Small Talk: The Welcome Mat

[Netfoot]

I put $100 in the van, price gone from $3.99 per liter to $4.13 per liter. That's 3½% up. Groceries next. 5 lb. of potatoes was $9.99 last week, but $14.99 today. 50% up! Then pharmacy. Refused to look at the bill. Don't wanna know. Can't afford to know. No point getting stressed over the price of your anti-stress medication, is it?

Did quite a lot more in the kitchen but not finished yet. Now, laying in bed with my back killing me. Fool that I am, just realized I never took the Panadol. Wait while I crawl out and rectify...

Puppy just arrived and is laying in my lap and fighting with the phone for my attention. He's being very loving and toothy and attentive. I wonder... Oh, OK. He just stole my Sprite and ran off!

Don't know if you looked through the album of photos from Sunday or not, But I wanted to mention this photograph in particular:

The Ahi glider is fairly obvious, over on the right. But what do you see over on the left? That's one of the best pilots at the cliff, right there. That's a marine falcon or hawk of some sort. They nest on the cliff and if you fly close to their nest too much, they come out and try to rip the wings off your model. Ian is in full avoidance mode and the hawk gives chase. We've never actually had any damage done, but you do need to lay on some evasive maneuvers when they attack. At one time the pair of hawks were attacking the Ahi simultaneously.

Here is a brief, noisy, shaky, blurry video of Ian flying.

OK, a little 15 minutes more for the Panadol to kick in and I'll get back to the kitchen...

ETA: My Diovan went up from $7.00 to $26.46, or nearly 300%  in one month.

Edited March 15, 2022 by Netfoot

[Netfoot]

Six large bags of tinned food, lined up down the bedroom passage, for want of somewhere else to put them.

Many tins were thrown out as to too manky-looking. Did more in the kitchen, but still not done yet. I'm feeling like the kitchen could use a  complete spring clean before putting the stove in.

Honestly, if I had some money to blow, I'd rip out the entire kitchen, go get a buncha marine ply and build new cabinets and counters from scratch. But the house ain't mine, and I don't have the cash to spare anyhow. (Marine ply sheet ¾” $417.65)

Edited March 16, 2022 by Netfoot

[Netfoot]

Kitchen is almost clear, but even when that's done, I will have to give it a good cleaning. If you want to know how grungy things can get behind appliances, move them and be prepared for a shock. Again, if this were my house at minimum I'd repaint.  But the landlord cemented in new bedroom windows 2-3 years ago and never repainted the raw concrete (probably visible in any photo of Mo and I... or even Buddy and I laying in bed) and I'll be damned if I do it at my expense! So will have to settle for a scrub-down instead. 

So the passage is completely clear down past the kitchen, the route from the door to the passage is clear, the top of the steps is clear except for Mo's feeding station (easily moved) and the drive and garage are clear from the gate to the steps other than for the van, which I will park out on the grass tomorrow. They should be able to back the truck up right to the steps and lift it in to the house. It will only have to be carried 5-6 ft.

But SSA didn't come yesterday or today, so they are obviously planning to come right in the middle of the delivery, just to foul everything up. And my landlord and my neighbor will exercise their God given rights as Bajans to refuse to park their cars in their own driveways and park in the road instead. Causing even more of a snafu. And after measuring to discover I need five feet of gas-hose to hook the stove up, I will be told that only four feet of hose exists in the island, and the next shipment won't be here for three months because CV19 / Supply Chain / Ukraine / <what ever the latest excuse for all foul ups happens to be>.

Mo had a very productive P&P before bed. Hopefully this means he will sleep through until morning. Unlike last night when he woke me at 0400L. Not to tell me to open the door so he could go out and pee. No, to tell me that he'd already peed in the living room!

By back is hurting like I need an injection of something. Just don't want to take any more Panadol right now. I'm going to turn off this light and see if I can get some sleep. 

[Netfoot]

The stove arrived on a lorry packed with other appliances, and accompanied by two men (only one visible in the photo) who did all the lifting and carrying.

(You can just make out the TownAce of Awesomeness in the background.)

I'd cleared the garage so they could back right in and only manhandle it for a few feet, then slide it from there. They basically said  "Bugger that!" and carried it all the way from where you see the truck now, up the drive, through the garage, up the steps and all the way into the passage, leaving it right outside the kitchen door.

They came and went in less that 3 minutes, and a minute of that was me inspecting the stove (no dents) and signing the paperwork. Mo spent the entire time in the bedroom, and it was over so fast he didn't even know it happened, so no puppy-interference at all.

That's the good news. The bad news is, I feel terrible today. I've been under some stress lately, due to a legal complications over my mum's estate. And I have an issue with stress, wherein if it gets too bad I start to feel really unwell. Shortness of breath being only one if the symptoms. And it's bad today. I wasn't able to do anything in the kitchen before the stove arrived, because I didn't want to be halfway through something when it did. I will see what I can achieve in there now, but I will stop if I start feeling too sicky-sicky. (In Bimshire, that's called having a "bad-feel".) In fact, I might even take Mo to the club today. A few hours in the fresh air might do us both some good.

Then tomorrow, when the bad-feel has gone away (they usually don't last long) I will get stuck in again. I particularly want to get to the point where I can figure out how much gas hose I need and get that purchased. Don't want to get to the point where I need it and it's Sunday, or the middle of the night and can't get it!

Now I'm hungry and even less inclined to use the old cooking-bomb, now that the new stove is actually in the house. But I will have to get something because that usually helps with the bad-feels. Something in the microwave, perhaps?

[Netfoot]

Free stove in the house!

Here it sits, in the passageway, just past the entrance to the kitchen (left) and all unwrapped. It was sitting on a thick cardboard sheet and styrofoam blocks. I was able to remove them much more easily than anticipated. The styro blocks vanished, and I have no idea who took them! Now, only the protective material on the burners and grills remain and I'll leave them until I'm ready to light her up! Oh, wait..... Yes, there were two pieces of cardboard in the oven to stop the shelf from rattling, along with a set of instructions in Spanish and English. 

(Me no need no stinkin' instruction manual! Ugh! Ugh!)

Ok, well I will leave it right where it is and see about finishing up in the kitchen. This must be pretty boring stuff to you guys! Maybe I will dial it all back.

My bad-feel has progressed. It's now a particular type of bad-feel: it's a belly-cutting (stomach ache). Think it best I don't get too far from home until that passes off a bit. But now, will try to locate a Styrofoam thief.

ETA: The SSA finally came and emptied my wheelie-bin, and hauled away 3x 50 gal. garbage bags full of trash. Only 4x more bags in garage (plus what ever else gets thrown out in the next week) waiting for next Wednesday. Or Tuesday. Or Monday. Or whenever.

Edited March 16, 2022 by Netfoot

[Netfoot]

The styro-bandit has been identified!

Now it is only to apprehend the miscreant! Which should be easier, come dinner time...

[Netfoot]

Off to bed with two Panadol and a puppy. He's barking away loudly and doesn't want to settle in for the night. This happens quite often. I suspect a cat is creeping into our garage at night looking for scraps of Mo's food. His bowl is usually left outside our door, but I've moved it in tonight, and must find a satisfactory indoor spot for his feeding station. Don't know what to do about the cat. I could collyfox some sort of lethal mechanism but I don't want to harm it.

Did a very little to get the kitchen sorted, and the more I do the more I think should be done. But tomorrow I want to be done with the clearing out and start on the cleaning up. Probably end up throwing out half my pots, pans, dishes, etc as far too numerous and unnecessary. Might need to acquire new stuff to take advantage of the oven. Gotta learn how to make meatloaf. And macaroni pie. And pot-roast. I might even buy a breadfruit and roast it!

Going to us the old stove tomorrow to cook a pot of rice with vegetables and a little meat. Then I will take the old stove out and recover the regulator and hose. The hose may be long enough. Otherwise I will have to buy a new length.

Been trying with a book for several days now. Just can't get into it. Will have a go at it now, and see if I can get anywhere.

Edited March 17, 2022 by Netfoot

[Netfoot]

Like the Dwarves of Moria, I fear that I've delved too deep! What I've unleashed is not the Balrog, Durin's Bane, but an unpleasant odor. At first I thought it might have been a mouse, but it has a distinct odor of salted fish. I do occasionally buy salted herring (locally "red herring") but not too often and not at all, lately. So I have no idea what it can be.

I've mentioned that the old stove has no oven, so there was a space under the old stove which is where I kept the gas cylinder and a few other things. Cleaning out under there has been yeeech!

Now, with the space to be used by the oven of my new stove, I have to find somewhere else to store the cylinder. I'm hoping it will fit into the cupboard right next to the stove, with only a hole bored to pass the hose through. Whether this works is yet to be determined.

But work progresses, and by this evening I should be able to say whether the cylinder will fit, and whether a new length of hose must be bought, the cylinder now being further away than before.

Back still killing me, and avoiding Panadol until as late in the day as possible. rather take tonight and get a more comfortable night's sleep than take some now.

Speaking of sleep, Mo woke me up at 3:05 and demanded to be let out. Then he wouldn't come back in, so I locked the door and went to bed. I was so tired I literally couldn't see straight! Opened the door again at 6:00 and went back to bed. He came haring in moments later, like a little torpedo, jumped on my back with all four horny-toed feet, head butt (or more accurately nose-butt me in the face, and started chewing on my tummy. I should ban him from the house!

I'm typing on my computer, and the keyboard is cheap and old. It's got five keys with the legends completely worn away and another five with the legends so badly worn you can hardly make out what they say. Since I'm not a touch typist...

This might explain weird typos from time to time.

Edited March 17, 2022 by Netfoot

[Netfoot]

Sometimes, I think. a wife would be a useful asset. You could say, "When you're done installing the stove, you can bring me a beer!" When I try that with Mo, I don't get any useful response 

The gas feed is on the right hand side if the new stove. To the right of the stove is a counter with a drawer and cupboard underneath.  I went to open the cupboard and noticed there was no knobby. So, I guess I've never looked in there before, in the decade or more I've been in the house.

Anyway, I collyfoxxed a knob and by removing the shelf, it turns out the cylinder will just fit in there.

With the regulator, it might be tight, but I believe it will go in, even if I have to angle the top in first. If not, I will have to insert the cylinder, pull the drawer out and reach in the opening to attach the regulator. 

My only worry is that not all cylinders are the same, so a marginally taller cylinder might call for some judicious shoehorning. But I only change the cylinder every 3-4 months, so... But what if I start baking wedding cakes and things? Might use gas a mite faster, then.

Anyway, I've cooked a large pot on the old bomb stove (potatoes and rice with corned beef, pak choy, sweet peppers, onion and cucumber plus spices) and had a bowl for lunch. There are at least three more servings left in there, so I won't need a stove before Saturday. So, the old ruin is history, just as soon as I can catch my breath. Then I want to scrub the floor where the stove goes, before bringing it in and measuring up for a hose. Fingers crossed, the old hose will be sufficient!

But I think I'll take a breath for the rest of the afternoon, and let my back recover a bit.

The old plastic laminate counters and horrible tiles really are ugly. <shrug>

[Netfoot]

I noticed that the lights in the kitchen is very dim. I got a Lux-meter app for the phone (guaranteed to be accurate, right?) And measured the intensity of the light I just installed in the passage (114), the light in the living room (93), the light leading to the bedroom (82), the light in the bedroom (94) and the 24" florescent tube in the kitchen (14). I think id better invest in a new tube and starter. But half a mo... didn't I install a new bulb and starter in the garage a month or two ago? I had to buy a pack of two starters. Where would I have put the extra one, I wonder..... Found it!!

Ok, so I need a new tube for 7-8 bucks. No starter to buy. I have a 1" spade bit to bore a hole for the gas hose, so all I need to know before I go out tomorrow, is whether I need a new hosepipe or not. Done with the old ruin, but didn't attempt to dismantle & discard it tonight in the poor light, but just one screw should be all it takes to remove the existing hose and regulator. Then the stove can be dumped and a hole bored in the back of the cabinet 25½” from the ground less a bit to accommodate the radius of the bend in the hosepipe. If it is too short I can buy the new length when I go out for the florescent tube. And the scrubbing brush for the floor where the stove will sit because my brush departed through the door at a dead run this evening and hasn't shown up since. I'll have a butchers around the yard tomorrow before I go out, and hopefully it will show up. What else do I need? Oh yes, plastic scouring pads. I had a pack of five, but godnozewot I've done with them...

I'm getting to hate that kitchen, really I am!

Meanwhile, my lovely puppy is engaged in crafting! Some sort of floral decoration, I think!

And just imagine, ten minutes ago that was a milk carton. 

Here he is, still hard at work:

[Netfoot]

The old stove is out, and after some careful measuring, I've drilled the hole for the hose to pass through.

I believe we have quite enough hose to fit with some slack for changing cylinders. If It proves otherwise, I can swap it out for a longer one later.

Notice the absence of a hose clamp. I've only gone and lost the damned thing, haven't I? So, unless I find it again (and believe me, I've looked!) I'll have to go buy one.

And just in case you think I've been exaggerating about the condition of the old unit:

This is the cap off the best burner (the only one that still burns) on the old guy. Instead of the flame coming out in a ring around this, it was coming out the rust holes in the top. And yellow instead of blue!

Edited March 18, 2022 by Netfoot

[Netfoot]

Found the hose clamp. It was on the hose. Ah, but not so easy as all that! It had run down to the other end of the hose and was mingling with the hose clamp down there, hoping not to be noticed!

Well, I've stabbed myself with the screwdriver as expected when using flathead fasteners. But only once, and bit not too hard. I've scrubbed the floor a bit (it's a lost cause) with strong detergent, and even after cleaning up all the dirty suds the floor is slippery as hell. Will have to mop that again and again until it's safe to walk around in there.

Now, on the matter of stove installation, I have a thousand words for you. Here they are:

I'm thoroughly sick of the kitchen, the stove, and everything related. I'm eating only take-away food from now on. I'm actually feeling nauseous today, and I haven't even gone and bought that 24" florescent tube yet. I'd go and lie down but I fear I might never rise.

I need a good shower, a good night's sleep uninterrupted by a puppy who wants to go out to play at 3:30, and a pretty girl to talk to. But as far as the last one goes, I will have to settle for chatting with Unka Rudy and Unka Austin this tomorrow afternoon, if I can find the energy, or tomorrow Sunday afternoon instead.

Wind speed today is tomorrow will be 20 to 24 MPH and tomorrow is Sunday will be 18 to 22 MPH. So I wonder if the guys will go back to the cliff, or try to tough it out at the field? Which ever, I'll stop at Kooyman on the way out and get the florescent tube.

Now, before I abandon kitchen/stove fire for ever, I have to go back in there and test out that newfangled thingy called an oven... Yes, it works just fine. Now I'm done with that stove!

Edited March 18, 2022 by Netfoot
Because today is FRIDAY not SATURDAY

[Netfoot]

Began to disassemble the old stove for disposal. I've never seen anything so nasty as the inside of that device! Every boiled-over por pot and spilled pan in ages had dripped down and deposited on ick in the unreachable crevices. When the tin-snips began the dismemberment process, it was gagsville! 

Cooked my first meal for dinner tonight. Sausage and eggs. Nice to have a choice of burners, and a clean, blue flame and not yellow, sooty fire. Never wondered if it would explode. Not once! Electric lighter worked fine. Only issues I can see are to do with the oven. The knobby does not appear to be graduated very well, although perhaps that is the norm? And there is no light in the oven. 

NO MORE STOVE TALK!

Tired though, and the general clean-up will continue. But not at the same pace. I'm going to take it easy this weekend and start again next week. I've taken two Panadol and gone to bed early. I can here hear Mo at the gate, barking at undesirables, real or imagined. I will have to get up later to shut the door, but that's ok.

Tomorrow, a florescent tube, some scouring pads, and some washing-up liquid. And I will see if I can't get a couple pens and pencils for the house. If I ever have to make a note these days, I have to use a crayon! And I might treat Mo and myself to a trip to the club two days running!

Edited March 19, 2022 by Netfoot

[andidante]

I really like your stories and look forward to reading them every day! I love your new stove also. 😀

[Netfoot]

2 hours ago, andidante said:

I really like your stories and look forward to reading them every day! I love your new stove also. 😀

Nice if of you to say so. But frankly, I think my stories are boring as hell. The only bright spark is little Mo (who isn't so little any more) and the occasional photo from the flying field or cliff. Those are of only passing interest to people not infected but by the balsa bug!

The stove is pretty good. The best I've ever owned. In fact, it's a far better stove than I am a cook! Best of all, I didn't have to pay for it!! It was a real PITA to get it into the house, and I've a collection of aches and pains to prove it. And now that I've started squaring away the kitchen, I will no doubt continue until it's all done, as best it can be. Just hope the urge doesn't spread to the rest of the house - I'd never survive the effort.

My boy is right beside me and looks like he wants to go to sleep.

Don't you believe it! He is dying to get out if the house and bark at the shadows.

Edited March 19, 2022 by Netfoot

[Netfoot]

Changed the florescent tube in the kitchen. It looks much the same but the room is so much better lit. Used the Lux-meter app again and the reading is now 114. Up from 14. It really makes a hell of a difference. And it really makes the stained vinyl tiles and plastic counters look great. No photos of the horror will be forthcoming

Think I'll take Mo up to the club this afternoon. There's been no talk of visiting the cliff, so I presume the club is the place to go. If that turns out to be wrong, well, I'll be halfway to the cliff when I get the news!

[Netfoot]

Relaxed afternoon at the club yesterday, and a good thing, because the weather has turned on us today, so we aren't going up today. Just relaxing at home with the puppy. May take a short nap later.

Tomorrow I'll get back on the kitchen, scrubbing the floor and counters again (a lost cause, but anyway) and trying to figure out whick pots and pans to keep, and which to relegate to that back of the most obscure cupboard. In particular, I want to get out my 8¼ gallon soup pot and check it over. I haven't cooked a "long soup" in years. The pot is stove-enameled steel and may have rusted itself to destruction by now. You need a lot of hungry people to contemplate cooking that much soup, and it isn't a small task. Just making the dumplings can take an hour or more.

Otherwise, all quiet on the western front.

 

[Netfoot]

Today was a bit of a bust.

Plans to go to the cliff or the club fell through when reports of contrary weather were received.

Since the SSA can't make up their mind when they are coming to collect, I had to put out the trash (one wheely-bin and three 50 gal. sacks) this evening. Let's hope the SSA gets to them before the paros and stray dogs do.

Then, this evening, I decided to have beans on toast for dinner. Except, my mum's recipe which includes bacon under the beans and an egg on top. I didn't have any bacon but I thought to substitute some sliced ham. 

Since I skipped dinner last night and lunch today, my mouth was springing with the thought of my meal! Being a mite peckish, I settled on two slices of toast with the fixings on top.

Well, first of all I couldn't find the toaster. Searched high and low and eventually located it, returned it to the kitchen and started the meal prep.

My favourite plate had been put on the floor a couple days ago for Mo to lick. I went and recovered it... all six pieces of it! <sigh>

I had the distinct pleasure of being able to cook the eggs, the ham and the beans, each on its own burner, simultaneously! But when I tried to toast the bread, the toaster proved to be kaput, so the meal became ham and eggs with beans on the side and a couple slices of bread. I could have collyfoxxed something out of an old coat hangar and toasted the bread over a stove burner... but would probably have burned the house down in the process.

Now, there was nothing wrong with the meal as it ended up. It tasted fine, and I'm no longer hungry. But when you set your mind on tamarind balls, guava cheese just can't hit the spot properly. So the meal was a disappointment.

Anyway, off to bed, with a puppy to cuddle with, if he decides he wants to cuddle. Night time temps can still get chilly. Especially when the weather is inclement like tonight.

Back to the grind tomorrow. Except I know I have something to do, but can't remember what it is. Tuesday, I have to buy Lasix but what was it I was to get done tomorrow?

[Spunkygal]

Netfoot, whatever it was you are supposed to do tomorrow, I guess now you can add “buy a new toaster” to the list when you do remember! 🤣🤣

Does the new stove not have a broiler in it? I’ve fixed toast on a cookie sheet under the broiler many times. 

[Netfoot]

38 minutes ago, Spunkygal said:

Netfoot, whatever it was you are supposed to do tomorrow, I guess now you can add “buy a new toaster” to the list when you do remember! 🤣🤣

Does the new stove not have a broiler in it? I’ve fixed toast on a cookie sheet under the broiler many times. 

I will have to see if the toaster can be fixed. Seeing as I'm not supposed to eat bread, getting a new toaster might be considered a provocative move by Dr. K. (Not that she will ever be allowed to set foot in this house to discover my toaster, old or new!) An old toaster can be considered to be grandfathered in! If it does become necessary to buy a toaster, I can get one for free, like the stove!

I'm barely getting my head around the idea of owning an oven and contemplating the acquisition of suitable PPE prior to it's use. Let's not confuse matters by introducing additional bits of hardware, such as a grill or broiler!

Can't get to sleep. It's very late and I keep yawning, but my eyes won't close...

[Netfoot]

SSA came first thing this morning to empty my wheelie-bin and drag away three 50 gal. sacks of trash. Only four more sacks left.

Had planned to get back to work in the kitchen, but vegged out instead. Took a nap this afternoon for 1½ hours, and woke up to find that the pillowcase had vanished off of one of the pillows. Mo then played a vicious game of Scratch-the-Daddy with his claws out to max. I'm not sure what he was trying to achieve, but whatever position I adopted in the bed, he used his claws t move me. Sort of like Buddy didn't like me to lie on my right side to read? Buddy was forceful in insisting I roll over. He would give me a massive shove with his nose, until you were in an acceptable position. But Mo didn't seem to find any position acceptable this afternoon. What ever position I let him move me to, he wanted me to move again.

Cooked corned beef and cabbage for lunch and macaroni for dinner. The heat from the fully functioning burners was more than I'm accustomed to. Had a hard time not burning the lunch, and the macaroni pot got so hot I could hardly lift it off the stove it was so hot. (It has plastic handles, but even they were scorchingly hot.) I guess it will take time to get used to a stove with burners that actually work! I put the macaroni water on the stove, and would normally expect it to take 15 minutes to boil. Wandered back into the kitchen 3 minutes later and the saucepan lid was playing steel pan already!

Mo is being silly tonight. He is suddenly afraid of his food bowl. He will eat out of the bowl, but if I pick up the bowl and offer it to him, he runs away. Never figured out what I was supposed to do today, but tomorrow is the pharmacy. Gotta buy $3.53 worth of Lasix.

It's rainy tonight. Last night we had to use the crapaud bucket to dispose of one of the blighters, and there may be more tonight. Despite a very fruitful P&P before bed, I woke this morning to a puddle in the living room. Mo hasn't done a poo in the house in months and months, but still feels fine peeing when ever and wherever he feels like.

We will be going off to bed soon, with half a liter of milk to share. Mo likes his milk but he also likes to chew his blue bed-bowl and it is often AWOL. Without that, he can't get any milk. All the more for me!

I'll take him out for a walk around the garden now, and hope the grass isn't too wet.

[Netfoot]

It's 3:30 gone, and I can't get to sleep again. Pains in my back, and now pains in my chest fro laying face down. Will need to take another big nap tomorrow.

Mo is a funny little rascal. He likes to snuggle, but when he gets in the mood he has an unusual way of getting up close. He doesn't just walk up and lower himself down next to you and n the bed. No, he has his own way. 

He will come and stand a certain carefully judged distance away from you. Then, with his legs straight, he falls sideways like a stunt-horse in a B-rated cowboy flick. The carefully judged distance means he lands on your side, or leg or what ever he was targeting. Lands with a thud. He's quite solid and when he impacts your kidneys or whatever, you are definitely "Oooof!" He is unharmed of course, because you just broke his fall!

OK, let me go count some more sheep. (And me not all that fond of mutton...)

[Netfoot]

My mouse croaked so I had to pop round the shops. There are a hundred computer shops to go to, but the one near me was my obvious choice, seeing as I was in a hurry. But I was forced to buy this:

WTF? You mean to tell me some people actually buy garish junk like this out of choice?!?? It's got twinkling lights  in four different colours. Well, not actually twinkling, but... Wait. The colours change with time! I think I'm going to ralph. Induced motion sickness or something. I'm going to have to make a video! (See how much of the horror you can stand!) There must be a human rights commission somewhere we can report these guys to?

Got up this morning after only a couple hours of sleep to find a puddle of pee left in a convenient place for me by baby Mo. And to add even more fun, he also took a widdle on my canvas tool bag. That's gonna stink for ever.

I have to go to the pharmacy and prolly get some groceries, but I just want to go back to bed.

Then to plug this thing in and discover that it's actually alive. 

[Netfoot]

Just had to add this photo of a dirty little face.

This is what happens when you keep pushing your nose into places it doesn't belong.

[Netfoot]

The toaster. Finally got around to taking it apart. There was one plastic component that was pushed on at the end of the build, and snapped into place. This was not intended to come apart again! I had to heat up a pin and use the point to slit the plastic so I could get the part off, so disassembly could continue. 

So about 6 lbs. of cobwebs fell out but I had to use an old toothbrush to remove the remaining 4 lbs.

The only fault I could find was the obvious cause of the trouble.

This wire had burnt and corroded off the metal tab so the connection was broken. I had to remake this joint. My only means of reconnecting was to solder it. But there were problems.

The corrosion makes soldering impossible. I had to scrape the corrosion away until I got down to bare metal. As the part was small, I could only scrape away so much, so the solder joint was not good. Even using flux paste and a flux cored solder wire, it took forever to make the joint stick together.

And if it got hot enough to burn the joint in the past, the heat may very well melt the solder and cause the joint to spring back open.

But it is now heating again, and when you push the lever down, it will lock and not spring back up immediately. I seem to remember that one if the coils was not heating from before, but we will have to see if this machine is fixed enough to make some toast.

But not now! I cooked a curry last night and there is enough left for lunch today. Ask As usual when using a new brand of curry powder, it was a fun ride. Had to buy a strange brand because CV19 / Supply Chain / Ukraine / Leprechauns / Latest-excuse / Whatever. Put it in the pan with a little liquid and when I glanced in a few seconds later, it had turned black! But by the end, it had adopted a deep, yellowy-brown colour and the flavour - while not exceptional - was quite palatable.

No pee to be found on the floor of the house this morning, but there is a definite smell of it in the air. The rascal has taken a leaf out of Buddy's book. Bud worked out early that if you get spanks for pooing in the house, then make sure to poo behind the curtains, under the table, in the spare bedroom, or otherwise in some hard to find spot. Mo is channeling Bud, I think.

He was extra snuggly last night and again this morning, so I think I will go give him a cuddle. But first, I think the soldering iron is col cold enough now to be put into it's plastic storage case without melting it! (Someone in the design department dropped a real clanger there.

I will also try to toast some bread. Just for testing purposes, of course...

Edited March 24, 2022 by Netfoot

[Netfoot]

Just size soze you know...

Edited March 24, 2022 by Netfoot

[Spunkygal]

8 hours ago, Netfoot said:

Just size soze you know...

Spread some peanut butter on those bad boys before they cool and you’ve got breakfast! 

[Netfoot]

53 minutes ago, Spunkygal said:

Spread some peanut butter on those bad boys before they cool and you’ve got breakfast! 

I had them for Tiffin!

The last of the curry went for dinner. I think I'll take a chicken breast out of the freezer for tomorrow's lunch. I can have it with spuds and a plantain. Still no idea what sort of baked meal I might try my hand with in the oven. Gotta be something simple and fool proof. Gotta look for some sort of casserole dish in the house as well. Probably find a pyrex dish or two with lids on, if I look hard enough.

Trying to go in early tonight. Have been wide-eyed until 3:00 or later most of this last week, and I get out of the bed yawning and feeling terribly tired. I'll see if I can sleep properly tonight.

Mo came bounding into the bathroom this evening as I sat on the Throne. He snatched the end of the tissue and would have trailed it all through the house if it hadn't broken off short, so he only got about two squares. I chucked a 27 gallon storage container (empty) at him, making sure it didn't actually reach him. But it landed behind him with a huge boooom! Mo shot off up the passageway squealing but the squeal quickly morphed into an angry growling and barking as he realized he was not in any danger. I suspect he is hatching his plans to repay me later.

My "medical supplies" were finally released and I was able to collect them. 28 days to cover 13 Km from the aeroport to town. The supplies were lancets for taking blood sugar readings (which I do every few days) so not really critical. But they didn't know this...

Anyway, early to bed. I'll have a shower first. Mo joined me in the shower stall last night, and was constantly flapping his ears to shake off the droplets that landed on his head. I did my best to keep him out of the shower stream, but he was determined to get hold of the scrubby, loofah thingy. He didn't, in the end, but he tried hard. Then he ran off, jumped into the bed and rolled around to dry off. I'd have been angry, if I hadn't been planning to do that exact same thing myself...

 

[Netfoot]

Dog tired again. Although why people say that, I have no idea. This little doggie is never tired for one month Nute minute. 

Dinner was a simple one -- tuna fish served on slices of cucumber and tomato. Tasted OK but did not really fill. Will cook up a pot of something filling tomorrow. Dunno what, just yet. Pasta? Rice? Or low carb veggies? Might just start the day with sausage and eggs with toast, seeing as the toaster is working. For now, at least. Or I could make a good scrambled egg with everything in it and have that on toast. Or pop down the shops for the makings and do a full English? Bacon, egg, chips and beans, sausage, mushrooms, fried tomato. No black pudding because I'm not that fond of it. Toast with butted butter and English marmalade, and a pot (not a cup) of builders tea. When ever I start talking about food it usually means I am hungry.

Somehow, I managed to leave the freezer door wide open for several hours. The ice trays all returned to water but none of the food defrosted. Thank goodness.

The new stove is hanging my ways†. For instance, when I light it, I don't do it at arms length in case it exploded explodes. And I don't look under the pot to make sure it has lit.

The knobbys are a little unusual. You turn them counter-clockwise to get them going. Quarter turn left and the gas comes on. A touch of the igniter switch and the burner lights at full blast. If you want to lower the flame, you keep turning left. Eventually, the knob won't turn any more and the flame will be at its lowest. You can't actually extinguish the flame accidentally by turning the gas down too much.

Anyways, my scramble eggs on toast await me in the morning, and the faster I get to sleep, the faster that time will come.

† I have no idea what I tried to type here, but AutoCorrect gave us "hanging my ways". Maybe you can figure out what that phrase stated out as being, coz I can't.

Edited March 26, 2022 by Netfoot

[Netfoot]

Strolled into the kitchen this morning to find... a mouse, walking around on top of my new stove! Well, I did the obvious. I threw the toaster at him!

The toaster is fine and still fully functional. The mouse, I'm pleased to say, is not. Naturally the toaster and the top of the stove had to be thoroughly cleaned and then disinfected. Although why, I don't know. If I'd entered the kitchen 5 seconds later, the mouse would have come and gone, and I would have been none the wiser.

I showed the mouse to Mouse and he was nonplussed. Buddy was a mouser of great skill, as was Dotty before him, so I was a bit surprised at Mo's complete lack of reaction. I gave him a piece of beef heel to eat. Skin, fat, gristle and bone with marrow. He will be chewing on that until all that is left is a bit of scrimshaw.

So now, I have a pot on the stove. It contains corned beef, rice, English and sweet potatoes, sweet pepper, pak choy, onion and cucumber. Plus salt, garlic powder and cayenne pepper. I hope I can cook it without burning it to hell. The new stove burns hotter than I'm accustomed to with the old horror.

I just hope I haven't over-filled the pot.

I also saved the ends of the sweet pepper, and after removing the green/stalky bit, I have 5 or 6 pieces of sweet pepper for Mo. He loves sweet pepper. He can have it when he's done with his heel.

 

[Netfoot]

Pot is rather full, contents are very tasty!

[Netfoot]

Got to sleep around 5:30 this morning and had to be up by 8:00 to take meds. But by 9:00 I was back in bed for another two hours kip.

Bo Mo just can't bear that door to be shut at night, and complains all night long. 

Was going to skip the club today O'Day, today but when I saw the guys posting their temperature in our CV19 WhatsApp Log group, I flung Mo in the car and we headed out. 

There were 4-5 models at the field, here are a couple of them. 

Unka Rudy brought out an old AcroWot that hadn't flown in 6 or 7 years, but seconds after off, it rolled inverted, put the nose down, and plunged vertically to it's death. Right back in the canes, like the last model that took several weeks to locate. (But a different cane piece.) Fortunately, I spotted it going in and took careful note of landmarks, so when we went out to find it, Wayne on his own, was able to locate the wreckage in less than a minute.

The engine is ok, and most of the electronics but the fuel tank had burst and obviously, the prop was broken. The wing (sheeted foam) was broken in two, and even  the tail was damaged. Tail feathers frequently survive accidents but not this time.

Rudy declared the model a write-off, but Wayne demanded the wreckage and swears he will repair it and bring it back. We will see!

SSA may come tomorrow, so a full 65 gal. wheelie-bin and three full 50 gal. trash bags were put out. Hoping they come without delay. 

I think I will head off to bed and try to get to sleep and stay asleep...

Edited March 28, 2022 by Netfoot

[Netfoot]

Mo relaxing at the club this afternoon.

[Netfoot]

Ten to three. Not much sleep so far. Not feeling at all well. Think I will go visit Dr. Kristi tomorrow. Today, really. Have not seen her for a while. Hope she hasn't gone off on vacation or something.

Don't even know where Heidi is. Last time I saw her (10 days to 2 weeks ago?) She was going overseas and when I asked for how long, she simply said she had masses of things to do, and indicated it would be for a while. Don't know if "a while" is a week, a month or a year.

Mo is relatively quiet tonight. He did get up and ask to be let out when I had a Lasix moment, but I ignored him and he followed me back to bed. Here he is "helping" Unka Rudy load (or unload?) a couple of models from his jeep:

[Netfoot]

Woke to find a puddle on the living room floor. Mo had no excuse. He did a poo and a pee just before we turned in last night, and if he needed to go out, he could have woken me up.

On my desk lay a piece of cane ash. Looking around, I saw more if it around the house, like what settled on this grubby towel. When you burn a field of cane, it generates a recognizable ash which floats away and returns to earth many miles away. Why the canes are burnt is a not-very-interesting story, but clearly canes were burning last night.

Went off to see Dr. Kristi. Mo didn't want to come and refused to get in the van. As the appointment time grew closer, I put him on a chain and started the car. Mo promptly yanked on the chain so hard he broke the D-ring and demanded he should come too. 

The ring is lost (for now at least) but you can see where, like MacDuff, it was untimely ripped...

I have a heart arrhythmia brought on by stress. The more stress, the more the arrhythmia, and the more the arrhythmia the more the bad-feel. We fight the arrhythmia with medication. She checked me out, confirmed that the arrhythmia was present  and will consult with Dr. Karen, but it looks like we will tweak the meds until the cause of the stress passes and the arrhythmia fades away. (I've just heard that three lawyers having failed us over the last 11+ years, we will hire a new one. Number four. Because retrying the same action over and over and expecting different results is no longer a sign of madness.) Asked Dr. Kristi if she could give me something to chillax the stress. She told me to eat better, including more meat. And to drink more liquids. As long as I've known her she has always complained about my state of dehydration. I suggested medical marijuana, but she gave me a frosty look! Instead she gave me some nasty-tasting tablets which she swears will chill me right out. I complained that if they were as good as she said, why hadn't she prescribed them to me long ago? She threw me out of her surgery. (I love that woman.)

Sat with Mo in the car while the pharmacy sorted me out the prescription. I was the only person in the shop, but they still told me it would be 25 minutes. So 35 minutes later I went back in and... Still not ready. They didn't have to make the stuff, or even count the pills into a vial. They just had to take a box off the shelf, and hand it to me. But that takes more than half an hour.

Should have also bought more Panadol because my back hurts and I only have 2 Panadol left, and I'm going to take them in a minute. 

Got back home to find the floor of the garage littered with little screws.

I keep lots of fasteners handy for lots of jobs. These look like the type of screw you use when assembling a PC computer. Dunno where he found them but Mo (who else?) Had located them, destroyed the bottle - only the snap-on lid was found - and strewed the screws like he was planting corn.

I have to go and eat some meat and drink a bottle of Sprite. And in 21 minutes, take some meds. Then see what I can do about a collar made 100% useless by the removal of the D-ring. How the hell he did that, I have no idea.

Are you impressed that I was able to type "arrhythmia" so many times and not get the spelling wrong even once?

[Spunkygal]

Stress is such a powerful force on body and mind. Please take care of yourself! 

[Netfoot]

Had a go at Mo's collar. After a bit of buggering around, I was able to get a new D-ring into place without having to make a whole new collar.

Now, I have no idea how he managed to dislodge the original ring, because I have not found it as yet. Maybe if it turns up, I will be able to figure out what happened. So this new ring just may come adrift the first time he puts it to the test. But I've done all I can. And he looks all naked with his clothes off, so this is going back on, the moment I can lure him into range. 

He's only had this one a couple of weeks, so I'm quite impressed with how dirty he has got it already!

He was 31 weeks old last Friday and Saturday gone marks 23 weeks since he came home. I wish I knew what he weighed so I might judge if he's getting bigger or not. Sometimes he looks huge (Monster mode) and sometime he looks tiny and vulnerable (Mouse mode).

[Netfoot]

Dr. Kristi's Chill-Pills must be working, because I feel much better this evening. Besides, she has that effect on me. She puts me at my ease and I start feeling better immediately.

I forgot to mention that yesterday I discovered the plastic sump guard on the van is busted. It won't stop the car from running normally, but it protects the underside of the engine from ricks and stones, etc, thrown up from the road by the vehicle's passage. Crawled under and made running repairs with my Kershaw pocket knife and a handful of zip-ties. I had to replace one of those guards before and it was several hundred bucks. So I intend to wring as much use out if the one I've got by patching it up as needed until it is past patching.

Mo is back in his collar. He stole another stainless abrasive scourer. I found it fuzzed out and useless, in the garage. It's the second one he's eaten in three days. I don't know where he is getting them from. I don't leave them laying around where any dog can find them.

Once again I am laying in bed, hungry because  I skipped dinner. Tomorrow, I have to go to the supermarket so I will buy myself a deli lunch, with mackie pie for Mo. Maybe I should learn how to cook mackie pie in my own oven!

But right now, I will call Mo in, lock the door, and try to get to sleep before dawn's early light comes to find me. He's already gone out for an (unfruitful) p&p, where all that happened was that I disposed of a huuuge crapaud.

 

 

 

 

[Netfoot]

Fun and games today. I was attacking the kitchen floor with scrubbing brush and mop. The place was awash with soapy water. And I managed to knock the cover of a Pyrex dish off the counter and into the floor. There, amongst all the suds and bubbles wad a shit-load of broken glass. And on the stove, a pot of macaroni (Bucatini, not elbows) and a pan with tuna fish, onion, cucumber and sweet pepper.

I realized I would need my shoes for this one. But where are they?

As a West Indian, I avoid shoes as much as possible, but these days it's like wear them from the moment you rise to the moment you sleep so they don't get stolen!

Also note that it's mid-afternoon on Tuesday and SSA haven't shown up yet. They came bright and early last Monday, but they seem to come as and when ever they feel like. A buddy told me he spoke with the guys on the truck and they say they have no idea when they will go where. They stove at work each morning and some supervisor tells them where to go. No system is apparent, neither rhyme nor reason would appear to exist.

I scraped up as much of the glass as I could see and since I don't want glass fragments and crumbs permanently embedded in my mop, I've left the floor to dry out by itself. Then I will bring in the Shop-Vac and see about the smaller bits that remain on the floor. I've just peeped into the kitchen and that corner is still damp, but already, it is atwinkle with little diamonds. I will wait for it to get thoroughly damp before I go back at it.

But the thing to take away is that the Pyrex dish I had located with intent of ovening something is now lidless.

If you have no vacuum and you are thinking of getting one, get a Wet/Dry Shop-Vac. It will do everything your ordinary household vacuum will do, and a whole lot besides. 

Dr. Kristi says that after consultation with Dr Karen, they have decided not to suggest $10k worth of tests and procedures, seeing as I am already on all the drugs they would normally suggest. So I am to go see Dr. K. in a week and so long as nothing weird shows up, we continue onward as is, with the addition of the chill-pills. The risk from arrhythmia is it can induce blood clots. To prevent this, a regimen of Warfarin would be called for, but I am already on Warfarin therapy, so... 

Yes, CNN. Rat poison, not horse-paste.

One of us needs to see a barber!

[Netfoot]

Cleaned up the last if the broken glass. I fact, cleaned up the last of the broken glass several times over. I guess my bare feet will be finding stray slivers for months to come 

Started digging old cookware out of the cupboards. One cupboard door literally fell off in my hands, when the hinges disintegrated from rust and lack of use. I've found four small Pyrex dishes, one medium Pyrex dish, two large Pyrex dishes, and one XL Pyrex dish. Lids is another matter. Got two lids for the small dishes (would have been three if I hadn't bust one). No lid for the medium. Lids for both of the large, and no lid for the XL. (I think I have that right...)

I'm sorry I broke the small lid because the small ones best look interesting. I could cook four individual, me-sized lasagna and put them in the fridge or something.

What I have not found is any muffin pans, cookie sheets, bread or cake pans, etc. Which is no surprise because I've never even contemplated cooking that sort of stuff. Want to try baking stuff I can share with the lads. 

Will clear up the last of the glass again in the morning, then re-mop the floor. That should leave it looking pretty horrible, which is as good as I can expect.

Edited March 30, 2022 by Netfoot

[luv2lurk]

24 minutes ago, Netfoot said:

Started digging old cookware out of the cupboards. One cupboard door literally fell off in my hands, when the hinges disintegrated from rust and lack of use. I've found four small Pyrex dishes, one medium Pyrex dish, two large Pyrex dishes, and one XL Pyrex dish. Lids is another matter. Got two lids for the small dishes (would have been three if I hadn't bust one). No lid for the medium. Lids for both of the large, and no lid for the XL. (I think I have that right...)

I'm sorry I broke the small lid because the small ones best look interesting. I could cook four individual, me-sized lasagna and put them in the fridge or something.

What I have not found is any muffin pans, cookie sheets, bread or cake pans, etc. Which is no surprise because I've never even contemplated cooking that sort of stuff. Want to try baking stuff I can share with the lads. 

With regard to the missing lids, you can use tin foil as a cover when baking in the oven. But it depends on what you are baking. Lasagne for example does not require a lid. And if it were me (cooking for one as I do). I would make a whole big lasagne in a dish that is the length of the pasta noodles. Then after eating a portion, either put the dish in the fridge covered or cut into smaller portions to fridge or freeze (or both). Re-heat in a microwave (which I think you have).

As for baking sweets, do you have an electric beater to combine sugar and butter (that is the basic for most recipes). If not, use the money you saved on repairing the toaster to purchase one. Then I would suggest start with buying a cookie sheet (just make sure it has sides, not straight flat. Even better if there is a non-stick one). With this you can not only bake treats for the lads (cookies are easy to make as long as you don't over cook ie burn) but also you can discover the world of pan sheet cooking for dinner - just Google for recipes.

I can't believe how big Mo is getting - hope he stops growing soon. And had to chuckle that the baby blue collar got dirty while it looked like the burgundy/pink stayed clean.

[Netfoot]

10 hours ago, luv2lurk said:

With regard to the missing lids, you can use tin foil as a cover when baking in the oven.

Of course! I remember my mum using foil when she cooked lasagna or anything like that. What I need is a large, rectangular dish to do the cooking!

And cookie sheets would be good, along with a cooling rack (which can also double to hold a chicken out if its own juice, should I ever get so adventurous.

10 hours ago, luv2lurk said:

As for baking sweets, do you have an electric beater to combine sugar and butter (that is the basic for most recipes).

A mix-master thingy? Hell, I only just got an oven! And already it's leading me on to harder stuff.....

Mo is just fine as is, but if he grew a little more I would not be upset. Buddy was 35 lbs. (40 after lockdown) and Dotty was 40 lbs. at fighting weight. Wouldn't want Mo to exceed that because the logistics of car travel, sleeping arrangements, etc become problematic.

He woke me at 3:00 to be let out again, and wouldn't come back in the house. I might as well just lock him out every night at bedtime. It's never more than 5 minutes after lockup that he starts to get restless.

Cleaned up the kitchen floor again just now and:

I am resigned to "finding" little fragments with my feet for months to come.

Went out to check on Mr. Mischief and:

Flap-a-Tap-a-Tap!

Midday already and SSA hasn't come yet. But hark! Yon truck approacheth! Is that them now? I will hide inside so they don't take me to task for the three extra 50 gal. bags on top of the wheelie bin for the last three weeks... (This is the last time, I promise!) Thank goodness they are not allowed to look inside the bags.....

Now. Lunch of some sort.

Edited March 30, 2022 by Netfoot

[Netfoot]

I've found the D-ring that Mo busted on Monday, when I was rushing to get to Dr. K. on time.

I swear to you, these rings are not made of cheese.  Or chewing gum. I looped two pieces of 550 Paracord through a new ring and pulling with both hands as hard as I could. I couldn't get the split to open by more than a feeler-gauge amount.

Admittedly, I'm not as strong as I was before the whole MG issue, but still.

To bend one of these to the point where the split opens to any noticable amount, you are talking two pliers, one on each side!

Yet little Mo was able to elongate the ring to the state you see here simply by pulling on the chain with his neck! That dog needs a red cape.

Any way... Lunch. For real, this time.

[Netfoot]

Up just after dawn to let out a puppy who spent the night locked in his crate. The SSA had already come and cleared away my trash. Monday through Thursday so far. Only Friday to come next.

I have two alarms set for the morning. The first is a "Wakey-wakey" alarm. The second, 15 minutes later, is a "Breakfast Meds" alarm. They ring for 2 minutes and then sleep for 10. They give up after an hour. I didn't hear either of them and woke at 11:00AM. 

I had bought an (apparently) necessary accessory for the stove. Two glue-traps. When I woke, I looked out to see the glue-trap box torn to shreds on the floor of the garage. Holy crap, getting glue-traps off a double-coated dog is gonna be fun! But fortunately, the traps had stuck together face to face, and Mo was unscathed. So the stove is now adorned.

Went to PriceSmart, stopping at a shop along the way to buy two boxes of Panadol. Onions, tomatoes, mayo, corned beef. Also scored six tins of tuna and a bulk pack of penne pasta. And as I was going past, I noticed a 5 Kg bag of Dutch potatoes for $11.45. Last potatoes I bought were $14.95 for 5 lbs.! So, result!

Home again now, and the Panadol purchase was only just in time. 

There was a nasty, big spot on the kitchen floor that I couldn't clean up no matter how much I scrubbed. Yesterday evening I laid a soaking Wettex on it, and when I was off to bed last night, I added two ice cubes. This morning after a long soak, I applied a scrubbing brush and voila! There are a couple smaller (postage stamp sized) spots that will receive the same treatment. 

Note that when I went into the kitchen this morning the first thing I noticed was a twinkly little diamond, shining at me from a place I've scrubbed, mopped and vacuumed at least four times already. Never mind. All the fragments will eventually end up in the soles of my feet, and so will be eliminated.

There is a funny noise coming from my garage... Ok, not Mo. Just the landlord being a f*cking nuisance as usual.

Ok, I think lunch will be corned beef and cabbage with tomato, onion and plenty of cucumbers. Someone I know (Maria, whose face you've probably seen in photos from the club) who runs a small farm, gave me a sack full of cucumbers so no sense wasting them. 

Edited March 31, 2022 by Netfoot

[Netfoot]

  Lunch turned out rather well. I used pak choy instead o regular white cabbage, and I added black beans. There was enough for dinner, but I put it away for tomorrow instead. For dinner I had thinly sliced pieces of cucumber, topped with tomato and cheddar, with a drop of Sriracha. Could have put this on crackers but went with the lighter option. 

I've been eating a lot if of thinly sliced cucumber lately as opposed to the chunky-chopped I am used to. With this in mind I spelunked through the kitchen stuff and ferreted out the most dangerous implement in there. My mandolin. It was pretty grubby from sitting unused for years but it quickly came back to life and works fine. This model can optionally cut each thin slice into equally thin strips. One of these days I may try that out on carrots or even spuds. Shoestring cuts at razor pace. 

Shoulder hurting tonight, but nit not so bad I need to dip into my new Panadol stash. But if my knee starts to act up like it did yesterday...

All Fools day tomorrow. Let's hope we don't get too much foolery on the world stage. I hear that Grenada will drop all social distancing, masking, sanitation requirements, etc. From next Monday. I'm sincerely hoping we do the same soon. Masks are a pain. Every time I put one on it rides up into my eyes, and when I take it off it always pulls off my specs and throws them on the floor.

Gotta go get some warfarin tomorrow. Might as well grab a few groceries as well. And maybe a cookie sheet? No, probably not yet.

Edited April 1, 2022 by Netfoot

[Netfoot]

When I was a nipper, I went off to boarding school. We were woken by a bell at 5:30 AM and fed a cup of tea and two crackers at 5:45. The day ended with dinner at 6:30 PM. (Older boys ate dinner later.) Meals were served on monogrammed crockery with the school colours and crest. If you busted something, you had to go write it up on a list, and your parents got to pay for it's replacement.

One day, my mum told me to "half-inch" a cup and saucer. I was to write my name on the list so they would be properly paid for, but I was to carefully wrap them up in my suitcase and bring them home.

That was about 50 years ago. Actually, probably closer to 55.

I have not used this cup and saucer for all those 55 years. It is the single oldest item I own, and probably the most irreplaceable item I own. I drank morning tea (or cocoa) from this, or others like it daily, when I was 10 years old. Possibly twice a day, since tea/cocoa was also available at 4:00 PM (but whereas afternoon tea was optional, morning tea was mandatory, and the drinking of it was supervised by one of the matrons - Miss Mathews or Miss Bailey - who would send you for a flogging if you didn't drink it in time for the 6:10 AM bell for "prep").

Funnily enough, I don't keep this to remember my old schooldays, which I remember quite clearly without it. But to remember my mother, who realized that a 10 year old boy would some day like to have a keepsake from a bygone age.

The greatest wonder is how it managed to survive so long as it has!

 

Edited April 3, 2022 by Netfoot

[sharkerbaby]

That is a beautiful cup and saucer and what a treasure it is too.  Thank you for sharing.

[Spunkygal]

I love this story @Netfoot! I have several kitchen items that were my mom’s and if I had to grab a few items to escape a natural disaster, those are among the items I’d take with me—her old metal measuring cup which she used for baking my entire life (homemade cornbread every single night) and an old cracker tin that holds four sleeves of crackers. For heaven’s sake, don’t let the Monster anywhere near that precious cup and saucer! 

[sharkerbaby]

Like you, I have my grandmother's old metal measuring cup, her metal sifter, and her very well used The Modern Family Cookbook complete with hand written notes in the margins.  The measuring cup has a small dent in the side, the handle of the sifter is slightly askew, and cookbook's binding is worn and it's contents would surely send many folks to the nearest book burning for it's very traditional advice but these are among my most valued treasures.    When these momentos were given to me by my aunt she was almost sheepish and apologetic implying that they were all that was left after all my younger cousins had selected their remembrances but to me they hold the essence of my grandmother like nothing else could have.

[Spunkygal]

@sharkerbaby, my mom’s metal measuring cup has a small ding in it too! You reminded me of the best memento……handwriting in a cookbook or on a recipe. I have my grandma’s handwritten recipe book that she made. It’s two pieces of cardboard that she covered in pretty flowered wallpaper. Then she tied the left sides together with ribbon and wrote her recipes. Then she cut and pasted pictures of food or ladies in their aprons from old magazines and glued them in as decoration here and there. Priceless! I’d rather have the items that you and I have than any old piece of jewelry. Of course, food is one of my favorite subjects!