Chilly Monday

It was outright cold in my bed through the night. I woke up to pee and the sheets and blankets were cold by the time I got back. That isn’t right. I have been holding off turning the heat on for a week or two. I don’t want to start contributing to the asinine carbon tax any sooner than I have to. I set my household temperature a pace or two into the uncomfortable for each season. Warmer in the summer and cooler in the winter than most folks. Why am I being penalized for this good behaviour with a made up tax? Anyways, I could go on but will shift gears to tell you about my breakfast. I had the same amount of breakfast as good things I could have said about that tax. Nothing. I’m not sure why, I was up in good time but just didn’t feel like eating. Strange. I did my MSC challenge instead and then got into work. After a long call to start the week I checked in with a colleague and started my big fall file that I’ll need for the next three months. By lunch I had added slippers to my wool socks and a second sweater. It was time, I can’t risk getting sick at this juncture, I turned on the heat. My aim was to warm the house two degrees from 17C to 19C. What a difference! To break my fast finally I had a huge bowl of my soup. It seems to have absorbed all the liquid and become a somewhat bland but nutritious mush.

Now energized by a warmer atmosphere and mushy soup power, I dove into that file with considerably more zeal than before. I got almost all of the corn half of it done. I’ll do the soybean side later in the week. I’m still planning to walk some corn locations in the rain tomorrow and possibly Friday. I don’t think I’ll do as much as I’ve previously planned. I fielded a couple of calls and answered a few requests over the course of the afternoon but things quieted down and by half four I was able to slip away to go see the Chef. As you’ll recall from yesterday, I had a growing pile of stuff to bring him. I was feeling great so I brought him the sausage rounds, the juiceless pickles and a sample of the soup for him to critique. He showed me the considerable progress he’d made on his landscaping. He now has three distinct tiers constructed and most of the retaining walls built.

It’s somewhat hard to see but there will be a concrete pad against the house then three steps into the enclosed area that will be a vast ocean of interlocking stone. Then in lieu of those temporary boards, there will be large stones piled two high across that edge. He is bringing in fill to level the bottom tier then putting in a proper lawn. He might get a hot tub off to the right of the photo for the middle tier and there will be a nice stone fire pit on the third tier to the right of those temporary steps he tore off the house. He is really moving along with that project these days. He is also progressing inside, down to putting trim on to complete his projects. He will have the bathroom and kitchen left. Both have been demolished already. He has come up with some creative ideas to keep it liveable in the interim.

After the tour we went out to one of his restaurants to eat. Choosing the Pickle Barrel was an apt choice, considering the purpose of my journey. I had never been so following my rule I ordered the clubhouse and it was exquisite. I remembered to get it untoasted. Oddly, there was no cheese or mayo on it so I asked to add my own mayo, strong move. We had no appetizers and both had water. This was a much more reasonable total compared to our last meal out. I dropped the Chef at home and scuttled back to the Harbour. I mused and caught up on some of my fave YouTube channels before bed.