American Troubles

I won’t say much here. I spent a lot of time following the troubles. I had no breakfast. I was in a meeting/conference all morning then again for most of the afternoon. I spent a good deal of time on the phone answering customer questions also. I had a half bowl of soup to finish up my fancy vegan soup and last sausage as a lunch. Then things started popping off and my focus shifted there after work. Because of my distressed mood and the lack of food I’d taken down I ordered a pizza for supper. I ate it vigourously and then wandered around my house for a few minutes before settling into my bed at half six and stayed there. I had a nice catchup over text with Dr H and followed along with the carnage south of the border. I watched trash on YouTube and snapped a bit with She. Eventually I powered down ahead of ten, the earliest time in weeks.

Deja Vu Food

Today started somewhat like yesterday but worse. I had a much harder time getting out of bed and it was nearly eight before I’d made a move. I also awoke in a state of undress that is uncommon for me but found myself to be quite comfortable in my duvet cocoon. I got cleaned up and dressed to tackle the day. I was at my desk a few minutes after eight, which is a bit frightening. All that made possible due to the lack of breakfast and even water today. Work wise I had a couple of calls on the docket for the day and I can tell you the first one went much, much better than I feared. Some honest to God, actual progress on an issue that could ruin my spring more than even last year, pandemic included. I didn’t get across as much ground as I’d have liked in the morning but my email was absolutely buzzing, I think people are back in the saddle and ringing my chain. It was actually midday when I pulled up and went for lunch. It was pretty much the lunch of yesterday but better. I had another bowl of my fancy vegan soup but with a mittful of shredded cheese to un-vegan it. To further make it official I had another warmed up sausage. In the photo you’ll also see a folded cheese slice. That was more about making the meal look like the previous day than anything else. It was a fun and welcome addition though.

A fairly intense meeting started the afternoon and then it was time to get going, I covered the ground that I’d missed in the morning and got myself right caught up. I’m feeling pretty okay about my progress so far in 2021, that will eventually collapse around me I think. In fact, I got some very distressing news later in the day to help start the onslaught. But nothing gonna get me down. I ended things at half five and wandered into the kitchen. I thought since I’d had the same breakfast and lunch it would make sense to have the same dinner. See yesterday’s photo for an approximation of what I ate. I finally used the last of my garlic aioli sauce and also my chipotle mayo sauce. I think I’m due for a new one whenever I groce next. That should be soon but I’m only a couple of days away from completing a full fourteen day quarantine to be respectful. I don’t think a full one is required when just driving from one area to another but one shouldn’t take chances if one can avoid them. After dinner I went in the garage to spool up my Christmas lights which had sufficiently thawed and dried. Since I was in there I decided to put the spare tire attachment on my boat trailer. I’m realizing that I’m much more willing to do stuff to the boat trailer than the actual boat at this point. I think that is because I’m much more familiar with trailers and how they work than I am with boats. I’ll have to get over that.

I opened the lights and started checking out what I need to do to make them work. The bow light is just battery operated so that is pretty easy. The stern light will need to be wired in. I’ll have to figure out that last pieces I need for that, other than the battery. I have the battery in mind that I’d like to buy. I just need to talk myself into the expense now. After fooling around with that stuff I headed back into the house and took care of my MSC challenges. I had some issues with OBS Studio again and couldn’t stream it for everyone, which is unfortunate. Not for my zero disappointed viewers but just for my own concern. I worked on Musings after that then started some birthday shopping for people in January. Book and French lessons before bed.

Back to the Grind

The end of the holiday came quicker than I wanted, probably quicker than you wanted too I’d wager. I woke up later than I should have and then got myself ready for the day. At the interval that normally I’d make breakfast I simply filled my water. I was checking email and getting antzier and antzier about work so I just went for it. This lead to me starting the workday at half seven or so. The first thing I did was start to work on a crisis that had bubbled up in the last forty eight hours or so. It was something from our fleet management company and my vehicle. In the end, I’d discover several hours later, it was nothing. I mean nothing, something go sent out and was being requested for no reason and they were working to suppress it, their words. I’m not sure I use that turn of phrase enough in my life but I’d sure like to. I started working immediately after that debacle of a start and things went from zero to full sprint in the first hour. I had a fast paced, intense call from ten until one to start back in. Looks like the break did nothing to slow down the breakneck intensity that this industry has turned into it. Or maybe it always was I just never noticed. When the call finished up I was able to shoot down for lunch and that consisted of a bowl of my fancy vegan soup with a warmed up sausage and the last hunk of smoked gouda cheese. After that initial blast I got to cruise into a relaxing afternoon of work and crunching down podcasts. I’m not sure I could recall much of them but they sure did play. It was around five when I finished up for the day. So much for half-assing the first week. I decided to hit the easy button for dinner again. I cracked into one of the blue bags of chicken bites. Some kind of Chinese rendition, highly processed but adequate to fill a gut. These also push the definition of a chicken bite, little bit more like a tri-bite.

For some reason I got an idea that I might want to eat off a board tonight so I grabbed a bamboo board. I guess I thought I’d be doing some carving of these monsters. I enjoyed the experience, the board being large enough that no mess was at risk of slopping off the side. I may try this again. After I’d cleared my podcast queue it was back to Rhthym of War. I’m into the fast moving section of the book so I didn’t want to relent and after listening to it through dinner I went down and played some NHL20 in order to keep the party going. When I’d had my fill of that I climbed upstairs and did my MSC challenges for the day then went to read my book. Except I never got to my book. I started watching YouTube channels that I subscribe to’s latest uploads and before I knew it I was nodding off around nine. I think I was in and out for an hour or two before sleep really took hold of me.

Last Holiday

Don’t be fooled by the title, I didn’t switch houses with someone in a foreign country today like in the film of the same name. Rather I followed what has quickly become my vaction routine. I overslept, this time until after eight. I suppose I needed the extra waft of sleep I gained off that. I followed up that by lounging in bed for over an hour. That time was spent primarily doing my French lessons on Duolingo. Today is the last day of the week and I started it with a healthy lead and wanted to maintain things. My lead after that hour was over twelve hundred points but one can never guess how the day will unfold. With that done and my podcast episode winding down I got myself cleaned and dressed for the day. Rather than head down for breakfast I broke things up by jumping into the MSC challenges first. I did stream it on Twitch again and then updated Musings. I am really liking that flow and might try to incorporate it into my everyday going ahead.

Before sleep last night I’d been watching some outtake videos of The IT Crowd, the first ever show I watched on Netflix and when I opened YouTube they were all over my recommendations. I ended up watching another show that one of them (Richard Ayoade) does called Travel Man. I suppose I enjoy that smug British humour because I watched that for the next hour or so. It was getting up to noon and I realized that I hadn’t had a meal yet so finally descended and made a plate of chicken bites and dip. Another move to throw off the rhthym. I futher augmented the day but pouring myself some Crown Royal and Fever Tree Ginger Ale over some ice. These were gifts from GRP and KJMH. Naturally I free poured the drink and as such I caught quite a nice little buzz off it, empty stomach and all. My buzz and I grabbed my book and sprawled in a chair to read my twenty percent for the day. I think I ended up reading more like forty percent today, it got interesting. Once my buzz wore off I went outside and shovelled out the driveway again and again thoroughly cleaned the truck off while listening to Rhthym of War. This time I checked the forecast to make sure there wasn’t going to be steady stream of precipitation that would render my efforts moot. (not mute).

When I came back inside I cleaned a bit and then continued in that previously reported forty percent and added some more XP to my Duolingo. I ended up over two thousand XP for the week and with a healthy lead over the number two person (741 XP) I felt like I could cruise to the win, with frequent monitoring. At half four I returned to the kitchen to prepare my second meal of the day. I decided to get the Instant Pot out and cook up a package of chicken. Maybe it’s meal prep at its most introductory but I have an idea to make burritos with two breasts and the use the other two for a soup. I did season them pretty wildly for a soup but I guess we’ll see. And since we’re talking about soup, that’s what I made for dinner (technically lunch). I got an easy to make soup in my stocking from Soup Girl. This year I got Mexican Amaranth Soup, last year it was Smokey Split Pea. It’s an easy recipe because you just combine water and the contents of the jar in a pot, get it boiling then turn the heat way down. This soup featured some split peas and lentils as the “meat” of this vegan dish. It takes about an hour to fully cook and it took me quite a while to eat also. I had one bowl and put the rest of the pot in the fridge. Because one small bowl is not likely to feed a beast like me I also cooked up four sausages in the air fryer and ate one. I also had a bit of my smoked gouda cheese to make sure the meal wouldn’t be considered vegan at all. I included a photo of my new kitchen knife I bought at Black Friday sales cause I used it for one of the first times on the cheese, it’s hella sharp and looks cool, plus is wildly comfortable. As for the meal, the sausage and cheese were my favourite parts of it. The soup wasn’t bad, it was just okay. The ease of preparation means I’d do it again.

After washing a huge mountain of dishes from all the appliances I used I found my way to the basement. That part of the tradition didn’t differ. I played some NHL20 to keep the ball rolling on Rhthym of War which I’d been listening to for the hours it took to make a huge mess in the kitchen. My season is getting to be mature and I think I’ll finish it up before I start to play NHL21, which I’ve got on the shelf currently. While I was playing I had to take frequent breaks to check on my Duolingo. As I mentioned, I’m in the top league and sitting in first place. The week flips over at half seven local time so I was all over it. As you’ll see below I was successful in my bid. I crushed it, opening such a lead that nobody wanted to try and catch me, it is only a couple hundred XP some ambitious punk will track you down last minute, I made sure it was over one thousand. Not much moved after the afternoon round of lessons. I finished with 2004 XP and second place was 741 XP. I got my Legendary achievement of finishing first in the Diamond League and also my first ever first place finish, another achievement. I got quite a few rewards for those two things on top of the prize I am showing below. I did this on my 942 consecutive day of training. I had a 48 day streak before this one that disappeared unexplicably, leading to this steak starting the next morning. I felt pretty damn good about it.

To celebrate this monumentous achievement I decided to get back on Bike Club. Cheese sent his photo so I knew we were both back after it. I got good and sweaty doing that and then trudged up two flights of stairs and vigourously brushed my teeth and flossed for an added boost to myself. Work starts tomorrow but I had a pretty rewarding end to my last day of holiday.

Extra Sloppy

I could get used to this, although I shouldn’t. Lately I’ve been staying up a bit later and sleeping in a bit more then lounging in bed until at least 8am before even making an attempt to start my day. Today I whiled away some time by listening to an Irish radio special featuring my favourite Tryer Justine. She was sharp. When that ended I did some French lessons to stay ahead of the rabble, I’m really going for it this week, I’m trying to finish first in the top league of Duolingo. When I’d run low on hearts I watched a bit of YouTube. It was past nine by the time I washed up and headed downstairs for my normal breakfast. It was very good, as usual. My egg supply is finally starting to dwindle, I think I’ll need to have a shop in the next few days and I’ll buy an irresponsible amount of eggs. After cleaning up the breakfast mess I sprinted up to my computer and streamed my MSC challenges on Twitch again today then I updated Musings and checked the site analytics, viewership is low. I decided some exercise was in the cards today so I went out and scraped my driveway clean. There had been some freezing drizzle followed by wet snow. This left a heavy wet layer with a crusty bottom, like a hobo who’s been on the train too long. I had heard the two older people on either side of me try and scrap earlier when it was still quite frosty and struggle, the task being harder than it needed to be. My virtuous patience paid off as the crusty layer was more apt to release in chunks. I had Rhythm of War going the entire time and also cleaned my truck completely off too, then shovelled up that mess. Everything was spic and span when I went back in.

By this time it had crept up to noon and I decided I’d eat, despite having had breakfast only a few short hours ago. I think I was trying to keep the tank full to generate some feeling of comfort. The portion size also fits that theory. I boiled some water and prepared not one, not two, but three packages of Mr Noodle. Two of them were the regular chicken and one was the spicy chicken. It was fantastic, with just the right amount of spice. It also checked the box of being super filling. The effort in the driveway must have worked up an apetite for me. I also treated myself to a Dr Pepper, just cause.

When I’d cleaned up the remnants of that meal and did a couple songs of dancing to try and burn some of that lunch off I made my way upstairs to engage with my book. I said yesterday that I’d taken down twenty percent of the novel and thought it would be good to rip another twenty off today, so with a goal in mind, I set to work. It was an easy win. When I’d finished that I turned back to some French lessons. I’m trying to rack up between two and three hundred XP points a day, this requires a couple of sessions of lessons. I got a frantic email from the Booj and GRP about fantasy hockey so dealt with that appropriately. Apparently Yahoo wanted to check if I’d prefer to use their email as my default and while the question was pending they reverted my settings back to using only their email account so I didn’t see any of the emails over the last couple of weeks regarding the league. That was a dirty trick, only once I logged in did I see the question and select something other than their service, mostly out of convenience but a little out of spite. I watched some more YouTube and before I knew it, we were up to five. I made some chicken bites and headed downstairs. I’m noticing a bit of a pattern, daytime spent above ground and after dark I slink down to my lair. Tonight I watched a film called Shimmer Lake on Netflix. I started watching it because I felt that cast was going to make it good, but it was the writing more than that which made this enjoyable. I had my guesses of what was going to happen but was pleasantly surprised with the ending. The way the story was unfurled was delightful also, really teased me the whole way. Good film. I was comfortable so I put on Robin Hood (2018). As happy as I was with Shimmer Lake, I was equally frustrated and angered by this version of Robin Hood. The writers and directors should have to pay some kind of penalty for this, maybe a five year ban from working to think about what they’ve done. The customer designer shouldn’t be allowed to work again. It was as if they had gone out of their way to be as inaccurate and stupid as they could possibly be. When you are watching a period film and some of the characters are wearing modern hoodies and they have perfectly tailored leather jackets it really takes you out of the movie. I’m coming to this very late so I’m sure the internet has already lost their mind on this (I didn’t bother to check, I like to go in fresh) so I won’t rub more dirt in these eyes. I wanted some kind of a palate cleanser but it was already half nine. I started to watch a version of the Saint not starring Val Kilmer and had to turn it off after ten minutes. You can’t cleanse the palate with something even more terrible. I went to the cloud and watched a couple YouTube clips to calm myself before sleep.

A New Year

I started the new year with a bit of a sleep in. I was up fairly late after all. I had a solid shower and started to realize that I was getting caught up in all the renewal mindset that accompagnies the flip of the calendar. In reality it is just another day, a day off mind you, but a simple day. Probably pulls it’s am leg and pm leg of it’s pants on one at a time. But I couldn’t help shake the mindset. Once I was cleaned up and done my morning business I decided to make myself a nice breakfast to start the year. My family has been pretty consistent with perogies as the go to for such things so that is where I went. I cooked them a bit slower than I normally would and dashed in some red pepper flake and some parley just as the shells were switching from soft to firm, in hopes that it would stick better. I’m not convinced that worked but it made it look pretty festive. I deluxed it up with some shredded cheese and some Cholula for fun. It was a filling meal and led me back to my bed.

Well, it didn’t but my book did. I finished it. Then I lay there in stunned silence for a bit. Then I Googled it and still couldn’t wrap my head around it. I slowly started to realize the mastery of it and grew to appreciate it. It was only eight novels, five in the main arc but still it was quite an experience. It is not one of the mainstay series but worth my time for sure. If you haven’t been following, I’m talking about the Witcher books. I started with the Last Wish, then Sword of Destiny and Season of Storms before tackling the main five books, culminating with Lady of the Lake. Very cool.

I transitioned from that to the computer where I did my first MSC challenge of the new year and watched some YouTube videos for a bit. Then it was time for lunch, which consisted of a can of Campbell’s Chunky Chicken with Rice soup. It was delightful and light, perfect after my large opening salvo. After I eating, I again turned to a book. This time I started reading Starship Troopers. I’ve never seen the movie and the book was touted as better so I’m going in fresh and I’ll finish the book before looking into the movie, the right way this time. I only dipped my toe into it, blazing through the first sixty or so pages of three hundred. I figured if I do that five times I’ll have it consumed, cause you know, math. I took some time to sit and reflect, my mind kept circling around to it. Not really sit so much as wander around the Harbour while listening to Rhythm of War for the second time. I’m up to part four of five on that by the way in case you’re wondering at home. I went downstairs eventually and played NHL20, an activity that I haven’t done in awhile and that allows me to continue to listen to audiobooks. When I’d had my fill of that I made my dinner. It was a plate of chicken bites. As I was doing the dishes and feeling crappy about the amount I ate I found myself berating myself about it. That self-awareness might come in handy for me. I’m not sure if it was the day and the on-going reflection but something seems to have advanced slightly there. Maybe it will continue, we’ll have to see. After my supper I again descended and after some light browsing I decided to watch Alita: Battle Angel. It is probably in the top ten, maybe top five of my all-time favourites. I know that the Usual Supsects and Goon are in the top five for sure, this might be in there also. I debated the merits of it with Theodore Complete for a bit. We both agreed that the movie felt rushed and it might be better as a short series on Netflix. I looked up the money for it on Wikipedia and it cost between $150-200 million to make and box office was $405 million so it wasn’t a failure by any means. Yet, when I polled my group chat, only I’d seen it of all the guys. Interesting. I watched some episodes of Drunk History next and was about to call it when She suggested I watch this 2020 mockumentary on Netflix. I’d seen the trailer before and thought it might be neat so I watched it then and there. That kept me up until after eleven but it was fun. Hugh Grant was the best probably. I’m glad they poked fun at everyone and didn’t single out on side completely, even though there was a definite slant. That comes from casting Hollywood people likely. Either way, it was fun.

Goodbye 2020

I pulled down another solid sleep. I moved from the cloud to my office and finished the last MSC challenges for the year and updated Musings. I had another solid, relaxing breakfast of the usual fare. I longed about and watched some YouTube. Next thing I knew Rek called and we chatted. I told him I’d have soup for lunch but called an audible and cooked up some Knorr sidekick flavoured like butter and herb. It made for a fantastic meal. After lunch I set about editing together some drone footage I took last week. It took an hour or so but afterwards I uploaded my video and made sure all the tags and cards were put in place.

Then I read my book. Im definitely within one hundred pages of the finish line. When I needed a break I had a pizza for dinner, with the usual customization. While that was cooking, I watched a couple episodes of Corn Warriors on YouTube. I am still in season two, the episodes have tremendous overlap. While I was in the kitchen, I made an additional dish and ate part of it as well, it’s pictured below. It consisted of wedges, some barbecue cheese curds from Thornloe Cheese and some Cholula hot sauce.

Next I started to go back to my book but wanted to wallow for some hours. After excessive browsing I started to watch Snowden. It was drier than I hoped. Afterwards, I watched a film called Small Crimes with an ensemble of B list performers. It was an interesting film. I was preoccupied with my Duolingo though. I am in the highest league now and I’m currently in first place and I decided that I’m going to win this week. I’m currently in first and built a decent lead this evening. I am hoping that if I get far enough in front that others won’t try and catch me. My lead sits at 300+ XP currently. I crawled into bed at half ten but the neighbours are watching a movie or playing a video game quite loudly so I guess my plan to get to sleep at a decent hour isn’t going to happen. My book should help.

What day is it?

Today started like the last few, slowly and relaxed. I took my time getting up, I had a wonderful shower. The biggest difference was the question that tied my brain up into a pretzel. I have a neighbour to the south of me, they moved in a few months ago, I’ve talked about their loud sound system a number of times. I’m not sure what they do for a living but a got a hint this day. At 4:40am I was awoken by a shovel scraping. If you don’t immediately think of Home Alone then you’re nuts. I eventually peeked through the blinds with eyes unable to focus properly. I saw the dude in a high visibility vest cleaning the skiff of snow that had fallen overnight out of his driveway. I was pretty confused and in my mind I decided that the had to work at Pearson and was probably on a ground crew. I’m pretty sure that is not accurate but it fit what I wanted to believe so we’re going with it. That’s all fine, it was so quiet of a night and at the deadest part that I could hear the shovel and it woke me up. At this precise moment I had a four hour podcast going at a reasonably low volume while I slept and I started to wonder if he could hear it in the dead quiet. Hopefully it hadn’t woken him up. I fell back to sleep shortly after my peek and slept a few more hours. When I finished all the things I mentioned off the top I looked out the window and saw that the bottom of my driveway was also cleaned. Then my brain started turning. Is this an act of aggression? Did he clean my driveway to make more noise? Was it an act of kindness? What had I done to deserve that? They sometimes do the sidewalk across my land as I know his elderly parents (who live there also) like to go for strolls. Maybe he was so tired he accidentally kept going. So I felt that I needed to pay it forward somehow. I went out and did the rest of my driveway and then the bottom of the old girl next door’s and the sidewalk for the next house. Unrelated but I also walked up and got the mail (nothing cool, just some late Christmas cards). In the end, the whole snow shovelling affair was all for not as it rained all day and everyone got a clean driveway before noon. I polled a few folks and the consensus was that it was an act of kindness but I remain suspicious.

After my outdoor adventure I made breakfast and took my sweet time eating it as I read the mail. I have been piling up some agriculture publications and tackled a few of those as well. Next stop was MSC challenges and Musings. I wanted to make sure I cover those off in case I slip into the basement lair and lose another day. Instead of that I read my home insurance policy. Turns out I need to call them to update them on my basement and I have a couple questions about my coverage, including the boat. I did try and call but after twenty minutes on hold I made the assumption that only their claims lines are getting attention, if that. I went downstairs to work on making lunch, since it was getting to that hour. My feet were getting a bit chilly so I donned some slippers but I’d consider them more of my downstairs slippers. I wondering if I had my old pair still and sure enough I did. I discovered them in the front closet and decided I’d wear them the rest of the year. They are fuzzy and warm with a hint of a hard sole. Just like slippers should be, rather than a crappy shoe, which many pairs in the modern era should be considered.

After crushing a plate of chicken bites it was time to try and tackle my novel. I’ve been stuck on this one for months, the first half the book has been a slog, as I’ve mentioned. It is the last of the Witcher novels and my brain is looking for a fast paced resolution to the series and it is getting lore and background information. I know that it will pick up soon but haven’t gotten to that point yet. I forced myself to dogged stick to it and I was rewarded, the levee broke and the interesting plotlines tumbled out. By the time I was finished reading (to eat again, hours later) there are only a hundred or so pages left. It is the last of the eight novels. My next books are all standalone so I should be able to move through them more quickly. The dinner that ended the reading session was simply soup. I made a can and smothered it in crackers and returned to the cloud to catch up on YouTube. I “discovered” shuffle TikTok compilations and passed out just after nine watching one of those. It was a decent day, relaxing but not completely wasted.

Gonzo Tuesday

Today I slept in a bit before going down to make my breakfast. I did so in the clothes I slept in. Then I took those clothes down into the basement and tucked myself under a fur blanket and turned on Netflix. That was the day. I don’t recall everything I watched but ones that stand out are the end of Big Mouth season four. The dark comedy, I Don't Feel at Home in This World Anymore. It was very strange and dark but I found myself really enjoying it. I would classify it as a hidden gem. And speaking of gems, I finally watched Uncut Gems. After the first half hour or so I could feel myself being stressed and uncomfortable. That resolved into frustration for the remainder of the film. It was expressed in the film several times but the lead character was completely annoying and obnoxious. I think that “New York” frame of mind and style of communication are what make me uncomfortable. I won’t say much more on the topic because I don’t want to spoil anything for those who haven’t seen the film. I tried to watch the Office (British) but couldn’t get through even half of the first episode. It was too obnoxious and painful. I know the last movie I watched was Barely Lethal. It was not good. I thought because Samuel L Jackson was in it that it was going to be better, but I was wrong. For every hidden gem you find there are bound to be some stinkers. It was a day spent completely wasted. I ordered some Pizza Pizza early afternoon and picked away at it for the most of the afternoon. There was no supper, I didn’t really earn supper. It was a day thrown away, a dangerous day.

Meaningless Monday

It is Monday but that really means nothing when you’re on vacation, just another day. I woke up at he usual time today and did my usual routine. But then I decided I’d nestle back into my nest and enjoy some time listening to a podcast. The next thing I knew I had fallen back asleep for an additional ninety minutes. That was quite remarkable. Next I set about making some breakfast, it was the usual fare. I then climbed back to my office a took at seat at the helm but on my personal computer rather than the work machine. Some time was spent cleaning up email and some other personal matters before knocking out the lingering MSC challenges. By the end of it I’d both cleared the queue of challenges and also of new podcast episodes. I updated the latest Musing and checked for any updates from Theodore Complete before some recreational surfing. By the time I’d had my fill it was into the afternoon so I decided that I’d better get after some lunch. I decided to clear up some space in the freezer and use some chicken up. I cooked some breaded breasts in the air fryer and slipped some sliced cheese and chipotle mayo in between and relied on the breasts to the be the buns of the sandwich. I’m not sure if this counts as low-carb with the breading but I also don’t care if it does.

After polishing off this heavy and filling treat and cleaning up the surprisingly large mess it created I descended. I was going to vegetate for awhile. I didn’t know it then but this would be the remainder of my day. I fired up the A/V and started with CRAVE. I watched the entire new season of Letterkenny. It started slow but turned out to be exactly what I was looking for on a winter’s afternoon. Next I decided to watch Spectre. There is a section of Bond movies and I should rip through all of them but decided to focus on the more modern ones. When that was over I dove into another fun film before finishing with Casino Royale, another newer Bond picture. By the time that was over it was about time for bed so I succumbed and shut it down. It was a pretty relaxing day spent doing what I wanted to do.

Return to the Harbour

We started the day today with a pretty fancy breakfast. Mother tried out a new recipe and made some Breakfast Fried Rice by SkinnyTaste. It featured brown rice cooked in advance, some riced cauliflower, bacon, eggs, and untold spices. One of the spices was some sriracha that was more than the Big T could handle. The recipe only called for two tablespoons but he found it hot. I felt it was an interesting and tasty treat. The leftovers were packaged up for me.

I had all my stuff hauled upstairs and as I took the first load to the truck, the rest was unceremoniously dumped on the deck. Guess they were ready for me to leave. The fuel tank was still full so I was able to get away in good time, around eight. I made one lone stop on the return voyage and that was at Huntsville to refuel the truck and to tinkle. Many businesses I passed were still open and operating noramlly. I guess not everyone is respecting the lockdown. Shortly after my stop I decided that I should have some lunch and scarfed down one of the wraps that Mother had prepared for me and some of the dessert that was sent along. The remainder of the drive was uneventful other than clearing my podcast queue buildup and discovering a new alternative radio station for the middle third of the route, 89.1 the MAX. Upon arriving at the Harbour the driveway had to be dunged out with the truck awkwardly parked in the street so a rush was applied. This tuckered me out extensively and wreaked havoc on my lower back. It had been some time since I had to clean snow, let alone deep, wet snow. Once my back was destroyed and the drive clear the truck was parked and emptied out. The Christmas gifts were quickly sorted and stowed away. Only a few spices that didn’t fit into the spice cabinet were left out. Most of the kitchen accessories were washed and ready to be put away. I will have to re-imagine how the spices are stored before I can finish this task. I quickly emptied my luggage and combined the dirty items with new items and some clothes already in the basket to prepare two loads of laundry to do. While that was starting I very quickly and efficiently removed all the ornaments off the tree and took it down. Next the Christmas lights outside were torn down. There was rain followed by colder temperatures in the forecast and with it worry about things getting iced down. [edit: the rain only cleaned back the snow and it would have been much easier if I’d waited a day] I didn’t fully package them up yet, instead giving them time to thaw a bit to make storage easier. With the tree and the lights down and the gifts integrated into my world, Christmas was fully over. It seems like it went by in a blink of a Chirstmas light. I recall writing on this very site a few years about about the long, drawn out, manufactured traditions that we used to undertake. Well, this year was very, very different from that and I find myself missing the pagentry of it all.

After tearing apart Christmas and unloading everything I decided to take a bit of a break and called Admiral Bonesaw and Dutchie. They had offloaded their kids for the afternoon so my timing was good, we chatted for the better part of an hour before it was time to start dinner on both ends. Here, it ws going to be the final portion of the previous night’s dinner that Big T had forced upon me as I was leaving in the morning. I ate it studiously and enjoyed it, despite having only warmed it up part way in the oven. I went with 375F and only for ten minutes, maybe fifteen would have been more fitting.

When it was devoured and the hefty pile of dishes was done I sauntered to my office to take on some MSC challenges whilst enjoying the second time through Rhthym of War on Audible. After I’d had my fill of that, the two loads of laundry got folded and stowed and as such little evidence of the trip remained. The remainder of the evening was spent with my book after not getting to read it at all while away. It was only a short read as I started to fall asleep around nine and was fully gone soon after.

Boxing Day Blowout

Boxing Day started with a real blowout but not the kind you are thinking of. I slept solidly and found a flaw in my bed positioning that was causing my neck discomfort. I got up at seven, though I could have made it until eight. The plan was that Mother was going to try another breakfast dish but she had forgotten to pre-cook some rice so we decided to deal with Big T’s samidges. I brought up the pork patties and some hash browns and he started. It was a couple minutes in when I realized he was clueless how to make them. He must have not watched the instructional video. I should have known when he didn’t know where the single samidge maker was. I stepped in. I defrosted their English muffins, cooked the patties more appropriately and got things moving. I grabbed the sriracha ranch dipping sauce and gave it a shake as I have done hundreds of times since discovering it. The result was much different today. The lid was not affixed to the bottle by a previous user and the sauce exited the bottle in a prolific fashion. I was in the kitchen and this stuff got everywhere. It was truly incredible the coverage. Got on nearly every surface, on the underside of tables, around corners, on moving animals. Unbelievable. Mother and I were laughing but Big T turned it into a fight that escalated to the point I threatened to pack up and leave immediately. Not pleasant breakfast conversation. He cleaned a part and then started eating and left the room. The winner was Mother who got her kitchen partially deep cleaned. We cleaned it up and ate. Tensions were still high.

I separated myself from the situation and worked on Musings while the T went to get a tractor to clean snow with. The sun came out so I flew the drone. It was the first good opportunity to do it all week. I got some footage of the snow and the driveway being cleaned too. Afterwards The Big T and I went down to the farm and we propped up a sagging building and cleaned up some rampant brush.

Next we tried to start the old motorcycle. We eliminated the electrical system as the cause of the inability to start but couldn’t find any flaw in the fuel system. In the end it didn’t start and we don’t know why. Big T thinks he might have to bring it to a proper mechanic. That will have to be his problem for later.

We came home and had a tremendous homemade pea soup featuring turkey legs. We added a sprinkle of shredded cheese for bonus flavour. I also ate some of the Shepard’s Pie leftovers to help them out. We watched some garbage on TV together then all separated for naps. I didn’t get to nap, watched some YouTube instead and packed up my stuff in preparation for departure. After the break we watched the most of a Few Good Men before settling in for a new dinner experience for me. We had spaghetti squash chicken parm.

The meal was fantastic. The stringy delight of the squash peeled off the hull to take the place of the pasta and the tangy marinara and breaded chicken tenders rounded out the flavour train. We cleaned up and had dessert before settling in to watch the House marathon and check the Canadian Junior score (no concerns there, big lead). It was some nice family time. The squash played a role in the evening’s entertainment, I’ll leave it at that.

Christmas Morning

The Christmas gift opening on Christmas tradition was broken. This joins a line of other traditions that have disappeared over the years. We kept the eating of perogies alive though. We even slept in a little. It was closer to eight than seven when I climbed the stairs. After eating and cleaning up we watched some of my YouTube videos and kept an eye on the birds.

I could see interest flagging after a couple so I broke out the traditional Christmas rye. We always have a glass of rye on Christmas morning, a tradition started by my late grandpa. Used to be Wiser’s but now we’re using Crown Royal. It was said it was the only alcohol he’d have all year, a little snifter on Christmas. We watched My Cousin Vinny while we enjoyed that. Around noon we all split up to have naps. For me it was a while before I could sleep but then it was two in the afternoon when I surfaced. I had a nagging headache from the change in barometric pressure and the nap helped. Big T was watched the end of Scrooged so we joined him and had some leftover appetizers as a snack. When it entered I sorted through my gifts and started packing them up. I got dressed and ready to face the day.

Christmas Eve

The recipe guinea pig project has begun. One of the reasons Mother wanted me to come home from living alone situation was for my own mental health but another was to try some new breakfast recipes. Since my favourite cuisine has long been breakfast, I was happy to oblige in this aspect. Don’t want to disappoint my Mother after all. The first on the list was a lovely blueberry pancake recipe. I’d say if falls somewhere between a loaf and a pancake. We had it with some very fancy and likely costly maple syrup. If Canada is known for it the world over then this must be the good stuff. It was elegantly rich and very delicious. It didn’t overpower the pancake but enhanced it to a new level. The accompanying tartness of the juice was also a nice addition to balance the sweetness of the blueberries and syrup. Very nice weekend breakfast, on the heavy side for the week because there ain’t no way you aren’t going back for seconds. Added bonus is that we somewhat supported local with the syrup, which was a gift for my Mother’s birthday from a local artisan.

After that enjoyable breakfast we both decided to revel in it and watched an episode of House MD, there is a marathon on the Drama channel. It was the episode with Kathryn Winnick. I took a shower after for the first time in a couple days and feeling refreshed I processed half a dozen of these posts to get them up and live. Another reason for delay was that we got the details for GRP and KJMH’s daughter. I won’t share them here, nor will I share any of the photos but I was really impressed and happy with the name. I could find no holes with it, really good job by them. When I came back upstairs at half ten the house had powered down. The dogs were unconscious and Mother was gone for a nap or to enjoy the Audible subscription I helped her setup. After months of explaining it to her and fretting over the cost she is up and running now and apparently very much enjoying it. Her first ever audiobook is Matthew McConauhey’s novel. He reads it, not sure who much of a factor that is.

Towards noon everyone started coming back to life. The Big T returned home from work and we had some lunch. They watched a movie and I retired to my quarters for some quiet time. Guess we haven’t aligned yet. Around two we reconvened to play a bird game called Sequence. It was fun. Big T won the last two matches and was a poor winner as usual. With that done up it was around cocktail hour so I fetched some libations for everyone and we sat around. Our Christmas festivities were slated to start at five so we started some prep work. I made some chicken bites with the air fryer and the T made jalapeño poppers. While those cooked Mother made some toasted ravioli and a charcuterie board. It was shortly after five that we started eating. STL Sister was having issues with WiFi and tried to connect via data and that was iffy at times. Youngest Sister ordered in her feast and was able to eat along with us all.

With the food mostly dealt with we transitioned to the gift opening phase. This is a new move. Generally we open them Christmas morning, all excitedly waking up early but waiting until 7am. The anticipation is the best part. To accommodate work schedules and other events we chose to do it Christmas Eve. It was new for everyone. We tried to get the STL pair to open everything quick whilst they had a decent connection. We had an iPad on a tripod on our end but eventually switched to our phones with only Mother’s unmuted. It made it hard to follow the action. I think some of the gifts I’d sent were opened while I wasn’t paying attention. We did the best we could but COVID made things challenging. I think our virtual gift opening was okay but for sure felt strange. The whole affair took three hours. When it was done we watched a bit of TV then shut it down around ten. All completely sober and exhausted.

Errand Adventure

Despite an early departure to the land of nod, the result was marred when I was up between 2am and 4am. When I finally emerged from my cocoon I had a quick breakfast with the Big T. He had made his already and was finishing it up when I showed up.

I decided to clean up the dishes for them as they were packing up the car. They wanted to drive down to meet my sister in a parking lot halfway before here and there to give her some gifts (mine included) before the lockdown takes effect after Christmas. Their original plan was to spend a day with them when she is off after the holidays but that’s no longer possible. I sat back and listened to their banter and reasoning as they packed things up and prepared to leave. I found it interesting to reflect on how they plan and think in comparison to how my own mind gets organized before travel. I noticed some stark differences along with the similarities. After they left I got myself ready for a quick journey into town to complete a couple tasks before getting right locked down. I brought coffee and exchanged a gift with Theodore Complete. We both wore masks and physically distanced throughout. He had mailed me a gift a month ago, it was coated in glitter so I figured it only proper to haul it hundreds of miles to open in his house. A fitting reprisal. It was intricately and obsessively wrapped with three thick layers of protection and tape. Inside were a number of spoons to add to my collection. A thoughtful gift. I countered with a bottle of Tragically Hip Chardonnay. He then revealed that he had attended the first show of their farewell tour and the details around that. He also showed me the renovations to his basement and the tent. Make sure you check out the Tent-venture to see the progress for yourself. Both the reno and the plant are very impressive. We had a nice COVID conscious visit. Next stop was at the Mayor’s, GRP and KJMH were in the midst of a baby coming, so the in-laws were very nervous. I didn’t dawdle but chatted briefly and dropped off gifts and other items for them during this short masked visit. A key element of the trip to town was to fill the truck with fuel for the return trip. May not get another chance. I got home and ate a sandwich and a Halloween bag of Doritos then did some work emails before the parents returned. We had a cocktail then some pizza for dinner. No picture, we ate it too hard. Got news that the baby had arrived. Details may follow later. After dinner I shot pool with the Big T and then retired to watch a bit of YouTube and go to sleep early.

Northern Journey

Slower start than anticipated, had to do a last minute scramble to make sure I had everything. Spoiler alert, I forgot to bring a case of beer. Was still able to leave the house ahead of nine. A quick stop to fuel the truck and then fuel myself with a McBreakfast and I was off. Traffic was noticeably lighter into the Smoke than normal, only a couple slowdowns, not major stoppages for once. In fact it was a very smooth ride until Barrie. And for that entire period of time I enjoyed the most recent Spittin’ Chicklets episode. About five clicks before the city a white wall of slush popped up and slathered the road in slush. Some drivers didn’t seem to notice and wanted to rip along at 120km/h and others plugged the middle lane going 80km/h. I was more of a Goldilocks and looking for about ninety five so it was an awkward stretch. The squalls got worse towards the middle of the city and by the time I was a few kilometres North of town it was completely clear and dry roads again. I can only take this as proof that God hates that city. After that white knuckled hiccup it was very smooth sailing up to North Bay. I decided to stop for fuel and ended up meeting She for lunch at a new Burger King, her treat as she didn’t get a gift to counter what I got her. I had the spicy chicken parm samidge and it was phenomenal. To really celebrate it I had cheesy tots with it. I also wanted to see how they compared to McCain’s offering. They are well behind my normal tots. After a lovey visit and an decent treat I finished the last leg of journey. I had lots of help to bring everything in the house this time and was greeted with a nice “sharshootery” board and a welcoming committee. Supper followed shortly after and was spectacular.

Photo credit: The Big T

There wasn’t much on the agenda in the evening other than watching the news over and over again so I retired early and tried to make it an early night after a long drive.

Short Day

I realized that I’ve been talking about the detour to flavour town I’ve been riding lately but for newer readers I haven’t really given a description. What I’m talking about is making more than the sum of the parts. More than two halved English muffins, four slices of cheese, four pork patties and two healthy dollops of Great Value brand sriracha ranch dipping sauce. The gooey goodness is a much faster and easier method to delivery a loving treat to your taste buds. A pair of them are nicely filling but not at all painful. The only knock against them is that they can be greasy if the meat is not patted before being applied. These are a great way to start a day.

On this day I didn’t bother starting things until after ten. I had to work through some COVID drama early in the day but after getting everything sorted out and having a feed it was time to get a move on and catch-up on my household chores. One of those chores was to continue with my laundry mission. Another more time consuming task was to start wrapping gifts. I wanted to get everything wrapped that I could, and that made sense. A few items weren’t going to be feasible to be wrapped and many were shipped direct. I’m not a talented wrapper, but can be passable if I focus and trim the paper properly before overdoing it with the tape. It took me far too long and I needed a break in the middle but I got my pile wrapped. I should have done this much sooner but nothing like the rush of cramming.

Other than the ironically wrapped LCBO bag I’d say it all came together nicely. That much effort and hustle meant that I’d need a good feed to keep my energy up. I had purchased a couple peppers nearly a month ago and miraculously they hadn’t turned yet so I decided to stuff them. I seasoned and browned off a package of medium ground beef and cooked up two cups of rice. With the rice spiced and the meat drained I combined them in a mixing bowl with a mitt full of shredded cheese. I washed and hollowed out the peppers in question before stuffing them full and topping with more cheese. The air fryer caressed them for seven minutes at 385F and I was ready to feast. I ate the leftover filling as well. I was as stuffed as the peppers by the end!

With laundry done and the beds made, the gifts wrapped and my guts filled I had nothing left to do but pack. So I got my trusty suitcase who has been sitting idle most of the year and got my clothes together. I packed my gifts into some containers and sorted some food to bring with me. By eight bells I was ready. I spent a long time doing French lessons before some YouTube to coast into sleep with. I can say that in Duolingo for 2020 I was in the top 3% globally for XP earned. I’m in the second two highest weekly league and slowly learning to speak French. I have a streak of over 900 days to my credit too. I feel it is quite a feat.

Sultry Sunday

If Saturday was a wasted day then Sunday wasn’t much better. I came back to life close to eight but it wasn’t until noon that I got out of bed. I watched an absolute healing pile of nonsense on TouTube. Got caught up on all my favourite channels and then watched trash. To start the day I wiped up them fired down another sausage patty samidge along with some chicken bites and dip. It was an awesome, relaxed meal that featured some winning dips.

My next move was to start some laundry. The goal was to wash the beds, linens and all the cloths in the basket. It might be a multiple day process. While that was chugging away I cleared all the remaining MSC challenges and worked on some Musings drafts. I need to get back into the rhythm of daily posts rather than relying on drafts. When that was done I flipped over and started reading my book. It took a couple hours but I managed to get through a large, slow chapter. Laundry wise all the clothes got washed, folded and stowed. Not much happened in the way of dinner. I took down three granola bars and a serious guzzle of water and kept reading. My head was sort of aching mildly so I tried to make it an early night, finished off with some light YouTube. It was a light day overall. Very little effort out in any one place, the start of a vacation.

Day Missing

I started my day with a couple of sausage and cheese samidges and started watching Netflix. While enjoying some comedy I also wished JohnBoy a happy birthday. Unlike normal we continued some text conversation over the next couple hours. Generally it’s a quick exchange and done. Nice to hear from him. Time moved quickly and hunger returned after a couple hours, I warmed up leftovers for lunch and continued with the Netflix. Actually I didn’t just warm up leftovers, I also prepared an excellent version of Knorr’s Fetticine Alfredo sidekick. One of the best renditions of that I’ve ever done. After crushing that, I polished off part four of Money Heist in the late morning and early afternoon then switched to random films. I’d never seen Argo before. I re-watched Dr Strange. I watched a strange film called Hello my name is Doris as the finale. It was quirky? I got to bed about half ten.

Last of Work

Today was the planned last day of professional exertion for the remainder of the year. Always a dicey proposition when most of your job is working with many external customers who have their own timelines. In contrast to the previous day, this time I overslept, possibly as a consequence to yesterday, and ended up skipping over breakfast. Instead I had a call then enjoyed some coffee and rice crispy square close to ten. I had a long chat with a customer until past noon so had a later lunch. I took the time to microwave some Our Finest pad thai. It was very nice and gave me an excuse to use my chopsticks I got in China. There was a quarterly meeting for our North American product management group and that went to five and I had a follow up meeting with someone until half six. To celebrate being done I decided to put a little more gusto into dinner, it had been awhile. I had to use some chicken breasts that were threatening to turn so I seasoned them and opened them wide and put in the air fryer. I warned a can of peas in the microwave also. Towards the end of the cook time for the chicken I added some shredded cheese to two breasts to dress it up some. this created a sizeable mess. While the chicken was still piping hot I draped it in medium salsa for some kick and to follow Admiral Bonesaw’s special chicken recipe. By the time I’d eaten and cleaned up the meal it was getting later so I enjoyed some YouTube and treated myself to an early bedtime.