The little things.

....can sometimes make life a little bit more exciting.

 By this I mean,  on Thursday we got a package!   It was....well,  like Christmas in November.

Now I realise,  it does say "United States Postal Service" but really,  it came from Canada.  The origins of the actual box are subject to speculation.
The timing was also pretty good,  since Travelling Companion had started to run out of things to watch.   As you may well know,  we don't have cable,  or any other source of "TV"  which only really becomes an issue during the Olympics and recently during the World Cup.   Other than that,   I don't really miss having several channels of nothing.  I also realise there's more of a selection in North America,  but that usually just means more channels of nothing.  The "Shopping Channel"  doesn't quite cut it for me I'm afraid.

Whatever works.

New stuff to watch.


 Deeper into the box were a few books,  along with some clothing items,   none of which was for me,  although I guess I could try a couple things on.  Haven't been getting dressed up in women's clothes up to this point in my life,  and I'm afraid I'm not too keen on trying new things.  I just stick to the usual wardrobe of frayed tee-shirts and jeans.

 Now speaking of booty,  (wait,  is there a pun in there?) we figured there wasn't much point in holding onto the wine we bought in Slovenia on the weekend,  so we've opened a couple bottles.  (um,  on a couple different nights...)
It's kind of unfortunate that we can't get this back in Canada.   I'm not even sure if they export to the rest of Europe,  since I've not seen any wines from Koper at all.   Kind of a shame,  since it's good stuff,  and not overly expensive.
 Have I mentioned how both beer and wine are quite reasonably priced in Europe?   Somehow I think it's all a part of a much grander plot to keep people from complaining about the price of other things.  You might start out complaining about this or that,  but after a couple healthy doses of whatever libation happens to strike your fancy,  you're not going to complain as much.

I'm just saying.

 The weather the last few days has been rather extraordinary,  with temperatures in the high teens.   For those of you still using Fahrenheit,  let's just say a coolish room temperature?  Don't get me started about Fahrenheit,   'cause it makes so much sense.

What?   Was 32 the age of the guy who came up with it,  and decided that would be the temperature of freezing water?  How else does it make any sense?  Why 32?
If you do decide to click on that link and read about Fahrenheit,  you'll see that my theory isn't really all that goofy,  especially when you get to the part where he measured the temperature of his wife's armpits.

So mild weather means getting out on the bike,  and I thought I'd head down to the Naschmarkt on Friday to pick up some Salmon.   I just happened to take along the small camera,  since you never know what there might be.

 Do I need to explain this?

I don't have to be in Austria to know that the chances of trying bison meat is probably pretty slim. 




Speaking of Christmas in November,  or maybe this has more to do with self indulgence? One of the slight well,   how shall I put this?  pitfalls?  of this thing we call "email"  is that I get these notifications from time to time from various retailers with offers of things in which I might be ever so slightly interested.   And no,  I'm not talking about Spam here,  I'm talking about tool retailers mostly,   one of which is Lee Lalley Tools

So I got myself a belated birthday present.


 Aren't they nice?

Of course,  Travelling Companion reminded me that not that long ago I had ordered some other chisels that were too good a deal to pass up,  but they were a different kind.   No no....these are mortising chisels,  and up to this point in my life,  I've only ever had one single solitary mortising chisel.  *sniff*
Could never bring myself to the point where I was willing to pony up the dough for any kind of a set,   until this deal came along.

 You have to realise that I do not have these items with me here in Wienerland.  No,  the irony is,   I only get to look at the picture too,  since the set has been picked up from the store in Burlington,  and is presently at my house.   I'll get to see them well, ....  at Christmas.

I guess I should have made it a Christmas present. 

Whatever.

There's a good chance that,  the way I tend to forget things,  my daughter could have wrapped them up and put them under the tree,  and I would have been completely blown away.  Missed that opportunity.
 Here's the other irony.   These chisels are made right here (next door almost) in the Czech Republic.   The only difference is,  I'm always somewhat suspect of some of the stuff I see here in the stores,  but with Lee Valley,  they not only set out a rigid set of specifications for the product,  but will take it back "no questions asked"  if you're not happy.    Pretty hard to go wrong. 
 This reminds me of how we could not find decent coffee when we were living in Puerto Rico.   We would have to bring down "Nabob" in our luggage,  or ask guests to bring some if we were running out.  Turns out,  all the "good" Puerto Rican coffee was being shipped out to some of the up scale coffee houses in New York,  Los Angeles or Toronto where you'd pay a pretty penny for a pound of their finest.   They left all the crap behind on the island.

 Thankfully that theory doesn't apply to good Czech beer.





And if you think that has anything to do with Anheuser Busch,  a little more research is required.



How did we get from a box on the counter to beer?


I'm thirsty. 


That's all for today.


Have a fine weekend.




.