Piss poor packaging results in Pitiful Performance.

Not sure why these kind of thoughts enter my pea brain,  but I figured it would make a half decent post title.

This is the second time that something that could possibly be broken or damaged in transit from Amazon has arrived broken or damaged.   It's a crap shoot apparently.   Most things,  and they're usually things unavailable locally that I order,  are items that cannot possible have anything done to them.
You know,  batteries.   Random replacement cords.  Elastic for masks due to a Pandemic.

Stuff like that.

Just punt it up the driveway.  It'll be fine.

But then,  as all the stores were closed,  there was a "thing"  that was deemed necessary for a birthday present,  and the entire process was just a clusterfuck.

Firstly,  it was "in stock",  so we ordered it.  And mysteriously,  it was then "out of stock",  and "we're not sure when we are expecting this item". 

Huh?

So,  I chatted with somebody or other,  who then cancelled that order and sent another colour.   Which ironically,  turned out to be the colour we wanted in the first place.   But,  instead of arriving some three weeks ago,  it wasn't due to get her until today.

Well,  what you gonna do in a Pandemic?   So that was that.

Then of course,  it arrived chipped.

What the f**k!!

So back it went.

It's one thing to chip the enamel of your Dutch Oven after you've had it for maybe ten years,  but not if it's never seen the inside of an oven even once.

I'm not sure exactly what kind of monkey it is that packs these things,  but the way I packed it to send it back was a better job than their method of throwing one box inside another with a few feet of paper to keep it in place.

That method didn't seem to work.

It should be noted that Amazon keeps looking for more people to come and work at their distribution facilities.   There's no mention however,  as to whether those folks should actually have a brain in their head.   And who knows,  maybe it was damaged before it even got to Amazon?   Do they bother to check on stuff that arrives at the distribution centre?

What ever.


There was no option on the "next...next....next"  Amazon return page for any kind of a replacement,  so after conferring with T.C.,  I slapped on the shipping labels and made a jaunt to the Post Office.

I mean,  the good news is,  We'll get our money back,  and return shipping is free,  but seriously.   All they had to do was put in just a wee bit more paper inside the "outside" box to keep the "inside" box from moving around.  Didn't do that.

Oh and,   the other thing?   "Made in China".

*grumble*

T.C. didn't really want it if it were made in China,  but nowhere on the web page did it say anything about that.   Not sure you can get much of anything that's not made in China these days,  but we'd sure like to get away from that if at all possible.


Other than bitching about that this morning,  I got nothin'.

The weather's perfect.   The grass needs to be cut.

Sailing this summer looks like it's pretty much off the table.   Regattas and racing have been getting cancelled left right and centre.

My understanding is that the boat is in the water,  and I guess that if any ONE of us wants to go out with the Skipper,  that would be fine.   But sailing is more about the company and the conversation than just getting from point A to point B.

This too shall come to pass.

Hope everyone is OK.

Keep that stick on the ice,  and thanks for stopping by.

Well, that was twice.

And by that I mean,  "first and last time". 

I mentioned on Sunday that there was this "pick-up order" that had been ordered at one of the local grocery stores.   And originally,  the delivery date was two weeks off,  and as a result,  this order had been started some two weeks ago.  And that's kind of OK,  as you can add to it right up until the day before the scheduled delivery.   Oh and,  these folks had been doing this long before the pandemic,  by the way.

T.C.  wanted to do this,  as Daughter Number One had put in an order that she picked up a week ago,  and her Mom had added things to that order.

So like I said,  it was our turn.

Eventually,  late in the afternoon,  T.C. got a note,  and I got the "OK,  we have to go pick up our order!"  command from T.C., so off we went. 

The deal is,  when you arrive at the store,  you call them,  tell them in which parking spot you are located (they have a designated area) and they bring your order out and place it in your trunk.
As I was sitting there,  I kind of wondered,  "what the heck do you do if you don't have a phone?"  but I guess everyone and their dog has a mobile phone so,  dumb question.

Naturally it was raining.   And,  thinking that someone would be out somewhat expeditiously,  I naively popped the trunk. 
And waited.
Of course,  a gust of wind came up and opened the trunk all the way up and,  thankfully we don't keep much at all in the trunk,  because whatever was in there was getting wet. 


Now,  first of all,  let me tell you a little story.   See,  when I was all of 16,  I worked in a Lumber Yard.  It was OK in the summertime,  but I also chose to work Saturdays throughout the winter.
Man on man,  you don't know cold until you've had to pry a few snow covered two by fours out of the pile on a cold winters day.   But my point is,  in no time at all,  not only did I know all the different products,  but was operating the towmotor,  cutting bridging on the bandsaw (it was huge!)  and doing deliveries.   And not just the "trim truck",  for some reason that to this day remains a mystery,  I was also sent out with the big truck to deliver framing.
 
Oh and,  this was all "pre-gps"!  There were some cryptic instructions,  let me tell ya! And,  once you were out for delivery,  you were really on your own.  No cell phones either. 

And then,  skip forward to my last year of High School,  when I worked in a small grocery store within walking distance of school.  Within a very short period of time,  I certainly knew all the products.  Now,  maybe because I spend a few early years on a farm,  I have a bit of an advantage when it came to produce?   But I doubt it.



And where the hell am I going with this?


Question: How do you end up getting radishes in your order,  when you wanted beets?    Did someone say,  "just gimme some of dem red things"? 

It's like some sort of "Grocery roulette." 

That situation might have been even somewhat more tolerable if either of us could stomach radishes.  I've tried them.  Don't like 'em.

Now,  the bonus of the "grocery roulette" situation?  Well,  we did get an extra container of bread crumbs,  as well as a third ball of pizza dough.  No extra charge.  So that kind of makes up for the time we had to waste having to go back to the store and wait for some kid to come out with a bunch of beets.

And yes,  they got their radishes back. 

The produce?  Well,  even *I* can pick out better produce.  And I'm always given stern warnings about how to pick out produce.  It would seem you're at the mercy of whatever blind employee is saddled with the task of picking out your cauliflower (with just a few too many brown spots)  along with the sad,  sad looking lettuce.
It's encouraging to know that they're willing to hire the handicapped.  But having the gift of sight is what I would consider a priority when it comes to picking out groceries? 
Just an observation. 
And even that requires sight.


I just said,  "Well,  if it's painfully average produce that you want,  I can get that at the "Food Basics"  down the street."


T.C. muttered something. 

We may just have to live without lettuce.


In other "news",   I did bake another banana bread. 

May as well.   Certainly more satisfying than any kind of shopping. 

And that,  sadly,  is the extent of the excitement in our lame little existence.


Thanks for stopping by.

Keep your stick on the ice,  and wash your hands.

Down to my last Q-tip.

OK, "cotton swab" if you prefer.  And,  maybe I have some more in another closet.  Not sure.
Just one of those minor annoyances where you go, "Oh crap,  forgot about that".   Because,  you know,  one does tend to "shop for the basics".  At least I do.  There were a few nitwits loitering about in Costco that last time T.C. and I went.  So much so that,  getting past this one particular dimwit on her phone was neigh on impossible if any kind of "social distancing"  was to be observed.

There was one moment a few days ago  when I was in the Food Basics down the street,  and some guy was on his phone (texting with his wife for grocery ideas? )  and I couldn't get past him,  so in a voice that was certainly loud enough,  I said,  "HAVE YOU MADE A DECISION?"   And this was after I had (politely,  I might add) given him a good minute to figure out just what the hell to do.  He apologised and moved along.   Of course,  the apologising thing is supposedly the Canadian thing to do.   In the States I might have got shot.  Hey,  the Yanks think we live in Igloos,  we too have our ideas that may or may not be quite accurate.

Anyway,  I'm not here to talk about cotton swabs.

Life is pretty normal here at the Ponderosa.   T.C. and I made Perogies yesterday,  which is something we do from time to time.  And yes,  when I say "we",  I don't just mean "she".   She did mix up the goop for the innards (a mashed potato and cheese mixture)  rolled out the dough,  while I put together the Perogies.   Keeping ahead was the challenge,  so there were times when she put down the rolling pin and made a few by hand.

We did have a couple tools at our disposal.

Sometimes it's all about the tools.

The thing on the right is this roller thingy for making perfect little circles of dough, a rolling-circle-cutter  and the clam shell thing on the left is kinda self explanatory.

I swear I didn't prompt T.C.  to take my picture.   So fine,  I'll throw it in here.  We ended up making 95.   This time around,  we boiled them up first,  then they went onto the trays after brushing on some melted butter,  and then they went off to the freezer.  They have to be frozen individually.  Then I'll do the "seal a meal" thing. 
There were maybe five or six "duds",  and we put in a few extras to make eight,  and had them for supper.  Fry up an onion in butter,  put in the Perogies,  and serve with sour cream.

And maybe you're thinking,  "Why 95,  and why would you need to know?"   And,  we probably would have made it to 100,  except that we ran out of mix.  Had to turf out the left over dough (hate doing that,  but you can't use it)  And as to "why"?   Well,  it's maybe due to T.C. being a retired CPA?   Mind you,  it's good to know just how many you'll end up with,  but a rough guesstimate would have worked for me.

******

I'm not anywhere close to the point where I might have to go to any other store other than a grocery store.   I'm still farting around with stripping the table out in the "shop".  Can't say it's fun.   And I suspect I'll have to get a little aggressive at some point,  as first of all,  it's not an antique,  and my niece has mentioned that she wants to change the colour anyway.  So,  there won't be any attempts to "keep the patina"  or any of those things you try to do to preserve the value of an antique.  And yes,  I've seen a few antiques just get completely ruined as the result of "good intentions".
Now mind you,  I think the term "antique"  has taken on some sort of hidden meaning in that,  somehow there's the understanding that it's somehow "special".   A piece of furniture might be old,  and considered an "antique",  because that's the term we use,  but it may very well have been a piece of junk when it was put together.  We have a couple of those.  And I keep them more for function over their supposed value.  We have a "wash stand"  that looks like it was put together by a blind badger.  Seriously.  It's horrid.  But,  it's stayed together all these years,  and functions perfectly well as a night stand in one of the spare bedrooms.

******

Anyway,  I've heard various reports when it comes to the new "curb pick-up" efforts that some places are trying to do.   Hope Despot comes to mind,  but here in Canada we also have Canadian Tire and Home Hardware.
So,  Home Hardware is kind of like "Ace Hardware"  I suppose,  and Canadian Tire has evolved into well,  just about everything.  They've gotten huge.  There's a couple links if you want to move your eyes back and forth.  Canadian Tire
And,  Home Hardware

Saves me a lot of typing...

Now,  a few years back,  for shits and giggles,  I ordered something or other from Home Hardware and went to the store to pick it up.   Somehow I was expecting a situation similar to Lee Valley,  (don't you just love all these links I'm putting in?)   where they have an area inside the store that's kind of off on its own,  where you go to pick up your stuff. 
Not Home Hardware.   
I had to walk the the very back of the store to "Customer Service" where,  they didn't really have a clue.

So,  I was a little surprised to hear from one of the "Zoomers"  a few days back that Home Hardware were really doing a good job when it came to the "Curb side pick-up" thing.   Who knew?

Conversely,  Canadian Tire?  Um,  no.   Reports are,  they haven't figured it out.  And Home Despot?  Again, reports are that you'll get your order in a timely fashion once you get notified that it's ready,  but that whole "getting ready" part can take days.

Well,  that makes sense.

For years now,  places like Lowe's and Home Depot very much depended on the customer doing all the work. You bring in a cart from outside,  load it up,  take it to the cash,  and then load your stuff into your vehicle by yourself.  Unless you ask for assistance and then have to stand around waiting for some "help" to show up. 
And recently,  "for your convenience"  they've added "self check-out". 
I don't do "self check-out" .   The last time I operated a cash register,  I was getting paid to do so,  and was the one training the staff on just how it all worked.   So unless I'm on your payroll,  or you're giving me some incentive,  it's not happening.
The quandary then is,  do they have the staff available to fill all those orders? 
Of course not.  And this is why a lot of places are crying for more employees.  They've been trying to screw everyone out of a job for so long,  that now they are the ones getting ever so slightly buggered.

And here's another "funny one". 
Some time today,  T.C. is expecting to get a note saying her grocery order from Fortinos is ready for pick-up.   I haven't really checked their website to see how it works,  to be honest,  but T.C. tells me that she had to pick a "slot",  and a couple weeks ago,  there were no slots available for ....two weeks. 
So fine,  Daughter Number One had already put in an order and T.C.  was able to add some things to it,  and it was picked up last week.   Today will be our turn.   The curious thing?   Now there are boatloads of "slots".   Ha!
Do you think maybe folks just decided it was too much hassle to wait two weeks to get some groceries?  Hm? 
Plus,  folks didn't really know what to expect.  Because yes,  you CAN go to the store.   You may think it best to wear a mask.  Keep your distance for the stupids.  Or tell them to get the fuck away from you.  But it is possible.  And surprisingly,  there is in fact,  toilet paper available.  Along with flour and most everything else.   Hair care products?   Don't know.  Don't care.
 
Have you seen my head? 


Although,  I may have to try and convince T.C. to come to grips with my hair clippers one of these days.  I think there's a pun in there somewhere.


Thanks for stopping by.

Keep your stick on the ice.   And wash your hands.

OK so, it's SNOWING!

Note: This was actually yesterday's post,  but somehow (somehow?)  I got lazy and didn't finish what I started.   BUT,  it's snowing again this morning. )


I wanted (like, really) wanted to put the "F" word in there.  But I think you get the drift.  That,  and of course the wind is blowing.
It's flippin' April 21st.

(No,  see above....)

That's about all I have on my mind at the moment. 

Well,  and I did just order some "stuff"  on line just now.  "Free delivery",  or you could order for pick up,  and they'd bring it out to your vehicle.   But then I'd have to,  I don't know,  drive there?

Mind you,  gas is so cheap right now,  that just driving around isn't such a huge deal, but why?  We've been so programmed to try and make every trip count,  and not run around aimlessly,  that it somehow just doesn't feel right to "go for a drive".  I know there are some who do,  and I do appreciate the need to keep from going bonkers,  so I'm OK with that.

Just not my thing.

Now,  speaking of making a trip for nothing,  I did the trip to Costco this morning.

First of all,  Costco has set it up so that "Seniors and those with mobility issues"  can come in on Tuesday,  Wednesday and Thursday from between eight and nine.

Well,  even though the streets of Burlington seemed relatively calm and I dare say deserted,  that was NOT the case this morning at Costco.  And this was at about 7:45.  Somehow I think that every flippin' senior in town was lined up to get in to Costco.   I mean like,  they were lined up around the building. 

And as we well know,  it's a BIG big building.


First of all,  my left knee has been giving me some grief today (weather related?  possibly)  so without a cart to lean on,  that was reason number one why this wasn't the place for me.   The reason number two?   Number Two.
Let me repeat that.   Number Two.

Early in the morning?  Old guy?

I do vividly recall shitting myself when I was about four, maybe?  That sensation of having a nice warm turd just hanging there right below the crack of yer arse is something that one tends to remember for a long,  long time.

Needless to say,  it's a memory that'd I'd prefer to not revisit.  Once was enough.

Now,  I realise there may come a day,  maybe twenty,  thirty years from now?   Let's not even think about it.


Anyhoodle,  T.C.  and I made a little trip to see each of the Daughter Units to drop off some Muffin Mix (it's a Mom thing) .  Plus,  Daughter Number One had been lamenting the fact that,  normally she only makes coffee at home on the weekends,  as she's one of those commuter types,  and she's been going through her really pricey fancy coffee,  so I took her some of the cheap stuff.  I just drink the cheap stuff.    No cat pooped coffee for me.  (There's a bit of a poop theme going on here.)

These deliveries took place some time around three in the afternoon,  so we thought,  "Why not at least drive by the Costco and see how it looks?"   It didn't look that bad!
So we went in.   You can't just wander in.   They're only allowing so many in the store,  but we were maybe only number 10 in line.
Of course,  there are still a few boneheads who still haven't cottoned on to the procedure.  One old guy was either trying to cut in to get a cart or whatever,  and was informed by the staff that he had to get in line and they'd give him a (freshly sanitised) cart.   He then walked past me,  said something or other,  and touched my shoulder!   What the actual fuck!?
That coat is hanging up out in the garage.   Don't fucking touch me! 
Even when there's no Goddamned Pandemic,  don't touch me!

And that's not to say I wanted to knock him on his ass or anything.  I think he was just trying to be friendly.  Plus,  knocking him on his ass would involve having to touch him. Gah!

Well,  out weekly "Meeting"  with my breakfast group is about to start.  So that's it for me.


Hope y'all are well.

Thanks for stopping by and moving your eyes back and forth.

Well, I had to do it.

Go out,  that is.

I think there was a slight welling up of panic when I realised that the coffee container that I was about to empty was not the second last one,  but the last one!

Gah!
 
Gotta step up my game when it comes to knowing what I have in store,  as I thought I had a spare.  I always have a spare.

So,  I sucked it up and went to Costco.   And I must say,  they've figured it out.

First of all,  I did have to go out early Monday morning,  as we were getting down on the bread end of things,  and the store down the street had an hour set aside for "old folks"  from seven to eight.  AND,  unlike the store where T.C. had to go to last week,  these guys had a security guard at the entrance way,  sort of eyeing everyone on their way in so as to make sure they were in fact seniors. 
Apparently,  I qualify.   No need for I.D. 
Not sure if that should sadden me or not.
And it was not crowded in the least.
I made sure to profusely thank all the employees for being there that early.

Anyway,  Costco also has an hour set aside before they open,  from eight until nine on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday for seniors but unfortunately,  I didn't get that memo in time,  so I went for normal hours. 

Not a huge deal.

I naively grabbed a cart from one of the corrals to take in with me,  but that wasn't needed,  as they were sanitising all the carts just as you went in,  so no need for the gloves or wipes on my part.  AND,  they had two distinct areas/lines set up,  divided by piles of skids,  so as to separate those going in,  from those coming out.  We did have to line up,  with everyone far enough apart for proper distancing etiquette.   Plus,  there was a bit of a wait,  as they were only allowing a certain number of shoppers in at once.  I read somewhere that the number was 50,  but don't quote me.

Then it was pretty much easy peasy from then on,  as they had everything that was on my list.  And no,  I didn't need toilet paper,  although I did see that they had boatloads. 

Then,  coming out,  there were two distinct lines to get up to the check out area,  with hash marks on the floor as a reminder of proper distancing etiquette once again.  It was very orderly.   Didn't have to put my groceries on the belt.  Had a spot to stand as it was being rung up,  the cashier scanned my Costco card from about six feet away (a bit of overkill I thought)  and I only really had to come in contact with the payment terminal,  which her assistant had just wiped down.  I had sanitiser with me and gave my hands a going over after all that as well.

Oh and,  they didn't do that whole checking off your crap against your receipt thing either.  I never did understand that.  Like they're able to tell if you've got all your goods?  Really?  Or that you somehow miraculously were able to slip an extra huge bag of flour onto your cart?

They had removed one of the terminals at each end of the line of terminals in order to make extra room.  This was a welcome change from the way it had always been,  where your cart goes one way,  and you're forced into an area next to the other member behind you.  I never did like that.

And,  as I said to the cashier,  I've never liked it when fellow shoppers get too close to me anyway,  so I was completely good with the whole situation.    Like,  beyond happy.   Thinking up catchy T-shirt captions,  that sort of thing.*

I think I first started to notice folks being too close to me when we lived in Puerto Rico,  as fellow shoppers were forever getting well into my comfort zone.  Thankfully,  I'm taller than most Puerto Ricans,  so I never got any of the head colds that always seemed to be going around.  That's also probably where I really started to become a bit of a Germaphobe. 

Or maybe even before that?   Not sure.


Oh,  speaking of which,  and this was the only time I actually spoke with another shopper,  while standing in line,  I couldn't help but notice what I think was a lady who,  for what can only be due to paranoia,  was basically covered from head to toe in plastic.   She had plastic bags on her feet,  some sort of plastic bag on her torso.  Plastic bags on each leg.  A mask,  and the obligatory plastic bag on her head. 

I so wish I had taken my camera.

Oh and,  she was lining her cart with newspaper!   Newspaper!

Because apparently them spraying down all the carts just before they give you one wasn't enough, and somehow you can get a virus through your feet?
The floors were so clean you could eat off them.  And I dare say,  as a result of some of the over the top efforts of just about any place you can think of,  floors in public places these days are probably cleaner than most people's houses!


So,  the guy in front of me saw this at about the same time as me,  turned to me,  said not a word.   But I had to say,  "OK,  there's being prepared,  and then there's being paranoid."

But hey,  whatever floats yer boat.   I mean,  you can cut up an onion,  put it in your bedroom,  and as long as you never leave your bedroom,  you'll never get sick. 
True.
It probably works just as well with watermelon,  but they'd need to be in season.

No plans to go anywhere for a few days again,  as I'll head to the wine making place to pick up our new supply on Tuesday.   I was going to go today,  but let me just say,  it's surprising just how often one relies on one's back muscles for the simplest things?

No big deal.  I've done this before.  Just happened to bend down the wrong way,  and ouch!
I'll be better by Tuesday I'm sure.  Just...putting on socks this morning was....a chore. 

Annoyingly,  I have a few things in the house that need shifting around,  which normally T.C. and I could manage together,  so that's out the window.  Plus of course,  I can't even call on one of the Daughter Units or Sons-in-law to come help,  as we don't want to have anyone come to the house. 


Thanks for stopping by.

Keep your stick on the ice.

And wash your hands.



*I'm thinking of a caption like,  "Now I can say it.  Get the f**k away from me!"

We're saving money!

I mean,   what else can one say?

So far,  the hair salon and nail salon are missing a few bucks due to the Covid-19.   I shan't attempt to quantify just how much I mean by "a few bucks".   But let's just say,  with the money we've saved,   I'm thinking of buying yet another woodworking tool and having it shipped to the door.

Just a thought.   Thoughts are free.

Mostly.

Haven't quite figured out what I want to do today.   Might just futz around out in the "shop".   Seems the sensible thing to do.  I have enough material to make a couple more book cases for the downstairs,  so that might be an idea.

I haven't run out of material just yet,  although there are a couple other things in my pea brain that I wouldn't mind taking a stab at.   It mostly involves storage ideas.

Now,  speaking of things involving wood,  I did manage to (finally) finish a towel rack that T.C. had asked me to make some time *ahem* last year.   (These things can take time, after all)

Hard to get just the right angle.  I do appreciate that there are those woodworkers who have some sort of photo set-up,  but I have no intentions of selling stuff,  so I've never bothered.  That chest in the last two pics is a cherry blanket chest I made...some twenty years ago?  And the first pic has a bed that I made for Daughter Number Two some....twenty years ago.   I dunno.  Maybe that's a rough estimate.  Twenty,  twenty-five?   I suppose I should sign and date everything,  for posterity or something.


I do have one of those branding iron thingies,  with Handcrafted by....The Caretaker.  (no,  that last part isn't quite true,  but you get the idea)

I did get a call from the fellow who has the "make your own wine"  shop,  as I was due to go and bottle both a batch of red and a batch of white tomorrow (Wednesday)  but he's technically "closed"  due to Covid-19. 
Now,  considering that wine making involves being ultra sanitary,  I'm not sure just how he needs to be closed,  whereas the Beer Store and the L.C.B.O.  are considered "Essential Services"  here in Ontario. 
I mean,  I'm not complaining,  and I do buy beer at the L.C.B.O. instead of the Beer Store,  as then I do get a couple Air Miles to boot. 
But "essential"?   Not so sure.

Oh and,  for those who are reading from afar,  as good as our Health Care system might appear to be,  our "drinking system"  is from the Victorian era.   L.C.B.O. stands for "Liquor Control Board of Ontario",   and every province has their own little quirky system of regulating booze (and beer).

We can these days buy beer in the grocery stores,  but of course,  I never think to buy beer at the grocery store,  some sort of conditioning I suspect,  plus you don't get the variety that's available at either The Beer Store or the LCBO.

Anyhoodle,   T.C. is making Potica,  which is a type of Easter Bread,  although it looks like we may be having Easter by way of Zoom,  or some such internet thing.  Not sure how that will play out.


I was going to put in a link,  but you can Google Potica,  and see what I'm talking about.

Thanks for stopping by.

Keep your stick on the ice.

And wash your hands.

As the stomach turns.

Well kids,  looks like the idiots are in full panic mode.   Reports are the stores are whacko,  but these are second hand reports as,  being a Pensioner,  I don't go to the store on a Thursday night,  or any other time when the Worker Bees are in need of a good shop.

Saw one of my long time Facebook friends commenting on the line-ups at one place (on Facebook,  of course),  and moments later,  got a call from Daughter Number One saying she and hubby went in that store,  took a look at the lines,  turned around and left.

I did go to Costco on Wednesday for the usual.  Milk,  bread, cream and....toilet paper.   But,  Costco is where I do buy toilet paper,  unless it's on sale at Food Basics,  just down the street from us.   There was a bit of nuttiness in the toilet paper aisle,  but nothing like I've seen on the news. 

I was actually a little embarrassed to be buying toilet paper,  as I really didn't want to be part of "that crowd".  I can't figure out if the ones that were buying two and three bales,  are actually running variety stores and selling it at a profit?  If you think you're going to have the shits that bad to need that much toilet paper,  there's going to be other issues.  Besides,  when it comes out like that,  it's kind of a "self cleaning" situation.

But let's not go down that rabbit hole.  Is that a pun? 

Not sure.

Anyhoo,  I think Daughter Number one was trying to get some guidance as to whether or not they should stick to their plans to go to Cabo San Lucas in a couple weeks.  She didn't really come out and ask the Old Man (that wouldn't be cool)  but it was one topic of discussion.   The flight down is direct,  but the return leg has a stop over in the US.   That could be problematic.   The flight cancellation wouldn't be too much of a concern,  as many of the airlines are waving their fees in that regard,  but they've paid for the villa already.  Ain't gonna get that mulla back.


Now to some other (more sane) news:

Work continues in the painting department.  I ain't no ball of fire,  I'll tell you that much.  I suspect I put in a good solid three or four hours some days,  and then I get a little tired or hungry,  and my motivation begins to suffer.  Admittedly,  there have been a couple times when I've done a wee bit in the evening,  just to finish off a section.

And we made a discovery.

See,  Travelling Companion had this idea that "we" want to replace the fridge that I've now moved to paint behind.  So fine,  we did some looking on the usual sites,  settling on a model from Costco.  Wasn't about to pull the trigger any time soon however.  The idea was,  that the fridge is "really noisy",  and if we're going to be putting the day bed down there for an extra sleeping area,  then  it "has to go".

Plus, it seemed to be running way too much.

Except,  when I moved it about five feet,  sort of around the corner from the kitchen area,  I immediately noticed that,  not only was it heaps quieter,  but that it also wasn't coming on nearly as often. 

Huh?

I even thought that perhaps it had stopped working,  and decided to check on it.  Nope,  running just fine.

Well see,  where it had been sitting,  it's not entirely level.  I didn't think being slightly off kilter would make such a huge difference.  Apparently it does.

This is a fridge that we bought second hand almost 20 years ago,  and it's been chugging away down there all this time.  So,  having a new fridge would definitely help in terms of energy conservation.  I'm just not too sure how long it would take to save that five or six hundred dollars in electricity costs.

I suspect,  another 20 years..


Anyway,  hope y'all are doing well.  Self isolating and all.   Turns out,  I've been self isolating for years and years.

Who knew?

Thanks for stopping by.

Just running around.

And I've been home now for... a time (too embarrassed to say),  and I still haven't done a damned thing.

There was the weekly breakfast,  and then a side trip to Crappy Tire for some clear plastic totes for more "stuff".   Gotta store your "stuff"  properly.   Mind you,  this is my sister-in-law's "stuff",  but never fear,  we've got our share too.

Then it was off to the clock store/jeweller/whatever,  to drop off a mantel clock that emerged as a result of sorting through the "stuff",   and then on to Costco for a propane refill  (it's like...13 bucks,  as opposed to something like 19 at the gas station!)   and then a quick visit to the local "Liquidation Warehouse"  to look through their "stuff",  and then finally a side trip to Dollarama for well,  "necessary stuff",  like hand soap and such. 

The "highlight" of the day was renewing my membership at MEC.

So,  lemme 'splain.    Mountain Equipment Coop is a supplier of all things outdoors.  Camping,  hiking,  biking,  skiing.  You name it.

Now,  once upon a time,  they were a "mail order"  type of outfit,  something like L.L.Bean,  or at least the way L.L. Bean used to be.  You can order from any of them on line these days.

Back in the day,  you filled out the form in the catalogue,  calculated the tax and shipping,  sent off your cheque with the said form,  and waited for your package to arrive.    MEC had the one and only location on King Street in Toronto way back when,  but now of course,  they're all over Canada.

Note,  I said Canada. 

I seem to recall ordering a rain coat that I kept and used until something like 2001.  I kid you not.  Good value.

Anyway,  as strange as it may sound,  you have to be a "member".   I'm sure there's some sort of legal mumbo-jumbo involved that allows them to call themselves a "Coop",  but the thing is,  I became a member sometime back in either 1975 or 1976.   (Oh wait,  somewhere it says,  "owned by its members".  OK then,  I'm a part "owner".  *snort*!)


 The start of  the conversation with the young lady at the counter went something like,  "Back in the days when your parents were still in school and quite possibly hadn't met yet,  I became a member of this coop."

The trick was,  where exactly was I living when I signed up?   Oh by the way,  the cost of membership?  Five bucks.

I was actually willing to cough up another five bucks if we couldn't find me in the data base.  The membership never expires,  and all of the paper records had been transferred onto computer at some point.   The young lady was pretty certain that I was in there.

We tried a few different addresses.  Hamilton, Dundas,  Burlington.   And she found me.  Dundas!   It was my last year of High School,  and I was paying room and board in Dundas so I could finish up my final year.   The rest of the household had moved to Burlington,  but I wasn't about to tag along.   That's another story.

Anyhoo,  I suppose I can once again buy camping stuff.  Not that I'd be doing a whack of camping.  Or if I did,  I'd be on my own let's just say?   Plus,  half the time the deals on Amazon are somewhat better but hey,  Christmas is coming,  and at least one of the Daughter Units likes to car camp,  so who knows?   Well,  she and her S.O do go skiing too,  so that's also a possibility.


Hope ya learned something.

Thanks for stopping by.

And remember,  keep your stick on the ice.

A moratorium on dish soap.

It is not permitted,  for the foreseeable future (or at least until the end of 2019 I'm thinking) to buy any more dish soap. 


Oh and,  a belated "Happy Halloween".

Whatever.


So here's the thing.   Once again this year,  Travelling Companion and I leave the house in darkness and go out to dinner on Halloween.  I'm sort of on the fence when it comes to giving out candy.  I don't really mind,  but it usually ends up with me ignoring the doorbell,  and T.C. jumping up to see what little goblin or whatever is out there looking for a hand out.

Plus,  a couple years ago,  I had to dash off to the store to see if I could scare up anything else to hand out,  as we were running low,  and I do seem to recall in previous years having so much candy left over that I'm still struggling to shed the extra pounds that I put on.
So why do this??

Anyway,  for what we spent on dinner,  we probably could have just HIRED someone to give out candy.  More cost effective.
Plus,  T.C. was saying that she felt somewhat nauseous in the middle of the night,  and we're not sure what that was all about.  I slept like a rock.

Maybe next year we'll stay home?  We'll see.

The slight wrinkle was,  we both had an appointment at the dentist at three,  and then a whack of time to kill before our somewhat early dinner reservation at 6:30. 

What to do?

There was a stop at Indigo (overpriced books and stuff)  and then on to "Winners"  where T.C. did find a pair of jeans at a decent price.

This,  by the way,  is at the newly revamped "Burlington Centre",  which used to be simply "Burlington Mall".  It's not the centre of anything,  but whatever.
I don't really go there,  except to go to Derringer's once in a while.   They've moved from their previous somewhat inaccessible location to what is now a huge spot the now newly renovated mall.

Next stop,  Costco. 

Well,  I think you know where we're headed.

See,  whenever I stop in at Costco,  which is about every six weeks or so,  I rarely take a cart.  I dash in,  pick up the two or three items that I *know* we need (coffee comes to mind)  and book it for the exit.  Well,  I pay first,  but you know what I mean.

This time,  we took a cart.

Oh boy.

T.C. had her smart phone out,  with it set to the calculator function,  and was dutifully checking to see if it was a "good deal"  and all that,  but now of course,  we have at least nine full containers of Dawn dish soap.   See,  you have to buy a packet of three,  not just one.   And I guess I had bought a packet of three at some point in the last six months,  even though we still had two or three tucked away already. 
I'll be using it to bathe in I guess.
So if you're looking to buy shares of Proctor and Gamble,  I'd say it's a good bet.



I should mention that the Boys and I did our annual pilgrimage to an NFL game on Monday.   Turns out,  it's the first Monday night game they've had in Buffalo for 10 years.

I think the best word to sum it up?   "COLD".

It threatened to rain,  which thankfully didn't amount to much,  but moreover the *wind* was problematic,  shall we say?

Here we are,  somewhat huddled around our campfire.


Which of course,  meant that I had to wash everything that I had been wearing "around the campfire",  as it stunk of smoke.

I had to tie our shelter thingy to the truck to keep it from simply lifting off.

Gotta love the portability and reliability of the Weber for this sort of thing.  Those too came from Costco.    Good eats!

We did have an enjoyable time,  but I did admit at one point when dropping off my passengers that,  there were a couple moments when I was pining for my nice warm couch in front of the fire,  which is my usual NFL game protocol.

The Bills lost,  which was no surprise.  Their quarterback situation is a bit of a clusterf**k,   and in typical fashion,  the Patriots come out after half time,  once they've gone over a few things that they see going on with any opposing team they face,  an proceed to basically crush them.

I also tend to think there's more animosity in the seats than on the field, and the notion of "rabid fans"  did come to mind. 
But I guess that's the nature of that particular beast.

We didn't see anyone getting booted from the proceedings this time around.

For a couple years now,  maybe longer,  they've had a sort of "fan snitch line" prominently displayed for all to see,  and I guess it's been used enough now that the rowdier knobs know where to draw the line.

I guess.   Or maybe it was just too f**king cold to throw the gloves off,  so to speak.

I suspect that if/when we go next year,  we just *might* pick a game a bit earlier in the season?
Either that or I need to buy some mukluks or something.  All of me was toasty warm,  except the feet.  Not completely frozen through,  but borderline uncomfortable.

Sure glad the heater in the truck is a good one.


I suppose that'll be it for me once again for a few days.

Thanks for moving your eyes back and forth.

Keep that stick on the ice.

Watching the "show".

Now that we're both "pensioners",  (love that term),  Travelling Companion and I like to sit in the living room in the morning with our coffees and watch the world go by.  There's the usual assortment of basketball bouncing boys on their way to school, mixed in with the dog walkers.  Dog poop picker uppers (we're watching you!)  and others.

Well,  this morning we had a special treat,  as one of our neighbours had a little "off leash"  incident with what will soon become yet another annoying dog in a long line of annoying dogs that they've had over the last 20 years or so.   Maybe longer.

Now,  the dog had a leash attached,  but of course,  didn't know enough to come when called.  Travelling Companion went so far as to say,  "That's a bad dog!".   But, as the dog is really just another pack animal,  and has no idea that the two lunk heads calling her are supposed to be the "alpha dogs",  she just figures it's play time. 

So,  just a "bad dog" in training.

I did have the camera at the ready,  but couldn't seem to capture the hilarity as the two idiots tried to coax, cajole,  threaten the dog to come to them.
And you know,  after having two previous idiot dogs,  you'd think they'd realise that they have no clue that they have no clue.
It's one of the latent human characteristics like,  talking down to someone.  Or,  being stupid and not knowing it.

There's a German expression that comes to mind.   Something about "knowing that you know nothing..."

Wer nichts weiß und weiß, dass er nichts weiß, weiß mehr als der, der nichts weiß und nicht weiß, dass er nichts weiß.

I'll let you look that one up.


Oh and,  in defence of the dog?  She's probably a sweetheart but,  to quote a gentleman I once met in Ludlow, New Brunswick,  "She ain't go no larnin'".    And yes,  if you draw a more or less straight line from The Appalachians on up into the Maritimes,  you get my drift.


Anyway,  life goes on here at the Ponderosa. 

Masts have been stepped.  Boats have been put up.   Leaves are getting raked (well,  blown really)  and gardens are getting ripped up.
T.C. and I have yet to plant some garlic for next year,  and that may happen today or tomorrow.   If you've never had home grown garlic,  you have no idea what you're missing.  See reference above.

I suppose I could relate a little bit about the "fridge saga".  Yes?

See,  back in August,  just before Travelling Companion was to go off to first Paris and then on to Kenya,   our "GE Profile"  fridge decided to take a little holiday as well.
On the plus side,  we did made some discoveries concerning mystery items that had been left in the freezer compartment,  and thankfully we have a full sized fridge downstairs.   And you know,  there had been talk of "getting rid" of that fridge,  but thankfully that never happened.   Plus,  right now it's full of bags of apples.   But I digress.

At the time,  especially  as T.C. was going away,  I figured I would just get by as I wasn't about to go fridge shopping in her absence.  Not prudent.

I brought in the small bar fridge that I have in my garage/shop,  which was handy enough for a few things like milk and cream for our coffee,  along with whatever else I could squeeze in.

Then of course,  after taking a gander on the internet,  somewhere I read that,  if you unplug the thing for 24 hours,  it might work again.  And it did!   For a time.

This time of course,  I had placed a thermometer inside,  as I was having some trust issues,  and sure enough,  along towards the first full week of September,  it started to fail again.  It had to go.


I'm just going to jump ahead here and point out that,  this is the new one:

It's got that whole "bottom freezer"  thing going on,  which is pretty cool.   However,  we do think it's a "stupid fridge".  It doesn't seem to have the room of the previous one,  and one of the drawers for cold cuts or whatever,  can only be accessed if you open BOTH DOORS! 
Right.  Stupid.

Oh and,  you'll notice that there are no doors on the cabinet above? 

*sigh*


This,  was essentially what I had to do to fit in a new fridge.

 You can see the old one sitting out there in the hallway.  Even though the fridge body is the same size,  the doors at the front,  and the hinges to which they are attached,  are a couple inches bigger/taller/whatever.

So ya,  that was "fun'.   I'm trying not to curse right about now. 

You're welcome.

The short story is,  we ordered the wrong size fridge since,  unbeknown to us,  the salesman didn't really know what the f**k he was talking about,  and it was only the delivery guy who pointed out that,  even with the doors removed,  the "LG"  that we wanted,  wouldn't make it through the doorway opening leading to the kitchen. "They don't include the stuff sticking out at the back in the dimensions".   Huh?
 I had to go back to the appliance place and purchase a "counter depth" fridge.  I think that's what it was called.

Now the good news was,  it was about five hundred bucks cheaper than the LG however,  we really wanted the LG.  Not another GE Profile.  *sigh*     The GEs are now made in China.  The LGs are still made in Korea.

No bueno.

We'll see if this one lasts as long as the previous one,  but I have my doubts.
  Oh,  and the other thing?   The new fridge was on back order.  We had Thanksgiving here,  with no fridge in the kitchen.  But hey,  it just means one has to be flexible.  Or something.

The appliance place had offered to send us a temporary fridge,  but we didn't really want that,  as then they'd have to take it away again of course. There's always the chance that something is going to get scratched or bumped. 
Nope,  we would just wait it out for the one that's going to stay.

Interestingly,  when T.C. asked if they would charge the fifty dollar delivery charge for the temporary fridge,  they said "no".  So that begged the question,  why did we get charged fifty dollars for a fridge that we didn't receive? 
Needless to say,  T.C. got our fifty bucks back.    Apparently it comes out of the commission of the stupid salesman.   I was quite content to hear that.



I think I had better stop now,  as I'm already on a rant about stupid people.

At some point I suppose I'll have to make some new doors for that cabinet and turf the old ones out.  Just not really looking forward to it is all.

Again,  *sigh*.

Thanks for moving your eyes back and forth.

Keep that stick on the ice.

And keep smiling.

The week that was.

Or something like that.

Title ideas are sometimes a wee bit elusive.

Anyhoo,   Travelling Companion and I took a little jaunt down to the States on Wednesday to check out a place that I'm sure many of you are familiar with.   It's really just another fabric shop,  but apparently has a bigger selection of quilting fabrics?   You've no doubt heard of Joann Fabrics?
Pretty uneventful.  Bought about twenty bucks worth of thread.  Had a look around.  From here it's really just over an hour away.  We then made a stop in Niagara-on-the-Lake for some lunch at the Oban Inn.   Spent way more on lunch than at the fabric place,  including the four and half bucks we had to pay to come BACK INTO CANADA.   Da f*k? 
Are we still paying for a bridge or something?

Anyway,  the food at the Inn was OK.  A little on the salty side if anything,  and T.C.  said her Chicken something or other had an odd taste.   I had the "Oban Burger",  and it was pretty good.  Just too salty.  I don't know what it is,  but a lot of chefs/cooks/whatever like to dollop on gobs of salt.  Like,  to the point where I've actually been able to *feel* my blood pressure rising.  And yes,  that's a thing.  When you can feel your heart rate in your head?  That ain't right.   Didn't happen this time,  but it's happened.

What I mostly recall from out little jaunt was,  at one point we pulled off of the thruway,  where we had to make our exit anyway,  and decided to slip in to a service road just to recheck our directions.  Well,  I couldn't get over the amount of TRASH at the side of the road!  And then I started noticing it everywhere.  Holy moly!  Get them prisoners out there picking up da trash guys!.   And I know I'm biased as all anything,  but there wasn't nearly that much trash on the Canadian side.  Seriously.  And usually when the snow melts is when you start to see it. 
OK,  I guess it must get cleaned up at some point,  since I just took a look on Google Earth View,  and there's no trash to be seen.

Anyway,  sorry I brought it up.

Then on Thursday,  Tree Cutting Dude showed up with his crew to cut down our last Ash Trees.  (sad face).
T.C. and I were on our way to Guelph to see a new arrival,  who came into the world on February eight.
Tree Cutting Dude did say that,  as the weather was worsening,  he might very well pull the plug on the whole event, as it ain't no fun being up a tree when the wind picks up and it starts to snow.

And it did.   But of course, anyone on the East Coast knows full well just what happened over the last few days.   We got hardly anything by the way.  Lucky for us.

So the tree is still there,  minus a bunch of branches that he cut off on the way up.  I know for sure he'll be back next week some time,  as he left two of his "throwing lines"  (for lack of a better term)  so he can get his other lines back up the tree without too much difficulty.

This is the little "noodle",  as my sister-in-law (the Grand-ma)  calls her.   

So there was a bunch of  the usual fussing over a new baby,   but this here blog ain't about little kids,  so we'll move on.

It's taken me a bit of prep to get to this point,  but I've finally put some floor paint on the area where my bench normally sits.  The base of the bench has enough finish on it at this point that I'm reasonably satisfied,  so once the floor paint cures in a day or two,  I'll move the bench back.  I really need to put the top on upside down at first and do some adjusting.  We'll see how that goes.  Even without the shoulder vise and tail vise,  the top is really quite heavy,  and hoisting up just one end is just about all I can lift. 


I guess that's about it.

Thanks for moving your eyes back and forth.

Keep that stick on the ice.

Dealing with Boneheads.

Not that that is anything out of the ordinary of course,  but today we've had a bit of time wasted doing just that.  I said to Travelling Companion,  "What if you were working,  and had to deal with this?" 

The answer is:  probably wouldn't.

There were a couple things.  My little "thing" was,  we had a recall a while back on the dishwasher.  For some strange reason,  the very clever engineers decided to make the electrical connection "hard wired".   Well,  the previous model had a plug,  which meant putting in a GCFI outlet in the next door cabinet and plugging the thing in.  Then,  fifteen years later,  that machine had to be replaced,  and the new Bosch wasn't like that.   Both "German" companies by the way,  but seemly Bosch USA had a different idea.  Hard wired.
Fine.   But apparently,  some customers were experiencing overheated cords,  and there was a recall.

This tells me that whoever was hooking the things up had very little clue as to what was required,  but whatever.

So,  we had the Service Dude come out,  changed over the cord etc.   Of course,  I had to redo his installation,  since he f**ked that up but,  whatever. 

One of the reasons I tend to not let trades people in the house.  I'm a bit funny that way.

Then in today's mail,  I get a "Second Recall Notice".   "Urgent!"    I'm like,  "What?"

Well,  it's from the same Boneheads.   I called them. 

And you have to understand,  I really could have just turfed the letter in the round file (well,  these days it's blue/recycling,  and rectangular)  but I thought I'd phone anyway,  just to torture myself. 

There's no direct connection of course.  You have to press a bunch of buttons before speaking with an actual person,  who then simply told me to ignore the letter. 

"So we're done,  right?"   was my only question.  And I'm guessing here,  but my suspicion is that,  the very fine folks who sent a "Service Dude" to the house didn't bother to let The Mothership know what had been done.  Wouldn't that be part of the process?   Don't they want to get paid?


On another front,  completely different,  both T.C. and I have these fancy schmancy electric toothbrushes that are supposed to do all sorts of wonderful things.

Problem is,  T.C. has been finding the odd bristle in her mouth after brushing her teeth.

No bueno.

So she spent the better part of an hour "live chatting"  with a Bonehead from another company.   No resolution to that one.   There were a bunch of minuscule part numbers given and the outcome was, "Our Safety representative will contact you within the next five business days".

They have a "Safety Representative"?   That sounds like a load of fresh air if I ever heard one.

Now,  onto Bonehead Number Three.

I'm looking to purchase a new camera.   So fine,  Daughter Number One and I went into a camera shop across town over a week ago to take a gander.   I had gone with her back in November to have a look see for a camera she was about to receive from her company in recognition of ten years service.  Nice arrangement,  I thought.  Of course,  I got a little bit of "camera envy"  (this is why I stay away from camera and stereo shops,  but whatever) and might have mentioned this particular affliction once we came back home that day.

oooo....look at all that "stuff"!


*ahem*


Where was I?



Then like magic, Travelling Companion gave me a rather generous gift card from said camera shop for Christmas.
I wasn't dropping hints.  Honest.   But...I am hard to buy for.   Or so I'm told.   Socks,  underwear,  and funky t-shirts are pretty much the norm when it comes to my "Christmas List".  And by the way,  I''m never thrilled with a "Christmas List",  but that's beside the point.
Hey,  I even asked for and received bungee cords this year.  I kid you not.

We go, we take a look.

Nothing to stop me now. Turns out,  there's a 'used' model on their website.  I'm intrigued.  The used model and their three year warranty (normally I don't drink that koolaid,  but it's used and the warranty covers a lotta stuff)  still comes in well over a hundred bucks cheaper than a new model.  But,  they have to "bring it in".

Along with that,  I'm considering a flash to go on the hot shoe of the small Canon I have,  as the flash on that camera died a sad death one day on the boat.  Long story,  let's not go there.   Something to do with water,  let's just say?

The model of flash that I want is ALSO not on the premises,  and has to be "brought in". 

Helpful young salesperson orders both items from ....wherever.   The warehouse?  Another location?   Not sure.  Don't care.

And,  I get a call last week saying the camera is there.  "Great!   And what about the flash?" 

 *silence*

 I explained that,  I'm across town,  would prefer not to make two trips.  They have another delivery this week.
OK so,  we wait. Because you know,  it'll be in today's shipment,  right?


Today,  I called.   Yup,  the camera is (still) there,   but that flash?   Well,  there's only three in the whole bloody system (this is a national chain)   and all three of them are either spoken for,  or something else that the fellow on the phone mumbled.  Apparently Canon hasn't released any yet this year. 

Da f**k?

Not sure why this wasn't explained last week when we had our last conversation.  I just figured I wouldn't make two trips,  but had I known this flash was coming on a slow boat from China,  I would have my camera by now.  Good thing I'm not going anywhere,  like on a trip or anything.

I think I'll just go for a little walk down to the grocery store.   Try not to slip on the ice.  You know,  relaxing like.

Thanks for stopping by and letting me vent.

Keep your stick on the ice.

Sometimes I'm just dumbfounded.

"Sometimes?" you say?   Well,  maybe more than just sometimes.
Be nice.
Anyway,  nothing much new to report here at the Ponderosa.   We did have our what has now become an annual dinner party wherein Travelling Companion recreates an Austrian dish called Tafelspitz.

I remember the first time she came home from a gathering with some of her Austrian work companions and told me they had had "boiled meat".
I was pretty sceptical.

"Gah!  Boiled meat?  What the hell?"


But we did venture out on more than one occasion to a particular restaurant in Vienna called Plachutta, and it's their recipe that she tries to replicate.

Pretty damned well I might add.

Anyway,  it was good.  Plus there was some deserts to die for.





But I digress.

I still find myself somewhat dumbfounded when a delivery arrives at our front door,  or in this case the mail box, and it's so soon after I've ordered it,  that I don't immediately realise what it is.


See,  when a feller gets to a certain vintage,  and if said feller wishes to be seen in public, it behooves said feller to be somewhat fastidious when it comes to the removal/trimming/what have you of ones random/extra/annoying nose/ear hairs.

Got that?

Like,  I got 'em growing in places where no hair should be allowed.  If only more would grow on my head.


And just last week,  I broke my trusty trimmer,  and there was no chance of putting it back together this time,  as one of the small pieces went into the sink drain.  And yes,  I do have the skill set to take the trap apart,  but that's a slippery slope.  Emphasis on slippery.

I ordered a new one on the 24th.  That was Friday.   I even think it was Friday night,  but my memory is dim.   Today is Monday.  Apparently things get shipped out on the weekend.

But hey,  just the other night we were talking about all of us "old fogeys"  (my term)  still having land lines and such.  The "kids" (they're mostly all middle aged by now)  no longer have things like cable TV or such a thing as a land line.  Everything is done on their cell phones.

Half the time I don't even know where my cell phone is,  but I am getting a little better in that department after I lost the last one.

Don't feel bad,  I didn't like it anyway.  Good riddance.

Anyhoodle,  a quick update on the bathroom situation.

It's coming along.

Travelling Companion snapped a pic of me putting in the last tile in the shower area,  and I've since been muddling along with the rest of it.

I think it's starting to look pretty good,  if I must say so myself.

I've been putting off doing the floor,  as it involves installing a mat from Warmly Yours.
I mean,  I just have to suck it up and get it done.  Of course, it also involves being on my hands and knees so, ya..

I'll get there.

Keep your stick on the ice.

Thanks for taking a look.

So, I went to buy a snow blower.

And I ended up with this:

Well,   here it is "unwrapped".

Cute,  huh?


And I did buy the snowblower.  But it's out in the shed,  and it's cold out,  and I didn't feel like moving it around to get a decent pic.

See,  acquaintances of mine are moving and doing the big purge.  I can't say I envy them,  but they've decided to sell their house (which,  by the way,  was built by the same contractor who built the house we're in,  and that was my late father-in-law,  how crazy is that?)  and move to a townhouse about 30 minutes from here.

Out Grimsby way.

What that means is, the lady,  a retired teacher, will still be able to come to "Breakfast Babes" on Wednesday mornings for our weekly breakfast and jaw flapping sessions.

OK,  I *think* it was a townhouse.  I'm such a terrible listener.  I do know that a condo was out of the question,  as some of the local condo fees are between five and eight hundred a month!
Now,  in a high rise condo,  you do get a bunch of amenities with that,  such as a pool,  exercise rooms and that kind of stuff,  but if that doesn't really float your boat,  then you're not really getting what you're paying for.

And like,  what's wrong with going to the "Y" or "Aqua-fit" at the local pool for say, a buck fifty a session?

Anyway.   They had this damned near new snow blower for sale,  and I've been kind of missing one for a couple years now.   I used to have an Ariens,  and I think I put a pic of that one up on the blog a few years back.  Whatever.
I had bought that one used,  and it ran and ran for about a decade (or maybe longer?)  that I had it, then my son-in-law used it a few times when we were in Austria,  but then it sat out back under the back step and was looking kind of sad when I went to see just what kind of state it was in when we came back home in the early part of 2013.


At one point maybe six/seven years ago, I had taken it to a repair place for a bit of a tune up,  and was warned not to bring it back,  as any more work done to it would be beyond what it was possibly worth.   So,  seeing how wretched it looked out there,  and with the suspicion that there were likely a host of issues with it,  I decided it had to go.

It's a crazy thing around here,  but anything of a metal nature (snow blower,  oven etc.) that you want to get rid of,  just set it out at the curb,  and some "metal guy" will come by and fetch it.

Just that simple.

There was some shall we say,  scepticism? on the part of Travelling Companion that anyone would actually come and take away a derelict snow blower,  but sure enough,  about seven that evening,  as I was sitting here at the computer doing just this, I heard some commotion out front, and lo and behold, it was being hoisted (although not very elegantly) into the back of a pick-up truck.

I very quietly enjoyed a moment of smugness.  Very quietly.



So far this winter we haven't had that much snow.  And that suits me just fine.  I think however,  that Old Man Winter is just toying with us,  and having a snow blower is something I suspect that I'll be quite happy to have at some point.   We did get snow back before Christmas,  and I can't say it was a whole heap of fun doing that shovelling thing.  I'm hopeful that this new machine isn't too much of a puppy, but we'll see.

And besides,  if buying a snowblower is like some sort of insurance policy against getting any more snow?  Well hell,  I'll happily pay that premium.


The thing is,  I'll be darned if I'll pay a lot of money for a new machine.  Because we're close to the lake, sometimes we get very little snow,  but now and again,  we get dumped on.   And that's when the fun begins.  Typically though,  a snowblower around here only gets used maybe five to ten hours a season.  So, paying big bucks for a new one?  Not overly prudent.

Naturally then, when a good used one came up,  it was hard to pass it up.   And  it was offered at a very good deal.  I won't say how much (or,  how little, actually)  but just too good to pass up.
You know,  when you're in the store,  and there's something awesome for some ridiculous price there in the bin, like an led flashlight for five bucks or something,  and you think, "How can I not buy that,  at that price??"

Kind of like that.


Oh wait,  here we go.  I stole this image off the net.  And no,  we don't have that much snow.  Matter of fact,  I can still see our grass out front.


But this is pretty much it:

It's smaller than the last one I had,  but is considerably newer.   It's an "MTD Yardworks".  Um no,  I see it says "Yard Machines".
What.  Ever.  Not that that means anything.  Twenty-two inch.  I think my old one was 24.  I can't see how I'll miss those two inches.

I did notice that the wheels do not have chains on them,  whereas the Ariens did.  That might possibly make a difference.  But I can always spring for a set of chains I suppose.
Hopefully it won't suck.
I also want to check and make sure they used proper shear pins for the auger.  Of course they would have,  right?
I have been known to pick up the odd rock now and again.

It's....a bit of a story.

The upper part of our driveway is unique,  shall we say?   Has to do with beach stones set in concrete  that was a project by the original owner,  the aforementioned late father-in-law.
There's a lot of things that I've forgotten over the years,  but I DO remember thinking,  one day when I had come here for a visit, (this would have been back in the Eighties)  and he was out there painstakingly pouring individual squares of concrete and setting in all the rounded beach stones that he had schlepped up from the lake that firstly,  it would be a bitch to shovel in the winter (and it is) and secondly that,  there was a good chance that he'd never get it done!

And sadly, he didn't.

Later on,  after we had lived here for a time,  and I wanted to have some semblance of completion in the driveway end of things,  I ended up moving a bunch of them to sort of square things off,  and had the rest paved.
It was right around the time that I was doing the pillars,  and I had a little digger here,  which was just the thing for moving otherwise unwieldy slabs of beach stone encrusted concrete.


So,  getting back to the shear pin situation, every so often,  one of these lovely beach stones comes loose.  Not a good thing for a snowblower.  Seriously not.


Now,  as much as the blower was an awesome deal,  the same goes for the chainsaw.
There was a question about whether or not I was the kind of guy who might use or want a chainsaw? *pfft*!  Well Ya!
I just don't happen to own one. The next question was whether or not I'd want to buy the one sitting there in the garage?   Still in the box!
Wait.  What??

There was some story about a gift or something.  Seriously,  I suck at listening.
Plus,  I was getting cold,  and was kind of torn between wanting to get back in my nice warm truck and wanting to check out this saw.  Especially when the gentleman quoted a really,  really good price.
I also cannot say how little I paid. Wouldn't be prudent.
This thing has never once been fired up!  It even came with a little container of oil to mix in with the gas!   Now,  I'm not so sure I'm going to race off and buy some gas so I can see how it works,  as I'm not overly keen on having mixed gas hanging around,  but I'm sure it's a fine little saw.

Mind you,  it's going to be tough to resist.  We'll see.
First I'll need to take that horse shoe out of my hind end.


I've been *looking* at saws,  for like, ever.   Just couldn't pull the trigger.

Kind of like the way I browse the net looking at Jointers.   I used to have an el-cheapo one, and sold it in a garage sale many,  many years ago.  I'd like to have another one, but one that is quality wise, perhaps a step or two up from "crappy"?


None of those things help me get the bathroom finished of course,  so it's all just talk.  Something else to fritter away my time with on the internet.

I'll post some more reno pics at some point.  Don't want to bore you too badly.


Thanks for stopping by.

Sticks.

Ice.

You know the drill.

Came a knock at the door.

And I immediately think, "Gah,  somebody wanting to sell me something".  And good luck with that,  unless it were say,  Girl Guide cookies?  I'll admit,  I'm a sucker for cookies in general,  and Girl Guide cookies in particular.
You know,  "supporting the cause",  and all?

But NO,  it was my friendly neighbourhood postal delivery Dude,  who leaves the packages next to the front door,  knocks once,  and buggers off.
And that's OK really.  I'd sooner have that happen, than getting a "delivery" from the knobs at Purolator,  who then are obligated to leave a little card,  instructing me to drive half way across town to pick up the package they "couldn't deliver".
Dickheads.
And at that point of course,  I have to prove who I am.
What's the point of shopping on line,  if I then have to drive half way across town?
*grumble*

OK,  got that out of my system.

It never ceases to amaze me at just how quickly some items get delivered.  Well,  some others not quite so quickly,  Travelling Companion is still waiting for a pattern she ordered from the States.  Lord only knows where that thing is.  That whole cross border thing is a crap shoot.
But that's not my deal.

There's a bit of a theme going on here:

One of my sisters-in-law sent me a birthday card that was somewhat timely,  as we had not so long ago been "shoe shopping" in Bobcaygeon.

Well,  not me actually.  I looked.  Prices too high.  I left.

Pretty much spot on.

Mind you,  if there's a place to sit down,  I'm good.  Or,  I can wander outside and check out the boat traffic at the lock.  This last visit was Thanksgiving weekend of course,  so there was scarcely a boat in the water. So that back up plan was kind of a bust.



For a time now,  and by that I mean maybe a couple years?  I've been meaning to replace a pair of ageing sandals that I wear just about every day in the warmer weather.  I don't have a picture of them, as I don't want to upset your sensibilities.   They're just nasty.   They do stay on my feet though,  but are so worn,  that "staying on my feet"  on the fore-deck of the boat was getting to be a challenge.

So this (below) is my answer to "shoe shopping".

Yay!

Amazon.  Forty bucks.

Oh and,  just ignore the nose hair trimmer thing.  That was another thing that wore out and fell apart a few days ago.
In my estimation,  it's an appliance that ranks up there in importance with the coffee maker or the fridge.  No random hairs growing in places where I don't want them for me,  thanks.
That purchase was further precipitated by the sight a couple days ago, of a young man in a bathroom fixtures type of store who was in definite need of a good trim.

Like,  it was all I could look at.

And was the immediate topic of conversation in the car when we left.   The "post visit debriefing",  as I like to call it.

"Did you see that guy's nose hairs?"  

Um. Ya.

Let's move on.


So,  I tried them on.  I mean,  nothing beats trying things on in a sticks and bricks store,  but I'd like to refer you back to photo one.

Because even if it's ME looking for shoes or whatever?  Just not enthusiastic.

And no,  I don't wear sandals with socks.  Oh GAWD no.  
But trust me,  you don't really want to see my toes either.
Not that they're all gnarling or anything,  but men's toes?
No.
Just no.


In other "news",  we're off to Tobermory tomorrow to celebrate the completion of the Bruce Trail by one of our friends.   She and a hiking buddy have by now done most of the 840 kilometre trail,  and are wrapping it up this weekend.
With slightly better weather we hope.  
Just google "Bruce Trail" if you're unsure just what that is.
Now,  this wasn't a thing that they did all at once, (um, we're not kids anymore?)  but has been something they've been doing piecemeal for a couple summers now.
We've all booked rooms to stay for the night,  and will toast their final part of the journey at some point tomorrow (Saturday) afternoon.

I'll take pictures.   I promise.

I think that's all I got in my pea brain for today.  Trying to be a little more "up to date" on the blogging end of things.  Not that there's all that much that's of interest,  but hopefully I can offer a chuckle from time to time.

No more pictures of feet.  And sure as hell no pictures of guys in need of a nose hair trimmer.


Thanks for stopping by.

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