious of her motives) I stopped at the mall long enough to buy a bloody expensive Coke. I was hot and tired and blew the money so I could have the Coke as a pick-me-up when I got home. It was cold when I bought it and when I got home I put it in the freezer for 30 minutes before pouring it over eight large ice cubes. A Coke (or any other beverage) should not be served cold on a day like this. It should be served beastly cold! And preferably out of a glass, not a plastic cup! And certainly not out of the bottle! Alas, I had to settle for the plastic cup. But at least it had "Coca-cola" written on it! Or it did once, before it wore off. I really enjoyed the Coke but I expect I will regret spending the $3.20 a few days from now when there is no food in the house and no money in the bank. I would have enjoyed a roti from IV Play Deli to go with the Coke but sanity prevailed. That, and I didn't have the estimated $15+ for a boneless chicken & channa roti in a paratha skin. Good news. I found my 20,000 mAh power bank that I like to take with me when making a medication run. So I can charge the soft battery on my beat up phone as I wait. It was in the bag I carried to CostLo. I have just boosted it's charge up to 100% and will take it with me tomorrow. Anyway, my pension has dropped and when I cash the welfare cheque tomorrow and pay the Telco, I will have $30.10 to my name. In the store I checked; they did have the cheaper ($18.79) chow for Mo as well as the more expensive brand ($28.25). I hid a bag of the cheaper brand, hoping it will be there for me to but buy tomorrow, but I am seriously considering buying him a bag of rice and a few tins of corned beef instead. I'm exhausted. I need to take a nap and then get up in time for a mug of tea with condensed milk! Maybe Mo will come and snuggle? Edited October 17 by Netfoot 1 Link to comment
Netfoot October 18 Share October 18 I never took that nap. So I am ready to sleep. Showered and waiting for Mo to come in. I found more stolen merchandise out by the gate when we went on Garden Patrol. He is incorrigible. No lunch, no dinner, only one mug of tea for the day. You know, almost all of my meds require that I take them with food. What food? When there is no food, are you supposed to not take the meds and let the disease take control? No, you take the meds and deal with the ulcers, the belly-cuttings and the diarrhea. Mo (who has a chronometer hidden somewhere) comes at 12:01 and asks for his lunch and again at 6:01 and asks for his dinner. He sometimes comes early and I chuckle his chin and send him off with a pat on the head. But these days, when I give him the chow, he picks at it and walks away, leaving it for the mice to steal. In several occasions I've caught him watching the mice steal his meal! All the more reason I think I will buy rice & corned beef for him instead of chow. He usually gobbles that up. I might get bone meal instead but in a pinch I could eat rice/bully but not rice/bone meal. I may also put him on a one-day fast. That might teach him to appreciate the food that he gets. His grub takes priority when the groceries are being bought and it is annoying when he is just wasteful of it. Not looking forward to tomorrow. Can't figure out the best order of operations to ensure everything gets done in the most efficient way. Post office, QEH, polyclinic, bank, Telco, supermarket? But then I have to pass the supermarket en route to the bank and backtrack to it after the Telco! Some days I've had good luck at QEH and the polyclinic. But if I get held up tomorrow, I could be late getting to the bank and the Telco, so might not want to risk stopping at the supermarket first. Hoping for good luck. And hoping that I don't run out of gas, I don't get a flat tire and I don't get stopped by the cops. Fingers crossed, everyone! He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother by the Hollies. Not a huge fan of the band - a bit before my time, I guess. But definitely some classic tracks to be found in their catalogue. I found and downloaded a movie that was supposedly based on one of my Desmond Bagley books. It's called The Enemy and it's rubbish. Not the book. The book is an exciting thriller which I'm looking forward to getting around to. (It's #11 on the list of 16.) No, the movie is rubbish. For all it features Roger Moore, it is no good at all. They changed the setting from the UK to Canada. (Why?) And pretty much changed everything else as well! in fact, if I had not gone looking for this movie specifically and didn't know the source material, I would not have recognized it. Every plot point and ingenious artifice was either excised or ruined in some way. Why do people do that? Buy the movie rights to a book, then make a movie that bears absolutely no resemblance to the book at all?I mean, you might have saved the price of the movie rights and just made your crappy movie according to your own crappy script. I've been getting some nasty pains in my left knee, on a morning as I get out of bed. Arthritis maybe? After a minute of walking around the pain goes away. Only, I very cleverly managed to bash it but good yesterday. And it's been giving me hell ever since. Here is hoping it returns to normal soon. This evening I looked out the window and for a split second I thought I was seeing a fire in the distance. The moon is just past full and is shining bright tonight. The camera doesn't do it justice. Mo has just arrived. He is bathing my arm. Thinking about revamping my Med-Warn program. It is sending warnings about low levels of meds. It sends warnings at "Low", "Very Low", and "None" levels as currently defined as 6, 3 and 0 days supply. If it gives a warning at 6 days it does not war you again at 5 and 4 days. You will get a warning again at 3 days and then at 0 days. All that is working fine. But I wonder if that logic is actually the right way to go? If one item runs low, I will get a warning at 6 days and an escalated warning again at 3 days. Nothing in between because the interim warnings at 5 & 4 days are suppressed so they don't become too annoying. But if some other item hits 6 days I will get a warning for that. It occurs to me that if I'm already getting a 6 day warning telegram for one item, the telegram won't be any more annoying if it also includes any other items that might be at a 5 or 4 day level. In other words if any one item has hit a trigger level (6, 3 or 0 days) and a telegram is being sent, it might as well include all items that are at or below the first trigger level (6 days). Wotcha think? Mo just went out and brought back a chew toy. Couldn't see what it was, so I twisted around and tried to see. He span around with a savage snarl and tried to bite me. Not a playful nip, but a reaI chomp! I gave him a gentle smack and he went for me again. I punched him hard in the ribs, smacked him hard on the head, then grabbed him by the throat and held him down and shook him while I hollered at him in a loud voice. Then I flung him in the general direction of the door and he slunk away. I'm going to throw him out of the house (if he is in it) and lock up. I love that boy, but he must never make the mistake of failing to recognize that I am top dog in this pack! Then it will be #1: The Golden Keel. 1 Link to comment
Netfoot October 18 Share October 18 (edited) QEH: 8:31 Now serving #262; I am #379. Opened the door at 4:01 this morning. Mo wandered in about half an hour later and joined me in bed for a snuggle. We had a bit of a contretemps last night as I've already described. This morning he seems a little hesitant but otherwise normal. I'm trying to give him plenty of affection. When you have to punish your pup, do it and then let it be over. I came to QEH first, hoping that the line would be shorter. I'm not sure if 117 is shorter or not. There was more gas in the car than I remembered. She started right up and motored down here like the trooper that she is. (I love my TownAce van!) I left mo "On Guard" because this could be hours and hours last time was 2:50 at QEH alone) and I won't condemn him to that length of time locked in the vehicle. Edgar Cochrane next, then the post office, bank, Telco & supermarket. Or maybe the supermarket earlier if I get through here and the polyclinic quickly. Because I pass the supermarket on the way to the bank & Telco. Damnit! Forgot to bring my book! Now serving #265.... QEH: 9:10 Now serving #272. Doesn't bode well. QEH: 10:06 Now serving #290. This is not going well! I could prolly leave here and go do some of my other chores and come back. But knowing my luck, if be 2 minutes too late And have to draw another number and start all over. Tried Kindle. Everything I would like to read costs money, even if it is a book I've already bought in hard copy, from Amazon. Also, it burns battery. I've got the battery bank but the charge port on the phone is wonky. So I will delay the need to recharge as long as possible. Now 10:10 and serving #297. After a while people get fed up and leave so their numbers go fast when they don't respond. Maybe that is starting to happen? Bajans think that when you are packed in a public space it is quite acceptable to watch your shows or listen to the news or what ever at full volume, with no headphones. Sometimes the cacophony can be unbearable. There are two main culprits here today. One seated on my immediate left and the other seated on my immediate right. QEH:10:47 Battery: 52%; Now serving #317. QEH: 11:11 Battery:35%; Now serving #342. Moving along now. Only been here 2:40 so far. Last time took me 2:50 total. Today might still be a new record.... QEH: 11:53 Battery: 23%; Now serving #362. A new record! 3:22, which is 32 minutes more than last time. And still 17 numbers to go. Unbelievable. QEH: 12:13 Battery: 20%; Now serving #Me! 3:42 total. More later.... QEH: 12:20 Got the stuff! On my way to Edgar Cochrane polyclinic. ECP: 12:39 Battery: 14%; Now serving #510. I am #531. So only 21 numbers to go. But how fast are they moving? ECP: 1:14 Battery: 10%; Now serving #517. Going slowly. Had to put the phone on the battery bank to charge. Got to hold it in an obzocky grip so the charge port works. Bank closes at 3:00 so if they don't hurry up and let me oudda here I might not make it. So far, it's been 38 minutes and they have only served 7 people! Still 14 to go for me, which would translate to 76 minutes or another 1:16 which would take us to 2:30..... ECP: 1:44 Battery: 19%; Now serving #519. Someone just came and took my #531 and gave me #530. Not sure how it why,but I'm not complaining. Other than about the super slow progress..... They have it served two people in the last 30 minutes! 11 to go for me. But time for the bank is running low... ECP: 2:28 Battery: 34%; Now serving #528. This is killing me. My back feels like it's breaking. Bank will be closed in 30 minutes. And I got to cash the cheque at the PO before I can deposit it at the bank... Now serving #530! That's me! ECP: 2:50 Leaving here for the post office. Post Office 3:03 - cashed cheque Supermarket 3:15 - bought rice & bully beef. Bank 3:27 - Deposited cash from PO. Telco 3:33 - Paid towards phone bill. Home 3:47 - Home, van in yard and gate locked. Home 3:51 - First thing to cross my lips for the day (Iced water). Edited October 18 by Netfoot 1 Link to comment
andidante October 19 Share October 19 12 hours ago, Netfoot said: QEH: 8:31 Now serving #262; I am #379. Opened the door at 4:01 this morning. Mo wandered in about half an hour later and joined me in bed for a snuggle. We had a bit of a contretemps last night as I've already described. This morning he seems a little hesitant but otherwise normal. I'm trying to give him plenty of affection. When you have to punish your pup, do it and then let it be over. I came to QEH first, hoping that the line would be shorter. I'm not sure if 117 is shorter or not. There was more gas in the car than I remembered. She started right up and motored down here like the trooper that she is. (I love my TownAce van!) I left mo "On Guard" because this could be hours and hours last time was 2:50 at QEH alone) and I won't condemn him to that length of time locked in the vehicle. Edgar Cochrane next, then the post office, bank, Telco & supermarket. Or maybe the supermarket earlier if I get through here and the polyclinic quickly. Because I pass the supermarket on the way to the bank & Telco. Damnit! Forgot to bring my book! Now serving #265.... QEH: 9:10 Now serving #272. Doesn't bode well. QEH: 10:06 Now serving #290. This is not going well! I could prolly leave here and go do some of my other chores and come back. But knowing my luck, if be 2 minutes too late And have to draw another number and start all over. Tried Kindle. Everything I would like to read costs money, even if it is a book I've already bought in hard copy, from Amazon. Also, it burns battery. I've got the battery bank but the charge port on the phone is wonky. So I will delay the need to recharge as long as possible. Now 10:10 and serving #297. After a while people get fed up and leave so their numbers go fast when they don't respond. Maybe that is starting to happen? Bajans think that when you are packed in a public space it is quite acceptable to watch your shows or listen to the news or what ever at full volume, with no headphones. Sometimes the cacophony can be unbearable. There are two main culprits here today. One seated on my immediate left and the other seated on my immediate right. QEH:10:47 Battery: 52%; Now serving #317. QEH: 11:11 Battery:35%; Now serving #342. Moving along now. Only been here 2:40 so far. Last time took me 2:50 total. Today might still be a new record.... QEH: 11:53 Battery: 23%; Now serving #362. A new record! 3:22, which is 32 minutes more than last time. And still 17 numbers to go. Unbelievable. QEH: 12:13 Battery: 20%; Now serving #Me! 3:42 total. More later.... QEH: 12:20 Got the stuff! On my way to Edgar Cochrane polyclinic. ECP: 12:39 Battery: 14%; Now serving #510. I am #531. So only 21 numbers to go. But how fast are they moving? ECP: 1:14 Battery: 10%; Now serving #517. Going slowly. Had to put the phone on the battery bank to charge. Got to hold it in an obzocky grip so the charge port works. Bank closes at 3:00 so if they don't hurry up and let me oudda here I might not make it. So far, it's been 38 minutes and they have only served 7 people! Still 14 to go for me, which would translate to 76 minutes or another 1:16 which would take us to 2:30..... ECP: 1:44 Battery: 19%; Now serving #519. Someone just came and took my #531 and gave me #530. Not sure how it why,but I'm not complaining. Other than about the super slow progress..... They have it served two people in the last 30 minutes! 11 to go for me. But time for the bank is running low... ECP: 2:28 Battery: 34%; Now serving #528. This is killing me. My back feels like it's breaking. Bank will be closed in 30 minutes. And I got to cash the cheque at the PO before I can deposit it at the bank... Now serving #530! That's me! ECP: 2:50 Leaving here for the post office. Post Office 3:03 - cashed cheque Supermarket 3:15 - bought rice & bully beef. Bank 3:27 - Deposited cash from PO. Telco 3:33 - Paid towards phone bill. Home 3:47 - Home, van in yard and gate locked. Home 3:51 - First thing to cross my lips for the day (Iced water). UGH what a long day you had!! Glad you got your stuff done. Question: Are you not allowed to deposit the check in the bank directly? Or do they hold it if you do that and you can use the cash faster? Link to comment
Netfoot October 19 Share October 19 (edited) OK, I've done the math! At QEH, I spent 3:42 waiting to see the pharmacist and 7 minutes waiting for them to dispense my meds. That is a total of 3:49 which, in comparison to last time (which took 2:50) is 59 minutes longer. At ECP I spent 1:49 waiting on the pharmacist and an incredible 22 minutes waiting for them to dispense the meds. That's 2:11 total. In comparison to last time (2:10) it was one minute longer. So 59+1 or exactly one hour more than last time, which was exactly 5:00 so it was exactly 6:00 today. Six hours to collect my meds. Not counting travel time. A couple of other points. I expected the bank to close at 3:00 but apparently they stay open until 4:00 everyday. However, the drop box which I use to make deposits (much faster than standing in line for 90 minutes waiting on a teller) closes at 3:30 so I made that with three minutes to spare. I came home with the meds and the groceries in the car and I was just done at that point. So I left them in there. I will get to them tomorrow I had no lunch (obviously), but Mo had none either, because I wasn't here to give it to him. So for dinner I cooked an extra large pot of bully beef & rice with carrots and pak choy and we split it. Evenly divided meant quite a lot for a 35 lb. puppy and I thought he would leave some behind. But I was wrong. He yammed it down! He is a good boy. Even if he did steal my gravy separator that I've been looking for for weeks, and took it outside, where he completely destroyed it by biting off the spout. Paid the Telco. They said I had to pay $118.33 per month for three months. I paid $120 last month and when I went to pay today the balance was only $195-ish. That would imply that next month I will only have about $76 to pay! But that doesn't add up, somehow. So I won't count on that and will go with the expectation that I will have to pay the third $118.33 as agreed. If I discover I only have to pay $76, all to the good! The rice was only so-so. I think when the last of the carrots, pak choy, etc, are gone it will become a very basic feed indeed. I had a look at the price of dried lentils and channa while in the supermarket ($3.19 & $2.89 respectively). I didn't buy any because I want to check my crisper drawer before I do. I might have something in there. I know I have several packages of dried pulses but I think they are more likely to be split-peas or red kidney beans, which I have a hard time rehydrating properly for some reason and always end up too hard in rice. Lentils & channa, on the other hand, work well. Listening to We Can't Fly by a band called Aeroplane. I know nothing about the band except that I heard this track and got the album on the strength of that. I can't say any other track has made an impact. It's a little unusual; more of a chant or road march. Give it a listen, if you like. Do you guys have road marches? Or is that strictly a Carnival thing? Stupid to go for a six hour sit-on-your-butt and forget to bring my book! Just saying. I have a stove lighter that I use in the kitchen from time to time. It has a trigger to click the piezoelectric crystal to fire it off, but it has a roller safety. (Because nowadays, everywhere has to be a Safe Space!) Anyway, this worked fine unless your hands were wet. In which case there was no way to roll that safety catch out of the way because your finger would just slip. Got pissed off. Took it apart, ripped out the safety mechanism and put it back together. Then I took it apart again, replaced the safety mechanism and put it back together, but before I reinstalled the safety, I snipped off the little plastic finger that made the safety work. Now, it looks exactly as before and you can even push the safety if you want to (and your hands are dry enough). But it doesn't matter either way, because it works if you press the safety or if you don't. Imagine building a kitchen tool/appliance that won't work if your hands are wet. In a kitchen! Last night I enjoyed cramps in both hands and both legs simultaneously. I've been suffering off and on for ages. Just not usually all at once. I discovered a while back that MG sufferers who take Pirostigmine Pyridostigmine suffer from (can you guess?) hand and leg cramps! Mentioned it to the Neuro team at QEH last time I was there and they shrugged and changed the subject. It seems they don't do much actual medicine at QEH. (But understand, I've had excellent treatment on various occasions at QEH when I was paying! Not so, apparently under the"free healthcare for all" scheme!) Currently dealing with cramp in only one limb: right leg. No sign of Mo. I took a good, long shower earlier so all I need to do is lock up. But it's relatively early so I will read my book for a while first. Edited October 19 by Netfoot 1 Link to comment
Netfoot October 19 Share October 19 (edited) 1 hour ago, andidante said: Are you not allowed to deposit the check in the bank directly? Or do they hold it if you do that and you can use the cash faster? The cheques are dated on a Friday. It takes "three working days" for the bank to clear the cheque. Since the Friday would not be a whole day, the three working days would be Monday thru Wednesday and I'd get the money on Thursday. So, deposit on Friday and get the funds on Thursday. Instead, I go to the PO and cash the cheque immediately. And there is always a teller waiting to serve me without any delays. Then I go and use the drop box at the bank to deposit cash (instead of a cheque) and as soon as my envelope is processed (a couple hours at the most) the funds are available. If I wanted I could line up for 90 minutes and cash the cheque in the bank itself, and then deposit using the drop box. Or hand the cash back to the teller and tell them I want to deposit it. But I don't want to stand up in the bank for that long. It's stupid. That the banks are telling customers that it takes three days to process a cheque when they can process a sale or a cash deposit in literally seconds. Fortunately the Central Bank has issued an ultimatum to the banks that all cheques must be cleared within 24 hours. It's much better (but I think one hour would have been even better still.) I'm not sure when the deadline for implementing this change is. Maybe 2035 or something equally silly. But hopefully not. None of it would matter if I wasn't so absolutely broke. When you've got $13.91 in the bank, you don't want to wait almost a week to get access to that cash. Edited October 19 by Netfoot 1 Link to comment
Netfoot October 19 Share October 19 Alternating between cleaning his ears with his back feet, and double-kicking me in the butt. And all the while looking like a little angel.... Link to comment
Netfoot October 19 Share October 19 (edited) The telegram I received just before updating my system with the meds obtained yesterday: It says "before Sat 19th Oct" which is today. Obviously I can't acquire more before today! I think if the quantity on hand is "None", I should resupply "IMMEDIATELY". Edited October 19 by Netfoot 1 Link to comment
Spunkygal October 19 Share October 19 Perhaps you should construct a couple of wall shelves to place some of those kitchen utensils on so Mo can’t abscond with them! 3 Link to comment
Netfoot October 20 Share October 20 (edited) Rain came howling down just as we were setting off for our Garden Patrol but it only lasted a few minutes, so we were not much delayed. I boiled a pot of macaroni and added a sauce made from onion and bully beef with a little squeeze of ketchup. The best I could describe it would be "edible". I split it evenly, which means Mo got noticably more than I did. I also carefully selected the sauce for his bowl so he got less onion and more meat. (People make a huge deal about feeding onion to dogs. Also chocolate. In both cases they blow the issue waaaay out of proportion. But I still minimize my Mo's onion & chocolate consumption.) Mo's portion was so large I thought he would leave a good bit behind but he ate the entire lot and came to me for his tax. Dunno why - it really wasn't much good. (He is here nibbling my toes and accepting rubs from my feet. The butt kicking will begin shortly!) I made oatmeal with a light sprinkle of sugar for his dinner. I taste-tested it and it was OK. He usually insists on eating as much of my oatmeal as he can get... so naturally he wouldn't eat any of his own. Damn. I would have been happy to have it for dinner. Instead, I had tea. Made with condensed milk. Now, the best tea you can possibly have is made with loose, black tea boiled in a skillet, poured through a strainer into an enamelled mug and sweetened with condensed milk. If it is too hot, it should be poured rapidly back and forth between two enamelled mugs, with at least 12" distance between them. But this holds true only if the condensed milk is good. The condensed milk I bought is unlike any I've ever encountered before. First, it has a darker than expected colour. If you boil the tin to make condensed milk candy (be sure it has completely cooled again before opening!) your condensed milk candy will be darker than the milk started out as. The stuff I bought is darker without being boiled! Second, it has the wrong consistency. When you take a spoonful, you don't really get those fine "strings" joining the tin to the spoon. Instead you get a blob of condensed milk on the spoon. Drop it into the mug and it doesn't slowly spread out to cover the bottom. It sits there and remains a lump. Finally, it tastes weak. Condensed milk has a distinctive taste. This stuff has that taste but far less strong than I'd expect. I dunno if the stuff is spoiled or if that is just the norm for this particular brand. But I guess that's what you get when you buy the cheapest brand in the shop. Nothing done today. Well, not true. All my medical software simply stopped working last night for some reason. I spent the morning trying to figure out why. It appeared as if none of the programs were getting data from the prescription data file. With no physician or medication data being recovered from this file, none of the programs were able to produce anything useful. Since all programs used the same subroutine to access the file, that was the obvious place to look. Tests showed that the data was being successfully read but was never being passed back to the calling programs. Tracked the issue to a typo I'd accidentally introduced while "tweaking" something else. Once I corrected that, all the programs started to work again. It is a widely held axiom of coding that the more issues you fix the more issues you introduce. Listening to Bowie's Aladdin Sane, title track to his 6th album. You know the one. With the lightning bolt across his face: This is a great album, by the way. One of my favourites. Along with Hunky Dory. And Ziggy Stardust. And many more, as my mood changes. And this particular track has a wonderful piano! Have done little today other than feed Mo and myself. Was tempted to go take a nap or read. (Same thing. I like to read in bed and this frequently ends up as a nap.) Been thinking about my cramps which troubled me last night. MG diminishes the body's ability to produce a sufficiency of the neurotransmitters (acetylcholine) needed for normal activity. Strenuous activity depletes the available supply and leaves me struggling to do the least thing, like carry the groceries in to the house, etc. Sitting around waiting on a pharmacist probably should not be described as "strenuous" but for me, yesterday was extremely tiring. Now, some days I have bad cramps, some days mild, and some days none at all, to speak of. Is there a correlation? A while back I had them bad almost every night. Is that when I was working down in Cattlewash? Or later, when I slapping tar, looking for work? Or turning on the lathe all day long? Does depleted levels of acetylcholine result in cramps in the hands and legs of MG patients who are using Pyridostigmine? Mo keeps coming and going. This morning, starting at about 5:30 it was like some sort of nightmare. He was running back and forth, maybe twice every minute. From the bedroom door, a straight line to the window which was diagonally across the bed and over my face, or any other part of me that got in the way. Then straight back to the door again, once more over my face if necessary. Back and forth, back and forth, until eight o'clock! Listening to Time Takes Time by Dusted. This is a British band which includes Rollo Armstrong from Faithless (another band I quite like). Rollo is Dido's brother and she has appeared as a guest vocalist on tracks by Faithless, and is the vocalist on this track as well. Just a little past eleven. I will read and then steel myself for the Prowling Puppy Of The Night. I remember when he was little and I would lock him in his cage at night and get a good night's sleep. (They like to call it a "crate" but let's face it - it's a cage.) Oh well. I will call it quits now. Edited October 20 by Netfoot 1 Link to comment
Netfoot October 20 Share October 20 Lunch today was roast beef & Yorkshire pudding, roasted English potatoes and savoury carrots & string beans, with lashings of rich, dark gravy. Then I woke up and cooked corned beef rice. But it wasn't terrible. I added a carrot and found a zucchini that wasn't too far gone and after cutting away the bad parts I was able to dice up and add the balance to the rice. I put in a tiny amount of curry powder, no more than a teaspoon. This coloured the rice but you could barely taste it in the final dish. I also did something I have never done: I added macaroni to the rice. I firmly believe that there is a special place in hell for people who deliberately break up long pasta prior to cooking. But I took about 10 lengths of macaroni and broke them into 2" sections and threw them in to alter the texture or somehow make the dish different. I ate mine and thought it was passable. Mo ate his and paused halfway through to demand his tax! Then he went back and finished his. I'm glad when I can find food to give him that he eats enthusiastically. (The oatmeal from a couple days ago is an example of a fail in that department.) He is a good boy and I try to ensure he does not suffer as a result of matters he has no conception of. Actually, he is an extremely naughty boy whose naughtiness is only just exceeded by his sweetness. But I still don't want his life to be a miserable one to any extent that I can prevent it. I find myself daydreaming about nice things to eat. And I don't mean fancy things. Just thinking about a pizza or a submarine sandwich or a good, honest burger can make me salivate like one of Pavlov's dogs. Worst of all is when I find myself watching food channels on YT. I know I shouldn't but I just find myself watching them all the same. And sometimes they can be so annoying! I watched one yesterday and it was billed as "The easiest chicken recipe, ever!" It involved eleven ingredients, not counting spices, and he used a cast iron pan on the stove top, an eye level grill, a pressure cooker and the oven. 1 Link to comment
Netfoot October 21 Share October 21 Just hopped into bed and Mo hopped in right after me. He is licking my feet. Now, my left arm. After my delicious roast beef luncheon, I decided not to bother with dinner. Only had a mug of so-so condensed milk tea. (Mo now looking out the window.) I did try something brand new for his dinner. Remember a couple days ago I made some fritters (?) with flour and potato flakes? Using a similar dough I rolled out some long "snakes". They were about as thick as my index finger and twice as long. They turned out very soft and mushy and I didn't hold out much hope for them. (Mo has gone out and is barking furiously in the garden.) Anyway, I shallow-fried the snakes in oil and to my surprise they didn't fall apart. (He's back!) Instead they browned up nicely and got all nice and crusty on the outside. When they were done I put a tablespoon of bully in the same pan and fried it up a bit. A ladle of water into the hot pan and there was a cloud of steam. One quick stir with the ladle and I poured the results over the fried snakes. Honestly, they looked really good and I was sorely tempted to steal Mo's dinner but I just couldn't do it. I didn't even try a little piece to see how it was, but Mo ate all 7-8 of them in less than a minute, even though they were still a little hot from the pan. Watched Air Force One today, with Harrison Ford, Gary Oldman, Glenn Close, Dean Stockwell... A bit of a classic movie, if a little on the old side. I'll assume you are at least marginally familiar with the plot. Real shame about Glenn Close, the most loathsome actor/actress in the history of humanity. Ugh! (Mo has departed again.) Also watched something called The Pale Blue Eye. No idea of the significance of the title. Starring Christian Bale, this movie is set about 100 years ago and concerns the murder of a West Point cadet and the subsequent investigation (by Bale) into the murder. I found the twists and turns of the plot to be a little confusing and this made the movie hard to follow. (Mo is back...) In a movie like this, I would expect that as things progress I would be formulating an idea as to what was going on, and revising it as more information came to hand. Eventually I'd draw a conclusion which would be revealed to be true or perhaps completely wrong. In this movie, I found myself within 20 minutes of the end with absolutely no idea WTF was going on. It was only then that a cadet (Edgar Allan Poe for some reason) who had been helping Bale with his investigation laid out several previously unrevealed facts and solved the case. (Mo departs...) I could have done without this movie and just spent the two hours far more productively napping instead. Shirley Manson sings Cup Of Coffee from Beautiful Garbage. I love Shirley! This track is a little downbeat in comparison to the earlier albums Garbage and Version 2.0 but still good. Need to make sofa feet! Or what ever he needs. Some groceries would be welcome and I'm still $280 short of what I need to pay that bill by the middle of next month. Speaking of which, the middle of next month is my birthday. Not that anybody will notice. Certainly not anyone in my family. I do get congratulations, but usually from obscure websites I last visited 13 years ago and stupidly answered all the questions in my "profile". As for the family, I wonder if they're back yet? They have concealed from me why they were all travelling together but I still know. A couple years ago my grand niece got married in Colorado somewhere. The entire wedding was concealed from me until 9:00AM the day of. Presumably so I couldn't turn up at the wedding, where I clearly wasn't welcome. I would have thought that their not sending me a wedding invitation would be hint enough not to turn up unexpectedly in Colorado... (Mo is back...) Well, they have all gone to the US as a group, and nobody mentioned they were going to Colorado, and they certainly didn't mention it was because she was, as we say here, "makin' bones" which means "having a baby". But I know. Sometimes I can manage to work it all out without their help. (Mo was looking out the window but he has now departed.) It's almost 15 years since my mum passed. And there is no sign that there is any resolution in sight, regarding her estate. I'm 100% certain that the fix is in. The estate will never be probate while I live, but if I died tonight they would probate the estate by Friday. Lawyers have been saying "Just a few more months now..." For years! The fact that the lawyers telling me that these days are family don't make me think that they are any less liars than the earlier lawyers were. Sometimes I just feel like telling them all to go fuck themselves. But they are pretty much the only family I have. So I prolly won't do that. Not immediately, anyhow. I get on well enough with my brother's kids in Canada but these days I hardly ever see them. They used to come visit every year or so but CV19 threw water on that. And the ruination of the economy by political incompetents hasn't helped since. Rain has just started to fall. I hope Mo has not been caught out in it. Nor decided to deliberately go out and play in it. Otherwise I'm about to get used as a towel. Any moment. But speaking of towels, I think I will go and have a shower. It's not so pleasant an experience with no rose on the pipe, so as soon as I finish saving up for that light bulb I will start saving up for a rose. But lightbulb first, because reading in bed without that extra bulb is ruining my eyesight. Hmmm. I wonder if I could repurpose one of my cheap, clip-on worklights to illuminate my book when I'm in bed? It would be easy if the bed had a headboard to clip to... I've wanted to make myself a proper bed for years! But that's another story. No sign of Mo but I'm going to take that shower now. 1 Link to comment
Netfoot October 22 Share October 22 Mo and I have gone to bed. Mo will probably come and go several times before I lock up. And I myself have to shower and lock the door. Just watched some kids on YT trying Popeye's Chicken. I've never had Popeye's. Nor Chic-Fill-A. Nor 1,000 other things that aren't available here. It made me want to go on a spending spree at Chefette, though. You probably never had Chefette. Mo is curled up with his head on the pillow. He is behind my back but (for once) not actually touching me. It's because of the current shape of the Pillow Pyramid. Oh, wait! He's just moved and is now curled up agsinst my butt. And licking my heels which are drawn up. No, he's up, shook himself like a dog, and has departed. Cooked a pot of rice today. (Surprise, surprise!) But instead of a cup of rice which will give Mo and myself a meal each, I cooked three cups of rice, in the bigger saucepan. First, I boiled/simmered a pack of dried lentils for 20 minutes. They really yield! So two ladles of cooked lentils, three cups of rice, two chopped carrots, and a couple tiny (1³ cm.) stock cubes. A larger pieces of bully than normal and a bit of paprika. Came out rather well. Mo & I had rice for lunch and also for dinner. There is enough in the fridge for at least lunch tomorrow and possibly dinner as well. It's hard to judge. In any event, next time I think I will cook four cups of rice, which should guarantee at least two days of meals for the same effort. It really didn't taste at all bad! The problem is variety. Or the lack thereof. There are no carrots left, but I could add a zucchini (unless it's completely bad). I could add onion but there isn't much left and while I'm not talking enough to upset Mo's digestion, it wouldn't hurt to skip that. There is a small piece of cabbage that could be cut up and go in. There are also a couple of limp pak choy leaves in the fridge. One think that I am very seriously considering is a bag of frozen carrots & peas in the freezer. I don't like peas. Little green musket balls. And the tinned "mixed vegetables" are usually pretty horrid. But I tried canned mixed veg. in rice a while back and it was surprisingly good. Still, the variety issue remains. It would be nice if I could cook vegetable rice with some sort of beef, pork or even lamb stew separate and dole out the rice with a dollop of stew on top come mealtimes. And the next time have some diced or shredded chicken in the rice instead of bully. Not a proper pelau but just rice with chicken in it. Or sausage. I'd say tunafish but I would not want to cook tunafish for lunch today and still be eating it tomorrow night. So maybe a vegetable rice with the tuna on the side? I could reheat the rice while adding fresh tuna with each meal. Red herring would be OK, though. You could leave that at the side of the road for a fortnight and still find it edible. Except red herring which used to be $2-3 poor-man food is now $11-12 and beyond many pockets, especially mine. Like the pigs ears I used to buy as an occasional treat for my boys. But $1-2 dollars in ears now cost on par with stew beef. Or a pork chop. So if I'm splurging on my boy for a special treat, I will spend the $12 bucks on a chop or some beef. (Mo is back.) The veggies could change up a bit too. Pumpkin one time, green beans the next. Spinnach? No. Mum told me not to cook local spinnach because it gets slimy. But there are a load of possible additives to the rice, from peppers to mushrooms, corn to tomato, radishes to Brussel sprouts. Only, I can't actually afford anything to spruce up our meals. No money. (But see below.) Cashed a cheque on Friday so two Fridays from now I will get to cash another. (As always, assuming more cheques are forthcoming.) Two Fridays from now I will need the whole cheque and a bit on top to pay a month of electricity. And two weeks after that the Telco will need paying again. So at least four weeks until we can buy food. (Mo had departed.) I've got $13.91 in the bank and I must use that to buy enough food to get us through the four weeks. So nothing any fancier than more rice and corned beef. And I still need to get $290 in that time to pay that annual bill that is upcoming. However! I heard from my woodworking guy who said he would have a job for me by Wednesday and that he would give me the details on Tuesday (tomorrow). Now he is not generally known for following even his own schedule. And the job might pay anything from $50 to $650. Recently he's been giving me quite tricky items to make but not paying very much for them. The headboard hangars were somewhat complicated and I got less than $5 each! However, if it is $50 that will allow me to get a variety of things to put into our rice. If it is more.... All assuming I actually hear from him tomorrow/Wednesday and not three weeks down the line as had happened before. (Mo is back!) I will message him Wednesday morning and tell him I have to go out, so not to come around until I let him know that I'm back. Hopefully that will get him on the right track if he's been forgetful. Fingers crossed, people! Watched two movies today. The first was 2 Guns with Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg. A cross between a heist video and a under over coo video... Fairly entertaining. The other was The Artic Convoy which was almost 100% in Norwegian with a little Swedish and about three words if English. Subtitles required reading in this instance! It is about the worst of the artic convoys during WW-II by which the allies ran arms and supplies to the Russians. My father, who joined the RN on the outbreak of war, made several trips to Murmansk from the Scapa Flow anchorage in the Orkneys. He was extremely reticent about his wartime experiences but over the years I was able to get a little of the story and an anecdote or two out of him. Mostly, he would speak only to correct mum when she mentioned something and got it a little wrong. I remember I was about 12 years old and reading Alistair MacLean's HMS Ulysses which describes the experiences of a destroyer which was part of the escort on one of the same Russian convoys. If you've never read it, the ship gets pounded by Axis bombers and submarines on a continuous basis, with each chapter describing worse and worse hardships born by the crews. Around chapter 12, I flung the book down, saying "No! This is too much. He's making it sound too bad. Completely unrealistic!" My dad turned to me and said "That book describes exactly what it was like, only the destroyers got it light. The merchant vessels had it much worse!" Nobody left to listen to his stories of the thousands and thousands of shells fired at the Axis reconnaissance aircraft flying low, slow, straight & level over Scapa, and visibly punching through the wings and fuselages and out the other side... Without ever bringing down a single plane or even making one dodge or change course in any way. Nobody to laugh at the tale of the victualling ships that would come alongside with their list of requisitioned stores. "Requisitioned: 50 sides of beef. Unavailable. Substitute: 60 cases of Bully. Requisitioned: 250 chickens. Unavailable. Substitute: 40 cases of Bully..." The old man said that all they ever got to eat was corned beef sandwiches. Feeling old tonight. Time almost up. Ballad Of The Chicks In Their Shells performed by Isao Tomita. Composed by Modest Mussorgsky and a part of the "Pictures at an Exhibition" piano suite, analog synthesizer virtuoso Tomita produced a slightly unusual (and fun) version of this piece. Listen to it here, if you like. Only one mug of tea today. Out of condensed milk and not sure I want to buy any more. What I don't understand is how this country could be essentially out of evaporated milk for months and the public isn't cutting up a stink about it! Going to lock up and... Uh-oh. Mo has departed, so locking up will be delayed. No need to delay my shower, though... 1 Link to comment
andidante October 22 Share October 22 9 hours ago, Netfoot said: Just watched some kids on YT trying Popeye's Chicken. I've never had Popeye's. Nor Chic-Fill-A. Nor 1,000 other things that aren't available here. It made me want to go on a spending spree at Chefette, though. You probably never had Chefette. However! I heard from my woodworking guy who said he would have a job for me by Wednesday and that he would give me the details on Tuesday (tomorrow). Now he is not generally known for following even his own schedule. And the job might pay anything from $50 to $650. Recently he's been giving me quite tricky items to make but not paying very much for them. The headboard hangars were somewhat complicated and I got less than $5 each! However, if it is $50 that will allow me to get a variety of things to put into our rice. If it is more.... All assuming I actually hear from him tomorrow/Wednesday and not three weeks down the line as had happened before. I do like Popeye's chicken a lot and Chik file is good also. However they are both so expensive! So it's just a treat for us once in a while. I am glad your friend is giving you more work. Are you able to haggle your pay with him? You should be paid fairly for your time and labor. Not sure if he would want to do that? Link to comment
Netfoot October 22 Share October 22 16 minutes ago, andidante said: Are you able to haggle your pay with him? I don't want to do anything to prevent future work opportunities. But if I get a chance I will push for a fair price on the items, given the level of difficulty involved in making them. 1 Link to comment
Netfoot October 22 Share October 22 I remember an Andy Capp cartoon strip from years ago. Flo (Andy's wife) said she needed new shoes. Andy tossed a coin on the floor and told Flo to stand on it. Since Flo couldn't tell if the coin was Heads or Tails through the soles of her shoes, Andy insisted they still had some life in them. It was inevitable, I suppose. My Crocs get heavy use - they are just about the only footwear I ever use. This is because I used to suffer from plantar fasciitis. This is a disorder of the connective tissue in the arch of the foot and is quite painful. I was told to try special inserts in my shoes (not easily available here) or try Crocs. I bought my first pair of Crocs and the problem went away and has never come back again. A certain purloining pup also places considerable strain on my footwear (and my sanity). But I don't know that this necessarily germain to this issue. That is a hole in the bottom of my Left Croc. With my fingernail peeping through. This had been on the cards for a while. The sole of each Croc has had a very thin spot under the ball of the foot for a while. And now, one had gone through. The Crocs Store closed a long while back. You can find them for sale here and there but I really don't know where I can find them right now. I'd have to visit several stores and see who had them and for what price. When I noticed the very thin spots in the sole (about 18-24 months ago) I went out looking for potential sources of resupply. The best (cheapest) place I found has since closed and now houses a camera store. A couple years ago the best price I could find was $133 for a reasonable colour. (You could get them cheaper if you were willing to settle for an unbearable colour like purple-with-pink-polka-dots.) Since I can't get new ones I guess I will be wearing these for a while. But at least I can now tell Heads from Tails... 1 Link to comment
Netfoot October 23 Share October 23 Coming out of the shower, I discovered the cutest boy, making free with my pillows. We had a chat and a cuddle, but then he departed. Earlier today I discovered Teddy, and squeezed a squeak out of him three times in rapid succession. Mo was at my feet in about 1½ seconds. I gave him Teddy and then pretended I was going to take him away again. Mo shot off and giving chase, we had a very fine game which I knew from the start I had no chance of winning. Here is Mo sitting on the lawn. He is like a wound spring, waiting for me to make a move so he can grab Teddy and shoot off! The lawn needs a bit if attention, wouldn't you say? Not quite golf-green level of perfection. Listening to Fountains On Fire by Elysian Fields. Don't know much about the band or their composer and vocalist Jennifer Charles, but the music is good. JC is cute, but she is a brunette and I favour blondes. Not that you'd know, what with most of my girlfriends being brunettes.... The pot of corned beef rice is done. Mo and I had rice for lunch and there was one portion left so Mo had that for dinner. I looked in the fridge and found five potatoes, the largest of which was smaller than a golf ball. I scrubbed, diced (quartered) and boiled these. Meanwhile I fried up onions, corned beef and a few pak choy leaves. I got the potatoes out of the pot at the perfect time and poured the "sauce" over them. The spuds were firm enough that I could stab a piece and pop it into my mouth, but it was equally easy to press a piece of spud with the back of the fork and get instant mashed spud to scoop up and enjoy. Guess I gotta make another pot of rice tomorrow but this time I will make four cups instead of three. That should give us both a meal, twice a day, for two days. I could even go to six cups but I will hold off on that plan for now. My buddy came around. Someone brought in a piece of furniture to be refurbished but one of the little legs was smashed. He asked if I could make a copy of one of the remaining legs. I was dubious but I gave it a shot: As you can see, the new leg (pale colour, on the lathe) is nowhere near a perfect match for the original (darker, in my hand) but maybe it will be good enough to serve. I stopped work for light, so tomorrow I will give it a last cleanup, then sand and part off to length. I might also rub on some beeswax and mineral oil and do a friction finish, with the speed turned right up and a cloth pad to burnish the wax/oil. The heat of friction will warm the finish and help it soak into the wood. Or maybe I'll put no finish on it at all? Perhaps they want to paint it or stain it and waxing it will make that difficult. Paint don't stick to wax... As you know, I turned many a small bowl on that lathe. I like doing "hollow forms". They are tricky but rewarding. However, this leg is not a hollow form. Technically, it is a "spindle" and I don't particularly like doing spindles, nor am I very good at them. The skew chisel is king when turning spindles but it is the most destructive chisel of all. If I so much as touch my skew while I have something on the lathe, the piece instantly self-destructs even though the skew never went anywhere near it! But the real trouble with spindles is you don't usually do one. You do a bunch of them to make a staircase or something and they are all supposed to be identical! I can never get two of them to come out the same. He is supposed to return tomorrow to collect the replacement foot and to bring a job which he described as small, triangular furniture feet. Imagine a square about 3¼" or 3½" and 1½" thick, but then cut in half diagonally to give two triangular feet. I have no details as to angles, chamfers, mounting holes or anything. Nor quantities. However he says he has another job (no details at all) which he will bring for me by the end of the week so if that happens I will be pleasantly occupied. I was told I could expect payment by the end of the week. One of the jobs (not sure which) will apparently be for quite a number of the items, so much so that I will be making X number per week. I was told to expect $600-ish per week for 3, 4 or even 5 weeks. If that turns out to be true, it will be a very welcome addition to my finances. Not only will I be able to pay some bills and buy some food, I might get a couple cheap, new tires for the van and who knows? Even put the bandsaw back into working condition with an order of parts from the manufacturer! But let us not make the curtains before we get the election results. Some years ago on the run-up to an election, Stella (the wife of the leading contender to become PM) went to Ilaro Court (official residence of the PM) where she measured all the windows and had curtains made from her favourite fabric. Unfortunately for Stella, the election results were not quite what she had hoped for... It was a matter of speculation for years what had become of the curtains. If you appeared somewhere in a funny looking pants or shirt, someone would surely say "So, that's where the curtains went..." I am too old. These things should be forgotten. Watched a movie today. What was it called again? And what was it about? Oh, yes! Idris Elba and Matthew McConaughey in The Dark Tower. A sci-fi/fantasy story with MM playing a nasty version of Satan and IE a supernatural gunfighter struggling to thwart his evil plans. Some random kid was a key character because he had The Power but frankly, the movie would have been better if the kid was not a participant at all. I mean, they could have devised a better plot that pitted IE and MM against each other without complications caused by having to find something for the kid to do. Mo is sleeping on the tiles. A minute ago he jumped up, kicked me viciously in the butt several times with both back legs simultaneously, then returned to the tiles. I'm not sure why he does that. Maybe it is him trying to persuade me to stop neglecting him and give him tummy rubs? But when he is in a position to kick me in the butt I'm not really in a position to tickle his tummy! If he wants tummy rubs all he has to do is lie on his back in front of me and he gets them. But when he's lying behind me, and down that end to boot, I'm not really able to reach his tummy. Anyway, it's half past midnight so I will halt at this point, douse the lights and catch some sleep. 2 Link to comment
Netfoot October 23 Share October 23 (edited) Lunch! Four cups of rice, corned beef, red cabbage, the last of the pak choy, lentil peas and frozen green peas & carrots. Paprika, a couple small stock cubes, salt to taste. In fact far less salt than I would prefer but this rice is for Mo as well, so I keep the salt low. Mo and I have already had lunch out of this pot, so I'm pretty sure we will get three more meals; dinner tonight and two meals tomorrow. I added a sprinkle of extra salt and s dash of pepper. Could have put the pepper in the rice while cooking, but did want to force Mo to eat that. I enjoyed the meal and so (apparently) did he. I finished before him and put my bowl on the floor. He came and cleaned it out, then went back to clean out his own. Here he is, having emptied his bowl, chasing down escaping grains of rice. I'm so glad this is cheap food he actually enjoys! The lathe-turned little foot has gone, along with the example I was given. I was told the material for the next job had been ordered and I should get it tomorrow. He prefers to buy his own lumber so he can get exactly the wood he wants. I'm fine with that because I don't have to go collect the wood and he can complain about my work but not the quality of the wood itself. He says he will pay in advance for the next job when he delivers the lumber. That will be convenient for groceries & bills, but I really prefer to deliver the job before I get paid. What happens if I get advance payment, buy groceries and then the saw breaks down and I can't complete the job? We hope that don't happen but I won't argue about the advanced payment. Battery is down to single digits so catch you later! ETA: I hate tea without milk! Edited October 23 by Netfoot 2 Link to comment
andidante October 23 Share October 23 5 hours ago, Netfoot said: Lunch! Four cups of rice, corned beef, red cabbage, the last of the pak choy, lentil peas and frozen green peas & carrots. Paprika, a couple small stock cubes, salt to taste. In fact far less salt than I would prefer but this rice is for Mo as well, so I keep the salt low. Good ness that looks so good!! Link to comment
Netfoot October 23 Share October 23 Just now, andidante said: Good ness that looks so good!! It's not at all bad. It would be better with more beef or chicken or pork in it. Or no meat in it at all, but some stew on top or a chicken breast, etc, alongside! The real problem is the monotony. I love pizza but I don't want to eat pizza twice a day for weeks on end. 1 Link to comment
Netfoot October 24 Share October 24 When it came time for Garden Patrol, I got my torch and my Crocs but where was Mo? A quick search determined that he was fast asleep on the bedroom floor. Well, I didn't want to wake him, did I? So I went on Patrol by myself. As The Patrol drew to a conclusion, I found myself close by the bedroom window Mo is so fond of looking out of. It's too high for me to look in, but I stood under the window and gave Mo his whistle. All my boys have had their own whistle. I dunno why each boy ends up with his own, but so it is. I whistled for Mo, expecting to see a sleepy face come to the window and look out. But instead, within 10 seconds, he was standing next to me, under the window. Well, Garden Patrol was over, so what were we to do? Why, do it again, of course! So Mo and I have still done our Garden Patrol, rain or shine, hurricane or snow, every single night since he came home from The Ark. After we were done, I went for a shower, then I locked up and came to bed. Guess I can squeeze in up against the wall on the left and not disturb him or his carefully arranged bed. I mean, the special arrangement of pillows and the tumbled layout of the top sheet are obviously critical to his comfort. I squeezed in behind him. He rolled onto his back and because I didn't immediately begin to administer tummy rubs, he double-kicked me squarely in the guts, several times. It was such a pleasure to be kicked somewhere other than the butt! Listening to All You Want by Dido. I think she has talent and a stupid name. But I really don't care what she chooses to call herself. Mo and I had more rice for dinner (obviously). There is so little corned beef in the pot that I have yet to find any and I've eaten two meals out of it! I suppose it imparts a subtle, hint of meaty flavour, but if I told you it was veggie rice, you would be hard pressed to prove me a liar! (Which reminds me, I have to go and put the pot in the fridge. Surely it's cooled down by now?) Mo seems to be 100% happy with it, but I assume that if he eats enough corned beef rice meals in a row, he will tire of it. Just like me. This is one of the reasons I cook for him. Imagine eating chow (or anything) for every meal for your whole life! It wouldn't take much to spruce up the rice. And I'm not even talking about meat. A plantain or some spicy red (or black) beans... An egg, fried in or boiled and served on top... If my friend does return tomorrow with lumber as promised, I may have some grocery money. But it depends on how much he gives me, which would depend on what job he wants me to do. The kitty is still looking for another $290 to cover the November 15th bill. So I'm hoping for more than that. So I can get some supplies from the supermarket. Comestibles, etc. And supplies of butt-fodder are low. (Pause to give a needy tummy a rub.) I'm mean, he did say $600 a week. But seeing is believing. An' I en see nuffin yet. Watched a fairly new movie called Classified, about a CIA assassin who gets his instructions via the classified ads in the newspapers. But one day, he discovers his department was closed down years ago! So who has he been getting instructions from and working for ever since? Starring Aaron Eckhart, Tim Roth, Abigail Breslin and a number of others whose names I can't recall. Not too bad. Got a few other movies to watch, but I'm expecting I'll be busy, if the lumber arrives. Of course, I can't do woodwork after the light gets bad, so I still might get to watch something. If I'm not so beat that I have to crawl into bed at 6:30 PM and have the Dinner Meds alarm wake me for that.... Going to have to change the blade on the saw. The one in there now is as dull as a butter knife at a stale bread convention. Luckily I have two new blades here. I think one is a ripping blade and one is a general purpose blade (different tooth-count). I can't remember what tooth counts they are and I'm not getting out of this bed again. (Mo on the tiles.) The dull blade that's coming out of the saw may be resharpenable. Dunno what it would cost. It would depend on the tooth-count (more teeth cost more to sharpen) and whether it had carbide teeth (harder than regular blade-steel) or not. I'll have to check Ace, Carter's and Kooyman for the price of a new, replacement blade, then call Flintstones with the info on my blade and ask them what it would cost to sharpen. I could also order from Amazon but only if the local prices are high enough to make the US cost including shipping & duty, more palatable. Anyway, the blade change is a job for first thing in the morning. It only takes a minute! Right now, what I need to do is kill the lights and get some sleep. It's after midnight! 1 Link to comment
Netfoot October 24 Share October 24 My guy came around and told me that he had been to the bank and their computer was down. (Computers being "down" never happened in pre-Microsoft days, by the way.) He went to several branches and called several others, but it seems the entire bank was offline. He gave me some cash with more to come. The lumber has not arrived yet. I told him it would be best if I get it by tomorrow so I can work on the job over the weekend. I banked the cash, bought an 85 gram tin of spicy Thai chili tuna fish, a tin of Vienna sausages and a 330ml box of Carnation evap. The evap was $4.99 so $15 for a liter of milk as opposed to $7.39 for a liter of PHD. (I sent PHD a nastygram last night but obviously, they have not replied.) Got home and took half the sausages out of the tin and cut them up to toss into Mo's lunch rice. He will get the balance in his dinner rice tonight. The tuna went into my lunch rice. Mo inhaled his, and I was happy to eat mine, too. A short while ago I got the message to say my deposit had been processed. I immediately went and paid that November bill that has been troubling me. The final bill, taking rates of exchange into account was $486.67 which left me with $115.79 in the bank. I would like to put this towards bills (water, electricity...) but we need food! We've got rice enough for dinner tonight so later today or probably tomorrow I will go and spend some of that on groceries. Probably most of it. It won't buy a lot. A hundred odd dollars in groceries is not a lot of groceries. But I should be able to stock up on potatoes, onions, rice, pasta, corned beef... And hopefully there will be more brass to come before too long. Then I can look at more exotic items. Like eggs, cheese, fresh greens, sausages, minced beef... You know - food. Anyway, I'm happy to say that with the payment of this annual bill, a large weight has been lifted from my shoulders. And a few more groceries in the larder will definitely make for a more varied and enjoyable dining experience. 1 3 Link to comment
Netfoot October 25 Share October 25 Went out on Garden Patrol. Where I found a box of teabags, torn to shreds on what passes for a lawn. Puppy was hunkered down like he expected a huge beating. Why does he do this? He never gets a huge beating, no matter what! And, if he was expecting any sort of spanx at all, that must mean he knew he had done wrong! If he knew it was wrong and expected a huge beating in response, why did he do it?!?? Where did he get a box of teabags? I must have left them in the counter. I very much doubt he opened the fridge and poked around in the Dairy drawer, which is where I normally keep teabags. Fortunately there were not that many teabags left. We finished the bully beef rice. I served up two portions (Mo had Vienna sausage in his) and there was enough for one more serving. He or I could have had that for lunch tomorrow, but the other person (me, no doubt) would have had nothing. So I split the remaining rice between us and we both enjoyed a generous portion for the last from this pot. Tomorrow, I will have to cook something else for us to eat. Probably more bully & rice but with what added in? Pumpkin? Green beans? Still have some frozen carrots & green musket balls. Will have to see how far $100 will go in the morning. I'm very glad to have paid the bill that had been like a (small) monkey on my back for a while recently. I'm relieved that it's done for the next year and now any extra cash earned can be directed towards the pantry or improving our lot generally. Like buying a light bulb. Shower rose. Watched the 1976 movie Carrie today. I don't usually waste time on horror movies but this was an iconic movie in it's day. Frankly, I am not sure why. Carrie is a 16 year old girl (young enough that she experiences menarche in the opening minutes of the film, but is still played by 27 year old Sissy Spacek). She is the target of intense bullying at school, especially from Amy Irving and her boyfriend, a barely recognizable, young John Travolta. The bullying reaches critical level at the Prom, where Carrie retaliates by uses her burgeoning telekinetic power to punish them all, toasting them like marshmallows. I really don't know why this movie did as well as it did, when it was first released 48 years ago. I've been making a list of things I might like to buy tomorrow at the supermarket. I think for a start, I will buy some more corned beef and another couple Kg. of rice. Emergency long-term vittles. I am out of potatoes, carrots, pak choy, cabbage, cucumbers... And very low on onions. So maybe some of those to help improve any pot of rice that gets cooked. Extras would be nice too. Say a plantain to go with the rice for lunch and perhaps a sausage to go with dinner? But like I said, $100-ish isn't going to go far in this economy. Speaking of which, can we just get this election over with? I don't think I can't stand much more of the ludicrous bullshit. All made worse by the fact that if I open my mouth to ridicule the more egregious lying and stupidity, I will get banned from the forum because some dumb-ass will pee their pants with shock when their political darling gets made a fool of and call out the Digital Stormtroopers. Haloes by The Tubes. I think this is off their eponymous debut album. Always liked this band. Mo is here in bed with me. He is (naturally) bogarting the fan. But he is so cute with the silvery wisps of hair on his ears he gets away with it. I am expecting - or hoping, to be more accurate - to get the lumber tomorrow. I've received advanced payment but now the sooner I can produce the desired parts to earn that payment the happier I will be. Now I've told my guy over and over to call and make sure I'm home before coming around. I tell this to all my guys. I don't go out much any more, but I do go out from time to time. So now he calls to say "I'm parked outside of your gate." What will he say if I reply "And I'm down in Speightstown and I'll be back home in 2 hours!" So I will be wanting to go to the supermarket tomorrow morning some time because I will need to cook a pot of grub for Mo and myself for lunch. But I'm also wanting to take delivery of the lumber and get the exact details of what he wants me to make with it. Tsk! Anyway, I've not had much chance to read my book the last couple nights and it's only a couple minutes to midnight so I'd better end here and at least try for 2-3 pages before I start to fall asleep with the book in my hand. I'm yawning hugely already! 1 Link to comment
Netfoot October 25 Share October 25 I've just finished The Golden Keel. Next is High Citadel, one of my favourite books by Bagley. An ancient DC-3 airliner carrying a South American political figure is brought down in the Andes Mountains by his unscrupulous enemies, who wish to bring about his demise. On board the plane is a historian with an interest in medieval weaponry. With improvised crossbow and trebuchet the passengers resist the advances of the murderous rebels while a select few attempt to cross the frozen mountain range to fetch help. But not tonight! Mo is still alternating between the window and the front door. He will have to settle for one or the other, because I'm going to lock up, now. Link to comment
Netfoot October 25 Share October 25 Just back from the supermarket. Bought potatoes, carrots, cucumbers, onions, sausages, minced beef, bully beef, sugar, mayo, ketchup, garlic powder, rice, butt fodder... maybe other stuff I've forgotten. And this: I figured: peanut tea? Why not? Because there isn't any evap to be had! This was cheap and it's worth a try. Will report back when I get to it. Will finish the last of the Carnation evap first. I used to enjoy peanut punch when my mum made it in the blender. I used to make it myself, once upon a time. Sometimes with banana, sometimes with Nutella, sometimes both... According to my calculations I have $2.89 left in the bank. 2 Link to comment
Netfoot October 25 Share October 25 (edited) Lunch was pasta. I cooked a sauce of onion, minced beef, diced cucumber and tinned, diced tomatoes. Tasted pretty good. I thought to cook macaroni for Mo and I to share with a dollop of the sauce on top. In the fridge I found two open packets of macaroni. Different brands. One recommended cooking for 10-15 minutes, the other 7-9 minutes. Average 12½ and 8 minutes respectively. I brought the water to the boil and tossed in the first lot. Five minutes later I tossed in the other. It worked out fine, except: it didn't make as much as I'd hoped. There wasn't enough for two. Mo got the lot with a dollop of sauce while I put a fresh pot of water on to boil. Rooting around in the fridge I found a packet of spaghetti and cooked half of that. It tasted good. The sauce really wasn't at all bad, despite being incredibly simple. There is enough sauce left over that I can cook a small pot of "white" rice and add some sauce to the top for meaty flavour. There might even be enough sauce left over after that to do something with tomorrow! No guarantees. If it looks "less" I will simply split it with Mo on tonight's White rice. Which won't actually be white. If nothing else, it will contain some carrot and possibly some onion. Came into the bedroom to find a gift on the floor from Mr. Underfoot. You know, he's always standing on the bedside table. He stands on the remote, sometimes with very wet, muddy feet. I dare not leave my book there. And on occasion he sends the Bluetooth speakers flying! Of course, he is a fellow with no remorse... The speaker went back together easily enough. It's been in the floor before. Just look at the dirt on it! Half of that is airborne dust from the heavy traffic on the outside of my walk wall. The rest is from muddy feet. No sign of any lumber yet, and half the afternoon has gone already! Edited October 26 by Netfoot 1 Link to comment
Netfoot October 26 Share October 26 (edited) Past midnight already and I'm only just getting to bed. Mo is looking out the window. I've had my shower and the door is locked. It's a cool night. Three Dog Night are playing Play Something Sweet (Brickyard Blues) which is perhaps not one of their most popular tracks but I like it! Mo now curled up against my tummy. I'm sure he won't stay there long. No lumber showed up. Now, I've had him deliver lumber on a Saturday before now, so maybe in the morning. But more than the lumber I want to hear a detailed description of what it is he wants me to make. I like to sit and think how best to produce the items (what ever they may be) so as to get as many from the wood as possible while requiring the least amount of effort on my part and time on the clock. Can't do that without hearing from him. Told you: Mo now curled up and using my feet as a pillow. Dinner was "white" rice with minced beef and cucumber sauce. The rice wasn't really white (rice cooked by me rarely is) because it contained a very generous amount of lentil peas. Mo got the majority of the rice by a small margin. To my surprise there was at least as much meat sauce left over as we used for dinner. So we should be able to make some sort of tasty lunch tomorrow with what's left in the fridge. Now, we've done rice and pasta so maybe for lunch tomorrow I can cook some potatoes, carrots and cucumber. Or maybe leave out the cucumber because there is already cucumber in the sauce. There most likely won't be any sauce left over for dinner tomorrow. Unless by being unbearably sparing with it at lunch I can leave enough to be equally sparing at dinner time? Not much point in spoiling two meals by being stingy.... Mo is back curled up against my tummy. I'm giving him a serious tummy rub. Be right back... Read some of my new book this afternoon. No, I did not take a nap! Stopped when I felt it was time for tea. Still using the Carnation I bought yesterday. Curious to know how the tea will taste with peanut punch instead of plain milk. Not going to waste the Carnation to find out. It also occurs that there are other flavours to be tried as well. From chocolate, vanilla & strawberry, to... Well, I could buy something like an Ensure which comes in a variety of flavours! Mo now sleeping on the tiles. He moves around a lot! One of the reasons I am late to bed is because I watched The Count of Monte Cristo this evening. This is the 2002 version with Jim Caviezel, Guy Pearce, Henry Cavill, Luis Guzmán, Richard Harris and a number of other well known faces. The Count, by the way, supposedly took the name from the island from which he recovered the great treasure. The island in question lies between Corsica and Italy. It's name is "Montecristo" with no space. Just sayin'. I am yawning hard. I think I will call it quits. See ya in de morning! Edited October 26 by Netfoot 1 Link to comment
Netfoot October 27 Share October 27 Mo and I are in bed, snuggling. An uneventful Garden Patrol, save for an enormous Jupiter hanging in the sky, over our heads. Dinner was a new batch of corned beef rice. Not as good (I think) as the last batch. It contains corned beef, lentil peas, diced cucumber and sliced carrot, plus a couple of onions that I put through the mandolin. Tasted OK but there was less going on. More things in the rice would have improved it. But it is quite edible. Good thing too. There are another 3 meals minimum in that pot. Listening to Venus by Billy Idol. I recall my friends panning him heartily, but I actually like a lot of his music. I'm not a huge fan that has every album and reveres every track, but the music of his that I have, I enjoy listening to. Mo is very mobile again tonight. Curled up against my tummy one minute, down by my feet the next, then back to the tummy - which is where he is right now. The door is still open so he will prolly be in and out until I actually lock up. Which I want to do soon. It's after eleven and I've been yawning since lunchtime. I had a truly epic mug of tea after lunch and considered a nap, but put that off and when I checked the time it was almost four, which is too late for an afternoon nap, as far as I'm concerned. No lumber delivered. While it isn't actually impossible I think it unlikely it will arrive tomorrow (Sunday) so that means I can't even begin figuring out how to cut, drill or what ever is needed, and build suitable jigs to facilitate that process. When the lumber arrives I will get the details as to what is needed. Some sort of "sofa feet" but what size? Shape? Thickness? How many pilot holes for fastening to the underside of the sofa? What size screw should the pilot holes accommodate? Without all of this info I can't begin to figure out how to proceed. I like to use a simple jig where ever possible. They make the process fast and foolproof and usually guarantee that all the finished pieces are uniform. Most parts can benefit from use of a jig unless they are so simple that a stop-block on the saw can be used instead. Pup on the tiles. Tried a couple TV episodes to see if anything really resonated with me. Nothing to note. Not so far, at least. I think I will read my book for a little while. I'm tired but I should be able to get a chapter under my belt before I have to shut down the lights and zonk out. Carnation milk almost all gone. Certainly the last of it should go tomorrow. Then, it will be peanut tea! You know, people drink mint, camomile, dandelion and rose-hip "tea" (and others) that have never seen so much as a smell of Camellia sinensis whatsoever. If they can get away with that, I don't see why I can't use peanut (or vanilla or strawberry, etc) flavoured milk when I brew my tea! Good night, sweet prince, and flights of angels sing thee to thy rest. 1 Link to comment
Netfoot October 27 Share October 27 (edited) Just checked the bank. Balance is $10.67 less than expected. How? Why? This means that in four days there won't be enough to pay rent and bank service charge. Checked. There is a 2% "Exchange Tax" levied on all foreign exchange transactions. Could that be it? Ok, I made two payments for $533.32 total. 2% of $533.32 is $10.67 which confirms that the missing money is due to this tax. Stupid me for not taking this into account. Where do I get $10 in the next three days? Edited October 27 by Netfoot 1 Link to comment
Netfoot October 28 Share October 28 (edited) Rice again for dinner for Mo and I. I was hoping they there would be enough in the pot for dinner tonight and lunch tomorrow. I looked in the pot and wasn't sure there were four servings left. When Mo hot s got a normal serving for dinner, 8 I have myself a half portion and added a potato. The potato was boiled and then browned in a pan with little oil. It turned out well and I was satisfied with my meal and there is enough rice remaining now to feed us bot for lunch tomorrow. Peanut tea doesn't taste at all bad. I would prefer if I could just have regular tea, and reserve peanut tea for those occasions when I feel to enjoy it. Instead of having to drink peanut tea because there is no evap. Initially I forgot that the peanut punch was already sweetened so I used my regular amount of sugar which, with the peanut punch on top, ended up making an over-sweet mug of tea. Once I compensated for the, all was well. Also, the peanut punch is not concentrated as the evap is. So although it is cheaper, I use more in the mug so it doesn't last as long. Carnation at $4.99 is pretty damned expensive but if I can find any of the cheaper brands that pop up from time to time, I think the economics of peanut tea will be comparable to that of (non-Carnation) evap. Watched a few movies today. First, something called Vendetta with Bruce Willis playing a minor role as head of a violent, local crime family. When the gang kills a random teenage girl in a gang initiation ritual, the girls' father sets out to punish them in a most severe way. Apart from this, I also watched the three RoboCop movies. The first movie is a bit of a cult classic with Peter Weller in the title role, and supported by Nancy Allen as his human partner. Not to mention several other well known faces! After suffering horrendous injuries on the job, Murphy is declared dead and some of his body parts are used in the prototype of a new law-enforcement android, developed by an evil corporation. Murphy's humanity overcomes the self-serving programming of the corporation and becomes a hero to the people of the city. RoboCop 2 is a typical sequel to the original, extending the storyline a bit and tying off a few loose ends. Many of the original cast return and while I would suggest it is not as good as the original, it might be worth a watch, particularly if you enjoyed the first movie. By the time they got to RoboCop 3, they were really just milking it for what they could get. Peter Weller declined to participate and Nancy Allen only involved herself long enough to get killed early in the show. One or two of the cast returned, but generally I'd say that 3 was not worth the effort of watching. I'd advise you not to bother unless you were a huge RoboCop fan and a died in the wool completist as well. Mo has just joined me in bed. On Garden Patrol I discovered one of my ladles (for some reason I have three) out on the lawn with the handle chewed to buggery. I also found a measuring cup from the kitchen. And poor Teddy was lying on the grass, just waiting for the next drenching rain. Mo was hunkered down, just waiting for smax (which he never got). I showed him the measuring cup and ladle and sternly told him he was a bad boy and that he should not steal. I suppose I could have given him a serious thrashing but I don't know that would prevent future thefts. And I don't want to break puppy nor make him live in fear. As for Teddy, well, he is Mo's little toy and if Mo leaves him outside to get soaked, that is Mo's business. I will rescue him if I get a chance or otherwise bring him in to dry off. But Mo doesn't get any sort of punishment over Teddy, no matter what he does with him. Mo is smuggling up right next to me. He has been moving around. Left side, right side, down by my feet... But for now he is lying against my left shoulder, bogarting the breeze from the window and the breath of the fan. Puppies are usually very selfish. For instance, if I buy a bucket from Chefette ($104.95) Mo will be very insistent in demanding that I give him his fair share of the 21 pieces of chicken. But if I give him 21 pieces of chicken, it won't occur to him for one second, to give me a piece! Listening to For What It's Worth by Buffalo Springfield. This band produce a handful of albums in the mid- to late sixties, with this track probably their best known and most popular. Stephen Stills (who wrote this track) and Neil Young were founding members of the band. When the band dissolved of course, they went on to join CSN&Y, Stills full time and Young part time. I'm a bit worried about the bloody 2% tax om my foreign bill payments. It has left me in a difficult spot, with month-end only days away. Right at the end of the month or in on the first of November, the bank will charge me their monthly service fee. This will leave me a few dollars short on the rent and the tent cheque will bounce. I can't believe I was so stupid. I tell myself that since the payments were not purchases I somehow didn't expect to see the tax applied. But that is only me making an excuse for being stupid. Anyhow, first thing tomorrow I will message my guy and say "Bring the lumber! And $10!" and hope he comes through. Going to lock the door. Mo is still curled up against my left shoulder. I hope he doesn't decide to rush outside when I try to lock up. Especially since there is a little sprinkle of rain blowing in the window just now. Poor Teddy. I'm pretty sure Mo left him outside to get soaked..... Edited October 28 by Netfoot 2 Link to comment
Netfoot October 29 Share October 29 (edited) It's twenty past nine and I'm showered and in bed. The door is still open because no Mo is still roaming around outside. I will close it soon, or just leave it open so he can come & go all night as suits him. On Garden Patrol I discovered a dad sad Teddy sitting out in the grass, very wet. I picked him up to bring him in so he could dry off. But Mo jumped up and insisted I return him to his rightful owner. Mo then took him even further from cover, dropped him on the ground and stood over him in a challenging manner. He is still lying out there. When rescuing Teddy, you have to do it while Mo is not around. Had these the last of the rice today for lunch. Mo got a good portion whereas mine was a little light. But that's fine. Dinner was boiled potatoes tossed with onion, corned beef and some of the potato water. I ate mine with some of the new batch of Hotchup I made a couple days ago. Might cook more rice tomorrow or have pasta for a day and then go back to rice. Here comes Mo now. Bathing my left arm and then moving to the windows. It's only open a small crack from last night when some rain fell. Just gave it a shove to open it some more but Mo was behind me curled up away from the window by then. Some lumber arrived today. He also gave me a $10 note as requested but after he'd gone i.noticed it wasn't a $10 but a "Dipper" ($50) which is similar in colour. Mo was just double-kicking my butt so I had to pause to administer some tummy rubs. He has now moved to the foot of the bed where he can lean on my feet and polish his nuts. I've done the math and a first approximation says I should get 76 triangular sofa feet off of the four boards I've got. But this does not account for knots, cracks or generally ugly parts of the boards that might get rejected. It was too late to start work today so I will begin by building a cutting jig and a drilling jig (or two) in the morning. I was told that there was no rush for these parts and that I could take as long as until next week Wednesday. I certainly hope they will be finished long before that. I'd like to call him before the end of the week and tell him that they are ready and he can collect at his leisure. Again, he had promised additional work, and that is good but I think I should get these made and ready for delivery before he starts asking for other jobs to be done. So tomorrow I will go and deposit the $50 but first, I might buy some Carnation evap if I can find it, and some teabags too because I've got about 3 left. Then bank the rest. Last night I couldn't get to sleep. It was between 4:30 and 5:00 before I finally drifted off and I was up again by 7:30. I've been drop-dead tired all day which is why I've put myself to bed so early. Also feeling a little queasy in the tummy, so will just lie still and wait until I drift off. Mo has gone out. Listening to Kid by The Pretenders. Chrissie Hynde for the win! Mo has returned. Watched a few TV episodes today. The latest Tulsa King and a couple of Robin Hoods from a series from a couple years ago. No movies today, although I have a good selection to choose from. Now here comes Stellify from Ian Brown's My Way album. Mo had departed once more. No, wait! He has just gone down onto the tiles. OK, I'm bushed and I'm going to go to sleep now. I keep waking up to find myself holding the phone in my sleep for the last 2-3 minutes. So I'm done. Picture of the puppy: Edited October 29 by Netfoot 3 Link to comment
Spunkygal October 29 Share October 29 $50 instead of $10! A great start to the day! 2 Link to comment
Netfoot October 29 Share October 29 This is a P-38 tin opener. Yes, I know it's rusty. It is the small version (approx. 38mm) of the P-51 tin opener (approx. 51mm). These were issued to US military from 1942 and on into the 80s. The match between size and military designation is a coincidence. In 1940 the US military did not use metric measurements. Another amusing coincidence: Lockheed P-38 Lightning and the North American P-51 Mustang were highly acclaimed US fighter aircraft from the WW-II era. About 6 months ago I was forced to buy a new, butterfly-type tin opener. It stopped working a few days ago. It's been giving trouble for a month or more, gradually worsening until It no longer works at all. I've taken it apart and put it together again several times which is why it's hung on as long as it has. But I can't get it to work any more. Butterfly openers are junk. They work beautifully... until they wear. And there are often plastic components that can't help but wear out quickly. Since I'm already saving up for a light bulb and a shower rose, I decided I will have to take matters into my own hand, with regards opening tins. So I dug out my P-38 and of course, it works fine. It's slow, but it opens tins cleanly and perfectly. Apparently, you can buy new versions of the P-38 and P-51 openers from Amazon, made from Stainless Steel. These are great "emergency" openers - I just took mine out of my hurricane emergency bag. I used to keep one in my glove box. It saved more than one picnic, when it turned out that someone brought tinned picnic supplies but forgot their opener at home! If someone wanted to buy a few of these to keep for emergencies, I would strongly suggest getting a Stainless one. (Just look at my rusty one. It still works perfectly but rust-free would be nice.) I would also suggest the slightly larger P-51 design unless you really need the slightly smaller size, because the larger opener is slightly easier to use (a little more leverage) and opens cans slightly faster because the blade is slightly larger. Or you can get a one-of-each pair. What was I opening? Tins of condensed milk and diced tomatoes. More later! 1 Link to comment
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