Category: Uncategorized

Here’s something I never really enjoyed before, but have since gotten a taste for. Fresh Jerky. I think I hated it before because I was only ever offered old, tired, far too tough jerky before. I never understood why anybody would like chewing on what amounted to as little more than dried bark. But the fresh stuff? Whoo boy, that shiznit is tasty. Smoked hickory, original, teriyaki, they are all fabulous. Filling too. I think my high school “pals” were just trying to pawn off the old crap on me. And I just assumed it was all that bad no matter what. But I was wrong. It’s rather good if you get it fresh.

On the plus side we got through the entire book, and my eldest dictated the content of her report to my wife last night. So today I can edit it. Put capitals where they belong, and punctuation to finish the sentences, where missed. Cut out and repeated words, and look for typos. Cut it into the appropriate pieces, and make sure each sentence is coherent. If my kid doesn’t know the full answer she trails off, and the talk to text app adds a bunch of gibberish. So I need to be on the lookout for that. Luckily in this case I’ve read the book twice, outloud mind you, so I can add context to any statement where it is implied. Gotta give the peeps the straight facts, not be vague and wave at it as you skim past it. That leaves people scratching their heads because they don’t know the ins and outs like you do. Funny that. Huh.

Also – side note: feeling better today. Not sure what set me off last night, but it was tenacious and unpleasant. Once I got to sleep though, all good. Well, except for my sore hand which has been bothering me for several days now. Feels like I’ve rearranged some bones in my hand, and the tendons don’t care for that at all. Not sure what it is, but I don’t much care for it.

Here we are, back to Wednesday. Only seven weeks left of the school year. Sept to Christmas fly by, and then January 1st to May 1st drags on forever, and then May through June will just fly by like a bat out of hell. It has to be due to the better weather. We get outside, see more friends, do a whole lot more besides camp inside, away from the cold & snow. Will I get out on my roller blades this year? Will we ride our bikes anywhere fun? Will I fall when skateboarding? These are the real questions. I’m not afraid to ask them!

**WARNING: GRAPHIC INTESTINAL HEALTH DISCUSSION AHEAD**

I have a pretty decent sense of what will set my guts off, but with today’s bout of rotten guts, I’m stymied. I didn’t eat anything really out of the ordinary. I made an egg sandwich on an everything bagel for breakfast, sometime around 10:00am, which gave me no immediate signs of causing me problems. But woah buddy, something inside me wants to get out, and take everything else with it in a hurry, laws of physics & physiology be damned. Not going to lie. I do not miss this sensation at all. Twisting, crumpling, cramping, blood soaked visits to the rest room are not my favourite thing. The urge to push my cranium out through the soles of my feet is something I could go a hundred years or more without, and would never miss it. Whatever is in there currently feels like shards of glass scraping my guts with every millimeter it moves. That an a white hot, furious, semi liquid lava glorping, grumbling, and roiling about my innards as we speak. Fan-fucking-tastic. My own private Idaho. Or is this Californiacation? Either way, I ain’t leaving a dribble on the mesh of a screen door with this bout. Bet. Fr fr. Fam.

Spent the early morning taking baby stuff round to my SIL’s just down the road from us. Finally got the two seater stroller gone, the two seater wagon, the little tykes picnic bench table combo, and the little tykes work bench & tools. That opened up a fair bit of floor space in the shed, basement, and the garage. I would love to find someone to take our change table off our hands, but no takers as of yet. Plus it’s only been six years since my vasectomy so a change of life baby isn’t due until year ten or so, so perhaps holding on to it won’t be too terrible a thing to do. Ha. You never know.

So that’s my morning. Driving, washing baby stuff, doing school drop off, and now I’m finally back at home and I need to eat breakfast. Perhaps an egg sandwich? Bacon & eggs? Beans on toast? I’d say cereal, but all that is around here are the super sugary kids stuff, like the Reese’s Pieces cereal or Lucky Charms. Not my bag man. I guess I could sort the kids washed laundry from yesterday? I see some branches that could do with pruning in the back yard. Lots to choose from until I find out what work requires from me today. Suns up, blue skies over head, and I’m happy to have cleared out some baby stuff. I’m all good today.

Not going to lie, still fixated on a rolling tool bench with work top, but the longer I hold off, the more likely the fixation will pass on to some other coveted item with a much lower price tag. Until these invoices start getting paid, or I quote/estimate more new work, I have to act like this is it for the time being. So cinch down the belt, and don’t go spending money you don’t have in your accounts just yet. If I contract for a good amount, I can figure out what I can spend, after setting aside the income tax amount, and HST amount, so I don’t end up spending money that isn’t mine, which still has to be made up at tax time the following April. Takes the fun out of Retail Therapy once you see your available funds halved, and then split between savings of your own & spending money. Gotta bring in all those dollar bills y’all. Be smart with what little you have at your disposal. Cars will still need oil changes, new tires from general wear and tear, servicing, the water softener tank is still looming, water heater is going to act up all summer long – again. Refrigerator has been reasonable, but for how much longer? You know? Yeah I’d love to get carried away, and buy the kids new bicycles, roller blades, or a free standing basketball net, but house hold things are coming whether I want to spend my money on them or not. Yeah! Adulthood. Boo-Urns! I wanted toys, not new appliances. I feel you bruv, I really do.

So, today is Tuesday. No extracurriculars today. Oldest has a few chapters left to read, and a report to put together. Then I can help to rejig it into something coherent. We’ll print it off, and then spend tomorrow practicing the book talk, so the presentation on Thursday goes smoothly. Such fun!

My guts are growling so I really need to eat now. Ciao Bella.

What a morning it was too. Lovely a sunny! Dress for the early morning chill, but be prepared for the afternoon heat wave. I need to find my kids hats, and purchase new sun screen. As we draw nearer to the middle of spring these temps are going to jump! And it’ll be shorts, and sweating profusely kind of weather. The trees are finally starting to develop leaves once more. Took a few weeks break while it was cold, grey and rainy. Hit them with some sunshine and BAM! leaves once more. I need to put some laundry on, and get the gymnastic gear sorted for this afternoon.

We did succeed in getting my oldest to read four full chapters of her latest book yesterday, so Thursdays looming deadline seems more attainable. Less stressful for all concerned. I hot things to do, best be about it then. Ciao Bella!

Is not much fun to be the constant reminder regarding their obligations to school work. I’ve been reminding my oldest about their book talk three times a day for the last sixteen days. And now with just a mere four days to go, she has decided to start reading in a panic, and has found several words they can’t decipher. Zero sympathy here (which sounds awful I know). For three weeks we’ve discussed the need to pick up this book and actually read it. Which shouldn’t be too hard as I’ve read this book to her on two separate occasions. But waiting until the week it is due to just start makes me angry.

Every single day when we get home from school I’ve said, you should pick up that book, do a little reading. Made sure the tv was off for the first hour we were home. Fixed them drinks & snacks too. In 21 days, of reading a little each day she could have completed the book and started the assignment. But now with a week full of evening events to do she wants to start and try to finish it. Foolish. Absolutely ridiculous. I’m not writing this for her. No way. Take the terrible mark you’ve earned and use it to motivate you to do better. Take some responsibility for the lack of effort you’ve put in. That’s how I feel about it.

It isn’t like we’ve done anything crazy around here to warrant not starting. I didn’t dangle lazer tag, or paint ball sessions to lure her away from doing her work. We didn’t visit theme parks, go to the movies, see concerts, or go to parties as obstacles to this homework getting done. The weather has been rainy & terrible which has kept us all indoors. She chose to sit to watch tv, or hide in her room instead of doing the assignment. We all know that she had five of them to do this year. And with three completed it isn’t like she did not know what was expected of her in getting it completed.

We even have speech to text apps on her computer to help her get started on organizing her thoughts. Then her mother or I cut & paste her thoughts into a coherent order. And ask follow up questions to get cleaner answers or more context. But I can’t do that unless the book is read. So I can be of no help here.

And it isn’t like we don’t model the joy of reading around here. I have hard cover/paperback novels that I read most days in front of the kids, and their mother reads e-books on a Kindle or phone every single day. We derive a lot of pleasure from reading and communicate such to both kids. After this one gets presented on Thursday there is one more to do for June. That one has to be non-fiction. Depending on which book she finds and what it is about, that could take a good deal of discipline to finish. Looking forward to that.

I need to check the lug nuts on the van, and possibly retorque them all. I had wanted to vacuum the inside too, and power wash the exterior, but with more rain in the forecast for today that may not be a smart use of my time. Lazy Sunday spent reading it is then, for all! Ciao Bella.

My Briggs and Stratton lawn mower which is now 17 years old, started first pull – again. God damn. If that’s not a statement towards a products solid design, then I don’t know what is. I’m no mechanic, I’m not terribly mechanically inclined, so 99% of that sturdiness and reliability comes down to the motor itself. I change the oil once per cutting season. I have wire brushed the spark plug once or twice in those 17 years. I use new gas each year. And I wash & clean the air intact filter once per cutting season. I sharpen the blades once or twice per year too. I once had to replace a spring that works a plastic flap which regulates the air intact, but that was a one off. I’ve lost bolts that keep the cowl/cover on, so it isn’t perfect, but God Damn am I happy with this 22 inch mower that could. Also – shout out to my 17 year old Echo line trimmer that started up problem free again this year too. All that has ever needed was a new rubber bulb for priming the fuel through the system. That Echo was probably the most expensive piece of lawn equipment that I ever bought, other than my John Deere ride on mower that now resides at my in-laws cottage property. It still runs like a champ too.

After I get our water softener replaced I’m probably going to splurge on a new rolling work bench / tool chest with butcher block work top. Just hyping myself up for the expense. Hoping the one I want goes on sale for Father’s Day. Looking to save a few bucks if I can. Or maybe my van will go bust and I’ll be happy I didn’t spend all that money just yet. The problem with being cheap and cautious is having a hard time spending hard earned money on stuff just for myself. Gah! Kentucky derby is about to begin, gotta jet.

Waking up early to get out on the ice again. Learning to skate, out on the ice again. Listening to the whistle blow, out on the ice again. Under the florescent glow of those lights again. Sitting on the chilly plastic seats out by the ice again. Whee! Happy Saturday!

Spent about an hour last night working on my 17 year old Briggs & Stratton Lawn Mower. Washed it, drained the used engine oil, drained the old gasoline, and sharpened the blades. It took longer to scrape the dried grass off the bottom of the casing than it did to do anything else. Still a heavy sob to lift up onto my bench. But, this time around I didn’t have to fight with the nut holding the blade on, I used my Ryobi impact wrench to do the heavy lifting there. I braced the blade with a sturdy rubber mallet, and zap! Came right out. No cursing, banging, or reefing on the socket to get it to budge. A lovely bit of kit that is. I’ve used it three times since I bought it in September, and it has gone wonderfully each time, saved me busted knuckles and a bunch of time.

I was smart enough to disconnect the spark plug this time around. Had lots of mower engine oil on hand, so no worries there. This was the first year I hadn’t drained the fuel by running it dry. Not too certain what to do with this jug of water logged fuel. Perhaps I’ll soak some junk logs with it, and then burn them over the weekend after it has off gassed for a few days. Not sure. I do need to go buy more new gas for the mower, trimmer & generator to be prepared for this summer season.

Made it to Friday, and the sun has started to peak through the clouds. Blue sky is visible! Good gravy that is nice to see after 7-10 days of grey rainy mess. I for one am pumped up about it!

I do need to find some new bolts to keep the cowl/cover on my mower. Over the 17 years I’ve had it, it has mysteriously been dropping these quarter twenty look alike hex head bolts out of it randomly. I have never stood on one, or come a cross any of the missing ones in all the years I’ve cut our grass here. And we moved here in 2009. I only cut grass here with my stuff. You’d think I could stumble across at least one of my lost bolts at some point! I did manage to locate the 10mm socket I dropped in September when repairing our broken dryer vent. That was just sitting on top of the leaves beside the garage door. I was over the moon excited when I rediscovered it. My set of sockets was once again complete! I did buy a replacement and a deep version off of amazon, but I can’t have too many 10mm sockets laying around. I need them to have one flat side so they don’t roll off of everything and disappear into the ether. Poof! Gone. I have an Allen key that did the same trick a few years ago while I was working on my lathe. After all this time, several years now, I have never stumbled upon it. My garage isn’t exactly cavernous, nor is it chock a block full of stuff (anymore). My clear out, tear down, and reorganizing has opened up a fair amount of floor space. But no random Allen keys have been located. Weird. The interdimensional vortex known as a garage floor when working with small parts. It’s a conspiracy I tell you! Gotta be gremlins or something. Off the table top, and… it’s gone.

With that bomb shell, I bid you adieu. Ciao Bella!

They plagued us for years and so I built a wooden covered box to house our garbage cans and recycling bins, and the coveted green food waste bin, because the damned trash pandas were scattering food scraps and garbage all over our stoop and front lawn. The bin worked really well for three or four years, that was, until last night, where a fat little fucker chewed into the lid, and snapped off a strip of cedar and then proceeded to pull as much trash out of the bin as was possible. Little fucking menace. I’m going to have to glue, screw, and pin nail a bunch of new strips together to thwart this dirty little shit head. Fuck! Four years with no problems, so why now? I throw all of our food scraps into the compost pile in the back yard. There’s no reason to into the bin. We don’t use the green food waste bin anymore, it all goes to the bottom of the yard into the compost pile. You want a snack, go there you idiot fuck. In case you haven’t noticed I’m annoyed at the mess, and the destruction of my cedar bin box. Rat bastards, the lot of them.

I think it’s Thursday today. Still raining and cool. Looking for the weather to break tomorrow, and we should get a few days of clouded over sunshine. I’ll need to prep the lawn mower to begin a new season of lawn maintenance. Oil change, new gas, blade sharpening, and a cleaning. Loads of dirty fun to be had. Ciao Bella.

Will not help if it pours for so long that everything floods or gets washed away. Did sacrificing your time & money in favour of not spending it on experiences help you in this situation? You lived through a forced austerity of your own making, and now what you did put away is but a splash in the bucket of the vast amounts you’ll need to rebuild. Was it worth it? To deny yourself all those memories, experiences, and in most cases, things you coveted. Hard to say. If something entirely out of your control hadn’t happened then you’d be golden, but now that an unforeseen circumstance has struck from out of the blue, you are no better off, actually worse, because you denied yourself things & experiences and memories that would have made you a happier person for brief stretches. It’s all so chaotic and random. I think planning ahead is a good thing. I think keeping a bit of control over your impulses is good. I think wasteful spending is terrible. But in the end something you can’t plan for, or expect may ruin everything. Some food for thought.

It’s Wednesday, Hump-Day, Middle of the Week Day! It has stopped raining for the moment, a hint of sunlight is reflecting off the cloud cover, and I managed to finish all my cleaning yesterday. I also made some slight progress on my resin kit, yes that is still ongoing. I have the legs dressed (armor), ready to be washed and painted. I got the new hips assembled which took some effort to do. Sprung loaded joints and all that fuss. I’m just about ready to once again primer the now reformed inner structure. At least for the hips to the toes anyway. I see I need to update both the chest and shoulders now too. So it is slow going. I was really busy throughout April, so I didn’t do much beyond spits & spurts whenever I could squeeze in three to five minutes of sanding, clipping, and drilling for test fitting all of these pieces. Might have it done by Christmas! Ha.

I’m more than half way through book twelve of my reading challenge. The book is good, but I’ve come to realize it’s part of a series, and I probably won’t get much of an ending to this first entry. I was kind of hoping for a solid one off experience. Who knows maybe I can locate the later entries in the series somewhere nearby. Or I’ll give it a miss. I’m just looking for quick, simple, one off stories worth reading all the way through. Not exactly a tall order.

The Dune Part Two trailer is supposed to drop at some point today. I’ll go scour Twitter or YouTube to see if it is up yet. I have some Photoshop work to do today, but otherwise a little lighter schedule than usual. Got out after school drop off to do some grocery shopping. Just a quick zip through Wally-Mart. They really give you the gears now to sign up for their customers rewards cards. She was a tad insistent if you ask me. I’m willing to bet they get audited to see how many cards they can sell in a shift. Poor buggers. I don’t need nor want anymore credit cards thanks.

Take care out there. Ciao Bella!